Baseball

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports Before the beginning of the season, the Atlanta Braves have been the consensus choose to win the NL East. While it wasn’t unanimous – strive getting a couple of dozen writers to totally agree on one thing – 22 of 25 FanGraphs writers predicted the Braves to win the division for the seventh straight season. Sportsbooks provided odds on Atlanta that had an implied likelihood of 75-80% for profitable the division. ZiPS projected the Braves to win essentially the most video games within the majors and gave them a 63% likelihood to take the NL East crown. But as we method the tip of the primary third of the season, it’s the Philadelphia Phillies who're on prime of the division with one of the best report in baseball. The staff’s six-game lead over Atlanta isn’t...

Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports It’s been a enjoyable couple of weeks seeing all of the work that has been accomplished on account of Statcast’s increasing into bat monitoring. The beauty of this recreation is that there's at all times extra to be taught. With the addition of bat velocity and swing size, we now have a greater concept of telling the story of a participant’s swing, however there's nonetheless a lot extra to faucet into. Back after I was utilizing a Blast Motion bat sensor every day, I used to be uncovered to each element of the swing that you might consider. Bat velocity was one in all them, however that solely scratched the floor. There had been items explaining my path at totally different factors within the swing, how lengthy it took my barrel to satisfy the airplane...

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports NEW YORK — On Tuesday afternoon, Gerrit Cole donned the pinstripes and took the mound at Yankee Stadium, not for his long-awaited season debut, however for a key milestone in his rehab: his first dwell batting observe session since a bout of nerve irritation in his proper elbow sidelined him in mid-March. The reigning AL Cy Young winner continues to be at the least a number of weeks away from returning, however in his absence — and within the face of appreciable uncertainty given final yr’s performances — his fellow starters have stepped as much as assist the Yankees into the AL East lead and the American League’s finest file. In entrance of an empty ballpark however an viewers of teammates, coaches, and media, Cole — who eschewed his batting observe jerse...

Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports We’re a couple of month and a half into the minor league season, an inexpensive time for a Top 100 replace, albeit one with a comparatively gentle contact. The function of this replace is to pluck the low-hanging fruit, to shine and reshape the listing relatively than tear down the one from February. Much of the nation is chilly or wet in April and early May, and it could take time for gamers (hitters particularly) to get going. Young gamers are additionally altering on a regular basis, which regularly contains changes to their first style of failure. You can see the up to date listing in its entirety right here. Below, I’ve highlighted some particular person gamers. I contact on how everybody who's a 60 FV prospect or higher has carried out up to now this...

Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel-USA TODAY NETWORK This article isn’t actually about Joey Ortiz. Or, effectively, it's, however it’s additionally about how numbers will idiot you. Let’s begin with just a few numbers, then. Ortiz is strolling 12.9% of the time up to now this yr, way over common and way over he ever did within the excessive minors. He’s chasing pitches outdoors of the strike zone solely 24% of the time, an enormous change in method. Last yr within the minor leagues, that quantity stood at 34.5%. As a outcome, he’s swinging and lacking far much less typically. There’s the story of how Ortiz has improved. Just one drawback: That story doesn’t maintain as much as nearer examination. Let’s break the strike zone up into 4 elements the best way Baseball Savant and th...

Jordan Weems was in his tenth skilled season when he was featured right here at FanGraphs for the primary, and heretofore solely, time in July 2020. His story was certainly one of resilience, but in addition of change. Then 27 years outdated, Weems was a transformed catcher quickly to make his big-league debut as a pitcher for the Oakland Athletics. Drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 2011 out of Columbus (GA) High School in 2011, he moved to the mound 5 years later after dwelling in Mendoza-line territory whereas carrying the instruments of ignorance. Weems is now in his third season with the Washington Nationals, and by and enormous he’s solid a good profession as a reliever. The 6-foot-4 right-hander has made 118 appearances at baseball’s highest stage, and his numbers embrace 140 str...

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter in regards to the Rays working out of mound visits and varied visit-related hypotheticals, then (21:00) reply listener emails about “due up” vs. “on deck,” strikes vs. pitches within the strike zone, whether or not specializing in wins as an alternative of runs makes WAR much less intuitive, Quinn Priester and FIP-based pitcher WAR, Ronald Acuña Jr.’s ping-ponging strikeout price, whether or not the ball-strike problem system hampers strikeout celebrations, how a lot infielders assist management the working recreation, superior pitching machines and the minors-to-majors transition, why there aren’t extra main league trick performs, cathartic uniform-burning, and timeout-induced accidents. Audio intro: Gabriel-Ernest, “Effectively Wild Theme”Audio ou...

Rafael Suanes-USA TODAY Sports Over the course of his storied profession, Andrew McCutchen has stood there and watched ball 4 go by 1,075 occasions. I watched one thing like 750 of these pitches on Thursday, after which I reduce them down into supercuts. I hope to God I by no means to see one other ball 4. I used to be waiting for one thing particular. I observed the opposite day that McCutchen flips his bat quite a bit, which caught me off guard. If you’re a Pirates fan, I’m certain precisely what I’m speaking about, however I think individuals outdoors Pittsburgh is perhaps startled by it, too. After all, McCutchen is a veteran who tends towards a extra conventional taking part in fashion. That’s to not say that he performs with none aptitude or that he doesn’t have a humorousness ...

Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports On Saturday at Citi Field, Max Fried was unhittable. For seven innings, the 30-year-old lefty baffled the Mets, surviving a handful of hard-hit balls, together with two that may have been house runs in a number of different ballparks. But as a result of he walked three batters, went to a three-ball depend towards 5 others, and wanted 24 pitches to finish the seventh whereas working his depend to a season-high 109, Fried received the hook from supervisor Brian Snitker. He may solely watch as J.D. Martinez — who had already hit two scorchers of at the very least 105 mph off Fried — clubbed a solo homer off nearer Raisel Iglesias with two outs within the ninth. The Mets’ rally would finally fall brief, however the run left the Braves nonetheless looking for t...

Phil Didion/The Enquirer-USA TODAY NETWORK It’s not fairly proper to say that Fernando Cruz was a late-blooming prospect. That would indicate that he was a prospect, and he wasn’t, at the least not likely. He was picked within the sixth spherical of the 2007 draft as a hitter, however by no means made it out of A-ball in 4 years. He tried pitching after that, and it labored, however not sufficient for the Royals to maintain him. He kicked across the minors, indy ball, and the winter league circuit for greater than a decade. He performed in Puerto Rico, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico. He was dwelling a full baseball life, and nearly completely outdoors of affiliated ball. Over the 2021-2022 winter, although, Cruz placed on a present, racking up a 2.03 ERA with 81 strikeo...