MLB 2019 - Texas Rangers - A Challenge Mode Dynasty

[Griever20]

Confidential: Prospect Report, April 1st, 2021

Here is our prospect report, note that Seise, Brennan and Sensley are at the Major League level and therefore do not appear on this list.

Greetings
Logan White
Scouting Director Texas Rangers

--

Pitching:

Close to the majors: AAA RHSP Hans Crouse(22, 2/3*, #45 prospect(-13)), AAA RHSP Casey Mize(23, 2/3.5*, #78 prospect(+4)), AAA LHSP Nick Lodolo(23, 1.5/2.5*), AA RHRP Alex Speas(22, 2/3*), AA RHRP Luis Angel Medina(21, 2/4*)

Others: AA RHSP Freddie Jones(21, 0.5/2*, #68 prospect(-3)), A RHSP Matthew Allen(19, 0.5/2*, #27 prospect(-20)), INT LHSP Jorge Anjo(16, 0.5/3*, #15 prospect(+-0))

Dropped out: RHSP Pauly Milto(traded), RHSP A.J. Alexy(traded), RHSP Luis Ortiz(traded)

I know. You will hate me. But both our department, and the OSA and Baseball America have dropped their projections for Allen. He may not have it, but we will see more as he will make the jump to single A.

Good news, we like Nick Lodolo a lot more. A 15th round selection in 2019, the lefty has developed great stuff already, a 94-96 mph heater with a great curve and a good changeup. His control is a bit iffy, and he will give up a home run or two tho... seen by his 1.5HR/9 and 7.4BB/9 rates as a reliever in AA last year.

Overall, we traded away some AAAA guys in the offseason and filled up the higher minors with more of those, hoping that one of them will become an above average pitcher... but there is hope in Crouse and Mize.

Crouse needs a bit more work on his control and his changeup, mostly on his changeup, and his stamina has been... a bit iffy lately, but another year in AAA or at least 2-3 months should really help him, and he is still only 22.

As for Mize, he should be our first callup if injury strikes or the need arises. He has some minor things to do on his delivery and on some of his pitches, but apart from that, he is a finished product that dominated AAA last year, 10-0 with a 2.04ERA.

Catcher:

Close to the majors: none

Others: AA C Patrick Bailey(21, 1/4.5*, #98 prospect), A C Raymond Torres(20, 0.5/3.5*)

Dropped out: C Edgardo Rodriguez(20)

Patrick Bailey is our only top 100 ranked position player apart from Sensley... brilliant. The 21-year old went 6-35 in his first go in AA and will get a chance to repeat, but according to our coaches, his bat looks pretty well developed for his age, and his ETA is mid-2022.

Torres, the kid we added from the Yankees as a throw-in in the 2019/20 offseason, is looking pretty good and could be the better defender of the two. He hit .316-4-31 .859OPS in 46 games in R Arizona... so it was time for him to make the jump, and he will work with Allen a lot.

Infield:

Close to the majors: AAA 2B Richie Palacios(23, 1.5/3*), SS Alonzo Jones(24, 1.5/2.5*)

Others: AA 2B Derwin Barreto(20, 0.5/3*), AA SS Justin Lopez(20, 1.5/3*), A 2B Matt McLain(21, 0.5/3*), A- 2B Aaron Bracho(19, 0.5/5*), R 3B Nate Pugh(19, 0.5/3.5*), R 1B Braedon Mooris(18, 0.5/3*), R SS Sandy A. Richardson(18, 0.5/3*)

Dropped out: SS Chris Seise(22, MLB), 2B Sean Mendoza(20)

With Palacios, our 3rd rounder in 2018 is slowly making his way towards the majors, and he should be an average hítter at second base, but unfortunately can only play a little shortstop apart from that. He will see Alonzo Jones beside him, a speed demon that unfortunately does not defend well...

Apart from that, we will keep an eye on Aaron Bracho for obvious reasons. He should be able to walk a ton at the major league level, and we think he can steal 15 bases at least, maybe more. Think a .265 hitter with high OBP, and 20HR. That is what we hope he is.

As for power, our only fitting prospect is rookie 1B Braedon Mooris who did not really shine in Arizona last year... that is an area where we could need external help.

Outfield:

Close to the majors: none

Others: AA CF Robert Gonzalez(19, 1.5/3.5*), A- CF Tyler Williams(20, 0.5/3*), INT CF Luis Celedon(17, 0.5/3*)

Dropped out: CF Cole Brannen(22, MLB)

We have little depth in AAA, and our young Tyler Williams lost a bit of bat speed. Good news, the previous scouting department had the right hunch with Robert Gonzalez. The kid from Venezuela was a scouting discovery and has turned into a really good center fielder with speed, and good OBP skills. His first 39 games in AA saw him hit .333 with a .378OBP and he swiped 8 bags. For his age, he is surprisingly well developed and could audition for an MLB roster spot earlier than expected.

[Griever20]

Happy New Year! Stuffed with cheap pizza, chips and coke... here come the Rangers!

Transactions:
April 3rd – As expected, Bobby Bradley was activated from the DL and OF Yanio Perez was demoted to AAA again.

April 6th - A little waiver wire update, we claimed 22-year old C Rafael Marchan(22, 0.5/2*) from the Phillies and 3B/SS Shervyen Newton(21, 0.5/2.5*) from the Mets and we were able to smuggle them through waivers ourselves.

April 10th – After a 4-1 win over Oakland, we had to place CF Cole Brannan(22, 2.5/3.5*) on the 10-day DL as he suffered from a mild concussion and would be day-to-day for 11 days. Yanio Perez was recalled...

April 17th – RHSP Cory Taylor(27, 3/3.5*) was sent to a rehab assignment to AAA Round Rock to get back into full swing as he only pitched 8.1IP in Spring Training.

April 21st - CF Cole Brannan was activated off the DL, and Yanio Perez was shipped back down...

April 26th – Following a 2-7 defeat by the hands of the bloody Astros, Justus Sheffield also had to be placed on the 10-day DL with a sprained ankle that will keep him out for 4 weeks. Cory Taylor was activated after pitching 14 innings of 3-run ball in AAA.

Series:
1-3 @ BOS
1-2 @ HOU(Dallas Keuchel 7IP 4H 1ER 1BB 4K W) Two series in, our revamped pen has an ERA of 7.52...
3-0 vs OAK(Bobby Bradley 3-4 2R 5RBI 2DB HR(4))
3-0 vs NYY(Jake J. Thompson 9IP 6H 1ER 0BB 7K W)
1-2@ SEA(Billy McKinney 4-4 2R 2RBI DB)
1-1 @ OAK(Billy McKinney 5-5 3R 3RBI TP HR(2))
2-1 @ HOU
3-0 vs DET
1-1 vs MIN(Chris Seise 3-3 3R 4RBI BB 2HR(2))

April: 16-10
Runs Scored: 142(2nd)
Batting AVG: .295(2nd)
OBP: .367(1st)
Home Runs: 35(1st)
Stolen Bases: 32(1st)
Runs Against: 100(4th)
Starters ERA: 3.15(1st)
Bullpen ERA: 4.13(11th)
Defensive Eff.: .678(6th)

Looking decent. We had out trouble starting the first seven games on the road, but recovered nicely with a 6-game winning streak at home, and have been playing .600 ball since. The big news... is the starting pitching as Dallas Keuchel is 5-0 with a 2.02ERA!!! and Jake J. Thompson 2-1 2.73 and threw his first MLB complete game this month. Also, good news, Albert Abreu is holding his own and according to Logan, has made some improvement on his breaking stuff... The higher mound really suits us as well.

Yeah, bullpen. Ferrell ran into two unlucky home runs that amounted for 6ER. The other peripherals look decent and it's only 8IP. Rosenthal is a walk machine and we may dispose him to Siberia... or somewhere else someday, and Guzman has been a bit unlucky.

Starting the year on the DL has worked out well for Bobby Bradley as the kid is ON FIRE and then some, winning Player of the Month with a big performance(see below). A little lineup change we made... happened at second base. With Castellanos starting the season 0-16 and struggling to pick up steam anyway... Seise first started to play every second game... and will be a regular for May as he is batting .319-2-10 .883OPS in 14 games... lookin' good.

On the other hand, Sensley was eased back onto the bench as his actually hitting below his weight...

In Other News:
April 1st - Phillies SP Aaron Nola(27, 4.5*) did not survive Opening Day... as the righty suffered from a torn flexor tendon and will be out for the season. The 2018 NL Cy Young winner was 12-9 3.48 223K in 34 games last season.

April 3rd - Reds 1B Joey Votto(37, 2*) collected career hit #2000 today in a 4-1 win over the Astros today. The 2010 NL MvP is a career .309/.429/.532 hitter with 320 home runs, 1323RBI's and 2000 hits in 1847 game.

April 5th - Padres RF Wil Myers(30, 3*) started off his season with a 5-5 2R RBI 2DB HR day in a 9-2 win in Arizona. The 4x All-Star is coming off a .270-35-81 .814OPS year in 157 games.

April 5th - Twins 1B Paul Goldschmidt(33, 4*) hit career home run #300 today in a 5-2 win over the White Sox. The 5x Gold Glover, 7x All-Star and 4x Silver Slugger is a career .302/.403/.548 300HR 1007RBIs hitter with 1571 hits in 1419 games, good for 54.6 career WAR.

April 6th - Cubs RHCL Craig Kimbrel(32, 4.5*) closed out career save #400 today in a 3-1 victory over the Cardinals. The 6x All-Star, 2011 NL Rookie of the Year and 2012 NL Reliever of the Year is a career 38-33 400SV 2.18 pitcher with 1055K in 686 games.

April 9th – Red Sox 3B Carter Kieboom(23, 2/2.5*) enjoyed a 5-hit night in Colorado today, going 5-5 R 2RBI 2DB SB in a 8-5 win. A Rule V draftee out of the Nationals org, he is 15-34 in his first 8 MLB games.

April 11th – Astros SP German Marquez(26, 3/3.5*) is out for the season with a torn labrum. Another trade target we had during the offseason out for the season...

April 12th – Rangers 1B Bobby Bradley(24, 3*) was named AL Player of the Week, going 16-22 4HR 16RBIs. The 24-year old is coming off a .262-49-125 .913OPS year in 162 games.

April 13th – Pirates SP Jameson Taillon(29, 3*) humiliated the Phillies today with a 5-hit, 0BB and 9K shutout in a 11-0 win. The righty is 3-0 1.71 24K in three starts.

April 15th – Giants 2B Rougned Odor(27, 4*) grabbed himself five hits today, going 5-5 R TP in a 4-2 win in Colorado. The former TEX star is batting .316-2-4 .846OPS in 14 games.

April 17th – Diamondbacks SP Yoan Lopez(28, 3*) blanked the Padres 8-0 while throwing a 6-hitter with 1BB and 7K. The Cuban is 1-1 2.19 25K in 4 starts.

April 18th – Cardinals SP Michael Wacha(29, 3*) spun a 4-hitter in a 8-0 win over the Bucs, walking one and striking out 6. The 2015 NL All-Star is 1-1 1.29 13K in three starts.

April 19th – Astros 2B Jose Altuve(30, 4*) lost a 21-game hitting streak today in a 1-0 loss to the Angels, going 0-3. The 6x Silver Slugger is batting .339-2-6 .951OPS in 15 games this year.

April 23rd – Blue Jays 3B Josh Donaldson(35, 3*) collected 5 hits today in a 11-5 win over Oakland, going 5-5 2R 4RBI 2DB HR. The 4x All-Star is batting .300-3-14 .811OPS in 20 games.

