Post by Commissioner Erick on Jun 2, 2023 19:31:39 GMT -5
St. Louis Cardinals (57-42) @ Pittsburgh Pirates (49-49)
STL: Joe Shilts (2-2, 3.32)
PIT: Jayden Prescott (3-4, 3.72)
Cardinals 3 Key Stats
5.5: St. Louis’ lead in the Wild Card race: After a lengthy struggle to begin the season, the Cardinals have heated up with the weather. The club went 19-8 in June and have followed that with a 10-6 month so far. It hasn’t been all rosy—the Cardinals success correlates very closely with the caliber of their opponents the past two months, but the Cardinals have taken care of business against teams they need to take care of business against. One of the rare solid opponents they’ve faced is Pittsburgh—the Cardinals won two of three at home against them last week, and will look to keep the train going in Pittsburgh for four this week.
2: Seasons removed from the PBA for Bryan Martelo: The last we saw Bryan Martelo, he was in Boston following up a 2026 All-Star nod with a 35 homer campaign in 2027 as Boston was beginning its resurgence. Hold outs for lucrative deals, minor league options with out clauses, a lack of desire to play in the Meridian League—Martelo had only played in 16 games since 2027. He spent a day in A-ball for Peoria in 2029 before getting into 15 Triple-A games in Memphis. In 2028, he played in six games for Colombia in the WBC. That was it for his playing time before this year. Despite the time off, Martelo hasn’t missed a beat. His 127 OPS+ is a spitting image of 2027’s 129 mark and his .826 OPS does justice to his glory days with the Twins. He can still draw a walk and bash a homer, and has been a revelation to a Cardinals team needing a touch more of both.
0.9: Isaiah High’s WAR: High was a big acquisition for St. Louis and he’s fulfilled his end of the bargain. He already has 24 homers and 62 RBIs with a healthy .763 OPS. Unfortunately, High hasn’t walked too often and has a .247 average. He also only has nine doubles and has played mainly First Base. Added together, High has been okay, but hasn’t been too valuable a performer for St. Louis. He’ll need to bump his average closer to last year’s .297 and he’ll need to hit for some more doubles to provide more value for the Cardinals.
Pirates 3 Key Stats
.133: Wyatt Cross’ July average: Cross had been having a bad time of it this year, but his July has been disastrous. He has just six hits in 45 at bats. Eight walks helps, but he’s also struck out 18 times in the month. Cross also has negative framing runs, a negative zone rating, and has gunned down just 16% of runners. He’s been a complete disaster for a Pirates team that can’t afford too many negative players.
68: Chris Myers RBIs: Pittsburgh needed production after having to lose Alan Ramos over the offseason. Myers has been instrumental in making up for the lost production. His 68 driven in is fourth among First Baseman, an excellent number, and his .837 OPS ranks fourth as well. The 30-year-old mostly struggled in large roles when younger, but turned a corner last year, hitting for an .822 OPS in a small sample. He did it by clobbering righties in an unsustainable fashion. This year, he’s hit righties to a healthy but less absurd .289 average with 10 homers, and has pulverized lefties to a .321 mark. With one more round of arbitration left, Pittsburgh should have his services for a relatively cheap number for one more year.
.361: Luis Castillo’s OBP: Castillo has had a wild career. A former first round pick left open in the Rule V, he once hit .323 in a year and twice has been worth significant negative WAR. In only 205 plate appearances, he’s been able to .304 with a decent walks rate. He’s hit for good pop too, with a .467 slugging mark. He’s mostly played DH, hurting his WAR, and he’s simply refused to stop being thrown out the bases. After being gunned down on 11 of his 12 steal attempts last year, he’s been thrown out on six of his eight attempts this year. The Pirates need to give him a stop sign has recklessness is hurting the work he’s doing getting on base.
Questions for the GMs:
For Tim Lentz, you put Brooks on the IL and activated Jake Eder ahead of today—even though he can’t pitch for a few days. Why do you consider that your best option?
Darrick Hall will get the start today. Why does he still have a spot on the club with the rough year he’s having?
Why did you give Martelo a shot this year?
For Mike McAvoy, Kevin Truitt and Ken Falcone are due back off the IL today. Will we see them back on the roster today?
Luis Castillo has hit well and plays a relatively premium position. How come you don’t play him at Second Base more?
Will you look to make a move to bolster your team for the stretch run?
