Uncustomed Heroes of 2023: Angels

 

It is that time of year once again. All of the players I didn't get to posting customs of during 2023, wrapped up by team as an end of the year package, to full put a bow on 2023 as a season. As usual, I will go in alphabetical order, and as usual, that means I get to start with the Los Angeles Angels. 

And look, I really thought this season would be different for the Angels. Things started a bit better, a lot more seemed to be working. But, alas, once Trout got injured there was really no point, and once Ohtani got injured it got really sad. They'll always have that month or so where they thought they were invincible, with that 25-1 victory over Colorado, and that sweep of the Yankees where they thought they could compete.

Taylor Ward, injuries aside, picked up where his 2022 left off, and hit .253 with 14 home runs and 47 RBIs in 97 games, along with a 1.7 WAR boosted by his above-average hitting habits. The midyear injury did take a lot away from his appeal as a trusted member of the team, and the search for a full-year campaign worthy of his May 2022 numbers continues.

2024 Prediction: If he does deliver an excellent campaign, he'll be traded by August. If he gets hurt again, he'll be cut before 2025. 

Tyler Anderson, on the heels of an excellent season in LA, was a candidate for an Angels fixture upon his multi-year contract he signed prior to the season. Despite only missing 7 or so games, Anderson struggled this year, going 6-6 with a 5.43 ERA. Like fellow starters Patrick Sandoval and Griffin Canning, he did provide consistency, but he wasn't there in terms of quality.

2024 Prediction: This will be a fuller, more impressive season from Anderson. There's still the worry that an injury could upend things, but I think 2024 will consist of Anderson holding up his end of the bargain. 

One of the most exciting aspects of the early part of the season for the Angels was Logan O'Hoppe, a breath of fresh air behind the plate, one who came over from Philly in exchange for Brandon Marsh. O'Hoppe, in his first 16 games, hit .286 with 15 hits, 4 home runs and 14 RBIs. For a season where the Angels knew they'd be without Max Stassi behind the plate, O'Hoppe was a refreshing, confident replacement. Then he got hurt. By the time he returned in August, the Angels had given up on competing. O'Hoppe finished the season with a .236 average, 14 home runs and 29 RBIs.

2024 Prediction: I think O'Hoppe's gonna build on his initial numbers and produce a solid season that makes the Angels realize they don't need Stassi anymore. 

An early season success for the Halos was picking up Matt Moore in relief, who had struggled the previous year in Philly. A refreshing market was all Moore needed, with a 2.66 ERA in 44 innings. Through the first half, Moore was the Angels' strongest relief option, and reclaimed his Arlington dominance, despite giving up Bryce Harper's 300th home run. Once the team threw in the towel, he wound up pitching for Cleveland and, eventually, Miami. 

2024 Prediction: A contender signs him and has some level of success with him, though maybe not quite Anaheim levels.

I think I've said this every year, but the emergence of Luis Rengifo as a starting highlight for the Angels typically means that something has gone terribly wrong for the Angels this season, much like how Jose Suarez starting games used to be an indication that the injuries to the rotation had reached the 'we don't know what to do now' threshold. 2023 is the nth degree of this. Rengifo was brought in to start after David Fletcher, Gio Urshela and Anthony Rendon all got injured, and had a very nice run for himself, hitting .264 with 104 hits and 51 RBIs...and then right at the end of the season, he gets injured. So now the Angels need a replacement for their usual replacement player. What else can you do but laugh?

2024 Prediction: I don't know how many times the Angels can keep using Rengifo in the same exact way. Either they actually start the guy or they just cut him loose midyear given all the young talent they've brought up.

Around June, the Angels, with injuries piling up, got two smart bench options. One was Mike Moustakas, who was having a decent year in Denver, and comically left the Rockies for the Angels right after the 25-1 game. Moose is clearly not who he was in 2015, but he was still good for some power moments, with 8 home runs and 36 RBIs in 65 games.

2024 Prediction: It'd be very funny if Moose plays in 2024 and his old battery partner Eric Hosmer doesn't, but that's honestly the way things might be going. Maybe Pittsburgh picks him up or something. 

