So here's a quick(er) rundown on Rounds 3-10 of the 2018 MLB Draft. Get the updated big picture details here.
Round 3 - 102nd pick: Jeremy Pena
Slot: $549,700
Pena is a 6'0" 179lb right-handed 21-year old shortstop from the University of Maine - Orono, where he hit .308/.393/.469 with 42K:27BB in his junior season and posted a .957 Fielding % and started every single game for the...Maines.
It's his defensive ability that shines at the moment. MLB.com's Draft Tracker:
Pena profiles as a solid to plus defender who can play shortstop at any level. He has good speed that leads to excellent range and possesses the strong arm and footwork necessary to excel at the demanding position. At the plate, Pena does have some strength and raw power, enough where some see 15 homers annually as a reasonable projection. But that's only if he makes enough consistent contact to reach that power...With his defensive profile, being able to unlock a more consistent bat could produce an everyday big league shortstop.
Pena was Baseball America's America East Pre-Season Player of the Year after having a good summer in the Cape Cod League and was the 193rd-ranked college prospect coming into the draft:
He established himself as a premium defensive shortstop with above-average speed. He his for more power than his 6-foot, 183-pound frame would suggest, but scouts are unsure how well that will play in pro ball.
Baseball America wrote last week, after naming him the top-ranked prospect in the state of Maine:
Offensively there's work to do, as evidenced by Pena's .228/.315/.323 slash line in 36 games last summer in the Cape Cod League, where he struck out 30 times to 14 walks with just three extra-base hits. He did make the Cape All-Star team in spite of that line, which speaks to Pena's defensive ability, which will also get him drafted in spite of a light bat with below-average power.
Maine's head coach Nick Derba:
I think he's the best defensive shortstop in the country. I played with nine major league shortstops and he's as good as any of them.
Maine's DH/C Jonathan Bennett:
He's one of the best shortstops I've ever played with. The only other one who was as good is Addison Russell.
Pena's AAU coach, back in 2014:
He has the smoothest hands, for his age, of any kid I've ever had. He makes the hard plays look easy. He reminds me of Xander Bogaerts. It's very rare you'll see him swing out of the zone. He's patient, has quick hands.
His father, Geronimo Pena, played in the Majors for seven seasons (Cardinals, 1990-1995; Indians, 1996), and hit .262/.345/.427 in 378 career games, a 110 OPS+.
Round 4 - 132nd pick: Alex McKenna
Slot: $410,400
Alex McKenna is a 6'2" 200lb 21-year old outfielder from Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo, where he hit .339/.424/.506 with 39K:27BB and 25 extra-base hits. McKenna also stole six of nine bases for CPSLO in 2018. He was named to Baseball America's 2018 Pre-Season All-America third team.
MLB.com's Draft Tracker:
McKenna's loudest tool is his bat, with an advanced approach and line-drive oriented swing. He does have good bat speed and some raw power to tap into, though he hasn't done so yet collegiately. Where the main divergence in opinion about McKenna is where he profiles defensively. Some feel he can stay in center long-term, which obviously improves his profile.
In the Cape Cod League last summer McKenna hit .298 and stole 15 of 22 bases.
McKenna was Baseball America's #2-ranked Big West Conference prospect and, like Pena, was BA's pre-season conference player of the year.
Cal Poly's head coach:
(McKenna) had a real good year for us, and his potential is still untapped. Now he has to develop into more of a power guy at the next level.
Round 5 - 162nd pick: Cody Deason
Slot: $306,100
Deason, a 6'4" 205lb 21-year old righty started his career at Arizona as a reliever, then swingman in his sophomore year. After a strong Cape Cod League showing he became Arizona's Friday night starter where he has three pitches: a 90-94mph fastball, a 79-83mph out pitch curve, and an average changeup. This season for the Wildcats Deason threw 91IP, 70H/29ER, 84K:37BB and held opponents to a .216 average, with only two home runs.
MLB.com's Draft Tracker:
Deason has proven he can handle starting and any team taking him will likely send him out in that role until he proves he can't handle it. His stuff will tick up in shorter relief stints, and some scouts do see him as a seventh or eighth inning set-up man when all is said and done.
Arizona head coach Jay Johnson:
I actually expected him to go way higher. I think he has all the makings of a major league pitcher, probably out of the bullpen because the velocity stays up in short stints.
Deason, who grew up a Dodgers fan, also had the best quote of the day:
As of about three hours ago, I am an Astros fan. That was heartbreaking to see last year (in the World Series). But now I look back on it and say, 'Wow, this is the greatest thing that's ever happened.'
