Over the offseason, the Arizona Diamondbacks signed one of the best pitchers on the planet, traded for a solid, young arm and continued to employ one of the best players in the league along with an underrated rising star outfielder. Even if they weren't the favorites in a tough NL West, it looked like they would at least contend. Now, they're in fourth place with a record of 65-91, sitting in dead last. Obviously, things went very, very wrong. Lets take a look at what those things were.
There are so many reasons for this garbage fire of a season, but one of the main ones is A.J. Pollock's injury. The centerfielder had a breakout year in 2015, batting .315/.367/.498, hitting 20 homers and stealing 39 bases, all while playing Gold Glove level defense. He tore an elbow ligament in Spring Training, knocking him out for almost the entire season. Having traded away their 2015 right fielder Ender Inciarte in a deal for Shelby Miller, (more on that debacle later) the D-Backs suddenly found themselves short on outfielders, having to rely on the washed up Michael Bourn before trading him to Baltimore.
The aforementioned Shelby Miller trade is another reason Arizona's underperformed this year. We'll get to who they gave up in a second, but we knew it would likely be bad in the long term. What people weren't expecting, was that to the horror of the Diamondbacks' higher-ups, Miller was a complete disaster this year, posting an ERA of 6.90, setting career worsts in just about every stat, and was basically a poor man's Ricky Nolasco.
It was a bad trade that's only going to get worse as time goes on. Atlanta made off with shortstop Dansby Swanson in the deal. The 2015 number one overall pick is considered to be right up there with Carlos Correa and Francisco Lindor as the top young shortstops in the game. So far in his young career, Swanson has hit .300/.347/.400 while providing steady defense at short. Did I mention he's 22 years old? Now, trading a shortstop that young and that good straight up for Shelby Miller is egregious enough, but Arizona also lost Ender Inciarte in the deal. Inciarte had a solid season in Phoenix in 2015 and is now one of the few steady presences on the Braves, hitting .299/.355/.388 with 16 stolen bases.
All this is bad, but it shouldn't have undermined the season, losing Pollock hurt the most out of those, but what has ruined the Diamondbacks season more than anything else is simply that players they were counting on haven't delivered. Zack Greinke was a top three pitcher in all of baseball in 2015, barely losing out on the Cy Young to Jake Arrieta. This year has been a different story, to say the least. His 4.37 ERA puts him in the same neighborhood as guys like Doug Fister and Ricky Nolasco. (Damnit did I just compare two different guys to Ricky Nolasco in the same column?) His 2.2 WAR has him making 15.5 million dollars for every win he brings to the table. For comparison's sake, Kris Bryant is making roughly 74 thousand dollars this year for each of his 8.4 wins. Admittedly, he had been doing better before going on the DL in July, but even then, he was nowhere near the standard he had set over the last few years, sporting an ERA of 3.62..
When you go to the advanced stats, there are a couple of potential reasons for this. One is his move to the hitters park that is Chase Field from the decidedly more spacious Dodger Stadium. That could explain why his homers per nine innings have spiked from .57 to 1.30 this season. Another is that the Diamondbacks rank 18th in baseball in defensive runs saved this year with -11. It isn't terrible, but it's still nine runs worse than the 2015 Dodgers. Those don't totally explain his fall, there's still a lot of mystery, but it at least provides some information.
It wasn't just Greinke disappointing either. Miller, Patrick Corbin, and Robbie Ray all had ERAs of at least 4.77 despite the fact that they're all under the age of 26 and all have had seasons with ERAs under 3.60. In fact, the starting rotation as a whole had a collective ERA this year of 4.37, eighth worst in the league. No matter how much Paul Goldschmidt is raking, it's hard to win with the other team scoring that much.
Everyone knew the NL West was going to be tough this year, with the Dodgers coming off of another strong season and the Giants making improvements (along with it being an even year), so even after the D-Backs signed Greinke and traded for Miller, it was tough to say how much they would contend. After a full season of those guys on that team, we now have the definitive answer: None.
