And the Trade Deadline is Over!

And the Trade Deadline is over! We’ve already looked at pitchers Scott Feldman and Matt Garza getting traded, and waited and waited for others to be leaving as well. The wait is no more! First I’m going to list everyone got traded, then break each one down. 

Brian Wilson joined the dark side, going to the cross state rival Dodgers. 

Jake Peavy was traded to the Boston Red Sox, in a three team deal involving seven players. They traded SS/3B Jose Iglesisas to the Tigers, and the White Sox received OF Avisail Garcia, along with three minor league prospects. 

Astros pitcher Bud Norris was traded to the Orioles for two minor league prospects and a future draft pick.

Speaking of the Astros, the Royals acquired OF Justin Maxwell for minor league pitcher Kyle Smith. In 40 games, Maxwell is just batting .241 with eight homers and eight RBI's.

The Padres received pitcher Ian Kennedy from the Diamondbacks, trading away pitcher Joe Thatcher, pitcher Matt Stites (currently in AA), and a compensation round B draft pick.

3B Alberto Callaspo was traded from the Angels to the Athletics for infield prospect Grant Green.

LHP Marc Rzepcynski (pronounced Zep-Chin-Ski) from the Cardinals has been traded to the Cleveland Indians for minor league shortstop Juan Herrera. 

I honestly have no idea what Michael Young from the Phillies is doing. He is willing to waive his no-trade clause for the Red Sox and Yankees, but he also said he might accept a trade to the Yanks, and the Rangers are still interested. It’s complicated.

Cliff Lee is staying with the Phillies.

The Cubs want to deal pitchers James Russell and Kevin Gregg along with outfielders Nate Shierholtz and David DeJesus, but it doesn’t look like any of them will be traded. 

That’s about it. If anything else happens, I’ll let you know. Now what about these trades? Who won?

The biggest trade was the Jake Peavy trade. Peavy this year is 8-4 with a 4.28 ERA in 80 innings. Last year, Peavy went 11-12 with a 3.37 ERA and a 5.2 WAR. Obviously the Red Sox picked up a huge pitcher, possibly one of the best that was left on the market, but did have to give up a lot for him. The White Sox received OF prospect Avisail Garcia, a 21 year old power prospect in the Detroit system, along with a 100 mph throwing Francelis Montas, righty J.B. Wendelken, and infielder Cleuluis Rondon. The Tigers received SS and 3B Jose Iglesias, a 23 year old who could be the Rookie of the Year. Iglesias is batting .330/.376/.409 with enormous potential.

So who won? I think this trade has to be separated into different years. If you look at it to determine this year, then probably the Red Sox. They are big contenders to win a title this year, and Jake Peavy is a good 2 or 3 man to try and win it for them. 

In the next five seasons, Iglesias could be a huge player, and I think the Tigers will love this trade. SS Jhonny Peralta’s contract ends this year, and if he gets suspended 50 games for PED use, it would be such a good move by the Tigers. Iglesias is also a great defensive player, and could be big for contact hitting. Plus, in my opinion, they didn’t trade much to try and get Iglesias. 

Looking into a rebuilding era, the White Sox also got a good deal out of this. They gave up Peavy, but granted, he is 32 years old, and they’re going nowhere by keeping him. These prospects, especially Montas, can be big players in the organization. I don’t see much from Garcia, they says he has power, but he’s hit two homers in 53 career games in the MLB. 

If Peralta gets suspended, then the Tigers win this trade. If not, then I think the White Sox did a good job getting all of these prospects and did the right move. 

Two other trades that will probably make a big difference are the Bud Norris trade and the Ian Kennedy trade. 

28 year old Bud Norris is 6-9 with a 3.93 ERA, and has a career 4.33 ERA. He has a career 8.4 K/9 ratio, but that’s dropped this year to only a 6.4 ratio. The Orioles will need him in case they want to make any more run to the playoffs, because they sure do need pitching, even with Scott Feldman. Baltimore sent outfielder L.J. Hoes and left-handed prospect Josh Hader to the Astros. Hoes has only played three games in his career, and has not gotten a hit yet. 

