Paperweight Beats Rock

 

The Minnesota Twins really just won a series against the Yankees in the Bronx. And honestly, somehow, they deserved to.

It's been no secret that since mid-June the Yankees have been spiraling out of control. In fact, I may have been in attendance for the last time the Yankees actually felt like a dominant winning team, their excellent shutout of the Reds. Immediately after that they've lost all direction. The team's stopped hitting, management keeps sending down players who are doing well because they've got options left, Gerrit Cole keeps giving up runs, and the absence of Judge is feeling more and more evident. Ben Rice initially looked like he'd fill that void, but since that Reds game where he had a 3-run shot, he's been hitting .135 with 7 hits, 3 home runs and 15 strikeouts. The whole team's gone cold, including him. So us losing another series? Why not at this rate.

But the Twins?? On paper you'd think they were directionless, but somehow they've become one of the sneakiest bad teams in baseball. They're not supposed to compete, but they're skirting through the middle of the AL Central, hanging around .500, winning big against great teams solely because they can. They are without Ryan Jeffers right now, and the fear is that they're about to lose Byron Buxton to a hip issue [because that man couldn't be any more cursed]. But barring that they've had a really surprising lineup, filled with guys like Luke Keaschall, Kody Clemens, Austin Martin, Brooks Lee and Trevor Larnach, who aren't burning the house down but are providing steady work. They've even got Josh Bell bringing his usual brand of cheesy power, with 13 homers and 59 RBIs, meaning there's an outside chance Bell nabs a 100 RBI year. I'm not sure if he'll finish it with the Twins, but considering he only has one to date, it'd be a pretty cool achievement. 

The Twins are not a better baseball team than the Yankees, but right now only one of these teams has any spark or unpredictability, and it's not the friggin Yankees. The Twins have guys that you're gonna underestimate and they make you pay anyway. Keaschall and Lee have been so hot recently that they're both on my fantasy team. Ryan Kreisler has 5 homers and 23 RBIs as a bench bat. Alex Jackson is somehow hitting .300 as a backup. They're getting quality starts from Connor Prielipp, Zebby Matthews and Mike Paredes, who are mostly around to fill in for Pablo Lopez, Mick Abel and Bailey Ober and eat innings. Matthews is looking the most MLB-ready yet, and despite a 4.43 ERA has a 1.164 WHIP. Yoendrys Gomez went from a roster hanger-onner to an MLB closer. There's genuine unpredictability to this team, and it's very much appreciated. The Yankees are what you see. Ryan Weathers and Will Warren are gonna get up there and strike you out but leave homer possibilities on the table, so of course you go for it. Jazz Chisholm's gonna make an error or strike out 3 times. Camilo Doval's gonna shit the bed. I'm not saying we're always gonna be this predictable, but we were this series, and the Twins took advantage.

The Twins have the Guardians and Angels up next before the break, and because of the jester's privilege they've received in the AL, no matter how these series' go it might not even matter. They may sell, but I don't even think they'll need to sell Buxton or Ryan. They may just gestate as a spoiler the whole rest of the year. Meanwhile, the Yankees need to get to a point where they're not being tripped up by someone like the Twins. 

Coming Tonight: A young infielder who seems to finally be getting some ample battery-mates.

French Depress

 

The 2026 Padres have only been successful as a way of giving a third-string slugger a return to the glory days he never had. Let me explain,

In 2019, Ty France was all set to take hold of third base in San Diego. It was looking like he was next in the depth chart, he was a highly-prized corner prospect, the stars were aligning. And then the Padres signed Manny Machado, locking up third for the next 4 years, and ultimately the next 14 years. Machado was 26, fully in his prime, and ready to carry the team on his shoulders. Which meant France...was now going to be the backup. Eric Hosmer was covering first, eventually Fernando Tatis would take short; Ty France was completely blocked from the playing time he'd just thought was about to be his. The resulting rookie season was a .234, -0.2 WAR campaign. Despite 20 games of .300 hitting in 2020, the Padres still had no room for France, and dealt him to Seattle for Austin Nola [who would not, ultimately, solve the Padres' catching woes] and two relievers. This deal also brought Andres Muños to Seattle, but that's less important.

