Yaz I Was Saying..

 

Mike Yastrzemski, especially when you compare his numbers to his grandfather's, might have one of the most fascinating careers of the moment. Yaz didn't make his MLB debut til he was 28, after years of toiling in the minors, and since then he's averaged 3.5 WAR and .241 per season while still being one of the most respected Giants of the current regime. His best statistical season was during the pandemic-shortened 2020, and it would have given him an All-Star nod that has still evaded him. He's never played a season with more than 148 games, and he's never hit more than 57 RBIs in a season. Yet whenever he's healthy he always hits well, plays great defense and is well liked.

Yaz...feels like he would have been more at home in the time his grandpa Carl played. Back then, they called you up at like 21, you played for 20 years, you didn't have to swing at every pitch and you didn't get hurt as often. It's just upsetting that the second he really finds his sweet spot in the majors is right around the end of his peak. Not that he's not an exciting and crucial player, even at 34, but I suppose the Giants wish they got more of 20s Yaz rather than the guy who many get injured right when he really gets going.

Yaz is a perfect summation of the Giants to this point: a guy capable of great things who does very well but for an infuriatingly narrow period of time. Thankfully Yaz, like the Giants, are widening that period this year, being a very strong third place team with aspirations of dethroning the top two.

Are there disappointments this season for the Giants? Of course. Willy Adames is not playing as well as promised, LaMonte Wade simply isn't hitting, Justin Verlander has been simply passable, Ryan Walker's dominance is absent, and Patrick Bailey, the catcher so promising that the Giants traded Joey Bart to Pittsburgh to keep him as the starter, hasn't hit above .200 yet. There are definite flaws, places where the answer hasn't shown up yet, and some close recent losses. But ultimately, this is a team that can hit, and has a lineup where nearly everyone has over 10 RBIs. 

Yaz, alongside Matt Chapman, Heliot Ramos, Jung Hoo Lee and Wilmer Flores, make up a very strong, potent, powerful core. Lee is definitely for real, leading the team in hits and still managing 24 RBIs. Chapman continues to be one of the best third basemen in the game and also consistently hits home runs. Flores, for a period, led the league in RBIs, and his 33 is still a great mark. And yes, with Robbie Ray and Logan Webb in peak form, and enough young guys that will eventually get the idea, the pitching is in great shape as well.

The Giants just look very good, and have managed some excellent wins, even in spite of having two teams that are better in the same division. The upset is possible, and if this lineup keeps producing at this rate, it will become more and more of a certainty.

Coming Tonight: The Orioles are down a lot of their best pitchers right now, meaning one of their rare offseason signings is actually coming in handy right now.

That Familiar Feeling

 

I think this is the third straight year that the Angels have peaked in April. And it's been almost the exact same thing every time. A thrilling start from some young players, the veteran pitchers doing what they're paid for, the promise of a new star in the making, and then within seconds they hit a losing streak and Mike Trout hits the IL. It happens this year every April. They just get it out of the way, and the rest of the year is filled with abject mediocrity. Like, this year it was literally 'oh wow, they're 9-5 and taking down Houston, this could be turning around, what's that they're in last already?'

Because a lot of teams, like the Rockies, Pirates and White Sox, will infuriate fans with just how pathetic they can be, but the Angels keep giving the fanbase the illusion that they'll be good. They put money into the team, they have good prospects, they position a strong group of people...and yet it always leads to this garbage.

There are a few people on this team worth a damn, but they're not exactly in much position to turn the tide. Zach Neto might be the only person in this lineup doing everything he's supposed to. He's still in his prime, has 4 home runs and has been great at short. And the rotation trio of Tyler Anderson, Yusei Kikuchi and Jose Soriano has been pretty damn strong actually. Anderson's having another great season in Anaheim, with a 2-1 record, a 2.58 ERA and 39 Ks. This would be great even for a team that wasn't the Angels. Kikuchi, despite not having won a game yet, also has 39 Ks and a 0.9 WAR. Soriano, essentially auditioning for a spot on another rotation now, has a 4 ERA and 37 Ks. These guys, while generally at the mercy of the lineup, go deep and provide the needed cover. 

But...too many people on this team are just not playing well. Luis Rengifo, Taylor Ward, Nolan Schanuel, Reid Detmers, Travis d'Arnaud, Jo Adell...that's too many guys that were trusted to keep this team moving and just haven't. Ward, despite his 8 homers, is hitting .182. The theme of this team is that while there is power hitting, done by Trout and Ward and Jorge Soler, it's not pretty. Only three guys have an average over .250. Even Kyren Paris, after a fantastic April, has gone cold and his average is hurtling back towards .200. It's not pretty. Even without Trout and Rendon, which is kind of a given, the Angels just cannot get anything done.