Deason:
I feel like I should have gone earlier, but everything happens for a reason. I'm glad I got picked where I got picked. I'm just ready for the next step.
Round 6 - 192nd pick: R.J. Freure
Slot: $237,600
Freure is a 6'1" 210lb RHP out of Pitt, finishing up his sophomore season, and will be 21 in July. The Burlington, Ontario native appeared in relief in 26 of his 27 outings in 2017, throwing 58.2IP, 49H/28ER, 95K:35BB, with opponents hitting .227. In 96.2 career IP at Pitt, Freure struck out 141 batters.
Perfect Game:
While Freure has been used almost exclusively out of the bullpen this spring, his delivery isn't an up-tempo, high effort type often associated with power-armed relievers, and in fact he has just the opposite with a simple, balanced delivery that you'd be more likely to find in a starting arm.
Pitt head coach Joe Jordano:
In my opinion, RJ has a major league pitch in his breaking ball, and couple that with a mid- to upper-90s fastball, when he develops consistency and potential of a quality third pitch, he's a big league pitcher sooner than later.
Round 7 - 222nd pick: Cesar Salazar
Slot: $187,000
Also out of Arizona, the 5'9" 185lb Salazar was Deason's catcher, and also 2017 3rd Round pick JJ Mativejic's roommate last season. Salazar hit .339/.432/.471 in 189 ABs (53 games) for Arizona last season, with 26K:21BB.
Check out this story from 2016 about Salazar's path to the United States from Hermosillo, Mexico. Salazar:
Just work my butt off and overcome adversity. That's basically what my whole life has been based off.
Arizona head coach Jay Johnson, on Salazar's value:
Unquantifiablee. He just has a way of making everyone around him better. There may be more physically talented catchers around the country. I don't know if anybody means as much to their team as means to our team.
Round 8 - 252nd pick: Austin Hansen
Slot: $156,500
Hansen, a 6'0" 195lb righty reliever out of Oklahoma who will be 22 in August, threw 38.1IP for the (Boomer) Sooners, allowing 32H/14ER, 52K:15BB. Opponents hit .224 off of him. Given that Hansen had struck out 54 batters in his previous two seasons combined (60.1IP), 2018 was a marked improvement.
MLB.com's Draft Tracker:
Hansen's fastball reaches 96mph, but the velocity tends to fade fast as gets deeper into a start. But the right-hander has a good changeup and an improving hybrid pitch - a slurve - with a quick arm.
Round 9 - 282nd pick: Scott Schreiber
Slot: $144,100
Schreiber is a 22-year old 6'3" 230lb righty outfielder from the University of Nebraska. Interesting that the Astros drafted him as an outfielder, considering Schreiber was Nebraska's 1B. Tampa Bay drafted Schreiber in the 26th Round last year by Tampa Bay, but he returned for his senior season and hit .369/.446/.692 with 48K:28BB in 52 games.
Schreiber led the Big Ten in runs scored (62), tied for first in hits (79), second in home runs (18) and total bases (148) and his .369 average was 6th. He was Wisconsin's Gatorade Player of the Year as a high-school junior and an all-state QB. He's one of 25 semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award.
For his career as a Husker, Schreiber hit .332/.392/.555 with 37 home runs.
Round 10 - 312th pick: Chandler Taylor
Slot: $136,800
A 6'1" 210lb 22-year old junior out of the University of Alabama, the lefty-hitting left fielder hit just .223, but with a .373 OBP and a .512 SLG, thanks to a team-high 13 home runs. He struck out 54 times in 166 ABs, with 38 walks. He missed six games during the season due to an oblique injury, and was suspended for the first three games of the season due to an unspecified violation of team rules. Could be that he just didn't have all that long to find a groove.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
Showing posts with label 2018 Draft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2018 Draft. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 5, 2018
2-66: Jayson Schroeder
With their 2nd Round pick of the draft, #66 pick overall, the Astros selected 6'2" 205lb RHP Jayson Schroeder out of Juanita High School in Kirkland, Washington. The slot value for the 2-66 pick is $965,300. He has committed to the University of Washington.
In his senior season with Juanita, Schroeder threw 60.1IP, 29H/13ER, 110K:19BB.
*Baseball America listed Schroeder as their #1 prospect in the Northwest. BA:
This spring, Schroeder has picked up right where he left off, regularly sitting 92-93mph with a fastball that includes both power and sink. He has also shown a second breaking ball this spring in a slider, and while both of his secondary offerings are currently fringe-average, many scouts think both could turn into plus pitches down the line thanks to his arm speed and feel for spin. Given his arm slot and strength, a power slider seems to be the pitch most evaluators are banking on as his future go-to offering.