Actually participating in the 25-1 game on the Anaheim side was Eduardo Escobar, who was flipped from the Mets, convinced they would be find with Brett Baty [they weren't]. Escobar responded with a .219 average and 39 hits in 59 games, essentially proving why the Mets had given up.

2024 Prediction: Maybe someone picks him up for the spring, but I don't see Escobar playing a substantial role in the story of 2024, which sucks considering it was only 7 years ago that he was such a fun young infield guy in Minneapolis. 

After the Angels became buyers at the deadline due to their post-Yankees bravado, they went for several high-profile weapons. The highest profile was Lucas Giolito, who was having a strong year in Chicago. And then, of course, Giolito arrives in Anaheim, goes 1-5 in six starts with a 6.89 ERA, and all of the sudden the Angels aren't competitors anymore for some reason. And now the White Sox have Edgar Quero, who will be a big part of their rebuild. 

I have one more Giolito custom in this series, at which point I'll divulge my 2024 prediction.

One big indication that things may begin to look up in 2024? The number of prospects willing to launch themselves onto the team so soon after being drafted. This year featured playing time from Zach Neto, a prominent 2022 draftee, and Nolan Schanuel, a man named after an Angels legend, a prominent 2023 draftee. Schanuel had literally no photo for baseball reference to choose from, so the whole season went by with Schanuel as the Unknown Player while starting at 1st for the Angels. And that's a wild bit of this season; by the end, the Angels were so starved for options at first after Cron's injury that they were turning to a guy they'd drafted two months earlier to play first. And to his credit, Schanuel did pretty well, hitting .275 with 30 hits in 29 games. Not sure how Anthony Rendon felt about a 21-year old playing better than he did this year with what he was being paid.

2024 Prediction: A lot like Nico Hoerner in 2020, I don't think Schanuel's going to start the season in the majors, in order to give him a more traditional growth period. But once he's up, expect more of what we saw this year.

Coming Tomorrow- The Angels were a team that thought to base their entire future on one series with the Yankees. Tomorrow's team, meanwhile, should have seen their series with the Yankees as an omen.

Moose Migration

 

The season hasn't even started yet, and strange, unsettling things are going on in Cincinnati. 

Simply removing Freddy Galvis from the infield schematic has put the entire thing into question. Now what the Reds want to do is move Eugenio Suarez to shortstop, then move Mike Moustakas to third [where, arguably, he belongs], and then use Kyle Farmer at 2nd for a bit before bringing up mega-prospect Jonathan India [who seems to be ready for the bigs]. The only infielder who would not move is Joey Votto, and judging by his shakiness over the last few seasons, he's the only one that should.

Then you have to think about the injuries hitting this team. Sonny Gray is gonna be out for a little bit, meaning the once-stacked rotation is gonna look kinda thin on opening day. Shogo Akiyama is also gonna be on the IL for the first portion of the season, meaning that while the outfield combination of Winker-Castellanos-Senzel seems to be set, the cabal of non-roster-invite backups might need to be utilized. And the glory of the Reds right now is that they could get through everybody, including Dee Gordon, Mike Freeman, Tyler Naquin and Dwight Smith, and still not even begin to think about reinstating Aristedes Aquino, the power-hitting heir apparent from 2019. 

Like, even Tyler Stephenson has a chance of eventually getting a shot at the catching spot, as this is the last year of Tucker Barnhart's contract, and he'll likely be dealt at the deadline. So one of the people I was yelling at the Reds to use more last season might get his shot this year...but not Aquino, it seems. I dunno, man, he seemed like he was pretty legit in August 2019. I don't think that refusing to his for average every time you yank him onto the roster during a pandemic year should be an excuse not to go forward with him. He could be starting in Pittsburgh if y'all weren't such cowards.

Right. Anyway. Optimism. 

Look, the Reds are gonna be the best Cincinnati Reds they can be, and there's still a lot of parts of this roster that works [Winker, Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle]. But enough of the moves this year seem to indicate that they're not exactly thrilled with the team that got trounced last year in Atlanta, and they're trying to fix that before attempting to compete. I don't think they have enough to take on the top 3 in the Central, and I hope they have enough to hit .500 but I'm not even sure about that. 

