Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports The Texas Rangers came into the season with every intention of competing for another World Series championship. While the team had a fairly low-key winter, the ZiPS projection system thought it would be legitimately competitive in the AL West, though not necessarily one of baseball’s top teams. Instead, with less than…
Konnor Griffin is the middle child of a Division III college softball coach. His parents’ names both start with K, as do both of his brothers’. “If my mom’s trying to get a hold of me, she’ll probably say my other two brothers’ names first and then get to mine,” he said. “It’s kind of…
Below is an analysis of the prospects in the farm system of the defending World Series champion Texas Rangers. Scouting reports were compiled with information provided by industry sources as well as my own observations. This is the fourth year we’re delineating between two anticipated relief roles, the abbreviations for which you’ll see in the…
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. While acting as a professional baseball journalist, it’s impressive to note that Brenton Doyle finds himself in rare company with five Hall of Famers for his…
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley discuss the lack of home runs from White Sox second basemen, explore the history of teams with homerless positions, and debate the pros and cons of the trend toward emphasizing present-season performance in All-Star selections. They also answer emails on various topics, including an award for utility players, the age…
(Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) Pittsburgh Pirates rookie ace Paul Skenes continues to put up notable performances every time he pitches, and Thursday was no exception. All he did was toss seven no-hit innings against first-place Milwaukee and match his career high with 11 strikeouts while walking only one. Of his 99 pitches, the flamethrower…
Clubs have begun their pre-draft meetings, with some teams already about a week into theirs, while the last team to start them (Milwaukee, as far as I know) begins today. The number of people in draft meetings varies significantly from team to team. Some have more than 20 people in the room, others five or…
With the Blue Jays a whopping 16 games out of first place in the American League East and eight teams in front of them in the wild card race, right-hander Chris Bassitt and several other notable Toronto players could be traded before the fast-approaching July 30 trade deadline. It would make a lot of sense…
The National League Wild Card race is heating up, with eight teams in contention and separated by just four and a half games in the standings. Among these teams are five below .500 squads, struggling with their flaws on a daily basis. Some of these teams are facing challenges due to their defensive shortcomings. Team…
Sam Greene/The Enquirer-USA TODAY NETWORK A few weeks ago, I wrote about Ryan McMahon’s first stolen base of the season. McMahon, whose sprint speed was recently downgraded from the 19th percentile to the 18th, managed that first bag by way of a delayed steal. By completely dismissing McMahon as a threat, the Pirates presented him…
