AL Central Discussion

[WiggyRuss]

I think aneurysms are very much in the cards for the Vikings fans this year. Only this year everything is not as likely to break our way. I hope I'm wrong.

you have nothing on Browns fans. lol

though- for what its worth- this is def. the most talented Browns team since 1994 in my opinion....what that results in- we shall see. Pretty much comes down to if Watson is capable of on the field- they actually do have some decent weapons for him and he will def. be playing with one of the league's premier o-lines.

if he looks like last year though for the 6 games he played- it will be an unmitigated disaster.

 

[WiggyRuss]

So as of the 3 start victory lap Syndergaard had a 3.7 ERA and a ghastly 6.62 FIP.

Like I said, an immediate course correction incoming. Now 4 starts in 5.06 ERA(Daniel Norris saved this) and a 7.29 FIP now hahaha

Dodgers up next.

ugh- one of the reasons why I am convinced the Guardians waived the white flag, other than the deluge of starting pitching injuries, is that their schedule was the hardest in MLB % wise down the stretch. just brutal.

Plus- I dont know who is gonna even pitch when Williams, Bibee and Allen are shut down- which I figure happens by Sept. 1st.

 

[mr.hockey4242]

ugh- one of the reasons why I am convinced the Guardians waived the white flag, other than the deluge of starting pitching injuries, is that their schedule was the hardest in MLB % wise down the stretch. just brutal.

Plus- I dont know who is gonna even pitch when Williams, Bibee and Allen are shut down- which I figure happens by Sept. 1st.

How many innings did Williams go in the minors?? He doesnt have nearly as many big league innings as Allen or Bibee

 

[WiggyRuss]

How many innings did Williams go in the minors?? He doesnt have nearly as many big league innings as Allen or Bibee

61 between AA and AAA

last year he pitched 105 innings between A and AA.

right now he is at 115 innings between minors and majors.

he wasnt drafted very long ago. Neither was Bibee. Bibee started his career in AA last year.

 

[mr.hockey4242]

61 between AA and AAA

last year he pitched 105 innings between A and AA.

right now he is at 115 innings between minors and majors.

he wasnt drafted very long ago. Neither was Bibee. Bibee started his career in AA last year.

I think it will be tough for them to shut these guys down if the race stays some what close.

I think the Twins inconsistency and continuing to float between 2 and 6 games over .500 is annoying the Guardians brass right now. Cant justify it yet.

If the lead expands closer to 6 or 7 in september thats when the shut downs will come I think

 

[bksballer89]

Lance Lynn turned into an ace since going to the dodgers lol

 

[VikingFan2k2]

Lance Lynn turned into an ace since going to the dodgers lol

He's the ultimate front runner. If his team is bad, he doesn't give a shit. Since he got traded to a good team, he is stepping his game up.

 

[WiggyRuss]

I think it will be tough for them to shut these guys down if the race stays some what close.

I think the Twins inconsistency and continuing to float between 2 and 6 games over .500 is annoying the Guardians brass right now. Cant justify it yet.

If the lead expands closer to 6 or 7 in september thats when the shut downs will come I think

after what happened to McKenzie last year they are going to be careful. He of course was a top prospect- (TheAthletic had him in their top 10 in the majors at one point).

McKenzie was a top prospect- figured it out and had a great year where he had an ERA under 3.00 and a WHIP of 1.00 last year. He started figuring it out in the 2nd half of 2021- where he was very good after the last 2 months of the season.

They of course were in it last year- McKenzie was cruising- so they let him far exceed his pitch limit and go to 190 innings which is absolute workhorse material in modern baseball. And of course this year he has serious arm issues and his season never even started.

Now there are a lot of differences between Bibee and Williams- both are college starters....Williams especially is built like a truck- McKenzie's nickname is "Stitcks" for a reason- he is listed at 6'5" 165 lbs.

Maybe the Guardians let those guys go 150 innings- but it would very much surprise me if they went anything more than that- Bibee and Williams both look like their floor right now is very good #2 guys- and maybe #1 type guys. They are the future of the francise to a certain extent.

Allen I dont know- he has been in the organization longer- I dont think he has the ceiling of Bibee and Williams- but then a site like FanGraphs that I really respect thinks he projects as the best out of those 3.

Everyone agrees that if he is healthy- Espino's stuff destroys all of those guys though. If that guy gets healthy the division is the Guardians for a looong time. He honestly is Painter/Eury Perez level future cant miss ace stuff IF (and a huuuuuuuuuuuge if) he is healthy.

 

[WiggyRuss]

Lance Lynn turned into an ace since going to the dodgers lol

White Sox were such a dead ass team. Lynn always had good stuff. HE was striking guys out and going deep into games. He is a free agent too.

Not a huge surprise to me a guy is dealt to a much better orgazanation- sees himself ruining his upcoming free agency- the Dodgers are great with pitchers- and he turns it around. Dodgers got a steal at the deadline. Id rather have him than a guy like Flaherty the Orioles gave up more for. Shit- the Rays gave up a ton more Civale (who obviously has 2 more years of control) but was at the absolute height of his value- instead of the absolute bottom like Lynn.

 

[WiggyRuss]

I think it will be tough for them to shut these guys down if the race stays some what close.

I think the Twins inconsistency and continuing to float between 2 and 6 games over .500 is annoying the Guardians brass right now. Cant justify it yet.

If the lead expands closer to 6 or 7 in september thats when the shut downs will come I think

Lance Lynn: 7 IP. 0 runs. 4 hits.

