The 2021 Major League Baseball Player Chatter, News and Fantasy Thread

[EmpireMaker]

8:34PM: “In my heart of hearts, I really do think I’m going to be back this season,” Nimmo told MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo and other reporters. Nimmo also noted that his hamstring injury impacted his muscle, rather than a tendon.
5:28PM: Prior to the second game of their doubleheader with the Nationals, the Mets have placed outfielder Brandon Nimmo on the 10-day injured list due to a right hamstring strain. Travis Blankenhorn has been called up to take Nimmo’s roster spot. Nimmo made an early exit from the first game, leaving in the second inning after going 2-for-2 with a stolen base during his brief time on the field.
Nimmo is now hitting .302/.420/.415 with five home runs over 320 plate appearances this season, continuing his outstanding work out of the leadoff spot in New York’s lineup. Nimmo has basically done nothing but hit over his six MLB seasons, though staying healthy has been a consistent problem. This season alone, Nimmo missed close to two months due to a finger ligament issue.
Kevin Pillar and Albert Almora figure to get most of the center field duty while Nimmo is out. Michael Conforto is the everyday right fielder and Dominic Smith and Jeff McNeil have been increasingly platooning in left field (Smith is currently on the bereavement list). While the Mets do have personnel in place to weather Nimmo’s absence, losing one of their best hitters for even the minimum 10 days is obviously a major blow for an offensively-challenged team in the thick of a pennant race. The severity of the strain isn’t yet known, so it is possible that Nimmo’s 2021 campaign could be in jeopardy with only a month remaining of regular-season action.

[stevenash]

Sal Perez just smacked his 40th tater.
Best catcher in the game today.

Speaking of catchers.
Just read where Molina and Wainwright just Molina made 300 starts together as a battery.
Know how often that happens?
Once in a lifetime.

Started thinking (sometimes that's not a good idea)
I was wondering how many times Posada caught the greatest reliever of all time (Rivera)?

Posada caught 1574 games. (appeared in 1642 games) all as a NY Yankee.
Rivera has pitched in 1115 games, all as a NY Yankee.

No further research is needed.
Posada caught Rivera in at least 1000 different MLB games.

Chew on those numbers.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Tatis with a nice game last night, he stays healthy and he wins the MVP

[stevenash]

Tatis with a nice game last night, he stays healthy and he wins the MVP

Got my vote.
Who else is there in the NL?

If Ohtani doesn't win in the AL I would consider that a felony.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Got my vote.
Who else is there in the NL?

If Ohtani doesn't win in the AL I would consider that a felony.

Harper, Muncy? There doesn't seem like anyone else is that close?

Vladdy should get consideration as well but hard to beat the Ohtani momentum and numbers hitting and pitching.

[stevenash]

Harper, Muncy? There doesn't seem like anyone else is that close?

Vladdy should get consideration as well but hard to beat the Ohtani momentum and numbers hitting and pitching.

Ohtani, the only man in history with over 40 HR's and 130 pitching strikeouts in the same season.

[Cross]

Between Harper, Muncy, and Tatis for sure. Whoever has the best September ?

[stevenash]

Between Harper, Muncy, and Tatis for sure. Whoever has the best September ?

To further your point, whoever has the hottest September on a contending team.

[JMobile]

Between Harper, Muncy, and Tatis for sure. Whoever has the best September ?

Tatis is the most clutch out of them when healthy

[EmpireMaker]

The White Sox are skipping Carlos Rodon’s next turn in the rotation due to shoulder soreness, and manager Tony La Russa told reporters (including NBC Chicago’s Maddie Lee) that the team is hopeful Rodon can pitch during the upcoming September 10-12 series with the Red Sox. That said, “when he doesn’t feel right, it’s impossible to push it,” La Russa said, noting that in the wake of Rodon’s recent injured-list stint due to shoulder fatigue, “that’s what’s concerning, that all this should add up to where right now he would be in peak form.”
Rodon missed a little over two weeks on the IL and has pitched well in two starts since returning, posting a 2.70 ERA over 10 innings. However, the Sox were easing Rodon back into action, limiting him to 144 total pitches over the two outings. La Russa said Jimmy Lambert would likely be called up to take Rodon’s spot in what has become an increasingly injury-riddled pitching staff — Lucas Giolito and Lance Lynn are also on the 10-day injured list.
The latest on other injury situations around baseball…

