Some pitchers want to be hitters:
Max Scherzer shows bunt, pulls back, then hits a dinger. FIRST MAJOR LEAGUE HOME RUN! pic.twitter.com/xr0IHMIQXV
— MLB Memes (@MLBMeme) August 2, 2017
You’re all familiar with pros and cons lists. Today’s subject is pitcher German Marquez from the Colorado Rockies. The 22-year old righty has had an impressive rookie campaign spurred by a two-month hot stretch that is ongoing. He was a top 100 prospect across the industry this year, charting 52nd on Eric Longenhagen’s list, but didn’t get much buzz because of his home ballpark. His quality pitching and the success of Colorado have forced us to take notice.
Here’s today’s transcript, starting with some trade advice.
| 3:58 |
: Ahoy there! I have a few excuses to make before we get started.
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| 3:58 |
: First, my laptop’s AC adapter caught fire last week so I’m on an old desktop. Typos may be a problem
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| 3:59 |
: Second, I am wearing a wrist brace to help a pitching injury heal. It gets in the way of typing. Thus, typos may be a problem
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| 3:59 |
: Now, let’s talk about trades before I take questions.
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| 4:00 |
: I would like to first answer questions regarding what I’m about to write, so stop spamming for a moment and fix your attention to me. I’m ignoring everything entered for now
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| 4:00 |
: We’re at the point in the season when lopsided trades really start to make sense.
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I’m going to start by picking on Jon today. In a recent article on Deep League Stolen Base Options, he wrote the following in the comments:
Nice thoughts, but are any of these guys actually available in any “normal” (e.g. AL or NL-only) deep leagues? I don’t think there’s any useful way to use ESPN ownership rate as a proxy for deep league availability. I’m sure there are many players with a sub-1% ownership rate that are taken in nearly every “only” league.
I get his point that in 12-team ‘Only Leagues, there are no players on the waiver wire at 1% ownership, yet alone 5%. In Jon’s case, his best option to get steals is probably from making trades. There is a transition depending on league size where team rebalancing transitions from waiver wire pickups to trades.
While on vacation, my laptop’s AC adapter caught fire. I ordered a new one way back on July 11, but it hasn’t come yet. I’ve since ordered a used one from eBay. For now, I’m working on an old desktop. I hate the keyboard. That is all. Or not. Perhaps I have more to say. You’re probably wondering why you read any of that. Or why you’re still reading. They say you should delete the first one or two sentences from your introductory paragraphs. Whoever “they” are. I don’t think this paragraph would make sense if I followed their instructions. Not that it makes much sense as it is…
AGENDA
It was a relatively unexciting trade deadline as fewer big names switched uniforms than usual. No, I don’t have any actual data to back that up, but I feel like I’m probably right. Anyhow, one of the bigger names to switch teams was Sonny Gray, as he departs the West coast for the East, joining the New York Yankees. Let’s analyze the park factors, the team defenses, and offensive support to help determine how this affects his value over the rest of the season.
The Roto Riteup reminds you that practice makes perfect:
Tip drill to perfection! pic.twitter.com/v5CDTRD66M
— MLB (@MLB) August 1, 2017
Well the trade deadline has passed so let’s take a look and see how the bullpens were affected. Before I go on however, it’s worth leading you to Paul’s breakdown earlier this afternoon. Tonight we will focus on the deadline recap and tomorrow we will turn our attention to deeper dives in those situations that are deserving.
• With the Mets selling we all figured Addison Reed would be on the way out and to Boston he goes. Reed won’t have many chance for saves unless Kimbrel gets hurt or throws three days in a row but he likely leapfrogs Matt Barnes and Joe Kelly as the main setup man in Boston. Reed’s been pretty terrific since last year in New York pitching to a 2.20/2.43/3.28 ERA/FIP/xFIP line in 126.2 innings. However, it’s worth noting in that time he’s posted a mediocre 39% GB%. Moving from Citi to Fenway Park and the American League might cause a few more fly balls to leave the yard. I don’t doubt Reed as the best option behind Kimbrel but consider him to be more of a decent fantasy option than ace reliever. The Red Sox figure to be one of the better teams in the AL moving forward so Reed should rack up those Holds but in save only leagues there isn’t much to see here.
As for the Mets side, recent acquisition A.J. Ramos will pick up the ninth inning duties with Paul Sewald and Jerry Blevins behind him. Addison Reed’s control was stellar for the Mets but A.J. Ramos and his (lack of) control will probably have Mets fans remembering Armando Benitez. Overall they should be pleased with the results if that’s the case but his 4.5-5 BB/9 will likely cause fans to occasionally pull their hair out late in games. Read the rest of this entry »