2023 MLB Postseason Thread

[Spanky99]

How do you not take 3B on that play? Guess the Jays aren't the only stupid team on the bases...

 

Certainly should be at 3rd.

[connorp]

Missed strike 3

[Spanky99]

Wait until there's an automated strike zone and his framing won't mean s***. Then we'll be left with his noodle arm, noodle bat and pathetic baserunning.

 

K.....

[Jays24]

Marteeeeeee

[hanton]

Lets go.......

[Spanky99]

We've got a series...

[hanton]

Phillies the better team but dbacks needed this game....

[Stangstag]

To he fair, he's also only had 1 good season so we truly don't know what he is yet lol. Hoping he gets his weight in check since it only gets scarier on that front as he gets older.

 

Extremely disingenuous to say he’s only had 1 good season.

 

His stats in 2020,2021,2022 are all great.

[Stangstag]

Great game. Marte been very clutch this postseason

[philly30]

Great game. Marte been very clutch this postseason

 

Thats one way of seeing it

[jaysblue]

I heard tickets in Arizona for the game today were going for like $15. Fans already jumping off the bandwagon? I do hope Arizona can get back into the series, simply because that makes for better baseball. A couple of 7 game series, followed by a Texas/Philly WS would be amazing. I can see Texas/Houston going 7, but unfortunately, Philly looks unstoppable now and I'm not expecting anything more than a 5 game series.

 

I remember in 2015 and 2016 after the Jays came back to Toronto down 0-2, tickets at the Rogers Centre for Game 3 and 4 on StubHub were going cheap. Not sure they were low as $15 but in comparison to what the Jays sold them for, they were way cheaper. Also, game time plays a role. Even the Jays ALCS home games were at weird times like 3-4PM on a weekday which sucked. The D'Backs game was at 2PM their time on a Thursday afternoon. I kinda wish MLB stopped this nonsense and just played all Postseason games at prime times in their markets.

 

Glad the D'Backs were able to squeeze out a win. Still think Philly walks over them though. But yeah would be nice to see both of these series go 6 or 7 games. I think the Astros/Rangers goes 7!

[hanton]

who the hell is Bradford? beachball bradford

[Spanky99]

who the hell is Bradford? beachball bradford

 

Ranked Texas Rangers #22 prospect in 2023

BA Grade/Risk: 45/High

 

Track Record: Bradford was the Big 12 pitcher of the year in 2018 but had surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome the next season. He also spent a summer with Chatham of the Cape Cod League, where he was teammates with future Blue Jays all-star Alek Manoah and future 1-1 pick Spencer Torkelson. The injury limited Bradford to just three starts in his draft year, but the Rangers still popped him in the sixth round. He reached Double-A in his pro debut and spent all of 2022 at the same level.

 

Scouting Report: Bradford works with a four-pitch mix led a fastball whose movement helps it play better than its low-90s velocity. The combination of a deceptive delivery and excellent extension makes the fastball extremely difficult to hit at the top of the zone, but he's at his best when he moves it around to all four quadrants. Bradford backs the fastball with a low-80s slider and a high-80s cutter. The latter was introduced because of an inconsistency in Bradford's delivery that allowed hitters to easily tell when the slider was coming. Longer extension meant fastball and shorter extension signaled a slider. The cutter gave Bradford a similar movement profile--albeit with firmer velocity--that he could achieve with the same delivery as his four-seamer. Bradford's best offspeed, however, is his 82-85 mph changeup, which kills spin effectively and can be a useful weapon in any count.

 

The Future: Bradford was inconsistent in the early portion of the season but figured it out later and got back to the best version of himself. He could fit in the back of a rotation if he carries that momentum into 2023.

 

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55. Slider: 40. Changeup: 60. Cutter: 50. Control: 55

[Stangstag]

I remember in 2015 and 2016 after the Jays came back to Toronto down 0-2, tickets at the Rogers Centre for Game 3 and 4 on StubHub were going cheap. Not sure they were low as $15 but in comparison to what the Jays sold them for, they were way cheaper. Also, game time plays a role. Even the Jays ALCS home games were at weird times like 3-4PM on a weekday which sucked. The D'Backs game was at 2PM their time on a Thursday afternoon. I kinda wish MLB stopped this nonsense and just played all Postseason games at prime times in their markets.

 

Glad the D'Backs were able to squeeze out a win. Still think Philly walks over them though. But yeah would be nice to see both of these series go 6 or 7 games. I think the Astros/Rangers goes 7!

 

Yup, had to basically give some away to a friend of a friend so they wouldn’t go to waste.

Back then they made you buy the whole strip of tix for the entire series and I couldn’t make it to every game… managed to make the Dickey game where they lost like 14-2 lol

[Spanky99]

TIL... a batting glove is a part of the runner's body.

[Stangstag]

TIL... a batting glove is a part of the runner's body.

 

Ooof yeah that’s rough

[Spanky99]

Game. Over.

[Jays24]

TIL... a batting glove is a part of the runner's body.

 

Semien has probably made every team think twice of carrying anything in their back pockets. I've seen players put their fat sliding gloves in there lol

[Jays24]

Extremely disingenuous to say he’s only had 1 good season.

 

His stats in 2020,2021,2022 are all great.

 

He played like 6 games in 2020 and his 2021 numbers were similar to his 2023 numbers. Like I said, he's had 1 good season in 2022.

