Wood Work

 

I've been writing this blog, and following baseball, for over a decade. I've seen a lot of bad teams that, for all intents and purposes, could be lost to history without anyone noticing. Aside from the last two seasons of all-time ineptitude, I've seen versions of the Pirates, Orioles, Marlins, Rays and Astros that completely refused to be anywhere close to good, and trudged along out of their own necessity. 

But something to be aware of is that it's very hard for a bad team to still have nobody I collect on it. The 2000s Orioles still had Brian Roberts. The early 2010s Astros still had Hunter Pence. I think about the stretch from 1994 til like 2005, where the Brewers had virtually no one I would ever think of seriously collecting playing for them. Aside from that one year of Hideo Nomo and the beginning of Nelson Cruz, it's a wasteland of replacement level guys and 'that guy's. At one point, Milwaukee seriously subsisted off of a core of Jeromy Burnitz, Geoff Jenkins, Jeff Cirillo, Jose Valentin, Fernando Vina and Dave Nilsson. Really.

So what I'm saying is that the 2026 Nationals...likely will be a bad team. They're not looking terrific, not gonna lie. They won yesterday against the Pirates in a squeaker, and even then most people are chalking that up to Don Kelly's mismanaging rather than anything the Nats actually did. Even though they currently lead the Mets in the standings, and are arguably playing better than the Phillies right now, they are not exactly expected to compete, and the general idea is that they'll likely sell at the deadline. But...even if they are a bad team, they still have James Wood and C.J. Abrams, and both are terrific. 

The Nationals have taken on several prospects from other teams, Abrams chief among them, with the intent on starting a new dynasty. Some have already moved on; Lane Thomas is now with Kansas City and MacKenzie Gore is now with Texas. The majority are still impacting the direction of this team. Even though Wood and Abrams came over in the same deal, they're still the marquee guys for this Nats team. Abrams is off to a scorching start, hitting .367 with 19 RBIs and 6 homers, plus a crazy 1.175 OPS. It is very possible that the Nats could trade Abrams at the deadline, and the lack of any 1st place prospects have sort of cemented that.

Which leaves James Wood, who I do not think is in danger of being traded anytime soon. And the Nationals are all the better for it. Wood is 23, reaching his prime, and still hitting great power numbers, with 5 homers and 14 RBIs already. Dude's a born power hitter, and though the high K rate is still scary, his production can't be denied. The hope is he can stay in Washington for a bit and help the team develop. You're already seeing Brady House, Foster Griffin, Daylen Lile, Nasim Nunez and Clayton Beeter becoming everyday options, and it's better than the carousel of replacement guys we've seen over the last few years.

The Nats at least have control over how much they can accomplish even in the midst of a seemingly lost year like this one. If James Wood, C.J. Abrams, Cade Cavalli and Jacob Young can deliver on great seasons, that'll at least be a step in the right direction. 

Coming Tonight: He just took a no-hitter into the eighth right around the point where Cleveland fans really started tiring of the old ace.

Wilyer Or Won't You

 

I don't think anybody could have predicted just how rough the Red Sox's start would be. I don't think many people were thinking they'd be a 1st place finisher, but the idea was that these guys could chase the division and contend with some of the bigger guns on account of their lineup core and well-stocked rotation, but...yeah if anybody came into this season thinking this would be an outright last place team, I doubt it'd gain too much traction. 

Let's see, what's failed already for this team. Okay, so Ranger Suarez in Fenway has gone essentially as badly as one might expect, he's struggled to find his footing already. Johan Oviedo made one appearance and is now out for a few months, meaning they gave up The Password, still chilling in Indianapolis, for nothing. Caleb Durbin's been an absolute train wreck at third, hitting .126, meaning they could have avoided this by signing Bregman. Marcelo Mayer still can't hit at the MLB level, and without David Hamilton's security, and with Romy Gonzales and Triston Casas hurt, the infield's looking dire. Jarren Duran still isn't hitting, and has now resorted to flipping off fans. Brayan Bello's having another disappointing year after so much promise. And now, after a rough start in Minneapolis, Garrett Crochet has a 7.58 ERA, which he will spend the rest of the season trying to get down despite the ability to slow down any team, which he still has.

