The 2017 Major League Baseball Player Chatter, News and Fantasy Thread.

[mr. leisure]

Robbie Ray with another ho-hum 6 2/3 innings, 12 K's 3H 0ER guy is an early sleeper NL Cy Young candidate.

He`s been fantastic .

Ray is 5-0 and has given up just one earned run in his last 37 innings, with 48 strikeouts over his last five starts.

[Otters27]

Ray starting a Jake Arrietta type run

[Cross]

Dude has amazed, hope he keeps it up.

[El Nino]

He`s been fantastic .

Ray is 5-0 and has given up just one earned run in his last 37 innings, with 48 strikeouts over his last five starts.

Love his stuff. He's out pitched Greinke so far.

[EmpireMaker]

The Nationals have announced that they’ve placed closer Koda Glover on the 10-day DL with lower back stiffness. They’ve replaced him on their active roster with Joe Blanton, who had been out with a shoulder injury. After struggling against the Rangers on Saturday, Glover told the Nationals he had hurt his back while in the shower. In the short term, Glover’s injury could clear the way for Matt Albers to pick up saves chances. In the longer term, the Nationals could still acquire a closer from outside the organization, having been connected to a number of names recently. Here’s more from the East divisions.

• Nats outfielder Adam Eaton says he’s “ahead of schedule” in his return from a torn ACL, writes Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post. Eaton isn’t sure exactly how far ahead of schedule he is, and his chances of playing again this year aren’t known, although it didn’t appear likely he would at the time of the injury. He’s keeping an eye toward the future. “Not just this year, not just next year, but the longevity of my career and how it may be shaped by this injury,” he says of his thought process. Eaton also sounds keenly aware of fan opinions of the costly trade that brought him to Washington. “I hope my presence here is felt, just in the sense that I’m dedicated to them just as they’ve been dedicated to me. The trade this offseason probably wasn’t the most popular one, but I love this city,” says Eaton. The outfielder remains signed through 2019 with reasonable club options for 2020 and 2021, so there will be time for him to contribute to the Nationals once he heals.
• The Red Sox’ signing of first baseman Mitch Moreland rather than Edwin Encarnacion looks like a good one, Jen McCaffrey of MassLive.com writes. Moreland’s offense so far this season has been the best of his career — he’s currently batting .281/.382/.492 with 26 extra-base hits. Encarnacion, meanwhile, has hit .245/.351/.446 with Cleveland, although he’s hit well recently. Interestingly, FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi tweeted today that Moreland turned down more money from the Indians to play for the Red Sox.
• With the arrival of this week’s amateur draft, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times ranks the Rays’ top choices in each year of their existence. It should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the (Devil) Rays’ history that Topkin finds some brutal misses, including 2001 third overall pick Dewon Brazelton and 2005 eighth overall pick Wade Townsend (who the Rays selected from a star-studded class while Andrew McCutchen and Jay Bruce remained on the board). 2006 third overall pick Evan Longoria and 2007 first overall selection David Price were big successes, though, and 2003 first overall pick Delmon Young helped the Rays acquire Matt Garza and Jason Bartlett, leading to their first playoff berth.

[Chi_archie]

He`s been fantastic .

Ray is 5-0 and has given up just one earned run in his last 37 innings, with 48 strikeouts over his last five starts.

incredible, where did this come from

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Love his stuff. He's out pitched Greinke so far.

yep, he's been a beast.

[LT Profits]

incredible, where did this come from

I have always liked Ray because he has always been a big strikeout guy. His issue in the past has been stamina as he always had high pitch counts, I suppose he has learned how to be more efficient as of late.

[koz-man]

John Lackey is in sole possession of second place in the NL in home runs given up after the Mets took him deep twice so far tonight. Cabrera and Bruce were home runs 17 and 18 hit off Lackey this season, two less than Bronson Arroyo has surrendered.

[stevenash]

Time to stop fading cubs, they are going to get hot.

Dunno, deGrom has their number tonight so far.

Team to bet right now are the White Sox.

[stevenash]

I have always liked Ray because he has always been a big strikeout guy. His issue in the past has been stamina as he always had high pitch counts, I suppose he has learned how to be more efficient as of late.

Me as well.
My go stat is WH/IP and always will be, I'm big baserunner guy, both pitchers and hitters.

