[ad_1] When I was in Phoenix for the Draft Combine, I kept running into Seaver King’s friends. “That’s my homie,” said JJ Wetherholt, the West Virginia infielder and presumptive top-five pick. He and King played together on Team USA last summer, and Wetherholt said King was the person he’d been looking forward to seeing most…
[ad_1] Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports There are just too many players in baseball these days. I don’t mean that in a “contract the league” way – I think that there should be expansion, in fact. I’ll get back to that, for the record. The problem, instead, is with me. As teams have increasingly realized that…
[ad_1] 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…
[ad_1] 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…
[ad_1] This is a bounce-back season for Yandy Díaz, and not in a good way. After two straight seasons with a wRC+ above 145, the Rays first baseman is at 106 so far in 2024. When Jay Jaffe checked in on him on June 13, Díaz had just climbed out of a hole. Through May…
[ad_1] Spencer Horwitz is hoping to show that what he did in the minors can be replicated in the majors, and so far, he’s off to a strong start. Displaying what my colleagues Eric Longenhagen and Tess Taruskin called “a patient, contact-driven approach at the plate,” the lefty-hitting Blue Jays utilityman has slashed .310/.430/.479 with…
[ad_1] The Los Angeles Dodgers need Shohei Ohtani in one piece if they are going to make a serious run at the World Series. Yes, they might be able to win in the regular season without him, but his presence in October is a must for LA. Ohtani, currently going through rehab as a pitcher,…
[ad_1] We’re going to start with a little quiz. Here’s how it works. I’ll show you a short video clip. There’s something weird about the clip. Don’t make it full screen, at least on your first viewing. I just want you to see whether you can spot what exactly that weird thing is. Maybe you’ll…
[ad_1] Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports Willie Mays was already a superstar by the time the Giants moved across the country following the 1957 season, yet the denizens of San Francisco did not exactly embrace him. They took much more quickly to Orlando Cepeda, who homered against the Dodgers in his major league debut on April…
[ad_1] Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports Royce Lewis is one of the most intriguing hitters in the game right now. Despite his impressive performance on a rate basis, evaluating his overall value as a hitter is challenging due to his limited playing time. Lewis has accumulated 4.1 WAR and a 159 wRC+ in just 93 career…
