All That You Can't Leave Behind

Cedric Mullins still being on the Orioles, and still being valued, is fascinating to me. He dodged three different opportunities to be traded: as a prospect during the 2015-16 competitive runs, as a crucial piece of the team in the dark era from 2018 to early 2020s, and as a player on a team with so many other viable options from 2024 til now. So many players did not survive those specific points. So many players were either sold for parts or a part that was sold for someone big. That Means and Santander made it long enough to leave in free agency is pretty phenomenal too, but Mullins could have left at numerous points, and he's survived long enough to help this team still be great.

Right now, in his age 30 season, Mullins is hitting .300 through a week of play with 11 RBIs and 3 home runs. He could very easily let Rutschman, Westburg and Holliday run things but he's still an active, and important, part of this lineup. The fans still love him, the team still loves him, and even if there's this probability that he'll leave in free agency after the season, I think it's fantastic that he's persisted for long enough that he'll leave when he's no longer desperately needed. Or 'the Nanny McPhee tract', as it's called professionally. 

But at the same time, it's wild that Mullins is such a crucial figure, still, for the Orioles during a period of overflow for the team. There are multiple positions where there's a somewhat long line to get playing time. Coby Mayo is on the 40-man, but is behind both Jorge Mateo and Ramon Urias, as well as Jackson Holliday, on the depth chart. Getting Connor Norby out of the way helped, but now Holliday and Westburg are viable MLB IF options, and Henderson covering SS again will make the O's even less likely to consider bringing him in. It's similar for Heston Kjerstad, who's routinely done well in the minors but barely has any room to play in Baltimore. He's DHed mainly, and it hasn't gone very well for him because you get the sense he's being put into wherever there's room, and he feels he's above that. Dylan Carlson seems to getting more OF time than Kjerstad, and it says a lot when the Orioles have more spots for former Cardinals prospects than their own. 

It's not a problem for pitching prospects though. Rodriguez, Bradish, Wells, Suarez and Rogers are all hurt, Gibby and Poteet aren't ready yet, so you have Cade Povich and Tomoyuki Sugano starting games. It...could be going better for both of them. Honestly, with apologies to Charlie Morton and his 10 strikeouts today, really only Zach Eflin is doing what he's supposed to be doing in that rotation right now. So it's a double edged sword, either you're ready for the opportunity and there's no room, or there is room and it keeps getting exploited that you're not ready yet. 

Getting out, however, has its own plusses and minuses, as Kyle Stowers is finding out. The O's trading Stowers was...nearsighted but inevitable. Of all the prospects in the cards last year, Stowers had the biggest power upsides. But there was never any time to play him in the outfield, and he'd always struggle in the majors. You send him back down he'd hit .300 with 30 homers or whatever. So the Orioles sent him to Miami, which...basically that's a minor league team anyway. His clutch numbers have exploded. So far this season for the Marlins, he's responsible for a game-winning RBI, in addition to 3 others and a homer. With Jesus Sanchez hurt and Jonah Bride struggling, Stowers is the most trusted power hitter in Miami, which has got to be great.

Unfortunately, the downside of getting traded to a market where there are lots of opportunities to play is that...there are lots of opportunities to play. The best guys are elsewhere. You get to play everyday, but the team isn't great. People like Jonah Bride, Derek Hill, Nick Fortes and Dane Myers are playing everyday, because it beats sitting in a good team's triple-A. The hope is that Stowers, and Norby and all the others, can stick around long enough that they can be the stars, a lot like Brent Rooker in Oakland or Anthony Rizzo for the 2010s Cubs. 

And so far...the Marlins could be doing a lot worse. Runs are getting scored. The contact game is excellent, which is what happens when you start Otto Lopez, Dane Myers and Xavier Edwards every day. The pitching is surprisingly decent, even behind Sandy Alcantara, who you knew would be back in a big way. Max Meyer, Conor Gillispie and Valente Bellozo are making the most of their opportunities, and there's a chance Tyler Phillips could graduate back to starter and dethrone somebody like Cal Quantrill. People are gonna start coming back soon, Weathers and Cabrera and that ilk, and if they can make a good impression now and potentially keep a spot, that'll be a great opportunity. 