Kirby Puckett
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Monday, August 15, 2016
Checking in on the Twins Young Players
Byron Buxton
Every time Buxton's come to the plate this year, my thought process has gone something like this: Ok, here comes Buxton, he's the future, he'll eventually bring us to the World Series. Look at his stance, he looks really good up there. Alright, he just took the first pitch for a strike, nothing wrong with that, Mauer always takes the first pitch, too, now he fouled one back and it's 0-2. From there, I can predict what'll happen. He might take one ball, but it's just delaying the inevitable strike three at a breaking ball in the dirt. A few important things to remember about Buxton before panicking: First, he's only 22 and that's with losing a full year to injuries, not everyone's Mike Trout or Bryce Harper, most guys still need to develop a lot when they're that age. Second, he's still a fantastic fielder and baserunner, regardless of what he does with his other tools, he'll always have that. That said, his lack of progress at the plate is concerning. As I alluded to earlier, not his is he striking out a lot (his 36% is way too much for anyone, much less someone who doesn't hit homers) it's concerning how easily the K's seem to come for pitchers. Not many of his strikeouts come with 3-2 or 2-2 counts but with no or one ball. While behind in the count he's hitting .064/.115/.179. It's concerning and a little terrifying that this is the future of the organization, but we need to just be patient.
Miguel Sano
After being slowed by injuries in the first half of the season and some controversy of not working hard enough to the extent that there were rumors of him being sent down a couple weeks ago, the Dominican power hitter took off, hitting .343/.425/.800 in August. The 123 strikeouts in 82 games in concerning, but he's only 23 and his power shows enough promise that there's enough reason to think that'll improve.
Eddie Rosario
Like Sano, Rosario has come around recently after struggling earlier. Unlike Sano, he actually was sent down, spending the entire month of June in Rochester. After making it back to Minnesota, he's quietly been on a tear, hitting .325 and hitting five of his seven homers since returning while playing mostly in center field. As a side note, Rosario also wins the unofficial award for coolest guy to the team. Every movement he makes in the field looks completely natural and effortless. That alone is enough reason to like him.
Max Kepler
For the past three weeks I've been trying to think of an adequate nickname for Kepler and I haven't been able to come up with one. But that doesn't matter because he's so awesome that he doesn't need one. After a three homer binge against Cleveland started a scorching hot stretch he's moved into the Rookie of the Year discussion with a line of .258/.334/.508 and 15 homers. While watching Kepler, one thing that always stands out to me is how straight and hard he hits the ball. While Sano's homers and long, high, majestic fly balls, Kepler's are typically straighter and get out of the park quickly. 37% of the balls off of his bat have been hit hard, second on the team. He's only 23, so let's hope he can keep it going.
Every time Buxton's come to the plate this year, my thought process has gone something like this: Ok, here comes Buxton, he's the future, he'll eventually bring us to the World Series. Look at his stance, he looks really good up there. Alright, he just took the first pitch for a strike, nothing wrong with that, Mauer always takes the first pitch, too, now he fouled one back and it's 0-2. From there, I can predict what'll happen. He might take one ball, but it's just delaying the inevitable strike three at a breaking ball in the dirt. A few important things to remember about Buxton before panicking: First, he's only 22 and that's with losing a full year to injuries, not everyone's Mike Trout or Bryce Harper, most guys still need to develop a lot when they're that age. Second, he's still a fantastic fielder and baserunner, regardless of what he does with his other tools, he'll always have that. That said, his lack of progress at the plate is concerning. As I alluded to earlier, not his is he striking out a lot (his 36% is way too much for anyone, much less someone who doesn't hit homers) it's concerning how easily the K's seem to come for pitchers. Not many of his strikeouts come with 3-2 or 2-2 counts but with no or one ball. While behind in the count he's hitting .064/.115/.179. It's concerning and a little terrifying that this is the future of the organization, but we need to just be patient.