It's more infuriating when you see teams like the Mariners and A's doing better, working towards the top of the division, while the Angels continue not to learn, even WITH Ron Washington. I'm not even sure what will work at this point. People are convinced that Trout coming back will save this team, and the way he was hitting before doesn't convince me too much.

Coming Tomorrow- There was a feeling, when he hit the majors after years in Triple-A, that he'd be a nice flukey, flash-in-the-pan story for a year. And now here he is six years later still leading the team and playing beautifully. 

To the Victor..

 

I will give the Cardinals credit for this: instead of completely buying into the controversy and giving us a season where they're at odds with Arenado and nothing's working, the Cardinals are a team of younger, scrappier contact players that also has Nolan Arenado contributing. This is a team that can work with or without Arenado, and as the trade rumors continue, it's no longer a truly horrifying thought. Because god forbid if Arenado goes, they can just plug Thomas Saggese or Nolan Gorman into third and keep on going. Everyone will be on the same page, there won't be a gaping hole. They'll just keep on rolling. 

The biggest stars of the season so far, besides Arenado, have been the guys you weren't thinking about. I mean, maybe you were thinking about Brendan Donovan, but he's not your textbook MLB star, at least not yet. People like Matthew Liberatore, Ivan Herrera, Kyle Leahy and Lars Nootbaar have been the most important factors into this season. Victor Scott, after some really unpleasant MLB tries, finally feels at home in the majors, leads the team in steals with 11 and is hitting .292. I think they were banking on Jordan Walker getting to that point but that really hasn't happened yet, so Scott's a very nice alternative. All of Scott, Masyn Winn and Thomas Saggese putting it together at once does make me very intrigued for the future of the team. It's no longer a messy assembly line of outfield prospects that have to be culled every year, it's finally blooming in a way that makes the most sense. 

Granted, it does make the other contracts stand out more. Willson Contreras is hitting .248 with 22 RBIs and 5 homers. It's not terrible, but we've seen him hit way better, and his 1st base skills aren't quite Goldschmidt-levels. Sonny Gray is 4-1 with a 3.50 ERA, and, again, we've seen better from this guy, even if he does have 47 strikeouts thus far. But you get the sense that most of the contracted guys, like Miles Mikolas, Steven Matz, Erick Fedde, even Ryan Helsley, will be gone next year anyhow and the team will progress naturally to replace them. Not that many of these guys are playing badly [Fedde just had a beautiful start against the Nats], I just know the Cardinals have guys that fit better with the current MO, and they'll lead to a more uniform, unified group. It may be another year away, but it's definitely in sight.

The one issue is that without Arenado, I'm not sure who's going to be responsible for most of the home runs. This is a very contact-heavy team, and hopefully someone, like Burleson or Gorman, will go on a tear naturally, but right now you're not really seeing much. It's not too much of an issue, but it could be if the nearest competition [the Cubs and Reds] is great with the long ball. 

The Cardinals have, for the moment, made it through the mid-division scrum and are in a decent position for now. It's uncertain whether or not the Reds or Brewers will find the leverage to flip things, but as of now the Cardinals are doing a lot right, and they're seeing what's possible if they tune out the noise and just do what they're supposed to.

Coming Tonight: I sometimes worry that when a flukey starter gets a multi-year deal, it won't come to fruition for whoever signs him, but the Angels have been pretty lucky with this one.

The Return of El Mago

 

The Tigers starting the season strong I could have called. The Tigers starting the season in first I might have called. The Tigers starting the season with one of the best records in the AL, I'd have seen that as a possibility. The Tigers starting the season as one of the top teams in the AL, led by a late-career Javier Baez performance? I'd have called you a bullshitter.

Javier Baez might have the strangest career of any 'star player' of the last several years. The first two years of his career, his MLB stats were so poor that Cubs fans were going 'oy, enough of this guy'. Then in 2016 he essentially usurps Ben Zobrist's role as 2nd baseman so Zo can spend more time in the outfield, by 2017 he's starting everyday at 2nd and by 2018 he's one of the biggest stars in the game. People, when dismissing Baez during his shit period in Detroit, were easy to say 'oh, he only had one good season anyway'. No, he had like 3. 2018, where he was inches away from an MVP, 2019, where he was slightly limited but still MVP caliber, and 2021, where he was killing it for the Cubs and not too bad for the Mets. It's just...once he got paid, the quality dropped, and the last two seasons he was maddeningly off. The Tigers fans were actively cheering for his injuries because that meant Jace Jung or Trey Sweeney could get starting time. 