What's important is that Ty France, in Seattle, becomes a corner infield mainstay, having an all-star season in 2022, and being a decent part of the M's 2022 playoff squad. Then he stops hitting consistently, gets traded to Cincinnati, and splits the following season between the Twins and the AL Champion Jays. And as a result of his strong postseason as a bench bat, he rejoins the San Diego Padres, 7 years later, as a bench 1B option. And now he's got an .800 OPS, 10 homers and 30 RBIs in a basically everyday role for the Padres. 

Right now, Ty France is the best hitter on this team, something that may have happened if the Padres never traded him. Although what's worrying is that this team has Tatis, Machado, Jake Cronenworth, Jackson Merrill, Xander Bogaerts and Miguel Andujar...and TY FRANCE has the highest OPS. That's a twilight zone twist, man. Okay, you get to be a star for the team that drafted you...but at the risk of literally everyone else in the lineup. The bizarre bit is that France was away from this team long enough to miss the rest of Machado's prime. Machado's been here 7 years, arguably cemented a Hall of Fame case, become a Padres legend, hit a ton of home runs and dialed back down...and NOW France is back being the hero. Good for him honestly, but it just feels a bit poorly timed. 

Obviously there's still things that work about this team. They can steal bases, the rotation isn't too bad, the bullpen's still good. The depth is just gone, and when the team isn't hitting that becomes all the more clear. It's really France and Bogaerts coming off the best, and you can make the case that Bogie isn't even hitting all that well. When Samad Taylor's batting near the front of your lineup, you've gotta question what went wrong. 

Clearly any team with Fernando Tatis and Mason Miller can't be completely counted out, but this is dire. They could use one of their usual post-ASG-break swoons, because otherwise they're really gonna need to think about the future after this season's over.

Coming Tomorrow- A guy I still can't believe stayed around longer than the real reason we traded Michael King to San Diego.

deMystified

 

Well, we were due. A positively average season from probable future Hall of Famer Jacob deGrom. After years of lights-out work, it was bound to happen eventually.

Like Paul Skenes' more comparatively-average 2026, deGrom, on paper, isn't doing too badly. He's 7-5, has a 3.48 ERA, 115 Ks, a 0.993 WHIP. One of the best pitchers on the Rangers, and pretty healthy to boot. But considering what we've seen deGrom do, it does feel like a step down. The last time deGrom had a season with an ERA over 3.10 was 2017, where he had a bloated 3.53 ERA, while notching 15 wins and getting a 4.2 WAR. To him, those are scary numbers. Everybody else would kill for a season like that. 2018-2021, deGrom goes to work, winning 2 Cy Youngs, leading the league in ERA in 2018 with a 1.70, striking out nearly everyone, and eventually getting a bit injury-hampered. But even while he was fighting injuries, deGrom still had a 2.50 or a 1.50 ERA. Which made last year's return to form, with a 2.97 ERA, all the more exciting. 

So here are some things that are true. deGrom, in 2026, is on pace to eclipse his 2025 strikeout total of 185. The Rangers are improving, so there's a chance that his ERA could drop as the second half rages on. This could end up being another banner year for the legendary starter. But even if all of those things happen, this will still go down as one of the most pedestrian seasons of his career. Considering that he just turned 38, it's understandable. I still blame the Mets for not calling him up til he was 26. Yes, he missed all of 2011 recovering from surgery, but he could have seen time in 2013. Harvey was out, it'd have timed up. But alas. 

The less-distressing news, I suppose, is that an average deGrom season is happening in a season of many average years for this Rangers team. Nathan Eovaldi, despite 9 wins and 110 Ks, has a 4.02 ERA that he's been trying to get down since a disastrous first month and a half. MacKenzie Gore, gotten for his velocity, is 5-7 with a 4.31 ERA. Corey Seager's been on and off the IL, and has hit .182 when healthy. Wyatt Langford's also been back and forth from the IL. Even Josh Smith is having a rough year. The team is now in 2nd in the AL West, ahead of the A's, but they're only one game over .500. They had a really good week last week, and while that can be leverage for a bit, we don't know if it's sustainable, especially for a scattered lineup that's relying on Jake Burger, Joc Pederson and a non ironically great Josh Jung season at the moment.

