Uncustomed Heroes of 2025: Yankees

 

If the last year or so has taught me anything, it is this: everybody wants to play in New York. They just don't realize it til it's too late that they don't want to play for the Yankees.

In 2024, the Yankees had the biggest star in the game come to them and play beautifully, and then he decided the Mets were respecting him more. This year, Cody Bellinger had an incredible year with the Yankees, and now it's looking like Scott Boras is making a deal very difficult. Devin Williams, Luke Weaver and Clay Holmes are all suiting up for the Mets next year after we seemed to burn our bridges with them. The only people that haven't fled the Bronx have been Paul Blackburn and Amed Rosario. And meanwhile, we gave Caleb Durbin to Milwaukee, gave Michael King a much firmer place to start in San Diego, Drew Thorpe will start for the Sox this year if he's healthy enough, and in a year or two Roc Riggio is gonna hit 40 homers in Coors Field. We're much better at improving other teams than we are at improving our own.

The Yankees still had the third-highest record in baseball this year, delivered an MVP season for Aaron Judge, and was home to several great seasons from a variety of role-players. But that wasn't enough either. The Jays were better than us, and could consistently show up in October. And so here we are, still trying to win a World Series for the first time since Steinbrenner was still alive. Will it happen in 2026? For the low, low price of 199.99, a Yankee championship could be yours..

Austin Wells was the primary choice at catcher this year, as Jose Trevino was flipped to Cincinnati for a strong year of Fernando Cruz. Wellsy has his perks but he's not perfect. In 126 games he hit .219 with 21 homers and 71 RBIs, a very average offensive season. Defensively he was a liability this year. We've gotta do better than 'Wells or Rice' as a catching platoon, man.

2026 Prediction: A colossal improvement. I'm not sure if it'll be enough to become THE guy back there for the next 10 years, but it'll do the trick.

In a year without Gerrit Cole, and in a year where Luis Gil would be out for several months, the last spot in the rotation, behind Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Marcus Stroman and Clarke Schmidt, went to rookie Will Warren. Warren had some chances in 2024, but was still a risk for a rotation spot right after a championship. Sure enough, Warren was one of two Yankees to make all 33 starts, and went 9-8 with a 4.44 ERA, 171 Ks and 80 earned runs in 162 innings. A little messy, and a bit too many long balls, but the sort of heat that the Yankee fans could get behind.

2026 Prediction: He'll be 27, and he just pitched a full season of high velocity work as a rookie. See ya in 2027. I'd love to be wrong and get another full campaign from him, but I just can't trust pitchers anymore.

Jasson Dominguez spent the entire year in the majors. He is 22 years old, still one of the most promising young players in baseball, and still reaching his full potential. Due to platooning him with Trent Grisham, Dominguez played 123 games, and hit .257 with 10 home runs and 47 RBIs. The moment simply has not come yet. It looked like it was here in 2023, when Dominguez was on fire on a call-up and aided the team before getting hurt, but he's really yet to take charge of an opportunity since then. I'm really worried Boone has given him the Yermin Mercedes effect, where he's been so warped by a manager's tough love that he can't perform to the standard.

2026 Prediction: It all comes down to whether or not the Yanks re-sign Bellinger. Cause if they do, and Grisham still takes seniority, we have another year of this. But if they don't, and Dominguez can start everyday, not only does he have a breakout year and 30 homers, but it's more of an incentive to get Spencer Jones up.

Clarke Schmidt only had 14 games up this year due to injuries, but he looked very good in them. In 79 innings he had a 3.32 ERA, 73 Ks and a 1.7 WAR. Very good use of our time. Sadly he didn't factor much into the team's progress in the second half.