Hopefully this new infield works. Then maybe you can see some real change.

Coming Tonight: What's better, being an unused backup for the hottest team in the NL, or being the starting DH for one of the worst teams in baseball?

Uncustomed Heroes of 2020: Reds (Part One)

Of all the fringe teams that squeezed into the playoffs this year, the one that made me happiest might have been the Cincinnati Reds. This team has been so close to good recently, and even if this team still had some issues, the fact that they made the playoffs even for a few games against Atlanta is still pretty cool. 

The big issue for this Reds team is the fact that while the pitching staff definitely showed up, the lineup was a few steps behind last year's. And you had guys like Eugenio Suarez, who were AWESOME in 2019, having more human moments, and hitting .202 despite leading the team in homers with 15 and RBIs with 38. Geno is still a great player, but he's gonna get caught up if he doesn't figure out how to strike out less.

2021 Prediction: Another 30 homer year with an ASG gig. Not sure if all of it will be with Cincinnati, though.

It's become clear that Joey Votto is officially past his prime, with a negative WAR year and some very perfunctory stats, and it's looking like he's just gonna have the Cabrera/Pujols status of continuing to play and do what he can without being very statistically impressive. Which is fine. I mean, Votto is a future Hall of Famer, he's had a ton of great seasons and everything, but...hitting .226 is new for him. Yes, he still hit 11 homers, but his contact abilities have lessened, and I can only imagine if the DH stays in the NL he'll be moved over there.

2021 Prediction: A slight upswing in average, but similar, end-of-career stats.

In his first season in Cincinnati after two strong years in a row, Mike Moustakas was...slightly disappointing. Look, he still had 8 homers and 27 RBIs, but he hit .230 with barely enough WAR totals to really register as a member of this team, similar to Nick Castellanos. Is it the oddity of the season, or is Moose beginning to trail off himself?

2021 Prediction: 30 home runs, barely any average to go with it.

Tucker Barnhart had a strong year this year, with his best defensive numbers since 2017, earning him his second gold-glove behind the plate. His plate numbers aren't the priority, but he did...alright. .204 with 13 RBIs. That's fine, especially if he's still an awesome catcher. I'll take that.

2021 Prediction: A full potential, all-star, better-offensively season for Barnhart. And then the eyes of the rest of the league start watching

Alright, so the big 3 of the Reds rotation truly made waves in 2020, and set the rest of the league ablaze. Yet the one starter that sort of fell through the cracks was 2018's standout, Tyler Mahle, the homegrown fireballer who fanned 60 in 10 games with a 3.59 ERA. Which means, yes, lower ERA than Sonny Gray.

2021 Prediction: Most likely to succeed early next year, and most likely to be traded if the team doesn't succeed. 

The fifth member of the rotation, Anthony Desclafani, took a huge step backwards after a return to form year last year. Disco was saddled with a 7.22 ERA in 9 games, and was eventually moved to the bullpen. Not a great way to end his tenure in Cincinnati.

2021 Prediction: A low-cost signing that pays off for SF. 

I have a ton more bullpen/post-Opening-Day members of this team that I'll post later tonight.

Revenge of the Moose

So, I know there's a lot to talk about with the Milwaukee Brewers, but here's an unlikely stat- Mike Moustakas is on pace to have his best season since 2015. He's already got 1.9 WAR, his year total in 2017, when he got an ASG nod, and close to his 2.1 ROYALS total in 2018. But he's getting to the type of consistency that'd lead him towards topping his 2015 record of a 4.4 season total.

And keep in mind: he's doing this as a second base/third base swingman. This guy has, to this point, been a career third baseman, and only took this position to gain mobility with Jonathan Schoop and Travis Shaw last year. And now...he's so damn good at it that it must have hurt when he was moved back to third to accommodate Keston Hiura's call-up.