I don't think the Rangers will be sellers later this month, they're on the cusp of 'good'. If they sell anyone it'll be someone disposable, a reliever here or there. They might even buy, who knows. I just don't see this team, which isn't even the best version of this kind of Rangers team, going especially deep. But at least deGrom's healthy and doing his best.

Coming Tonight: One of the best hitters on the Padres right now. Hold your applause. 

2026 All-Star Rosters: Who You Callin' Legend?

 

Before I get into the specifics of who'll be occupying my city in a couple weeks, a word on how asinine the system of roster reveals is. A couple days ago, someone posted on Twitter that the streets of Philadelphia were already laden with banners depicting the all-star selections and nominees, guys like James Wood and Matt Olson and Nick Kurtz, two days before the 'official' release. So if the people that make the banners know ahead of time....and the teams know ahead of time....why draw it out so the fans, who this is FOR, know last? It's the same energy of holding a wedding right above a train station in 100 degree heat. Not even pretending it's about the common folk anymore.

Alright, alright, so they did announce the rosters tonight, for the benefit of us, and they had to act surprised as if everybody in the industry hadn't known for a week. When they do the Oscars, only the people in the back know what's in the envelopes. It's not like you cut to Timothee Chalamet and he mouths 'I lost' to the camera. There's speculation, but it doesn't come off like a badly kept secret. That's what this feels like now.

Anyway. The thing I do every year. Right.

Last week I made a bunch of predictions of who'd make the roster, which would inform my reactions to the actual decisions made. They were based on who was having the best seasons, who would be picked by the league AND the players, and who was the most deserving from each squad. These picks were made with enough of the voting of the starting lineup having elapsed, so I guessed all of those pretty much, and was spot-on. Everybody else I took some wild guesses with, and now we're gonna see how far off I was.

So, let's start with the AL:

Starters:

C: Shea Langeliers, A's. Love that it's happening, more deserving than Kirk. Way ta go.

1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays. So...so the A's fans could vote Langeliers, but they couldn't vote for the guy who's having an MVP season?? That's the part that vexes me. Vladdie starts every year, most of the time he deserves to, this year he's been kinda meh. Nick Kurtz deserves to start. The Jays massive outweighed even the most sensible of the already-small A's fanbase, which is wild because Jacob Wilson started last year. Anyway, Vlad I kinda get but...really should have been Kurtz. Or Rice. [UPDATE: Apparently Vladdie seems to know this, and is sitting this one out. Kurtz gets to start in his place. As it should have been all along.]

2B: Ernie Clement, Blue Jays. This is where the Jays voting massive made themselves the most clear, as he led the AL. Honestly, good for him. Deserves an accolade for how great he's been.

SS: Bobby Witt Jr., Royals. No brainer.

3B: Junior Caminero, Rays. If J-Ram hadn't been hurt it'd have been closer, but Caminero's EARNED this after the last week of power.

OF: Mike Trout, Angels. Absolutely. I'm glad he seems to be healthy enough to make the game.

OF: Aaron Judge, Yankees. Yes, but won't be playing, which we kinda knew and could have maybe resulted in a different final 3. Cody Bellinger should take his spot.

OF: Byron Buxton, Twins. So happy this is happening. Deserves it.

DH: Yordan Alvarez, Angels. Of course. Who else, other than Yandy Diaz, deserved it more?

Reserves:

C: Dillon Dingler, Tigers. Called this one, he's been excellent.

C: Adley Rutschman, Orioles. Did not call this one, I A.) thought Gunnar Henderson would be the O's nod and B.) thought Rice would negate the need for a third catcher. But fine with this.

1B: Ben Rice, Yankees. Deserves it.

1B: Nick Kurtz, A's. Deserves to start. 

