Sports

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...