*Juanita HS head coach Brian Shannon:
He's built like he could play Division I college football. A very physical kid, and it shows with his velocity: 92-93 most of the time, was up to 95 this year. Very athletic kid. He runs really well. I think he repeats his delivery very well, and he'll have success.
Chandler Rome notes that Shannon threw a 17-strikeout perfect game earlier this season against a division opponent who made the playoffs.
*Schroeder told the Seattle Times, who named him as their Player of the Year
I love pitching. It's the one sport where you can pretty much dominate the game for your team, and the game doesn't start until you throw the ball. I like having all the control.
Mercer Island coach Dominic Woody:
His stuff - velocity, movement, breaking ball - those things speak for themselves. But usually when guys throw as hard and physical as Jayson does with his stuff, they really aren't as refined as he is. It's his command that I've been really impressed with. He looks like a Friday-night, Pac-12, front-line starter to me.
*An unnamed cross-checker:
If he wants to sign and shows that to the club that ultimately takes him, he'll probably go in the 3rd-round range somewhere. The book on him is he's a smart kid, a smart player and he may thrive in the Pac-12 and come back in a few years as a Top 50 player. But I'd prefer to get him (into pro ball) now.
A guy named Joel Latta:
The 6'2" 200lb right-hander makes pitching look effortless with a 3/4 arm slot, fluid arm action, minimal lower half effort, and it results in a sharp, downhill delivery. Working from the third-base side of the rubber, Schroeder does a good job of using his drive leg to launch into his delivery and had no issue repeating it all in this outing.
In his senior season with Juanita, Schroeder threw 60.1IP, 29H/13ER, 110K:19BB.
*Baseball America listed Schroeder as their #1 prospect in the Northwest. BA:
This spring, Schroeder has picked up right where he left off, regularly sitting 92-93mph with a fastball that includes both power and sink. He has also shown a second breaking ball this spring in a slider, and while both of his secondary offerings are currently fringe-average, many scouts think both could turn into plus pitches down the line thanks to his arm speed and feel for spin. Given his arm slot and strength, a power slider seems to be the pitch most evaluators are banking on as his future go-to offering.
*Juanita HS head coach Brian Shannon:
He's built like he could play Division I college football. A very physical kid, and it shows with his velocity: 92-93 most of the time, was up to 95 this year. Very athletic kid. He runs really well. I think he repeats his delivery very well, and he'll have success.
Chandler Rome notes that Shannon threw a 17-strikeout perfect game earlier this season against a division opponent who made the playoffs.
*Schroeder told the Seattle Times, who named him as their Player of the Year
I love pitching. It's the one sport where you can pretty much dominate the game for your team, and the game doesn't start until you throw the ball. I like having all the control.
Mercer Island coach Dominic Woody:
His stuff - velocity, movement, breaking ball - those things speak for themselves. But usually when guys throw as hard and physical as Jayson does with his stuff, they really aren't as refined as he is. It's his command that I've been really impressed with. He looks like a Friday-night, Pac-12, front-line starter to me.
*An unnamed cross-checker:
If he wants to sign and shows that to the club that ultimately takes him, he'll probably go in the 3rd-round range somewhere. The book on him is he's a smart kid, a smart player and he may thrive in the Pac-12 and come back in a few years as a Top 50 player. But I'd prefer to get him (into pro ball) now.
A guy named Joel Latta:
The 6'2" 200lb right-hander makes pitching look effortless with a 3/4 arm slot, fluid arm action, minimal lower half effort, and it results in a sharp, downhill delivery. Working from the third-base side of the rubber, Schroeder does a good job of using his drive leg to launch into his delivery and had no issue repeating it all in this outing.
Schroeder has a smooth delivery, and doesn't put added pressure on the arm. pic.twitter.com/85wtmPKDPi— Joel Latta (@joel_latta) April 22, 2018
Monday, June 4, 2018
1-28: Seth Beer
With their first pick in the 2018 MLB draft, the Houston Astros selected lefty-hitting/righty-throwing 21-year old Junior Clemson OF/1B Seth Beer. The slot value for the 28th overall pick is $2,399,400
Beer's freshman year: .369/.535/700, 18 HR, 27K:62BB. He won the Dick Howser Award, which honors the best college player of the year - and he was the first freshman to ever win the award.
Sophomore year: .298/.476/.606, 16HR, 35K:63BB.
Junior year: .316/.471/.656, 20HR, 31K:52BB.