Ian Kennedy has been struggling big this year, going 3-8 with a 5.23 ERA. He has a career 3.99 ERA, including his 21-4 record with a 2.88 ERA in 2011. The Padres will send reliever Joe Thatcher, AA reliever Matt Stites, and a compensatory-round draft pick. Thatcher is 3-1 with a 2.10 ERA in 50 games this year with the Padres.

I love the trade deadline, such a great idea in baseball. That’s about it for the trades. I lost my first day in Beat the Streak, but yesterday both James Loney and Andrew McCutchen got a hit, so my streak is at two. Mike Trout can make it three for me tonight!

Email me at statsbuddy42@gmail.com for any questions/comments/concerns.

-Evan Boyd

A Look Through the Week- 7 29 13

Hey! Beat the Streak is now for Android, so I’m now playing! Every day I’ll give you my picks, and I would love to hear who you picked for your streak. Since I started today I thought I’d go double or nothing, so I decided to pick Brewers SS Jean Segura and Red Sox 2B Dustin Pedroia to start. Hopefully I start the streak off well.

If you didn’t notice this weekend, a lot of teams swept this weekend. These teams include the Braves, Cubs, Indians, Dodgers, and Royals. The Braves swept the Cardinals, the Cubs swept the Giants (while scoring only six runs, two unearned), the Tribe swept the Rangers, the Dodgers beat the Reds on a walk-off by Puig, and the Royals crushed the White Sox. Watch those teams and see what else they can do to finish off the month and go into August. 

The deadline is coming soon, and it seems like teams are making their final moves to try and acquire players. The Tigers acquired closer Jose Veras from the Astros for outfield prospect Danry Vasquez. Although Veras is a closer, he will be the set-up man for Detroit since Joaquin Benoit has been doing so well in the closing spot. Veras is 32, but for a team that has had their problems with the bullpen, it seems like Detroit made the right move, especially if they want to go forward into the playoffs. The Astros got a big prospect in Vasquez, who was ranked fourth on the Top 20 Tigers Prospects, according to MLB.com. The Venezuelan nineteen year old won’t be able to go into the big leagues soon, but will come soon to a young, talented Astros team. Vasquez hit .281 with 16 doubles, 5 triples, 5 homers, and 39 RBI’s with Class A West Michigan this season. Watch the Tigers try and go for another reliever soon too. 

The Rays have been red hot, and are just a half game back from the Red Sox in the AL East. Watch out for Chirs Archer, who has been the best young ace this month. This year, he’s 6-3 with a 2.39 ERA, and just threw a shutout against the Yankees. Nobody wants to play the Rays right now. 

The Cardinals have the best record in baseball at 62-40. The Pirates, who are 61-42, are just a game and a half back from them. This week, they play FIVE games in a four day span. All of them in Pittsburgh. This home stand is huge for the Pirates, as they play the Rockies and Marlins after. This is the time to see whether the Pirates will fall like every other year, or will become the best team in baseball.

Some teams are still not out of the race. Baltimore, Cleveland, Kansas City, and Arizona are still fighting for the top spot in their division. The closest to first place is the Tribe; they are only three games back from the Tigers, and a game back from the wild card. Baltimore right now has a spot in the wild card, but now will have to fight against the Rangers (who have been struggling big), and the Indians to try and keep the spot. The Royals have won six in a row, and are now trying to make their spot in the playoffs. The D-Backs really need to step it up. I know the Dodgers have been hot, but they need to play better than only three games above .500 if they want to get into the playoffs.

Albert Pujols will be out a significant amount of time with a foot injury, and might just be out for the season. Hopefully it can show a fresh start for 2014, but it just marks the epitome of a horrible Angels season.

