2018 MLB Season

[weezie]

Twitter.

Well, thar she tweets...

[Blue in the Face]

Kind of convenient for the M's that he's out for an extended period of time with a broken finger. There was some connection between Cano and biogenesis that never led to anything concrete, but had plenty of people suspicious of him, and there were rumors here that it influenced the Yankees in not matching Seattle's offer when he hit FA (though their offer was plenty rich, and Seattle's seemed foolish to me regardless of PED concerns).

[rasputin]

Kind of convenient for the M's that he's out for an extended period of time with a broken finger. There was some connection between Cano and biogenesis that never led to anything concrete, but had plenty of people suspicious of him, and there were rumors here that it influenced the Yankees in not matching Seattle's offer when he hit FA (though their offer was plenty rich, and Seattle's seemed foolish to me regardless of PED concerns).

I had originally posted, incorrectly, that the DL stint doesn't count toward the 80; it does count. But he does, of course, lose his salary.

[Blue in the Face]

The Nationals are calling up Juan Soto, a 19 year old outfielder who started the season in single A and had only even gotten 8 games at AA. He rocketed up through the prospect rankings this spring, and will become the youngest player in MLB (he'll be just older than Bryce Harper was in his debut, and a bit younger than Mike Trout was). Soto's minor league numbers are rather ridiculous - across his three seasons from rookie to AA, he's posted .362/.434/.609. So far this year, he was putting up a 1.300 ops at A ball before getting promoted to high A, where he put up a 1.256. He did have a bit of a rough adjustment in his AA cup of coffee, plummeting to a .981 ops. It'll be interesting to see how he does.

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/2...-old-juan-soto

[JBDuke]

The Nationals are calling up Juan Soto, a 19 year old outfielder who started the season in single A and had only even gotten 8 games at AA. He rocketed up through the prospect rankings this spring, and will become the youngest player in MLB (he'll be just older than Bryce Harper was in his debut, and a bit younger than Mike Trout was). Soto's minor league numbers are rather ridiculous - across his three seasons from rookie to AA, he's posted .362/.434/.609. So far this year, he was putting up a 1.300 ops at A ball before getting promoted to high A, where he put up a 1.256. He did have a bit of a rough adjustment in his AA cup of coffee, plummeting to a .981 ops. It'll be interesting to see how he does.

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/2...-old-juan-soto

This promotion is premature, but the Nationals are in a pretty desperate spot for outfield help. Adam Eaton (starter in LF), Brian Goodwin (4th outfielder), Victor Robles (top OF prospect in minors), Rafael Bautista (AAA OF that has had a couple of stints in the majors), and now Howie Kendrick (bench player backing up at 2B and LF) are all on the DL. They've already called up a couple of other AAA players - Stevenson and Sierra - and they can use Matt Adams or Mark Reynolds out there in a pinch, but they still needed a fifth bench player, and the offense could use a shot in the arm. So, Soto gets his first chance to make an impression.

BTW, he struck out in a pinch hitting appearance today, but expect to see him in the lineup as soon as tomorrow night vs. the Padres.

The Nationals are definitely struggling for offensive consistency. With Eaton, Murphy, and Wieters out, they're still missing 3 of their projected 8 regulars. Eaton is likely out for another six weeks or more. Wieters is likely out for at least 6-8 weeks with his hamstring issue. Murphy is supposed to be finally getting into rehab game action at "extended spring training" down in Florida. Here's hoping he'll be back with the big club in another week or two.

In the meantime, if Soto can give them a jump start, it will be welcome.

[JBDuke]

The Nationals are calling up Juan Soto, a 19 year old outfielder who started the season in single A and had only even gotten 8 games at AA. He rocketed up through the prospect rankings this spring, and will become the youngest player in MLB (he'll be just older than Bryce Harper was in his debut, and a bit younger than Mike Trout was). Soto's minor league numbers are rather ridiculous - across his three seasons from rookie to AA, he's posted .362/.434/.609. So far this year, he was putting up a 1.300 ops at A ball before getting promoted to high A, where he put up a 1.256. He did have a bit of a rough adjustment in his AA cup of coffee, plummeting to a .981 ops. It'll be interesting to see how he does.

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/2...-old-juan-soto

...BTW, he struck out in a pinch hitting appearance today, but expect to see him in the lineup as soon as tomorrow night vs. the Padres.
...
In the meantime, if Soto can give them a jump start, it will be welcome.

Soto indeed started tonight and homered in his first at-bat as a starter. 422 feet to the opposite field! There were questions on the broadcast tonight about if any other 19 year olds had homered in their first or second at bat. Harper took a few games. Mantle homered in his 13th game. The research continues...

[Blue in the Face]

Soto indeed started tonight and homered in his first at-bat as a starter. 422 feet to the opposite field! There were questions on the broadcast tonight about if any other 19 year olds had homered in their first or second at bat. Harper took a few games. Mantle homered in his 13th game. The research continues...

Jurickson Profar was 19 (and actually younger than Soto) when he debuted with a HR.

[jimsumner]

Wow, this thread has gone on life support.

In an attempt to jump start it.

The Yankees announced today that Jordan Montgomery will have TJ surgery and be out 12-15 months.

I can't imagine the Yanks are going to keep sending Domingo German out for his regular bashing much longer.

So,look for them to become very aggressive in pursuing starting pitching. Cole Hamels? Michael Fulmer? Bring up Sheffield or Adams from the minors? Give Adam Warren a shot? Other options?

[weezie]

Outside of the Rally Goose and some scrappy play in Detroit, and the rise of young Nick Castellanos, it's been some Duke baseball for this summer Tiger.