He had a career 1.137 OPS at Clemson.
*John Sickels gave him a 70 on the 20-80 scouting scale for power and notes that Perfect Game said Beer got pitched in college similarly to the way Barry Bonds was pitched at the peak of his career. Sickels, on Beer's potential problems:
A more significant problem is defense. Beer looks pretty athletic visually and has a competitive swimming background, but for whatever reason his athleticism doesn't translate on the baseball diamond. His running speed is well below average. His arm isn't a noodle but isn't strong, either, call it mediocreish fringy. His instincts at both the outfield and first base appear, well, non-instinctive, meaning he lacks range and refinement.
Watch this homerun:
Beer:
It means everything. Obviously, Houston the past couple of years has been on the come up and to get the call from the World Series champs is just an incredible opportunity and I'm so excited.
*MLB.com's analysis calls Beer "the most polarizing player in the first round" in that he has struggled with wooden bats and is really limited to 1B.
*Jake Kaplan talked to Mike Elias, who said Beer is profiled for 1B or corner OF, but:
Certainly once we get him into our minor league system, his work with our coaches & the construction of our roster as he approaches the big league level will determine where he ends up.
*Check this article on how Twitter and Ken Griffey, Jr. helped Beer get his home run swing back.
Beer's freshman year: .369/.535/700, 18 HR, 27K:62BB. He won the Dick Howser Award, which honors the best college player of the year - and he was the first freshman to ever win the award.
Sophomore year: .298/.476/.606, 16HR, 35K:63BB.
Junior year: .316/.471/.656, 20HR, 31K:52BB.
He had a career 1.137 OPS at Clemson.
*John Sickels gave him a 70 on the 20-80 scouting scale for power and notes that Perfect Game said Beer got pitched in college similarly to the way Barry Bonds was pitched at the peak of his career. Sickels, on Beer's potential problems:
A more significant problem is defense. Beer looks pretty athletic visually and has a competitive swimming background, but for whatever reason his athleticism doesn't translate on the baseball diamond. His running speed is well below average. His arm isn't a noodle but isn't strong, either, call it mediocreish fringy. His instincts at both the outfield and first base appear, well, non-instinctive, meaning he lacks range and refinement.
Watch this homerun:
Seth Beer: "It's crazy to think about the team that won the whole thing picked me."— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) June 5, 2018
The Moment your name is called and you get to hug Mom &Dad. Seth Beer Everyone!!! Well done @astros IMO you got the best pure hitter in the #2018mlbdraft pic.twitter.com/SHWV1WAru3— Paul Byrd (@PaulByrd36) June 5, 2018
Beer:
It means everything. Obviously, Houston the past couple of years has been on the come up and to get the call from the World Series champs is just an incredible opportunity and I'm so excited.
*MLB.com's analysis calls Beer "the most polarizing player in the first round" in that he has struggled with wooden bats and is really limited to 1B.
*Jake Kaplan talked to Mike Elias, who said Beer is profiled for 1B or corner OF, but:
Certainly once we get him into our minor league system, his work with our coaches & the construction of our roster as he approaches the big league level will determine where he ends up.
*Check this article on how Twitter and Ken Griffey, Jr. helped Beer get his home run swing back.
Saturday, June 2, 2018
Saturday Morning Hot Links
The Astros never trailed against the Red Sox and cruised to a 7-3 victory. The Astros are 37-22 and improve to 18-11 at home. They've already won more games in June than they did in all of May. Houston is 8-1 in their last nine home games.
*George Springer was 3x4 with a walk and his 12th home run of the season. Correa hit his 10th home run of the season and Gattis hit his 8th home run of the season. So this was the 7th 3+ HR game of Houston's season. Hinch on Springer:
He's an energy provider for us.
*It was the 19th time the Astros scored at least seven runs. They're 16-3 in those games.
*Gerrit Cole: 7IP, 5H/3ER, 7K:2BB, 2HR. He has allowed a home run in four straight starts, but has allowed 3ER or less in all 12 of his starts this season. He had a similar streak in 13 starts from April 13-June 18, 2015. Hinch, on Cole:
He's really good at finishing his outing. I mean, 100 (mph) a couple of times in a row at the end of his game. When he knows he's about to be done and the game is close and he needs to dial it up, he's proven time and time again he can do it. He was very impressive.
Cole's 100.7mph pitch in the 7th was the fastest pitch he's thrown since May 16, 2015.
*Chris Devenski threw a scoreless 8th inning, dropping his ERA to 1.99.
