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…
The Philadelphia Phillies have been one of the top teams in baseball to start the year, despite not having a division lead. The offense led by Alec Bohm and Trea Turner has been above average, while the pitching staff has been excellent, with Zack Wheeler leading all NL pitchers in WAR. However, a teammate, Ranger…
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports It’s easy to take a totally nihilistic view of pitching prospects in general. You’ll get your hopes up over a 13-strikeout start at the College World Series, twiddle your thumbs as innings limits and service time shenanigans delay the path to the majors by two years, and be left scratching your…
Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports Roughly a month’s worth of the 2024 season is now in the books. The American League East looks great. The Brewers and Guardians are standing up for the Central divisions. The White Sox can only beat the Rays, and the Astros somehow can’t beat anyone. Enough time has passed that I…
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports Spending money can be a lot of fun, but spending someone else’s money is even better. And that’s exactly what we’re doing today! About a month into the season is typically when I look at some of the players who are prime extension candidates and the possible deals they might work…
One day earlier this season, a seasoned big league reliever took stock of his career. He has spent five years in the majors, handling his share of high-leverage innings and generally performing well. This coming fall, he is set to reach a magic number: six years of major league service, earning him the right of…
(Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) MLB has had to deal with an unexpected controversy in 2024. As part of their three-way agreement, Fanatics fabricated the uniforms that Nike designed for MLB. Ever since players started to wear them in spring training, however, there were numerous complaints. Players complained about the see-through pants and many…
(Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) The Cincinnati Reds are looking like borderline contenders if the first month of the season is any indication. They are 15-13 as of Monday afternoon, third in the NL Central and 2.5 games behind the leaders, the Milwaukee Brewers. If they are just two games above .500, it’s probably hard…
(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) The Philadelphia Phillies have been labeled as a “postseason team” in the last couple of seasons. It means that perhaps they didn’t quite have the most impressive regular-season runs, but they managed to make some noise in the playoffs and reached the World Series in 2022 and the League…
(Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) The New York Mets pitching staff has been better than advertised this season, especially considering they are currently without their ace in Kodai Senga. The Mets as a whole have a 3.56 ERA, good enough for eighth in MLB and second in the National League. That includes starters and relievers,…
