Post by Commissioner Erick on Jun 23, 2022 11:48:07 GMT -5
St. Louis Cardinals (40-26) @ New York Mets (28-37)
STL: Luis Detres: (5-2, 2.63)
NYM: Liam Thomas: (2-4, 4.38)
Cardinals 5 Key Stats:
.752: St. Louis’ OPS against lefties: The Cardinals have the third highest OPS against lefties in the National League. With Patrick Leonard incinerating southpaws with a 1.269 OPS against them, St. Louis has had no trouble with left-handed pitchers. New York will send a righty to the mound in Liam Thomas, but the Cardinals are hoping the Mets turn to Jefferson Escorcha and Luis Orellana out of the pen today.
.201: Trent Clark’s Batting Average: Clark has battled a broken finger this year and hasn’t been able to get on track. Batting average has never been his calling card as it’s usually been below .240, but he’ll walk and hit extra bases to provide value. His slow offensive start hasn’t impacted his defense, however, as he’s already been produced a 2.2 Zone Rating in Center Field despite being 31-year-old and missing a month.
.319: Manny Machado’s Slugging Percentage: Machado signed on late with St. Louis and didn’t have the benefit of Spring Training, so he’s been brutally rusty to begin the season. He’s also a seven-time All-Star, and even though his last two seasons were the worst of his career, still straddled the .800 OPS mark as a Third Baseman. Machado will provide more juice for St. Louis when he comes around, and he’ll make the team even more potent against lefties. The question will be exactly when he shakes off the rust, and it may not be against Liam Thomas and the Mets.
2.63: Luis Detres’ ERA: Detres is second in the NL in ERA, staking his claim as one of the best arms in the league, even though he’s only 23. With Detres throwing mid-90s fastballs that sink or cut, he’s nearly impossible to hit hard. His 97 strikeouts are top-five thus far, and he’s allowed just two home runs. He’s off to a special start in what could be a special career.
63: Patrick Leonard’s RBI total: Leonard’s 57 homers led the AL last year, and he drove in 132 Angels. He’s clubbed as many as 63 long balls in a season. Toiling away in moribund Los Angels, his achievements went to waste. Revitalized by a competent Cardinals club, he’s turning in the best offensive season of a strong offensive career.
Mets 5 Key Stats:
272: Runs scored by the Mets: The Mets are 13th in runs in the National League, having a miserable go of it at the plate. A few hitters are hitting for average, a few are hitting for power, but few are having a complete season at the plate and too many hitters are providing little with the bat. It’s kept the Mets from being players in a weak NL East.
-20.20: New York’s Zone Rating: Despite employing a number of limp noodle bats, the Mets are second-to-last in NL Zone Rating. Yoelkis Cespedes has been rough in Left Field, Jacob Amaya has not played a good Shortstop, and Luis Morales has been brutal in Center. With New York struggling at the plate and the field, they’ve been stuck in third place in their division.
.411: Luis Morales’ June OPS: Morales got off to a hot start with seven home runs and an .853 OPS after April, but he hit just .234 with three long balls in May. He’s continued his struggled in June as the Mets have struggled to a 3-7 mark in the month. New York needs Morales to play better as their only hope of offensive success.
8: Consecutive Starts without a Home Run allowed by Liam Thomas: The rookie’s surface numbers have been a bit underwhelming, but are ultimately pretty good for a 22-year-old rookie. Thomas has already shown a preternatural ability to keep the ball in the park, especially for an arm without great stuff. He has just 44 strikeouts, and has given up some doubles, but hitters have had trouble elevating his pitches. His next step is finding a way to limit lefties to get base hits. They’re hitting .317 off him with 11 doubles.
.295: Jacob Amaya’s On-Base Percentage. Amaya has been a rough offensive player this year. He doesn’t have a home run, he has just one steal, and he’s getting on base less than 30% of the time. Amaya showed that he could be at least a second-division Shortstop last year, but he’s trending in the wrong direction this year. Either the defense needs to become average again at Shortstop, or he has to have a pulse at the plate to be a major-league caliber player again.
Questions for the GMs:
For Tim Lentz, Travis Vetters had a great run for the Carolina Mudcats before you brought him into your organization. He had two strong seasons managing the Memphis Redbirds. You promoted him internally to be your Bench Coach. How much of your success this season can trace back to him?
You attempted to make a run last year and failed horribly. You were more modest with your expectations this year, but are currently the Wild Card leader. What will your strategy be going forward in terms of development versus trying to win a title?
Jaap Hidding will miss a few weeks with a back injury. How will you replace him?
For Ryan Morneau, you went with a six-man staff, but Shohei Otani just went down for the rest of the year. Will you revert back to a five-man staff?
Will you make any changes to try to juice your offense?
What have you thought of Tomaz Espassandim’s season so far? He was fantastic offensively last year as a Second Baseman, but the power hasn’t been there this year as a First Baseman.
