Category: Baseball
Analysis: Jay Jaffe’s FanGraphs Chat on July 9, 2024
Brooklyn-based Jay Jaffe is a senior writer for FanGraphs, the author of The Cooperstown Casebook (Thomas Dunne Books, 2017) and the creator of the JAWS (Jaffe WAR Score) metric for Hall of Fame analysis. He founded the Futility Infielder website (2001), was a columnist for Baseball Prospectus (2005-2012) and a contributing writer for Sports Illustrated…
Former Milwaukee Brewer Juan Nieves Reflects on His Time on the Field
Juan Nieves had a promising career cut short by a shoulder injury. A 21-year-old when he debuted with the Milwaukee Brewers in April 1986, the southpaw from Santurce, Puerto Rico pitched just three big league seasons before a tear in his rotator cuff was discovered. With 490.2 innings, 32 wins, and a no-hitter already under…
Jarren Duran Demonstrates Versatility Across the Field
The Red Sox have been on a hot streak lately, boasting a 16-6 record since June 12 that is the best in baseball. Their playoff odds have reached a season-high of 48.0%, a remarkable turnaround for a team that was projected to have a sub-.500 record at the start of the year. In the competitive…
Caution: Baseball Players Adopting a More Intellectual Vocabulary
Scott Kinser-USA TODAY Sports “Oh hi, Tyson,” I said, slightly startled. “We were just talking about you.” Tyson Neighbors, the star closer from Kansas State, had appeared at my shoulder suddenly and completely noiselessly. He was shorter than the other pitchers I’d interviewed at the draft combine, not much taller than six-foot, but with the…
Depth Trades Could Be Key at Trade Deadline for Top Teams
Welcome back to Top of the Order, where every Tuesday and Friday I’ll be starting your baseball day with some news, notes, and thoughts about the game we love. The Austin Slater-for-Alex Young swap that the Giants and Reds made late Sunday night wasn’t going to grab many headlines. Slater is a platoon outfielder who’s…
Rankings Reveal Power Players in Baseball: July 1-7
Rank Team Record Elo Opponent Elo Playoff Odds Power Score Δ 1 Orioles 57-33 1577 1499 98.8% 1599 0 2 Phillies 58-32 1559 1479 99.9% 1585 0 3 Guardians 56-32 1560 1484 93.1% 1584 1 4 Dodgers 55-36 1550 1484 99.4% 1575 1 5 Yankees 55-37 1535 1513 98.0% 1559 -2 6 Twins 51-39 1549…
Connor Wong emerges as a rising star in Boston
Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports The Red Sox may never entirely live down the 2020 trade of Mookie Betts, but four years and change later, Boston’s last man standing from that deal is enjoying a breakout. Catcher Connor Wong just reeled off a 17-game hitting streak that spanned four weeks, and even made a case for…
Brent Rooker Proving to Be Exactly as Expected
Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports One of my favorite articles to write is the “you won’t believe how this guy is succeeding” piece. You’ve seen me – and plenty of other writers – break it out over and over again. Maybe it’s a reliever with a weird pitch, or a starter with a blazing fastball who…
Weekend Observations: Dylan Cease and Jason Benetti Explore Art Museums
Dylan Cease was one of my interview targets when the San Diego Padres visited Fenway Park last weekend, and as part of my preparation I looked back at what I’d previously written about him here at FanGraphs. What I found were three articles partially derived from conversations I had with the right-hander when he was…