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Art Deco · 12-09-2023, 02:15 PM

Where things stand around MLB:

Tampa Bay has the 2nd-best record in MLB just behind Houston. Some former Rays having great seasons: Nate Strickland and Billy Carlow are 2-3 in WAR in the NL, James Hays leads the NL in strikeouts and Kevin DiCostanzo is 2nd in pitcher WAR in the NL at 3.1 in his first season with the Dodgers. In the AL Orlando Tosado is tied for the league lead in homers (with another former Ray Dom Scavone) and leads in RBI, Jake Baldino leads the AL in ERA and wins and Astro teammate Chris Ferguson is right behind him in wins.

After a pedestrian (and not coincidentally, injury-riddled) April and May, we've gone 22-9 since June 1 to establish and strong position in the division. The offense has been middle-of-the-pack due to the injuries but is coming around lately at near full-strength (still missing Wander Franco). The rotation has suffered injuries as well and has struggled some but the bullpen (in which we invested a lot of money) has been lights-out. Finally the defense is pretty bad but there isn't much to do about that short of a major personnel turnover which of course isn't going to happen (nor does it need to).

A lot of mediocrity here with only Charlton having a consistently good season. Several bats have underachieved although Arroyave and Stack have been red-hot of late. But Berumen and Marin, both of whom missed some time with injury, have underachieved while healthy. Blackwell has also been a disappointment. Health and positive regression are kicking in though, so I expect a good second half from the offense.

The rotation has also been hit with injuries as Baer and Gutierrez went down early in the season and their replacements (Wallerstedt and Rodriguez) haven't been that great. The big free agent bullpen signings (Smith and Lewis) have been everything as advertised however, and I hate to think where we'd be without them.

A lot of depth in the farm system (we have 22 in MLB's top 500), but not too many truly top prospects. Nor are any of them tearing it up in the minors. Where they will prove useful this season will hopefully be in trade as I'm definitely looking for a starter or two and a RH bat.

12-09-2023, 02:15 PM	#1313
Art Deco Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2020 Posts: 7,119	2036 Midseason Review Where things stand around MLB: Tampa Bay has the 2nd-best record in MLB just behind Houston. Some former Rays having great seasons: Nate Strickland and Billy Carlow are 2-3 in WAR in the NL, James Hays leads the NL in strikeouts and Kevin DiCostanzo is 2nd in pitcher WAR in the NL at 3.1 in his first season with the Dodgers. In the AL Orlando Tosado is tied for the league lead in homers (with another former Ray Dom Scavone) and leads in RBI, Jake Baldino leads the AL in ERA and wins and Astro teammate Chris Ferguson is right behind him in wins. After a pedestrian (and not coincidentally, injury-riddled) April and May, we've gone 22-9 since June 1 to establish and strong position in the division. The offense has been middle-of-the-pack due to the injuries but is coming around lately at near full-strength (still missing Wander Franco). The rotation has suffered injuries as well and has struggled some but the bullpen (in which we invested a lot of money) has been lights-out. Finally the defense is pretty bad but there isn't much to do about that short of a major personnel turnover which of course isn't going to happen (nor does it need to). A lot of mediocrity here with only Charlton having a consistently good season. Several bats have underachieved although Arroyave and Stack have been red-hot of late. But Berumen and Marin, both of whom missed some time with injury, have underachieved while healthy. Blackwell has also been a disappointment. Health and positive regression are kicking in though, so I expect a good second half from the offense. The rotation has also been hit with injuries as Baer and Gutierrez went down early in the season and their replacements (Wallerstedt and Rodriguez) haven't been that great. The big free agent bullpen signings (Smith and Lewis) have been everything as advertised however, and I hate to think where we'd be without them. A lot of depth in the farm system (we have 22 in MLB's top 500), but not too many truly top prospects. Nor are any of them tearing it up in the minors. Where they will prove useful this season will hopefully be in trade as I'm definitely looking for a starter or two and a RH bat.