August of 2024 began with players in new uniforms, and ended with rookies shaking up the league. A lot happened, and a lot of the events of this month clarified the overall picture of this season as it stands heading into its climax. There's a lot to cover this month, even if on the surface it was a month where both my teams did really well and stayed atop the leaderboards.
But first, let's look back at the 5 predictions I made for August back when the month started:
1. There is one specific team that is immediately aided by their trade deadline strategy. You are referring to the Kansas City Royals. This team has caught fire specifically thanks to adding Paul deJong, Hunter Harvey, Michael Lorenzen and Lucas Erceg. They didn't go for game-changing additions, they went with people they needed, and that's made them a force again.
2. I'll be specific for a change here: the return of several Rangers pitchers brings them right back into the race and spells doom for at least one AL West competitor. Well, so much for me being specific. Admittedly this was wishful thinking on my part.
3. A big team that had a tough July hits a second wind. The Royals, yes, and I'd also put the Braves in this category because as it stands right now they're making it very difficult for the Mets to grasp a spot. Possibly the D-Backs and Padres too.
4. At least one more kick in the crotch for A's fans before the team leaves next month. I suppose Mark Canha's tearful collecting of the dirt from the last Bay Series counts here.
5. Something really silly happens around waiver wire deadline season. Yeah, wasn't really a factor this year.
A lot of swings and misses for me this month. So, to that end, let's talk about 5 things from August 2024 that no one could have predicted:
1. Shohei Ohtani notches a 40-40 season with plans for more. So...people probably could have predicted Ohtani would hit a lot of homers this year. Kinda what he does. Maybe less due to rehabbing. But Ohtani becoming a 40-steals guy while not being able to throw? Like, that's unlocked a new level of greatness. Y'all remember when we weren't sure if we'd be able to like Ohtani due to the whole Ippei thing, which turned out to not really be a factor anyway? Well now he's surprisingly a 40-40 guy with...the opportunity to go 50-50 if he stays hot, which is always a possibility with Ohtani. And remember, this is a DOWN YEAR for this guy.
2. Bobby Witt Jr. becomes a superstar. I think a lot of people knew this would come eventually, but perhaps not to this extent this soon. Witt has been having the kind of season that, if Aaron Judge didn't exist, would easily garner him an MVP. So far he's looking at a batting title, with a .341 average, along with leading the league in hits with 185, not far from 200 at all. And then he's also looking at his first 100+ RBI year, his first 30+ home run year, basically his first OMG season. The way things are going, it may not be his last. A lot like Corbin Carroll last year, Witt is making the Royals a postseason factor almost singlehandedly. In fact,
3. The AL Central is not a runaway. For most of the year, the Cleveland Guardians had this division locked up and sealed. And then the Twins went on a massive streak, followed by the Royals. Towards the end of the month, the whole division came down to one or two games, with the Guardians-Royals series nearly flipping the race entirely. As it stands now, the Guardians have reclaimed a 2.5 game lead, thanks to Framber Valdez slowing down the Royals the other day, and the Royals and Twins are close enough to potentially make August exciting.
4. The NL West isn't a runaway either. The Dodgers may have pulled back ahead due to some activated players, but as they stumbled mid month there was a chance the Padres and D-Backs could lap them. San Diego had an incredible August run, and while it's slowed a ton they've still won 77 and are chasing a playoff spot. As are the D-Backs, still embroiled in an LA series and trying to eat away at the Dodgers' five game lead. If two of these three teams play each other in October, it's likely gonna be a bloodthirsty affair.
5. The Rangers have no shot at competing. As you can tell back there, I genuinely thought the Rangers were gonna come back, a lot like they did last year, and reclaim some momentum and make the AL West regret it. That hasn't happened. The rotation injuries, as well as too many mediocre seasons from great players, have landed the Rangers 10 games below .500. If Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, Cody Bradford, Josh Jung and Tyler Mahle hadn't been hurt for the majority of the season, maybe this team could have accomplished something. For now, all they can do is kiss it up to the Bruce Bochy nonconsecutive pattern and hope they show up next year.
And on the other end of that, 5 things from August 2024 that a lot of people could have predicted.
1. Rumors of Corbin Carroll's demise have been greatly exaggerated. It just took a few months, but now he's back to 2023 levels, and he's looking to at least notch 25 homers this year. Perhaps he'll heat up in October as well.
2. What's that? Judge is chasing 60 again?? The man has 51 home runs and 123 RBIs, and there's a month left to play. I am consistently amazed at the degree of power this man is capable of, and I hope he continues to amaze me.
3. The Tigers start figuring things out once they don't have to give an active roster spot to Javier Baez. With Kerry Carpenter back, and hitting, and Jace Jung, Trey Sweeney and Parker Meadows up and surging, I think the Tigers are figuring out what the future of this team looks like...and it may not involve Baez.
4. Putting Taijuan Walker out there every five days isn't a successful long-term strategy for the Phillies. It just genuinely sucks that it took this long for them to figure it out. Tyler Phillips is clearly the better option, because he's had MLB success this year, even if he lost it a little. Walker was gonna be a bullpen guy come October anyway, this is just cutting out the middleman.
5. The Orioles trading for Trevor Rogers was a bad idea. Oh, what, Rogers immediately gets injured and the two guys you gave up become fixtures for the Marlins? Who could have predicted that?? Oh, EVERYONE?? Come on, man... If the O's lose again in the early playoffs it'll be because of moves like this.
Here, for the record, are the 5 most important players of August 2024:
2. Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
3. Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals
4. Chris Sale, Atlanta Braves
5. Jarren Duran, Boston Red Sox
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