April 28th – Angels SP Justin Verlander(38, 2.5*) blanked the Yankees 6-0 today with a 6-hitter, yielding no walks and striking out 11. The 7x All-Star is 1-3 2.94 26K in 5 starts.

May 1st – Rangers 1B Bobby Bradley(24, 3*) was named AL Batter of the Month after batting .381 with 8 home runs, 35RBIs and 20 runs scored for the month.

May 1st – Dodgers 1B Cody Bellinger(25, 5*) was named NL Batter of the Month after batting .276 with 13 home runs, 27RBIs and 22 runs scored for the month.

May 1st – Rangers SP Dallas Keuchel(33, 3.5*) was named AL Pitcher of the Month after going 5-0 2.02 35K in 40IP for the month.

May 1st – Braves SP Logan Gilbert(23, 2.5/3*) was named NL Pitcher of the Month after going 5-0 2.19 32K in 37IP for the month.

May 1st – Blue Jays SP T.J. Zeuch(25, 2.5*) was named AL Rookie of the Month after going 4-0 1.59 23K in 28.1IP for the month.

May 1st – Braves SP Logan Gilbert(23, 2.5/3*) was named NL Rookie of the Month after going 5-0 2.19 32K in 37IP for the month.

[Griever20]

Transactions:
May 5th – Bad news for the Rangers. In the middle of a 3-game losing streak, they also lost their center fielder as Cole Brannan had to be placed on the 10-day DL with a herniated disc and will miss 8 weeks. 2017 1st round selection CF Bubba Thompson(22, 1/2*) was placed on the 40-man and called up.

May 20th – LHSP Justus Sheffield(25, 2/2.5*, 1-1 4.58 12K) was sent to AAA for a rehab assignment... because we don't know if we want to have him, or Albert Abreu(25, 2/2.5*, 2-2 4.05 43K) up in the Majors.

Series:
1-1 vs MIN
1-3 @ DET
2-0 @ LAA(Michael Fulmer 9IP 2H 0ER 0BB 1K W)
2-1 vs CLE(Dallas Keuchel 8IP 1H 0ER 1BB 7K W)
4-0 vs HOU(Jake J. Thompson 9IP 3H 0ER 1BB 8K W)
2-1 @ KCR(Nomar Mazara 2-3 2R 3RBI 2BB 2HR(9))
2-0 @ BAL
3-1 vs CWS
3-1 vs BAL
0-1 vs CIN

May: 20-9
Runs Scored: 274(2nd)
Batting AVG: .266(5th)
OBP: .351(1st)
Home Runs: 56(9th)
Stolen Bases: 54(1st)
Runs Against: 207(4th)
Starters ERA: 3.61(1st)
Bullpen ERA: 3.02(5th)
Defensive Eff.: .690(4th)

I don't know if it is the Brannen injury or bad luck, but our offensive numbers, and especially our home run numbers relative to the league, took a nosedive. In addition to that, Logan slashed the ratings of Chris Seise... and Thompson, Fulmer and Sensley and that Bracho guy we traded for the last offseason... Logan surely knows how to tilt me on the first of every month...

That does not change the fact that our pitching has been pretty good for two months now... and we made Justus Sheffield's stay in AAA permanent as Albert Abreu is 3-2 with a 3.97ERA right now... and does not serve up that many home runs... Sheffield has an ERA of 4.65 in AAA so....

The bullpen picked up the pace, a big reason for our success in May... and Kahnle as the closer was a big call... and the right one. 2-2 13SV 1.66ERA in 24 games with just one blown save. Also, Alex Claudio has been a model citizen, not complaining about his setup role.

Speaking about complaining, Steven Sensley a.) got his ratings slashed a bit, and b.) is unhappy with his bench role, batting .205 now... Well, he is not getting past Williams or Mazara and McKinney is hitting a modest .362/.437/.540 clip...

In minor news, LHSP Jorge Anjo was promoted from the international complex to the Dominican Summer league together with OF Luis Celedon... time to start their professional career.

Speaking of young players, we will have the 21st pick in the upcoming draft and looking at the pool, we see a consensus first overall pick... 1B Blaze Jordan. 18-years of age, Logan grades his contact at 70 potential, and his home run power at 75 and the OSA is close to that. Personally, I hope that one of two groundball pitchers, namely RHSP Doug 'Perky* Collier(17) or LHSP Jorge Arredondo(19) drop to us... with option number three being RHRP Jimmy Eskew(21), a college kid that already throws 97-99 with a good slider, good movement, and good control potential.

PS: The Orioles offered us Manny Machado for a bag of baseballs today... he makes $34.5M per year...

In Other News:
May 2nd - Phillies SP Jose Quintana(32, 4*) pitched a 1-hitter today in a 11-0 win over Washington, allowing three walks while striking out six. The 2x All-Star is 2-3 4.39 38K in 6 starts.

May 8th - Yankees SP Nathan Eovaldi(31, 3*) threw a 6-hit shutout in a 8-0 win over Detroit today, walking one and striking out four. Acquired via trade from WSH in the offseason, he is 2-1 3.70 25K in 7 starts.

May 14th – Red Sox RF Mookie Betts(28, 4*) saw a 22-game hitting streak come to an end in a 6-2 loss to the Yankees today. The 28-year old 5x Gold Glover is batting .390-6-25 1.080OPS in 37 games so far.

May 23rd – Twins CF Byron Buxton(27, 4*) had a big 5-hit night in a 10-4 win over the Rays, going 5-5 3R 2RBI 3DB TP SB for the night. The 4x Gold Glover is batting .266-6-23 .734OPS 7/8SB in 44 games.

May 23rd – Blue Jays 3B Josh Donaldson(35, 3*) ripped career home run #300 in a 5-1 win over the White Sox today. The 2015 AL MvP, 2x Silver Slugger and 4x All-Star is a career .273/.372/.514 hitter with 300HR, 851RBIs, and 1330 hits in 1309 games.

May 23rd – Cardinals SP Clayton Kershaw(33, 5*) collected career win #200 today in a 7-2 win over the Astros today. The 3x Cy Young Winner, 2014 NL MvP and 10x All-Star is a career 200-90 2.54 2940K pitcher in 403 games, posting 87.2 career WAR.

May 27th – Royals SP Alfredo Mariscal(31, 3.5*) blanked the Phillies with a 2-hitter with 1BB and 7K in a 4-0 win. The 2020 AL All-Star is 4-4 3.29 52K in 11 starts.

May 30th – Astros SP Alec Hansen(26, 2/2.5*) is out for the next 16 months with a torn flexor tendon in his elbow. He was 1-0 2.25 7K in 8 innings at the MLB level...

May 31st – Blue Jays 1B Ryan Zimmerman(36, 2*) followed up Josh Donaldson with his own milestone, home run #300 in a 5-2 win over the Red Sox. The 2x All-Star and 2x Silver Slugger is a career .274/.338/.468 hitter with 300HR, 1106RBIs and 1936 hits in 1960 games.

June 1st – Red Sox 3B Rafael Devers(24, 5*) was named AL Batter of the Month after batting .368 with 9 home runs, 28RBIs and 21 runs scored for the month and .358-14-53 1.049OPS in 52 games for the season.

June 1st – Giants 2B Rougned Odor(27, 4*) was named NL Batter of the Month after batting .410 with 6 home runs, 18RBIs and 19 runs scored for the month and .367-11-31 1.004OPS in 53 games for the season.

June 1st – Blue Jays SP Joe Gatto(25, 2.5/3*) was named AL Pitcher of the Month after going 4-0 1.98 40K in 36.1IP for the month and 5-2 3.81 53K in 14G/8GS for the season.

June 1st – Reds RHCL Jimmy Herget(27, 4*) was named NL Pitcher of the Month after going 1-0 10SV 0.57 23K in 15.2IP for the month and 1-0 19SV 1.24 35K in 29IP for the season.

June 1st – Royals C Kuniaki Takamura(26, 5*) was named AL Rookie of the Month after batting .416 with 4HR, 19RBIs and 19 runs scored for the month and .339-4-26 .876OPS in 45 games for the season.

June 1st – Pirates RF Seth Logan(24, 3/3.5*) was named NL Rookie of the Month after batting .230 with 7 home runs, 21RBIs and 14 runs scored for the month and .243-9-29 .806OPS in 51 games for the season.

[Griever20]

2021 First-Year Player Draft

Looking back at the last two drafts, Matt Allen looks like a loss and so far, Patrick Bailey, the catcher we drafted in the first round, is batting .259/.312/.368 with 3HR and 18RBIs in AA, barely holding on to his top 100 prospect status, and Logan has him slashed down to a 4* potential. We moved down to #21 in the draft order thanks to our success... and our shortlist for the first round pick is shorter than that...

LHSP Jorge Arredondo(19, 3.5*)
RHSP Doug Collier(17, 3.5*)

RHRP Jimmy Eskew(21, 4.5*)
RHRP Mike Franklin(20, 4*)

C Joe Mack(18, 4*)
C Ian Moller(18, 3.5*)

1B Blaze Jordan(18, 5*)

SS Dorian Gonzalez(18, 3.5*)
SS Robert Moore(19, 3.5*)
SS Hueston Morrill(20, 3.5*)

CF Roc Riggio(18, 3.5*)
RF Steve Rose(18, 3.5*)

And with the first pick, Oakland selects a pitcher we discarded due to his underdeveloped changeup, 21-year old right-hander Josh Rosales, and Baltimore got the big first baseman in Jordan.

By the time we had our first pick, the list was down to two, and as we already had picked a catcher last year...(Moller in that case was Logan's wish...)

Round 1 Pick 21: Texas Rangers select RHRP Mike Franklin(20, 4* HS, 5* OSA) out of Michigan College(Ann Arbor, MI)
96-98mph with a big slider, his movement potential is a bit iffy, but he still is expected to have a neutral GB/GB tendency, and good control for a reliever, AND he is regarded as a clubhouse leader. Was 7-1 with a 2.51ERA against great competition, striking out 12.9 per nine. Wants 700k, a lot under slot money...

In round two, our big shortlist was empty, and Logan wanted a right fielder that the OSA didn't like and whose defense I did not like(we picked that guy in round three...)

Round 3 Pick 26: Texas Rangers select RHSP Eric Cannon(18, 3* HS, 3* OSA) out of Countryside Christian High School(Gainsville, FL)
We may have wasted a pick here. Cannon is throwing 96-98 with good control and an assortment of four pitches, including a rare splitter. He was 11-0 1.04 with 14.7K/9, but here is the problem... He wants to go to college... so we will drop a $3.5M offer on his head...

Round 3 Pick 21: Texas Rangers select RF Jon Graves(19, 3.5* HS, 1.5* OSA) out of Arcanum High School(OH)
Left-handed hitter with good power potential, decent range and arm in the outfield, but sometimes seems to be struggling easy flyballs... And he is greedy A.F. The OSA does not like him, but we trust our head scout here... Wants the slot, $270k.

Round 4 Pick 23: Texas Rangers select 3B Caleb DiFranco(18, 2.5* HS, 1* OSA) out of Valley View High School(Jonesboro, AR)
We were already scraping the bottom of the barrel, and this guy at least had a stand out arm and projects as a .260 hitter with .350OBP and some doubles. He hit for a 1.204OPS against average competition, and at least is young.

Round 5 Pick 23: Texas Rangers select SS Josh Coble(18, 1.5* HS, 1.5* OSA) out of North Tama High School(Traer, IA)
I asked the room: name me the guy with the highest contact potential left, and they named this kid. Probably more of a second baseman, and not enough speed to steal a base, he still hit .479 against average competition and has a blue chip personality.