*The Astros made Chris Sale throw 100 pitches in 6IP (6H/4ER, 6K:1BB). Sale's last two starts (Astros, Braves): 10.1IP, 11H/10ER, 14K:4BB. His 34 pitches in the 1st inning marked his first 30+ pitch inning of the season.
*The Astros were 3x8 w/RISP - both of Gurriel's hits came w/RISP.
*Correa and Gattis hit their home runs in the 8th off of Joe Kelly, who had not allowed a home run in his 25 outings before last night. Kelly's previous eight games: 7.2IP, 0H/0ER, 6K:2BB.
*On May 7 Evan Gattis was hitting .187/.260/.275. He had six extra-base hits: five doubles and a single home run. Since, however, he's hitting .316/.379/.737 with ten extra-base hits (three doubles and seven homers). Mike Foltynewicz threw a complete game, 2-hit shutout with 11Ks last night. So the trade is officially a draw.
*Jake Marisnick was 2x4 with 0 strikeouts, and has gone 7 PAs without a K.
*The Astros hit one million fans in their 29th home game. Baseball-Reference has Houston's attendance at 1,027,912. In 2013 their total attendance in 81 games was 1,651,883.
*Two good Jake Kaplan pieces for you to read:
a) A Q&A with Assistant GM Mike Elias on the upcoming draft
b) A look at how the Astros overhauled their scouting department
One more from The Athletic: How two 23-year old first-year employees helped the Mariners pull off the Colome trade.
*So Josh Reddick's "mysterious leg infection" that was thought to be maybe a spider bite has actually turned out to be a staph infection. Hinch has already said Reddick won't play against the Red Sox, but Reddick:
If all this goes well, we can look at something next week. Hopefully with the two-game set coming in and some off days, we can work some stuff in to where I can come back and get a few breaks as well. It's not like we're just coming back and throwing me into the fire.
*Alex Cora has brought Houston's playing style to Boston (see: Betts, Mookie hitting from the leadoff spot.) The Red Sox scare me more than the Yankees do.
*MinorLeagueBall has a really good look at what this Houston-Boston series actually means.
*Here are The Ringer's Two-Month Power Rankings. On the Astros at #2 (behind the Red Sox):
Marwin Gonzalez's struggles and a couple of noisy bullpen implosions feel like the Matrix correcting for an anomaly - if the Astros were really 42-15, we'd start to suspect our world was a simulation, so they needed to hit a couple of banana peels to dampen suspicion.
*Jon Heyman suggests the Astros trade David Paulino and J.D. Davis to the Royals for closer Kelvin Herrera and Jon Jay. The 28-year old Herrera has thrown 21.2IP, 16H/2ER, 18K:0BB for Kansas City this year. He has a 0.83 ERA, a 2.06 FIP, and a 3.33 xFIP.
*Derek Fisher hit for the cycle in a 5x5 night last night for Fresno. Grizzlies manager Rodney Linares:
Last night was the big test. He was scheduled to get five at-bats and in the ninth we were facing a lefty, and he said, 'I can hit lefties, you know.' And he saw some questionable pitches and ended up getting called out. But tonight, he ended up getting the cycle with a home run off a lefty and he hit the ball on the screws. He's strong as an ox.
*Oh hey whaddayaknow the Mariners won another 1-run game on a walkoff in extras. It's their 5th walkoff win of the season, and they're 17-9 in 1-run games (the Astros are 4-11). Seattle is 6-0 in extra inning games (the Astros are 1-4).
*
*Out of 488 MLB hitters, Rougned Odor ranks 484th with -1.2 fWAR (Pujols is 488th) since the beginning of the 2017 season, "hitting" .206/.253/.385 with a 59 wRC+.
*OU (Boomer) QB Kyler Murray will have an interesting summer.
*Leeds United (my favorite soccer team) fired manager and so-typically-British-named Paul Heckingbottom. Argentina's former manager Marco Bielsa has been linked to the job. A list of Leeds United managers since the beginning of the 2014 season with the number of games they lasted:
Dave Hockaday (6)
Neil Redfearn (4)
Darko Milanic (6)
Neil Redfeard (33)
Uwe Rosler (12)
Steve Evans (38)
Garry Monk (53)
Thomas Christiansen (33)
Paul Heckingbottom (13)
*Top-10 Band Alert: Centro-Matic. Will Johnson is a buddy of mine, but I loved Centro-Matic before that happened. Start off listening to the Candidate Waltz, and this song:
*George Springer was 3x4 with a walk and his 12th home run of the season. Correa hit his 10th home run of the season and Gattis hit his 8th home run of the season. So this was the 7th 3+ HR game of Houston's season. Hinch on Springer:
He's an energy provider for us.
