Angels had four starting pitchers throw over 100 innings in 2017, only one of them will enter 2018 healthy, Parker Bridwell – 121 IP
- Ricky Nolasco – 181 IP – No longer on Team
- Jesse Chavez – 138 IP – No longer on Team
- JC Ramirez – 147 IP – Injured
They also lost 125 innings in their bullpen without Bud Norris and Yusmeiro Petit
The current starting rotation and the number of combined innings they threw last season is 237 ⅓
- Shohei Ohtani – 25 ⅓
- Garrett Richards – 27 ⅔
- Andrew Heaney – 21 ⅔
- Tyler Skaggs – 85
- Matt Shoemaker – 77 ⅔
So where will Parker Bridwell fit in? There are many reasons to expect regression in 2018:
- Induced a higher percentage of fly balls – 40.7%, than ground balls – 38.1%
- BABIP was .267 league average BABIP was .297
Parker Bridwell is the elephant in the room https://t.co/jOYxwfECvN
— Halos Heaven (@halosheaven) January 8, 2018
71 teams in the history of MLB finished a season with at least 98 losses (not including the 2017 Giants or Tigers).
Ten of those 71 teams went on to win at least half their games the following season.
The Braves allowed Adonis Garcia to opt out of his contract in order to play baseball in Korea, is a short-term shortstop the way to go or should they invest in a multi-year contract?
The Braves do not have interest in Moustakas and instead are focusing on stop-gap third basemen like free agents Todd Frazier and Eduardo Nunez as they wait for top prospect Austin Riley to arrive. That is a mistake. Moustakas would fit great in that ballpark and his defense would be phenomenal in developing their young pitching staff. The Braves could always package Riley with a couple of their pitching prospects to land either Christian Yelich and/or J.T. Realmuto in a trade with the Marlins. Those type of moves would expedite the Braves return to contention. Jim Bowden
23-year-old Ryan McMahon looks to open the season as the Rockies starting first baseman.
He has been at least 37 percent better than league average during every other minor-league stint, and was dominant at Double-A and Triple-A in 2017. One could point to good fortune (.381 BABIP at Double-A, .416 BABIP at Triple-A) as the reason for this dominance. However, he got his strikeout rate under 20 percent for the first time in his career, which points to sustainable success. He has plus power, sneaky speed for a corner infielder, and with the help of Coors Field, he could annually flirt with .300. While McMahon is a third baseman by trade, he started 33 games at first base, 23 games at second base and 13 games at the hot corner while at Triple-A. The Rockies are prepping him for an inevitable position changeRotowire Player Outlook 2018
The Rockies announced that oft-injured David Dahl has been cleared to swing a bat
#Rockies outfielder Dahl (rib/back) cleared to swing bat https://t.co/YEDOKU62RT via @MLB
— Thomas Harding (@harding_at_mlb) January 4, 2018
It is easy to get somewhat excited about a player who can steal bases and hit for power. That will never happen, though, if he can’t stay healthy. David Dahl. Watch him this spring. High Injury Risk also High Ceiling.
- 2015 – 312 AB – Had spleen removed after an extremely deep laceration after a collision in field.
- 2016 – 572 AB – Healthy
- 2017 – 77 AB – MIssed entire season with a stress fracture in rib cage
JP Crawford should secure a spot in the ….. starting lineup because of his defensive skill set alone. He made zero errors over 188 innings in his first 23 major league games playing second base, third base and shortstop. Look for him to improve a bit at the plate, but curb your enthusiasm and don’t expect him to hit against lefties.
There’s good plays, there’s great plays, and then there’s @jp_crawford plays. pic.twitter.com/PJR6FgmYnD
— IronPigs (@IronPigs) August 9, 2017
Listen to today’s podcast if you want to hear Lenny give the lowdown on Kolten Wong
Most will say that the chances of Tommy Pham repeating what he did last season are low, claiming that
There’s little precedent for Tommy Pham’s enormous breakout season at the age of 29, writes SB Nation’s Craig Edwards. Pham posted a
Pham provided minimal value to the Cards over his first 136 games in the bigs after progressing slowly through the minor leagues. been 48 outfielders with a WAR between five and seven in their age-29 season over the past 70 years. Of that group, only three — Jose Bautista, Ryan Ludwick and former Tigers outfielder Charlie Maxwell — broke out with as limited a track record as Pham.
Here is Kyle Schwarber on his off season and ‘lifestyle change.’ He has lost quite a few pounds and just might be in the best shape of his life…
We told you @kschwarb12 is grinding. 💪 pic.twitter.com/hp7KeZCqUD
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) January 10, 2018
Which teams have the most improved lineup? It isn’t just the Yankees
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