Brew Approach

 

First of all, before I forget: lol mets.

Yeah, Wade Miley throwing six shutout innings while Max Scherzer implodes and both Brian Anderson and Garrett Mitchell have two-homer days is...the single most apt monkey's paw karma of everything the Mets tried to do to make themselves better this year. Oh it's so delicious. Oh man.

Alright. The Brewers. Right.

I think by this point, the Brewers have realized that they're not gonna be Christian Yelich's team anymore, that he's gonna just be an ensemble player since he's come down from his MVP seasons, and so the real stars of the show are gonna be the pitchers. And so far, these guys have been the stars, with Freddy Peralta annihilating the Mets the other day, Brandon Woodruff and Eric Lauer looking sharp, Devin Williams still being as dominant as ever in the ninth and unsung guys like Gus Varland and Matt Bush impressing immediately. The only real pitcher that hasn't been absolutely stellar so far has been, surprisingly, Corbin Burnes, the ace, but it's early and I reckon he'll find his stuff eventually.

And with Yelich doing his usual post-2019 thing and batting .200, that means the other elements of this lineup can be the hero at times, and one of the biggest ones going into the year has been Brian Anderson, the former oft-injured Marlins infielder. Anderson was stellar in 2018 and 2019, then he started getting hurt and the team no longer had a use for him. Anderson has also slowly morphed from a mostly-contact guy to more of a power hitter, and I think that scared the contact-friendly Marlins. In Milwaukee, which is pretty balanced between contact and power, Anderson fits a lot better, and so far he's hitting .533 with a league-leading 10 RBIs, 3 homers and 8 hits in 15 at-bats. This does come with the asterisk of 'yes, well it's the first week', but it's still numbers we haven't seen from this guy since before the pandemic.

There's also been great performances by both rookies, Brice Turang and Joey Wiemer, who've been great contact additions that have had excellent first weeks. At the same time, Jesse Winker is already looking like an improvement from his 2022 season, and has 5 RBIs already. I think after yesterday, Garrett Mitchell's one of the biggest 'what if he's this good all the time' pieces for this team, because while he was decent coming up last season, he's been given a lot more to do this year and he's already looking like he's up to the challenge.

I admittedly wrote off the Brewers going into this season, because I didn't see enough of this lineup working without the sure bets of previous years, but if all these contact guys keep working and if these rookies build on this as we go, this team could make the Wild Card race pretty interesting.

Especially if, uh, they have to go against the Mets in the playoffs. Who would want that, right?

Coming Tomorrow- I've been trying not to do too many obvious ones this early in the season...tomorrow that changes.

Almost Hear You Cy

 

Well, the Miami Marlins went into this season trying to rely on more hitters than just Rojas, Anderson, Cooper and Berti, and we get to the end of this season, and the only people in the lineup that are healthy are Miguel Rojas, Brian Anderson, Garrett Cooper and Jon Berti.

and, uh, and Jacob Stallings but he's doing nothing this year.

I mean, on one hand, the Marlins have to be happy with how the rotation did because they're getting a Cy Young out of Sandy Alcantara and another great season out of Pablo Lopez, plus breakouts from Edward Cabrera, Braxton Garrett and Jesus Luzardo, AND, at least Trevor Rogers is telling us NOW that not every season's gonna be like his 2021. But at the same time, you look at all the people they got to help the lineup this year, and Soler's injured, Garcia's injured, Stallings isn't hitting and Aguilar's gone. And all the kids they've brought up either got injured [Jesus Sanchez, Jazz Chisholm] or struggled at the MLB level [J.J. Bleday, Jerar Encarnacion].

I mean, you can kind of see some pieces of this team that could help in the near future. Nick Fortes could definitely be the starting catcher next year, he's got more of an offensive bite to him than Stallings. Charles Leblanc, who's mostly been covering 2nd since Chisholm's out, is at least hitting .285, and could be a utility piece next year. Jordan Groshans is .333 in 8 games, and he could move Brian Anderson back to the outfield. Bryan de la Cruz at the very least has 10 homers and will probably be starting next year if a contract piece isn't in place. And Lewin Diaz, who's playing 1st full time since Aguilar left, could be a good power piece if he ever figures out how to hit for average.

But it's honestly a lot like 2014, where there's so many youth pieces and options that it's so hard to see where this team's gonna go. There's so many directions, so many answers, and so many young guys that could help out or blossom or whatever. I still think Jazz Chisholm, Jesus Sanchez and JJ Bleday will be the core of this team eventually, it just might take a while, and it may not be as simple as waiting a few years for a competitive squad. 