[Blue in the Face]

Ohtani to the DL with a grade 2 UCL strain. He'll be re-evaluated in 3 weeks. It's a shame to see a great season put on hold, but it opens things up in the ROY race a bit. Could have some impact on the wildcard race as well.

https://www.mlb.com/news/shohei-ohta...in/c-280336150

[Blue in the Face]

Soto indeed started tonight and homered in his first at-bat as a starter. 422 feet to the opposite field! There were questions on the broadcast tonight about if any other 19 year olds had homered in their first or second at bat. Harper took a few games. Mantle homered in his 13th game. The research continues...

Soto's rookie campaign has been awfully impressive, but today he did something truly special. Not content to homer in his first at-bat as a starter, he just homered in a game that took place before his major league debut. Thanks to the way baseball treats suspended games, the 2-run shot Soto just hit off the Yankees in a resumed game will officially have taken place on the game's original date, May 15, a week before Soto was first placed on an mlb roster.

Rumors that Soto will drive home from the ballpark in a DeLorean are, at the time of this posting, unconfirmed.

https://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2018/6/...suspended-game

[CrazyNotCrazie]

Soto's rookie campaign has been awfully impressive, but today he did something truly special. Not content to homer in his first at-bat as a starter, he just homered in a game that took place before his major league debut. Thanks to the way baseball treats suspended games, the 2-run shot Soto just hit off the Yankees in a resumed game will officially have taken place on the game's original date, May 15, a week before Soto was first placed on an mlb roster.

Rumors that Soto will drive home from the ballpark in a DeLorean are, at the time of this posting, unconfirmed.

https://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2018/6/...suspended-game

If this had happened for a game that was begun the first week of the season and suspended, would that have reset his clock and made him free agency eligible a year earlier? I know teams put a lot of thought into when they call players up in order to delay free agency a year (I don't know exactly how the formula works).

[weezie]

You guys are great intense fans, I love it. Very knowledgeable. I saw that Soto he tonight. Fun!

[Blue in the Face]

If this had happened for a game that was begun the first week of the season and suspended, would that have reset his clock and made him free agency eligible a year earlier? I know teams put a lot of thought into when they call players up in order to delay free agency a year (I don't know exactly how the formula works).

No, the date of his mlb debut and his service time are unchanged. There's just an asterisk that he has stats which are credited to an earlier date because of the suspended game.

[JBDuke]

More Nats news - acquiring the Royals closer, Kelvin Herrera for three prospects. Local reaction has been very positive. Herrera's numbers are great, and a couple of the Nats other relievers have played with him in the past and had glowing things to say about their new teammate. He'll move to a setup role in support of the Nats' closer Doolittle, but I wouldn't be surprised if he picked up a save here and there as well.

This gives the Nationals an 8-man bullpen with four lefties and four righties, and at least four guys have experience closing, too. Herrera gets a chance to pitch in high leverage situations on a team that expects to be in the playoffs.

The minor leaguers traded away were not considered key prospects - the #11 and #12 prospects in the Nats organization, along with an international draftee from just last year that I hadn't even heard of.

[sagegrouse]

Many of you remember the big brawl last Memorial Day when Giants reliever Hunter Strickland threw at and hit Bryce Harper. Quite the melee. I was there with my daughter and grandsons. In fact, that was the last baseball game I attended.

Well, last night Hunter Strickland broke his hand when he punched a door after the game.

San Francisco Giants closer Hunter Strickland will be sidelined six to eight weeks after he fractured his right hand while punching a door Monday night following a blown save.

Manager Bruce Bochy told reporters that Strickland had surgery on the pinkie finger of his right hand.

"The closer has got to have emotional control," Bochy said. "We all get frustrated and that's a tough loss and a gut-wrenching loss. I'm sure he felt full responsibility. He didn't think before it happened. I'm thoroughly disappointed, trust me. I'm crushed, because this guy has grown as a pitcher and a person. I know Hunter cares deeply."

Ya' think, Bruce. I mean, Strickland hit Harper because of two HR's Harper hit off him in the playoffs a couple of years earlier. And that was the year the Giants won the World Series and Strickland got a ring.

[Blue in the Face]

Well, last night Hunter Strickland broke his hand when he punched a door after the game.

Needs to take a page from Ken Giles' book and find a softer target.

[acdevil]

AL standings are interesting right now. 5 teams have really separated themselves and the team currently in the spot for the second wildcard has a 7 game lead over the next team. It really looks like the Yanks, Sox, Indians, Stros, Mariners and everyone else.

Still a lot of golf left, but interesting how much separation there is already.

[Blue in the Face]

AL standings are interesting right now. 5 teams have really separated themselves and the team currently in the spot for the second wildcard has a 7 game lead over the next team. It really looks like the Yanks, Sox, Indians, Stros, Mariners and everyone else.

Still a lot of golf left, but interesting how much separation there is already.

Could be beneficial to the Astros/AL East winner to have the worse record of the two. #1 will play the wildcard winner, #2 will play the Indians. I know who I'd rather face in the divisional round, and it's not close. That said, home field in a potential ALCS is pretty important too.

[Bluedog]

Interesting article from USA Today (that's a sentence not stated often) talking about how baseball has become a snooze fest with a ridiculous number of strikeouts and hardly any action leading to fan apathy this season (attendance numbers way down):
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...uts/718162002/


There's no ducking the numbers: MLB has a bad baseball problem that's only getting worse

"In an era when athletes are bigger, stronger and faster, something has gone dreadfully wrong with our glorious pastime.

Players are striking out more than at any time, an alarming 22.5 percent of all plate appearances. We are on pace for more strikeouts than hits [for the first time in history] – 18,613 strikeouts compared to 18,136 hits entering Wednesday's non-action.

The National League, which is expected to adopt the DH within the next five years, has only four teams with more hits than strikeouts."