2026 Prediction: Much fuller, healthier year. His free agency is coming up kinda soon, too, so it's about time.

And now, our bullpen, or as they will be known next year, the Mets' bullpen. Luke Weaver's been terrific for us since we turned him into a reliever, and this year he began to wear out his welcome slightly. In 64 games, Weaver had a 3.62 ERA, a 1.021 WHIP and 72 Ks, plus 8 saves as the Yanks went away from an initial closing choice. Granted, that higher ERA is a clue to why we needed bullpen help midyear. Weaver also had a 135.00 ERA in 3 postseason appearances so...yeah

2026 Prediction: Figures his shit out in Queens, becomes an ideal setup man again.

The biggest picture of 'the Yankees as the problem' came from Devin Williams, a sure shot in the ninth that didn't work at all here, despite the team bending the rules to let Williams keep his beard. Williams did not mesh well with this team, and with the moment; in 67 games he had a 4.79 ERA, with only 18 saves and a lot more blown ones. It's important to add that Williams was perfectly fine in an eighth inning role, and his 90 Ks in 62 innings gave us enough pure dominance to be placated by. But we traded Nestor Cortes and Caleb Durbin for the next great closer, and Williams was not that guy for us, despite everything that said he would be. He was, however, scoreless in 4 postseason innings, even getting a win. 

2026 Prediction: HUGE season in the ninth for the Mets. They'll move on from Edwin Diaz very quickly.

Luis Gil, as he tends to, missed some time with injuries this season, and when he returned you could tell he was still being very careful not to overexert himself. It seemed to work well enough in terms of dominance, as he had a 3.32 ERA, a 4-1 record and a 1 ERA in 11 starts, despite only 41 Ks. Gil needed to just keep balls in play and work carefully, and it seemed to work out, even if his postseason start didn't go especially well.

2026 Prediction: Much better year, much more on target and closer to 2024.

It initially baffled me when the Yankees traded for Amed Rosario, even sacrificing Clayton Beeter to do so, but Rosario became a very helpful utility bat for us. While a later addition would be the defensive version of this, Rosario had some cool power moments, hitting .303 with 10 hits, 5 RBIs and a home run in 16 games. He also had 3 hits and an RBI in 10 postseason at-bats. From the strength of this small sample size, the Yanks kept him on, making Rosario the only person to seem to prefer the Yankees to the Mets this decade.

2026 Prediction: Nowhere near as contact-friendly but he'll have some cool moments late.

Landing David Bednar from the Pirates was a huge move, as it finally gave us an effective closer after the last two had let us down. The man known as the Renegade had a rough start in the Bronx, but, as he had earlier this season, found his footing and became an excellent ninth inning man, with a 2.19 ERA, 4 wins, 35 Ks and 10 saves in 22 appearances. He also had a 1.50 ERA, 9 Ks and 2 saves in 6 postseason innings.

2026 Prediction: 35+ saves, the culmination of his whole career.

Shakier still was Camilo Doval, who'd led the league in saves a couple years ago for the Giants. Doval's control issues got the better of him in New York, and in 22 games he had a 4.82 ERA, plus a 1.607 WHIP. Doval figured some things out by October, and gave up 1 earned run in 3 postseason innings.

2026 Prediction: He just needed to adjust. Becomes a really nice relief asset for us, even if it's not pretty in points.

My personal favorite mid-year Yankee pickup was Jose Caballero, who was leading the AL in saves when we got him from the Rays. Cabby is insanely versatile, can play multiple infield positions, hits for contact and steals bases. We needed a guy like him, even if McMahon was taking most of the reps at 3rd. Cabby was a huge success with the Yanks, hitting .266 in 40 games, with 21 hits, 9 RBIs, 3 homers and 15 steals. He was limited in the postseason, but the fans seem to really like him.

2026 Prediction: If Volpe doesn't figure the big leagues out, Cabby might be a winning everyday shortstop. I'm not saying it's going to happen, but it certainly could.

And that was 2025. It was a lot. Lots happened this year, in baseball and in general. I didn't post as much as I wanted. I dunno how often I'll post in 2026, or how often I'll have new cards worth posting about. We'll see where things go, I guess. As it stands, thanks for checking out the blog this year, and I hope you've enjoyed the writing and content. I hope to have near as much to say in the following 12 months, and I hope things are a little happier for all of us. 