 

[mr.hockey4242]

Lance Lynn: 7 IP. 0 runs. 4 hits.

Brewers another bottom 5 offense.

Unforuntately he faces the Guardians next.

Hes gotten the best possible draw he could ask for

 

[catman]

He's the ultimate front runner. If his team is bad, he doesn't give a shit. Since he got traded to a good team, he is stepping his game up.

When he pitched for the Twins, he was mediocre at best.

 

[VikingFan2k2]

When he pitched for the Twins, he was mediocre at best.

Exactly, he settled for a one year deal and that was a real bummer of a season that was 2018. He never acted like he wanted to be here and didn't turn things around until we traded him to the Yankees.

 

[mr.hockey4242]

Bo Naylor for the Guards right now is a total liability.

Hes only 23 so loads of time for the bat to come around. But his defense as a catcher is utterly horrendous. So with his current batting I dont know how you can even justify starting the guy.

I think regardless hes gonna have to find a new position.

 

[WiggyRuss]

Bo Naylor for the Guards right now is a total liability.

Hes only 23 so loads of time for the bat to come around. But his defense as a catcher is utterly horrendous. So with his current batting I dont know how you can even justify starting the guy.

I think regardless hes gonna have to find a new position.

not sure where you get that from......he has been solid from what I have seen and was pretty solidly regarded in the minors. He isnt Austin Hedges but he is a helluva lot better than Zunino was.

Bo Naylor Brings More To The Cleveland Guardians Than Offense - Sports Illustrated Cleveland Guardians News, Analysis and More

Cleveland Guardians catcher, Bo Naylor throws, catches two Kansas City Royals stealing.

www.si.com

this was unreal.

 

[VikingFan2k2]

not sure where you get that from......he has been solid from what I have seen and was pretty solidly regarded in the minors. He isnt Austin Hedges but he is a helluva lot better than Zunino was.

Bo Naylor Brings More To The Cleveland Guardians Than Offense - Sports Illustrated Cleveland Guardians News, Analysis and More

Cleveland Guardians catcher, Bo Naylor throws, catches two Kansas City Royals stealing.

www.si.com

this was unreal.

That is a gun. If the pitcher gets the sign for the pitch out, the runner is out by 10 feet.

 

[mr.hockey4242]

not sure where you get that from......he has been solid from what I have seen and was pretty solidly regarded in the minors. He isnt Austin Hedges but he is a helluva lot better than Zunino was.

Bo Naylor Brings More To The Cleveland Guardians Than Offense - Sports Illustrated Cleveland Guardians News, Analysis and More

Cleveland Guardians catcher, Bo Naylor throws, catches two Kansas City Royals stealing.

www.si.com

this was unreal.

Ummm watching their games? Or just search Bo Naylor into twitter and every guardians fan who watches will say the same.

Hes also throwing out lik10% of base stealers haha

 

[WiggyRuss]

On TheAthletic Jim Bowden ranked his top 10 pitchers and top 10 position players for AL Rookie of the year. Now- Bowden is a little screwy- I will say that. There were 2 AL Central position players mentioned and 4 AL Central pitchers out of the 20.

Currently Julien was in 7th among position players.

"Edouard Julien can flat-out hit with power and in terms of his defense … he can flat-out hit. What I mean by that is his defensive deficiencies are real with below-average range to both sides and a below-average arm. He makes the routine plays look difficult. He needs to work diligently on improving his defense so he can at least make the routine plays. But, there is no doubt the bat is special."

Maikel Garcia was 8th among position players for the Royals.

Maikel Garcia is a tremendous defensive player who ranks in the 99th percentile in Statcast’s outs above average and in the 67th percentile in arm strength. He’s a solid hitter who’s in the 91st percentile in hard-hit rate but only the 15th percentile in barrel percentage. Garcia hasn’t shown a lot of game power yet but

For pitchers- Bibee was 1, Williams 5, and Allen 7. Tyler Holt of the Tigers was 8th.

Tanner Bibee has a mid-90s four-seam fastball that opponents are batting just .231 against along with a wipeout slider that he’s used to hold hitters to a .209 average. He also throws a solid changeup and an occasional curveball.

A first-round pick in 2021 out of East Carolina University, Gavin Williams needed only 37 starts in the minor leagues before the Guardians deemed him major-league-ready. He’s a 6-foot-6, 250-pound righty with a solid four-pitch mix that’s highlighted by a mid-90s fastball and a slider and curveball that are equally effective in both usage and getting outs. His changeup, which he throws less than 5 percent of the time, needs work.

Logan Allen is the best rookie left-handed starter in the AL and has been consistent all year. He has allowed two earned runs or fewer in 12 of his starts including his past three. His fastball is 90 to 93 mph with life and he throws three secondary pitches: a cutter, sweeper and split-finger changeup. Opposing batters have hit .213 against his split-finger changeup and .216 against his sweeper/slider. With Bibee, Williams and Allen, the Guardians have three rookie starters in the top 10.

Tyler Holton ranks in the 80th percentile in chase rate, the 94th percentile in average exit velocity and the 94th percentile in hard-hit rate. Opposing batters have hit just .157 against his changeup and .097 against his slider. He’s allowed only 5.5 hits per nine innings over 42 appearances, which tells the story of his successful season.

 

[mr.hockey4242]

Hell of a trade

 

[catman]

Hell of a trade

Considering the Twins got a couple of "throw-ins" as well. One of those is Byron Chourio. He is 18 and playing in the Florida Complex League.