No players were inducted into Cooperstown this weekend, which was kind of sad to see. This is just the aftershock of the steroid era. Bonds, Clemens, Sosa, McGwire, and probable plenty of others, won’t go into the hall of fame because of PED use. It might not be the only year where nobody gets inducted. And with Ryan Braun gone, Alex Rodriguez is on deck for suspension.

That’s about it for this week. Email me at statsbuddy42@gmail.com for any questions/comments/concerns.

-Evan Boyd

Power Rankings: 7/27/13

Hey! It’s my 50^th post on this blog, and I hope you have been enjoying it! If you are reading for the first time, go ahead and check out some of my other posts on the right side. If you like this, you’ll love the other ones.

This Saturday, I’ll be looking at the Power Rankings. It’s a big day for the Power Rankings because it shows how teams are doing at the start of the second half of baseball. Some teams have been doing extraordinarily well this month, while others have made decisions that this isn’t the year. Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez has been signed. But who signed him? Let’s take a look.

1.      Cardinals: 62-38

Last Week: 1

ESPN Rank: 1

The Cardinals maintain their tight spot, having the best win percentage (.620) and only 38 losses (the Astros have 34 wins, while the Marlins have 39). They have gotten a great start this second half, winning 5 of 7. They have one of the toughest two weeks to go through though, being on the road in Atlanta now, then having a five game series at Pittsburgh, three with the Reds, then four at home against the Dodgers. If they can take those series’, then will somebody just let them clinch the division already? That takes skill!

2.      Rays: 61-42

Last Week: 7

ESPN Rank: 3

The Rays have been the hottest team in baseball, going on a 14-2 streak going into the all-star break, and now have won six of seven games in the second half. They swept the Jays and took two of three from the Red Sox, and won yesterday’s game against the Yankees to take first place in the AL East. They’ve been hitting very well,  now having the 4^th best OBP (.331) and the 5^th best Slugging % (.422), all backed by a .236 BAA (2^nd best in the Majors). 

3.      Red Sox: 61-43

Last Week: 3

ESPN Rank: 2

The Red Sox might have lost their first place spot, but they haven’t lost their chance of losing their playoff spot. The Rays have been hot and that’s what they have to accept. I still have the Red Sox winning the division, especially if they can get Clay Buchholz healthy. Having a 1 2 3 combo in the numbers (1^st in OBP, 2^nd in SLG, 3^rd in BA), I don’t see any problem with their chances.

4.      Pirates: 60-41

Last Week: 2

ESPN Rank: 4

My thoughts with the Red Sox are the same with the Pirates. Their offense isn’t that good, having a team .242 batting average and a .309 OBP. None of their offensive stats rank even in the top 20. What they do have is some of the best pitching in the league, pitching that not only is good this year, but has talent that can take them to all sorts of places. They have the best ERA in the league (3.09), as well as the best BAA (.226). If they can get their team ERA under 3, then they would have one of the best pitching staffs in baseball history. Jeff Locke, A.J. Burnett, and Francisco Liriano all have ERA’s less than 3, and closer Jason Grilli has a 2.34 ERA. They have some surprising talent in Liriano and Burnett that can be incredible in the second half.

5.      Athletics: 60-43

Last Week: 4

ESPN Rank: 5

The A’s have pulled a 4 game lead in first over the Rangers, not really because they are doing really well, but because the Rangers have played poor ball. They have great pitching, led by Bartolo Colon, which helps explain their 31-16 record at home (the A’s have a pitching ballpark), and their mere 29-27 record on the road.

6.      Braves: 58-45

Last Week: 6

ESPN Rank: 6

Speaking of road records, the Braves have a losing record on the road. No matter, they’ve been playing .500 ball since the break, and frankly they can play .500 the entire season and still make the playoffs. They have a commanding 8.5 games ahead in first.

7.      Reds: 59-45

Last Week: 8

ESPN Rank: 8

The Reds still have a comfortable lead in the wildcard, but need more than just Shin-Soo Choo and Joey Votto if they want to keep up with the Cardinals. They are now 5 games out of first place.