But even something like that is dwarfed by all the weird and wonderful things coming out of Milwaukee this season. You have Hiura's impressive rookie campaign, Christian Yelich hitting 21 home runs before June, Ryan Braun having a halfway decent year for the first time in half a decade, Brandon Woodruff appearing as the staff ace, Gio Gonzalez returning from the Yankees minors to get back to solid work, and Zach Davies having one of the lowest ERAs in the MLB right now. So many fun players and stories, and it's only June 2nd.

Yes, the Brewers are still in 2nd place, but have separated themselves from the competition below, 3 games ahead of both St. Louis and Pittsburgh, and 5 games ahead of Cincinnati. They're cruising at a relatively alright pace, with a split .500 in the last 10 games, and a series with Miami coming up. They're at a nice place, and could build more momentum as we get closer to the end of the season, kinda like they did last year.

Not a huge amount of change with this team, but considering how powerful this team's been so far, I'd say that's a good thing.

Coming Tonight: Speaking of teams making late-season pushes, the unofficial leader of this...somehow surging (again) AL West team.

Moose Tracks

I feel so bad for the Brewers. In recent years, they've had great teams that have just gotten absolutely shafted at the wrong times.

2013: Amazing in April, completely downhill for the rest of the season.
2014: Leading the NL Central for most of the year, overtaken by the Cardinals and Pirates in the final moments of the year.
2017: HUGE come-up halfway through the year, just barely shafted for the Wild Card spot by the tight D-Backs-Rockies matchup.

And now, here we are again. The Brewers had a tight race with the Cubs for most of the year, but suddenly the Cardinals had a HUGE August right when the Brewers were calming down a smidge. The Brewers are literally ahead of St. Louis by a half-game, and both teams are currently holding onto the Wild Card spots. Yes, the Dodgers and Rockies aren't TOO far behind, but the spots are currently theirs...all while both teams are trying to hold onto their momentum.

For the Brewers, it's not difficult in theory, but I'm still slightly worried- the lineup is fine, and the additions of Mike Moustakas and Jonathan Schoop have augmented the power of a group that already included Jesus Aguilar and Lorenzo Cain. The bench is also well stocked- Eric Thames is still hitting a ton of homers while not starting, which definitely helps, and Tyler Saladino and Erik Kratz are still great backups.

The pitching is also improving, thanks to the addition of Gio Gonzalez, the promotion of Zach Davies, and the general dominance of Jhoulys Chacin, Wade Miley, Junior Guerra and Chase Anderson. The bullpen is also still sharp, and Josh Hader, racism aside, is still a great middle reliever. Jeremy Jeffress might also need his own accolade at the end of the year for excellence in general relief, because he's been incredible this year.

It's just a tight team, with only a few small flaws. I'd prefer it if they outlasted the Cardinals, since the Brewers have been good all year, and have been a contender from the start. The Cards have ebbed and flowed, and spent some time in fourth place, and are only having this come-up now, rather than from the start. And I really, REALLY don't like teams whose seasons start in August. What are the other four months for, then? Vacations?

Still, pulling for the Brewers. They're too good a team to be this unlucky.

Coming Tomorrow- Speaking of teams hanging onto Wild Card contention, a moment with a defacto ace for Seattle.

Milwaukee Mobility

Back before the All-Star break, the Brewers' infield was simple. Too simple.

Right now, however, the Brewers have worked it so they have two solid options for every position of the infield. Literally:

1B: Jesus Aguilar (starter); Eric Thames (backup)
2B: Jonathan Schoop (starter); Hernan Perez (backup)
SS: Orlando Arcia (starter); Tyler Saladino (backup)
3B: Travis Shaw (starter); Mike Moustakas (...also starter)

The moveable piece at this point would need to be Shaw; he's shown versatility, and played at first and third. So, moving him to second, and moving Schoop to short to account for Arcia's effeteness would not be the worst idea. Shaw has had fine numbers at 2nd so far, and should definitely stay in the lineup. Only problem is...Jonathan Schoop hasn't gotten a hit as a Brewer yet. So...that means he AND Arcia aren't hitting, and Saladino's currently in the minors.