And yet now that everyone stopped waiting for Javier Baez to be great at baseball...of course that's the moment he wakes up. And it lines up perfectly. The Tigers need a veteran hitter figure, centerfield opened up for him, they're already competitive. It couldn't have worked out better for him. Right now Baez is hitting .308 with 19 RBIs, 3 homers and a 1.7 WAR. Defensively he's a ton more comfortable in the outfield than he was at second. He's not striking out as often, he's fixed whatever was wrong with his swing and he's back to being an excellent contact bat. Baez is one of many Tigers who've spontaneously 'found it', alongside Spencer Torkelson, Zach McKinstry, Dillon Dingler and Gleyber Torres. Casey Mize I would also throw into this category, but he just got hurt.

The Tigers' overall success was something I was hoping would happen for a while, and I'm really happy that it's finally upon us. We have a Tigers lineup where Spencer Torkelson, Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter can all be relied upon for home runs. We have a rotation where Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize and Reese Olson can all keep runs down. The bullpen is still excellent, and Tommy Kahnle has made an excellent RP1. And right there in the middle is Javier Baez. This was the Tigers' long-game plan; it didn't happen immediately, but they were always building to it. And now that it's here, it's very exciting.

The Tigers, right now, have the strongest team in the division, though the Royals are slowly gaining thanks to an excellent week. We're now going to find out if this version of the Tigers has legs, and if they can truly outlast the competition. That'll be a fun development for sure.

Coming Tomorrow- His team just won 8 straight, and he's outrunning everybody on it.

Meyer Lemon

 

The prevailing theory when the Marlins lost Sandy Alcantara to a year-ending injury and then dropped out of the playoffs was 'well, once he comes back then the team will be good again'. We're currently witnessing evidence to the contrary.

It's not like the Marlins aren't a wealth of talent right now. A lot of the people playing badly are guys who have been very good, and have been put into an opportunity to continue to do well. It's just not happening. Sandy Alcantara, Edward Cabrera, Cal Quantrill and Connor Gillispie all have ERAs over 6 and negative WARs. Alcantara has an 8.42 ERA with 29 earned runs already, a far cry from his 2022 Cy Young season. The only competent starters at the moment [as Ryan Weathers and Eury Perez are still hurt] are Max Meyer, who's had terrible luck his last few starts and now has a 4.37 ERA, and Valente Bellozo, the ultimate low-K, keep-it-in-the-park craftsman. The point of someone like that is not to put that much weight on them. But, y'know, if Alcantara was actually pitching well then they wouldn't have to. I genuinely feel like Meyer, Cabrera and Alcantara could put together great seasons if circumstances are different, but there have been a lot of gutter balls, and a lot of teams that just light up the Marlins. 

The hitting might be just as snakebitten this year. Jesus Sanchez missed a ton of time and now arguably isn't at 100%, Otto Lopez had a great start then got hurt, Griffin Conine clicked in the majors then immediately needed major surgery, and both Nick Fortes and Connor Corby missed big chunks of April before helping out more recently. You can tell the situation's dire when losing Derek Hill qualifies as a big offensive hit. Statistically, the team's best hitter is former reserve outfielder Dane Myers, who's hitting .338 and has 14 RBIs and 6 steals. The team leader in home runs is Matt Mervis, and he's still not hitting for average. Javier Sanoja had one good series against Philly and hasn't done much else since.

You can at the very least see an offensive backbone growing, between Xavier Edwards, Dane Myers, Kyle Stowers and Agustin Ramirez, all of whom have been great this season. Ramirez is an excellent power bat with 4 homers already, and Stowers has 25 RBIs and a ton of wonderful clutch hits. Clearly there are competent hitters on this team, as evidenced by the team average being .248, a lot better than one would think. There's just a lot of mess, in the pitching, defense and contact. I was kind of hoping there'd be a Marlins team that didn't use as many replacement options in lieu of competent play, but this is apparently where they are still, and this is probably where they'll be for another year or so.

As fun as the Marlins are to talk about on the hitting side, I'm really worried that the pitching will make subsequent Marlins posts really dreary. And with Alcantara back I think that should have been avoided.

Coming Tonight: The comeback player absolutely no one was expecting.

Where Youth Overlaps

 

Here's what's fascinating about the Boston Red Sox. They're already a fairly young team. The only starter they had over 30 just got moved to the bullpen. They just solidified a core of people like Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela, all between 24 and 28. They're behaving how a rebuilding competitive team properly should, with homegrown stars running the place and contracted veterans [Crochet, Bregman, Story] stepping in to help. And yet while this already young core is working, there's another, more exciting young core developing underneath it.