Uncustomed Heroes of 2024: Brewers

 

The last time the Milwaukee Brewers advanced in the playoffs was 2018. There's only 4 people from that team still on this current iteration of the Brewers, two of them were injured for the majority of the season, and one of them was injured for...less than the other two. You can argue, in many ways, that this 2024 team is better than the one that made the NLCS, and has a brighter future ahead of it...but even with a new manager, new young options at multiple positions, strong defense and an MVP candidate, the Brewers still lost in the first round of the playoffs.

To the Mets.

And hey, up until the Mets, it was a whole running thing that whoever beat the Brewers in the playoffs got to the World Series, so it took the cursed Mets to end that streak. But still, even with another really good team, the Brewers were done far too soon into October. And now they fight to withstand the first round AGAIN next year, if they're even given the opportunity.

Adding a 1st baseman with definite World Series experience didn't even help that much. Rhys Hoskins was an excellent addition as a power bat, as he hit 26 home runs and 82 RBIs. But what made him a liability in Philly was his limits as a defender, as well as the one-dimensional quality of his offense. It was great having Rhys in the clubhouse, and the fans obviously took to him, but there's really only so much he can do right now, as a glorified DH really.

2025 Prediction: Despite this, breaks 30 homers, possibly goes higher.

Joey Ortiz was the big get in the Burnes deal from Baltimore, but there was a lot of promise for D.L. Hall, a longtime Orioles pitching prospect who, true to his name, has consistently struggled to stay healthy. 2024 was no exception, despite being given a rotation spot out of camp. Hall made 4 decent starts, got hurt, made 2 alright starts in August, got hurt, and returned in September as a 'pen piece, given the rotation had no room for him now. 

2025 Prediction: It may be wishful thinking to assumes he stays healthy the whole time, but I think he wins back some goodwill as a starter.

The Brewers were the fourth team in as many seasons for Gary Sanchez, who's just been collecting teams he can be a decent enough C/DH type for at this point. After an improvement behind the plate in 2023, the Brewers, after activating him midyear, wisely decided to use Sanchez primarily as a DH [seeing as they have William Contreras and all]. Sanchez hit .220 with 11 homers and 37 RBIs in 89 games, which is honestly about right for him at this point.

2025 Prediction: Signs somewhere, does his thing, is mildly amusing doing it.

In between injuries to starters, the Brewers got 5 games out of Robert Gasser, one of their prized pitching prospects, this year, and he didn't disappoint. Gasser went 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA and 16 Ks, exactly what the team was looking for. And then, of course, Gasser gets injured and misses the rest of the season, and possibly some of next season.

2025 Prediction: He's young enough where an injury like this won't affect his quality, so I think he definitely continues where he left off. Might even be a postseason hero for them next year.

After Devin Williams began the year injured, then Abner Uribe bobbled the job and got hurt himself, the closing spot eventually went to Trevor Megill, a journeyman reliever whose brother is currently starting games in Queens. Megill had been waiting to finally find his footing, and he definitely has with Milwaukee. In 48 games he held a 2.72 ERA with a 1.014 WHIP and a crucial 21 saves, making a very nice fill-in for Williams. I assume the Brewers will keep him in mind going forward.

2025 Prediction: Every offseason the Brewers talk about trading Williams, and I don't really think they will, but I do think Megill will get a fuller season in general, even if it doesn't include as many save opportunities.

But ultimately Williams would return off the IL, and when he did there was really no sign of any strain. Devin Williams is still one of the best relievers in the game, and despite only appearing in 22 games this season, he made the most of them, with a 1.25 ERA, 38 strikeouts and 14 saves. This is very similar to how commanding he was in a short time in 2020, which was enough to give him a full Rookie of the Year in that consarned season. It looks like he'll be fine going forward.

2025 Prediction: Chases 40 saves.

Last year, the Rays landing Aaron Civale at the deadline felt like an impressive leveling up. This year, after Civale's muddied numbers in Tampa, the Brewers landing Civale before the deadline felt like, at the very least, a decent idea. Civale is a serviceable enough workhorse at this stage, he just has trouble keeping his ERA low. Still, in 14 starts he went 6-3 with a 3.53 ERA and 65 strikeouts, a pretty solid line after the tumult of his Rays days.

