Post by Commissioner Erick on Apr 8, 2023 9:49:29 GMT -5
San Francisco (2-2) @ Los Angeles Dodgers (2-2)
SF: Tristan Casas (0-0, 0.00)
LAD: Joey Wentz (0-0, 0.00)
Giants 3 Key Stats
4.20: Tristan Casas’s career best ERA pitching more than 100 innings: With San Francisco’s talent, the Casas signing was peculiar. The Giants have elite pitching in their system and didn’t need to look outside the organization for a back-end arm. Casas may be better than that, but the results haven’t shown that in his career as last year was the first time he produced more than 2.0 WAR. Casas also can provide value with his bat though, saving a roster spot. He hasn’t hit yet this season and only took 12 at bats last year, but he does have 32 career homers in roughly a season’s worth of plate appearances.
7: Left handers expected to be in the lineup today against Joey Wentz. San Francisco is very left-handed in their lineup, which could cause issues today with Juan Campos, Andrew Benintendi, and righty Nelle Willemsen the only players on the team with a career OPS over .800 against lefties. This will be a test of San Francisco going with talent more than balance.
1: PCL Pitcher of the Year Award for Rich Sparks: Sparks had a solid PBA season in 2028 and dominated the minors last year, winning the Pacific Coast League’s American Conference Pitcher of the Year. Now 28, he should be in his prime, but San Francisco has him in the bullpen. The team has a ton of talent, but Sparks seems like a player whose career will be looked back upon as a major “what-if.”
Dodgers 3 Key Stats
25: Dodgers runs scored: Los Angeles has scored the second most runs with the best average in the league. They’re hitting .305. Luis Urias and Alex Verdugo are both hitting over.400, while Urias already has six driven in. They look like a ferocious offense, but their results are skewed by two factors—Playing an extra game than most teams, and putting up 16 runs on Arizona on Friday. They only scored nine runs their other three games, so this contest will go a long way to see just how good their offense is.
5.84: Joey Wentz’ ERA last year: Wentz had a spectacular 2025 after being acquired from the Phillies and went a long way to the Dodgers winning a title that year. He was solid again in 2026 in another title year, and excellent in 2027. The last two seasons have seen Wentz’ production go south though. He had a 4.43 ERA in 2028 going 11-11 with only 1.0 WAR. Last year he was well below replacement level as he stopped missing bats. The Dodgers need Wentz to pitch better as he’s owed $32 million this year and next, and has a $16 million team option for 2032.
1.9: Jeren Kendall’s Zone Rating: Kendall is on pace for roughly a +80 Zone Rating already. Last year was a rough year for Kendall as he only played 68 games, and put up a strong 4.5 zone rating, that was still far short of his other worldly numbers in years past, even accounting for the fewer innings. Kendall is always vulnerable to back spasms, but he’s feeling good now and playing great defense. His offense has also been strong with a .357 average in the opening series as well.
Questions for the GMs:
For Vic Black, why did you sign Tristan Casas when you have such a deep team already?
Are you worried that your lineup is so left-handed against a Dodgers team with so much left-handed pitching?
Evan Orcutt was an all-star last year and this year is in the minors. What does he have to do in order to earn a spot in the PBA?
For Ben Vincent, you have four left-handers in your rotation. Was that a deliberate choice?
You just signed Jadon Ancrum. Why did you go after him?
How has it been not having Willie Calhoun on the team anymore?
TRIVIA: Who is the only player to lead both the NL and the AL in Triples?
SF: Tristan Casas (0-0, 0.00)
LAD: Joey Wentz (0-0, 0.00)
Giants 3 Key Stats
4.20: Tristan Casas’s career best ERA pitching more than 100 innings: With San Francisco’s talent, the Casas signing was peculiar. The Giants have elite pitching in their system and didn’t need to look outside the organization for a back-end arm. Casas may be better than that, but the results haven’t shown that in his career as last year was the first time he produced more than 2.0 WAR. Casas also can provide value with his bat though, saving a roster spot. He hasn’t hit yet this season and only took 12 at bats last year, but he does have 32 career homers in roughly a season’s worth of plate appearances.
7: Left handers expected to be in the lineup today against Joey Wentz. San Francisco is very left-handed in their lineup, which could cause issues today with Juan Campos, Andrew Benintendi, and righty Nelle Willemsen the only players on the team with a career OPS over .800 against lefties. This will be a test of San Francisco going with talent more than balance.
1: PCL Pitcher of the Year Award for Rich Sparks: Sparks had a solid PBA season in 2028 and dominated the minors last year, winning the Pacific Coast League’s American Conference Pitcher of the Year. Now 28, he should be in his prime, but San Francisco has him in the bullpen. The team has a ton of talent, but Sparks seems like a player whose career will be looked back upon as a major “what-if.”
Dodgers 3 Key Stats
25: Dodgers runs scored: Los Angeles has scored the second most runs with the best average in the league. They’re hitting .305. Luis Urias and Alex Verdugo are both hitting over.400, while Urias already has six driven in. They look like a ferocious offense, but their results are skewed by two factors—Playing an extra game than most teams, and putting up 16 runs on Arizona on Friday. They only scored nine runs their other three games, so this contest will go a long way to see just how good their offense is.
5.84: Joey Wentz’ ERA last year: Wentz had a spectacular 2025 after being acquired from the Phillies and went a long way to the Dodgers winning a title that year. He was solid again in 2026 in another title year, and excellent in 2027. The last two seasons have seen Wentz’ production go south though. He had a 4.43 ERA in 2028 going 11-11 with only 1.0 WAR. Last year he was well below replacement level as he stopped missing bats. The Dodgers need Wentz to pitch better as he’s owed $32 million this year and next, and has a $16 million team option for 2032.
1.9: Jeren Kendall’s Zone Rating: Kendall is on pace for roughly a +80 Zone Rating already. Last year was a rough year for Kendall as he only played 68 games, and put up a strong 4.5 zone rating, that was still far short of his other worldly numbers in years past, even accounting for the fewer innings. Kendall is always vulnerable to back spasms, but he’s feeling good now and playing great defense. His offense has also been strong with a .357 average in the opening series as well.
Questions for the GMs:
For Vic Black, why did you sign Tristan Casas when you have such a deep team already?
Are you worried that your lineup is so left-handed against a Dodgers team with so much left-handed pitching?
Evan Orcutt was an all-star last year and this year is in the minors. What does he have to do in order to earn a spot in the PBA?
For Ben Vincent, you have four left-handers in your rotation. Was that a deliberate choice?
You just signed Jadon Ancrum. Why did you go after him?
How has it been not having Willie Calhoun on the team anymore?
TRIVIA: Who is the only player to lead both the NL and the AL in Triples?
