Brownie19

Maybe - I don't know how conclusive it is. I do think our crappy baserunning hurts us, which isn't a "bad luck" excuse or any indication we are underperforming the xStats (not that I looked into all the xStats) - it's simply an element of our offense that we aren't very good at.

Jays offense is now 7th in MLB in wRC+, but only 16th in runs scored. Such a common outcome these past 3 years. Our shoddy baserunning seems to hold us back (as does the lack of power).

Yeah I noticed the other day that Moreno got hot and ran into some XBH's. Him and Kirk continue to produce eerily similar numbers (112 wRC+ for Moreno, 111 for Kirk now).

Talkin’ Baseball (@talkinbaseball_) • Instagram reel WWW.INSTAGRAM.COM 29K likes, 445 comments - talkinbaseball_ on June 1, 2025: "Does not look good for Corbin Burnes". We probably dodged a bullet here...

Pearson and Merryweather continue to struggle for the Cubs this year...I feel bad for Big Nate.

I didn't scan through this entire GDT to see if this was posted already, but if it wasn't, this is incredible! https://www.instagram.com/reel/DKQicEbPCm2/?igsh=MWFmdWxvczhjYzQ1dQ==

He hasn't pitched recently and was lit up the last time out. This was a perfect game to let him throw a clean inning in.

After just 4 full seasons in the majors, he'll likely have more career WAR than Sal Perez does after his 13th full season...

Are companies finding a way to make baseball card collecting popular again? I mean stuff like Pokemon continues to be big business (I think?). I'd love to see my kids get into collecting cards like I did when I was young.

I think I temporarily forgot the Marlins even existed. I see Canadian lad Liam Hicks is lighting it up as a Rule 5 pick. That's nice to see (too bad we couldn't have landed him). Stowers is having a great year. That's about it. What a brutal org.

I don't think that was the reason at all.

I love it - I'd love to periodically hear how that's going for you. ie, what new cards you've been able to land.

I'm curious how you're definitively concluding that Bo is in the worst shape of his life and no where near where he was a couple of years ago. Are you his pool boy?

That's some indepth analysis there Captain O! LOL

FFS. I watched it on my phone. Blah - but yes!

I can't say I hate the thought that Bo is hunting the fastball more. I hope he maintains that approach and makes the necessary adjustments to start mashing LH pitching again. He certainly turned on a fastball tonight - thankfully.

That's a massive HR for Bo. Let's go!

Texas must feel a lot like we do...

I thought Barger might have got that.

I don't know why he's try something different when our offense is so hot. So bizarre eh?

These guys can't win. Keep the lineup the same and people complain they don't mix it up enough. Mix it up on a night where it seems likely Bo is hurt/unavailable and they get sh*t on. Who do you want getting more at bats this evening than Varsho? Vlad maybe? Lukes? Barger? Santander seems like it's a confidence thing - they're trying something different. We've scored like 2 runs in the past 5 games and people are up in arms over the lineup construction? I have news for you - they all kinda suck and it's unlikely to matter one bit who bats where.

Stats scouting suggests this kid is on a trajectory to be an absolutely star at the ML level (not to jinx it). He's cut like 12% off his K rate, which is down to 18%, while maintaining a 10% BB rate and a .250 ISO. 148 wRC+ at A+ ball at age 19 is sexy. It will be interesting to see how aggressive they get with him. He'll certainly get to AA this year, but he may start in AA next year before moving to AAA. Good chance he's playing for the Jays by age 21 (if not age 20). If he continues like this, he's going to be a Top 20 prospect in MLB by the end of the year and pushing the Top 10 (Top 5?) by next year.

Baseball Savants tracks all the data on approach angle, tilt, etc. now and have little stick figures to help illustrate it. It's really cool. It would be interesting to know if the Jays have been targeting or preaching flatter swing paths. To be honest, that seems like a logical reaction to the "high fastball" era we've been in for the past 5-6 years. It could also just be noise, as I believe prospects like Davis Schneider had a much more uppercut swing approach (as an example).

That's awesome - I love the idea. Even if it doesn't pan out as a "money maker" for you, it's a neat hobby that will provide all kinds of interesting memories. I suspect you'll have all kinds of stories about prospects thought were "for sure" going to make it big, who ultimately flopped, leaving you with a worthless card and other stories about guys who you successfully bought low on who became stars. I have a display cabinet full of autographed baseballs. I ought to do a better job labelling who's who, but I know I've collected several young prospects along the way with a similar mindset. I don't expect to make any money off it, but the memories will last a lifetime. I don't know much about card collecting, but are these Bowman autographs the best ones to go after?

Kevin Gausman - Toronto Blue Jays (New Splitter Grip) Oh, Kevin Gausman, how you drive me mad. I was a little down on Gausman last year because of the hard contact he has always allowed, but not nearly down on him as much as it turned out that I needed to be. I then spent the early part of spring training buying into a resurgence for Gausman because there were rumors he was adding a sinker or cutter to help protect his four-seam fastball. I took some late shares in early drafts, but then neither of those pitches showed up, and he had a 4.59 ERA and pedestrian 23% strikeout rate in his first nine games. I figured this was going to be 2024 all over again, and I cut Gausman in a shallow league. Then, lo and behold, Gausman happened to “find” his old splitter after his poor start against the Rays and has now allowed one run on eight hits in his last 15 innings while striking out 15 and walking nobody. Cool. Pitcher List As you can see from the chart above, Gausman’s splitter in his start on Monday against the Rangers had 4.5 inches more vertical drop than before with less arm-side break. In essence, it moved more straight down, which is exactly how he had it moving in years past. “For whatever reason, my fingers want to have a mind of their own,” Gausman told The Athletic. “Kind of do whatever they want. So, you know, it’s just kind of reminding them to stay put.” I certainly wish he had told them that a few weeks ago, but this version of Kevin Gausman with his long-lost splitter grip feels like it can be close to the 2023 version that posted a 3.16 ERA and 31% strikeout rate. Now, that version still had a 1.18 WHIP and gave up a lot of hard contact, so it’s not a perfect pitcher, but it’s an infinitely better version than we saw last year. Just keep in mind that splitter movement and location can come and go on a whim, and we’ve seen over the last year and a half that Gausman simply doesn’t have enough to be fantasy relevant if the splitter leaves him. Just cross your fingers for a happy reunion, but don’t be afraid to cut bait if the grip wanders away again.