Miguel Sano
After being slowed by injuries in the first half of the season and some controversy of not working hard enough to the extent that there were rumors of him being sent down a couple weeks ago, the Dominican power hitter took off, hitting .343/.425/.800 in August. The 123 strikeouts in 82 games in concerning, but he's only 23 and his power shows enough promise that there's enough reason to think that'll improve.
Eddie Rosario
Like Sano, Rosario has come around recently after struggling earlier. Unlike Sano, he actually was sent down, spending the entire month of June in Rochester. After making it back to Minnesota, he's quietly been on a tear, hitting .325 and hitting five of his seven homers since returning while playing mostly in center field. As a side note, Rosario also wins the unofficial award for coolest guy to the team. Every movement he makes in the field looks completely natural and effortless. That alone is enough reason to like him.
Max Kepler
For the past three weeks I've been trying to think of an adequate nickname for Kepler and I haven't been able to come up with one. But that doesn't matter because he's so awesome that he doesn't need one. After a three homer binge against Cleveland started a scorching hot stretch he's moved into the Rookie of the Year discussion with a line of .258/.334/.508 and 15 homers. While watching Kepler, one thing that always stands out to me is how straight and hard he hits the ball. While Sano's homers and long, high, majestic fly balls, Kepler's are typically straighter and get out of the park quickly. 37% of the balls off of his bat have been hit hard, second on the team. He's only 23, so let's hope he can keep it going.
Saturday, July 30, 2016
Twins to Watch at the Trade Deadline
Kurt Suzuki
The most likely Twin to be traded should have been traded during his last good season of 2014 when he rode a .328 BABIP to hit .316 in the first half and made the AL All Star team. The Twins extended him rather than trading him that summer. This year, his value isn't quite as high as it was that All Star year, but it's not terrible. He rode a scorching hot stretch in June to get his batting average up to the respectable .292 it is right now, and brings a reputation of great intangibles to the table.
Ervin Santana
Santana got his trade value up with a quietly terrific July, only going 2-3 but pitching into the seventh inning in four of his five starts, including two complete games. Overall, his ERA dropped .72 points this month. While he isn't likely to continue pitching like that, he's established enough and has a good enough reputation for any team needing a solid, back of the rotation starter to be interested.
Eduardo Nunez
As you probably heard, the Twins recently shipped Nunez to San Francisco for minor league pitcher Aldalberto Mejia. It's not a bad deal for Minnesota; it was pretty obvious Nunez wasn't in the long term plans, evidenced by his abysmal .197 batting average after the All Star Break. He's actually pretty similar to Suzuki in 2014, only this time the Twins managed to deal him before he lost too much value. Mejia looks like a decent prospect, posting a 2.81 ERA this year between double and triple-A.
Brandon Kintzler
Fernando Abad
Veteran relievers are always wanted commodities around the deadline. Kintzler's stepped up into the closer's role with Perkins' injury and Jepsen's implosion. So far he's done better than most expected, allowing seven runs in 32 innings. Abad overcame some struggles early in the season and has pitched well of late. Both could go to any team looking for relief help, possibly the Cubs if they're still looking to upgrade after getting Chapman. The Rangers and their AL-worst 4.86 bullpen ERA could be another possible trade partner.
The most likely Twin to be traded should have been traded during his last good season of 2014 when he rode a .328 BABIP to hit .316 in the first half and made the AL All Star team. The Twins extended him rather than trading him that summer. This year, his value isn't quite as high as it was that All Star year, but it's not terrible. He rode a scorching hot stretch in June to get his batting average up to the respectable .292 it is right now, and brings a reputation of great intangibles to the table.
Ervin Santana
Santana got his trade value up with a quietly terrific July, only going 2-3 but pitching into the seventh inning in four of his five starts, including two complete games. Overall, his ERA dropped .72 points this month. While he isn't likely to continue pitching like that, he's established enough and has a good enough reputation for any team needing a solid, back of the rotation starter to be interested.
