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Griever20 · 04-20-2025, 03:35 AM

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EL Awards:
Batter of the Month: Atlanta LF Robbie Thompson(31, 2.5*) .359-6-20 1.028OPS 1.4WAR 4x All-Star
Pitcher of the Month: Cincinnati RHSP Jimmy McMahon(25, 3.5/4*) 4-0 1.15 34K 31.1IP 1.2WAR That no-hitter helps here
Rookie of the Month: Montreal 1B Dave Grochowski(23, 3.5*) .326-4-17 .988OPS 1.4WAR All Hail Grok!

WL Awards:
Batter of the Month: San Diego 3B Octavio Gonzalos(25, 4*) .337-9-18 1.120OPS 1.7WAR Once traded away for a failed catcher by us…, 30 home runs in 92 games…
Pitcher of the Month: Los Angeles LHSP Julian Valdenas(25, 2.5*) 5-0 1.96 38K 6GS 41.1IP 0.7WAR Can dominate with his stuff, but bad control.
Rookie of the Month: Oakland CF Mauricio Jimenez(24, 2.5*) .409-6-20 1.255OPS 1.5WAR Rule 5 draftee from CIN

After being super frustrated a month ago, don’t expect me to be super hyped now after a 18-9 July. Yes, that final week was spectacular. Yes. We are now at a Pythagorean record of 50-53 and yes, our starters that I called “a bunch of 4ERA starters” last month picked up the slack. Guess the truth is somewhere between this month and the two before that. Which means we are a .500 team, which is about where I expected us to be.

That being said, I think that bodes well for the future with some top prospects coming through in the next two years.

Now, a little bit of trade chatter. We got rid of Cody Kerzner, Jose Robles, Melvin Hernandez and AA catcher Juan Rivera. Three out of those four were pending minor league free agents, two of them after getting waived, and Hernandez was a Rule 5 draftee that was kind enough to generate some trade value. We grabbed some good looking arms that won’t blow anyone away but are under team control, and a good utility guy in James Slowik that can hit .260 in singles while playing good defence at 2B/3B/SS/LF/RF. Maybe, next year in NMLB.

Pitching:

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DL: nobody

NMBL Montreal Expos Players on the leaderboard:
RHSP Sam Griffin 10 W – tied 2nd
RHSP Sam Griffin 2 CG – tied 3rd
RHSP Sam Griffin 1.1 BB/9 – 1st
RHSP Marty Murrietta 45 BB – 5th

A little housekeeping, Danny Sandoval, our Rule 5 draftee in 2020, was returned to the Detroit Trains. Because of his 60-day IL stint, he was still considered a Rule 5 player and I was not willing to place him on the active roster for 26 days to let that one run out. Good luck for him, he is in AAA again.

Our internal pitcher of the month? Juan Miranda with a 2-0 2-93 34K 30.2IP 2.36FIP 1.1WAR month is pretty much up there, but apart from Sam Griffin stinking a bit in his last two starts and some slightly inflated ERAs in the pen, all is well here. Aaron McCreery really was happy when I told him that Cesar Alvarado will be in his bullpen now. He told me that Alvarado may play well with his 70-rated fastball/cutter combination, only using the weaker changeup when the opportunity arises. We will see.

Position Players:

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DL: RF Ian Messer(26, 2.5*) fractured thumb 3 weeks .292-4-20 .811OPS 43G/43GS 0.9WAR

NMBL Montreal Expos Players on the leaderboard:
1B Dave Grochowski .346 Batting Average – 1st
1B Dave Grochowski .421 OBP – 1st
1B Dave Grochowski .930 OPS – 4th
1B Dave Grochowski 119 H – tied 1st
1B Dave Grochowski 158 OPS+ – 2nd
1B Dave Grochowski 3.57 WPA – 2nd
CF Vicente Rodriguez 6 TP – tied 2nd

Funny enough, we shook things up by brining Rich Meilleur and Tim McKusick in, and so far McKusick is a -0.1WAR hitter and Meilleur is batting .172, just running out at 0.0War due to elite defence. We will give them the rest of the year, but finding a hard-hitting DH that bats from the left side is something we definitely need to complement Matt Talbert. Who, by the way, is batting .286-1-5 .804OPS against LHP, so there is that.

And yes, I am aware that Huai-yu Mah hits .269 with some stuff and is left-handed. This won’t last.

