Post by Commissioner Erick on Jul 29, 2020 14:37:40 GMT -5
Chicago Cubs (0-0) @ Texas Rangers (0-0)
CHC: Steven Matz (0-0)
TEX: Marcus Stroman (0-0)
It's been a roller coaster past 7 months for the Texas Rangers. After a disappointing September left them out of the postseason, it appeared Texas' run of excellence had expired and they were left with an aging, expensive roster. They had a number of solid players reaching free agency, some key players were aging, and it appeared that the Seattle Mariners had passed them by.
With one trade—and one Cy Young added to the staff—the Texas Rangers were galvanized and look again like World Series contenders with a ton of preseason excitement. Now Noah Syndergaard is hurt, Kyle Hendricks may miss the season, and a conceptually dominating staff looks pretty underwhelming with the season starting soon.
Texas won't have a lot of time to ease into their situation when they kick off the season against the defending National League champion Chicago Cubs for the Game of the Week.
Unlike Texas, Chicago comes into the game healthy and optimistic. The Cubs only significant injury during Spring Training was to Kris Bryant. He may be rusty coming back into the lineup, but he should play. The Cubs added former Mets slugger Dominic Smith to their lineup so it should continue to be one of the best in baseball, though their outfield depth will be challenged with Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich moving on. Once again, Chicago will be terrific but will lack depth if an injury occurs.
It'll be fascinating to see their lineup, one filled with patience and power, attack Marcus Stroman. Stroman is a master a avoiding the barrel of bats while hitting the strike zone. Stroman's 4.76% walk rate is 12th in PBA history and his 0.72 HR/9 is fourth all time among qualified starting pitchers. He forces teams to beat them with balls in play.
That's not how Chicago operates as only Manny Machado and Francisco Lindor have career averages above .280. Chicago has been in the Top 3 in NL walk rate since 2019 and in the Top 3 in Home Runs since 2018. In Batting Average, they were fourth last year, but seventh in 2022 and ninth in 2021. They're built to draw walks and slug three-run home runs, not to knock around a bunch of singles.
Texas meanwhile will need a bounceback season from Paul Goldschmidt to do real damage this year. Goldschmidt led the league in walks for the third straight campaign, but his average has dropped every season from 2018, cratering to .224 last year. He fell short of 30 Home Runs for the first time in his career, and only managed 69 RBIs. With him as a run producer, Texas' lineup looks strong and poised to contend in the division. With him as a table setter, he joins a team filled with table setters and lacking hitters who can drive them home. He'll get a chance to face a good left-hander in Steven Matz and will be a player to watch.
Questions for the GMs:
For Brandon Hillebrand, like prior seasons, you enter the year without a lot of depth. Unlike prior years, you have neither prospects nor a pick in the first five rounds to use to acquire talent. How confident are you in your team's depth to fill any unexpected holes that pop up?
Your club will look a little different with Greg Allen taking over for Christian Yelich and Giancarlo Stanton. What do you think he adds to the team?
Jhenrry Moreno, Darryl Wilson, or Jonathan Sierra: Who gets the Right Field job and why?
For Clayton Piper, injuries rocked your team in March. Does it change your outlook for the season at all?
You have some holes in your lineup with Gregory Guerrero more of a fringe player and Daniel Quiceno unproven in the majors. Are you confident in them or will you look to upgrade if you can?
The Cubs have such a good bullpen that it might warrant a more small-ball oriented approach. On the other hand, your club appears better against left-handers than right handers. Are you going to play for an early lead today or try to simply outslug the Cubs?
CHC: Steven Matz (0-0)
TEX: Marcus Stroman (0-0)
It's been a roller coaster past 7 months for the Texas Rangers. After a disappointing September left them out of the postseason, it appeared Texas' run of excellence had expired and they were left with an aging, expensive roster. They had a number of solid players reaching free agency, some key players were aging, and it appeared that the Seattle Mariners had passed them by.
With one trade—and one Cy Young added to the staff—the Texas Rangers were galvanized and look again like World Series contenders with a ton of preseason excitement. Now Noah Syndergaard is hurt, Kyle Hendricks may miss the season, and a conceptually dominating staff looks pretty underwhelming with the season starting soon.
Texas won't have a lot of time to ease into their situation when they kick off the season against the defending National League champion Chicago Cubs for the Game of the Week.
Unlike Texas, Chicago comes into the game healthy and optimistic. The Cubs only significant injury during Spring Training was to Kris Bryant. He may be rusty coming back into the lineup, but he should play. The Cubs added former Mets slugger Dominic Smith to their lineup so it should continue to be one of the best in baseball, though their outfield depth will be challenged with Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich moving on. Once again, Chicago will be terrific but will lack depth if an injury occurs.
It'll be fascinating to see their lineup, one filled with patience and power, attack Marcus Stroman. Stroman is a master a avoiding the barrel of bats while hitting the strike zone. Stroman's 4.76% walk rate is 12th in PBA history and his 0.72 HR/9 is fourth all time among qualified starting pitchers. He forces teams to beat them with balls in play.
That's not how Chicago operates as only Manny Machado and Francisco Lindor have career averages above .280. Chicago has been in the Top 3 in NL walk rate since 2019 and in the Top 3 in Home Runs since 2018. In Batting Average, they were fourth last year, but seventh in 2022 and ninth in 2021. They're built to draw walks and slug three-run home runs, not to knock around a bunch of singles.
Texas meanwhile will need a bounceback season from Paul Goldschmidt to do real damage this year. Goldschmidt led the league in walks for the third straight campaign, but his average has dropped every season from 2018, cratering to .224 last year. He fell short of 30 Home Runs for the first time in his career, and only managed 69 RBIs. With him as a run producer, Texas' lineup looks strong and poised to contend in the division. With him as a table setter, he joins a team filled with table setters and lacking hitters who can drive them home. He'll get a chance to face a good left-hander in Steven Matz and will be a player to watch.
Questions for the GMs:
For Brandon Hillebrand, like prior seasons, you enter the year without a lot of depth. Unlike prior years, you have neither prospects nor a pick in the first five rounds to use to acquire talent. How confident are you in your team's depth to fill any unexpected holes that pop up?
Your club will look a little different with Greg Allen taking over for Christian Yelich and Giancarlo Stanton. What do you think he adds to the team?
Jhenrry Moreno, Darryl Wilson, or Jonathan Sierra: Who gets the Right Field job and why?
For Clayton Piper, injuries rocked your team in March. Does it change your outlook for the season at all?
You have some holes in your lineup with Gregory Guerrero more of a fringe player and Daniel Quiceno unproven in the majors. Are you confident in them or will you look to upgrade if you can?
The Cubs have such a good bullpen that it might warrant a more small-ball oriented approach. On the other hand, your club appears better against left-handers than right handers. Are you going to play for an early lead today or try to simply outslug the Cubs?