Eduardo Nunez
As you probably heard, the Twins recently shipped Nunez to San Francisco for minor league pitcher Aldalberto Mejia. It's not a bad deal for Minnesota; it was pretty obvious Nunez wasn't in the long term plans, evidenced by his abysmal .197 batting average after the All Star Break. He's actually pretty similar to Suzuki in 2014, only this time the Twins managed to deal him before he lost too much value. Mejia looks like a decent prospect, posting a 2.81 ERA this year between double and triple-A.
Brandon Kintzler
Fernando Abad
Veteran relievers are always wanted commodities around the deadline. Kintzler's stepped up into the closer's role with Perkins' injury and Jepsen's implosion. So far he's done better than most expected, allowing seven runs in 32 innings. Abad overcame some struggles early in the season and has pitched well of late. Both could go to any team looking for relief help, possibly the Cubs if they're still looking to upgrade after getting Chapman. The Rangers and their AL-worst 4.86 bullpen ERA could be another possible trade partner.
Monday, July 18, 2016
Midseason All MLB Team
Pitcher: Clayton Kershaw
I don't need to say anything more. He's Clayton freaking Kershaw. I don't care if he's injured. I don't care how good Arrieta and Sale have been. Kershaw has just been better.
Catcher: Wilson Ramos
Excuse me while I wander into traffic. This is a 27-year-old catcher hitting .327/.380/.523 with 13 homers half way through the season. This is a catcher the Twins traded for the abominable Matt Capps. Abominable isn't even the right word here. Words can't describe how awful it was having Matt Capps in the bullpen. If I had been writing this when he was around he would have overtaken Derek Jeter as my number one person to rant about. Anyway, congratulations to Wilson Ramos for being good, I guess.
First base: Anthony Rizzo
It's tough not going with Goldschmidt here, but Rizzo is beating him in every stat this season. On an unrelated note, I like Rizzo because he's a rare player that not one but two teams are kicking themselves over. He was originally drafted by the Red Sox, who traded him to the Padres in the Adrian Gonzalez deal, and then, in an underrated awful trade, the Padres sent him to Chicago for Kyung-Min Na and Andrew Cashner.
Second base: Jose Altuve
The AL's leading hitter is also leading the league in stolen bases, and even has already tied a career high in homers with 15.
Shortstop: Francisco Lindor
After having the Rookie of the year award stolen from him in 2015, Lindor is just as good of a season this year, hitting .307/.363/.460 with ten homers and 13 stolen bases, while displaying his usual wizardry at shortstop ranking third in the AL in defensive WAR with 1.7.
Third base: Manny Machado
Machado has become one of the best players in the league, and my personal favorite to watch. He's just so smooth and relaxed. You can read the rest of my Machado thoughts here.
Outfielders
Mike Trout
Trout's perch on top as best player in the game reminds me of Adrian Peterson's status as best running back in the NFL. Both facts have generally been accepted by fans, but every couple some new hotshot comes up who people try to say is better, just because they're bored with. With Peterson people tried to say Chris Johnson was better, then Maurice Jones-Drew, and then whoever they could think of. Trout's the same way. Even if Josh Donaldson and Jose Altuve have great stretches, or even a full season for Bryce Harper, it's going to take a lot more than that for anyone to knock off Trout.
Ian Desmond
The offseason's weirdest signing is shaping up to be it's best, as the converted shortstop is hitting .322/375/.524 while playing an above average center field, saving five runs with his glove so far. The good fielding is especially surprising considering he spent most of his career as a subpar fielder at his natural position. The fact that he's good in the outfield makes it even more of a steal for the Rangers.
Marcell OzunaResurrected his career from the dead after a disappointing 2015 season where he hit .259 and had a stint in Triple-A. In a breakout season this year he's emerged as the best player in a loaded Miami outfield with Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich.
I don't need to say anything more. He's Clayton freaking Kershaw. I don't care if he's injured. I don't care how good Arrieta and Sale have been. Kershaw has just been better.