I don't think the Marlins' strong start will amount to full season greatness, but if enough people starting everyday can grow into something trustworthy it'll be a lot better than whatever the hell last year was. Maybe soon enough they'll be where the Orioles are now. Maybe then they'll pay. 

Coming Tomorrow- SPEAKING OF PLACES WITH LOTS OF PLAYING OPPORTUNITY...this guy lucked into a starting rotation spot, and instead of just taking the time he decided to make MLB history.

Exactly As Good As You'd Expect

 I'm writing this post as the Dodgers are in danger of losing their first game of the season, to the Braves...a team that has yet to win a game this season. The Dodgers starter getting clobbered is Blake Snell, one of their many multimillion dollar signees from this offseason. The Braves starter getting by is Bryce Elder, who struggled mightily last season and wasn't even factored into the team's 2025 rotation. So far he's only given up a Tommy Edman home run. 

This, ultimately, would be the first thing this season for the Dodgers to go wrong. Everything else at least had airbags worked in. Roki Sasaki's first few starts were unspectacular, the pen can still salvage it. Max Muncy isn't hitting, alright, well basically everyone else is. Gonsolin's still hurt- fine, but Dustin May is healthy and surging. And even a loss to the struggling Braves, if it happens, would be buttressed by the preceding success, and the knowledge that more success will follow. 

Because ultimately, this is still the Dodgers. They're still going to win a lot of games this year.

Having Tyler Glasnow back, and healthy, will certainly help this. I found out recently that a friend of mine's dad is an old friend of Glasnow's dad. They're Yankee fans as well, and the remark was 'I always used to hate him cause he killed the Yankees til I found out'. Having him in the NL takes the sting out of it a little. Glasnow's first start of the season went as well as it could possibly go, going 5 innings but striking out 8 of 20 batters and only allowing 2 hits. And considering that Glasnow is FOURTH in this rotation, behind Yamamoto, Snell and Sasaki, and he's that dominant...that's a very good sign. My hope is that he's steadier than ever and can stay consistent and healthy, or perhaps that's wishful thinking for a Dodgers pitcher. 

Right now the Dodgers are getting peak offensive production out of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Will Smith and Tommy Edman, picking up directly where last season left off. They have Yamamoto, Glasnow and May in excellent shape. Tanner Scott is shaky but can close games. Treinen and Yates are excellent bullpen pieces. The Freeman loss is temporary and not a dealbreaker, as Kiké Hernandez has been fine covering first. The eyes, understandably, are on Sasaki to come into his own but even if he doesn't there are other options. This is all looking...very good.

However, now that everyone knows, rightfully, that the Dodgers are the ones to beat, it's going to be a much tougher road repeating. The tape will be studied, the weaknesses could be exploited, and everyone's gonna try to get the leverage in October if given the opportunity. The Padres got so close last time, and now that they're similarly running an undefeated first week [and succeeding!], they may look to get their revenge, much like in 2022. The Dodgers must be ready for that, because if not the hubris will eat them alive, like everyone was expecting it to last year. 

UPDATE: They didn't lose the game. They came back, by the strength of Muncy, Conforto, and, inevitably, Shohei Ohtani. They're still undefeated, as are the Padres. This is gonna be one hell of a season.

Coming Tonight: He emerged after one of the last 2014-6 Orioles left the team as a future star in the making. Now he's the elder statesman of a team destined for greatness. 

Hello Nasty

 

Ten years it's been since the 'Nasty Nate' season in New York, where, in a rotation featuring C.C. Sabathia, Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda and eventually Luis Severino, arguably the most consistent, dominant guy there was Nathan Eovaldi, who led the team in wins despite a 4.20 ERA and a 1.450 WHIP. 2015 had a lot of guys rack up plenty of wins without having the dominance behind them, that's what happened with Drew Hutchison in Toronto as well. But Eovaldi put everything on the line in 2015, which led to an injury-shortened 2016 and a completely missed 2017. 

