There were a few years there that I dreaded writing about the Angels for this series but no more… The organization has some legitimately intriguing prospects. Don’t just take my word for it, let’s have a look!

The Graduate: Parker Bridwell, RHP: Earlier this week, I stated that the Dodgers had one of the best player development systems in the game. Well, the Orioles probably have one of the worst… and Bridwell is a perfect example of a player simply needing a change of scenery to realize his full potential. With that said, the right-hander’s potential is modest and he’ll probably settle in as more of a No. 4 starter. He doesn’t miss a lot of bats and he produces a lot of fly balls, which is a dangerous combination. His heater is average but it plays up because he has above-average control and keeps hitters off balance with multiple offerings.

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Episode 299 – Also Opposite A “Bum”

The latest episode of “Field of Streams” is live!

In this episode, Dylan Higgins and Matthew Dewoskin discuss Edwin Jackson continuing to slow down, Matt borrowing a quality Lucas Duda joke, the rule of Brent Suter and Brandon Woodruff, the return of Travis Jankowski, marveling over how bad Dylan Covey has been, Doug Fister falling apart, the only no-hitter in Field Of Streams history, Matt’s visit to Atlanta, and looking back on 350+ episodes.

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If there was any uncertainty around Brad Brach taking over the closer duties for the Orioles while Zach Britton is out due to a PRP injection, we didn’t have to live with that uncertainty for very long. Brach’s first save chance in his third iteration as the Orioles’ primary closer came on Thursday night against the Rays. It had some drama, as he issued a two-out walk to Steven Souza Jr., which was followed by a J.J. Hardy error that put runners on the corners with a 3-1 lead. Brach worked out of the jam by getting Kevin Kiermaier to fly out, collecting his 18th save of the season and his first save since Aug. 27.

Mike Minor needed only six pitches to close out a 1-0 win over the Blue Jays on Thursday night, earning his second save in a week. The Royals’ closer situation is still ambiguous, though. The Kansas City Star reported that Scott Alexander has been dealing with fatigue, and may not be available for Friday’s series opener at the White Sox. Even if Minor were to get another save on Friday, that would not necessarily mean he has the closer’s job all to himself.
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Earlier this week Alex Gordon hit a home run. Okay, sorry, that’s a mean joke. I am referring to the MLB single season home run record, of course. There have been more home runs hit this season than in any season in Major League Baseball history. Whether this is a good or bad thing is a matter of debate. I’ve heard from many people who are unhappy with this turn of events, others who are quite pleased, and a small minority who have no strong opinion on the matter. That third group seems to be rather small, but that’s the way of things these days.

It appears that this home run record has been spurred on by artificial means, namely an apparent change to the ball. The exact change is difficult to pin down, unfortunately. On some level it deals with the flight characteristics of the ball, though. What some call the coefficient of drag. Essentially, the air isn’t slowing down the ball as much as before. There are conflicting reports as to why this might be the case. Some say the radius of the ball is smaller. Others say the seams are smaller. Maybe both are true, maybe neither. Maybe there are other variables. It is all very much up in the air at this point. But, we do know that the ball is flying ever so slightly further now, in 2017, than it was in, say, 2015. Or 2014. Or 2013.

Perhaps counter-intuitively, very small changes in flight distance can make rather large differences in home run rate. Perhaps more intuitively, differences in flight distance can be represented as changes in effective velocity. Read the rest of this entry »

The season numbers aren’t great but we’ve picked up some steam over the last few weeks and hopefully will finish strong. As always, if you have any suggestions or tips, please feel free to mention them in the comments section, and thank you for reading.