TRIVIA: Who has the most RBIs in Pirates history?
STL: Joe Shilts (2-2, 3.32)
PIT: Jayden Prescott (3-4, 3.72)
Cardinals 3 Key Stats
5.5: St. Louis’ lead in the Wild Card race: After a lengthy struggle to begin the season, the Cardinals have heated up with the weather. The club went 19-8 in June and have followed that with a 10-6 month so far. It hasn’t been all rosy—the Cardinals success correlates very closely with the caliber of their opponents the past two months, but the Cardinals have taken care of business against teams they need to take care of business against. One of the rare solid opponents they’ve faced is Pittsburgh—the Cardinals won two of three at home against them last week, and will look to keep the train going in Pittsburgh for four this week.
2: Seasons removed from the PBA for Bryan Martelo: The last we saw Bryan Martelo, he was in Boston following up a 2026 All-Star nod with a 35 homer campaign in 2027 as Boston was beginning its resurgence. Hold outs for lucrative deals, minor league options with out clauses, a lack of desire to play in the Meridian League—Martelo had only played in 16 games since 2027. He spent a day in A-ball for Peoria in 2029 before getting into 15 Triple-A games in Memphis. In 2028, he played in six games for Colombia in the WBC. That was it for his playing time before this year. Despite the time off, Martelo hasn’t missed a beat. His 127 OPS+ is a spitting image of 2027’s 129 mark and his .826 OPS does justice to his glory days with the Twins. He can still draw a walk and bash a homer, and has been a revelation to a Cardinals team needing a touch more of both.
0.9: Isaiah High’s WAR: High was a big acquisition for St. Louis and he’s fulfilled his end of the bargain. He already has 24 homers and 62 RBIs with a healthy .763 OPS. Unfortunately, High hasn’t walked too often and has a .247 average. He also only has nine doubles and has played mainly First Base. Added together, High has been okay, but hasn’t been too valuable a performer for St. Louis. He’ll need to bump his average closer to last year’s .297 and he’ll need to hit for some more doubles to provide more value for the Cardinals.
Pirates 3 Key Stats
.133: Wyatt Cross’ July average: Cross had been having a bad time of it this year, but his July has been disastrous. He has just six hits in 45 at bats. Eight walks helps, but he’s also struck out 18 times in the month. Cross also has negative framing runs, a negative zone rating, and has gunned down just 16% of runners. He’s been a complete disaster for a Pirates team that can’t afford too many negative players.
68: Chris Myers RBIs: Pittsburgh needed production after having to lose Alan Ramos over the offseason. Myers has been instrumental in making up for the lost production. His 68 driven in is fourth among First Baseman, an excellent number, and his .837 OPS ranks fourth as well. The 30-year-old mostly struggled in large roles when younger, but turned a corner last year, hitting for an .822 OPS in a small sample. He did it by clobbering righties in an unsustainable fashion. This year, he’s hit righties to a healthy but less absurd .289 average with 10 homers, and has pulverized lefties to a .321 mark. With one more round of arbitration left, Pittsburgh should have his services for a relatively cheap number for one more year.
.361: Luis Castillo’s OBP: Castillo has had a wild career. A former first round pick left open in the Rule V, he once hit .323 in a year and twice has been worth significant negative WAR. In only 205 plate appearances, he’s been able to .304 with a decent walks rate. He’s hit for good pop too, with a .467 slugging mark. He’s mostly played DH, hurting his WAR, and he’s simply refused to stop being thrown out the bases. After being gunned down on 11 of his 12 steal attempts last year, he’s been thrown out on six of his eight attempts this year. The Pirates need to give him a stop sign has recklessness is hurting the work he’s doing getting on base.
Questions for the GMs:
For Tim Lentz, you put Brooks on the IL and activated Jake Eder ahead of today—even though he can’t pitch for a few days. Why do you consider that your best option?
Darrick Hall will get the start today. Why does he still have a spot on the club with the rough year he’s having?
Why did you give Martelo a shot this year?
For Mike McAvoy, Kevin Truitt and Ken Falcone are due back off the IL today. Will we see them back on the roster today?
Luis Castillo has hit well and plays a relatively premium position. How come you don’t play him at Second Base more?
Will you look to make a move to bolster your team for the stretch run?
TRIVIA: Who has the most RBIs in Pirates history?