8.      Tigers: 57-45

Last Week: 10

ESPN Rank: 9

The Tigers have played a little better, boosting their lead to 3 games instead of a game and a half over the Indians. If Miguel Cabrera keeps sitting out from injury and Justin Verlander keeps being human, then they might have some problems. I don’t care if Max Scherzer is 13-1, without Miggy in that lineup, that record will change.

9.      Orioles: 58-46

Last Week: 9

ESPN Rank: 7

Chris Davis has yet to hit a home run in the second half, dropping his average from .315 to .307 and having 16 K’s since his last homer. In that time, the Orioles have been 4-3. Still not bad, but it would be nice if Davis started to hit.

10.  Dodgers: 54-48

Last Week: 14

ESPN Rank: 11

Matt Kemp goes into the lineup, then falls to injury. But who cares! The Dodgers have now taken first place in the NL west, but still have to deal with the D-Backs. The next time they play each other is September 9^th, though.

11.  Rangers: 56-47

Last Week: 5

ESPN Rank: 10

The Rangers have lost seven on their last 10, and are now four games out of first place. Now with the Rays striking, they don’t have that comfortable “just take the wild card” spot now. They really need to step up if they want to make the playoffs. 

12.  D-Backs: 54-48

Last Week: 11

ESPN Rank: 14

The D-Backs have now lost their spot in first place. They have been 18-2 when Patrick Corbin starts, and Paul Goldschmidt leads every offensive category. However, they need more than just the two of them. Flip a coin: put D-Backs on heads and Dodgers on tails. That’s my chance of who wins the division.

13.  Indians: 54-48

Last Week: 13

ESPN Rank: 12

The Indians open up the second half with great potential with pitchers Scott Kazmir, Corey Kluber, and Justin Masterson. They are 3 games back from the Tigers, and need to have some better offensive spurts, but they can make a run for it.

14.  Yankees: 54-49

Last Week: 12

ESPN Rank: 13

Alfonso Soriano returns to the Yankees after seven years with the Cubs. Soriano has been hitting pretty average, but has been hot this month. Why did the Yanks pick him up? Soriano has hit eight homers this month, and the Yanks have only hit seven. Seven has been their lucky number; they are now seven games out of first place.

15.  Royals: 49-51

Last Week: 20

ESPN Rank: 18

The Royals have been hot, as they’ve now won four in a row, and have moved to just two games under .500. They are still seven games back, but hey, they still have some potential to move towards a spot. It’s a much different Royals team compared to others.

16.  Mariners: 49-54

Last Week: 23

ESPN Rank: 22

Why such the large jump? Seattle has won eight of their last 10 games, and have moved to five games under. They are now tied with the Angels, and have been showing not only a good infield but a great pitching duo. Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma could just be the 1-2 combo in AL Cy Young voting.

17.  Nationals: 50-54

Last Week: 15

ESPN Rank: 15

The Nationals have once again played only .500 ball, but are now four games under. They had a brief outburst when players started to come back, and fans hoped that the bats had finally started to awake. However, they have only won three of ten now, and have gone back into their hitting coma.

18.  Rockies: 50-54

Last Week: 19

ESPN Rank: 19

The Rockies had an easy schedule to start off with, having a home stand with the Cubs, Marlins, and Brewers. They play two more games with the Brewers, but have only played .500 ball. Things aren’t going to get any better, they have to play the Braves and the Pirates next week. 

19.  Phillies: 49-54

Last Week: 16

ESPN Rank: 16

The Phillies have signed Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez. A deal that reportedly is worth 6 years and $60 million. The hard-throwing 26 years old could be the next Cuban sensation that helps rebuild Philly.

20.  Angels: 48-53

Last Week: 18

ESPN Rank: 17

The Angels are now in fourth place as Seattle just squeaks pass them. Why the gap in Power Rankings? Because Seattle has been red hot in the 2^nd half, and the Angels are now under .500 both at home and away. 