Here’s how we’re doing so far this season (through half of Week 23). Since this is the last column of the year, find me on twitter or on the #2xSP hashtag for end-of-season results:

45-41 record
4.73 ERA
7.8 K/9
2.4 K/BB
1.40 WHIP
45 quality starts

Here are this week’s recs (with team wRC+ for this season in parentheses):

RHP Jake Junis – 20.1% ESPN – v. DET (99), v. ARI (94)

Junis gets a couple nice offensive matchups here, though the numbers are certainly deceiving in that the Diamondbacks will be tougher than the true-talent Tigers. But nevertheless, it’s two nice matchups for Junis before considering how good he’s been lately. Since more or less moving back into the rotation — save for one relief appearance — to begin August, he’s been terrific: 3.02 ERA, 41-6 K/BB ratio in 50.2 innings and an OPS against of .632. Four of the 17 earned runs he’s allowed in that time frame came in one relief appearance, which is worth noting as well. I’ve already grabbed Junis in my deep keeper for safe winter storage — you might want to do the same. Read the rest of this entry »

Continuing my Quick Looks series, today looks at a pair of NL East arm…

Mark Leiter

It’s like the 26-year-old righty didn’t exist before this season. I like to look at previous reports on popup guys to see what has changed. I was able to find one report on him at 2080baseball.com.

“A senior sign out of New Jersey Institute of Technology, he certainly got on some radars when he posted a 20-strikeout game his senior year before being drafted by his favorite hometown team, the Phillies. He doesn’t have pure “stuff” – his fastball barely touches 90 – but he’s a smart pitcher who works with what he has and has posted a 3.37 career ERA in 95 games, 69 of them starts, over 445 2/3 innings. He underwent shoulder surgery prior to the 2016 season but enjoyed a strong campaign that summer and now gets his call-up just a few games into his Triple-A debut.”

It’s not exciting but it’s at least a starting point. Now to move onto the starts I watched. There are no good camera angles for any of his starts. The best was against the Mets (9/4) when he lasted just three innings (video from it). Also, I watch his last start at home (9/15) against Oakland to see if anything changed.

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So, you’re here to hear about baseball, eh?

AGENDA

1. Sales Pitch
2. Weather Reports
3. Pitchers to Use and Abuse
4. SaberSim Says…
5. TDG Invitational Returns!

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I’ll be looking at starters owned in less than 30% of CBS leagues.

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Even with less than two weeks left in the season, it’s not too late for some closer turnover. Zach Britton is scheduled to get a stem cell injection in his left knee Thursday, and that will likely shelve him for the rest of the season. That probably means that Brad Brach will once again take over as the Orioles’ closer for the final nine games. The earned run that Brach allowed against the Red Sox on Tuesday was the first he had yielded in September, so he has rebounded from a difficult August. His control has been inconsistent, and that has contributed to a total of five walks in 10.1 innings this month (two of which came on Tuesday). A 64.3 percent ground ball rate has helped Brach to minimize the damage.

If you are thinking of adding a closer (or replacing Britton) for the home stretch, Brach should be sufficiently reliable. Then again, if you are in a 12-team mixed league, he is not necessarily the best option. Hector Neris, who converted his 17th straight save on Wednesday against the Dodgers, has not only been steady, but is a better option for strikeouts. As Ben Kaspick mentioned in the previous installment of the Bullpen Report, Alex Claudio was passed over for a save opportunity on Sunday, but he was back in his customary role on Tuesday, Claudio set the Mariners down in order, notching his ninth save of the season, and then he came back for a scoreless two-inning save on Wednesday.
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You’ve probably seen Brandon Woodruff’s name tossed around as a streaming option this season. Even including a 6 ER blowup against the Pirates, the 24-year-old rookie is still sporting a 3.28 ERA with a 1.18 WHIP, numbers that could have helped you in five of his six starts. He’s also peppering a 94.1mph Fastball while hinting at a 50% groundball rate and that’s sure to turn some heads as well.

I’ve watched a few games from Woodruff this season and I thought it would be best to roll through the Pros and Cons to outline if Woodruff is someone we like or not. I’ll be using his latest start against the Marlins as context, as he pitched to the tune of 7.0 IP, 3 ER, 8 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks.

Pro

Velocity with life!

The first Pro should be the easiest to grasp as Woodruff’s Fastball is a solid pitch. It comes it with good velocity that can touch 96+ and even with a bit of tail on it at times:

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