Round 6 Pick 23: Texas Rangers select CF Wilberson Cieslinski(17, 2.5* HS, 0.5* OSA) out of Kennedy-Kenrick Catholic High School(Norristown, PA)
Area scout guy. Cole Brannen type of hitting, but less defense and speed, he projects as a good backup outfielder or serviceable left-fielder... serviceable is the little brother of ****, as we say in Germany.

Round 7 Pick 23: Texas Rangers select RHSP Humberto Luna(18, 2* HS, 2* OSA) out of International High School(San Francisco, CA)
I actually did send an independent scout to check on that kid. 92-94 with a cutter, a curve, a slider, and a changeup, his movement looks good and his control looks decent. Only 5'11' which costs him a couple of rounds. Was 10-1 with a 1.36ERA and 13.8K/9.

Round 8 Pick 23: Texas Rangers select 1B Ben Hollander(18, 2* HS, 1.5* OSA) out of Abbeville Christian Academy High School(Abbeville, AL)
Kinda Braedon Mooris like pick. Good power potential, decent bat, but a sucker in the field. A right-handed hitter, bat .433 with a 1.347OPS in 21 games... From here on, we take a flyer on 17-19-year-olds anyways.

Loads of high school kids... we are playing the long game here...

[Griever20]

Transactions:
June 4th – The day of the draft... and the Rangers make a trade... Joining Texas will be 23-year old RHRP Riley Pint(23, 2/3.5*) while the Rockies receive an assortment of players and $5.5M in cash.

To be specific, LHSP Justus Sheffield(25, 2/2.5*) with the remaining 7y/$28M, A- C David Garcia(21, 0.5*), R 3B Alexander Campos(21, 0.5/1.5*) and AAA RHSP Seranthony Dominguez(26, 1.5/2*) will make their way to Denver.

Sheffield was dead money and considered an 'overpaid veteran' already... that extension was bad. Dominguez was in the way of some of our better prospects in AAA, Garcia is a throw-in that half of the league is somehow hot on... and Campos was one of the waiver wire claims earlier this year...

Pint on the other hand is an interesting arm. He is 23-years old, throws a 96-98mph heater with some sink and a great slider, but his changeup as the third pitch is lacking. Logan says in theory, he is a solid SP prospect, but we kinda like him more as a reliever. Pint had a 5.59ERA in 29IP in Denver... and we will send him back to the minors to AAA to work with our pitching coach there on his changeup... but he could be a reliever(and Rosenthal replacement) soon.

June 8th – Second rounder RHSP Eric Cannon agreed to our $3.5M offer...

June 9th – First rounder RHRP Mike Franklin joined him in our system today.

June 10th – Fifth-rounder IF Josh Cable has signed and will play second base down in the farm.

June 11th – Two things were announced today. First, RF Justin Williams(.246-6-36 .660OPS) will be on the bench for some days as he is laboring with a tender shoulder. Aaand more importantly, RHSP Jake J. Thompson, who is 5-3 3.42 59K in 13 starts, agreed to a 6y/37.26M extension that will keep him around until the end of 2027.

June 12th – Our 4th rounder, 3B Caleb DiFranco, has signed.

June 15th – The Rangers have waived RHRP Trevor Rosenthal(31, 2*) and designated him for assignment. The 31-year old has walked 6.5 batters per nine and has posted a 5.23ERA in 20.2IP. RHRP Victor R. Diaz(27, 3*) was recalled after posting a 4.08ERA with 12SV with AAA Round Rock.

June 19th - RHRP Trevor Rosenthal(31, 2*) was released today...

June 20th – Clean sweep. Our fifth-rounder has signed today!

June 24th - SS Royce Lewis(22, 3/4.5*) was placed on the 10-day DL as he suffers from some back soreness, a day-to-day injury. Thairo Estrada was recalled. Oh, speaking of injuries.... Casey Mize, our main pitching prospect... is our for 9 months with a torn flexor tendon(elbow)... good thing we traded away Justus Sheffield as we have so much young pitching depth...

June 26th – CF Cole Brannen was sent to AAA Round Rock for a rehab assignment. In other news, our other star prospect RHSP Hans Crouse suffered from a torn rotator cuff and is out for the season... just when Logan put him up to 2.5/3*... and two days after the Casey Mize injury... ****

June 29th – Michael Fulmer was suspended for nine games after starting a brawl with Addison Russell from the Cubs in a frustrating 7-1 loss... what a dork... Brett Adcock will get some starts...

July 1st – CF Cole Brannen was recalled from his AAA rehab assignment, and Bubba Thompson(4-16 0HR 4RBIs) was sent back to AAA.

Series:
1-1 vs CIN
2-1 vs OAK
3-1 @ SEA(Albert Abreu 7.1IP 8H 0ER 0BB 5K W(4-2 3.71), Dallas Keuchel 9IP 6H 0ER 0BB 6K W(9-1 2.51))
2-1 vs TBR(Jake J. Thompson 7IP 5H 1ER 0BB 7K W(6-3 3.24))
1-1 vs MIL
0-3 vs TOR
2-1 @ PIT(Steven Sensley 3-5 2R 4RBI DB HR(4))
3-1 @ NYY(Jake J. Thompson 6.1IP 4H 1ER 2BB 8K W(7-3 3.07), Cody Taylor 6IP 4H 1ER 2BB 4K W(8-0 3.68))
1-1 vs CHC(Albert Abreu 6.1IP 3H 0ER 2BB 5K W(5-3 3.55))

June: 15-11
Runs Scored: 388(4th)
Batting AVG: .262(6th)
OBP: .345(1st)
Home Runs: 79(8th)
Stolen Bases: 68(1st)
Runs Against: 317(4th)
Starters ERA: 3.82(4th)
Bullpen ERA: 2.90(2nd)
Defensive Eff.: .688(4th)

We keep on winning, sometimes with a good offense, sometimes with good defense. A little look around on numbers around the higher pitcher's mound. In the AL, the LgERA dropped by .33, in the NL even by .40, and the LgAvg basically stayed the same... and home runs are down. The elite hitters still get their dingers in, like Stanton, Bellinger and co., but the average hitter has to settle for less... exactly what MLB wanted.

That seems to suit our defensive plan as our pitchers really keep the ball on the ground and in the park much more often, and suddenly a staff of Dallas Keuchel and slightly above average pitchers have the best ERA in the AL. By the way, Albert Abreu really ran away with the #5 job and together with our pitching coach, really put the finishing touches on his stuff and is pretty much a finished product... How Cory Taylor is still unbeaten is beyond me.

Hitting wise... Justin Williams is struggling... and with some juggling around, Steven Sensley made 10 starts this month batting .286-2-6 .735OPS WITHOUT taking a SINGLE WALK... we will have to find out which one of the two is the better batter and overall package someday... both will get playing time next month...

As for second base... it is a similar mess. A day prior to the draft, our pitching coach, our scouting director, Joe Girardi and our sabermetrician Avery came into my office and basically explained me that Chris Seise won't hit much more than .230 going forward as he has a big hole on the inside... and likes to chase outside breaking balls... and there is little room for improvement. So, we started Castellanos... .222/.278/.300 with one stolen base in 25 games... meh.

And no, we won't acquire Manny Machado and put him over to second base just because we can...

Financially, yes we signed Thompson to a long-term deal similar to the Sheffield one... but the situation is a bit different. Thompson has really done his work with our pitching coach Doug Brocail who deserves a raise. Not only is he 7-4 with a 3.07ERA, but his stuff, movement and control are also pretty much a finished product apart from a little zip on the changeup... Yes, his FIP is 3.92 and his groundball percentage is 52.4% which is pretty useful with our defense.

Another candidate for a long-term cheap extension would be Cole Brannen... if our medical staff did not call him... 'fragile' after he returned from his back injury... He is 22, and we still have a ton of team control... I'd rather wait and see how that works out...

Prospect report: We don't have a Top 100 hitting prospect anymore... and our two big pitching prospects in AAA are out for the season... bloody excellent. Matthew Allan in A is 4-5 3.51 73K in 16 starts and everybody hates him now. Logan: 1.5* potential, the OSA has him down to 3* potential... How to bottle the 4th overall pick in a draft...

In positive news: Nick Lodolo, a 15th round selection in 2019 mentioned in our April 1st Prospect report. He is 3-5 4.25 with 91K... that is 9.9K/9 as a starter, His stuff is flat out filth with a 94-96 mph heater, curve, and change... Logan says: A bit of work on his control(4.1BB/9) and he either is an elite closer, or a #2 upside starter... 3.5* potential as an SP...

In Other News:
June 1st - Giants 3B Evan Longoria(35, 2.5*) added a milestone to his collection today, career hit #2000 in a 6-3 win over the Padres. The 3x Gold Glover, 3x All-Star, 2008 AL Rookie of the Year and 2009 AL Silver Slugger is a career .268/.331/.463 hitter with 309 home runs, 1144RBIs and 2000 hits in 1952 games.

June 5th – Blue Jays SP Joe Gatto(25, 2.5/3*) followed up his Pitcher of the Month honors with a 3-hit shutout of the Giants, winning 7-0 while walking none and striking out seven. He improved to 6-2 3.22 60K in 15G/9GS.

June 10th – Rays SP Blake Snell(28, 3.5*) blanked the Astros 7-0 with a 3-hitter with 1BB and 6K himself. The 2x Gold Glover is 4-3 4.48 82K in 13 starts.

June 18th – Orioles RF Austin Hays(25, 1.5*) played a part in a 23-4 demolition job of the reigning World Series champs from Houston, hitting for the CYCLE 5-5 2R 3RBI BB DB TP HR. He is hitting .297-11-41 .805OPS in 71 games.

June 25th – Orioles 3B Manny Machado(28, 4.5*) lost a 20-game hitting streak today in a 6-4 win over the Blue Jays today. The 5x All-Star is batting .326-17-57 .967OPS in 75 games.

July 1st – Orioles 3B Manny Machado(28, 4.5*) was named AL Batter of the Month after batting .368 with 9 home runs, 28RBIs and 21 runs scored for the month and .327-18-61 .965OPS in 80 games for the season.

July 1st – Dodgers 1B Cody Bellinger(25, 5*) was named NL Batter of the Month after batting .275 with 10 home runs, 26RBIs and 20 runs scored for the month and .281-26-64 .983OPS in 82 games for the season.

July 1st – Angels RHCL Keynan Middleton(27, 3*) was named AL Pitcher of the Month after going 1-0 0.69 10SV 13K in 13IP for the month and 3-2 1.93 25SV 45K in 37.1IP for the season.

July 1st – Braves SP Mike Soraka(23, 2.5*) was named NL Pitcher of the Month after going 4-1 2.52 16K in 39.1IP for the month and 5-3 2.86 31K in 11GS for the season.

July 1st – Twins 1B Lewin Diaz(24, 2/2.5*) was named AL Rookie of the Month after batting .318 with 4HR, 21RBIs and 17 runs scored for the month and .305-9-49 .801OPS in 69 games for the season.

July 1st – Rockies CF Yonathan Daza(27, 1.5*) was named NL Rookie of the Month after batting .378 with 2 home runs, 9RBIs and 11 runs scored for the month and .365-3-13 .920OPS in 26 games for the season.

[Griever20]

It's the All-Star Break and we are not playing good baseball in July. The Angels are four in front, the Mariners are two behind. And I don't really know where to go and what piece of the puzzle to replace. Or maybe, I do...