2025 Prediction: I think Civale knows he's a lower-rotation guy for this team, and he's gonna be a steady enough one of those, perhaps getting some important starts as some higher-placed arms get hurt.

And speaking of deadline contrasts, Frankie Montas redeemed himself from his 2022 self by actually remembering to stay healthy for a pennant race. 2024 brought a more rejuvenated, if slightly more selective, Montas, and at the very least he stayed on the active roster all through the fall for Milwaukee. In 11 games, Montas went 3-3 with a 4.55 ERA and 70 Ks. Flashy if a little hollow. But at least he was healthy for more of it than his New York tenure.

2025 Prediction: I think that now Montas knows that he does best in smaller markets, a lot like Sonny Gray, so he's gonna look for a similar fit to that. Maybe Cincinnati again, possibly Minneapolis or Detroit. And it'll go pretty well for him I think. The Mets??? Hoooo boy, that's...that's not gonna go well. Maybe it'll go well in 2026 but this is gonna be another fun adjustment year for Frankie.

Coming Tomorrow- The Cardinals did a lot of things in 2024. 'Learn' was not one of them. 

So Devin Williams Finally Blew a Save..

 

It was going so well for the Brewers the other night. A good lead over the Twins, Devin Williams on the mound, the mood was nice. And then suddenly Carlos Correa happened, Devin Williams blew a save situation, and the impenetrable was penetrated. 

It's not a huge crack in the armor of Williams, who's still one of the most dominant relievers in the game, and still has a 2.08 ERA and 10 saves, but it's an end to the consistent run he began the season with. Considering that his predecessor would be prone to drop saves here and there, it was a breath of fresh air for Brewers fans to see Williams be truly unbeatable in the ninth, and then...Correa took him yard. But either way, something was bound to happen eventually, he's only human, and he's just a relatively large piece of a varied, interesting team.

The Brewers, in underperforming vs. some early predictions, have become less disappointing and more of a scrappy, underdog type, which is...odd for a team that's routinely competed to win the NL Central. They still have Christian Yelich, Corbin Burnes, Willy Adames and, well, Devin Williams, but are finding small pieces with odd origins. For instance, Julio Teheran has started 4 games for the Brewers, and has a 1.48 ERA and 16 strikeouts. Teheran is 32 and flamed out of contracts with Detroit and San Diego. Somehow things seem to be working for him now. They also have Colin Rea, former Padres farmhand, starting 10 games for them with a 4.47 ERA, and being surprisingly decent at eating innings as Woodruff, Lauer and Miley recoup. Former Guardians utility infielder Owen Miller has been excellent in a similar role in Milwaukee, hitting .308 with 19 RBIs. And then there's the obvious oddity, Jon Singleton, who flamed right out of big expectations in Houston back in 2014, and is filling a power bat role with the Brewers. He hasn't accomplished a great deal yet, but as we've seen with Eric Thames, it could happen when you least expect it.

With Yelich playing better than he has in a while, Burnes still looking like an ace, and so many versatile hitting performances, the Brewers are still a decent team, but their imperfections are holding them back, hence the Pirates still being in first. If they really capitalized on the great team they'd been given and not lost people like Adames and Peralta to bad stretches, they'd be in first easily, but for now they truly have to fight for it, which, while not ideal, also will hopefully bring out the best in them.

Coming Tonight: Dude wins a World Series in his rookie year, after starting at short on Opening Day. Will it ever get hard for this guy?

The Friendzone and the Danger Zone

 

I said in 2020 that if Devin Williams had a career befitting of his 2020 season then I wouldn't be mad that he won the Rookie of the Year. Guess what? I ain't mad about it anymore.

In the shadow of the racist, problematic relief man who came before him, Devin Williams has become one of the best relievers in baseball, and now that Hader's gone, he's closing. He has 9 saves since Hader left. How about that? He's already an amazing eighth inning man, and now he can close, too.