There's definitely mobility in this lineup, but said mobility would really work if a few more people were on. The corners are set, though- Aguilar and Moose are doing well, and Thames is perfectly able to sub in every few days and hit a home run or two (I call it; next year he'll be DHing for Tampa). The outfield also has mobility- it works perfectly fine as a Yelich-Cain-Perez/Braun project, with occasional appearances by Keon Broxton and Domingo Santana. And even Manny Pina has a solid backup in Erik Kratz. This team has a more-than-worthy bench, even without Stephen Vogt.

The Brewers are likely to go far this season, and the lineup certainly isn't an issue, but they're gonna need compliance from Schoop to make this entire infield work like a charm.

Coming Tomorrow- Last year he was given up as a trade consolation, now he's closing games for one of the hottest teams in the game.

The Moose That Roared

For a third place team, the Royals are producing some surprisingly phenomenal stuff.

The lineup's pretty on, Mike Moustakas has 25 home runs, Jason Vargas and Danny Duffy are red-hot, Eric Hosmer's having the best season of his career, and, even better, it's not looking like they're gonna have to trade anyone away this week! Yes, they're not perfect, and yes, they might not be able to make the playoffs, but I wouldn't call them a bad team, and I certainly wouldn't call them sellers.

I feel like the Royals have come to terms with the fact that they're not World-Series-caliber as a team anymore. Yes, a lot of the core is still there, but a ton of the extraneous factors that made them great, bit players like Kendrys Morales, Jarrod Dyson and Johnny Cueto, are gone. The sense os spontaneity has left as well. Yes, rookies are coming up and taking positions, but there aren't, like, out of nowhere players that have games. They're not the everymen anymore, and they've come to terms with that. Now they're just trying to win games and be a great team, instead of trying to be the 2015 Royals, which, admittedly, was most of 2016 for them.

Ton of respect for the Royals. Hoping for good things, even if the Twins and Indians have the upper hand at this point.

Coming Tonight: Pitcher for the Reds?!!?

Uncustomed Heroes of 2016: Royals

Good year for the AL Central, not so good year for the Royals.

I'll give them credit for trying, but without Zobrist and Cueto, without a healthy core, without most of the pitching staff and without a real definitive squad focus for the year...the Royals couldn't get it done, and wound up in third, missing out on the playoffs...right where they were three years ago.

Alex Gordon had a down season, which...he has from time to time. He'll probably be back in 2017 when the pressure's off.

Ian Kennedy's first, and only, season in Kansas City went...relatively well. Not his best season, obviously, but he did a considerably better job than the rest of the staff, so well that he's got a contract to help revive the grieving Marlins rotation.

Paulo Orlando had a much bigger 2016 season, after a few partial-season gigs in the championship teams. He was one of the few positive offensive performers, and turned in some nice moments towards the end of the season.

Mike Moustakas was on the way to another really nice season...and then the injury hit and ruined everything. It's sad, because Moose has become a treasure to that squad, and he thankfully didn't miss out on a wonderful season like Kyle Schwarber (almost) did. He'll be back in full force next year.

Coming Tomorrow- The Tigers team that NEARLY cracked the playoffs.

The Mid-80's Fight Back

The Royals are now 2-0 heading into a couple games in Toronto, completely overpowering the Blue Jays pitching, and succeeding with some amazing batting of their own.

Meanwhile this guy had a nice home run to take down Jon Lester, along with some solid stuff from Matt Harvey and Daniel Murphy, putting them up 1-0 at home.

These are two well-matched series, and hopefully the heat will continue to rise...even if it's October.

Why don't we just FORGET THE MOOSE...FOR A MOMENT!

"...right."

I remember the Sports Illustrated article from a couple years ago, I think 2010. And they were saying 'In five or six years, people are gonna be scoffing at a time when nobody had heard of Mike Moustakas'. And the article hyped up Hosmer, and Alcides Escobar (I think), and all the big guns that were coming up in that farm system, and how Ned Yost had things under control. And it was one of those things where I didn't know whether or not it was actually gonna happen.

