Archives for May 2019

5.28.19

The Minnesota Twins have been quietly waiting for their time to shine in the AL Central. A division dominated by the Cleveland Indians these past few years, the Central has been disregarded by many because of the lack of competitive play within division. The Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, and Detroit Tigers have all finished below .500 since 2017.

This season the Twins have come out of the gate strong. They are leading the division under new manager Rocco Baldelli. Baldelli is only 37, and is the youngest manager in the entire league. His hiring brought excitement to a young team, after he spent 8 years with the Tampa Bay Rays. He has been credited with contributing to much of the Rays progressive strategies regarding on field play.

As of today, the Twins are 36-17 and among one of the strongest teams in the league. They feature a young and exciting pitching staff featuring Jose Berrios and Jake Odorizzi. Other key contributors include Byron Buxton, Willians Astudillo, and Eddie Rosario. Third baseman Miguel Sano has just come back from injury as well.

It will be interesting to see if the Twins can maintain their stronghold in the Central.

5.28.19

Going into the 2018 season, the Atlanta Braves were considered to be entering a rebuild phase. Many of their coveted veterans had signed or been traded elsewhere, and first baseman Freddie Freeman was one of the only recognizable names on the depth chart. However, to the surprise of many, the Braves accelerated their rebuild, and actually earned a playoff spot eventually losing to the World Series runner ups, the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Braves called up sensational rookies such as Ronald Acuna Jr., Ozzie Albies, along with a very young but exciting rotation featuring Sean Newcomb, Mike Foltynewicz, and Max Fried.

The 2019 season brought along higher expectations, as the Braves were now considered contenders and playoff favorites. NL East foes in the Nationals and Mets made notable additions, along with the Phillies large signings of JT Realmuto and Bryce Harper.

So far, the Braves have picked up where they have left off. At the moment they are 30-24, and 1.5 behind the division leading Phillies. Their pitching staff has been consistent, and many of the rookies from last year have continued to produce at a high level.

This past week, the Braves have called up another exciting prospect in Austin Riley. Riley came up as a third baseman in the Braves system, but the organization valued his bat so much, they had him make a few starts in the outfield before calling up up to fill in for the injured Ender Inciarte.

Riley is off to a hot start to his major league career. In his limited plate appearances, he has hit .333/.373/.688, smacking five home runs with 14 RBIs.

 

5.22.19

To the surprise of many MLB executives, top pitching prospect Carter Stewart and his representatives announced that he would withdraw from this year’s MLB draft and sign a contract with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of the Japanese Pacific League on a six-year contract worth more than $7 million. Stewart was drafted last year as the 8th overall selection out of high school, but failed to sign with the team that drafted him, the Atlanta Braves. He features a mid-90s fastball, with a curveball that spins at over 3000 RPM.

This is an interesting development as it opens the door for many draftees and top prospects to consider playing internationally, rather than following the traditional minor league pathway. By playing internationally, players can be posted as international free agents after 6 years of service, versus the 6 year service time requirement at the major league level to become a MLB free agent. This allows for more financial freedom on the part of the player.

It is also important to note how competitive leagues are becoming across the globe. In addition to the Japanese Pacific League, leagues in Mexico, Korea, and other countries feature a plethora of major league talent. While many players move over to these leagues from the minors, it will be interesting to see if prospects will soon follow in Stewart’s footsteps, and start their career internationally before coming back over stateside.

5.18.19

Earlier this week, one of baseball’s most anticipated prospects finally took the field at the major league level. After several debates regarding service time and injuries, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., son of hall of famer Vladimir Guerrero Sr., finally got called up by the Toronto Blue Jays.

Guerrero provides an immediate boost to a rebuilding Blue Jays lineup, and represents a change in tide to a team that is trying to compete in the very competitive AL East. He has ridiculous power, a great arm, and is considered to be one of the best all-around prospects the game has seen in years.

After starting 2019 on the injured list, Guerrero got called up in mid-May, and struggled in his first few games. However, this past week, his bat has seemed to start to heat up as he now has 3 home runs on the season. He hit his first two in San Francisco, and they were absolute moonshots.

He also hit his third home run last night against the White Sox.

It is definitely an exciting time for baseball fans as many of the game’s top prospects are beginning to be called up by their respective teams. The rookie of the year race will be a fun one to watch, and hopefully all these players can provide the boost their teams need to make playoff pushes.

5.18.19

Red Sox Ace Chris Sale has had a rough start to his 2019 campaign. After being touched up in a number of his early starts, his ERA sits at 7.43 along with a 5.58 FIP. Most notably, his fastball velocity seemed to decline sharply, and his strikeout rate also fell to 22.6% after hovering around 30% for most of his career.

Sale recently signed a large contract with the Red Sox, and was an integral part of them winning last year’s World Series. Even towards the end of last season, Sale battled through shoulder discomfort and other injuries that he blamed for the decline in his fastball velocity.

Many have been concerned with Sale’s rough start to 2019, however many just blamed it on the Red Sox slow start all together. Many were still convinced that Sale would make the necessary adjustments to turn his season around, and that the tough start was only temporary.

On Wednesday, Sale took a massive step in the right direction in his start against the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies lineup is full of sluggers, and Sale was able to strike out an outstanding 17 over just 7 innings of work. Sale’s fastball had late life, and his change-up just seemed to fall off the table.

Sale was flat out dominant, however the Red Sox eventually lost in extra innings. This is just another example of Boston’s early season struggles, but hopefully Sale can continue to perform and get the whole team going in the right direction.

5.14.19

Following the Milwaukee Brewers 7-4 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night, the Brewers elected to call up their top prospect, infielder Keston Hiura. Hiura was taken 9th overall in the 2017 MLB draft out of UC Irvine, and will be the first player from the first round of that draft to make their appearance at the major league level.

Hiura is regarded by many to posses one of the most elite hitting tools by any prospect in recent history. He is one of the only players to have hitting and power grades over 50 on the 1-80 scale. Hiura excelled in the Arizona Fall League a year ago, and was awarded the league’s MVP honors. Hiura has been off to a hot start this year, hitting .333/.408/.698 with 11 home runs over 37 games at Triple-A. Last season, he hit .293/.357/.464 between High-A and Double-A.

The addition comes at a trying time for the Brewers, who have designated INF Cory Spangenberg for assignment and placed INF Travis Shaw on the Injured List. The right-handed bat of Hiura should provide manager Craig Counsell with immediate offensive help, along with lineup balance.