Handful of very very good rookies
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STAT:
Fernando Tatis Jr.’s 22 home runs this season are the most by any shortstop in a season before turning 21, ever. The next closest? Alex Rodriguez in 1996 who, you know, has 696 career home runs.
(via @SlangsOnSports on Twitter)
REACTION:
Three immediate takeaways. One, being in the same sentence as A-Rod in any shortstop-related stat usually means whatever you’re doing is insane. When you’re doing that thing better, and at a younger age, it’s time to start seriously considering the fact that the Padres may have a future all-time great on their hands. Two, TATIS MISSED A MONTH, AND STILL HAS 48 GAMES LEFT IN THE SEASON. He has a realistic chance to shatter the aforementioned record by 10-15 home runs. Seriously? Three, power may not even be his best tool. You could make an argument for both speed and arm strength there.
STAT:
Fernando Tatis Jr. games with two or more hits: 30
Fernando Tatis Jr. games with zero hits: 16
(via @JustinJett_ on Twitter)
REACTION:
Hits are becoming an increasing rarity in today’s game. 2018’s league-wide hit total - 41,019 - was the lowest such number in 27 years. Yet, here’s Tatis picking up multi-hit games at nearly twice the pace at which he goes hitless. That’s impressive in any year, but especially in 2019.
STAT:
Fernando Tatis Jr. has 102 hits on the season. The complete list of players with 100+ hits and a .300 batting average at age 20 is…
-Ken Griffey Jr.
-Alex Rodriguez
-Edgar Renteria
-Starlin Castro
-Mike Trout
-Fernando Tatis Jr.
(via Baseball Reference)
REACTION:
Griffey, A-Rod and Trout are three of the greatest baseball players to ever set foot on planet Earth. Starlin Castro and Edgar Renteria are both multi-time All-Stars. Tatis is neither of those yet, but seems to have a decent shot at the former while being a near lock for the latter. And he’s a Padre.
STAT:
Fernando Tatis Jr. WAR in 79 games: 4.1
Pete Alonso WAR in 114 games: 4.0
(via Baseball Reference)
REACTION:
No reaction here. Just two players and their WAR, placed alongside each other. If they were competing for, say, an award, this seems important. I don’t know.
STAT:
Padres shortstops with a season of at least 4 WAR since 1980…
-Ozzie Smith
-Fernando Tatis Jr.
(via Baseball Reference)
REACTION:
This is the best season by a Padre shortstop since 1980, when the average gallon of gas in America cost $1.19 (bonus stat alert!!). He could realistically surpass that number by the end of the year, at age 20, in his first season in the big leagues. If this is what 20-year-old Tatis looks like, what does 25-year-old Tatis look like? That’s scary to think about.
STAT:
Fernando Tatis Jr. is on pace to post a 30 HR-20 SB season in 2019. The complete list of players to do that since 2000 at age 21 or younger…
-Mike Trout
(via ESPN)
REACTION:
I’m no expert, but when you could potentially join a list that is currently occupied by Mike Trout and nobody else, you’re probably doing something right. Now, Trout hit 30 bombs and stole 49 bases in 2012, which Tatis won’t come close to reaching, but come on, that’s Mike Trout we’re talking about here. Just being on this list means you’re already a superstar, and it seems pretty clear at this point that that’s exactly what Tatis is.
STAT:
Fernando Tatis Jr. reached 100 career hits faster than any Padre in history, needing only 306 at-bats to do so. It took Tony Gwynn 344 at-bats to reach 100 career hits.
(via Baseball Reference)
REACTION:
I’m not saying Tatis is going to become the greatest contact hitter of all time because he came off the blocks a bit faster than Gwynn did. But it’s certainly a good foundation to build upon, and with his speed, those infield hits will always keep him out of prolonged slumps.
STAT:
Fernando Tatis Jr. is younger than 18 members of the 2019 Pioneer League (class-A short season) All-Star team.
(via @jnorris427 on Twitter)
REACTION:
Class-A short season is one of the earliest stops for draftees and international free-agent signees, and as someone who also covers games at this level, let me tell you that the brand of baseball is...different. Lots of wild pitches, lots of errors, lots of walks, not many home runs. Tatis is younger than most of the All-Stars at this level, and he’s going toe-to-toe with the best players in the world in the major leagues.Comment -
in other news, Dave Roberts is such a little shit instigator..he reminds me of that pathetic little dog in the cartoons..
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He is just a terrible manager.Comment -
Mets won again, unreal, what a story!Comment -
Astros pounded the OriolesComment -
23 runs lol jeeeez...Reds doing some damage behind this young guy AquinoComment -
^
Welcome to the age of arena baseball.Comment -
Shohei Ohtani threw what Los Angeles Times reporter Maria Torres described as a “high-intensity bullpen session” on Saturday, and one spectator, Angels manager Brad Ausmus, walked away impressed. “He looked easy and free,” Ausmus said. “He threw about 40 pitches, I think. He was good. No complaints, so that’s good.” Ohtani relayed through an interpreter that he was throwing up to 82 mph during the pre-game workout, which, in his estimation, places him at about the “80%” point in his recovery process from Tommy John surgery. Of course, the Japanese import is known for ratcheting fastballs well in excess of 80 mph, so the Los Angeles org will likely have to wait until 2020 to see their prized two-way talent back on a big league mound.
More pitcher-focused frottages from around the web…
- There are few sports-related injuries that are conceivably more painful than a herniated disc, but, after two months spent recovering from such an injury, Marlins starter Jose Urena is soldiering onward in his recovery, according to a report from Wells Dusenbury of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Urena, a veteran of five big league seasons, threw a bullpen session yesterday that manager Don Mattingly described as “really good”. According to the skipper, the team expects their homegrown hurler to return to the team in September, possibly in a bullpen capacity.