Catcher: Wilson Ramos
Excuse me while I wander into traffic. This is a 27-year-old catcher hitting .327/.380/.523 with 13 homers half way through the season. This is a catcher the Twins traded for the abominable Matt Capps. Abominable isn't even the right word here. Words can't describe how awful it was having Matt Capps in the bullpen. If I had been writing this when he was around he would have overtaken Derek Jeter as my number one person to rant about. Anyway, congratulations to Wilson Ramos for being good, I guess.
First base: Anthony Rizzo
It's tough not going with Goldschmidt here, but Rizzo is beating him in every stat this season. On an unrelated note, I like Rizzo because he's a rare player that not one but two teams are kicking themselves over. He was originally drafted by the Red Sox, who traded him to the Padres in the Adrian Gonzalez deal, and then, in an underrated awful trade, the Padres sent him to Chicago for Kyung-Min Na and Andrew Cashner.
Second base: Jose Altuve
The AL's leading hitter is also leading the league in stolen bases, and even has already tied a career high in homers with 15.
Shortstop: Francisco Lindor
After having the Rookie of the year award stolen from him in 2015, Lindor is just as good of a season this year, hitting .307/.363/.460 with ten homers and 13 stolen bases, while displaying his usual wizardry at shortstop ranking third in the AL in defensive WAR with 1.7.
Third base: Manny Machado
Machado has become one of the best players in the league, and my personal favorite to watch. He's just so smooth and relaxed. You can read the rest of my Machado thoughts here.
Outfielders
Mike Trout
Trout's perch on top as best player in the game reminds me of Adrian Peterson's status as best running back in the NFL. Both facts have generally been accepted by fans, but every couple some new hotshot comes up who people try to say is better, just because they're bored with. With Peterson people tried to say Chris Johnson was better, then Maurice Jones-Drew, and then whoever they could think of. Trout's the same way. Even if Josh Donaldson and Jose Altuve have great stretches, or even a full season for Bryce Harper, it's going to take a lot more than that for anyone to knock off Trout.
Ian Desmond
The offseason's weirdest signing is shaping up to be it's best, as the converted shortstop is hitting .322/375/.524 while playing an above average center field, saving five runs with his glove so far. The good fielding is especially surprising considering he spent most of his career as a subpar fielder at his natural position. The fact that he's good in the outfield makes it even more of a steal for the Rangers.
Marcell OzunaResurrected his career from the dead after a disappointing 2015 season where he hit .259 and had a stint in Triple-A. In a breakout season this year he's emerged as the best player in a loaded Miami outfield with Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich.
Sunday, June 19, 2016
Game Seven Preview
I was going to make this next column about the dead man revival that is Jackie Bradley Jr.'s career, but then the Cavaliers stormed back in the NBA finals, blowing out he Warriors in Cleveland and potentially changing the landscape of NBA history, so there are more important things going on. With game seven tonight, let's jump into a preview, starting by looking at who has the most at stake going into the final game.
LeBron James
A win for the Cavs here, which doesn't happen without a killer LeBron performance, launches him into god status in Cleveland. As a side note, LeBron's been the most fun thing about these finals, both because he's fun to watch in general and because of his put-the-team-on-my-back mentality he played with the last two games. That was most evident after he barked at Curry after blocking is shot Thursday night. You may want to debate how effective trash talking is when the guy who's shot you blocked is six inches shorter than you, but the message was clear: The Cavs weren't losing, and LeBron was making sure of that.
Stephen Curry
If the Warriors lose this, then Curry will have been the best player on the greatest regular season team of all time, followed by a stunning finals loss, coming off of a championship the year before in which Curry didn't play as great as he usually does. It will be unfair, but it Dubs lose people will blame Curry.
Harrison Barnes
Outside of Curry, Barnes will shoulder the most blame if he keeps missing shots. I don't know why we would expect anyone else to receive more blame, considering Barnes has been getting blamed for things since he was at North Carolina.