That's a LOT that isn't working. And that doesn't even include the fact that they have no pieces left from the Rafael Devers deal, and one of them, Kyle Harrison, was redeeming himself in Milwaukee til the injury. Too many flighty decisions are coming back to haunt this Sox team early, and it's begun to piss off the fanbase. And if there's one thing you do not want to do, it's piss off New Englanders. They took the Pats thing fairly well, but this Sox thing is happening on top of the potential of both an early Celtics exit and a rough seeding against the Sabres. If anything else bad happens, the Boston fans are gonna start storming the field and fighting Trevor Story.

It's not that there aren't highlights, but they feel hidden. Wilyer Abreu's off to a phenomenal start, hitting .333 with 10 RBIs and 3 homers. He leads the league in WAR with 1.4, which is pretty nice. Roman Anthony and Willson Contreras have already been pretty productive in terms of power numbers, and are looking to keep the top of the lineup looking that scary. Connelly Early has been providing a shocking bit of consistency amid a rotation that should be pitching better, as he's the only one of the 5 with an ERA lower than 3. And Aroldis Chapman seems to love Boston, and still has a very low ERA. Not sure why a guy who has a history of hitting things would enjoy Boston so much but there you go.

The Sox don't just look bad right now, they look dire. As dire as a team with that much money put into it can look. There's always a chance to turn things around, but this really isn't a great start.

Coming Tomorrow- Since Soto left, the Nationals have been looking for a piece that could be described as 'foundational'. I think they found one.

Fill a Buster

 

You'd think that adding Rafael Devers, Willy Adames, Harrison Bader and Luis Arraez to a Giants team like this would amount to a beefed-up lineup, right? That's kind of the idea when you get those guys. Instead, we have a team that's only scored 6 or more runs in 4 of their first 14 games. A lot of games of milling around, scoring maybe a run, or just getting blanked. Devers is hitting .212, Bader's hitting 115, Heliot Ramos is hitting .226, and only Willy Adames has hit more than 2 home runs. 

Kind of an odd way of going about it, but Buster seems to know what he's doing.

And that's just been the refrain ever since Buster Posey took over the head office. 'Well, he knows what he's doing'. His leadership brought 3 rings to the city, and his final season surge brought a surprise NL West winning year in 2021. Yet so far, the Giants have been...kinda similar to how they were when Buster took the job. Lots of promise, not a lot of payoff. Now they don't even have the luxury of Logan Webb, as he's struggled in his first few starts. The rough go has landed the Giants at the bottom of the division, below even the Rockies, who are at the very least 'okay' this year. 

There is SOME positive movement in this lineup, but it's not where everyone thought it would be. Willy Adames, after a rough year 1 in San Fran, is definitely his old self, hitting .273 with 6 RBIs, 9 doubles and and 3 homers. Matt Chapman and Luis Arraez are both off to strong contact starts. The big surprise has been Daniel Susac, a rookie catcher who's surged in a backup spot, already 7 for 12 with 3 RBIs. Beyond them, though, it's been disappointing. The whole outfield is struggling, Bailey's still not hitting, and Devers...might just be this kind of high-K hitter now.

At the very least the pitching's better. Webb's gonna come around eventually [hopefully], but until then there's still Robbie Ray, former Cy Young winner and ace. Ray's gotta feel bad that he left Toronto AND Seattle before both teams took off, and now he's in SF without much hope for contention. He's still a very strong option though, with a 2.42 ERA and 24 Ks in his first 4 starts. Ray is 34, a few surgeries removed, and still a strong strikeout artist. Landen Roupp and Tyler Mahle haven't been too bad either. All else fails and they might give Carson Whisenhunt another go, and maybe that'll work this time.

There's enough to distract you from the general disfunction, but the Giants still aren't a true competitor, after years of trying desperately to match up to the Dodgers or Padres. Now they can't even match up to the Rockies. The season is still very young, and a surge is always possible, but not without a lot of much needed waking up. If Devers can go on an April/May run like the one that got him to SF, maybe they'll be alright.