Michael Fulmer is not really working out. 4-7 5.73 with a 4.70FIP. And I hate it. I gave him a year's chance to perform in the regular season. Yes, his playoff performance was great and I hate to drop him for that, but I don't want to fall back to the Wild Card. I just don't.

Milwaukee. Zach Davies signed a 4y/$69.6M extension last winter. A groundball pitcher, 89-91mph, but he is only having his breakout season... 8-3 2.74 79K in 18 starts. Do I trade Fulmer + prospects for him, a pitcher that is definitely better, but will cost me more over the years...

Cleveland. Corey Kluber is in the final year of his contract, making $14M and just a came off the DL after the All-Star break... and the Indians are dead last... We would get him for free, basically a minor prospect. And then unload Fulmer, making room for one of our young guys for 2022. Mize, Crouse, Lodolo.

I'm torn on this. How often can you acquire a 2x Cy Young winner cheap for the stretch run? And how often can I get rid of Fulmer? Or Zach Davies, the better version of Fulmer. And then, we block the kids... the kids that are injured right now...

Or do we blow our system out of the water and trade for a superstar... oh wait, our system is mostly injured.

Those questions may be why I sit in this bloody chair...

[Griever20]

Shakeup in Texas!
stadiumreport.bbn

July 15th, 2021

Hours before the second half of baseball began, Max Gerlach went on and swung a couple of big deals. With Michael Fulmer failing to match expectations of front office the German was rumored to be interested in names like Zach Davies, Chris Sale, Corey Kluber , Trevor Bauer and Colin McHugh.

And they gambled on an arm that has not thrown a major league pitch this season and that went 1-1 with a 3.72ERA in his rehab assignment... after a torn triceps with a nice little setback. In a quickly orchestrated deal, A+ 2B Daniel Hernandez(20, 0.5/1*, .291-9-31 .822OPS 69G), a minor league free agent signing made by Texas in April 2019, was sent to Cleveland in exchange for 2x Cy Young winner SP Corey Kluber(35, 4*).

The 'Klubot' is in the final year of a 7y/$64M deal and will replace Michael Fulmer in the rotation... who was traded away minutes later.

Made official by the New York Mets on Twitter, they acquired SP Michael Fulmer(28, 2.5* 4-7 5.73 63K 16GS) and A- SP Juan Cruz(23, 0.5*) in exchange for #30 prospect 2B Hansel Moreno(24, 0.5/4*, .259-5-13 .775OPS 84G AAA).

Both prospects in this deal were signed as international amateurs by their teams, but Moreno definitely developed into the better prospect as he showed some real pop in the last 18 months. On the other hand, he is already 24 and still has a lot to learn.

[Griever20]

Transactions:
July 2nd – Time for international amateurs. We have money and we offered $4M to LHSP Juan Granados(16, 0.5/1.5* HS, 0.5/3.5* OSA) from the DR. Fastball/slider and changeup, good control, 90-92mph already and he is 6'6'' 205lbs. There were a couple of outfielders and a catcher available, but they did not project well defensively. That may be why we don't have hitters with high power potential that can play first base...

July 7th - Juan Granados signed... for $4.8M.

July 8th – Royce Lewis was activated off the DL and Thairo Estrada was demoted back to AAA.

July 11th – The All-Star Break starts and it comes at the right time. Nominated from our lot are Dallas Keuchel(11-4 2.78), Jake J. Thompson(9-4 2.93), Billy McKinney(.337/.411/.493 7HR 40RBI 9SB) and Nomar Mazara(.278/.375/.474 16HR 51RBIs).

July 15th – The Fulmer/Kluber deals went through, and Logan cheekily told me that Moreno is the #30 prospect and that our international amateur signing Juan Granados was recently ranked #73... and that Matthew Allen is #63... good god...

July 19th – We are getting all sorts of offers for the recently extended Jake J. Thompson... looks like teams really love this guy and his extension...

Series:
1-0 vs CHC
0-3 vs SEA(We fell behind LAA with this series...)
1-1 @ SFG
1-2 vs LAA(4GB...)
All-Star Break
4-0 @ HOU
1-3 @ LAA(Corey Kluber 7IP 3H 0ER 0BB 4K W(1-0 1.64))
2-1 vs HOU
2-1 vs OAK(Nomar Mazara 4-5 3R 4RBI DB HR(18))
1-0 @ STL(Billy McKinney 5-6 R)

July: 13-11
Runs Scored: 507(5th)
Batting AVG: .264(5th)
OBP: .345(1st)
Home Runs: 108(8th)
Stolen Bases: 91(1st)
Runs Against: 428(4th)
Starters ERA: 3.90(4th)
Bullpen ERA: 3.18(5th)
Defensive Eff.: .689(4th)

The trade deadline came... and went without further action. We were fishing for an upgrade at second base, but the options either were defensively... horrible, or the price was half our MLB roster. Yes, Manny Machado was still available for the right price, but do I want him to learn second base under fire in a pennant race when I can have a vacuum cleaner in Castellanos there... Yes, he is batting .222 for the year and .200 in July, but he is only 24 and has a Gold Glove... no reason to completely change out this team every 6 months.

Another area where we did nothing more... was the bullpen. Victor R. Diaz has a 6.00ERA in 18IP... with a whooping .500BABIP and a 2.66FIP. I mean, seriously, this kid won't be that unlucky for the next two months, and he was very good last season... no reason to trade away prospects to get a Mark Melancon and his 6.20ERA...

Anyways, this division is not quite what we expected. The Angels were expected to win 82 games this season, now they are 69-38, four above their pythagorean W-L record, and they have had our number this year a bit as we are 4-5 against them... veteran SP Justin Verlander somehow is 10-6 2.90 this year, Ohtani is 9-4 3.85 and Mike Trout(.295-24-67) and Nolan Arenado(.243-24-63 .791) are doing a decent job in the middle of the order.

Unlike our very own Joey Gallo who just today, got dropped out of the cleanup spot and into the #5 spot, changing lineup positions with Bobby Bradley. We got a steady influx of production from Joey last years... but we knew all along that the season where his batting average dropped significantly below his weight of 235lbs would come... and Bradley should give us more production in that spot.

Corey Kluber had a good start to his 2021 regular season with 16IP of 4ER ball, and we hope for him to add a couple of wins more the next two months... he asked for an extension right away and would agree to 1y/$18M... I'm torn on that.

In Other News:
July 3rd - Padres 2B Nick Madrigal(24, 4.5/5*) collected 5 hits in a 11-5 defeat to the Rockies, going 5-5 2DB TP for the day. The 7th overall pick in 2018 is batting .248-4-27 .715OPS in 60 games in his rookie season.

July 6th – The massacre at Fenway Park. The Rays hammered the Red Sox 31-2 on 28-7 hits today with 3B Christian Arroyo(26, 2*) going 7-8 5R 5RBI 3DB HR and SS Willy Adames(25, 3*) going 6-7 3R 6RBI DB.

July 11th – Astros 1B Lucas Duda(35, 2*) hit three home runs in a 3-5 3R 5RBI 3HR in a 9-1 win over the Tigers. The veteran first baseman is batting .213-12-25 .727OPS in 56 games.

July 16th – Cubs 1B Anthony Rizzo(31, 3.5*) saw his team lose 11-5 to Cincinnati, so his celebration over career home run #300 was only a small one. The 2016 Gold Glover & Silver Slugger and 3x All-Star is a career .265/.376/.498 hitter with 300HR, 881RBIs and 1391 hits in 1437 games.

July 17th – Nationals 1B Edwin Encarnacion(38, 3*) is still going strong and while his team lost 3-2 to the Mets, the veterean still collected career hit #2000 today. The 3x All-Star is batting .262/.354/.488 436HR 1333RBI with 2002 hits in 2127 career games.

July 18th – Pirates CF Daz Cameron(24, 1.5/2.5*) drove in seven in a 12-4 win over the Giants, going 3-5 R 7RBI 2DB with a home run. The Rule V draft pick is batting .162-3-12 .603OPS in 56G/13GS.

July 25th – Dodgers SS Corey Seager(27, 5*) blasted three home runs in a 6-2 win over the Phillies today, going 3-4 3R 5RBI 3HR for the night. The 5x Silver Slugger is batting .291-15-56 .827OPS in 100 games.

August 1st – Yankees LF Giancarlo Stanton(31, 4.5*) was named AL Batter of the Month after batting .374 with 16 home runs, 37RBIs and 28 runs scored for the month and .253-42-93 .959OPS in 104 games for the season.

August 1st – Cubs CF Ian Happ(26, 4.5/5*) was named NL Batter of the Month after batting .290 with 10 home runs, 16RBIs and 23 runs scored for the month and .230-17-61 .744OPS in 102 games for the season.

August 1st – Angels RHCL Keynan Middleton(27, 3*) was named AL Pitcher of the Month after going 3-0 1.93 5SV 17K in 14IP for the month and 6-2 1.93 30SV 62K in 51.1IP for the season.

August 1st – Rockies SP Tyler Anderson(31, 3.5*) was named NL Pitcher of the Month after going 4-0 1.32 27K in 34IP for the month and 10-4 2.42 109K in 22GS for the season.

August 1st – Twins 1B Lewin Diaz(24, 2/2.5*) was named AL Rookie of the Month after batting .350 with 6HR, 18RBIs and 13 runs scored for the month and .312-15-67 .840OPS in 90 games for the season.

August 1st – Pirates RF Seth Beer(24, 3/4*) was named NL Rookie of the Month after batting .322 with 4 home runs, 14RBIs and 12 runs scored for the month and .260-17-53 .834OPS in 100 games for the season.

[Griever20]

Perfect Game for Blue Jays Zeuch!
stadiumreport.bbn

August 1st, 2021

Toronto Blue Jays starter T.J. Zeuch was as good as a pitcher can be today, as he hurled a perfect game against the Boston Red Sox.

In doing so, Zeuch accomplished one of the most difficult feats in baseball and one that will put his name in the record books.

"I can tell you I've dreamed about a day like this," Zeuch told the press after the game. "Now that I've done it, the feeling is even better."

In his splendid 1-0 victory at Rogers Centre, Zeuch yielded no hits, walked none and had 14 strikeouts. In the historic outing, he retired 27 successive batters.

So far this season Zeuch has a 12-1 record, 21 starts, 116.2 innings, 94 strikeouts, and a 2.70 ERA.

[Griever20]

Transactions:
August 6th – We had to place Ricky Eusebio on the 10-day DL as he is day-to-day for 3 weeks. with a sprained thumb after a 6-17 loss to Seattle........ and Cole Brannen was also laboring through a minor injury. Bubba Thompson was recalled.

August 15th – Speaking of DL stints, Victor R. Diaz had to leave a 7-4 13 inning win with a herniated disc in his back and was placed on the 10-day DL. We tossed a coin and called up AAA RHCL Alex Speas(23, 2/3.5*) who was 2-5 24SV 3.04 with 63K in 53.1IP. Speas was our second-rounder in 2016.

August 26th - Alex Speas and his 9.00ERA was disposed of as Victor R. Diaz came off the DL...

September 1st – September call-ups are here. On the pitching side, will add LHRP Brett Martin(26, 2.5*, 5-6 3SV 4.47ERA 52K 58.1IP) our fourth-round pick in 2014, RHRP Michael Matuella(27, 3*, 5-10 4.56 110K 29G/20GS), our 3rd round pick in 2015.

