Author Archive: Jeff Zimmerman

Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

There are quite a injury blurbs from MLB.com. I went through their injury report and included any report that I found interesting.

Free Agents

• Kaima Taira and Teruaki Sato are two players who could be coming over from Japan this year.

There’s also a high-velocity option from the NPB in 26-year-old Kaima Taira of the Seibu Lions. Taira is an interesting prospect, standing 5-foot-8 and checking in at 220 pounds. That bulldog frame generates a 97mph fastball that’s topped out at 100, and he reportedly has seven(!) secondary pitches to go with his heater. Taira went back to the Seibu Lions starting rotation this season after recording 31 saves with a 1.71 ERA as their closer in 2025. Meanwhile, this season as a starter, he’s gone 12-5 in 23 starts with a 1.36 ERA and 141 strikeouts in 146 innings pitched.
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While we’re talking NPB, let us not forget the Cubs’ scouting of 27-year-old slugger Teruaki Sato. After catching the attention of MLB teams with a 40-home-run season in 2025, Sato followed it up with a 39-home-run season in 2026. He also added more than 30 points to his batting average and 40 points to his on-base percentage this season, slashing .314/.391/.625. A 26-percent strikeout rate ticked up a percent from last season, but I doubt we see that crater his market if he is posted this offseason.

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David Banks-Imagn Images

Here is my bold predictions piece from March, but let’s dive right into the recap:

1. The baby gloves come off, and the Nationals allow James Wood to break the MLB strikeout record.

Right idea, wrong player.

Wood ended up with just 179 K this season after missing most of August.

Colson Montgomery stepped up with 227 K to beat the previous high held by Mark Reynolds by four strikeouts.

0 for 1 Read the rest of this entry »

Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Overall

• Lance Brozdowski discussing eight breakouts. Twenty-four minutes well spent.

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Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

With the regular season over, it’s time to find out how the hitters who didn’t let an injury heal and played through the pain performed. Whether these hitters cause permanent damage to their bodies or pick up bad habits (detailed reasoning on why this occurs), they continue to underperform their next season’s projections. Besides collecting the names myself, I’ve asked for some help (article) for this past season’s list. Read the rest of this entry »

Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Recently, I asked for help to clarify each team’s initial closer. Now, it’s time to get to the data (2025 report). Read the rest of this entry »

Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

With the dust finally settling, I ended the 2026 season with $3K in profit over 12 leagues. Here are my league results and some of overarching thoughts on the season and some leagues. Read the rest of this entry »

Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

American League

Royals

• Lucas Erceg’s fastball velocity is up since returning from the minors.

But by far the biggest development was Erceg’s scoreless eighth inning. It was the first high-leverage spot for the former Royals closer since his demotion to Triple-A Omaha earlier this season for performance issues. After working on his mentality, mechanics and plan on the mound, Erceg needed just nine pitches to keep Kansas City’s one-run lead. He also hit triple digits for the first time since the 2024 ALDS.

Before the demotion to AAA, his fastball averaged 97.1 mph. Since returning, it’s averaging 99.2 mph with a 1.87 botERA (2.77 xFIP). It was a 4.38 botERA (5.41 xFIP) before that. Read the rest of this entry »

Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

Before the fantasy baseball season finishes and all the managers disappear for a few months, it’s time to collect some information. Every season, I report on the batters who played through a known injury (2025 Edition). I have collected a few players throughout the season, but I am asking if anyone knows of any more hitters with a link to the source. No gut feels here. Once I get the complete list, I’ll create the full report.

Thanks again for your time.

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Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Every year I report on how many closers made it through the season and how Saves were distributed (2025 report). I need help verifying that the following list is correct before writing the final report next week. Crowd-sourcing this information is a great way to make sure we have the right baseline for the report. It would be a big help if you could review the table below and offer any notes you have in the comments. At least take a look at the notes column to check if I’m right since those are the teams with the most questions? Thanks.

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7:31	Jeff Zimmerman:

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