My secondary go to stat when it comes to pitchers is K rates.
I remember when Clemens was a kid, I was in HS the thing that stuck out to me about him was his K per inning ratio, had a feeling when he was just starting out he was going to be a great one.

[El Nino]

incredible, where did this come from

Robbie K. He's figuring it out. Now, if the Rockies would start losing a bunch of games...that would be great.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

MLB draft started yesterday...rounds 3-10 this afternoon...

[Otters27]

Those top 3 picks out of high school sound pretty legit

[EmpireMaker]

Matt Chapman, 3B, Oakland Athletics (Triple-A Nashville)
In an ideal scenario for a non-competitive A’s team, Trevor Plouffe would already be generating interest on the trade market with Chapman ready to take over at the hot corner sometime in August or even September. Instead, the A’s aren’t anywhere close to a playoff spot and Plouffe’s trade value might be as low as it’s ever been—he has a .640 OPS and is in a 7-for-53 slump with 20 strikeouts over that span. Therefore, moving up the 24-year-old Chapman’s MLB debut seems more likely by the day.
The 25th overall pick in the 2014 draft, Chapman had a rough start to the season. After going 0-for-7 with six strikeouts, he injured his wrist and missed the next two weeks. He had just three singles in his first 23 at-bats after returning, but he finally caught fire in early May and hasn’t slowed down since. He finished May with 11 homers and a 1.031 OPS. So far in June, the right-handed slugger has hit five out of the park and has a 1.014 OPS. Ryon Healy was called up in mid-July of last season. At this rate, Chapman should be up prior to the All-Star break.
Athletics Depth Chart
—
Tom Eshelman, SP, Philadelphia Phillies (Triple-A Lehigh Valley)
Heading into the season, Eshelman couldn’t have been higher than 10th on the Phillies’ starting rotation depth chart. Just two months into the season, though, he’s making a strong case to be next in line. Injuries to Clay Buchholz and Vince Velasquez have helped, but the 22-year-old’s quick rise has mostly been a result of his performance.
In 12 starts—seven in Triple-A and five in Double-A—Eshelman has posted a 2.11 ERA with only 10 walks and 59 strikeouts in 81 innings. Since two somewhat shaky starts to begin the season with Double-A Reading (10 IP, 4 ER, 13 H), he’s been lights out, completing at least 6 innings in his last 10 starts with no more than one walk allowed and a 1.90 ERA.
Phillies Depth Chart
—
Wilmer Font, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers (Triple-A Oklahoma City)
While it seems unlikely that Font makes a start for the Dodgers in 2017, it’s hard for them—or other teams around the league—to not be intrigued by the significant jump in his strikeout rate this season. In 12 starts over 65 innings, the 27-year-old right-hander has 95 strikeouts and only 13 walks. That’s more than two walks below and two strikeouts above his career BB/9 (4.1) and K/9 (10.6) rates over his lengthy Minor League career. He’s also keeping runs allowed at a minimum, posting a 3.15 ERA over his last 11 starts, including a 15-strikeout game in which he was perfect through six innings.
As important as pitching depth is, it’s likely that the Dodgers will hold on to Font just in case he’s needed at some point to give them some innings. But it also wouldn’t be a big surprise if a team in need of a starter tries to pry him away from the Dodgers in the near future, allowing them to cash in on a Minor League free agent acquisition.
Dodgers Depth Chart
—

Ryder Jones, 3B, San Francisco Giants (Triple-A Sacramento)

Top prospect Christian Arroyo was able to give the Giants a spark upon his arrival in the big leagues—he held his own at the plate and had a few big homers early on—but slumped badly before he was demoted in early June. He’ll be back at some point, but the 22-year-old might be better off staying in Triple-A until September.

In the meantime, the 23-year-old Jones has set himself for a possible promotion with an impressive display of hitting (.292/.392/.522; 7 HR, 12 2B) and defensive versatility (he’s primarily a third baseman, but he’s also played left field, right field, first base and shortstop). Unless the struggling Giants can turn things around in the very near future, it’s likely that third baseman Eduardo Nuñez will be on the trade block, which could give Jones an opening to regular playing time. For now, his left-handed bat and ability to play multiple positions could help the team during their last-ditch effort to jump back into the playoff picture.
Giants Depth Chart
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Jason Leblebijian, 2B, Toronto Blue Jays (Triple-A Buffalo)
Injuries throughout the Blue Jays’ infield have kept Ryan Goins busy—he’s started 40 of the team’s 63 games—but, as would’ve been expected, he’s not providing much offense (.605 OPS). A healthy return from Devon Travis, who is on the disabled list with a knee injury, would push him back to a bench role. But given Travis’ extensive injury history and without a current timetable for return, it could be a good time to give Leblebijian a look at second base.
The former 25th Round draft pick has a .310/.380/.518 slash line with eight homers and 11 doubles in his first 57 Triple-A games. While his International League numbers aren’t likely to carry over to the Majors, they’re interesting enough, along with his strong defensive ability, to find out if he’s capable of helping the Jays out now.
Blue Jays Depth Chart