On the hitting side, we will call up 2B Hansel Moreno(24, 0.5/5*) and give him a shot at second base. A switch-hitter acquired for Michael Fulmer at the deadline, Moreno hit .288-7-25 .899OPS in 26 games at Round Rock.

Series:
2-0 @ STL
0-3 @ MIN(Billy McKinney 5-5 2RBI DB)
0-3 vs SEA
2-0 vs SFG(Jake J. Thompson 7IP 7H 1ER 4BB 5K W(12-5 3.18), Albert Abreu 7.1IP 2H 0ER 1BB 7K W(6-5 3.46))
3-0 @ TBR(Cory Taylor 8IP 4H 0ER 1BB 8K W(11-3 4.08))
0-3 @ CWS
3-1 @ OAK(Cory Taylor 8IP 3H 1ER 3BB 5K W(12-3 3.89), Albert Abreu 5IP 4H 1ER 2BB 10K)
3-1 vs KCR(Cole Brannen 2-4 2R 5RBI DB HR(5), Steven Sensley 4-5 3R RBI BB DB HR(7))
2-1 vs LAA(Albert Abreu 6IP 2H 0ER 2BB 6K W(7-6 3.41), Justin Williams 2-4 2R 4RBI BB 2HR(14))
1-0 vs BOS

August: 16-12
Runs Scored: 635(5th)
Batting AVG: .261(6th)
OBP: .338(1st)
Home Runs: 140(8th)
Stolen Bases: 125(1st)
Runs Against: 541(4th)
Starters ERA: 3.79(2nd)
Bullpen ERA: 3.45(9th)
Defensive Eff.: .686(4th)

We became a bit streaky in August, but recovered to win a crucial series against the Angels 2-1 where the only loss was an 11-9 11 inning affair where Tommy Kahnle blew a save and left with a little day-to-day injury... and Corey Kluber also left with a day-to-day thing that pushed back his next start by a day.

Overall, we suffered a good number of day-to-day injuries... better than big long-term injuries. Ok, to business. Kluber now has pitched to a 3-1 record with a 3.38ERA in nine starts... given that we did not pay a lot, that is a good deal. Taylor was amazing this month, see below, and I love Albert Abreu for his constantly good outings. Tommy Kahnle killed his ERA with a 6.75ERA month, but he was close to amazing in the first half so...

Second base, Jorge Castellanos hit .289 in August and that is pretty much what we want him to do, but Moreno has soo much offensive potential that he will get a bunch of AB's in September... unless we try to choke again like we did last year... I want this division...

Speaking of hitting, Sensley will get another shot... as Justin Williams hit .165 last month... what a bad season he is having... And if his bat is not working, his defense definitely is not good enough to keep him in the lineup... We have a 2.5G gap to defend, and I don't want black holes in my lineup.

Overall, our offense cooled off quite a bit this year, and that is not only the new mound. Justin Williams was a big contributor, Joey Gallo has one of these years, Bradley and Mazara also are not quite as hot as they used to be... and suddenly, we rely on our pitching a lot more.

Out of the troll corner, Logan White notified me that Matthew Allan's velocity is up to 94-96 and thinks now he could maybe be a good swingman between rotation and bullpen someday... He ducked under the things I threw at him and left my office in a hurry... As for stuff, we decided to keep Nick Lodolo in AAA as he was not on the 40-man... see his profile page below!!! That changeup... He is now the #71 prospect.

In Other News:
August 1st – Dodgers SP Alex Wood(30, 3.5*) blanked the Diamondbacks 3-0 with a complete game 1-hitter, walking one and striking out 10. The lefty and 3x All-Star is 8-7 3.28 137K in 23 starts.

August 6th – Astros SS Carlos Correa(26, 4*) had a 5-hit game today, going 5-5 3R 4RBIs 2HR in a 6-1 win over the Royals. The 4x All-Star is batting .286-22-70 .862OPS in 107 games.

August 7th – Braves 1B Freddie Freeman(31, 4.5*) collected career home run #300 today in a 4-2 victory over Chicago. The 6x All-Star is a career .291/.386/.515 hitter with 300HR, 1021RBIs and 1727 hits in 1623 games.

August 19th – Royals C Kuniaki Takamura(27, 4.5*) lost a 20-game hitting streak in a 8-3 win over the Mariners today. The rookie is batting .330-13-70 .876OPS in 100 games.

August 20th – Red Sox LF J.D. Martinez(33, 3*) hammered career home run #300 as well in a 4-2 loss to the Royals. The 2x All-Star is a career .281/.342/.529 hitter with 300HR, 865RBIs and 1374 hits in 1309 games.

August 24th – Yankees RF Aaron Judge(29, 4.5*) lost a 20-game hitting streak in a 5-2 win over the Athletics today. The 5x All-Star is batting .262-36-86 .865OPS in 123 games.

August 25th – Blue Jays 1B Jordan Zimmerman(36, 2*) passed a big milestone today in a 5-4 win over the Dodgers, going 2-4 and getting career hit #2000. The 2x Silver Slugger, 2x All-Star and 2009 NL Gold Glover at 3B is a career .273/.337/.465 308HR 1126RBIs with 2001 hits in 2025 games.

August 31th – Yankees SP Alex Lange(25, 2.5/3*) spun a 7-hit shutout today, striking out 9 and walking none in a 6-0 win over the Mariners. Acquired from Texas in the 2019/20 offseason, the righty is 6-5 4.19 97K in 27G/16GS.

August 31st – Cardinals 1B Carlos Santana(35, 2.5*) and his team lost against the Brewers 10-4 today, but atleast Santana collected career home run #300. The 2020 NL All-Star is a career .254/.367/.460 300HR 994RBIs hitter with 1580 hits in 1727 games.

September 1st – Astros 3B Alex Bregman(27, 3*) was named AL Batter of the Month after batting .371 with 7 home runs, 15RBIs and 19 runs scored for the month and .270-22-61 .813OPS in 130 games for the season.

September 1st – Dodgers 1B Cody Bellinger(26, 5*) was named NL Batter of the Month after batting .333 with 14 home runs, 40RBIs and 27 runs scored for the month and .291-46-118 1.019OPS in 133 games for the season.

September 1st – Rangers SP Cory Taylor(27, 3.5/4*) was named AL Pitcher of the Month after going 5-1 1.37 40K in 39.1IP for the month and 14-3 3.69 123K in 134IP for the season.

September 1st – Dodgers SP Alex Wood(30, 3.5*) was named NL Pitcher of the Month after going 5-0 2.31 42K in 39IP for the month and 12-7 3.05 163K in 27GS for the season.

September 1st – Royals C Kuniaki Takamura(27, 4.5*) was named AL Rookie of the Month after batting .375 with 6HR, 17RBIs and 13 runs scored for the month and .336-17-77 .904OPS in 106 games for the season.

September 1st – Pirates RF Seth Beer(24, 3.5/4*) was named NL Rookie of the Month after batting .294 with 4 home runs, 19RBIs and 19 runs scored for the month and .268-21-72 .861OPS in 128 games for the season.

[Griever20]

Transactions:
September 9th – CF Ricky Eusebio finally is eligible to come off the DL after his day-to-day injury. With Cole Brannen hitting an even .200 against LHP, he will return to platoon with him right away...

September 15th – We claimed RHSP Jayson Schroeder(21, 0.5/2.5*) off waivers from the Pirates and smuggled him through waivers ourselves. He was a first-round selection in 2018 by Minnesota, released by them in 2019, and joined Pittsburgh on a minor league contract.

September 16th – RHRP Jorge Guzman(25, 3.5/4*) was placed on the 10-day DL with a finger blister that was considered a day-to-day injury for 2 weeks. The righty was 3-1 5SV 4.04ERA 75K in 69IP.

September 26th – We activated RHRP Dylan Cease(25, 3.5/4*) off the DL, and recalled RHRP Ariel Jurado(25, 2/2.5*) from AAA to bolster our pitching.

September 30th - RHRP Jorge Guzman(25, 3.5/4*) was activated off the DL again.

Series:
2-0 vs BOS(Hansel Moreno 1-4 R RBI HR(1) First MLB hit in first game!)
3-0 @ TOR(Cory Taylor 8.1IP 4H 1ER 1BB 7K W(15-3 3.54), Corey Kluber 7IP 6H 1ER 2BB 3K W(4-1 2.97), Dallas Keuchel 7IP 2H 1ER 1BB 3K)
2-0 @ MIL(Albert Abreu 6IP 3H 0ER 4BB 6K W(8-6 3.28)) Moreno was benched again... batting 1-19...
2-2 vs SEA(Corey Kluber 7IP 5H 0ER 2BB 3K W(5-1 2.64))
4-0 vs OAK (Albert Abreu 6.1IP 3H 0ER 2BB 9K W(9-6 3.15)) Mag# 11 LAA 4.5GB
2-1 @ CLE (Albert Abreu 9IP 2H 0ER 2BB 8K W(10-6 2.98)) Mag# 8 LAA 4.5GB
1-1 vs HOU Mag# 6 LAA 4.5GB
1-1 vs LAA(Steven Sensley 3-3 3R 4RBI BB HR(11)) Mag# 4 LAA 4GB
2-0 @ SEA(Corey Kluber 8IP 4H 0ER 2BB 3K W(7-1 2.36)) Mag# 1 LAA 5GB
4-1 vs LAA CLINCHED

September & October: 23-6
Runs Scored: 784(5th)
Batting AVG: .264(7th)
OBP: .341(1st)
Home Runs: 179(4th)
Stolen Bases: 163(1st)
Runs Against: 613(1st)
Starters ERA: 3.50(1st)
Bullpen ERA: 3.27(4th)
Defensive Eff.: .689(3rd)

We made it in style. The Angels gave us a run for our money, but we managed to beat them in the end, playing out a five-game set that occurred due to a rainout... and due to our pitching being RED HOT and then some, we won four out of five. Easily worked out, our playoff rotation will be Kluber, Keuchel, Taylor, Thompson in some order.

Hitting wise, we stay with the lineup that worked in September.
Lewis, McKinney, Mazara, Bradley, Gallo, Jansen, Brannen, Sensley, Castellanos.

That leaves Williams out of the equation. He will get his chance next year again, but batting .230 with a .382 SLG is not going to cut it this year. Justin has shown a great skill to make contact, but if he does struggle with his swing like he does this year, no way he plays...

Second base, Castellanos hit .319 in September, so that case is closed for now... especially given that Moreno got one hit in a million tries... Hope another year in AAA gets him up to speed.

To praise some of our guys, Dallas Keuchel and Albert Abreu are first and second in ERA terms, Taylor led the AL in wins, tied with two more, Lewis led the AL in stolen bases, and Bobby was second in RBIs... more on that above and below.

In other news, we have the best record in baseball and THE BEST RECORD IN BLOODY RANGERS HISTORY. Bloody hell, I don't know what hit us, but it worked. Compared to last year, we have a better rotation, a more well-rounded bullpen... and a less potent offense on paper. Still, I can see us going deep in the playoffs... I want to see the ALCS this year.

But first, the Angels or the Royals. We have winning records against both of them, but I would prefer KC as they don't have quite the same punch in their lineup.

In Other News:
September 2nd – Dodgers SS Corey Seager(27, 5*) collected a 5-hit game, going 5-5 2R DB in a 8-5 win over the Padres. The 6x All-Star is batting .311-22-80 .875OPS in 133 games.

September 10th – Brewers SP Zach Davies(28, 3.5*) blanked the Reds 7-0 with a 9IP 2H 0ER 0BB 6K performance. The Brewers ace is 14-6 2.94 123K in 28 starts.