Coming Tomorrow- Speaking of where Devers was last year, uh...they're not doing too great either. This outfielder in particular is, but...otherwise it's pretty rough.

The Return of Nola Day

 

You forget how much of a luxury it is for a guy to pitch for the same team for over a decade, routinely make all his starts, and continue to achieve the same level of fan support. Without Wainwright or Kershaw being active, it really is just Aaron Nola right now that's accomplished this. With the exception of last year, where frankly he was kinda burned out, and 2016 and 2017, where he was spending time in Lehigh Valley to get the balance right, every year of his career he's made all his starts and been a reliable, well-loved arm for the Phillies. I've been to my share of Nola Days, I've seen him flirt with a no-hitter, and I've grown to respect him as a veteran arm in an age where the Phillies were more prone to deal a great pitcher, if we'd even had one.

The main issue many fans have with Aaron Nola is those meatballs right down the middle. He can have a start where he strikes out 8 or 9 batters and gets the win but still gives up a home run or two that could have been avoided. In 2024, despite a great season, he led the lead in homers allowed with 30. In 17 starts last year he gave up 18. And in three 2026 starts, despite a 3.63 ERA and 19 Ks, he's allowed...three home runs. When you have guys like Zack Wheeler, Andrew Painter and Cristopher Sanchez, who really don't give up long balls like that, it stands out. And it'll ultimately prevent Nola's stats from being fully embraced when it comes time for HOF enshrinement. The dude's likely to hit 2000 Ks this year, and will very likely get to start his 300th game. But he wasn't THE BEST consistently enough to get the rest of the league to really care, not like Waino and Kersh did for sure. 

At the same time, he's still a very good starting pitcher, who's had a great career, and still has a handful more seasons to play in Philly. He starts tonight's game against the Cubs, and I will be in attendance. There is the concern that the Cubs' menagerie of power hitters could get to him, but seeing as last night was a race to see whose lineup could wake up first that the Phils ultimately won, I'm still optimistic.

The Phillies themselves have began the year 8-8, and haven't really been hitting as well as the reputation would imply. Last night Kyle Schwarber had 2 homers, but I'm still not sure if this'll be a messy 40+ homer season for Kyle or a dignified one. Bryce Harper's thankfully hitting, mostly out of spite, and he's got 3 homers and 10 RBIs already. But honestly, this lineup still feels like something's missing. Alec Bohm is being given more power opportunities and he's not taking advantage of them. Turner and Garcia have been good but not great. Justin Crawford is a terrific contact hitter but isn't anywhere in the lineup where he can really bat runs in. It just seems like an incomplete hitting unit, hence the struggles.

Thankfully the pitching's been doing a lot for us, especially the bullpen. Jhoan Duran, thankfully, IS the guy for this team, and has been terrific so far. Tim Mayza and Tanner Banks have been terrific, and Brad Keller's slowly catching up. And let's not ignore the fact that Andrew Painter's the kind of guy that can recover from a horrible migraine incident, come into the game 2 innings late and still be absolutely elite. Even with the rotation security, we NEED a guy like that. 

The Phillies still look good in points, but you can never tell which team's gonna show up, or when they're actually gonna hit. Hopefully they can continue their damage from last night into a game I'll be there for.

Coming Tomorrow- If the Phillies' have struggled hitting, his team has REALLY struggled hitting, but thankfully he can still pitch 6 innings of clean baseball.

Capitalized

 

I dunno, I think it's kinda ironic that the Mets, this past weekend, got clobbered at CitiField by a guy named Shea.

Here's how variable the AL West has been recently. Since their New York trip, the A's are suddenly in 1st place, after starting the season 3-6. They were 1-5 before they got to Houston, and then they took two from the Astros, which isn't especially difficult this year, then two from the Yankees and then a full sweep of the Mets. And now they're leading the division. Interesting to note that I don't think anything's drastically different between stretches. I just think they've woken up, and are finally playing to potential after a rough opening week. 

