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October 8, 2019
84-78, 3rd place, 10 gb, 6th in Power Rankings
--After starting the year off hot, we didn't make the playoffs - missing out on the Wildcard by 6 games. This may be viewed as a disappoint, but I see it as a success. There were many positive developments, such as the dominance of newly-acquired ace Clayton Kershaw (8.4 WAR), promising showings from rookie pitchers such as Mike Soroka, Kyle Wright, and Bryse Wilson, and the breakout of Dansby Swanson who posted a 4.7 WAR this season. What held us back besides inconsistent pitching was our outfield play. Both Adam Eaton and Ender Inciarte underpeformed and played like below-average regulars. Ronald Acuna showed promise, but still only posted an underwhelming 101 OPS+. One of our main objectives this off-season will be to acquire more outfield depth. All in all, this year marked the 5th consecutive season in which we've improved our record. We fully expect to build a team that will be able to compete for a postseason berth in 2020.
Transactions:
9/8: Send Shane Carle to Boston for IF Antoni Flores (18-year old prospect)
Around the League:
-Khris Davis (WAS) blasts 3 home runs against Milwaukee
-Aaron Nola tore his rotator cuff on 9/4, he is expected to take 4-5 months to recover
-Brad Hand gets Tommy John, will be out this season and most of next season
-Kenley Jansen records his 300th save
-Bruce Maxwell (OAK) goes deep 3 times against the White Sox
-Miguel Cabrera records his 3,000th hit!
-Giancarlo finishes the season with 71 home runs, the clean MLB record
Playoff Seedings:
National League
1. Chicago 105-57
2. Washington 94-68
3. Los Angeles 91-71
4. New York 93-69
5. St. Louis 90-72
American League
1. New York 103-59
2. Houston 102-60
3. Cleveland 84-78
4. Boston 99-63
5. Los Angeles 88-74
League Leaders
Batting Average: Francisco Lindor (CLE) .342, Willie Calhoun (MIA) .314
Home Runs: Giancarlo Stanton (NYY) 71, Anthony Rizzo (CHC) 47
RBI: Giancarlo Stanton (NYY) 162, Cody Bellinger (LAD) 147
SB: Dee Gordon (SEA) 69, Billy Hamilton (CIN) 63
OPS: Giancarlo Stanton 1.084, Anthony Rizzo & Ryan McMahon (COL) .977
WAR: Francisco Lindor (CLE) 9.0, Nolan Arenado 6.8
ERA: Corey Kluber (CLE) 3.06, Noah Syndergaard (NYM) 2.10
Wins: Masahiro Tanaka (NYY) 20, Jon Gray (COL) & Clayton Kershaw 19
WAR: Marcus Stroman (TOR) 5.5, Clayton Kershaw 8.4
Saves: Trevor Hildenberger (MIN) 42, Felipe Vazquez (PIT) 42
K's: Justin Verlander (HOU) 282, Max Scherzer (WAS) 295
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