Giants caught a fortunate break that Scherzer had to leave the game 2 batters into his outing. I hope he's ok because I need him to anchor my fantasy pitching staff. So on one hand I'm happy the Giants won and Desclafani of all people dominated on the mound but on the other hand I'm worried about Mad Max.
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KC comes all the way back to tie it up in California and looking to take the lead.
Do this thing Royals!Comment -
Rockies starter Jon Gray is scheduled to hit free agency at the end of the season. With Colorado having virtually no chance to make the playoffs, that makes the 29-year-old one of the more logical trade candidates in baseball. Indeed, MLBTR’s Steve Adams ranked Gray the #1 trade candidate in the sport last week.
Gray changing teams next month still seems the most likely outcome, but Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reports the Rockies are expected to offer him a contract extension before pulling the trigger on any trade. Of course, the club offering Gray an extension doesn’t guarantee he’d stick around. The Rockies don’t look particularly close to contention, and the CAA Sports client may prefer to field offers from more immediate contenders this winter instead.
As Rosenthal notes, Colorado’s hitter-friendly home park could also work against them in convincing a pitcher to voluntarily stick around for the long haul. Gray, though, is the rare arm who hasn’t seemed too affected by Coors Field. His career home/road splits are nearly identical, and Gray’s actually been far better at home this season (3.25 ERA, .167/.264/.314 opponents’ slash line) than on the road (6.75 ERA, .350/.400/.538 line).
Extensions for starting pitchers this close to free agency are atypical, as one might expect. Over the past four seasons, only two starters with five-plus years of MLB service time signed extensions. Righty Sonny Gray inked a three-year, $30.5MM guarantee with the Reds in 2019. That was part of an agreement to facilitate a trade from the Yankees to Cincinnati, though, so it’s not a perfectly analogous situation. Righty Lance McCullers Jr., meanwhile, signed a five-year, $85MM deal with the Astros in March. McCullers is nearly two full years younger than Jon Gray and has a better career track record (even after adjusting for park), so the Rockies hurler would have a hard time commanding that kind of commitment.
Gray’s contractual status makes his situation one of the more pressing for interim general manager Bill Schmidt. He’s not the only Colorado starter drawing attention from rival clubs, though. Rosenthal reports the Rockies are also receiving interest in starter Germán Márquez. That’s certainly no surprise. Márquez has worked to a 3.91 ERA in 71 1/3 frames this season- a strong mark for a pitcher in Coors Field- with quality strikeout and ground ball rates (24.7% and 52.7%, respectively). Márquez has walked quite a few batters this year (11.2%), but he was one of the game’s better strike throwers between 2017-20.
In addition to his strong track record of performance, Márquez is controllable through 2024 under the terms of an extension he signed in April 2019. He’s making just $7.5MM this year, followed by respective salaries of $11MM and $15MM in 2022 and 2023. The deal contains a $16MM club option (with a $2.5MM buyout) for 2024. Given that long-term control, the Rockies needn’t move Márquez this summer, and Rosenthal suggests they’re unlikely to do so.
Between Gray, Márquez and impending free agent shortstop Trevor Story (who doesn’t seem likely to re-sign), the Rockies have a trio of players who should continue to generate plenty of calls from contenders. There’s a particular sense of urgency with regards to Gray and Story, as the organization seeks the core of the next contending club in Colorado.Comment -
9:27 pm: Scherzer offered a positive update postgame, telling reporters (including Jessica Camerato of MLB.com) he suffered a mild groin injury. Scherzer said an MRI revealed inflammation but no muscle strain and termed himself day-to-day.
6:37 pm: Nationals star Max Scherzer left this evening’s start against the Giants in the first inning after a visit from the trainer. He appeared to be dealing with a lower body issue, according to Todd Dybas of NBC Sports Washington (Twitter link).
Needless to say, Washington can ill-afford a lengthy absence from Scherzer. At 25-33, the Nationals hopes of sticking around the postseason picture are dwindling. Washington’s already without Stephen Strasburg, who’s been on the injured list since June 2 because of nerve irritation in his neck. Patrick Corbin has had a dreadful season, while Joe Ross has below-average numbers. Jon Lester and Erick Fedde have been decent but unspectacular. (Fedde has missed the past three weeks after testing positive for COVID-19, but he’s expected to return this weekend, Dybas notes).