 

Plus he's a fatty so the clocks already ticking for when he won't even be able to suit up due to his weight. Him, Manoah and Vlad better get their s*** together this offseason. I hate fat young athletes lol.

[max silver]

He played like 6 games in 2020 and his 2021 numbers were similar to his 2023 numbers. Like I said, he's had 1 good season in 2022.

 

Plus he's a fatty so the clocks already ticking for when he won't even be able to suit up due to his weight. Him, Manoah and Vlad better get their s*** together this offseason. I hate fat young athletes lol.

 

And I hate whiney ****s that do nothing but bitch and whine at every single opportunity.

 

Kirk murdered the minor leagues on his short stint down there and produced one of the finer halves of baseball by a catcher in the organization's history. He's shown the ability to be one of MLB's best hitters (not just for catchers) over several months when he's fully locked in at the plate, and earned himself a gold glove nomination as one of baseball's best overall defenders behind the plate.

 

He produced xWOBa's of .344 in his short stint in 2020, and .373 in 2021. The guy has shown he has tons of ability with the stick at every step along the way, but of course you are going to act like he's baseball's worst player because he had a down year with the bat for the first time since he debuted in rookie ball.

[max silver]

Wait until there's an automated strike zone and his framing won't mean s***. Then we'll be left with his noodle arm, noodle bat and pathetic baserunning.

 

Automated strike zone is likely years away from the sounds of things as Manfred has strongly intimated that a challenge system will likely be implemented at first to avoid making framing irrelevant.

[Spanky99]

And I hate whiney ****s that do nothing but bitch and whine at every single opportunity.

 

Kirk murdered the minor leagues on his short stint down there and produced one of the finer halves of baseball by a catcher in the organization's history. He's shown the ability to be one of MLB's best hitters (not just for catchers) over several months when he's fully locked in at the plate, and earned himself a gold glove nomination as one of baseball's best overall defenders behind the plate.

 

He produced xWOBa's of .344 in his short stint in 2020, and .373 in 2021. The guy has shown he has tons of ability with the stick at every step along the way, but of course you are going to act like he's baseball's worst player because he had a down year with the bat for the first time since he debuted in rookie ball.

 

Haha... nice. I don't think people realize he had a very good 2nd half with a wRC+ 118.

[max silver]

Haha... nice. I don't think people realize he had a very good 2nd half with a wRC+ 118.

 

Kirk and Moreno's seasons largely mirrored each other to a remarkable degree. Each guy had a pretty disappointing start to the season and produced much better at the plate as the season went on. Kirk never really looked fully locked in at the plate all season compared to previous seasons so hopefully he can rediscover his previous form in seasons to come.

 

First Half

Kirk 77 WRC+ 0.4 FWAR

Moreno 78 WRC+ 0.4 FWAR

 

Second Half

Kirk 118 WRC+ 1.3 FWAR

Moreno 131 WRC+ 1.3 FWAR

[Jimcanuck]

Ya I'm not gonna compare a player's 3rd MLB season with a rookie's

[Terminator]

Kirk is only a year older it's a pretty fair comparison.

[L54]

Kirk is fat but at least he’s a guy you can pencil in for 2 WAR next year. He will be better next year I’m pretty confident in that. The team has bigger issues than at C

[jaysblue]

Kirk works well behind the plate and is an excellent framer. Just need him to hit for some more power and to get into better shape. Just put up Gregg Zaun offensive numbers and all will be fine! Should be good for 2 WAR or a bit more.

 

Jansen needs to stay healthy. Would be nice to see him stay healthy enough to get 500 PA and go off hitting like 30 HR's or something haha. But yeah even with 300 PA, Jansen should be good for 2 WAR as well.

[connorp]

Kirk works well behind the plate and is an excellent framer. Just need him to hit for some more power and to get into better shape. Just put up Gregg Zaun offensive numbers and all will be fine! Should be good for 2 WAR or a bit more.

 

Jansen needs to stay healthy. Would be nice to see him stay healthy enough to get 500 PA and go off hitting like 30 HR's or something haha. But yeah even with 300 PA, Jansen should be good for 2 WAR as well.

 

It’s Jansens contract year, so maybe he’ll just play though the next microscopic hairline fracture in his metacarpal that would typically put him out 8 weeks.

[deanmike]

Yeah even as someone who wanted Kirk as the C moved out last offseason, he should be the least hated fatty out of the 3 fatties by far. At least he's still putting up solid value at the C position (for now). One of the other fatties is a f***ing replacement level DH (this is Kirk's imminent future, not present), and the other one is just straight up a lazy piece of garbage minor league pitcher.

[BigCecil]

Ya I'm not gonna compare a player's 3rd MLB season with a rookie's

 

Kirk is only a year older it's a pretty fair comparison.

 

Kirk is only a year older but the 1st and 3rd year comparison isn't great - lot smaller sample size for Moreno. Kirk's body type and weight is a real issue for performance and longevity.

 

Isn't the only skill Kirk has a material advantage over Moreno framing? They are close on blocking. Pop time and throwing is no contest. Framing going to diminish in the value equation by 25-26 when they implement the robo ump appeal system on balls/strikes. AZ has Moreno until '29. Kirk's lack of speed is a significant negative with his contact bat - GIDP machine.

 

But I agree with L54 C is not our biggest issue and Kirk is a good option - pretty much a lock for 2+ WAR. Hopefully he gets in better shape.