At the very least, a Miami Marlin will win the Cy Young this year. That's never happened before. Unfortunately, at this rate, it might not happen for a while after this.

Coming Tonight: Some big guy named Vinnie that hits homers.

Uncustomed Heroes of 2021: Marlins

 

As we figured, the Miami Marlins did not make the playoffs in 2021. It wasn't the fault of returning the playoffs to a normal setup, though- the Marlins just faltered under the weight of the top 3 teams in the NL East, and struggled to recapture the 2020 magic. 

One of the victims of this season of diminishing returns was Brian Anderson. After three consecutive great seasons, and a team-lifting one last year, a mixture of injuries and batting woes left Anderson with a 1.3 WAR on the season, a .249 Average and 58 hits in 67 games. If there weren't strong figures like Miguel Rojas on this team, I'd be more worried by a letdown like this, but it's a very concerning sign.

2022 Prediction: An improvement, but only to an extent. The Marlins are gonna have to figure out what to do with him next year.

How chaotic is this- the entire starting outfield for the Marlins, which was Starling Marte, Adam Duvall and Corey Dickerson, got traded halfway through the year. Which, logically, would leave Garrett Cooper, who was hitting .284 with 33 RBIs and 9 homers in 71 games. However, Cooper gets injured soon thereafter, leaving the team with zero tested Opening Day outfielders.

2022 Prediction: A similar role as the fourth OF and bench piece, but this one will be a little less injury prone. And with all the potential swing IF/OF guys next year, like Anderson and Joey Wendle, he might have a prime season with a lot of playing time.

With all the injuries going to young Marlins pitchers, it helped to have Elieser Hernandez coming in partway through again to provide something of insurance. This year he had a 4.18 ERA with 53 Ks in 11 games, then got injured and left it to the kids yet again.

2022 Prediction: Either he finds a solid place in this rotation or he's cut/traded and lands somewhere that can utilize him properly.

After Yimi Garcia was traded to Houston, the ninth went to former Dodgers reliever Dylan Floro. Floro was already doing great in middle relief, and by the end of the year, with 15 saves, he had a 2.81 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 68 appearances. Great sign of durable relief with versatility, something abundant in the 2020 team that seemed a bit more sparse this year.

2022 Prediction: Spends the whole year working the ninth, and even with a higher WAR and more mistakes he does a decent enough job of it.

After the aforementioned OF blowout of July, one of the prime OF starters was Jesus Sanchez, a guy who was a rookie late in 2020 season. In 62 games, Sanchez hit .241 with 36 RBIs and 14 homers, some sharp power numbers in that amount of time. Between him and Bryan de la Cruz, as well as Avisail Garcia, the 2021 Marlins outfield might be a really power-heavy one.

2022 Prediction: Starts 150 games and becomes a new pillar of the new era of the team in, I'm assuming, Brian Anderson's absence. 

As for the other Jesus, Jesus Luzardo came in on the trade that brought Starling Marte to Oakland. Luzardo has been hyped ever since arriving in the bigs in 2019, but hasn't entirely convinced people he's worth that hype. In 12 Miami starts, Luzardo had a 6.44 ER and a 4-5 record. A bit too human, even for a 23-year-old.

2022 Prediction: An improvement, one that may involve some time in the bullpen.

Tomorrow, a surprisingly small amount of Mets. Usually I have around a dozen.

2020 Topps Final Edition: Cards #19-27

 As the material for 2021 customs begins to trickle in, and I reckon some of those will start appearing on here in the next week or so, I still have a backlog of stuff to produce for 2020 Topps Final Edition. What I might start doing is doing Final Edition posts on Mondays and Fridays, cause there's a lot to get through.

Onto the next nine cards. Expect a lot of relievers.

Card #019- Ryan Tepera, Chicago Cubs

Fun fact- due to a tactical error on the part of a sportswriter, Ryan Tepera got exactly one MVP vote last year. It was a foresight by someone trying to vote for Fernando Tatis and missed. Honestly, it's kind of a cool stat, as Ryan Tepera did have a decent enough season in relief for Chicago. In 21 games, he had a 3.92 ERA and 33 strikeouts, and, yes, came 18th in MVP voting. Sadly, Tepera is still a free agent. 