*It was the 19th time the Astros scored at least seven runs. They're 16-3 in those games.
*Gerrit Cole: 7IP, 5H/3ER, 7K:2BB, 2HR. He has allowed a home run in four straight starts, but has allowed 3ER or less in all 12 of his starts this season. He had a similar streak in 13 starts from April 13-June 18, 2015. Hinch, on Cole:
He's really good at finishing his outing. I mean, 100 (mph) a couple of times in a row at the end of his game. When he knows he's about to be done and the game is close and he needs to dial it up, he's proven time and time again he can do it. He was very impressive.
Cole's 100.7mph pitch in the 7th was the fastest pitch he's thrown since May 16, 2015.
*Chris Devenski threw a scoreless 8th inning, dropping his ERA to 1.99.
*The Astros made Chris Sale throw 100 pitches in 6IP (6H/4ER, 6K:1BB). Sale's last two starts (Astros, Braves): 10.1IP, 11H/10ER, 14K:4BB. His 34 pitches in the 1st inning marked his first 30+ pitch inning of the season.
*The Astros were 3x8 w/RISP - both of Gurriel's hits came w/RISP.
*Correa and Gattis hit their home runs in the 8th off of Joe Kelly, who had not allowed a home run in his 25 outings before last night. Kelly's previous eight games: 7.2IP, 0H/0ER, 6K:2BB.
*On May 7 Evan Gattis was hitting .187/.260/.275. He had six extra-base hits: five doubles and a single home run. Since, however, he's hitting .316/.379/.737 with ten extra-base hits (three doubles and seven homers). Mike Foltynewicz threw a complete game, 2-hit shutout with 11Ks last night. So the trade is officially a draw.
*Jake Marisnick was 2x4 with 0 strikeouts, and has gone 7 PAs without a K.
*The Astros hit one million fans in their 29th home game. Baseball-Reference has Houston's attendance at 1,027,912. In 2013 their total attendance in 81 games was 1,651,883.
*Two good Jake Kaplan pieces for you to read:
a) A Q&A with Assistant GM Mike Elias on the upcoming draft
b) A look at how the Astros overhauled their scouting department
One more from The Athletic: How two 23-year old first-year employees helped the Mariners pull off the Colome trade.
*So Josh Reddick's "mysterious leg infection" that was thought to be maybe a spider bite has actually turned out to be a staph infection. Hinch has already said Reddick won't play against the Red Sox, but Reddick:
If all this goes well, we can look at something next week. Hopefully with the two-game set coming in and some off days, we can work some stuff in to where I can come back and get a few breaks as well. It's not like we're just coming back and throwing me into the fire.
*Alex Cora has brought Houston's playing style to Boston (see: Betts, Mookie hitting from the leadoff spot.) The Red Sox scare me more than the Yankees do.
*MinorLeagueBall has a really good look at what this Houston-Boston series actually means.
*Here are The Ringer's Two-Month Power Rankings. On the Astros at #2 (behind the Red Sox):
Marwin Gonzalez's struggles and a couple of noisy bullpen implosions feel like the Matrix correcting for an anomaly - if the Astros were really 42-15, we'd start to suspect our world was a simulation, so they needed to hit a couple of banana peels to dampen suspicion.
*Jon Heyman suggests the Astros trade David Paulino and J.D. Davis to the Royals for closer Kelvin Herrera and Jon Jay. The 28-year old Herrera has thrown 21.2IP, 16H/2ER, 18K:0BB for Kansas City this year. He has a 0.83 ERA, a 2.06 FIP, and a 3.33 xFIP.
*Derek Fisher hit for the cycle in a 5x5 night last night for Fresno. Grizzlies manager Rodney Linares:
Last night was the big test. He was scheduled to get five at-bats and in the ninth we were facing a lefty, and he said, 'I can hit lefties, you know.' And he saw some questionable pitches and ended up getting called out. But tonight, he ended up getting the cycle with a home run off a lefty and he hit the ball on the screws. He's strong as an ox.
*Oh hey whaddayaknow the Mariners won another 1-run game on a walkoff in extras. It's their 5th walkoff win of the season, and they're 17-9 in 1-run games (the Astros are 4-11). Seattle is 6-0 in extra inning games (the Astros are 1-4).
