Mining the News (8/3/23)

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.

Mariners

• Bryce Miller remains productive as long as his fastball is over 95 mph.

Miller was able to immediately recapture some heat, reaching 95 mph in the fifth after the homer, but he sat in the low-90s in the sixth, capped with a 93.6 mph offering on McGuire’s homer that ended his outing. For the night, his average velocity was 94.6 mph, in line with his season mark of 94.9 mph. But on the few times that it slipped, Boston capitalized.

Miller’s fastball breakdown (entering Tuesday)
94 mph or lower: .452 BA, 1.161 SLG, 7 HR (+2 on Tuesday)
95 mph or higher: .157 BA, .225 SLG, 1 HR

“We’ve gone over the numbers on the fastball, like below 94 — and it’s substantial,” Miller said. “The back half of games is when I’ve gotten in trouble. It’s when I’ve given up the most damage on the fastball, and it’s just that’s where I have to be ready to go, in the fifth, sixth inning.”

Miller’s average fastball velocity is at 94.9 mph on the season so he’s going to have some up and down times.

Orioles

• DL Hall could be promoted soon but it would be as a reliever.

Hall, Baltimore’s No. 9 prospect per MLB Pipeline, didn’t pitch in any Minor League games between June 14 and Tuesday, when he worked a scoreless inning in the FCL. What’s next?

“The interesting part of the decision with DL Hall will be whether to build him all the way back up to four-plus innings, like we would with a starting pitcher,” Elias said, “or possibly see fit to truncate that, get him up and running as a relief option for the stretch.”

In the minors, Hall is sitting 95-96 mph which is 2 to 3 mph faster than he was in the majors this season and closer to his 96.3 mph average from last season.

Rangers

• If Jonah Heim returns this season, he’ll play through pain.

Jonah Heim will attempt to rest, rehab wrist tendon, but surgery is very much an option. If he can play through pain, it’s an offseason option. If he can’t, it will end his year. He will give it 2-3 weeks of rest before next step

— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) July 28, 2023

Royals

• Brady Singer is trying to develop and throw his changeup more.

Singer changed his grip on the changeup earlier this season, now throwing the pitch more like his sinker. It’s helped him get more comfortable with it, but he hasn’t thrown it nearly enough recently.

That changed Friday. His 11 changeups were tied for the second-most he’s thrown all year and seventh-most in his career. He’d like to throw 10-15, based on the lineup and how his other pitches are working — just enough to keep it in the back of hitters’ minds.

Singer’s results on his change have not held up (2% SwStr%, 50% GB%) but the pitch’s comps are intriguing.

I don’t think he has any confidence in the pitch since he barely throws it near the strike zone.

Yankees

• The team could promote Everson Pereira according to Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News.

With the Yankees failing to add before Tuesday’s trade deadline, Brian Cashman was asked if any prospects could help the big league club before the season ends. The general manager said “we’ll see” before briefly mentioning Everson Pereira.

Pereira, one of the Yankees’ top prospects, is having an excellent season in the minors. The 22-year-old hit .291/.362/.546 with 10 homers and 31 RBI over 46 games at Double-A Somerset before earning a promotion. Entering Wednesday, he was slashing .329/.368/.573 with five dingers and 22 RBI over 19 games at Triple-A.

National League

Cubs

• Patrick Wisdom will play some first base against lefties according to Jay Cohen of the Baltimore Sun (Mancini-focused article).

With Candelario slated to get a lot of playing time at first base and Patrick Wisdom expected to get starts at first against lefthanders, Cubs president Jed Hoyer cited the lack of playing time available for Mancini going forward.

Dodgers

• Amed Rosario will play second base and in the outfield according to Bill Plunkett of The San Bernardino Sun.

Acquired from the Cleveland Guardians this week, Amed Rosario has been almost exclusively a shortstop during his career. But the Dodgers plan to use Rosario at second base and in the outfield.

Rosario was on the field before Sunday’s game working with coaches Dino Ebel and Chris Woodward at second base. Rosario has never played there before but Roberts said he would be comfortable playing Rosario there immediately.

Giants

• Tristan Beck could be used as a starter.

Still, the Giants are confident they’ll be able to count on other young pitchers like Beck to cover meaningful innings down the stretch. Beck came up primarily as a starter, but he’s been used out of the bullpen in the Majors and said it’s been easier to adapt to the new role thanks to the example set by veterans like Stripling and Manaea.

As a long reliever, Beck has averaged over 2 IP per appearance with a 2.94 ERA (4.47 xFIP), 1.10 WHIP, and 7.1 K/9. Beck has been relying on his slider this season with a 55% usage and a 14% SwStr%.

Phillies

• The team decided to bet on Johan Rojas instead of adding another outfielder at the trade deadline.

Instead, on this night, Dombrowski highlighted the virtues of 22-year-old Johan Rojas. He is an unfinished product. But he does things that much of the roster cannot — play elite defense with game-changing speed — and the Phillies decided to bet on that. It is a sizable risk.

“Really, from a run-scoring perspective, we have struggled,” Dombrowski, the club’s president of baseball operations, said on a conference call with reporters. “We looked at Rojas and we think we have a very talented offensive club. We have a lot of stars on our club. Sometimes, you just need complementary players to help them.

• The team will go with a six-man rotation for a while.

“There are still about 60 games to play; that means guys are going to start a bunch of times,” Dombrowski said. “I’ve always felt that it’s not always the best — but the healthiest — pitchers when you get to the postseason. Our guys have thrown a lot of innings over the last couple of years. And, to me, the depth behind our five guys in the rotation, we didn’t feel was as deep if something happened to someone. Adding someone like Lorenzen really changes that.”

The Phillies, essentially, purchased insurance for something they might not need. Cristopher Sánchez has pitched well for six weeks and there is confidence within the organization that his progression is real. It’s why, for now, the Phillies will deploy a six-man rotation.

…

“Their numbers are better with the extra day, five days’ rest,” manager Rob Thomson said. “We’re just fortunate to be in this long run here that we can do that.”

Reds

• Luke Weaver changed his repertoire.

In 18 starts this season, Weaver is 2-3 with a 6.80 ERA. But he’s made some repertoire changes that the club has liked in his last two outings. He’s added velocity and movement to his pitches, with one of his sliders showing more like a cutter and his other becoming more of a sweeper.

First, Weaver’s velo did jump over 2 mph but he has not been able to maintain the gains.

And he has been throwing the “new” slider.

Of the 14 of them he’s thrown, not one has generated a swing-and-miss yet.

The changes haven’t really helped with his strikeout rate going dropping each month.

Month: K%
Apr: 31%
May: 19%
Jun: 12%
Jul: 12%

One final change I noticed was his placement on the rubber. He keeps moving around with about a foot of change this season.

I’ve given up hope with Weaver ever figuring it out since he’s consistently shown the skill to allow home runs. Until the home runs drop, I’m not interested.