• Cavan Biggio and Ross Stripling are slated to begin rehab assignments at the Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate, Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi writes (Twitter link). Stripling was placed on the 10-day IL on August 11 with a left oblique strain and could be closer than Biggio to a return, as Stripling might be back when the Jays begin a series against the Orioles on Friday. Biggio was already on a rehab assignment for a back problem when he suffered an elbow injury two weeks ago, thus setting back his progress.
• The Giants placed outfielder Austin Slater on the seven-day concussion IL prior to tonight’s game. Left-hander Sammy Long was also sent down to Triple-A, while righty Camilo Doval and outfielder Steven Duggar were recalled in corresponding moves. Slater suffered his concussion while crashing into the outfield wall in Saturday’s game in an attempt to catch a Trea Turner home run. Now in his fifth season with San Francisco, Slater is hitting .227/.313/.395 with 10 home runs over 288 plate appearances while seeing time at all three outfield positions.
• Robert Gsellman began a rehab assignment at the Mets’ low-A affiliate today, Newsday’s Tim Healey tweets. Gsellman has been sidelined since June 21 due to a torn lat muscle, and though he’ll need multiple rehab outings due to the long layoff, he is on pace to return to the Mets bullpen before the season is out.
• Cardinals manager Mike Shildt told The Athletic’s Katie Woo and other reporters that Jack Flaherty will take the “huge step” of beginning to play catch within the next day or two. Flaherty’s season seemed to be in jeopardy when he was placed on the IL on August 25 due to a shoulder strain, though there is some optimism that the right-hander may be able to return as either a reliever or as a piggyback starter. In other Cardinals pitching news, Shildt said that Dakota Hudson will throw at least three more rehab starts as the righty continues to work his way back from Tommy John surgery. The timing will be somewhat tight, but there is some hope that Hudson can return to a big league mound this season, which would mark a tremendous recovery considering that Hudson underwent his surgery in late September 2020.

[jrgum3]

Big win for the Giants today to take 2 out of 3 from the Dodgers. I didn't think they had it in them to rock Buehler but they finally figured him out today. Hopefully the back to back bullpen days doesn't hurt them as they go to Colorado which can be a house of horrors for a beat up bullpen.

[Cross]

Frank Schwindel thinks he is Mike Trout right now. Frank the Tank on a tear!

[stevenash]

Frank Schwindel thinks he is Mike Trout right now. Frank the Tank on a tear!

Had the Cubs and the over yesterday, cashed that,
And stacked a DFS single entry team with Schwindel, Happ, Heyward, and Wisedom.
Cashed that too.

[BarkingToad]

Cards screwed the pooch yesterday and my +200 bet giving up 5 in bottom of the 9th.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Cards screwed the pooch yesterday and my +200 bet giving up 5 in bottom of the 9th.

Ouch, that is a rough loss but today is a new day, Toad.

[Checkerboard]

Cards screwed the pooch yesterday and my +200 bet giving up 5 in bottom of the 9th.

Marlins choked just like that vs Mets in game one of doubleheader last week.

[Otters27]

Yankees buried a lot of people yesterday

[JMobile]

Padres back in the Wild Card after the Reds lost

[Cross]

Solid work Nasher! Very impressive cashes.

[EmpireMaker]

