For those in early drafts, two international names to consider are Jung-hoo Lee 이정후 and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

As for international stars, the Padres might try to bring to the U.S. this coming offseason, Kim’s former teammate, Jung-hoo Lee, is an obvious candidate. San Diego sent multiple high-ranking evaluators to watch Lee this year before the Kiwoom Heroes outfielder suffered a likely season-ending ankle injury in July. Some rival clubs view the Padres, who employ both Kim and Chan Ho Park, as the current favorites to land Lee. It remains to be seen how the ankle injury affects his market. Unfortunately for Lee, who turns 25 this month, it could lower his price.

The Padres also figure to be in the mix for Japan’s Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but fierce competition is expected for the Orix Buffaloes ace. The 25-year-old Yamamoto is so coveted he could command a contract approaching nine figures — before factoring in the posting fee.

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American League

Guardians

• The team has not set any inning limits on their rookie starters, Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams, and Logan Allen.

Here’s what Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said on this:

“We don’t have a hard and fast limit on any of the guys. You look at each player individually, trying to understand where are they, how are they recovering between starts, are they showing signs of fatigue, are they maintaining their stuff? The good news on all of those guys so far is they’re still strong. We’ll continue to monitor that. When we can, we’ll give them extra days. But we’re hopeful they can continue to pitch and pitch effectively through the end of the season.”

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Note: With The Athletic cutting many of their small market reporters, I subscribed to PressReader to get more and varied news. All of the info will be from newspapers so I’m just going to give the newspaper and author credit with no link.

American League

Astros

• Yainer Diaz will at least catch games when Hunter Brown pitches.

For most of this week, though, Diaz’s role has been what Baker described as a pinch hitter, and as someone who he will catch with “designated” pitchers. Diaz caught fellow rookie Hunter Brown on Saturday, guiding him through six innings of two-run ball. After the game, Baker intimated the battery will stay intact for the foreseeable future.

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American League

Athletics

• Luis Medina has been working on a new slider.

Medina, who typically favors his four-seamer, utilized a five-pitch mix (fastball, slider, sinker, curveball and changeup). Five of his nine strikeouts came on the slider, a pitch Medina has been working on.

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American League

Angels

• Tommy Henry thinks his slider is why he has seen recent improvement.

In his past two starts, Henry has allowed only three runs over 11 2/3 innings. One of the biggest keys for him over that stretch has been the improvement of his slider.

…

“Now it’s becoming a pitch I’m throwing to both sides, can throw in any count I feel like and I think hitters having to consider that opens up other doors. So if I had to put my thumb on it, without diving into it too deep, that’s probably my hunch.”

Probably the key to his improvement is not slider (14% SwStr%) but moving away from his four-seamer (7% SwStr%). Before June 17, the was throwing his fastball 50% of the time. From June 17th and on, it’s just 41% of the time. Read the rest of this entry »

• Most AAA pitchers are struggling with the automatic called balls and strikes.

To be fair to Peterson and other pitchers at Triple A, the league ERA is up over five this season as pitchers have struggled to adapt to the automated ball/strike system.

In the Pacific Coast League, the league-wide walk rate has jumped from 4.2 BB/9 to 5.1 BB/9 with little change in strikeouts (9.3 K/9 to 9.1 K/9). In the International League, the walk has gone from 4.0 BB/9 to 4.8 BB/9 with the strikeout rate staying steady at 9.2 K/9. I don’t have the means or the time to figure out if the strike zone is to blame but don’t be surprised if a pitcher’s walk rate drops once they get to the majors.

Of the guys with 20 innings in both AAA and the majors, their walk rate has dropped by an average of 0.58 BB/9 (median = 0.71) going to the majors. Looking at the same group of pitchers from last season, pitchers, on average, saw their walk rate increase by 0.10 (median 0.14). I’m not sure how projections are handling the change. Read the rest of this entry »

General Notes

• I keep reading about hitters who are reworking their swing with several examples in this article. What I rarely see mentioned is this example of Nolan Arenado constantly working on it. Maybe the difference between great major league hitters and the rest is that the great bats might always be adjusting.

What those same awestruck fans didn’t see before the pivotal moments of the Cardinals’ most thrilling victory of the season was that, while numerous teammates ran for the postgame buses to get a start on a couple of weekend nights in New York City, Arenado remained behind Friday and Saturday to pound balls in the batting cage.
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“They care,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said of the postgame work between two players with a combined 14 All-Star Game appearances. “The game ended, everybody showered, and you’ve got last year’s MVP [finalists] in the cage, still taking swings and trying to figure some things [out] and trying to make sure [they] can help us the next day.

…

Rarely is there a time when Arenado is not thinking about hitting. His work is intentional, not accidental. He’s blessed (with talent), but equally obsessed. He’s a great hitter and an even better worker.

Teammates marvel at his consuming obsession with his swing

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American League

Angels

• Shohei Ohtani, the pitcher, might start getting more rest.

Angels manager Phil Nevin was asked on Saturday about what he’s seen from Ohtani regarding fatigue this season, saying he believes the current plan will help give him a bit of a breather heading into the second half. The Halos still haven’t decided how they’ll use their prized two-way player after the All-Star break just yet. They’re likely to keep Ohtani pitching every sixth day, but they could also give him an extra day when needed.

“We’ll map it out,” Nevin said. “I think he just meant he was fatigued in the game. Sometimes that happens. The amount of pitches he had to throw to get some outs fatigued him a little bit. I think it just had to do with the game, not necessarily where he’s at in the season.”

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One issue during the season is that the news cycle, even for projection-altering details, moves at such a fast clip. Or it’s a repeat of the box score. Or player movement news. Or a preview of the next game. I just don’t find many details during the season but here are a few times that some might find useful. Instead, I plan on putting out smaller and more timely news blurbs.

American League

Astros

• The Astros aren’t looking to replace José Abreu while they are still winning.

Baker receives Abreu-related questions routinely. His answers do not change. One of his responses in Milwaukee did, perhaps, illustrate the manager’s outlook on Abreu’s anemia.

“We’re still winning,” he said.

Until they aren’t, changes may be few. Abreu did inspire more confidence during a 1-for-4 showing on Monday, mashing two balls with 109 mph exit velocities or harder. He turned on Twins closer Jhoan Duran’s 103.6 mph fastball for a ninth-inning single, too. Games like this will only extend his runway further.

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American League

Angels

• Max Stassi worked on simplifying his swing.

Max Stassi said he spent the offseason “simplifying things” after he struggled offensively in 2022. Specifically, he said he wanted his swing to stay on a consistent plane. He generally felt that his underlying batted balls numbers were good but that he needs to make more contact. Regarding the competition to win the starting job, Stassi said: “I just go out there and try to handle my business. … Whatever they think is the best team out there to win games, that’s what I care about.”

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