Wrapping Up the 1st Half

I’m back! Miss me? Hope you had some time to look at older posts since there was no games this week for baseball. Except for, of course, the all-star game was played. If you didn’t watch the game or the Home Run Derby, the American League took both, winning 3-0 and allowing only 3 hits to the National League. For a while I really thought that the AL would have a combined no-hitter, which would’ve been hilarious. The MVP was Mariano Rivera, who had a great tribute and applause by every fan at Citi Field, as Mo pitched a 1-2-3 8^th inning. My personal favorite was when Prince Fielder hitting a triple, then NOT SCORING! It wasn’t really the fault of the 3 batters after him, he could have scored, but he was so gassed from hitting a triple that he had no energy left in him. That was a great moment. 

The winner was White Sox ace Chris Sale, and the loss went to D-Backs pitcher Patrick Corbin, and Joe Nathan from Texas got the save. The Home-Run Derby was won by Yoenis Cespedes of the Oakland Athletics, who, ironically, was not an all-star (yes that happens, he was the 3^rd person to be picked to hit but not be an all-star).

I think today it’s right to recap some of the 1^st half, then tomorrow give awards (MVP, Cy Young, etc.) to players at the half, and if they will keep it or not.

 

So now, let’s start all the way back from April 1^st. Remember when the Atlanta Braves seemed unstoppable? They started out 12-1, and went 17-9 on the month. A big part of that was Justin Upton, who hit 12 homers and batted over .400 in the month of April. He seemed like nobody could stop him, and would easily be the MVP. 

He had a 4.0 WAR, but now only has a 1.1 WAR. His average has moved to .255 and has only hit 4 more homers. He already has 100 strikeouts, and will easily break his record of 152 K’s. 

But then came the Red Sox, who started to show that they were back from a terrible year last year, and were going to make it big. They have probably the toughest schedule, being in 1^st in a division that once had every team over .500. Jose Iglesias might just be the Rookie of the Year this year.

For some reason, Shin Soo-Choo kept getting hit by pitchers. In like the first three weeks, Choo had 12 hit by pitches. He now bats .287/.425/.468, and the Reds really like him as a leadoff man. He leads the NL in plate appearances (435) and HBP (20). That OBP too is one of the highest in baseball.

Some pitchers came into play, too. Clayton Kershaw, Clay Buchholz, and Matt Harvey led the opening half until Buchholz got hurt. Then Bartolo Colon became unstoppable, winning 8 starts in a row. Now we continue to look at them, but also notice that Francisco Liriano is pitching the best he has ever had, and Seattle has a dominant duo in King Felix and now Hisashi Iwakuma. 

Teams like the Marlins and Astros still suck. But baseball is starting to become the decade of young talent, as we see with OF Bryce Harper, 1B Paul Goldschmidt, or OF Mike Trout. Teams like the Marlins and Astros, along with the Cubs, Mets, and Brewers, are in this rebuilding program, and soon they could be the teams that are dominant. Cuban players have become more and more popular, and teams have taken advantage of every prospect they can get. Baseball is right now an era of prospects, and teams are looking for the best pitchers and hitters that they can find. 

We know that these Cuban players are something special. Take Yasiel Puig, for example. He’s batting .391/.422/.616 in 38 games as a Dodger, but those numbers will go down. He is still something special. Would you believe me that the best Cuban players are yet to come though? Cuban sensation Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez could be pitching in the majors quite soon, and that will be even more special. 

 

Now it’s the race of Miguel Cabrera and Chris Davis. Davis, who finished with 37 homers before the break, is on track to hit 65. He is the only thing stopping Miguel Cabrera, who is having a better season than his Triple Crown season last year. Cabrera will be the MVP once again unless he starts sucking. Unlike last year with Mike Trout as a competitor, I see very little competition that can put up the same numbers as Cabrera. 

I have had 6 players reviewed as a “Potential Player” so far this season. Those players are Paul Goldschmidt, Jean Segura, Yasiel Puig, Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, and Gerrit Cole. Three of those were all-stars (Goldschmidt, Segura, and Harvey, who started for the NL), while Puig just missed the cut. 

 

Paul Goldschmidt bats .313/.395/.557 with 21 homers and 77 RBI’s. The 77 RBI’s is an NL best so far. He has a 4.8 WAR, which is sensational so far in the season. Part of it is because of his defensive capabilities at 1^st base. He has the most putouts in the NL as a 1B, and has an NL high 9.83 Range Factor/Game. He also has 9 Sac Flies already, 1^st in the NL.

 I just got his Rookie Card, and I am excited

 

Jean Segura is a fantastic hitter for contact, and looks a lot like a young Tony Gwynn (bold statement, I know). He bats .325/.363/.487 with an NL high 121 hits, and has 27 steals. His WAR is 3.7, and leads the NL with 294 assists. 

See Puig from above.

 

If Clayton Kershaw wasn’t doing so well, Matt Harvey could easily win the NL Cy Young Award. He’s 7-2 with a 2.35 ERA, leads the NL in strikeouts (147), as well as K/9 (10.2), and has a 4.3 WAR. He got the start for the NL at the all-star game, and pitched a scoreless inning. He’s only 24 years old. He could be the next Tom Seaver in New York. 

 

Zack Wheeler and Gerrit Cole have probably been my worst picks, but they still are good (plus, my article on Wheeler went with the duo with Harvey). Wheeler is 3-1 with a 3.54 ERA, while Cole is 4-3 with a 3.89 ERA. Cole actually won his 1^st four starts, but a lot of that was contributed to the Pirates hitting for him. But still, Wheeler is only 23, and Cole, the number one draft pick two years ago, is 22.
They are young and still have plenty of time to build into great players.

That’s been the 1^st half, among plenty of other things. This month, watch out for trades, especially with Cubs pitcher Matt Garza, and watch out for teams signing Cuban players. I can’t wait for October.

-Evan Boyd