I still think that Devin Williams was an odd ROY choice in 2020 because he only appeared in 22 games. Granted, in those 22 games he only gave up 1 run, and out of the 100 batters he faced he struck out 53 of them, but...the 22 games thing was odd for me. He was amazing for ONE MONTH. AUGUST 2020. And then he got injured and the Brewers had no postseason case without him. So...I guess that makes him valuable. It's just vexing because that season was so hard to gauge how a rookie even works, which explains why Randy Arozarena, another 2020 rookie, got the Rookie of the Year award in 2021.

Williams has never had his WAR fall below 1 in a full season. He had a 1.3 as a rookie, a 1.6 last year, and now, in his best season to date, Devin Williams has a 2.0 WAR, 78 strikeouts, a 1.80 ERA, and, yes, those 9 saves, the number of which will probably grow in the next month or so. This sort of stuff, the middle relief magic before slowly taking the ninth, is the exact same stuff Josh Hader did, and Williams might be better because A.) he's not a racist ass, and B.) this is just simply what he's capable of. He is THIS good. And I can't wait to see how much better he's gonna become over time for the Brewers. 

Speaking of the Brewers, eh...how's it feel to be the fourth team in a three-man Wild Card race, boys? I'll give 'em this, they've got an easy schedule for the next week or so, but it's not a good sign when your biggest story is some poor fan getting friend zoned ON THE TRON at one of your games. NOT EVEN A 'We'll talk about this after the game'. No, you are letting ALL OF MILWAUKEE KNOW how cuckholded this poor guy, Mark, is. Christian Yelich has already turned the rest of the Brewers' season into 'let's win this for Mark.' How sad is that? When you hear a 'let's win it for this guy' thing, it's mostly 'oh, he's dying', 'oh, she has cancer', 'oh, he's injured and won't be back til next year'. No, the 2022 Milwaukee Brewers season has essentially become a fund to cure Mark's blue balls. 

Or 'brew balls' if you will.

I WANT TO SEE THEM KEEP THIS GOING. McCutchen hits a home run and dedicates it to Mark. Corbin Burnes creates an event where if he has more than 10 strikeouts, that means Mark gets a free first date COURTESY OF THE BREWERS. Hell, maybe Matt Bush can give him dating tips. There's so many ways you can take this. Hell, if they win the World Series, BY LAW, she has to at least kiss the poor guy, right? BY LAW. 

Look, I'm not sure if the Brewers have enough to stop the Cardinals, or even the NL East guys, from advancing. They could edge out the Padres, especially since they seem to have gotten the better relief piece in the trade, but even that'll be tough. There's a chance they squeeze in, but right now it's about as likely as Mark getting any in the next few months. 

...Like, it could happen, but a LOT OF THINGS NEED TO GO RIGHT FOR IT TO HAPPEN. 

Coming Tonight: A less funny post, I reckon. A former hits-leader now just a member of the gang in Seattle. 

Brew the Looking Glass

 

I think the Milwaukee Brewers have been underestimated when looking at the playoff race. For one thing, being blanked by Zack Wheeler certainly sends you down a peg.

But also, for the majority of the season this season has been without the better numbers of Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich, two of the biggest offensive pieces on the team, and the center of the lineup since Ryan Braun's departure. And even though the team has sported great seasons from Omar Narvaez, Kolten Wong, Avisail Garcia, Willy Adames and Luis Urias, the fact that Yelich isn't really coming forward as a hot offensive piece until around here is a concerning aspect. To be frank, Yelich hasn't been the same since the injury at the end of the 2019 season, and the Brewers have to cope with the fact that he might not be THE guy for them anymore.

What has kept the Brewers contending for this long, of course, is the pitching. Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, Freddy Peralta, Eric Lauer, Adrian Houser...that is a scary good rotation. Lauer and Houser have caught up and have had some very nice games. Lauer has made up for his weak 2020, and has a 3.43 ERA in 15 starts. Houser has a 3.41 ERA in 22 starts. And then you have the other 3, who will make up a truly horrifying NLDS for whoever has to play them, now looking like the Braves [or whoever wins the NL East, hell maybe it'll be the Phils so Wheeler can stymie them again]. 