Vicente Rodriguez continues to be an interesting find in center field. His defence is really good, and he does make solid contact, and somehow, he is on a 21-game hitting streak while batting .301 in July. If he just had the stealing skills to complement his speed, he could be an elite leadoff man…

Prospect Watch:
AAA 2B/SS Julian Hernandez(2.5/4*) .302-8-30 .806OPS 91G 16/19SB 4.2WAR
AAA LHSP Brett Asselin(2.5/4.5*) 1-2 2.52 34K 35.2IP 6GS 0.0WAR
AA RHSP Jorge Estrella(2.5/3*) 6-9 3.44 73K 117.2IP 19GS 1.6WAR
A RHSP Alejandro Corral(2/3.5*) 8-5 2.50 100K 104.1IP 19G 1.3WAR
A LF Santiago Rodriguez(2/4*) .256-10-30 .718OPS 87G 12/14SB 0.8WAR
S A SS Bryan Booth(21, 1/4*) .297-1-3 .755OPS 2/3SB 12G 0.5WAR
S A 1B Joe Townsend(1.5/3.5*) .174-7-21 .543OPS 91G -0.5WAR(A)
R CF Tyler Dean(19, 1.5/5*) .221-12-34 .695OPS 8/10SB 88G 5.4WAR
R 2B/SS Manny Ramirez(0.5/5*) .155-4-15 .412OPS 1/2SB 89G 1.4WAR
R 1B Tyler Aurand(18, 4*) .261-2-4 .911OPS 9G 0.8WAR

We may have done it again. In the dynamic top prospect list, Bryan Booth is rated as #22 currently! We sent him to Short A to finish the year there, but there is hope that he can start next season in A ball and move through the minors quickly… we will see.

Julian Hernandez is doing fine with the bat and with learning third base as he is a 55/65 currently there, and so is Manny Ramirez at second base. And the others are doing quite fine, the only concern was 1B Joe Townsend and he was sent back down to Short A to work on his swing.

There was an argument to be had for Tyler Dean to be sent to short A as well after batting .270-3-11 .804OPS in 22 games in July, but I want him to work with one hitting coach all year long and not switch him to a different one in the middle of the minor league season.