September 14th – Mets SP Jake Arrieta(35, 3*) pitched a 9IP 3H 1BB 8K gem in a 6-0 win in Detroit. The veteran is 14-9 3.07 152K in 30 starts, a bargain for $7.3M.

September 15th – Angels 3B Nolan Arenado(30, 4.5*) collected career home run #300 in a 11-8 defeat to the Twins. The 8x Gold Glover. 5x All-Star and 3x Silver Slugger is a career .279/.341/.526 hitter with 300HR, 918RBIs and 1452 hits in 1340 games.

September 18th – Tigers SP Franklin Perez(23, 2.5/3*) blanked the Twins 9-0 with a 3-hit shutout, walking one and striking out nine. The righty is 3-2 2.52 32K in 7 starts.

September 29th – Athletics 1B Matt Olson(27, 4*) had a big 3 home run day with a 4-5 4R 6RBI TP 3HR performance in a 7-8 loss to the Angels. The 2020 AL Silver Slugger is batting .237-38-100 .819OPS in 155 games.

October 1st – Angels CF Mike Trout(30, 5*) was named AL Batter of the Month after batting .386 with 10 home runs, 27RBIs and 31 runs scored for the month and .302-40-110 .983 in 155 games for the season.

October 1st – Reds 3B Nick Senzel(26, 4*) was named NL Batter of the Month after batting .379 with 6 home runs, 20RBIs and 22 runs scored for the month and .319-25-97 .895OPS in 159 games for the season.

October 1st – Rangers SP Corey Kluber(35, 3.5*) was named AL Pitcher of the Month after going 4-0 0.81 17K in 33.1IP for the month and 7-1 2.36 54K in 84IP for the season.

October 1st – Brewers SP Zach Davies(28, 3.5*) was named NL Pitcher of the Month after going 4-1 1.36 22K in 33IP for the month and 16-7 2.82 135K in 31GS for the season.

October 1st – Tigers 3B Isaac Paredes(22, 3/4*) was named AL Rookie of the Month after batting .343 with 3HR, 24RBIs and 14 runs scored for the month and .254-15-79 .710OPS in 153 games for the season.

October 1st – Padres 2B Nick Madrigal(24, 4.5/5*) was named NL Rookie of the Month after batting .343 with 1 home runs, 9RBIs and 22 runs scored for the month and .257-7-51 .721OPS in 131 games for the season.

October 6th – Red Sox 3B Rafael Devers(24, 5*) has won the AL Batting Title this year, batting .336/.400/.619 43HR 125RBIs in 157 games.

October 6th – Reds 3B Nick Senzel(26, 4*) has won the NL Batting Title this year, batting .317/.375/.522 27HR 99RBIs in 162 games.

Rangers On The AL Leaderboards:
Dallas Keuchel – ERA – 2.91 - 1st
Albert Abreu – ERA – 2.96 - 2nd
Cory Taylor – W – 17 – tied 1st
Tommy Kahnle – SV – 37 - 3rd
Dallas Keuchel – IP – 207 - 4th

Bobby Bradley – RBI – 128 - 2nd
Billy McKinney – OBP – .387 - 3rd
Bobby Bradley – SLG – .521 - 4th
Royce Lewis – WAR – 6.1 - 3rd
Royce Lewis – SB – 59 - 1st
Royce Lewis – CS – 28 - 1st
Joey Gallo – BB – 99 - 2nd

[DD Martin]

Congrats on the best record in baseball. Around the AS Break I wasn’t to sure the Rangers would win the West, but that home September stretch, WOW.

Now win the series!

[Griever20]

Originally Posted by DD Martin

Congrats on the best record in baseball. Around the AS Break I wasn’t to sure the Rangers would win the West, but that home September stretch, WOW.

Now win the series!

Yeah, like mid-July to mid-August I was really worried about that division, but ultimately, I think this 13-2 stretch in early September really saved our bacon here.

As for the World Series... I hope and believe we can go deep here, but I'm similar to how Billy Beane is characterized in Moneyball... my job is to get this team into the postseason, everything else is just a crapshoot... a very entertaining one.

That being said, I like this team 10x more than our 2020 playoff roster.

[Griever20]

Confidential: Prospect Report, October 7th, 2021

Here is our prospect report, at the end of the regular season, and while most of our focus obviously is on the postseason right now, the future may be bright with these kids.

Greetings
Logan White
Scouting Director Texas Rangers

--

Pitching:

Close to the majors: AAA RHSP Hans Crouse(23, 2.5/3.5*, #32 prospect(+13)), AAA RHSP Casey Mize(24, 2.5/3*, dropped out top 100), AAA LHSP Nick Lodolo(23, 2.5/4*, #55 prospect(NEW)), AA RHRP Alex Speas(23, 2.5/3.5*), AA RHRP Luis Angel Medina(22, 2.5/4*)

Others: A RHSP Matthew Allen(20, 0.5/2*, dropped out top 100), A RHRP Mike Franklin(21, 0.5/3.5*) R LHSP Jorge Anjo(17, 0.5/3*, #14 prospect(+1)), INT LHSP Juan Granados(16, 0.5/2* HS, 0.5/4* OSA, #51 prospect(NEW))

Dropped out: A+ RHSP Freddie Jones(21, 0.5/2*)

The good news, we have a good group of AAA arms that will compete for the #4/#5 starter spot. Just, Crouse missed most of the year, Casey Mize missed most of the year... and is not the same pitcher he was before according to our medical department. And, we have seen the rise of Nick Lodolo, throwing aspirin pills in AAA by going 9-6 3.43 168K in 152IP, striking out 9.9 per nine. His stuff is amazing, his movement and control are already pretty good... and he could be a strikeout machine...

Alex Speas and Luis Angel Medina are two really strong bullpen arms, however, don't expect them to be ready to replace a Dellin Betances kind of quality arm next year already...

Granados and Anjo could be anything... and Allen probably is useless.

Catcher:

Close to the majors: AA C Patrick Bailey(22, 1.5/4*, dropped out top 100)

Others: A C Raymond Torres(21, 0.5/3*)

Dropped out: none

Patrick Bailey may be the second best catcher in our org already and should start in AAA next year.... the only way he should be on the MLB roster only to replace Danny Jansen, not to be his backup. Also, he hit .268/.323/.414 14HR 58RBIs in 110 games so it is not like he dominated AA. Torres hit a similar clip and should make the A+ roster.

Infield:

Close to the majors: AAA 2B Hansel Moreno(24, 1.5/5*, #18), AAA 2B Richie Palacios(24, 2.5/3*), AA SS Alonzo Jones(24, 1.5/2.5*)

Others: AA 2B Derwin Barreto(20, 0.5/3*), A+ 2B Aaron Bracho(20, 0.5/4.5*), A+ SS Marcos Junior Gonzalez(21, 0.5/3*), A 2B Matt McLain(22, 0.5/3*), A SS Sincere Smith(21, 1/3*), R 1B Braedon Mooris(19, 0.5/3*), R 3B Nate Pugh(19, 0.5/3.5*)

Dropped out: SS Justin Lopez(21), SS Sandy A. Richardson(19)

How you landed Hansel Moreno is beyond me, but even with his first MLB stint going sour in a hurry, it seems like he has learned a lot and with a little bit of time in AAA, he could be our future second baseman, but, the future is not quite right now. A player that is ready for the majors... is Richie Palacios who hit .317/.403/.493 with 17HR and 71RBI's in AAA... if we need a second baseman or a trade chip... keep him in mind.

Aaron Bracho is an interesting guy. We really like him and moved him up the ranks quickly from A- to A to A+, going .265/.308/.301 in 31 games there. He should not be moved higher than that at the start of next year, but I see Dustin Pedroia kind of upside. The rest of the guys... are maybe's with major flukes, like Nate Pugh is an arm only defensive 3B...

Outfield:

Close to the majors: none

Others: AA CF Robert Gonzalez(20, 1/3*), A RF Erick Rivera(20, 0.5/3*), A- CF Tyler Williams(20, 0.5/3*), R RF Jon Graves(19, 0.5/3.5*), R RF Alpha Eleby(19, 0.5/3*), R CF Mike Fusek(20, 0.5/3*), R CF Eddie Hookfin(18, 0.5/3*), R LF Tommy Jennings(18, 0.5/3*), INT CF Luis Delgado(16, 0.5/3*)

Dropped out: CF Luis Celedon(17)

Bad news, we kinda lack talent in AA and AAA that can make an impact, but the 2020 and 2021 draft was kind to our lower minors as we drafted well... giving us good quality high school kids that can make the minors one day. The problem is... that will have to wait 4 years for that crop.

ALDS COMING UP LATER TONIGHT!

[Griever20]

AL Wild Card:
Kansas City Royals 1 – Los Angeles Angels 4
Los Angeles advances to ALDS.

NL Wild Card:
Colorado Rockies 2 – Atlanta Braves 4
Atlanta advances to NLDS.

The Los Angeles Angels:

We have been in a tight race with those guys, but a late series win got us 8 games ahead as LA finished with a 95-67 and they are a year removed from a 100-win campaign. At age 62, Mike Scioscia has been their manager since the invention of cable TV and still is hungry for a World Series win with Mike Trout on the team.

Pitching-wise, they struggled a bit but still will send four 10+ game winners out there against us with superstar SP Shohei Ohtani(27, 4/4.5*, 11-9 4.54 208K 34GS, .302-19-59 .875OPS) having pitched in the Wild Card game... but will bat second a lot. Their game one pitcher will be Andrew Triggs(32, 2.5*, 11-8 4.34 132K) followed by Trevor Cahill(33, 2.5*, 13-8 4.05 89K) and veteran Justin Verlander(38, 2*, 10-10 3.96 128K). All right-handers against our left-handed lineup? I'll take it. Advantage TEX!

Their bullpen has been light and shadows with RHCL Keynan Middleton(28, 3*, 7-7 41SV 2.77 95K 74.2IP) winning a pair of AL Pitcher of the Month Awards this season, and our former employee LHRP Jake Diekman(34, 3*, 5-3 4SV 2.35 66K 61.1IP) will be key to their late-inning success...

Offensively, they mostly throw junk at us, but the key figures, apart from Ohtani, obviously are CF Mike Trout(30, 5*, .301-40-110 .977OPS 158G), 3B Nolan Arenado(30, 4.5*, .265-38-108 .851OPS 157G) and DH Daniel Murphy(36, 3*, .298-10-55 .818OPS 94G), but have seven guys with 10+HR in their lineup...

Still, prediction: TEX in 4.

American League Division Series Game 1:

October 9th, 2021

Los Angeles Angels - Texas Rangers @ Globe Life Park

LAA: SP Andrew Triggs(R, 11-5 4.34)
TEX: SP Corey Kluber(R, 7-1 2.36)

We threw Kluber and Keuchel into a dark room and let them brawl for 30 minutes, and the survivor was allowed to start game one... walked the leadoff man... and stranded him on 17 pitches. Both defensive alignments did their work well in the following minutes as both teams collected their first hit on the ground, and both innings ended on groundballs... a double play apiece and a groundout to third with a runner at third base... but it became clear that Triggs had his best stuff today... 0-0 after two.

Just the next runner reached on a walk... bottom fourth as Lewis took four wide ones and advanced to second on a groundout. Mazara at the plate with one down... waited... patiently... and turned it into a mammoth 11 pitch-AB... and struck out... and Bradley then flew out... 0-0 after four.

Hits and baserunners were at a premium and the Rangers were so happy to see Triggs leave in the sixth for Hector Rondon... so happy that Jorge Castellanos ran into an out... and we then stranded two after a couple of walks... 0-0 after six.