What I'm saying is that given that novelty, and that response, it's very impressive that Eo's 30s have been so dominant, and so consistent. His Red Sox and Rangers numbers have been excellent, resulting in 2 World Series rings and 2 ASG nods. The issue has ultimately been sustained health, but the idea is he maybe misses a month or so and still manages to make an impact. Last season he missed maybe 4 starts and still was one of the best starters in Texas, with a 3.80 ERA and 168 Ks, his second highest career total. In 2023 he missed even more time but made it back for the postseason, and...went 5-0 with a 2.95 ERA and 41 Ks in 6 starts. Eovaldi's strong performance helps them get the ring, and ensures they can keep building 2 years later. 

So given that Eo is 35, and one of many Rangers starters that have struggled with injuries recently, it was definitely promising that Eovaldi's second start was a complete game shutout against the Cincinnati Reds. In an era where the CGSO is less and less prevalent [due to people burning out their arms by inning 5], Eovaldi feels like he comes from the grand tradition of the long-game hurler who can still be reliable by pitch 100. The Rangers have seen a few of those. Kevin Brown, Nolan Ryan, Charlie Hough. But Eo, even surrounded by Jacob deGrom, Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker, may be the most reliable one they have.

Something really interesting, by the way, is the fact that both yesterday's win over the Reds and today's, led by a terrific Jack Leiter start, were 1-0 victories. Today you can at least acknowledge that they had to face Hunter Greene, on pace for another career year, and that's hard to get runs off of. But yesterday that had Carson Spiers, a career depth option for the Reds. Only Wyatt Langford was able to score a run off him, and none could do any off the bullpen. 

Not sure if you remember this, but way back in 2023, the Rangers were the '10 runs or more' team for the first half of the season. This team isn't that different power-wise than that one. If anything, it's better refined. Now Joc Pederson, Kyle Higashioka, Jake Burger and Kevin Pillar are a part of this offense, and...they're winning games by one run. That is the flaw so far, that as well stocked as this team is, there are still a few people who are taking longer to truly wake up. Seager's not there yet, Pederson's not there yet, Semien's not there but to be fair it regularly takes him a month or two to heat him up anyway. Adolis Garcia and Wyatt Langford have been doing well, and Josh Smith had the RBI today, but it's not going much deeper than that. All the while deGrom, Eo and Leiter have all been fantastic.

If the Rangers want to finally dethrone the Astros and shift the balance of the AL West, they need everybody to sync up and stay hot. Having the pitching lead the way is a nice start, but 1-0 victories don't win World Series's, at least not in August. 

Coming Tomorrow- He missed the playoffs but got the ring. Knowing him, the work's far from over. 

Pinpointing the Mirage

 

After three games against the Twins, the St. Louis Cardinals were undefeated. After two games against the Angels they're closer to .500. I'm trying to figure out how this makes sense.

So. Alright, we've established the Twins aren't very good this year. They're not hitting, they're not doing anything. They just won a game last night by attacking the White Sox's bullpen but Carlos Correa hasn't gotten a hit yet. So the Cardinals, in that three game sweep, matched up well against them. Both catchers had great series's, Gray and Fedde had great starts, Arenado's going off on a tear purely out of revenge. So from that, you can make the argument, oh, okay, the Cardinals are back. They'll be a factor this year.

...and so the 'dropping two to the Angels' thing is where I'm having trouble following.

The Angels, regardless of what their current record might tell you, aren't very good this year either. The offensive production they're getting this year is in spite of droughts from Mike Trout and Jorge Soler. All of their starters have given up some runs [save for the impenetrable Jose Soriano]. Their bullpen, however, might be the real deal. Jansen's been excellent in the ninth, Detmers and Anderson have no trouble in relief jobs, and there's guys like Brock Burke, Ben Joyce and Ryan 'never played a day in the minors' Johnson, who's snagged a save and a win already despite some run leakage. 

But all their wins have been close, and led by clutch hitting and contact work. Kyren Paris is the team's best hitter. The wins, as close as they are, are deserved, because the right people are coming through at the right time.