Kevin Love
Tonight is Love's last chance to keep his time in Cleveland from being a total disaster. As much as I want to hate him for leaving the Timberwolves, I can't and not just because that trade worked out so well. Watching the finals, it's hard not to feel bad for him. He's been phased out of the offense and is now being used as a basic stretch 4. I would say Cleveland needs to utilize him more, but the way LeBron's playing it would be silly to do anything else at this point.
Those are the big ones, now let's run through some guys with some, but not quite as much at stake tonight.
Steve Kerr
Has the chance to become the first coach to win the finals in both of his first two years.
David Blatt
A Cavs win would validate his firing last winter, as bizarre as it was at the time.
Andre Iguodala
Looking for one more championship while hobbled, could end up as a great story.
Prediction
The LeBron and the Cavs have looked great, but teams in the NBA don't lose game sevens at home, and the Warriors don't lose in Oakland.
Warriors 107, Cavs 98
LeBron James
A win for the Cavs here, which doesn't happen without a killer LeBron performance, launches him into god status in Cleveland. As a side note, LeBron's been the most fun thing about these finals, both because he's fun to watch in general and because of his put-the-team-on-my-back mentality he played with the last two games. That was most evident after he barked at Curry after blocking is shot Thursday night. You may want to debate how effective trash talking is when the guy who's shot you blocked is six inches shorter than you, but the message was clear: The Cavs weren't losing, and LeBron was making sure of that.
Stephen Curry
If the Warriors lose this, then Curry will have been the best player on the greatest regular season team of all time, followed by a stunning finals loss, coming off of a championship the year before in which Curry didn't play as great as he usually does. It will be unfair, but it Dubs lose people will blame Curry.
Harrison Barnes
Outside of Curry, Barnes will shoulder the most blame if he keeps missing shots. I don't know why we would expect anyone else to receive more blame, considering Barnes has been getting blamed for things since he was at North Carolina.
Kevin Love
Tonight is Love's last chance to keep his time in Cleveland from being a total disaster. As much as I want to hate him for leaving the Timberwolves, I can't and not just because that trade worked out so well. Watching the finals, it's hard not to feel bad for him. He's been phased out of the offense and is now being used as a basic stretch 4. I would say Cleveland needs to utilize him more, but the way LeBron's playing it would be silly to do anything else at this point.
Those are the big ones, now let's run through some guys with some, but not quite as much at stake tonight.
Steve Kerr
Has the chance to become the first coach to win the finals in both of his first two years.
David Blatt
A Cavs win would validate his firing last winter, as bizarre as it was at the time.
Andre Iguodala
Looking for one more championship while hobbled, could end up as a great story.
Prediction
The LeBron and the Cavs have looked great, but teams in the NBA don't lose game sevens at home, and the Warriors don't lose in Oakland.
Warriors 107, Cavs 98
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Machado vs. Harper vs. Trout
Manny Machado has unofficially joined the ranks of Bryce Harper and Mike Trout for top players in baseball. It's one of a lot of things that have happened so far in the season. So with that, I'm diving back in to break down who the best to build a team around is.
Age
Trout's the oldest of these guys, at 24. Harper and Machado are both 23, with the latter being about four months older than the former.
Edge: Harper
Big league resume
Harper and Machado both enjoyed mega-breakout seasons last year, launching them from pretty good players to superstars. However, Trout broke out in 2012 with maybe the greatest rookie season of all time, hitting .326/.399/.564 with 49 stolen bases, a campaign so great he nearly beat out the triple crown winning Miguel Cabrera for MVP. Trout may be a year older than Harper and Machado, but his body of work at still such a young age.
Edge: Trout
Hitting
This is the toughest category to decide. Harper had the highest batting average last year at .330, but he's still more of a brute power guy. After his first two years, Trout's been sticking around the .290-.310 range, right there with Machado. That said, Machado's swing couldn't be smoother, and unlike Harper's, which is a clearly that of a power hitter, his is one that has a good chance of winning a batting title some day.
Edge: Machado
Power
This one's easy. Harper's on the same level as Dave Kingman for power.
