Around Baseball 2021

[Jays24]

Best player - no.

 

Most talented player - perhaps. If there is one "generational talent" in the game right now the two candidates are Trout and Ohtani. The argument for Trout is that he is an elite hall of fame talent. The argument for Ohtani is that his skill set has never existed before.

 

I am saying this since this might be the first real year Ohtani has been able to play the way he wants. If he continues to build upon this, it's just amazing to know you have a cleanup hitter and your ace in one player.

[Brownie19]

If he could improve his walk ratio on both sides of the field and stay healthy and consistent for a few years. Yes.

 

Both are big ifs.

 

Between pitching and hitting he is on pace for 7-8 fWAR, which if he could do for 3 or 4 years still probably wouldn't beat a healthy early 20s Mike Trout. But maybe it would beat an sometimes injured late 20s.early 30s Mike Trout?

 

Needs to improve the walks. Walks. Health and walks.

 

It's not impossible given he doesn't seem the type who would walk 80 in 100 innings, and only walk 30 times in 600 at bats. Change it to 40 pitching walks in 120 innings (less walks = less pitches = more innings), and 60 walks as a hitter and he is the best (assuming health, lol given today's injury rates)

 

His career BB% is 8.8 and it was over 12% last year. I think you're caught up in a SSS to start this year (at the plate). On the mound, of course he needs more control. He didn't have issues in Japan and is obviously working his way back from all the injuries. Give him some time. I somewhat expect him to have a similar career to Darvish on the mound.

[Olerud363]

His career BB% is 8.8 and it was over 12% last year. I think you're caught up in a SSS to start this year (at the plate). On the mound, of course he needs more control. He didn't have issues in Japan and is obviously working his way back from all the injuries. Give him some time. I somewhat expect him to have a similar career to Darvish on the mound.

 

That is exactly what I was getting at.. I said "it doesn't seem he is the type who should walk so little"

 

If he get's his walk rate up as a hitter and down as a pitcher his fWar will go way up.

 

fWar is smart enough to know he shouldn't have a 2.10 era with a sky high walk rate, it also dings him for a .313 on base percentage. If his walk rate normalized both ways and his power stayed the same he would be somewhere near a 10 WAR guy (assuming health, 120 innings pitched, 600 plate appearances)

 

Of course maybe the power would normalize too and he is more of a 35 homer guy.

 

That's why the smart guys are publicly confident he won't be the best player in baseball... you have to know how to read smart guys, they won't publicly acknowledge lower probability outcomes but privately they do hedge for them.

[BTS]

[Grant77]

 

Oh my...

[BTS]

Oh my...

 

That team must hate playing for him.

[glory]

That is a bit more excusable to me than what happened with Tatis/Woodward/Tingler last season. TLR is 76 and clearly out of touch. The hire was cronyism at its finest and everyone knew it. This type of thing was pretty much expected. Feel bad for the White Sox players to have to deal with that, but unfortunately for them they had no say.

 

Unlike with Tatis where it was clearly an issue that had to be addressed (Tatis was railroaded by his own manager), I think people will just chalk this up as "old man yells at cloud".

[Spanky__99]

 

Kangaroo court for hitting a dinger, lol. LaRussa's a goof.

[Spanky__99]

Why doesn't anyone mention Rendon (the 3rd best positional player in baseball since 2017)???

 

Don't sweat it bro, he's elite.

[Brownie19]

Don't sweat it bro, he's elite.

 

Most underrated player in baseball?

[Deadpool]

 

Yeah, this is exactly the kind of dinosaur mentality we just NEED in the game these days... Go back to the 80s, Tony.

[Brownie19]

Yeah, this is exactly the kind of dinosaur mentality we just NEED in the game these days... Go back to the 80s, Tony.

 

I think it's times like this that make most of us cringe at the thought of adding Albert Pujols to the team because of things like respect, leadership and mentorship.

[Spanky__99]

Most underrated player in baseball?

 

Likely, just thinking off the top of my head MLB Network rarely hi-lites him. Even Jose Ramirez is alone on that island, 3rd base lost it's sexiness? Hmm...

[wilko]

 

[BTS]

AL MVP is up for grabs.

 

[King]

Trout out for 2 months with a calf injury. So begins the decline.

[Deadpool]

AL MVP is up for grabs.

 

 

You mean Vladdy's competition for the AL MVP just got even weaker?

[Ray]

Probably was going to be the case anyways, but the Angels playoff chances are basically zero at this point.

[Slade]

 

Why is a retired 78 year old man being brought out of retirement to manage a young team? Thank god we landed Mark Shapiro and not Kenny Williams.

[G-Snarls]

Trout out for 2 months with a calf injury. So begins the decline.

 

Holy f***

 

The Angels SUCK

[Grant77]

Why is a retired 78 year old man being brought out of retirement to manage a young team? Thank god we landed Mark Shapiro and not Kenny Williams.

 

The La Russa hire has Jerry Reinsdorf's fingerprints all over it.

[Brownie19]

WTF is wrong with Luis Castillo?

[JFD]

WTF is wrong with Luis Castillo?

 

What's his trade value at this point? He can't be this bad for long

[Spanky__99]

WTF is wrong with Luis Castillo?

 

Change-up, apparently. He was pretty good tonight.

[Jimcanuck]

Spencer Turnbull no-hitting the sad sack Mariners through 7

[Solaxys]

Spencer Turnbull no-hitting the sad sack Mariners through 7

 

Weren't they no-hit earlier this season? Or almost no-hit

[Jimcanuck]

Weren't they no-hit earlier this season? Or almost no-hit

 

dunno, but probably

[Jimcanuck]

Weren't they no-hit earlier this season? Or almost no-hit

 

M's were no hit exactly 2 weeks ago by John Means

[Solaxys]

He got it!

Reminds me of the year where the Rays got no-hit twice.

[BTS]

Oh how exciting, another no hitter