*
After suffering a brain hemorrhage just six weeks ago, Danny Farquhar returned to the mound tonight and threw out the ceremonial first pitch. pic.twitter.com/LYTEmwlnmz— MLB (@MLB) June 2, 2018
*Out of 488 MLB hitters, Rougned Odor ranks 484th with -1.2 fWAR (Pujols is 488th) since the beginning of the 2017 season, "hitting" .206/.253/.385 with a 59 wRC+.
*OU (Boomer) QB Kyler Murray will have an interesting summer.
*Leeds United (my favorite soccer team) fired manager and so-typically-British-named Paul Heckingbottom. Argentina's former manager Marco Bielsa has been linked to the job. A list of Leeds United managers since the beginning of the 2014 season with the number of games they lasted:
Dave Hockaday (6)
Neil Redfearn (4)
Darko Milanic (6)
Neil Redfeard (33)
Uwe Rosler (12)
Steve Evans (38)
Garry Monk (53)
Thomas Christiansen (33)
Paul Heckingbottom (13)
*Top-10 Band Alert: Centro-Matic. Will Johnson is a buddy of mine, but I loved Centro-Matic before that happened. Start off listening to the Candidate Waltz, and this song:
Monday, May 28, 2018
Monday Morning Hot Links
2017: Memorial Day Miracle
2018: Memorial Day Meltdown
That was the dumbest game I can recall in quite some time. Up 8-3 in the 9th inning, the Astros' win expectancy was at 99.3%. Here's how the 9th inning went down for Giles, Harris, and Rondon:
Double, single, single, strikeout, single, single, line out, single, single, line out. Five runs on seven hits - one for extra-bases.
*It was the Astros' first loss when leading in the 9th inning by 5+ runs since July 28, 2001. The Astros would go on to win the World Series in 2017.
*The Astros are 34-20. Seattle won, again, and are just one game back.
*All five of the 2017 AL playoff teams and four of the five NL playoff teams had the best records in their respective leagues going into Memorial Day. The Cubs were 1.5 games back of the Brewers for the 5th-best record in the NL on Memorial Day 2017.
1968 Watch
Runs allowed through 54 games:
1968 Indians: 132
2018 Astros: 148
*Terry Francona pointed to Jose Ramirez's lead-off double in the 9th against Giles, which came on the 17th pitch of the at-bat, as the turning point:
It changed the whole inning because they ended up having to go to the bullpen just because of the pitch count. There was a lot of things that happened that were incredible, or we don't win.
Hinch:
Obviously it creates some energy in their dugout, because it's a big at-bat. It's so rare to have an at-bat go that long, it also takes our closer out of the game. It's hard to run him up to 30 or 35 pitches. It completely changed the complexion of that inning.
*Bauer, who was in line for the L before the Law Offices of Giles, Harris, and Rondon crapped the bed:
It was kind of like old times in the sense that at UCLA he would pitch Friday and then I would go and try to one-up him...I think it turned out the best way possible. I don't think he deserved to lose. I don't think I deserved to lose. We both pitched great, both were super competitive, just a fun matchup for everybody involved.
Seriously, does Bauer ever stop talking?
*The meltdown obscured - or at least dampened - Jose Altuve's 10 PA hitting streak, a franchise record set by Jose Altuve in June 2017.
*Francisco Lindor was 1x16 in the series going into the 9th inning, when he knocked in the game-tying run.
*A.J. Hinch got tossed by home plate umpire Tony Randazzo. Hinch:
But honestly, I felt like he was a little too engaged with our dugout and not worried about what was going on on the field. I told him that, he didn't really like that, and he had a little short temper, and I ended up coming out of the game. It was a disagreement about where his attention should be, and it certainly shouldn't be in the dugout.
And because umpires get to live a life without things like accountability, Randazzo didn't have to give any explanation.
Will Harris was not happy in the 9th inning:
*Aaron Boone looks at the series beginning today as a measuring stick for the Yankees:
We look forward to that challenge. We look forward to playing in those kinds of games and I look forward in seeing our guys go out there and hopefully doing what we've done most of the year and that's at least making it very tough on those opposing starters.
All over the place on verb tense, aren't we, Boonie?
*Josh Reddick: Still out with that "leg infection." Hinch:
He's still not doing any activity and the longer that he does that, the more time we're going to need to get him back into baseball. I expect it to extend a little bit further than the 10-Day DL and we'll have to see how long it goes past that.
*The 2018 MLB Draft is in a week, and the Astros will have the 1-28, 2-66, and 3-102 picks. Dumb LOSENOW couldn't find a way to win the World Series AND have a top-5 pick? Team deserves to get hacked by the cheatin-ass Cardinals. In his latest Mock Draft Jim Callis has the Astros picking Chicago-area high school outfielder Alek Thomas.