Much has been made of the uncertainty in the Giants’ rotation beyond this season. Kevin Gausman, Anthony DeSclafani, Alex Wood and Johnny Cueto (whose club option is likely to be bought out) are all in line to hit free agency. The San Francisco front office will have their work cut out for them in reconstructing a starting staff, but they do have one long-term building block under control: Logan Webb.
Webb hasn’t gotten as much fanfare as he deserves, probably a byproduct of the numerous bounce-back and breakout seasons up and down the San Francisco roster. His volume has been held in check by a couple of mid-season stints on the injured list due to shoulder troubles. But when Webb has been healthy enough to take the ball — as he is at the moment — he’s been incredible.
The right-hander has been one of the league’s most successful at keeping runs off the board. Webb owns a 2.56 ERA over 112 1/3 frames, the eighth-lowest mark among pitchers with 100+ innings pitched. And he’s unanimously posted strong peripherals. Webb has struck out 27% of batters faced, a mark that’s more than four percentage points better than the 22.7% average for starters. That’s backed up by strong rates of swinging strikes (12.3%) and called strikes (18.8%), both of which are more than a point above average. Webb has always had solid control, and his 6.7% walk percentage this season is lower than the league-wide mark.
While Webb has been at least solid across the board, he’s been truly excellent at keeping the ball on the ground. His 60.8% grounder rate is second-highest (trailing only Framber Valdez) among that same group of starters. Webb has leaned more heavily on his sinker, one of the lower-spinning fastballs in the game, this season. Unlike with four-seamers, the lack of spin is a feature for the sinker. Lower spin makes it less resistant to gravity, generally enabling pitchers to get more downhill action on the offering. Unsurprisingly, his sinker has been one of the best ground-ball pitches in the game.
Webb’s wide array of abilities makes for a rare skillset. Only 17 of the 103 pitchers with 100+ innings have posted better than average strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates. That’s not a unanimously great group — Adbert Alzolay and JT Brubaker haven’t had much success, for instance — but it’s certainly a positive indicator. 13 of those 17 hurlers have an ERA of 3.76 or lower, with five posting a sub-3.00 mark.
Webb has been good since the start of the season, but he’s really turned things on of late. Going back to the All-Star Break, he has an MLB-best 1.64 ERA in ten starts with high-end strikeout and walk rates. He’s benefitted from some batted ball and strand luck, but fielding independent pitching metrics still suggest Webb has been highly impressive. Only Gerrit Cole and Max Scherzer have a SIERA better than Webb’s 3.00 since the Break, and his full-season mark of 3.18 is among the league’s ten best.
While the Giants’ front office will have plenty of decisions to make this offseason, they can at least pencil Webb in at or near the top of the 2022 rotation. The 24-year-old still has four more seasons of team control, and he won’t reach arbitration eligibility until the conclusion of next season. They could contemplate a long-term extension, but there’s still not yet a ton of urgency on that front.
One more pressing call that could be on the table is whether Webb’s breakout season has vaulted him to the top of this year’s rotation. San Francisco holds a one-game lead over the Dodgers in the NL West race after taking two of three from Los Angeles over the weekend. While they’re obviously hoping to hang onto that lead and avoid the Wild Card Game, there’s still a real chance they wind up in a one-game playoff next month.
If that ultimately turns out to be the case, Giants’ brass would face a tough choice deciding to whom to give the ball. Opening Day starter Gausman has been excellent going back two years and might be the top starting pitcher to hit the free agent market this offseason. But Webb has arguably been even better than Gausman this year. They’re essentially tied in ERA. Gausman has a slight edge in punchouts but Webb’s been much better at racking up grounders. Webb has the edge in SIERA and the two have nearly identical marks in FIP (2.89 for Gausman, 2.90 for Webb).
That would be a moot point if the Giants hold onto the division. Even if they do wind up in the Wild Card, having to make that kind of difficult decision is a good “problem” to have. That’s a testimony to Webb’s fantastic campaign, one which makes him the long-term anchor of a Giants’ rotation that could see plenty of upheaval elsewhere a few months from now.

[JAKEPEAVY21]

Frank Schwindel thinks he is Mike Trout right now. Frank the Tank on a tear!

Between him and Wisdom, those guys gave you a pretty cool story this year.

[Otters27]

Astros to win the series maybe. Or they don't have the pitching?

[Checkerboard]

Had the Cubs and the over yesterday, cashed that,
And stacked a DFS single entry team with Schwindel, Happ, Heyward, and Wisedom.
Cashed that too.

Nasher rockin' the pocketbook!

[stevenash]

Sal Perez four homers short now for the single season HR record hit by a catcher.

[Stallion]

Yankees are struggling at a bad time.... but its great if your a Jays fan!!

[JMobile]

Dodgers gonna run over the Cards this week

[stevenash]

Dodgers gonna run over the Cards this week

With that payroll you should steam roll everybody.
Wish KC could spend like that.

[BigSpoon]

Jays on a nice roll lately.

[jrgum3]

Astros to win the series maybe. Or they don't have the pitching?

I think the team to beat in the AL is the White Sox but time will tell since they're practically coasting into the playoffs. Sometimes that can work against you but the White Sox top to bottom are the best team in the AL imo.

[BarkingToad]

Didn’t realize Nelson Cruz became oldest player to hit 30 homers in a season.

[stevenash]

Didn’t realize Nelson Cruz became oldest player to hit 30 homers in a season.

Yes.
The greatest DH since Edgar.

[Otters27]

Wasn't Edgar really close to batting 400 one year

[stevenash]

Wasn't Edgar really close to batting 400 one year

Close, finished batting .356

[Cross]

Edgar, Griffey, and Arod on the same team!

[stevenash]

Edgar, Griffey, and Arod on the same team!

1997
Won 90 games.
Lost in the first round to Baltimore

Baltimore was stacked that year too.

Palmeiro
Alomar
Cal
BJ Surhoff
Raines

Oh, and that Hall of Fame fella, and my all time favorite, Mike Mussina.