With the game still tied, the Angels did the right thing... and brought in the lefty in Brett Cecil(4.23) to keep the Rangers bats as cool as they were all day long... and that went spectacularly wrong. Cecil let the count run full to Joey Gallo... and then missed with a changeup high in the zone... and Gallo caught it... big time... BIG TIME... RIGHT CENTER AND GOONE! TEX 1, LAA 0!

And Girardi let Kluber, who WAS in line for the W, in a batter too long. Right fielder Harrison Bader singled to right, Kluber was yanked for Adcock who got a K... and was left in a batter too long as Andrelton Simmons doubled... and only Billy McKinney's hard throw saved the 1-0 score.

BRING THE EIGHTH INNING CLOWN! Dellin Betances came in with runners at second and third and one down... and did not get the strikeout... but a little tapper right at him for the out at first! ONE MORE... It was two more... pitches before Betances threw one wild past Jansen to tie the game at one. Two more pitches later... Jahmai Jones singled cleanly into left... and the Angels had the lead 2-1...

****ing IDIOT.

Middleton, their closer, came out of the eighth and was throwing triple digits... and we still managed a single by Castellanos and a walk... before Bradley STRUCK OUT AGAIN WITH RUNNERS ON TO END THE FRAME...

Kahnle pitched a scoreless top ninth and our only hope was that Middleton was a bit tired in his second inning of relief... Joey Gallo, not known for his contact ability... fouled off a couple of pitches... before he lined a long one into the gap.... BADER DOES NOT GET IT... LEADOFF DOUBLE!

And Middleton was yanked for Diekman... just... Danny Jansen was up next... and the right-handed hitter was in the driver seat right away.. 1-0... 2-0... borderline pitch... 2-1... groundball to the left side... under the glove of Simmons... UNDER THE GLOVE OF ARENADO, A BASE HIT... AND GALLO IS AROUND THIRD... THROW OUT OF LEFT FIELD... SAVE! SAVE! TEX 2, LAA 2!!!

Would Joe Girardi pinch-hit here? Truth is, Joe and I discussed this exact situation. Extra innings looming, they have already used one lefty, and the second is on the mound... and they only have average right-handers left... Brennan hit... out... Sensley hit... out.

Two down, a runner at first... Jorge Castellanos at the plate. The second baseman that has struggled for batting average and playing time this year, but already was 1-2 with a walk... and he worked a tough at-bat... down 1-2... he looked at a borderline pitch... ball! 2-2... yanked down the left field line... FOUL.

Another 2-2 pitch... on the ground, but foul... Diekman took a little stroll around the mound, shaking his head... and went back to the mound... the pitch... IS LINED DOWN THE RIGHT FIELD LINE... A BASE HIT AND IT RATTLES INTO THE CORNER... JANSEN TO SECOND... TO THIRD... THEY WAVE HIM HOME!!!

THE THROW IS HOT AND THE TWO CATCHER'S COLLIDE...

BUT HE IS SAVE! THE RAANGERS WALK IT OFF!!!

SP Corey Kluber 7IP 3H 1ER 2BB 6K
LF Billy McKinney 1-3 BB
DH Nomar Mazara 0-3 BB
3B Joey Gallo 2-4 2R RBI DB HR
C Danny Jansen 1-3 R RBI BB
2B Jorge Castellanos 2-3 RBI BB DB
HR LAA: none
HR TEX: Joey Gallo(1)
W: Tommy Kahnle(1-0 0.00) L: Jake Diekman(0-1 13.50)
LAA 2 TEX 3 TEX leads ALDS 1-0
I need a shower now... still shaking. First, I was shaking because of rage... now adrenalin. What. A. Comeback. Their bullpen simply was not up to the task, and we took advantage of that.

ALDS:
New York Yankees 14 – Minnesota Twins 0
NYY SP Luis Severino 9IP 5H 0ER 0BB 7K W(1-0 0.00)
NYY RF Aaron Judge 2-3 2R 5RBI 2HR(2)
New York leads ALDS 1-0.

[Griever20]

American League Division Series Game 2:

October 10th, 2021

Los Angeles Angels - Texas Rangers @ Globe Life Park

LAA: SP Trevor Cahill(R, 13-8 4.05)
TEX: SP Cody Taylor(R, 17-3 3.52)

Surprise! We went with Taylor in game two first... to make sure we have a right-hander in place against Trout and Arenado... and sent out Dallas Keuchel for game three against probably Ohtani. Now that we won game one on sheer luck, can we get some offense in game two?

And Taylor made things interesting together with our defense, allowing a soft groundball single to right with one down, and then struck out Trout, hit Arenado... and then got Murphy to fly to center... into the glove of Brennan. But the bottom first was even wilder.

Arenado unleashed a hard throw to Ohtani on a groundball by Lewis... and Ohtani dropped it for a 2-base error. Cahill then had no stuff to retire the Billyboy... and McKinney singled to right... and it was 1-0 Rangers and our left fielder took second on an ill-advised throw to the plate. Of course, we still stranded McKinney on a grand slam of outs, groundout, strikeout, flyout.

Both starters showed some cracks but yet, despite us being down 3-1 in hits... the 1-0 lead stood after four. Not after five. The third time through the order started with a loong double by Jahmai Jones, a wild pitch... and then a run-scoring infield single by Ohtani... Trout was fanned for #7 and Arenado grounded to second... but the lead was blown. TEX 1, LAA 1.

Both starters were effectively out... but a chance developed bottom 6th. With two down and Alex Meyer in his second inning of relief, Cole Brennan started a 2-out rally by hitting one past the infield... and Steven Sensley walked. That brought up Castellanos... no. Justin Williams. Your time to be the hero.

He grounded into a fielder's choice. Another chance... leadoff single by Lewis, grounder to move him to second... out, out, seventh over. With Jorge Guzman pitching two innings of scoreless relief... our pen was intact... and they moved on to use the second lefty in the eighth, summoning Diekman from the pen.

And like yesterday, it was the right-handed hitter that started things off. Danny Jansen singled into right... and we were once again asking us the pinch hitter question... and balked, letting lefty Cole Brennan bat again... and he got one hard. Reaching all over the plate, he used his golf swing to full effect... LASERED TO RIGHT CENTER... TROUT CHASING IT TO THE WALL... HE IS NOT GOING TO GET IT... IT'S-A HOME RUN! TEX 3, LAA 1

Kahnle allowed a soft single, but managed to save the day and added a save to his postseason win.

SP Cory Taylor 6IP 5H 1ER 1BB 8K
SS Royce Lewis 1-5 R
LF Billy McKinney 2-5 RBI
DH Nomar Mazara 0-2 2BB
C Danny Jansen 1-4 R
CF Cole Brennan 2-3 R 2RBI BB HR
2B Chris Seise 1-1
HR LAA: none
HR TEX: Cole Brannen(1)
W: Jorge Guzman(1-0 0.00) L: Jake Diekman(0-2 40.50) SV: Tommy Kahnle(1 0.00)
LAA 1 TEX 3 TEX leads ALDS 2-0
Another close one...

ALDS:
New York Yankees 0 – Minnesota Twins 1
ALDS tied at 1.

NLDS:
Chicago Cubs 8 – New York Mets 1
Chicago leads NLDS 1-0.

Atlanta Braves 12 – Los Angeles Dodgers 7
ATL 1B Freddie Freeman 4-4 5R 4RBI BB DB 2HR(3)
Atlanta leads NLDS 1-0.

Chicago Cubs 7 – New York Mets 6
Chicago leads NLDS 2-0.

Atlanta Braves 1 – Los Angeles Dodgers 6
NLDS tied at 1.

[Griever20]

American League Division Series Game 3:

October 12th, 2021

Texas Rangers - Los Angeles Angels @ Angels Stadium of Anaheim

TEX: SP Dallas Keuchel(L, 15-8 2.91)
LAA: SP Shohei Ohtani(R, 1-0 0.00)

Time to bring the lefty... in a more pitcher-friendly ballpark. If the first two games are any indication... we will play 20 innings with a 0-0 score tonight. Their bullpen, that was used excessively in the first two games, got some rest, so we need to get something going early and hope that the AL ERA king can keep them at bay.


Dallas Keuchel vs LA: 1-0 3.72 2GS
Shohei Ohtani vs TEX 0-1 4.78 4GS

And our game plan went out of the window... because Ohtani was fishing outside the zone a lot... and we first got him to throw 20 pitches in the first, and 23 more in the second with a walk to Joey Gallo... back to the old, we wait out their ace till he is tired tactic that worked with Sale last year?

Unfortunately, they returned the favor... and then some with Jorge Ramirez taking a walk... and Schebler and Cowart dumping singles... 1-0 LAA. Things got worse. Tyler Ward walked, and there was the leadoff man Jahmai Jones... who luckily struck out to end the frame...

Fittingly for our team, the next baserunner came... with Jorge Castellanos fighting off a fastball into right field... flipping the lineup over to Royce Lewis, our team leader in WAR despite missing 20 games... and he did what our team does these days... grind out an AB... get a 3-2 count... foul off two pitches... and then he smoked a cookie into right field.... WAY BACK AND GOOONE! 2-RUN HOME RUN! TEX 2, LAA 1!

One inning later, Bobby Bradley was hit by a pitch, forced at second by Gallo... and after a Brennan single, we got runners at the corners with two outs... and Sensley continued to drive Ohtani crazy... but fanned to end the fourth. His day was over one batter into the sixth, and that batter was a walk issued to Nomar Mazara that led to nothing as Cecil wiggled himself out of trouble.

Speaking of that, we loaded the bases in the seventh on a walk, a batter that reached on a strikeout... and a wild pitch, and another walk... and then Nomar Mazara hit a laser to left... that a diving Arenado robbed.

For Dallas Keuchel, the day was over after 6.1 innings of 5-hit, 1ER 2BB and 7K ball that saw him allow a single by Andrelton Simmons in the seventh... that Alex Claudio easily cleaned up... six more outs to go.

Betances had a field day in the eighth, and Scioscia brought in Mr. Closer Middleton for the top of the ninth... Brennan walked, Sensley singled... and after a K, Diekman was brought in to face... Royce Lewis... and our shortstop sensation took a typical Rangers approach... and walked to load the bases. McKinney flew out hard to center... Trout, will all the desperation of not winning a World Series... loaded up... and was way too late to the party at home plate.

Mazara K'ed to end the ninth, and Tommy Kahnle came out to end the season of the Angels 1-2-3. We are in the ALCS!!!

SP Dallas Keuchel 6.1IP 5H 1ER 2BB 7K W
SS Royce Lewis 1-4 R 2RBI BB
LF Billy McKinney 0-3 RBI BB
DH Nomar Mazara 0-4 BB
3B Joey Gallo 0-2 2BB
CF Cole Brennan 1-3 R BB
2B Jorge Castellanos 1-3 R BB
HR TEX: Royce Lewis(1)
HR LAA: none
W: Dallas Keuchel(1-0 1.42) L: Shohei Ohtani(1-1 1.50) SV: Tommy Kahnle(2 0.00)
TEX 3 LAA 1 TEX wins ALDS 3-0!
Hello Championship Series. What a great pitching performance by our guys, and I want to point out Tommy Kahnle throwing 3 three scoreless innings of 1-hit ball with 2K's and no walks, getting a win and two saves.

ALDS:
Minnesota Twins 6 - New York Yankees 7
New York leads ALDS 2-1.

Minnesota Twins 2 - New York Yankees 6
New York wins ALDS 3-1, advances to ALCS.