The bullpen, though, has been equally strong. Hader's the crowd-pleaser, but is no one talking about the fact that Devin Williams is having an equally strong sophomore season? 78 Ks, a 2.70 ERA, similar dominance to his rookie season. What I'm getting is that Williams has staying power, and that he might be having a number of really good seasons to follow his 2020. But also, Brent Suter, Brad Boxberger, Hunter Strickland and Jake Cousins are all having excellent seasons. I'm glad that Strickland finally found somewhere to stick around this year. Still confused as to why he had to leave Tampa. 

So for the Brewers to get a leg up on the competition, they're gonna need to prove that their hitting is as good as their pitching. If the Phillies' pitching is the victor during this series, then it'll be an indicator of how future playoff series might go. But if they can get past more than just Aaron Nola, maybe they'll be able to get past some even bigger guns.

Coming Tonight: Another one of the many young pitchers to come out of Houston.

2020 Topps Final Edition: Cards #208-216

 Heading further into the 200s with this post, for the Final Edition set. A few of these set up the 2021 season, while a few more set up developments that have since been halted.

Card #208- Donovan Solano ASG, San Francisco Giants

The man now affectionately known as Donnie Barrels would have been the starting 2nd baseman of the NL team had the 2020 ASG happened. It would have been a winning, surprise moment for the longtime journeyman infielder, who'd came up with Miami years ago and never found a true niche until he got slotted into a starting position in 2019. Two straight years of .300+ averages later, Solano was a fixture, a silver slugger winner and a Giants hero. Before his 2021 injury he was hitting .300, so he's still definitely league-caliber.

Card #209- Heath Hembree, Philadelphia Phillies

Heath Hembree was one of two Red Sox relievers traded to Philly to save the sinking rotation, only to get pulled into the wreckage themselves. Hembree had the worst shake of anyone, seeing his already-bad 5.59 ERA sink to a 12.54 in Philly. He's thankfully pitching an improved 0 ERA in Cincinnati, so maybe it is just Philly that brings out the worst in people.

Card #210- Josh Harrison, Washington Nationals

Speaking of Philly bringing out the worst in people...the Phils signed Josh Harrison to a minor league deal for Spring Training [this DID get a Topps card], and both the pandemic and the tight 2nd base race led to Harrison being cut. So then the Nationals pick him up prior to the July start to the season, and then Harrison improved even past his disappointing 2019 in Detroit. In 33 games, he hit .278 with 14 RBIs, not a bad shake at all for an infield in flux. So far in 2021 he's been even better, and even more of a fixture. Thanks, Ruben.

Card #211- James McCann ASG, Chicago White Sox

For the second year in a row, James McCann would have been a reserve catcher on the AL All Star team, and unlike in 2019, he'd be on the roster as a backup. McCann spent all of 2020 being the superior option to the powerful-but-one-dimensional Yasmani Grandal, while being either a bench bat or a DH. However, by ASG terms, he's a catcher, and he'd catch some innings in the ASG. 

Card #212- Mike Freeman, Cleveland Indians

Another career journeyman infielder who finally found a constant place, Mike Freeman followed a decent season as a bench infielder for the Indians in 2019 with another similar season with less immediate results. In 24 2020 games, Freeman hit .237 with 5 hits and 3 RBIs. He was released after the season and is now in the Reds organization.

Card #213- Devin Williams ASG, Milwaukee Brewers

Another no-brainer inclusion. Devin Williams was one of the best relief pitchers in baseball in 2020, rookie or none. He was lights-out in August, and would have been worthy of an addition by Dave Martinez as a relief option. It would have been even more of a cherry on top of an extraordinary rookie season, which hopefully will lead to a strong career and not more earned-run-friendly seasons like his 2021 so far.