2B: Travis Bazzana, Guardians. Called it. What a year from the rookie.

SS: Kevin McGonigle, Tigers. I thought Gunnar Henderson would get this spot, can't be too mad at McGonigle getting his due though.

3B: Miguel Vargas, White Sox. Called it. Him being the only White Sox rep is an absolute travesty and proof of league bias.

OF: Cody Bellinger, Yankees. Duh. Should start.

OF: Randy Arozarena, Mariners. I thought they'd give it to Julio but Randy's honestly had the better season. Like Vargas, him being the only Mariner, especially when two last place teams get two reps apiece, is a CRIME.

OF: Riley Greene, Tigers. This is a pretty savvy pick, but I honestly thought Wilyer Abreu would go here. Fine with this though.

DH: Yandy Diaz, Rays. It'd have been a shame if he didn't the way he's been hitting.

Pitchers:

SP: Dylan Cease, Blue Jays. A shoo-in, for sure.

SP: Parker Messick, Guardians. I actually guessed Gavin Williams would get the nod, but this makes more sense.

SP: Drew Rasmussen, Rays. Called it.

SP: Joe Ryan, Twins. Called it, deserves it.

SP: Cam Schlittler, Yankees. Absolutely, and he should start.

SP: Ranger Suarez, Red Sox. DID NOT CALL THIS ONE. I had this spot going to Nick Martinez.

SP: Michael Wacha, Royals. I don't agree with this one at all. You mean to tell me that you didn't have room for Tarik Skubal but you had room for Michael Wacha? Not to disparage Wacha, he's having a fine season, but I thought Skubal deserved a spot. OR. OR HOW ABOUT LOGAN GILBERT? OR ANY MARINERS PITCHER? Either of those guys would have fit better than a Wacha rep. Schneider only wanted to carry 7 starters. Alrighty.

RP: Bryan Baker, Rays. This one surprised me. Martinez doesn't get it but Baker does. I do think it does ultimately make sense, I just don't know if I'd have included as many relievers as it entails to get to him on the list.

RP: Aroldis Chapman, Red Sox. At the last moment I swapped Jacob Latz to his spot but he was deserving of it. 

RP: Jacob Latz, Rangers. Only Rangers nod. I'd have thought Ezequiel Duran would have squeaked in but I guess not.

RP: Cade Smith, Guardians. Shoo-in, of course.

RP: Louis Varland, Blue Jays. Nobody's been doing it better, so of course he's here.

NL:

Starters:

C: Drake Baldwin, Braves. I do think he deserves this, I'm just worried because he's gone very cold since coming off the IL.

1B: Freddie Freeman, Dodgers. Matt Olson deserved this but I can't stay too mad at Freddie.

2B: Ozzie Albies, Braves. Can't really argue with that.

SS: C.J. Abrams, Nationals. With the season he's having, absolutely.

3B: Max Muncy, Dodgers. I guess so. I don't know if there was anybody that deserved it more, I just feel like the Dodgers fans really made their voices heard this year.

OF: Brandon Marsh, Phillies. I am 100% here for this. I dunno how we got Philly to vote for this, especially considering Harper, Schwarber and Turner couldn't get the votes. But I'm grateful.

OF: Juan Soto, Mets. Very much atones for last year's snub.

OF: Andy Pages, Dodgers. I was thinking Acuna would win the vote and just hand the position to Pages, but we cut the middleman out here.

DH: Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers. Again, Schwarber might have deserved this more but we've gotta have Ohtani there. In his prime, with LA, we have to have him represent the sport.

Reserves:

C: William Contreras, Brewers. Called it, deserves it.

C: Hunter Goodman, Rockies. Called it, also deserves it. Only Rockie, as predicted.

1B: Matt Olson, Braves. Should be starting.