[koz-man]

Mets turned 4-6-3 GIDP in 4 straight innings.

Last team: A's vs. RSox 4/15/98: Spiezio-Bournigal-Stairs.ElasSports

[stevenash]

KC going to go on a streak.
Vargas easy win tonight. (yeah, yeah, I'm a homer)

[El Nino]

Twins put up a 20 spot

[Cross]

How bout new leaf off man Anthony Rizzo!

[yisman]

watching KC/SF, Jon Miller making so many mistakes

[Cross]

He has some smooth pipes though.

[yisman]

How bout new leaf off man Anthony Rizzo!

Maybe he'll turn over a new leaf

[Otters27]

Rockies win 7 in a row
Then give 3 in row back.

[BigSpoon]

Twins put up a 20 spot

The Vikings beat the Seahawks 20-7 yesterday.

[El Nino]

How bout new leaf off man Anthony Rizzo!

Anything beats a sub .200 hitter who can't touch lefties.

[Chi_archie]

Anything beats a sub .200 hitter who can't touch lefties.

Even though The Cubs are not meeting expectations

Joe has such an infinite number of options with that roster and farm..... saber can flip flopped to defend just about any of his choices


its gotta be fun for him

even more fun for pundits professional and amateur here in Chicago to 2nd guess and play Monday QB with!!!

[EmpireMaker]

The saga of the potential sale of the Marlins has been ongoing for months now, with a group led by Derek Jeter and another led by Tom Glavine and Tagg Romney believed to be at the forefront of the mix. There’s been plenty written to suggest that those groups are still in the process of raising the necessary funds to meet MLB’s debt requirements, and Charles Gasparino of FOX Business suggests that both may have hit a significant snag.
Per Gasparino, both groups are still “hundreds of millions” of dollars short of the reported $1.3 billion asking price for the Marlins, which has tabled the bidding war for the time being. Other potential buying groups, according to Gasparino, want current owner Jeffrey Loria to lower his asking price to roughly $900MM. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald cites a source in echoing Gasparino’s point that both groups are well shy of the $1.3 billion threshold.
Jackson also notes that Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred appeared on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM with Craig Mish and Jim Bowden, telling the pair that he’s confident a sale of the Marlins will be completed in advance of the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.
According to Manfred, there’s been an “amazing” amount of interest in purchasing the Marlins, though the Jeter and Romney/Glavine groups are indeed the two front-runners and the two likeliest groups to complete a sale. The commissioner stated that is is “convinced the Marlins are going to sell” before suggesting that he is optimistic of a deal being reached sooner rather than later. Asked about the possibility of needing to consult with new owners before the trade deadline, Manfred replied: “I am hoping we get some clarity well before the trading deadline. … It would be best for all concerned if we got to point where we know who the new owner would be before that happens so they have some input in that process.”
At present, there haven’t been any public reports of a third serious suitor emerging. To the contrary, former Florida governor Jeb Bush bowed out of the group which he was said to be leading with Jeter, though reports since his departure have indicated that he was only lined up to commit about $10MM of his own resources to the sale. His departure doesn’t necessarily come without consequence, of course, as Bush undoubtedly could have played a significant role in rounding up investors to reach the requisite sum needed for an earnest bid.

[koz-man]

CC Sabathia left Tuesday night's game with a strained left hamstring and is expected to be put on the DL.

[mr. leisure]

<strong>MLB suspends Dodgers' Yasiel Puig one game for obscene gesture after home run</strong><br><br><strong>The Dodgers' outfielder will appeal the decision</strong><br><br>

[stevenash]

Anything beats a sub .200 hitter who can't touch lefties.

Sounds like my man Escobar a SS.
Had a nice WS a couple of years ago however.

[stevenash]

Goldy on pace for 36 home runs, 128 RBI's 140 runs scored, 184 hits, 111 walks, 31 steals .325 avg.