Card #020- Alejandro Kirk, Toronto Blue Jays

Despite the platoon at catcher of Danny Jansen and Reese McGuire that continued in Toronto this year, the Jays still had time to throw rookie Alejandro Kirk into the mix. Kirk, a big, strong, hulking 22-year-old, took a massive swat at the 2021 catching race, and hit .375 in 9 games, including 9 hits and 3 RBIs. Heck, he even had a postseason hit during the Rays series. It'll be interesting to see if the Jays have any use for him this year, as he's clearly a nice asset for any team trying to rebuild. 

Card #021- Brian Anderson ASG, Miami Marlins

If the 2020 season had gone ahead as planned, Brian Anderson would have been the sole Marlin to make the team, as the big points of success [Starling, Sixto, lapping the Phils] would happen after the midpoint that I'm basing these ASG sims from. He would be a backup, and relieve Manny Machado at third as well as getting in an at-bat. With Anderson's strong season, making him just as crucial to the Marlins core as other infielders like Miguel Rojas, it would have been a well-deserved nomination.

Card #022- Kyle Zimmer, Kansas City Royals

The Royals, despite having another okay-at-best year in the AL Central, were able to sneakily build a relatively good bullpen without anyone looking. Kyle Zimmer was one of the assets that KC was able to build off of, with a 1.57 ERA in 16 games, with 22 Ks. Zimmer and the other up-and-comers combined with veterans like Trevor Rosenthal and Greg Holland to provide some bullpen strength that deserved a better team. 

Card #023- Darin Ruf, San Francisco Giants

It's always interesting when a player goes to international markets and returns to the US as a star. It hurts, though, when said player came up with your team. Darin Ruf was a Phillies prospect, was blocked behind Ryan Howard and struggled in the majors, and only found contact success when playing with the Samsung Lions from 2017-2019, hitting 30 home runs in each and finding the success he SHOULD HAVE in Philly. Then, he signs a deal with the Giants as a bench option in 2020, and gets off to a hot start, and hits .276 in 40 games. Yes, only 5 homers, but 18 RBIs. He wasn't starting every day, because...I mean, Yaz-Dubon-Dickerson is a strong enough outfield. But he was a crucial bench bat that helped a postseason effort, started at DH more often than not, and has a chance of factoring into the 2021 lineup. So he's finding success in the majors...with a team that isn't Philly, because of course.

Card #024- Tyler Thornburg, Cincinnati Reds

Before this season, Tyler Thornburg was best known for being traded for Travis Shaw [and Mauricio Dubon] and immediately getting injured for Boston. This was his first productive season since then, as he only had 7 games but still had a 3.86 ERA with 10 Ks. He's currently a free agent, but as a relief specialist he still has a lot of use left.

Card #025- Jeremy Jeffress, Chicago Cubs

This was one of my most disappointing omissions from the initial Topps Update set. Jeremy Jeffress had a Brewers card in flagship, he was on the Cubs for Spring Training, and yet Topps decided that Jharel Cotton and Josh Phegley needed Update issues instead. Jeremy Jeffress had one of the best seasons of any reliever in 2020. In 22 games, he hit a 1.54 ERA, then managed to steal the closing gig away from a struggling Craig Kimbrel and had 8 saves. The Nationals just picked him up for 2020, probably for setup work, and I hope he keeps it up.

Card #026: Willy Adames, Tampa Bay Rays

Like Anderson, Willy Adames wouldn't be used as a starter for the potential 2020 All Star Game, but he'd be a decent substitute at shortstop. With the season Adames had, especially with his surging Rays, he would have deserved an ASG nod. Considering that there's a major SS prospect waiting to come up in Tampa, I'm not sure if Adames will even get an ASG nod as a Ray at this point, but it'd have be nice if he got one in this season.

#027- Leody Taveras RC, Texas Rangers

One of the many Rangers prospects that saw playing time in 2020, Leody Taveras, whose cousin Willy also found success in Texan markets, had a 33-game call-up with the Rangers, hit .227 with 8 steals and 27 hits, and had a modest enough audition for the outfield spot next year, which he will likely get. As the Rangers reform back into a rebuilding contender, it'll be interesting to see how speedy contact guys like Taveras and Robinson Tejeda factor into things.

Friday I'll post 9 more. A few more decent relief picks and a good traded player. 

The Rehabilitation Plan

The Marlins and Cardinals. Two very strange 2020 cases.

Both teams have spent weeks with multiple players recovering from COVID-19. Both have returned, and both have spent the games immediately after the return by winning.