*Buies Creek (28-22) beat Lynchburg 1-0 yesterday. Brandon Bielak (5IP, 2H/0ER, 6K:0BB) and Hector Perez (4IP, 0H/0ER, 3K:2BB) combined for the complete game shutout.
2018: Memorial Day Meltdown
That was the dumbest game I can recall in quite some time. Up 8-3 in the 9th inning, the Astros' win expectancy was at 99.3%. Here's how the 9th inning went down for Giles, Harris, and Rondon:
Double, single, single, strikeout, single, single, line out, single, single, line out. Five runs on seven hits - one for extra-bases.
*It was the Astros' first loss when leading in the 9th inning by 5+ runs since July 28, 2001. The Astros would go on to win the World Series in 2017.
*The Astros are 34-20. Seattle won, again, and are just one game back.
*All five of the 2017 AL playoff teams and four of the five NL playoff teams had the best records in their respective leagues going into Memorial Day. The Cubs were 1.5 games back of the Brewers for the 5th-best record in the NL on Memorial Day 2017.
1968 Watch
Runs allowed through 54 games:
1968 Indians: 132
2018 Astros: 148
*Terry Francona pointed to Jose Ramirez's lead-off double in the 9th against Giles, which came on the 17th pitch of the at-bat, as the turning point:
It changed the whole inning because they ended up having to go to the bullpen just because of the pitch count. There was a lot of things that happened that were incredible, or we don't win.
Hinch:
Obviously it creates some energy in their dugout, because it's a big at-bat. It's so rare to have an at-bat go that long, it also takes our closer out of the game. It's hard to run him up to 30 or 35 pitches. It completely changed the complexion of that inning.
*Bauer, who was in line for the L before the Law Offices of Giles, Harris, and Rondon crapped the bed:
It was kind of like old times in the sense that at UCLA he would pitch Friday and then I would go and try to one-up him...I think it turned out the best way possible. I don't think he deserved to lose. I don't think I deserved to lose. We both pitched great, both were super competitive, just a fun matchup for everybody involved.
Seriously, does Bauer ever stop talking?
*The meltdown obscured - or at least dampened - Jose Altuve's 10 PA hitting streak, a franchise record set by Jose Altuve in June 2017.
*Francisco Lindor was 1x16 in the series going into the 9th inning, when he knocked in the game-tying run.
*A.J. Hinch got tossed by home plate umpire Tony Randazzo. Hinch:
But honestly, I felt like he was a little too engaged with our dugout and not worried about what was going on on the field. I told him that, he didn't really like that, and he had a little short temper, and I ended up coming out of the game. It was a disagreement about where his attention should be, and it certainly shouldn't be in the dugout.
And because umpires get to live a life without things like accountability, Randazzo didn't have to give any explanation.
Will Harris was not happy in the 9th inning:
Will Harris was not thrilled Tony Randazzo's 0-2 call during his at-bat against Jason Kipnis. It's No. 3 here— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) May 27, 2018
“I struck him out on the pitch before and didn’t get the call, threw a fastball in the strike zone," Harris said, when asked about Kipnis' hit, which came a pitch later pic.twitter.com/KXhMoPGEZD
Video of A.J. Hinch's ejection. Looked and sounded like Tony Randazzo told him "don't tell me where to look." https://t.co/KwJ8OXw0eI— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) May 27, 2018
*Aaron Boone looks at the series beginning today as a measuring stick for the Yankees:
We look forward to that challenge. We look forward to playing in those kinds of games and I look forward in seeing our guys go out there and hopefully doing what we've done most of the year and that's at least making it very tough on those opposing starters.
All over the place on verb tense, aren't we, Boonie?
*Josh Reddick: Still out with that "leg infection." Hinch:
He's still not doing any activity and the longer that he does that, the more time we're going to need to get him back into baseball. I expect it to extend a little bit further than the 10-Day DL and we'll have to see how long it goes past that.
*The 2018 MLB Draft is in a week, and the Astros will have the 1-28, 2-66, and 3-102 picks. Dumb LOSENOW couldn't find a way to win the World Series AND have a top-5 pick? Team deserves to get hacked by the cheatin-ass Cardinals. In his latest Mock Draft Jim Callis has the Astros picking Chicago-area high school outfielder Alek Thomas.
*Buies Creek (28-22) beat Lynchburg 1-0 yesterday. Brandon Bielak (5IP, 2H/0ER, 6K:0BB) and Hector Perez (4IP, 0H/0ER, 3K:2BB) combined for the complete game shutout.
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