It's funny, I was looking through my current hitters binder today, cause I try to collect a handful of current guys, and for the first time since everybody left after the 2021 season, the A's have a really well stocked lineup. And this is even with Rooker hurt. Kurtz, Butler, Soderstrom, Wilson, Langeliers and Muncy represent years of development all paying off at once. If the most notable 'hired hand' guy is Jeff McNeil, who actually isn't doing too badly and sprung to life against his former team, then they're doing something right.

The secret weapon of this A's team that everyone underestimates is Shea Langeliers, who's once again off to a crazy power-hitting start with 5 homers and 10 RBIs. I think it's just tough, in a division with Cal Raleigh in it, to be a notable power hitting catcher. Langeliers has it tough, Yanier Diaz, Kyle Higashioka...it's just tricky. But Langeliers, while he may lack the name brand recognition, is still a crucial part of this lineup, and he's not bad defensively either. Kurtz and Wilson are probably the more impressive all-around players, but having a catcher that belts is always a good thing. Better than having to start Austin Hedges 4 out of 5 games. 

You're seeing the A's begin to form that sort of fun depth that every great team needs. Carlos Cortes is the hungry bench bat with killer perks. Denzel Clarke's the web gem guy, in the grand tradition of Ramon Laureano and Billy Burns. Hogan Harris is the resident long relief specialist now. Jack Perkins also hosts Biography on the side, it's a whole thing. And while this team is still in desperate need of homegrown starting pitching, having comeback seasons from both Aaron Civale, which is surprising and welcome, and Jeffrey Springs, which...annoys me, is definitely helpful. Jacob Lopez is that guy filling the void, and I don't know if he's enough right now. He's also 28. 

I think the reason why everything looks so much sunnier and optimistic for this A's team is that, even keeping in mind the temporary nature of it, the A's are finally wearing 'Sacramento' on their chests and playing as the Sacramento Athletics, even if the MLB isn't word-for-word granting them that. But hey, it says so on the jerseys. Sacramento A's. No use hiding it. 

But yeah, if the A's do intend to take off and make a run, I'm 100% behind them. I think this team can outhit a lot of people, and so far they've really done so. Maybe the world is ready for the A's to be good again. I know I certainly am.

Coming Tomorrow- He made his debut over TEN YEARS AGO. TEN. Making me feel ancient. And he's still in the exact same city, playing the exact same big game situations. 

Arch Arrival

 You know, 30 years ago, if a guy spent his first three seasons in the majors striking out 100 times without hitting anywhere above .200 and then suddenly becomes a consistent and powerful hero, it's because of one of two things. Either he's juicing...or he's just a late bloomer. And there weren't really a lot of late bloomers in the 90s because all the late bloomers just took steroids. 

But now that the development periods are different, you either get people who get called up in their early 20s and waste no time, people who don't get called up til their mid-to-late 20s and make it count, or people who get called up in their early 20s, struggle for a couple years and then after the MLB development time lock into place. And even if I prefer players get called up in their early 20s, we have seen that more frequently nowadays. Casey Mize was like that, Jo Adell was like that, Nico Hoerner was like that, and now Jordan Walker is like that. For three years he was absolutely unfit for the majors, and struggled to do anything at the plate. Now he is 25, and he's hit 7 home runs in 15 games. Keep in mind that his previous single season home run total is 16, from his rookie season in 2023.

Just when the novelty was running out, Jordan Walker's apparently arrived. And that really says a lot about the Cardinals. They know people were just giving up on them, and they're still finding ways to surprise people. Jordan Walker hitting home runs left and right is one way, Gorman and Burleson forming a pretty solid power core finally is another. The Cardinals don't have a ton to work with this year, but they're still not completely out of the conversation.

