[U7Gohan]

State of the Team

Following the deadline, the team sits at 70-39, 13.5 games up on the 2nd-place Royals and now the 2nd-best record in baseball behind only the 77-31 Dodgers. The deadline initially seemed productive, but relatively uneventful, until a particular opportunity came along to upgrade the team's roster and farm system both short-term and long-term.

News Dump

SS Carlos Correa went to the 10-Day IL with a hamstring strain that will keep him out for 6-7 weeks. Fortunately, he is expected to return before the playoffs. In a corresponding move, 2B Brayan Rocchio (2.5, 3.5, #45 Overall) was promoted to MLB Cleveland from AAA Columbus.

Our Deadline Trades

Trade 1: San Diego Padres

Outbound: SP Aaron Civale (2.5, 2.5), SP Logan Allen (2.0, 2.0)

Inbound: SP Nick Martinez (100% Retained) (2.5, 2.5)

Martinez stood out to me among the SP options on the trading block for his 65 Movement rating and FIP of 3.74 or lower in each of the last 2 seasons. I expect that he can thrive with our defense behind him. Civale's days as a potential contributor to this rotation were already likely behind him and Allen being 24 and still underdeveloped made me willing to deal him as well. I tried to acquire another piece in the deal, but the Padres were unwilling to part with even a lottery ticket prospect, so I had them take the money.

In a corresponding move, RP Anthony Castro (2.5, 2.5) was optioned to AAA Columbus.

Trade 2: Washington Nationals

Outbound: RP Manuel Alvarez (0.5, 0.5)

Inbound: OF Michael Brantley (95% Retained) (3.0, 3.0)

The corner OF market was mostly lackluster and the rentals were expensive, but Brantley was very, very affordable and despite his league-average bat over the last 3 seasons, his contact-gap power-eye skillset remains intact, and his defense is no worse than that of Oscar Gonzalez.

In a corresponding move, OF Oscar Gonzalez (2.5, 2.5) was optioned to AAA Columbus.

Trade 3: San Francisco Giants

Outbound: 2B Brayan Rocchio (2.5, 3.5, #45 Overall), SP Triston McKenzie (2.5, 2.5)

Inbound: SP Sean Hjelle (3.0, 3.5), SS Brandon Crawford (100% Retained) (3.0, 3.0), SP Ryan Murphy (2.5, 3.0, #73 Overall), C Cooper Kinney (3.0, 3.0)

When it seemed like I wasn't gonna get a big deal done with Rocchio, I found the Giants when shopping Rocchio with Bo Naylor to see who the biggest names available were. The Giants offered Hjelle and were content with receiving only Rocchio in return, so I used that leverage to fill pieces where I needed them. Hjelle has a mediocre fastball but 75 Movement and 65/70 Control with a strong four-pitch mix, a profile I was excited to acquire. He also only has 1 year of service time. Crawford fills my SS vacancy until Correa returns, and Murphy and Kinney deepen my farm system, despite me not being incredibly high on either.

In a corresponding move, SP Kris Bubic (2.5, 2.5) was optioned to AAA Columbus.

Notable Performances

Hitters:

C Austin Hedges: .217/.284/.433, 95 OPS+, 3.0 WAR in 289 PA
C Bo Naylor: .269/.374/.500, 140 OPS+ in July
1B Vinnie Pasquantino: .251/.318/.478, 117 OPS+
2B Andres Gimenez: .278/.330/.424, 107 OPS+, 16 SB, 2.9 WAR
SS Carlos Correa: .280/.370/.456, 128 OPS+, 4.4 WAR in 356 PA
3B Jose Ramirez: .258/.343/.497, 129 OPS+, 6 SB, 2.8 WAR
LF Michael Brantley: .282/.336/.390, 93 OPS+, 1.1 WAR
CF Michael A. Taylor: .237/.282/.369, 79 OPS+, 1.4 WAR
RF George Valera: .283/.366/.495, 136 OPS+, 1.9 WAR in 322 PA

Pitchers:

SP Shane Bieber: 3.94 ERA, 3.37 FIP, 3.2 WAR
SP Sandy Alcantara: 3.60 ERA, 3.40 FIP, 3.1 WAR
SP Sean Hjelle: 3.22 ERA, 4.12 FIP
SP Zach Plesac: 3.76 ERA, 3.71 FIP, 2.1 WAR
SP Nick Martinez: 4.68 ERA, 3.64 FIP, 2.5 WAR

CL Emmanuel Clase: 0.91 ERA, 2.23 FIP, 10.2 K/9, 2.0 WAR
RP James Karinchak: 2.60 ERA, 2.99 FIP, 14.4 K/9, 1.2 WAR
RP Jakob Hernandez: 2.77 ERA, 2.65 FIP, 11.9 K/9, 1.4 WAR
RP Brad Boxberger: 1.70 ERA, 2.47 FIP, 10.3 K/9, 1.5 WAR
RP Nick Sandlin: 2.33 ERA, 3.42 FIP, 12.6 K/9, 0.7 WAR
RP Denny Bentley: 1.46 ERA, 3.30 FIP, 9.7 K/9, 0.6 WAR
RP Seranthony Dominguez: 4.21 ERA, 3.88 FIP, 9.2 K/9, 0.3 WAR
RP Joey Cantillo: 4.29 ERA, 3.90 FIP, 9.4 K/9, 1.0 WAR


Minor League Report

With Brayan Rocchio shipped out, our farm system has fallen to 20th in MLB, but still with five Top 100 prospects as SP Ryan Murphy (2.5, 3.0, #73 Overall) was acquired in the deal that shipped Rocchio out and SP Tanner Burns (2.5, 3.0, #94 Overall) also joined the Top 100.