Edge: Harper
Fielding
We haven't seen anyone like Machado since A-Rod was in his prime, someone that tall and athletic who can play both third and short. Trout's been pretty good, saving five runs last year with his glove, according to fangraphs, but Machado is on a different planet, both in range and versatility.
Edge: Machado
Speed
One of the saddest developments in baseball over the last few years has been the erosion of Trout's speed on the basepaths. His rookie year he stole 49 bases, which, paired with his 30 homers made him look like an obvious candidate to join the 40-40 club eventually. Instead, his homers have increased each year, but his stolen bases have dropped, from 49 to 33 to 16 to 11. What was a big part of his game has been diminished, leaving him with one less dimension than he had before. That said, he has nine already this year, so it could be making a comback. Harper and Machado both steal a little bit but never have at the volume of Trout, even if it was a few years ago.
Edge: Trout
Overall
This is so close, I'd love to name it a three-way tie, but that would be a cop-out. Trout's the safest choice, since he has the largest body of work, but I'll give it to Harper because out of those three guys, he appears to have the most room for improvement, even though he had the best season of those three in 2015.
Edge: Harper
Age
Trout's the oldest of these guys, at 24. Harper and Machado are both 23, with the latter being about four months older than the former.
Edge: Harper
Big league resume
Harper and Machado both enjoyed mega-breakout seasons last year, launching them from pretty good players to superstars. However, Trout broke out in 2012 with maybe the greatest rookie season of all time, hitting .326/.399/.564 with 49 stolen bases, a campaign so great he nearly beat out the triple crown winning Miguel Cabrera for MVP. Trout may be a year older than Harper and Machado, but his body of work at still such a young age.
Edge: Trout
Hitting
This is the toughest category to decide. Harper had the highest batting average last year at .330, but he's still more of a brute power guy. After his first two years, Trout's been sticking around the .290-.310 range, right there with Machado. That said, Machado's swing couldn't be smoother, and unlike Harper's, which is a clearly that of a power hitter, his is one that has a good chance of winning a batting title some day.
Edge: Machado
Power
This one's easy. Harper's on the same level as Dave Kingman for power.
Edge: Harper
Fielding
We haven't seen anyone like Machado since A-Rod was in his prime, someone that tall and athletic who can play both third and short. Trout's been pretty good, saving five runs last year with his glove, according to fangraphs, but Machado is on a different planet, both in range and versatility.
Edge: Machado
Speed
One of the saddest developments in baseball over the last few years has been the erosion of Trout's speed on the basepaths. His rookie year he stole 49 bases, which, paired with his 30 homers made him look like an obvious candidate to join the 40-40 club eventually. Instead, his homers have increased each year, but his stolen bases have dropped, from 49 to 33 to 16 to 11. What was a big part of his game has been diminished, leaving him with one less dimension than he had before. That said, he has nine already this year, so it could be making a comback. Harper and Machado both steal a little bit but never have at the volume of Trout, even if it was a few years ago.
Edge: Trout
Overall
This is so close, I'd love to name it a three-way tie, but that would be a cop-out. Trout's the safest choice, since he has the largest body of work, but I'll give it to Harper because out of those three guys, he appears to have the most room for improvement, even though he had the best season of those three in 2015.
Edge: Harper
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
What's Wrong with the Twins and Other Storylines from the First week
As per tradition, I went into this season full of optimism and hope about the Twins, only to have them dashed less than a week in. But hope isn't completely lost, here's a look at what's going wrong and how it can improve.
Twins miserable start
Outside of the seven-nothing drubbing at the hands of the Royals on Saturday, the Twins haven't lost a game by more than three runs, including two that went into extra innings. Obviously there are a lot of issues here, but it's not all the roster's fault. One of those many issues is the anemic state of the offense. So far, they've scored an average of less than two runs per game. The Twins currently have two people in their normal, everyday lineup with batting averages above .200. Joe Mauer is hitting .400 and Eduardo Escobar is hitting .348. As for the rest of the lineup, Brian Dozier is hitting .182, Miguel Sano .158, Trevor Plouffe .150 and Byung-ho Park .167. Yes, I know the maximum number of at-bats anyone has is 23, but it's still concerning. At the very least it's a really rough coincidence that they're all in slumps at the same time. There aren't a lot of other areas you can look at to explain this slide. The rotation's been solid, with even Ricky Nolasco delivering his one good start of the season Sunday, pitching seven innings and allowing one run in a game subsequently blown by Perkins in the ninth. All we can do now is hope the offense improves.