04-20-2025, 03:35 AM	#135
Griever20 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Dortmund, Germany Posts: 3,589	2022 August 1st: State of the Expos EL Awards: Batter of the Month: Atlanta LF Robbie Thompson(31, 2.5) .359-6-20 1.028OPS 1.4WAR 4x All-Star* Pitcher of the Month: Cincinnati RHSP Jimmy McMahon(25, 3.5/4) 4-0 1.15 34K 31.1IP 1.2WAR That no-hitter helps here* Rookie of the Month: Montreal 1B Dave Grochowski(23, 3.5) .326-4-17 .988OPS 1.4WAR All Hail Grok!* WL Awards: Batter of the Month: San Diego 3B Octavio Gonzalos(25, 4) .337-9-18 1.120OPS 1.7WAR Once traded away for a failed catcher by us…, 30 home runs in 92 games…* Pitcher of the Month: Los Angeles LHSP Julian Valdenas(25, 2.5) 5-0 1.96 38K 6GS 41.1IP 0.7WAR Can dominate with his stuff, but bad control.* Rookie of the Month: Oakland CF Mauricio Jimenez(24, 2.5) .409-6-20 1.255OPS 1.5WAR Rule 5 draftee from CIN* After being super frustrated a month ago, don’t expect me to be super hyped now after a 18-9 July. Yes, that final week was spectacular. Yes. We are now at a Pythagorean record of 50-53 and yes, our starters that I called “a bunch of 4ERA starters” last month picked up the slack. Guess the truth is somewhere between this month and the two before that. Which means we are a .500 team, which is about where I expected us to be. That being said, I think that bodes well for the future with some top prospects coming through in the next two years. Now, a little bit of trade chatter. We got rid of Cody Kerzner, Jose Robles, Melvin Hernandez and AA catcher Juan Rivera. Three out of those four were pending minor league free agents, two of them after getting waived, and Hernandez was a Rule 5 draftee that was kind enough to generate some trade value. We grabbed some good looking arms that won’t blow anyone away but are under team control, and a good utility guy in James Slowik that can hit .260 in singles while playing good defence at 2B/3B/SS/LF/RF. Maybe, next year in NMLB. Pitching: DL: nobody NMBL Montreal Expos Players on the leaderboard: RHSP Sam Griffin 10 W – tied 2nd RHSP Sam Griffin 2 CG – tied 3rd RHSP Sam Griffin 1.1 BB/9 – 1st RHSP Marty Murrietta 45 BB – 5th A little housekeeping, Danny Sandoval, our Rule 5 draftee in 2020, was returned to the Detroit Trains. Because of his 60-day IL stint, he was still considered a Rule 5 player and I was not willing to place him on the active roster for 26 days to let that one run out. Good luck for him, he is in AAA again. Our internal pitcher of the month? Juan Miranda with a 2-0 2-93 34K 30.2IP 2.36FIP 1.1WAR month is pretty much up there, but apart from Sam Griffin stinking a bit in his last two starts and some slightly inflated ERAs in the pen, all is well here. Aaron McCreery really was happy when I told him that Cesar Alvarado will be in his bullpen now. He told me that Alvarado may play well with his 70-rated fastball/cutter combination, only using the weaker changeup when the opportunity arises. We will see. Position Players: DL: RF Ian Messer(26, 2.5) fractured thumb 3 weeks* .292-4-20 .811OPS 43G/43GS 0.9WAR NMBL Montreal Expos Players on the leaderboard: 1B Dave Grochowski .346 Batting Average – 1st 1B Dave Grochowski .421 OBP – 1st 1B Dave Grochowski .930 OPS – 4th 1B Dave Grochowski 119 H – tied 1st 1B Dave Grochowski 158 OPS+ – 2nd 1B Dave Grochowski 3.57 WPA – 2nd CF Vicente Rodriguez 6 TP – tied 2nd Funny enough, we shook things up by brining Rich Meilleur and Tim McKusick in, and so far McKusick is a -0.1WAR hitter and Meilleur is batting .172, just running out at 0.0War due to elite defence. We will give them the rest of the year, but finding a hard-hitting DH that bats from the left side is something we definitely need to complement Matt Talbert. Who, by the way, is batting .286-1-5 .804OPS against LHP, so there is that. And yes, I am aware that Huai-yu Mah hits .269 with some stuff and is left-handed. This won’t last. Vicente Rodriguez continues to be an interesting find in center field. His defence is really good, and he does make solid contact, and somehow, he is on a 21-game hitting streak while batting .301 in July. If he just had the stealing skills to complement his speed, he could be an elite leadoff man… Prospect Watch: AAA 2B/SS Julian Hernandez(2.5/4) .302-8-30 .806OPS 91G 16/19SB 4.2WAR AAA LHSP Brett Asselin(2.5/4.5) 1-2 2.52 34K 35.2IP 6GS 0.0WAR AA RHSP Jorge Estrella(2.5/3) 6-9 3.44 73K 117.2IP 19GS 1.6WAR A RHSP Alejandro Corral(2/3.5) 8-5 2.50 100K 104.1IP 19G 1.3WAR A LF Santiago Rodriguez(2/4) .256-10-30 .718OPS 87G 12/14SB 0.8WAR S A SS Bryan Booth(21, 1/4) .297-1-3 .755OPS 2/3SB 12G 0.5WAR S A 1B Joe Townsend(1.5/3.5) .174-7-21 .543OPS 91G -0.5WAR(A) R CF Tyler Dean(19, 1.5/5) .221-12-34 .695OPS 8/10SB 88G 5.4WAR R 2B/SS Manny Ramirez(0.5/5) .155-4-15 .412OPS 1/2SB 89G 1.4WAR R 1B Tyler Aurand(18, 4) .261-2-4 .911OPS 9G 0.8WAR We may have done it again. In the dynamic top prospect list, Bryan Booth is rated as #22 currently! We sent him to Short A to finish the year there, but there is hope that he can start next season in A ball and move through the minors quickly… we will see. Julian Hernandez is doing fine with the bat and with learning third base as he is a 55/65 currently there, and so is Manny Ramirez at second base. And the others are doing quite fine, the only concern was 1B Joe Townsend and he was sent back down to Short A to work on his swing. There was an argument to be had for Tyler Dean to be sent to short A as well after batting .270-3-11 .804OPS in 22 games in July, but I want him to work with one hitting coach all year long and not switch him to a different one in the middle of the minor league season. __________________ MLB 2012 - The Toronto Ban Jays The Montreal Expos... Exposing the New MLB? MLB 2015 - Being the Brewmaster(ended) MLB 2013: The Blue Jays That Never Were(concluded)