1B: Bryce Harper, Phillies. This is a surprise. Good surprise though. This was apparently Rob Manfred's 'legend pick'. Let's examine that. Last year, Rob Manfred came into the Phillies clubhouse with his pro-salary-cap propaganda, and Bryce Harper told him to leave, and the idea from the league was that the worker advocating for better wages was being the bad guy. So...what do we make of this??? Is Manfred trying to extend an olive branch before ensuring a lockout? What the hell is this move? I'm happy about it, Harper's having a great year, but...it's such an odd choice, making THIS the 'legend' pick. Cause it also reinforces the Dombrowski 'oh he's past his peak' thing, expressly calling him a legend. Like, you know if Verlander was healthy, Manfred would have advocated for him, but in lieu of that, we have...this really awkward move. I dunno, man. It gets stranger..

1B: Sal Stewart, Reds. Okay, so, Harper's shoehorned in, right? So that means we are carrying FOUR first baseman. Five if you count Muncy, who's fundamentally a first baseman. Stewart plays first AND third, but first is his primary position. I think Stewart deserves this, but I had Matt Chapman in this spot because ideally, at some point, a third baseman should play third base. Like...

2B: Luis Arraez, Giants. Like, we do have Luis Arraez, who could play third....and also he's the SIXTH first baseman here. But like...you've got to get at least someone who's good at playing third, right? Matt Chapman's your guy. Or get Bregman or Arenado or somebody like that. No disrespect to Arraez, who deserves this, but if there's a lot of errors at third, don't be shocked.

SS: Otto Lopez, Marlins. Deserves it. 

OF: Corbin Carroll, D-Backs. Called it, here for it.

OF: Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cubs. Called it, and called he'd be the only Cub. 

OF: Jordan Walker, Cardinals. Did not call this! Thought it'd be J.J. Wetherholt. Happy for Walker though.

OF: James Wood, Nationals. Didn't call this either, figured Michael Harris would have his spot. This honestly makes more sense though. Would have preferred Chourio making it in any case.

DH: Kyle Schwarber, Phillies. Wouldn't make sense without him. Remember, there could be a tiebreaker swing-off.

Pitchers:

SP: Chase Burns, Reds. Deserves it, for sure.

SP: Max Meyer, Marlins. Absolutely called it, deserves it.

SP: Jacob Misiorowski, Brewers. Is not going to play. Which is fair, he's starting next sunday. If there's suddenly a vacancy...might I suggest adding Zack Wheeler, like you should have all along???

SP: Eduardo Rodriguez, D-Backs. Didn't expect this one. To me, Kyle Harrison deserves this spot. 

SP: Chris Sale, Braves. Absolutely.

SP: Cristopher Sanchez, Phillies. Should start now that the Miz isn't.

SP: Paul Skenes, Pirates. Would ya believe I actually thought Braxton Ashcraft would be here in his place? I guess Skenes kinda does have to be there though.

SP: Logan Webb, Giants. I had Wheeler in his spot, but Webb's such a good pitcher that I can't be too mad.

SP: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers. 100%. Wrobleski should have had a chance, but Yoshi's something special.

RP: Jhoan Duran, Phillies. In Philadelphia? That's a no-brainer.

RP: Raisel Iglesias, Braves. At the last second I swapped Aaron Ashby into his place, but Iglesias is having a terrific year. Maybe Ashby slides in to replace a guy pitching sunday.

RP: Mason Miller, Padres. Absolutely deserves it. Wild that he's the only Padre.

So yeah, aside from one or two really painful omissions [Wheeler, NL third baseman, the rest of the Mariners], this is pretty spot on. But of course, people are gonna start getting injured and the second and third team guys are gonna land on here, and I'm not gonna vibe with all of them. So I hope for prolonged health and sunday rainouts for all of these folks, and for a really fun Philly-set ASG. Is that too much to ask?? Probably.

First It Giveth..

 

On Wednesday, the Chicago Cubs won a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, 23-3. Dansby Swanson had 3 home runs and 8 RBIs, coming off a game where he had 2 home runs and 3 RBIs. Then yesterday, the Chicago Cubs lost a baseball game 17-1 to the St. Louis Cardinals. Dansby Swanson, who came into the game hitting .210, now sits at a measly .208. I know, if you can't take it, don't deal it, but it's gotta be a wild 48 hours for the Cubs. The Padres might even be a better overall team than the Cardinals, but in those games, the stars both aligned and slammed shut to provide the outcomes we got.