So...where does that leave the Cardinals? They're better than a bad team, but worse than an okay team with good parts? Are they...still in the bottom half of the standings?

If anything, the Cardinals should be proud that the things they were struggling to activate last year are working now. Jordan Walker, Victor Scott and Lars Nootbaar are all hitting. For Walker it's a welcome development after years of just not hitting at MLB levels. He's hitting .429 with 6 hits, 2 RBIs and a homer. Scott, meanwhile, is hitting .350 with 5 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. And even if Winn and Contreras haven't done anything yet, there's enough in this lineup that has me convinced they're gonna be better this year. I still think Matthew Liberatore getting a rotation spot over Steven Matz isn't a great idea, but perhaps this is finally the year Liberatore clicks as well. 

Like a lot of records in the first week, the Cardinals' decent record will be tested by their next series against a proven, good team. And ultimately that might be coming very soon, with the Sox coming to town. It'll be interesting to see how they do there, and if the trends continue.

Coming Tonight: The first complete game shutout of the season was thanks to this guy. 

A Cycle?? In March???

 

So many wild circumstances came together for the first Cubs cycle in over 30 years. The background of the rise of torpedo bats, which now more and more hitters are beginning to use for their own baseball-mashing purposes. The beginning of the A's hopefully-not-permanent residence in Sacramento, already scorned by longtime A's fans. The emerging power from everyone on the Cubs roster except for the one guy I have on my fantasy team. And the theme of 'is anyone going to be able to stop the A's starting pitching'.

Well...it appears so. Joey Estes gave up 6 runs against the Cubs, and the bullpen didn't do much better. And the star of the game was the Cubs' backup catcher, former Diamondbacks, Cardinals and Tigers favorite Carson Kelly. Keep in mind, this team has Seiya Suzuki, Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner, an overwhelmingly great Kyle Tucker start, and Pete Crow Armstrong on it. And Carson Kelly, the guy who fell under the category of 'it'll be nice to have him around', is the one who hits for the cycle.

The coolest moment was when Kelly was down to needing a triple, hit one that got him to second, and you could hear the very excited announcers yelling 'GO! GO FOR IT!' as he made it, safely, into third. Guy's played three games with the Cubs and already the announcers are cheering 'im on. I also love how pumped he was when he got the triple. Soaking it all in. 

I think it's genuinely awesome that nobody has ever hit a cycle in march before, and that means Carson Kelly's got a place in the records books now. You hit for the cycle, there you go. But hitting one in March, in the first week of the season, that's extra special. Not everyone can do that. And even if Kelly hasn't had THE most memorable career, he was still able to do this, in Sacramento, against a team with pretty strong pitching. 

The Cubs have already tracked a ton of highlights. Who knows what'll come next?

Brush It Off, Kid

 

It takes a certain kind of person to get a ball thrown at upwards of 90 mph to the face, then get back up the next day and go right back into the line of fire. You have to be tough, resilient, determined and, ultimately, you have to have a sense of humor about yourself. Jonathan India was on the 2020 Reds, so we certainly can tell he can have a laugh at himself, but he's also extremely tough. So him going 3 for 5 with 2 RBIs against the Brewers a day after getting decked by an Emmanuel Clase pitch shouldn't shock you. This might be only the beginning. 

I initially questioned the Royals' motive in trading for Jonathan India, especially giving up Brady Singer for him. The Royals had a perfectly fine infield, Massey and Witt at the center, Garcia and Pasquantino at the corners. Complicating things with India seemed excessive. But India can also play left field, which he's been doing more and more this season, and to be honest defensively it may be the better place for him. I stand firm in my belief that they shouldn't have given up Singer, and seeing how well he did yesterday I think that goes without saying. But considering that the Royals still had several OF spots up in the air, and filled by passable defenders like M.J. Melendez and Hunter Renfroe, getting a surefire guy like India definitely works, and his offensive production has only vindicated this decision. 