21.  Blue Jays: 47-55

Last Week: 17

ESPN Rank: 21

Remember when the entire AL East was over .500? Too bad for the Jays, they’ve had a tough schedule to start the 2^nd half, like getting swept by the Rays, and are now 7 games under. 

22.  Cubs: 46-55

Last Week: 22

ESPN Rank: 23

Move over Puig, it’s time for Junior Lake to have fan sensation. Since coming to the big leagues at the start of the half, Lake is batting .417/.432/.667 with 15 hits, and has been comfortable in left field. Time for Lakenation!!

23.  Mets: 46-54

Last Week: 24

ESPN Rank: 24

Besides Matt Harvey, the Mets have been really poor. Ryan Zimmerman just hit a walk-off against them, and moved them 10.5 games out of first place. They’ve been playing better ball lately though, and are just two games out of second place.

24.  Giants: 46-56

Last Week: 21

ESPN Rank: 20

A depressing loss to the Cubs last night put the Giants 10 games under .500. The World Champions look like they might be dealing players, and will not be in the playoffs this year. 

25.  Padres: 46-58

Last Week: 25

ESPN Rank: 25

The Padres have not won two games in a row since June 20-21. They were actually over .500 at one point, if you believe me. Rookie potential star Jedd Gyorko has been struggling big since the 2^nd half, but hey, so has everyone else on the team.

26.  Twins: 44-56

Last Week: 26

ESPN Rank: 26

All-star closer has not allowed a run, and has held opponents to a .140 batting average since the start of June. Best stat? In that time, he’s had a 18-to-1 K/BB ratio. He now has 25 saves, and a 2.03 ERA. 

27.  Brewers: 42-60

Last Week: 28

ESPN Rank: 27

Well, Ryan Braun is gone. Brewer fans have already turned their “Braun” jerseys into “Fraud” jerseys. It looks like their season is done, with one thing left to do: trade Francisco Rodriguez. His stock has really been improving, and, although not as good as he once was, can still be a pretty good closer.

28.  White Sox: 40-60

Last Week: 27

ESPN Rank: 28

They have four days to trade Alex Rios and Jake Peavy. If not, there won’t be anything else but Chris Sale to talk on this team.

29.  Marlins: 39-62

Last Week: 29

ESPN Rank: 29

The Marlins are still last in every offensive category, but have been showing some signs of young pitching stars. They have a team 3.72 ERA (8^th best), led by Jose Fernandez, and have had some great relief work in Steve Cishek. Hope is not lost in this future for the team.

30.  Astros: 34-68

Last Week: 30

ESPN Rank: 30

The Astros couldn’t wait until their prospects come into the Major Leagues. They are now out of contention from the playoffs, and could lose 110 games. They are 25.5 games out of first, and have a -166 run differential. I’ll be honest, this is one of the worst teams I’ve ever seen.

Email me at statsbuddy42@gmail.com with any questions/comments/concerns.

-Evan Boyd

Who's Hot/Who's Not

The Cubs traded OF Alfonso Soriano to the Yankees for a minor league prospect, sources say. Soriano is 37, and expensive, so it probably is good that he’s leaving a team that’s trying to rebuild. The Yankees, who had Soriano in the beginning of his career, need power, and Soriano has more home runs in the month of July (8) than the entire team in July (7). The Cubs get money from the Yankees and a pitching prospect, but the Cubs do still need to owe Soriano about $18 million.

Soriano was really hot. He hit 11 homers in his last 22 games, and was batting about .380 before the all-star break. After the break, he has been pretty cold. Who else has been hot or cold after the all-star break? Let’s take a look!

Who’s Hot:

 

Mike Napoli: If you didn’t see his walk off home run this week against the Yanks, you need to see it! It was his second of the day, and he gets four RBI’s to help get the win in extras. In the first week back from the break, Napoli has been the best, batting .391 with three homers and five RBI’s. He now is batting .266 with 14 homers and 63 RBI’s.