Trevor Story
Not to sound like someone on ESPN who overreacts to everything, but I've never seen anything like this. That's because, well, nothing like this has ever happened. Story's set the record for both most homers in the first six games of a season and most homers in the first six games in a career- in the same week. At the moment he's on pace to hit 189 homers and drive in 324 runs. I won't insult you and tell you he isn't going to keep up that pace, but it should give you a good idea of how good he's been.
Injuries
We're barely over a week into the season and we've already seen two tough injuries to NL hopefuls. The first came before opening day, when A.J. Pollock fractured his elbow, putting him on the 60 day disabled list. Less than two weeks later, Cubs stud second year outfielder Kyle Schwarber tore his ACL in a collision with Dexter Fowler while going after a fly ball. He's out for the remainder of the season. As devastating as Schwarber's injury is for the Cubs, Pollock's creates an even worse outlook for the D-Backs. Even without Schwarber, the Cubs have a loaded roster with Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Addison Russell, and they're still favored in the NL. Meanwhile Pollock's injury kills any chance Arizona had of contending in a tough NL West. Paul Goldschmidt lost his protection, and it could be especially bad with Zack Greinke looking mortal, there's no chance of the Diamondbacks doing anything without Pollock.
Twins miserable start
Outside of the seven-nothing drubbing at the hands of the Royals on Saturday, the Twins haven't lost a game by more than three runs, including two that went into extra innings. Obviously there are a lot of issues here, but it's not all the roster's fault. One of those many issues is the anemic state of the offense. So far, they've scored an average of less than two runs per game. The Twins currently have two people in their normal, everyday lineup with batting averages above .200. Joe Mauer is hitting .400 and Eduardo Escobar is hitting .348. As for the rest of the lineup, Brian Dozier is hitting .182, Miguel Sano .158, Trevor Plouffe .150 and Byung-ho Park .167. Yes, I know the maximum number of at-bats anyone has is 23, but it's still concerning. At the very least it's a really rough coincidence that they're all in slumps at the same time. There aren't a lot of other areas you can look at to explain this slide. The rotation's been solid, with even Ricky Nolasco delivering his one good start of the season Sunday, pitching seven innings and allowing one run in a game subsequently blown by Perkins in the ninth. All we can do now is hope the offense improves.
Trevor Story
Not to sound like someone on ESPN who overreacts to everything, but I've never seen anything like this. That's because, well, nothing like this has ever happened. Story's set the record for both most homers in the first six games of a season and most homers in the first six games in a career- in the same week. At the moment he's on pace to hit 189 homers and drive in 324 runs. I won't insult you and tell you he isn't going to keep up that pace, but it should give you a good idea of how good he's been.
Injuries
We're barely over a week into the season and we've already seen two tough injuries to NL hopefuls. The first came before opening day, when A.J. Pollock fractured his elbow, putting him on the 60 day disabled list. Less than two weeks later, Cubs stud second year outfielder Kyle Schwarber tore his ACL in a collision with Dexter Fowler while going after a fly ball. He's out for the remainder of the season. As devastating as Schwarber's injury is for the Cubs, Pollock's creates an even worse outlook for the D-Backs. Even without Schwarber, the Cubs have a loaded roster with Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Addison Russell, and they're still favored in the NL. Meanwhile Pollock's injury kills any chance Arizona had of contending in a tough NL West. Paul Goldschmidt lost his protection, and it could be especially bad with Zack Greinke looking mortal, there's no chance of the Diamondbacks doing anything without Pollock.
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