The Marlins had a full streak going for a bit, despite the absence of Miguel Rojas, Harold Ramirez and Garrett Cooper. Newer standouts have appeared in their places, like Magneuris Sierra, finally getting  consistent playing time, Francisco Cervelli, owning his starting catching gig, and rookies like Eddy Alvarez and Monte Harrison, both slowly getting the hang of the bigs. The Marlins also used the week off to field new relief talent, bringing  in  Mike Morin, Brian Moran, and, most excitingly, SWITCH-PITCHER PAT VENDITTE, as well as rookies Sterling Sharp and  Daniel Castano.

A week into the Marlins' return, they're not doing too badly, they're technically  in first in the NL East, and they're in good shape.

Yesterday, the Cardinals finally returned, and they responded to their dormancy by winning both halves of a doubleheader against the White Sox. The first game utilized fill-ins like Andrew Knizner and Dylan Carlson, plus a strong  start from Adam Wainwright, while the second brought in  rookie starter Jake Woodford and 2nd baseman Max Schrock, starting their first MLB games. Of the fill-ins, Schrock and Knizner had the best games, though the presence of former Phillie Brad Miller intrigues me.

The Marlins have strong momentum but a slim core, the Cardinals have a better core but more crucial absences. And both seem to be doing well.

Meanwhile, I hope the Reds are able to recover fast and learn from these two comebacks.

Coming Tonight: Mr. Clutch in Detroit, doing his thing once again.

How are The Marlins Winning This Much?

Tough day for me. Yanks lost a tough one to a surging Astros team today, powered by Justin Verlander. And the Phillies lost as well...to the Miami Marlins.

Here is where I point out that the Marlins have won four straight, and the Phils have lost nine of their last ten.

You cannot make this shit up.

What's more, the Marlins seem to be finding their identity while sitting in last. They have a solidified rotation finally, consisting of Sandy Alcantara, Trevor Richards, and three rookies, Elieser Hernandez, Jordan Yamamoto and Zac Gallen. The rookies may seem like replacements for Urena, Lopez and Smith, but they're actually doing really well. Yamamoto is the kind of guy I can see running this team in a few years (so keep him away from any and all boats), and Gallen had an impressive debut. Plus, the bullpen has two guys that are considered among the most dangerous relievers in baseball, Tayron Guerrero and Nick Anderson.

And the lineup's just coming into vogue as well, with Brian Anderson having a marquee year, Miguel Rojas building off of a few nice speedy seasons, Harold Ramirez having a wonderful rookie year, Garrett Cooper finally showing what he can do when he's healthy for a prolonged period of time, and Curtis Grandson...well, just being there.

Really, injuries could stop this team from chasing a competitor like Washington or the Mets, because they're starting to be bogged down with them (Alfaro, Smith, Walker, Prado are all on the IL). And also...despite chasing the Phils for a few games, they're still in last place in a division that essentially belongs to Atlanta. They're not winning for now, they're winning because it's a nice thing to do.

I'd love to see some highlights come from this team, but it's more likely then seeing them run for a division title.

Coming Tomorrow: For the third year in a row, the Tigers have a sole impressive pitcher going into July. God help them in August and September.

The Marlins AREN'T in Last???

It's funny. To write this post, I pulled up the Marlins' page on Baseball-Reference, and was confused that the Mets' page kept showing up. 'Why the hell are the Mets showing up whenever I click on the team that's in last??'

And then it hit me. The Marlins...had made it to fourth place. How crazy is that?

Now, granted...it ain't pretty. The Marlins have a serious shortage of good talent, especially considering the guy they primed from Milwaukee, Lewis Brinson, has been plowing through a TORRID full season, barely hitting above the Mendoza line, and leading the team in strikeouts-by-a-non-Justin-Bour. Some of the one-prime talent, like Martin Prado and Cameron Maybin, is now over the hill, and some of the younger talent, like Garrett Cooper and Yadiel Rivera, are disappointing. Only Brian Anderson is making any good rookie progress, but he's just one guy. A lot of the major players, like J.T. Realmuto, Justin Bour, and possibly Starlin Castro, might be gone soon.

The pitching's a mess, which is something even the last-place Mets can't say, Familia-loss notwithstanding. There's no ironed-down closer, a bunch of starters without impressive stats, and a lot of question marks. Even if the lineup does have some impressive pieces, the pitching holds them back. It's simply too mediocre to compete.

I'm not sure what the Marlins will retain after next week, but hopefully they'll have enough to EVENTUALLY return to glory. And if not...maybe they can figure out how to get rid of the guy that made this awful season possible in the first place.

Coming Tonight: If he were still in Toronto, he'd be leading his team in home runs. But...he's beginning to figure out that he may not be the center of power on his team, and that's perfectly alright.