First of all, as was becoming evident last season, the bullpen. Riley O'Brien, JoJo Romero, George Soriano and Gordon Graceffo have had terrific springs so far, with O'Brien and Romero having yet to give up an earned run. O'Brien has also moved into a consistent 9th inning spot, and that's gone super well so far. Soriano is looking way better in St. Louis than he did in Miami. And even if it's very clear that something is very wrong with Matt Svanson, the core of this bullpen is definitely enough to really rest on. Getting McGreevy, Liberatore and Leahy to provide more consistent starting protection is the next step, but considering this is a year where, for the first time in ages, the Cardinals really don't have a proven ace, I think it's logical that this group takes some time to find itself. Who knows, it could be somebody like Tekoah Roby, Tink Hence, Brycen Mautz or Cooper Hjerpe. Then again I'm mostly just waiting for Jurrangelo Cijntje to come up cause I wanna say his name. Ooh, those dutch pronunciations are fun!

I think with J.J. Wetherholt in this lineup, the Cardinals stand more of a chance in the long run. If Wetherholt and Winn are gonna be there for a while, that's a perfectly respectable foundation to work around, and the pieces are gonna fall into place. I think it does mean Alec Burleson and Ivan Herrera might need to go at the deadline, because I don't know if they'll be able to break even by July. But it does show more optimism and forward momentum than the team had in the last few years. 

Who knows, with an organization as well-run as the Cardinals' maybe it'll take far less than 11 years to rebound from a stunning playoff loss to the Phillies.

Coming Tonight: One of the best power-hitting catchers in the AL. Very glad he's out of New York for a bit. 

Cosmic Rays

 

Y'know...a week ago the Yankees could have scored runs off of Nick Martinez.

I dunno, man. You think you have a team figured out and then they can't do anything against Aaron Civale, then can't mount a comeback against a clearly mediocre Rays team. The Rays' bullpen has been vile this year, and still David Bednar goes 'watch this' and ruins everything.

What can't be disputed, even if I'd try to whine about how undeserving the Rays are of a .500 record even if they outperformed the Yankees at home, is the talent emanating from Chandler Simpson. THAT is a leadoff hitter. Get on base, hits triples, steals, gets home. Everything you want. The man is a contact machine, and he could ride a .300+ average for a while at this rate. 'Pesky' is a good word for someone like Simpson, and it's clearer to me how tough of an out he's gonna be in every subsequent Yankees series. At least last year the speedy tough out guy on the Rays could get traded to New York midseason and wind up as a fun utility guy here. Simpson's gonna be a Ray for at least another two years, maybe three if the Rays can't find a good enough trade partner in time. 

I say that, yet they still haven't managed to get rid of Yandy Diaz, and they're better for it. I never would have thought THIS GUY would be a valuable veteran power bat. I saw him as a fill-in infield guy playing for Cleveland in 2017 and I didn't really think too much of him, and then he goes to Tampa and becomes a white-hot power hitting corner. Diaz is currently hitting .362 with 21 hits, 14 RBIs and 3 homers. I know that the Rays expected someone like Aranda or Caminero to be off to a hotter power start, but they'll take more Yandy Diaz production, I know that. And admittedly Jonathan Aranda has 3 homers and 14 RBIs himself, so he's just heating up.

I think the perks of this Rays team get overlooked because it's so easy to see the flaws. Once again, they have no choice but to start Taylor Walls at shortstop, meaning they're wasting like 3 at-bats a game. The Cedric Mullins experiment is not working out yet, and he may in fact just be past his prime. The bullpen is still a major problem area, as even in today's win Mason Englert let an Aaron Judge homer by and nearly wrecked the game. The days of having a murderer's row of sneaky, unhittable specialists all in a line are gone; now these guys are just trying to keep a job. Only Hunter Bigge and Jesse Scholtens have ERAs below 2.50, and Scholtens arguably should be starting. At the very least Rasmussen, Matz and Martinez have been solid so far, but considering that Martinez was already a 'break in case of emergency' starter, and Ryan Pepiot's missing time, them having to reach into depth options IN APRIL isn't a great sign. This is why you don't trade Taj Bradley.

A sweep of the Yankees is a good source of dopamine, but it's still early, and this is still a weaker, flawed Rays team. Unless this really is a moment of pure turnaround, the Rays need to come to terms with their limitations or face another really rough July.

Coming Tomorrow- After three years of 'is he for real', 7 homers in 3 and a half weeks seem to provide a definitive answer to that.