Kristian Campbell, who's been the primary starter at 2nd, has been the first step of this. He, along with fellow Worcester hitters Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony, lit things up last year and commanded the attention of the organization. The Yanks had their own Baby Bombers take the lead several years ago, and now it's the Sox's turn to bring up theirs. Campbell has been pretty nice in his first season, hitting .274 with 14 RBIs and 3 homers. He's cooled down since early April but is still a nice part of this team, and is expected to only build over time. Mayer, blocked at SS by Trevor Story, is hitting .283 with 35 RBIs and 7 homers in Worcester, and Roman Anthony, blocked at all three outfield positions by surging major leaguers, is hitting .292 with 17 RBIs and 5 homers. Even if those guys are ready, with the Sox being good right now and having answers at multiple positions, they're not needed immediately.

Which does make things a little awkward.

The Rafael Devers thing has been a cloud over this season, and over the future of this youth movement. Devers has been asked, politely, by management to move over to 1st to cover for Triston Casas, missing substantial time for the second year in a row. The way this works, if Devers can play some games at 1st and show his range, then they can bring up Anthony or someone of that ilk to DH [or give it to Rob Refsnyder]. But Devers is still pissed they gave his position away to a free agent, and is now playing the 'well you told me I was done playing the field' card. I think he has a right to be a little salty, but at the end of the day he should think of the team before he thinks of himself. This is a team that could go for another ring, and he could still be a big part of it, but he thinks it needs to happen on his terms. That's not really a winning strategy. It's one thing if an organization keeps a top MLB-ready prospect in the minors to conserve MLB time, but here it's really just Devers keeping him there. This way, Romy Gonzalez has been stuck in at 1st, Devers is the everyday DH, and the youth movement doesn't progress. Luckily, the team's going so well that it doesn't completely need to, but if things continue at this pace and Devers remains this stubborn, it's gonna look very off.

The Sox are at .500, have lapped Toronto for second and have activated Lucas Giolito and Liam Hendricks, and are looking at holding onto a steady competitive spot in the AL. At this rate they should be fine, but it may not have to be as complicated as it currently is. And considering that Devers will be a Red Sock for another several years, hopefully he figures out an answer that doesn't kneecap his own team.

Coming Tomorrow- The closest thing the Marlins have to a good pitcher right now.

Handy Manny

 

Sometimes the best players are so good that they kind of sink into the background. Right now in San Diego, Fernando Tatis Jr. is having an MVP-caliber start, Jackson Merrill's killing it after an injury break, Michael King and Nick Pivetta are unstoppable on the mound and Robert Suarez leads the league in saves, and all the while Manny Machado is just there in the background hitting .300.

Manny Machado, this season, if he keeps up at this pace, will notch his 2000th hit and his 350th home run, and will cross the 60 career WAR threshold. It's not widely talked about, but Manny Machado certainly looks like a Hall of Famer after 14 years in the bigs. The man has given us 7 30+ homer seasons, 4 100+ RBI seasons and 4 6+ WAR seasons. And he will turn 33 in three months, meaning he still has a nice chunk of time to perform at the highest level. His contemporaries, like Miguel Cabrera, Albert Pujols and Mike Trout, had career drop-offs. Machado might be more similar to Adrian Beltre- there'll be a dip here and there but he'll just keep at it. Last season people were worried Machado was done really wowing people? He's not. This is classic pace for Machado right now. 12 doubles, 16 RBIs, 7 steals. Dude's killing it.

When the Padres signed Machado back in 2019 [has it really been that long??], they assumed he'd need to be the centerpiece of the team as it reformed, figuring Tatis would factor in somehow. And now, 6 years later, Machado is still an integral part of the team, but the team does not live and die with him like it does with Bryce Harper or Aaron Judge. This team has enough depth now that Tatis, Merrill, Arraez and, to a lesser extent, Xander Bogaerts can carry this team even if he can't. But he can, and as such the Padres' surge is even more fun to watch. Tatis and Machado have spent the last six years performing together in the lineup, and right now they're both excellent. Even if the end of the Seidler years discouraged Padres fans, the team's still competitive, and they're a game out of first.

That's the thing- the Padres and the Dodgers are close right now, and while the Dodgers have already seen a ton of setbacks and injuries, the Padres have honestly stayed pretty sturdy. There are guys who could be playing better, of course [Cease is just getting his mojo back, and Cronenworth had a wild night last night], but there's not a ton of missed opportunity thus far. Whereas the Dodgers once again have a rotation's worth of injured guys, and may have just lost Teoscar Hernandez for a bit. The Dodgers may have bought the better team, but right now the Padres have better luck, and could pull ahead for a bit. 

It'd be very cool if this Padres team made a run. Even after a very tense Yankees series, I still really like what I'm seeing from them. And if Machado's this good, you don't want to waste that.

Coming Tonight: The first of many rookies said to revolutionize the next decade of Red Sox baseball.