Other emerging prospects to watch are:

C Alfredo Vera (0.5, 3) - INT
SP Gavin Williams (2.0, 2.5) - AA Akron

Player Development

MLB SP Zach Plesac (3.0, 3.0) - > (2.5, 2.5)
MLB C Bryan Lavastida (2.0, 2.5) - > (2.5, 2.5)
MiLB SP Lenny Torres (1.5, 2.5) - > (2.0, 3.0)
MiLB SP Nazier Mule (0.5, 2.5) - > (0.5, 3.0)
MiLB C AJ Shepard (0.5, 3.0) - > (0.5, 2.0)
MiLB SS Carson Tucker (0.5, 2.0) - > (0.5, 2.5)
MiLB LF Yemal Flores (0.5, 3.5) - > (0.5, 2.5)


Around the League

Major Deadline Trades

CL Tommy Kahnle (3.5, 3.5) to A's
SP Carlos Rodon (3.5, 3.5) to Rays
LF Michael Conforto (3.0, 3.0) and SP Cooper Hjerpe (2.0, 3.0, #100 Overall) to Angels
SP Mike Soroka (3.0, 3.0) to Padres
CL Scott Barlow (4.0, 4.0) to Blue Jays
3B Jake Cronenworth (3.0, 3.0) to Mariners
1B Jared Walsh (3.0, 3.0) to Cubs

Standings

The Angels have caught up to the A's, and they stand in a dead tie for 1st at 58-52 following the deadline. The Angels and A's both made moves to shore up their teams, but the Angels went bigger. The Mets now also hold a 4.5 game lead in the NL East and stand at 57-53, the first update yet in which the NL East has had a team more than a game over .500. In the Wild Card races, the AL has the Blue Jays 1.5 games back of the 56-52 White Sox for the 3rd spot, with the Astros, Red Sox, and Orioles all 3 games behind. The NL has the Cubs occupying the 3rd spot at a mediocre 55-54, but the 52-57 Phillies are the closest team next at 3 games behind. Overall, the races are becoming more and more clear, but we'll see if these deadline moves can make the difference in some of them.

League Leaders

AL:

Hitter WAR:

1. Josh Jung (TEX) - 5.3
2. Carlos Correa (CLE) - 4.4
3. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (TOR) - 4.0

AVG:

1. Adam Frazier (LAA) - .333
2. Vidal Brujan (TBR) - .319
3. Bo Bichette (TOR) - .306

OPS:

1. Josh Jung (TEX) - .967
2. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (TOR) - .958
3. Mike Trout (LAA) - .956

HR:

1. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (TOR) - 33
2. Yordan Alvarez (HOU) - 29
3. Teoscar Hernandez (TOR) - 28

Pitcher WAR:

1. Shane McClanahan (TBR) - 3.5
2. Luis Garcia (HOU) - 3.5
3. Lucas Giolito (CHW) - 3.5

ERA:

1. Joe Ryan (MIN) - 2.49
2. Eduardo Rodriguez (DET) - 2.74
3. Shane McClanahan (TBR) - 2.96

SV:

1. Emmanuel Clase (CLE) - 35
2. Matt Barnes (SEA) - 30
3. Wandisson Charles (OAK) - 30

NL:

Hitter WAR:

1. Joey Gallo (LAD) - 5.9
2. Shohei Ohtani (LAD) - 5.8
3. Bryan Reynolds (PIT) - 5.1

AVG:

1. Jeff McNeil (NYM) - .319
2. Bryan Reynolds (PIT) - .317
3. Alek Thomas (ARI) - .310

OPS:

1. Shohei Ohtani (LAD) - 1.038
2. Bryce Harper (PHI) - 1.018
3. Joey Gallo (LAD) - .980

HR:

1. Shohei Ohtani (LAD) - 33
2. Bryce Harper (PHI) - 32
3. Joey Gallo (LAD) - 30

Pitcher WAR:

1. Max Fried (ATL) - 4.0
2. Max Scherzer (NYM) - 4.0
3. Zack Wheeler (PHI) - 3.6

ERA:

1. Logan Webb (SFG) - 2.65
2. Max Scherzer (NYM) - 2.92
3. Jack Flaherty (STL) - 2.97

SV:

1. Ryan Pressly (LAD) - 35
2. Yerry De Los Santos (PIT) - 31
3. Giovanny Gallegos (STL) - 31

Major Extensions

None

August will tell how the new additions fit into the team. We'll check back in a month.