I mean, SI's screwed up before. 1987, they said the Indians were gonna do amazing things with Joe Carter and Cory Snyder. Well, Carter did end up winning a ring, but it was with Toronto five years later. They also said the Cubs were gonna win the World Series in 2004. They didn't.

It wasn't until this year that I began to see their point. Before then, it was Eric Hosmer doing a ton of the work, and Moustakas doing *some* stuff, not really making a huge impact. Now, Moustakas is the guy who's hitting for average, smacking RBIs and dominating that portion of the third baseman voting (you know, like the rest of the goddamned team).

I'm happy for him, and I'm happy for that Royals team, because they deserve all of the good things that have been happening as of late. Moose needed a season like this one to prove he can take control, and I'm happy he's succeeding like this. Besides, he already had the Royals fans in the palm of his hand. He just needed a little push.

Coming Tomorrow- Once again, Lincy and Cain are injured, which means it's time for the now-most-important piece of the Giants rotation to take complete control.

Royal Flush (Yep, I went for it)

Well...the Royals are going to the World Series. Who called that?

I honestly love this, because I don't think anybody saw this coming. Nobody in Kansas City even assumed anything like this back in April. They thought the Tigers would just take it again, like they always do. But no...somehow the Royals made it all the way to the World Series. Plus, they're a lot of fun to watch, and they have a lot of really nice players.

The funny part is that back in 2007, everybody thought that, if the Royals would make it big, that Butler and Gordon would be the catalysts. But no, not really. It's been Lorenzo Cain, Mike Moustakas, Salvador Perez, Eric Hosmer and the rest of the youth movement that made it possible, which is fantastic.

Unfortunately, it's an even numbered year, which means the Giants could end up wiping the floor with them if they make the Series. Either way, I hope the Royals take it.

Thursday Night In Review

The Orioles had a huge night last night, knocking back the Tigers and having a huge 8-run inning near the end, sparked by home runs from Nelson Cruz and the Jedi Knight at the top of the post. JJ Hardy has become one of the strongest Orioles, especially in a year without Matt Wieters. As of right now, the O's are losing, but hopefully they'll bounce back and take the series.

Meanwhile, this guy had a huge night last night, hitting a crucial 11th inning home run, and sealing a victory over the first-seeded Angels, which was huge, especially for someone like Moose who hadn't made too much of an impact this year. Tonight they play the Angels for the lead, and hopefully it'll be another close game.

Also tonight, the NL Matchups begin, which could be pretty huge for both sides. Go Dodgers and Nationals.

Custom Card of the Day: Moustakas Edition

 

It's a little odd to see a different third baseman in a 1979 Topps design. Nothing else to add to that one.

Moustakas is a good player who's been having a really good season. His Royals aren't necessarily leading the division, but they're hanging in there. Maybe trading away Melky Cabrera was part of the problem, but I digress.

The Royals are a team that has a lot of potential, too. Hosmer, Moustakas and the rest are very good players that could theoretically make it far. If the Royals eventually make the playoffs, I'll be overjoyed. But it's a tough division. The White Sox, Tigers and Indians stand in the way, and all but Detroit have legitimate shots at making the playoffs. The Royals need to step it up. 

But I'll say this about underdog teams: currently two are leading a division. The Nationals, who have never made the playoffs, and the Pirates, who haven't been to the playoffs since Bryce Harper was an infant. 

If they can get there, why can't the Royals?

Coming Tomorrow- The one All Star snub that makes me a little mad. And yet it comes from the man who could have, and arguably should have, been still playing center for the Yanks. 

Custom Card of the Day: Moose Edition

I know I've been doing a lot of Royals as of this year, with Butler, and Hosmer, and now Moustakas. But I've only been doing these guys because that Royals team is slowly getting good. Moustakas just made his debut last week, and he's already a hit in Kansas City. I mean, a lot of people predicted the Royals to be good someday...but who would have thought that someday would be this soon. And there are so many others- Alex Gordon, even Jeff Francis- that are doing excellent with the Royals. Maybe in a few years these guys will be a force to reckon with in October.

Coming Tomorrow- While the Cubs haven't been rocking the place this year, this guy, one of the players acquired from Tampa, has been hitting well.