Scherzer has been his usual incredible self in 2021. He entered play tonight with a sterling 2.22 ERA over 77 innings. Scherzer is missing bats at an elite level, with a 36.1% strikeout rate that ranks fifth among qualified pitchers. He trails only Jacob deGrom and Gerrit Cole in strikeout/walk rate differential (30.9 percentage points), while his 2.65 SIERA is fourth-lowest in the sport (behind deGrom, Cole and Joe Musgrove).
That level of dominance has surely already inspired teams to call the Nationals to gauge Scherzer’s availability in advance of the July 30 trade deadline. Washington hasn’t traditionally been inclined to move star players, but with their playoff odds down to 2.7% (per FanGraphs’ projections), there’s a case they should listen to offers on the impending free agent. (Scherzer does have complete no-trade rights as a player with ten years of MLB service, five consecutive with his current team). Even nearing his 37th birthday, Scherzer will be one of the more coveted arms on the market this winter. MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes recently placed him tenth on his 2021-22 free agent power rankings.Comment -
Degrom continues his dominance, the guy is damn near unhittable.Comment -
Angels have been cashing for me lately sans troutComment -
Still earlyComment -
Great season, stellar season, but what Jake did in 2015, Guidry did in 1978, and Guidry did it a tad better.
What de Grom is doing is charting new territory, he's in a place right now NO pincher has ever gone before.
Lowest ERA through ten starts EVER. And ever means well over 100 years.Comment -
Gausman pitching today against the Nationals. You know what that meansComment -
Let’s hope DeGrom is ok, 0.56 ERA right now, the guy is a machine.Comment -
JP?
I hope you're lurking.
I can get Weathers right now off waivers, dirt cheap.
It would cost me one of my roster players.
Input. Advise please.Comment -
He gets 2 starts this week, picked him up as a one week streamer only.
Swapped out his biddy Lamet for him, Lamet I've rarely used anyway, he's just been my reserve SP.
If Weathers can give me 10-12 innings in two starts this week, one win, an ERA of 3.6 a WHIP of 1.2 and 10 to 12 K's combined in the two starts I'll be more than pleased. He goes Monday and Saturday (projected)
The Monday start in Coors really doesn't scare me, Rox are not raking at home this much anymore.Comment -
Wrigley was rocking again, so nice to see them roast the Redbirds in front of 39,000 fans. Let’s goooooooo!!!!!!Comment -
Jacob deGrom left yesterday’s game with flexor tendonitis, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (via Twitter). Speaking after the game, deGrom continually stressed that though the concern was near his elbow, it wasn’t something that he was overly concerned about. He plans/hopes to make his next regularly scheduled start. Obviously, a healthy deGrom is crucial for the Mets’ title chances. They have a four-game lead for the division, thanks in large part to deGrom’s 0.56 ERA in 10 starts this season. The Mets have won 70 percent of deGrom’s starts this season versus 53 percent of games in which someone else takes the hill. In other Mets news…
- Brandon Nimmo has a new understanding of the hand injury that’s kept him out of action since the first couple days of May. Nimmo received a new diagnosis of a small ligament tear near the base of his left index finger. He was thought to be dealing with a nerve issue. Nimmo previously had started a rehab assignment, but stopped it short after continued discomfort. While the diagnostic clarity is helpful, the new information doesn’t change the plan for Nimmo: He will continue to rest until the finger is healed, tweets Dicomo. A rehab assignment,however, could start as soon as next week.
- Dicomo provides more position player updates: the Mets hope to have Jeff McNeil back next weekend and Michael Conforto the weekend after, per GM Zack Scott. The Mets have done well to stay atop the NL East while a good portion of their starting lineup has been out. McNeil’s flexibility would be particularly useful in covering for the numerous injuries the team has sustained this season.
- Carlos Carrasco, meanwhile, received a PRP injection, which is why he has not been throwing of late, per Dicomo. Carrasco’s torn right hamstring has not been healing on schedule. Certainly, the Mets expected to get more from Carrasco this season. To have him healthy at the end of the season has to be the priority now, however, so there should be no rush in getting him back to the hill before he is 100 percent healthy. Carrasco isn’t likely to return to the rotation until after the All-Star break, per DiComo.
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Dodgers won 12-1 then Lose 12-1Comment -
HR leaderboard top 3 are all Juniors.Comment -
Team bullpen rankings
Through 64 games, basic standard stats rankings.
What's up with those bullpen wild pitches Cross?
What's up with those team bullpen HR's allowed JP?