Card #214- Matt Kemp, Miami Marlins

Ah yes, one of my favorite parts of doing this series, the zero-year card. Matt Kemp played all of his 2020 games with the Colorado Rockies, but he spent Spring Training with the other 1993 expansion team, the Miami Marlins. Kemp was decent out of camp, and was still working solely as a power-hitter, but the crowded Marlins outfield last year made it impossible for Kemp to make the team. Topps did produce some Gallery, Fire and Heritage High releases of Marlin Kemp, but they were too late.

Card #215- Trevor Rosenthal, San Diego Padres

After a sensational start in Kansas City, and some thrilling comeback numbers, Trevor Rosenthal was dealt to the San Diego Padres in one of many 2020 Padres-Royals trades. Rosenthal was given the ninth in SD, and in 9 games he was unhittable, with a 0 ERA and only 3 hits allowed on top of 17 Ks. While his postseason numbers were a little rockier, he was still a formidable closer again, which led the A's to give him a ton of money...and to him subsequently getting injured.

Card #216- Estevan Florial

One of the biggest Yankee prospects not named Dominguez, Estevan Florial has been a bright star in the minors in the last few years, and in a flash doubleheader with the Mets last season, the Yankees figured it'd be a cool idea to bring him up. The 22 -year-old Florial only had one game last year, but he made it count, with his first MLB hit against the Mets. I'm not entirely sure when Florial will be back in the majors again, but he teased us with a little bit of what he's capable of.

The next 9 cards go up Monday, and there are some interesting ones in there. Like Kemp, another zero-year type card, as well as some more big rookies and relievers. 

2020 Rookies of the Year: One League Had it Easier Than The Other

 [Tim Kurkjian voice] DID YOU KNOOOOW THAT THE LAAAST TIME TWO AFRICAN AMERICAN MEN WON BOTH LEAGUES' ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARDS, THE YEAR WAS 1984 AND ONLY 76 CURRENT MAJOR LEAGUERS WERE ALIVE?

...Look.

Voting for a Rookie of the Year can sometimes be a crapshoot. It's odd enough that you're not voting for one rookie of the year, and it's separated by leagues, but sometimes the best overall rookie isn't in the conversation for some reason. You're really following the guidelines of pundits and booming voices, regardless of who actually deserves anything. A lot like Oscar voting. Was Green Book really the best movie of 2018? No. The Sonic the Hedgehog movie from this year was better than Green Book. But enough industry people say in booming voices 'this is how the votes are gonna go', and that's how they go, greenback distribution or no.

And that's what we're dealing with one of our rookies of the year in 2020.

Kyle Lewis is the one I don't have a problem with. I know that he completely trailed off in September, and that Luis Robert maybe would have been a more consistent choice for the award, but Kyle Lewis at his height this year was unstoppable, and was one of the sole forces keeping the Brewers in the conversation.

And that's the big factor for me, when I think about these awards. Does the presence of this one player make or break this team? Without Kyle Lewis, could the Mariners even have gotten as far as they did this year? Probably not. This kid is on the way to a nice career if he keeps his averages high. 

And then there is Devin Williams. Devin Williams is a great reliever, was fantastic in 2020, and his unhittable work was definitely a factor in the Brewers' 2020 season. However...take Devin Williams away, are the Brewers any better or worse? Not really. He is just a reliever, in a bullpen of people like Josh Hader, David Phelps and Eric Yardley. Williams was there for 22 games, 27 innings. He missed playing time in September due to an injury, and the Brewers fell off...but they were going to fall off anyway because they just weren't as good this year. Corbin Burnes made the Brewers look like they had a chance for a split second in September. Williams was just a really good reliever for the month of August. 

And I know what people are gonna say. 'Jordan, you make customs of relievers no one talks about, why not boast about a relief pitcher getting a major award?' Because Devin Williams never felt like 'the best rookie performance of the year' to me at all this year. I was getting ready for Jake Cronenworth to win it. Cronenworth was giving me David Ecsktein vibes, I liked how he fit right into the Tatis-Machado-Hosmer infield, and while he wasn't one of the biggest producers of this team [that was Tatis, another detail the writers got wrong in nominating players for awards this year], he still brought a lot of versatility to this Padres team. 

