American League

Astros

• The team refuses to update a player’s health information.

This season, two Astros players who’ve battled injuries in the past said Houston trainer Jeremiah Randall discouraged them from speaking to the media about their progress. Altuve — the face of the franchise — ran over to Randall to apparently receive permission before speaking to three reporters in Seattle during his recovery from thumb surgery.

Without insight from the injured players themselves, it is almost impossible to get accurate information about recoveries, leaving Baker in a difficult position every day. Sometimes he erroneously cites HIPAA laws in response to questions. Other times, he arrives and says he hasn’t yet spoken to Randall about the team’s injuries.

Baker has sometimes told reporters to ask Randall the questions he’s fielding. Despite numerous requests, the team has not made Randall available for interviews.

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American League

Angels

• Logan O’Hoppe should return in late August.

The initial timeline was four to six months, which meant O’Hoppe could be out through September. But O’Hoppe, ranked as the club’s No. 1 prospect and the No. 29 overall prospect by MLB Pipeline, made it his mission to return on the sooner end of that spectrum. And he’s now on track to potentially return at some point in late August, which should be a boost for the Angels.

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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.

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“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.

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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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MLB

• Pitchers with sweepers might have problems getting out opposite handed hitters.

That’s the big flaw with the sweeper. It had the second-biggest platoon split among all the pitch types — the difference in production between same- and opposite-handed hitters is the second-largest in baseball over the last two years.
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So what do you do with a pitcher that has a great weapon against same-handed hitters and needs something for opposite-handed hitters? Scan down to the bottom of that list. The oldest answer in baseball: Get a changeup. The changeup is still the best way for a righty to get lefties out.

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American League

Angels

• José Suarez’s spot in the rotation isn’t in question … just yet.

Nevin deflected a question about his level of concern about Suarez, but it’s likely too early for Suarez’s spot in the rotation to be in question, especially because he’s out of Minor League options. But if his struggles continue, he could be sent to the bullpen. In that scenario, Canning could be the club’s fifth starter, and Davidson would serve as the sixth starter and occasional long reliever.

He’s not getting the swings-and-misses from last year (12% SwStr% to 10%) because he is filling up the strike zone (53% Zone% to 56%). Read the rest of this entry »