NLDS:
New York Mets 2 - Chicago Cubs 5
Chicago wins NLDS 3-0, advances to NLCS.

Los Angeles Dodgers 4 - Atlanta Braves 3
Los Angeles leads NLDS 2-1.

Los Angeles Dodgers 4 - Atlanta Braves 5(11)
NLDS tied at 2.

Atlanta Braves 0 - Los Angeles Dodgers 6
LAD SP Alex Wood 6.2IP 5H 0ER 0BB 11K W(1-1 4.63)
Los Angeles leads NLDS 3-2.

[Griever20]

The New York Yankees:

The good old Yankees, the former team of Joe Girardi and owner of a 91-71 record in the regular season under Aaron Boone. They quickly disposed the 97-win Twins and will send their ace to the mound for game one...

8th in runs against, 11th in starters ERA and 11th in defensive efficiency, the likes of Luis Severino(27, 4*, 17-5 4.45 235K 34GS), Chance Adams(27, 3*, 13-8 4.40 166K 32GS), Nathan Eovaldi(31, 3*, 9-5 3.79 93K 24GS) and lefty Gio Gonzalez(36, 2*, 11-12 5.71 109K 31GS) have had a tough season, and with the Rangers staring at them, starting pitching advantage: TEX.

BUUT: The bullpen has a 3.24ERA for the season second best in the AL with closer Cody Carroll(29, 4*, 4-3 33SV 2.37 88K 68.1IP) and a bunch of quality arms at their disposal... they recovered well from us getting Betances and Kahnle. Good news, they only have ONE lefty in Trevor Lane(27, 2/2.5*, 1-2 1SV 3.35 82K 83.1IP).

They scored 27 more runs than us, leading the AL in home runs with 266... enter LF Giancarlo Stanton(31, 4.5*, .252-60-135 .931OPS), C Gary Sanchez(28, 5*, .274-27-69 .797OPS), RF Aaron Judge(29, 4.5*, .256-45-108 .856OPS) and CF Clint Frazier(27, 2.5*, .246-31-92 .781OPS) as #2-#5 hitters. Damn.

Add leadoff hitter 2B Tyler Wade(26, 3.5*, .266-10-54 .729OPS 84R) and another big righty bad in DH Gleyber Torres(24, 3.5*, ,290-13-50 .795OPS)... and we see trouble on the horizon. What we won't do is dropping Keuchel down here... he is 2-0 with a 1.38ERA against those guys... he will go in game two.

Prediction: TEX in 7.

American League Championship Series Game 1:

October 17th, 2021

New York Yankees - Texas Rangers @ Globe Life Park

NYY: SP Luis Severino(R, 1-0 0.00)
TEX: SP Corey Kluber(R, 0-0 1.29)

Here is the 'Klubot' against 'Sevvy'... those nicknames. Kluber got out of the first unscathed... but wonky as he allowed a deep fly to center... and a hard flyer to left that Billy McKinney sacrificed his body on with a diving, backward catch. We greeted Severino a lot more roughly tho.

Royce Lewis doubled on the third pitch, McKinney fanned, and Mazara walked. That set the stage for Bobby Bradley who got ahead 3-1, moved to 3-2 on a bad call by the blind monk behind the plate... and then hit a 97mph heater into the right-field gap... 1-0 Texas. Mazara was brought home with a groundout, and Danny Jansen then grounded a hard one... right to the second baseman, TEX 2, NYY 0.

Kluber came back with 2 strikeouts and a fly out... but unfortunately... in between outs, two singles dropped on the green... and Didi Gregorius dropped one into a glove... of a Rangers fan in the right-field stances. NYY 3, TEX 2. We then added to our misery by running ourselves out of the third... as McKinney was picked off at first after a walk, and Mazara was nailed at third base by Stanton, trying to stretch a double into a triple...

The maddening thing about Severino was that on the one hand, he was pretty wild... but somehow still got the weak contact when behind in the count... and when Castellanos reached on a 2-base error, he reached back to strike out one, and induced an easy flyout... fifth inning over, TEX 2, NYY 3.

And then, things unraveled for Kluber all by himself... when he threw away an easy grounder by Wade... and then Danny Jansen threw away an easy grounder... both past our first baseman... for two in scoring position with two down... and Frazier got under one to pop out... avoided a bullet there.

Could we now somehow beat Severino please? Mazara and Bradley made outs to start the bottom 6th... and then Gallo coaxed a walk... time to pull Severino? Boone said no... Jansen took another walk... and Cole Brannen singled cleanly up the middle, base hit, Gallo around third... AND SCORES!

Two pitches later, #108 for the night for Severino... and Sensley hit a flyer to right that the right fielder didn't even move on... because it flew right at him. Kluber pitched another clean inning on a short leash, and Severino eventually got pulled after fanning Castellanos.

New pitching matchup. Alex Lange, traded away for Sheffield and Torres by us came in... he posted a 4.30ERA in 32G/21GS this season as #5 starter... and five pitches in, the 26-year old went outside, painting the corner with a 94mph heater to Royce Lewis... and our star shortstop saw that one coming a mile ago.

And the ball went approximately a mile over the right field fence for a home run... SUCK MY BALLS LANGE! THAT IS WHY WE TRADED HIM AWAY! One inning later, we unleashed some more terror on Chad Green for another run of cushion, and Alex Claudio(1-2-3 K) and Tommy Kahnle(1-2-3 3K) easily brought home a big game one victory.

SP Corey Kluber 7IP 3H 3ER 1BB 8K W
SS Royce Lewis 3-5 2R 2RBI DB HR
LF Billy McKinney 1-5
DH Nomar Mazara 2-3 R BB DB
1B Bobby Bradley 2-4 RBI DB
3B Joey Gallo 0-3 R RBI BB
CF Cole Brannen 1-4 R RBI
2B Jorge Castellanos 1-3 BB
HR NYY: Didi Gregorius(2)
HR TEX: Royce Lewis(2)
W: Corey Kluber(1-0 2.57) L: Alex Lange(0-1 4.50) SV: Tommy Kahnle(3 0.00)
NYY 2 TEX 4 TEX leads ALCS 1-0
Kudos to Kluber. He allowed one big inning with that 3-run jack, but around that, he was near perfect, striking out eight and looking firmly in control. And kudos to bloody Royce Lewis who is looking like a superhero these days. Two clutch home runs already...

[Griever20]

American League Championship Series Game 2:

October 18th, 2021

New York Yankees - Texas Rangers @ Globe Life Park

NYY: SP Chance Adams(R, 0-1 1.80)
TEX: SP Dallas Keuchel(L, 1-0 1.42)

Two things are true. The Yankees are getting nervous. And Adams does not have the stamina to go more than 90-100 pitches without fatalities. And by the time he threw his first pitch, Sanchez and Stanton had already gone deep to make it 2-0 Yankees... and Adams got out of the first when Mazara ran into ANOTHER out at third base...

And the Yankees continued to eat Keuchel alive with a three-run second, and a solo home run by Michael Chavis in the third... and I was fuming. Why exactly did I trust Keuchel's regular season numbers against the Yankees and not my gut that we should not play a lefty against the Yankees?

Anyways, Gallo homered, so it was NYY 6, TEX 1 after three. And we did not get through Adams in the way we needed it. One run was tailored together in the sixth and driven in by a Royce Lewis double... and given back by Dallas and some bad bullpen work... and that was pretty much the game as our only late rally saw Mazara drive in one... 7-3 Yankees

Good thing, we used Albert Abreu for three innings, so at least the pen did not take a big hit...

SP Dallas Keuchel 5.1IP 8H 7ER 1BB 5K
SS Royce Lewis 1-4 R RBI DB
LF Billy McKinney 1-5
DH Nomar Mazara 2-4 RBI DB
3B Joey Gallo 3-3 R RBI BB HR
CF Cole Brannen 1-4 DB
RF Steven Sensley 1-3 BB
2B Jorge Castellanos 1-3 R BB
HR NYY: Gary Sanchez(1), Giancarlo Stanton(2), Michael Chavis(1)
HR TEX: Joey Gallo(2)
W: Chance Adams(1-1 2.45) L: Dallas Keuchel(1-1 6.17)
NYY 7 TEX 3 ALCS tied at 1.
****ty game. We never really got going, or to be exact, we did not cash in on our hits... and the Yankees simply hit three over the wall... should've started Taylor...

NLCS:
Chicago Cubs 9 – Los Angeles Dodgers 3
Chicago leads NLCS 1-0.

Chicago Cubs 1 – Los Angeles Dodgers 4
Chicago leads NLCS 2-0.

[Griever20]

American League Championship Series Game 3:

October 20th, 2021

Texas Rangers - New York Yankees @ Yankee Stadium

TEX: SP Cory Taylor(R, 0-0 1.50)
NYY: SP Nathan Eovaldi(R, 0-0 3.18)

We need this one... by the way... how often have I called Cory Taylor, Cody or Corey or something else over the last two seasons... oops... go get him!

Speaking of getting something, Royce Lewis led off with a hard one to left center... liner over the head of Stanton for a leadoff double. Two hard hit balls later... it was two down as one fly out to center and one hard grounder to second were gobbled up..., Royce at third base... Bradley grounded out.

In the bottom half, I nearly fainted four times... the first time when Stanton doubled in Wade, the second time when Frazier singled to load the bases, the third time when Andujar grounded one up the middle for two... and the final time when Yonder Alonso left the bases loaded... NYY 4, TEX 0...

When the medical support arrived at my suite, they shied away from me when I suddenly jumped up and screamed again... after a couple of leadoff hits... that led to nothing as we went from hard hits to weak outs...

Lewis did on first base in the third... and it looked like we would die the death of 1000 chances. Jansen reached via the walk with one out in the fourth, and Brannen singled... and Yankee fans weren't even nervous at that point and were cheering for Eovaldi. That changed rapidly... when Steven Sensley parked one 395ft away from home plate for a 3-run jack. NYY 4, TEX 3.

FINALLY A BIG HIT!

Speaking of big hits, Taylor was a big miss and while he went five... but should've been pulled in the fifth with two on... and Alonso, a lefty at the plate... 5-3 Yankees on an RBI-single. Our efforts were sabotaged by the Yankees outfielders in the next inning... as the second time through the order Judge robbed us of a Lewis home run and a Bradley 2-run double...

Guzman and Adcock got two clean innings done, and we were waiting for a rally. They called for their closer Cody Carroll in the top eighth... Gallo fanned, Jansen walked, Carroll was yanked(right away???), and Chad Green and his 3.67ERA came in... and Brannen doubled go get two in scoring position with one out...

LET'S GO!

The inning ended with a fly out... and Jansen getting caught at home by a big throw by Frazier. The game ended with a runner at second and Mazara looking at strike three.


SP Cory Taylor 5IP 10H 5R 4ER 1BB 7K
SS Royce Lewis 2-5 DB
LF Billy McKinney 2-5 DB
DH Nomar Mazara 1-5
3B Joey Gallo 1-4
C Danny Jansen 1-2 R 2BB
CF Cole Brannen 3-4 R DB
RF Steven Sensley 1-4 R 3RBI HR
HR TEX: Steven Sensley(1)
HR NYY: none
W: Nathan Eovaldi(1-0 4.22) L: Cory Taylor(0-1 4.09) SV: Chad Green(1 3.38)
TEX 3 NYY 5 NYY leads ALCS 2-1.
Yep. Different park, different starter, same result. We only got one big hit, and while that one flew over the wall, it wasn't enough.

I don't see us scoring 6+ or 7+ runs...