TRIVIA: Only three players on the Cardinals active roster were drafted by the Cardinals. Who are those three players?
STL: Luis Detres: (5-2, 2.63)
NYM: Liam Thomas: (2-4, 4.38)
Cardinals 5 Key Stats:
.752: St. Louis’ OPS against lefties: The Cardinals have the third highest OPS against lefties in the National League. With Patrick Leonard incinerating southpaws with a 1.269 OPS against them, St. Louis has had no trouble with left-handed pitchers. New York will send a righty to the mound in Liam Thomas, but the Cardinals are hoping the Mets turn to Jefferson Escorcha and Luis Orellana out of the pen today.
.201: Trent Clark’s Batting Average: Clark has battled a broken finger this year and hasn’t been able to get on track. Batting average has never been his calling card as it’s usually been below .240, but he’ll walk and hit extra bases to provide value. His slow offensive start hasn’t impacted his defense, however, as he’s already been produced a 2.2 Zone Rating in Center Field despite being 31-year-old and missing a month.
.319: Manny Machado’s Slugging Percentage: Machado signed on late with St. Louis and didn’t have the benefit of Spring Training, so he’s been brutally rusty to begin the season. He’s also a seven-time All-Star, and even though his last two seasons were the worst of his career, still straddled the .800 OPS mark as a Third Baseman. Machado will provide more juice for St. Louis when he comes around, and he’ll make the team even more potent against lefties. The question will be exactly when he shakes off the rust, and it may not be against Liam Thomas and the Mets.
2.63: Luis Detres’ ERA: Detres is second in the NL in ERA, staking his claim as one of the best arms in the league, even though he’s only 23. With Detres throwing mid-90s fastballs that sink or cut, he’s nearly impossible to hit hard. His 97 strikeouts are top-five thus far, and he’s allowed just two home runs. He’s off to a special start in what could be a special career.
63: Patrick Leonard’s RBI total: Leonard’s 57 homers led the AL last year, and he drove in 132 Angels. He’s clubbed as many as 63 long balls in a season. Toiling away in moribund Los Angels, his achievements went to waste. Revitalized by a competent Cardinals club, he’s turning in the best offensive season of a strong offensive career.
Mets 5 Key Stats:
272: Runs scored by the Mets: The Mets are 13th in runs in the National League, having a miserable go of it at the plate. A few hitters are hitting for average, a few are hitting for power, but few are having a complete season at the plate and too many hitters are providing little with the bat. It’s kept the Mets from being players in a weak NL East.
-20.20: New York’s Zone Rating: Despite employing a number of limp noodle bats, the Mets are second-to-last in NL Zone Rating. Yoelkis Cespedes has been rough in Left Field, Jacob Amaya has not played a good Shortstop, and Luis Morales has been brutal in Center. With New York struggling at the plate and the field, they’ve been stuck in third place in their division.
.411: Luis Morales’ June OPS: Morales got off to a hot start with seven home runs and an .853 OPS after April, but he hit just .234 with three long balls in May. He’s continued his struggled in June as the Mets have struggled to a 3-7 mark in the month. New York needs Morales to play better as their only hope of offensive success.
8: Consecutive Starts without a Home Run allowed by Liam Thomas: The rookie’s surface numbers have been a bit underwhelming, but are ultimately pretty good for a 22-year-old rookie. Thomas has already shown a preternatural ability to keep the ball in the park, especially for an arm without great stuff. He has just 44 strikeouts, and has given up some doubles, but hitters have had trouble elevating his pitches. His next step is finding a way to limit lefties to get base hits. They’re hitting .317 off him with 11 doubles.
.295: Jacob Amaya’s On-Base Percentage. Amaya has been a rough offensive player this year. He doesn’t have a home run, he has just one steal, and he’s getting on base less than 30% of the time. Amaya showed that he could be at least a second-division Shortstop last year, but he’s trending in the wrong direction this year. Either the defense needs to become average again at Shortstop, or he has to have a pulse at the plate to be a major-league caliber player again.
Questions for the GMs:
For Tim Lentz, Travis Vetters had a great run for the Carolina Mudcats before you brought him into your organization. He had two strong seasons managing the Memphis Redbirds. You promoted him internally to be your Bench Coach. How much of your success this season can trace back to him?
You attempted to make a run last year and failed horribly. You were more modest with your expectations this year, but are currently the Wild Card leader. What will your strategy be going forward in terms of development versus trying to win a title?
Jaap Hidding will miss a few weeks with a back injury. How will you replace him?
For Ryan Morneau, you went with a six-man staff, but Shohei Otani just went down for the rest of the year. Will you revert back to a five-man staff?
Will you make any changes to try to juice your offense?
What have you thought of Tomaz Espassandim’s season so far? He was fantastic offensively last year as a Second Baseman, but the power hasn’t been there this year as a First Baseman.
TRIVIA: Only three players on the Cardinals active roster were drafted by the Cardinals. Who are those three players?