- According to a tweet from Mandy Bell of MLB.com, the Indians have placed pitcher AJ Cole on the 10-day injured list, with a recall of pitcher Hunter Wood as a consequent move (link). Cole, a 27-year-old righthander, has been generally effective out of the Cleveland pen this year. His 10.38 K/9 rate over 26 innings has helped catalyze a solid 3.81 ERA rate, although his strikeout-geared repertoire could go a long way toward explaining the shoulder impingement that has now landed him in injury trouble. On the year, Cole has thrown a slider on 45.9% of his offerings, far, far above the usual 15% usage rate generally seen among pitchers utilizing that breaking ball in their repertoire.
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Ohtani will be an awesome pitcher next season.Comment -
Reds' Aquino hits 3 HRs, has 7 in 1st 10 games
The Reds rookie homered in his first three at-bats in Saturday's 10-1 win over the Chicago Cubs to match Trevor Story for the most home runs in a player's first 10 games, with seven.
Aquino took Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks deep in the second and third innings, then hit a third solo shot -- a 452-foot blast -- off reliever Dillon Maples in the fourth. That got him a curtain call.
"That's why I put that show on out there, for the fans to enjoy that," Aquino said through an interpreter.
Aquino, 25, became the first rookie and 12th player in major league history to homer in three consecutive innings. He is the second player to record a three-homer game in his first 10 career games, joining Bobby Estalella, who did it in his 10th career game in 1997.Comment -
Yeah, I hate it when ex-Padres start to do things against the Padres. I'm glad Adrian Gonzalez is forgotten by both LA and SD.Comment -
Astros go down as -450 favorite
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Will the thrill clark..oops Smith, Giants closer first at bat in the majors 2 run pinch hit......
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Yeah that was a pretty wild game three Giants made their first MLB plate appearance in the same game. Of course they were all relievers but still it was nice to see Bochy pull out all the stops to win that game. He was rewarded by Will Smith's miracle 2 RBI hit to put the game away.Comment -
Astros blew itComment -
Can the Red Sox just put a fork in this season already?Comment -
Seven years after leaving Cuba for a $30MM guarantee with the Cubs, former star prospect Jorge Soler is enjoying his best major league season yet. Now a member of the Royals, Soler has smashed seven home runs in nine games this month, giving him 35 on the season. Soler, the owner of an overall .259/.344/.555 line in 498 plate appearances, spoke about his 2019 success Sunday, saying (via Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com): “The only thing I have thought about was I was traded for a big-time pitcher and I wanted to live up to those expectations. I didn’t do it at the beginning. But I want to thank the organization for believing in me, for trading for me with and giving up that caliber of a player [in Davis]. There’s a weight off my shoulders now because I’ve finally lived up to those expectations.”
Then-standout closer Wade Davis was the “big-time pitcher” the Royals traded to the Cubs for Soler in a December 2016 swap. Soler then endured a miserable first year with the Royals, who kept him in the minors most of the season, but has logged quality offensive production since. Consequently, as Flanagan notes, the 27-year-old is sure to opt into arbitration after the season. Doing so will enable Soler to collect a raise over the $4MM salary he’s currently slated to earn in 2020. That’ll be the ninth and final season of his contract.
More from the AL Central…
- There’s still no timetable for the return of Tigers right-hander Tyson Ross, Chris McCosky of the Detroit News writes. Ross hasn’t pitched since May 10 because of a nerve issue in his neck. He’s continuing to deal with “tightness” there, Tigers head athletic trainer Doug Teter said Sunday. In Teter’s estimation, there’s a connection between Ross’ neck problems and the thoracic outlet syndrome surgery he underwent as a Padre in 2016. “According to the doctors, these aren’t Thoracic Outlet symptoms,” Teter said. “But that is a large surgery, a huge process, and it makes you wonder. I am going under the assumption that, yes, it does have something to do with it.” Ross’ TOS procedure helped knock what was an impressive career off the rails. The 32-year-old bounced back somewhat between San Diego and St. Louis in 2018, leading Detroit to hand him a $5.75MM guarantee in free agency last winter. Ross has given the Tigers just 35 1/3 innings of 6.11 ERA/5.99 FIP ball, though.
- Twins utilityman Willians Astudillo won’t return from an oblique strain until September, LaVelle E. Neal III of the Star Tribune tweets. This will go down as a nightmarish regular season for Astudillo, who has been out since June 27 and saw his numbers nosedive before he went on the injured list. The versatile Astudillo became a fan favorite in Minnesota last year, when he burst on the scene with a .355/.371/.516 slash in a 97-plate appearance debut, but he’s only carrying a .263/.282/.383 line in 142 attempts this season. Astudillo does, however, own rather interesting strikeout and walk percentages (3.5 K, 1.4 BB).
- The Tigers have halted concussed outfielder Christin Stewart’s rehab assignment as a result of “another setback,” according to manager Ron Gardenhire (via McCosky). Stewart, already down since July 29, will have to restart the concussion protocol. This adds to a tough rookie season for the 25-year-old Stewart, who has batted .239/.321/.393 with minus-0.6 fWAR in 327 trips to the plate.
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Bo Bichette is on fire. No mention of him in this article.Comment -
Fernando Tatis Jr is the goat 🐐Comment -
Today is the 25th 'anniversary' of the MLB strike that ended the 1994 season. It probably ended the Expos as well.Comment