However analysis shows the abnormal amount of HR's allowed by the Pads relievers versus that tidy 2.57 ERA suggest those HR's are solo shots allowed. I don't even have to check game logs to tell you those HR's SD's bullpen gives up are pretty much solos that pretty much doesn't do much damage.
Truth be told I am more than fine with a reliever who gives up an isolated solo shot wrapped around three outs than giving up a walk, then a single .... and get bled for three runs late in the game.
The most impressive number here is the 50 team HOLDS the Cubs have.
That is a tell tale sign the Cubs middle and set up relievers are doing an elite job keeping the Cubs in pretty much all their games late in the game.
Team W L ERA G SV HLD BS IP H ER HR BB WP SO SDP 22 11 2.57 238 22 35 8 276.2 203 79 34 102 7 314 CHC 13 6 2.61 243 20 50 6 251.1 176 73 20 126 18 310 TBR 24 11 3.16 202 21 41 8 276 231 97 30 95 12 283 NYY 14 12 3.25 191 16 27 6 235.2 178 85 27 86 21 247 CLE 12 8 3.31 194 18 22 3 220.1 180 81 26 103 13 266 SFG 13 11 3.42 215 24 45 14 218.1 176 83 31 74 5 211 BOS 13 8 3.49 210 20 41 9 227 203 88 23 107 16 270 NYM 14 7 3.51 175 16 28 8 197.2 178 77 15 74 11 221 CHW 12 12 3.61 183 18 29 12 194.1 175 78 22 70 11 233 TOR 14 14 3.73 212 11 28 8 239 193 99 26 114 10 256 PIT 12 7 3.78 219 8 24 3 245 199 103 24 107 20 243 LAD 9 12 3.82 209 21 37 14 209.2 168 89 24 103 13 229 MIA 13 14 3.84 235 13 33 15 236.2 210 101 18 73 6 233 OAK 14 4 3.89 196 16 28 7 213 195 92 21 78 18 184 WSN 11 11 3.97 210 12 24 5 215.1 178 95 27 92 11 231 KCR 10 9 4.06 209 14 31 8 239.1 194 108 30 127 23 255 MIL 16 6 4.15 200 19 34 11 236.2 198 109 36 111 19 284 HOU 12 15 4.36 197 14 26 12 223 197 108 32 102 14 226 SEA 15 12 4.4 225 17 42 12 251.1 230 123 24 96 16 247 STL 11 9 4.46 218 20 31 6 236 194 117 17 145 30 239 BAL 10 14 4.54 216 11 30 10 251.2 230 127 37 102 22 278 PHI 17 11 4.58 193 14 28 14 206.1 194 105 31 91 12 205 TEX 13 16 4.6 193 13 19 8 250.2 253 128 34 92 18 260 ARI 8 16 4.62 224 6 24 12 243.2 260 125 36 93 7 228 MIN 8 17 4.62 207 15 37 10 230 216 118 37 96 14 246 LAA 17 11 4.73 223 15 26 11 253 240 133 39 113 14 254 ATL 9 16 4.77 229 12 39 11 220.2 210 117 29 102 20 233 DET 9 11 5.2 216 13 30 8 228.2 222 132 37 122 29 247 COL 9 12 5.4 208 10 16 9 213.1 220 128 32 110 20 213 CIN 11 6 5.8 223 14 18 9 240.2 215 155 40 137 12 275 Comment -
Wild pitch is kind of a fluky meaningless stat. The Cubs bullpen does give up a lot of walks. But balanced out by a low BAA, low HR total and high strikeouts. They put some runners on but then they wipe out the side.
Almost unfathomable to see an NL bullpen with a 5.8 ERA. Seems impossible. I guess all those walks and HR's will do it. And et Cincy stands at .500. Imagine if their bullpen wasn't so terrible. And yet, their bullpen's W/L ratio is the 7th best in majors. Shows how meaningless that number is.Comment -
Slam Diego finally showed up at New YorkComment -
Pretty sure Dylan Maples accounts for half of Cubs bullpen wild pitches. Somehow still has an ERA around 2.00, go figure. I don’t think he or the hitters know where it is going. Tepera, Kimbrel, Chafin, Nance and the rest of the pen are filthy and they win every game with a late lead. Feels good!!Comment -
Rockies and Diamondbacks aful on the roadComment -
I see Weathers go bumped back to the BP
JP would know better but the Pads may be better served with him as a 'long man' in the penComment