That's a combination of Mike Trout, Wade Boggs, and a few others.

And to think I was scoffed at when I made a case selecting Goldy overall number 1 over Trout and I'm the biggest Mike Trout guy in the world.

[Andy117]

Goldy on pace for 36 home runs, 128 RBI's 140 runs scored, 184 hits, 111 walks, 31 steals .325 avg.

That's a combination of Mike Trout, Wade Boggs, and a few others.

And to think I was scoffed at when I made a case selecting Goldy overall number 1 over Trout and I'm the biggest Mike Trout guy in the world.

His 2016 season (which was good) wasn't worthy of the #1 spot in the draft. He's having an excellent season now.

[EmpireMaker]

The White Sox will activate righty James Shields to make a start on Sunday, as JJ Stankevitz of CSN Chicago reports (Twitter links). That’ll leave plenty of time for the veteran to show not only that he’s back from a lat strain, but also that he still has some gas left in the tank. Shields, 35, turned in three solid starts to open the year after a terrible 2016 season. Possible trade suitors will be looking to see whether he can manage extended productivity between now and the deadline.
Here’s more on the injury front:

• Mets second baseman Neil Walker appeared to suffer a left hamstring injury while trying to leg out a bunt single in tonight’s game. The club did not reveal any details in an official announcement, though the team did state that Walker is already slated to undergo an MRI tomorrow. Not coincidentally, perhaps, infielder Gavin Cecchini was removed from the Triple-A Las Vegas lineup, as Betsy Helfand of the Las Vegas Review Journal tweets.
• There were also some fresh concerns on the pitching side of the equation for the Mets. Matt Harvey was hooked after four innings and 58 pitches, as David Lennon of Newsday reports (Twitter links). He’ll head in for a medical check tomorrow after what he called a “fatigued” outing in which his fastball velocity dropped as low as 87 mph — a level that, per Harvey, he hadn’t visited since he was a freshman in high school. Also, before the game, the Mets placed lefty Josh Smoker on the DL with a left shoulder strain. New York was forced to lean on the reliever for four innings and 81 pitches last night. Righty Rafael Montero will return to the majors in his stead.
• The Red Sox saw another starter leave with an injury tonight, as southpaw Brian Johnson exited with what the team is calling left shoulder discomfort, as Jen McCaffrey of WEEI.com reports. While all involved expressed hope that the issue wouldn’t turn out to be anything significant, Johnson will be given a full checkup in Boston tomorrow to be sure.
• The Cubs are weighing a DL move for Ben Zobrist, as Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune was among those to report. His left wrist isn’t healing up as hoped, so Zobrist will be looked at more closely tomorrow. If he’s not able to suit up, then a DL placement seems likely.
• There’s some positive news on Angels southpaw Tyler Skaggs. As Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets, the 25-year-old is heading to the team’s spring complex with an eye on making back to the majors by early July. Hell be hoping to finally put an end to the string of injuries that have slowed his promising career. Skaggs is currently working back from an oblique strain.
• Also now looking toward a return is Rangers lefty Cole Hamels. As Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports, Hamels could take a rehab start on Friday — the same day that Tyson Ross is set to make his Rangers debut. That could potentially line Hamels up to return to the majors before month’s end. That’s promising news for a Texas team that is off to a middling start to the season. The Rangers are also likely to welcome back first baseman Mike Napoli and outfielder Carlos Gomez in the coming days.
• Things aren’t looking as promising for Padres righty Jarred Cosart. According to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com, on Twitter, Cosart has been diagnosed with a flexor strain. He’s not yet ready to begin throwing and will partake in some rehab efforts at the club’s spring facility.
• Finally, the Dodgers are holding their breath as prized young lefty Julio Urias reports to Dr. Neal ElAttrache for a look at his shoulder. As Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter links), soreness in the joint has forced the 20-year-old to the DL at Triple-A. Things haven’t gone as hoped this year for Urias, who showed immense promise in 2016. He largely struggled in five MLB starts and was carrying higher-than-usual walk totals at Triple-A.

[Cross]

Two games in a row leading off w hr for rizzo.

[El Nino]

Two games in a row leading off w hr for rizzo.

Leadoff solo HR's don't win ball games. Ask Brian Dozier & the Twins. Cubs hit 3 HR's and scored 4 runs. Maddon is overthinking the game.