Carlos Gomez: Frankly, when isn’t he hot? The leader in Wins Above Replacement (6.0) might just have a WAR of over 10 by the end of the year if he keeps it up. This week he’s batting .346 with two homers and six RBI’s, and is now batting .301 with 16 homers and 49 RBI’s. You might be asking, how does he have the highest WAR and bat only .301 with 49 RBI’s? Don’t forget that defense is always a big part. He leads the dWAR stat at an amazing 2.8.

 

Hanley Ramirez: Forget about Yasiel Puig, it’s all about Hanley Ramirez this year. In 46 games with the Dodgers this year, he bats .384/.438/.686 with 10 homers and 31 RBI’s. This week he’s actually been worse than his numbers, but is still batting .375 with two homers and six RBI’s. Speaking of Puig though, he’s still batting .379/.419/.593.

 

Junior Lake: Who? You’ll hear his name more and more soon. Cubs prospect Junior Lake just came up at the start of the 2^nd half, and has batted .484/.500/.774 with two homers and five RBI’s. He’s only 23 years old, and could be just another big prospect for the Chicago Cubs.

 
Matt Garza: A former Cub, Garza had a great start with his new team, the Rangers. He went 7.1 innings, giving up just one unearned run in a win against the Yankees. He is now 7-1 with a 2.87 ERA, and is probably pitching the best that he ever has been. He’s now not injured and can be a big help towards winning a division, and a pennant.

Felix Hernandez: The King has been unstoppable lately. In his last three starts, he’s gone 3-0 with a .86 ERA and a .95 WHIP in 21 IP. He’s now 11-4 with a 2.43 ERA and a 5.44 K/BB ratio. He and Hisashi Iwakuma are the best duo in the MLB, being the first pitching duo since 1898 to both have a K/BB ratio over 5, as well as having a chance to win the pitching title (lowest ERA). 

 

 
Patrick Corbin: He and Paul Goldschmidt are possibly the only two that are keeping the D-Backs in the division race. Corbin has gone 3-0 in his past three starts, having a 1.31 ERA and 26 K’s. He’s now 12-1 with a 2.31 ERA and a 3.7 WAR. Could he be the next Cy Young? There’s a big chance that he could if he keeps it up. The D-Backs are now 18-2 when Corbin starts.

Craig Kimbrel: 5/5 in Save Opportunities this week, and now has 28 saves. This week he’s put up a 1.29 ERA while striking out 16, and now has a 1.45 ERA with 59 K’s.

That’s about it for who’s hot. How about who’s not?

Jedd Gyorko (Padres): A young prospect from San Diego is now batting .138 in the second half, and has dropped his batting average from .280 to .262 in just 12 days. He’ll still probably be up for Rookie of the Year, but really needs to get hot if he wants to beat Jose Fernandez or Shelby Miller.

Jose Iglesias (Red Sox): From what looked like an easy pick for the AL Rookie of the Year might come down to something different if he plays like this. After the break he has batted a poor .120, but don’t worry, he still bats .343.

Jed Lowrie (A’s): Lowrie looked like he’d be one of the most dangerous hitters in the AL at the start of the year. Now, however, he bats .283 with only 37 RBI’s, and is batting .138 after the break. Step it up, dude! You have a division title on the line!

Justin Verlander (Tigers): Yeah, Verlander just isn’t having the year of his career like before. He is 10-8 with a 3.99 ERA, and is 1-2 with a 5.79 ERA in the past 3 starts. He also has walked 51 batters this year too, that just might be the reason why he’s been struggling. 

Carlos Marmol (Dodgers): How was Marmol’s first appearance as a Dodger? Terrible. He now has a 10.29 ERA with the club, which just makes it a 6.53 ERA. He already has blown a save for them.

Email me at statsbuddy42@gmail.com with any questions/comments/concerns.

-Evan Boyd