The Cubs are a truly confusing team, in that they should be better than they are, and oftentimes do capitalize on the talent they have but not in a way that boosts them long term. Without Justin Steele, Cade Horton, Jameson Taillon, Ben Brown and Edward Cabrera, this team is sort of balancing plates trying to keep teams down. Matt Boyd is back, he's been fine thus far, if still a bit imperfect. Imanaga's been struggling but is still a decent option. Rea's having an awful year, Assad's mostly eating innings, and David Peterson got the snot kicked out of him yesterday. Additionally, the bullpen's falling apart as well, with Palencia, Hoby Milner, Phil Maton, Ethan Roberts, Riley Martin, Hunter Harvey and Shelby Miller all out. If the pitching injuries was actually a map of the active roster this would be a first place team. Unfortunately it is not, and this team is just plugging guys into places [Bryse Wilson, Trent Thornton, Tyler Ferguson] and hoping nothing goes wrong.

And it sucks because this team truly can hit, and confidently so. The team's sent down Moises Ballesteros, who went cold after May, and Michael Conforto's been playing DH in his place, and he's not half bad. Hitting .248, 7 homers and 21 RBIs. Not Mets good but a good role player. Seiya Suzuki's got 13 homers and 42 RBIs, and Ian Happ's got 17 homers and 41 RBIs, meaning with PCA that's an entire outfield of solid run producers. With the exception of the DH spot, it's an entire lineup of people with a WAR of 1.4 or higher [weird that Nico Hoerner's bringing up the rear after a great start], and all of these guys know how to score runs and keep pitching scared.

But, as we've seen time and time again, that means nothing without a comprehensive pitching staff. And the Brewers are leading this division, handsomely, because they can backup their lights-out lineup with guys like Jacob Misiorowski, Kyle Harrison, Brandon Sproat, Brandon Woodruff and Shane Drohan. The Cubs don't really have more than just one of those guys right now, at best. Which is why a team can take them for 17 points. I think if this pitching staff can grow back over time, and recoup to the level its potential let on, this team could make a wild card run, but...even then, Cabrera was on and off before getting hurt, Taillon's just completely off this year, and there's no chance of Horton being back til midyear next year. Steele is still a 'wait and see' thing, and who even knows what he'll look like when he gets back.

The Cubs should hold onto days like Wednesday, where they can take a team for over 20 points, and figure out how to get around days like yesterday. Cause they have a team that could compete, it's just not complete yet.

Coming Tonight: A man I've never known to throw a pedestrian season...yet here he is throwing one..

Always Be Closing: Filling the Shoes

 

I've written about the disturbing lack of actual closing pitchers in today's 'RP1 takes it til they suck' mindset. Who do we have right now, we have Aroldis Chapman, Raisel Iglesias, Josh Hader, Kenley Jansen I suppose, and that's basically it. In another year or so I could include Jhoan Duran but we've gotta see what he's capable of over time. Everyone else is sort of holding onto their streaks and seeing if they can make a thing out of it. Gone are the days of Troy Percivals and Todd Joneses and Armando Benitezes. It's very much gig mentality. What can I do this year, forget about next year.

Which is why losing Emmanuel Clase, one of the single most dominant closers in baseball, was such a crushing blow for the Guardians. Nobody else actually commits to keeping a closing job like he does, and the dude just bets his way out of a long career. It's heartbreaking. And then, after you thought you'd have a sure thing for years, you're back to 'well who's RP1'. Just like that. Thankfully this happens to a team like Cleveland that already has a great bullpen, but it's certainly not ideal.

Cade Smith was in his second year when he got the closing gig. His freshman season was an eventful one, as he kept a 1.91 ERA in 74 games, with a 2.4 WAR and 103 Ks, plus 16 postseason strikeouts. Last year he was given the closing job upon Clase's absence, and while he blew the occasional save, he still ended the year with 16, plus a 2.93 ERA, 8 wins and 104 Ks. And how he leads the league in saves with 26, and is more than likely headed for his [well-deserved] first ASG. 