But like Williams, I don't know if Cronenworth is going to have a career of seasons like this, or if he'll become David Eckstein, the full novelty of him and all. Will Williams still have a career in 2030? Will he still be as consistent? As much as I love relievers, one of the reasons why Topps doesn't always include the correct relievers is that it's very rare for a reliever, or a closer, to be consistent for a long period of time without completely losing it for a season or two. Look at Craig Kimbrel, a ROY pick I thought was valid back in the day. Kimbrel has had two straight down years, and is looking into a role as a middle reliever instead of his usual 9th inning role. 

Will Devin Williams be this good for the rest of his career? Probably not. This is, of course, rewarding his 2020 season, not predicting whether or not he'll have a career after this, but...I feel like that needs to have a hand in this. Both Yordan Alvarez and Shohei Ohtani had miserable years in 2020, due to injuries and inefficiency. I wish more sportswriters would vote for this award with the guise of 'which of these players is going to be a superstar for the next several years?'

If I were given a vote for Rookie of the Year, I would have voted for Sixto Sanchez. Not Alec Bohm, for any of you who thought I was bitter about someone from one of my teams not getting it [that comes when one of the Joses wins AL MVP this week]. Sixto Sanchez, despite a slightly late come up, made the Marlins into a contender, and was one of the strongest pitchers in the NL East this year. He also was responsible for some decent postseason energy, and previewed what could be a prosperous career that the Phillies gave up for a catcher they're not even gonna try and re-sign. To me, Sixto Sanchez was the best rookie in the NL. But he only got one vote, so what the hell do I know?

Maybe the sportswriters know something I don't about Devin Williams. Maybe he has the career and Kyle Lewis flames out in 5 years. I just...thought I had this predicted, and I was off. That tends to happen. Maybe I'll warn up to ROY Devin Williams. 

Regardless, it's a very big deal that both ROYs were african-american. I like that a lot, and it almost justifies the questionable NL pick for me. More than almost. 

Brewers Update: How Do You Properly Analyze This Team Edition

There's an episode of Whose Line is it Anyway where Colin Mochrie is in the middle of the show's patented props round, and he's running out of funny uses for whichever plastic, funny object he's been given this round. For his last one, he looks at the audience and just goes "...what would YOU do with these f--king things?"

That is the point I'm at with talking about the Milwaukee Brewers. This is a very difficult team to talk about because the players who would normally be standouts aren't playing very well. Christian Yelich, Ryan Braun, Eric Sogard, Omar Narvaez and Corey Knebel are all playing poorly, and even the supposed standouts like Avisail Garcia and Keston Hiura are only marginally better. The real standouts on this team are pitchers like Brandon Woodruff, Corbin Burnes, Adrian Houser, Josh Hader, and under-the-radar Rookie of the Year candidate Devin Williams, whose relief work has been so impeccable that I don't think many people have been talking about him at all. A lot like this team.

When you're dealing with a pitching-heavy team like this one, you have to assume that there's some sort of offensive standout or some guys with home runs who are lifting them a bit, and while they did have a monstrous win over Detroit the other day, only 3 people have more than 5 home runs, and one of them is Jedd Gyorko, who's doing his usual bench player schtick. Similarly, only one batter in the lineup is hitting over .250, and it's Orlando Arcia. 

You can't just rely on people like Gyorko, Arcia and Luis Urias to lift your team, especially when you have Christian Yelich, Lorenzo Cain and Eric Sogard signed to contracts and having disappointing seasons. The Brewers are still technically in the playoff race, but they've now fallen behind Colorado in the standings, and could miss out on a playoff spot. 

It's sad, because last year things looked like they were coming together, but a lot of this lineup couldn't sustain itself, which is genuinely tragic. 

Coming Tomorrow- Would you believe that he's on pace to win a fourth MVP award?