So that already defines the Royals. One of their best hitters right now is a guy who literally refuses to back down, even from injury. They're 2-2, losing two against a tough division rival but absolutely crushing the Brewers, themselves still reeling from being embarrassed by the Yankees. This is a team where Pasquantino, Perez, Witt and even Michael Massey can be responsible for crucial RBIs. Yes, Pasquantino is DHing predominantly at the moment after the injury, and the starts at 1st have been going to Mark Canha and Cavan Biggio, but this is why you have depth guys like that. 

But again...so far the starting pitching is the worrying detail. Seth Lugo and Cole Ragans, two of their horses from last year, gave up 3 runs each, Michael Wacha allowed less runs but still got the loss, and Kris Bubic, the guy who came back from an injury and conserved his innings as a bullpen piece last year, looked incredible, and seems to be the only starter doing so thus far. Which goes to show you, if you want to be a great starter, try to avoid doing really well for 33 games the previous year. It'll even out, especially with starters this talented, but it, again, points towards the idea that maybe trading Singer was a bad call. At least the 'pen looks better.

The Royals have a lot of pros so far, but against some truly great teams they've been mostly passable. I have a feeling this team will eventually break even, and considering the presence of peak Bobby Witt it's really a matter of when, but without Jonathan 'unsinkable' India I don't know if they'd have as many highlights. 

Coming Tonight: Probably a member of the [sigh] first place St. Louis Cardinals. 

Kyle of Plenty

 

Well. Less than a week into the season and Kyle Schwarber already has 3 home runs. Business as usual in Philly.

I've gone on record that the second the Phillies signed Schwarber, I took a good, long look at him and went 'this man is going to hit a billion home runs in a Phillies uniform'. Cause this was the same offseason we signed Nick Castellanos, who I thought was a shaky pick even then, but Schwarber I just saw the upsides. Yes, hurt a lot, yes, occasionally one-dimensional, but look at those homers. And I was right. Thus far, Kyle Schwarber has hit 134 home runs as a member of the Phillies, eclipsing what he did as a Cub in more games. Schwarber had his lowest HR total as a Phillie last year, with 38. That's low for him. It's high for most other people, and before he had his 40+ seasons in 22-23, it was his own career high. 

What has changed, thankfully, since Schwarber's all-homer back-to-back years, has been his well-roundedness. Last year he finally started hitting singles again, and finished the year with 142 hits, a career high. Hitting .248 may not be wholly impressive, but considering that it followed a .219 year and a .197 year, it was welcome. If Schwarber can be relied upon for contact in addition to power, that raises his value, and last season he finished with a 3.5 WAR, tied for a career high with his blistering 2021. Schwarber has also hit 104 RBIs in 2 straight seasons, equally impressive considering he'd never reached 100 RBIs before then.

So what I'm saying is...the extension chatter makes sense. Four years ago if you told me Schwarber would be chasing an extension with this team I'd be surprised. But he's become a more complex, and more versatile, hitter, and even as the Phillies age, Schwarber in the lineup is still a very good thing. Obviously Harper and Wheeler are the true crowdpleasers, but Schwarber seems like the one guy on these Phils teams that it seems impossible to truly hate. Even in his .197 season he was still hitting 47 homers, and 5 more in the playoffs. You can't hate that. 

So far, the Phils are looking extremely good, despite having games against fairly unspectacular teams. The big exclamation point was being dominated by MacKenzie Gore for the majority of the opener and still striking back against the bullpen for the win. Wheeler, Sanchez and Luzardo look good, Nola...homers notwithstanding can strike people out, and hopefully the Taijuan Walker experiment will be short-lived before anybody gets hurt. I worry about Trea Turner's health, and JT's long term health, but enough things about this team, like Max Kepler, Jordan Romano, the degree Edmundo Sosa's murdering the ball so far, and the fact that the bullpen can hold down a lead again...really excite me.

It's early. Of course it's early. But Schwarber's off to a good start, and so are the Phils. Who knows who we'll end up.

Coming Tomorrow- Not everybody can get hit in the face with a pitch and come back from it like it's just a scratch. This guy ain't everybody.