But...Cade Smith's big save season is happening in spite of what might be the weakest season of his career so far. His ERA's over 3, which hasn't happened yet, and his WHIP is also at his highest, of 1.200. He's allowing more hits, and showing more vulnerability, even if it means he's got 26 saves. Sometimes getting 40 saves happens to a Jeanmar Gomez or a Roberto Osuna, without the actual closing prowess to be good at the other aspects of the job. And so this season is just telling me how much more fit Smith is to be an eighth inning man, rather than a full closer. But it's really not his fault. There are so few closers these days, and so many more are thrust into that position without really having the gene. Sometimes you get lucky and wind up with Jacob Latz, a reliever-turned-starter-turned-closer, who's found great success in the ninth. Sometimes he will be the guy for a while, and sometimes he's just the guy right now. Cade Smith is looking like the latter, but you can never be too sure. 

The Guards have it so they're tied for first with two more games played, and this weekend series against the White Sox will no doubt decide it. They've won their last two, and they're got Rocchio and DeLauter hot, plus Steven Kwan FINALLY getting things going and playing as well as he usually does, albeit with a slightly shakier average. Once they get J-Ram back [hopefully soon] they should lock the division back up. It'll be a fairly close race to the top though, and seeing as last year proved anyone can get hot in this division at any time, they'd better be hanging on for dear life.

Coming Tomorrow- A guy who hadn't been above .200 since May who suddenly went on the single wildest three day stretch in years. 

Getting his Due-bon

 

Here is a list of some people that Mauricio Dubon has been traded for before becoming an actual starting infielder, in his age-32 season, after 8 years in the bigs.

• Tyler Thornburg, a Brewers relief asset who was traded immediately before requiring surgery and barely playing any healthy games for the team, the Sox, he was traded to.
• Drew Pomeranz, who actually benefitted from a trade to Milwaukee that year.
• Michael Papierski, a guy who no one had thought of before or since.
• Nick Allen, the major league baseball equivalent of how Danny DeVito described himself in Twins ["you're telling me that I'm the leftover crap???"]

It took a WHILE for Mauricio Dubon to find a fit. It somehow didn't happen with the Giants, because right as he was about to take 2nd in 2020, Donovan Solano had an incredible breakout year. He tried to break in with the Astros, but most of the time he was stuck behind Jose Altuve or Jeremy Pena, resorting to being a backup. With Houston he developed such a fan following, even as a utility man, that the fans were upset when the team traded him. Luckily, things worked themselves out, Ha-Seong Kim got injured, and the stage was set for Dubon to get his just desserts.

Dubon as the Braves' starting shortstop has worked extremely well. He's been great on defense, AND he's got 44 RBIs and 8 homers. Offense was never the main emphasis with Dubon, but on a team like this you can't blame him for trying to blend in. Him and Ozzie Albies make an impeccable double play combo, and there's even a chance he squeezes onto the ASG roster. I'm really happy he's become a nice part of this team, and joined so many guys [Harris, Albies, Baldwin, Olson I guess] who are time-tested and proven in Atlanta. This team can still take newcomers to the fold. It seems to have worked with Dominic Smith as well.

Ultimately, though the Braves are heading into July a little worse for wear than expected. They went 10-14 this month, and the losses of Ronald Acuna, Robert Suarez and Spencer Strider might have something to do with it. They got Baldwin back mid-month, but he's gone insanely cold, and has only started hitting again fairly recently. Elder, Holmes and Perez have skidded a little in the last month, as...honestly expected. The team is still good, and still has the pieces to compete, but the Phillies just keep creeping up, and it may come to a boil in the next month if the Braves don't regain momentum.

I do have some hope for this Braves team. Until June, they had so much going for them, and when good they're better than anybody, even the Dodgers. They could get back there if they wanted, and I hope they do.

Coming Tonight: The top closer in baseball is a hard-throwing specialist from Cleveland, and somehow it's a different one than usual.