Post by Commissioner Erick on Jul 16, 2018 6:16:37 GMT -5
Philadelphia Phillies (38-32) @ New York Yankees (48-21)
PHI: Mark Appel (5-3, 3.38)
NYY: Dan Straily (7-1, 3.67)
The Philadelphia Phillies find themselves surprisingly in the middle of a playoff hunt after a pair of 90-loss seasons. They sit at 38-32, but much of their season will depend on how they fare against a brutal schedule the next two and a half weeks. They'll do battle with the Braves, Nationals, and Dodgers during that period.
If that's not enough, they'll kick off a tough interleague series tonight when the Philadelphia Phillies travel to take on the New York Yankees.
The Phillies have had success on the backs of a few youngsters. J.P. Crawford and Maikel Franco appear to be a bit tired, but it may be from how they've carried the Philadelphia offense.
Crawford has made steady progress his first two years in the league. After a good year in Triple-A in 2017, he burst on the scene as a speedster last season. His 46 steals led the league despite a fairly inefficient percentage. However, we walked 99 times to 103 strikeouts, which is very advanced for any hitter, let alone a rookie. He produced a .273 average and 16 home runs, finishing second in Rookie of the Year voting. This season, Crawford only has nine steals, but he hasn't been caught. He's only struck out 22 times compared to 33 walks. His triple-slash is .302/.404/.503, and he's looking like one of the game's best young stars.
All Franco has done this year is put up the third most RBI's in the league as he's up to 18 home runs and 63 so far. With 18 doubles and a .298 average, he's on pace for a .300 average with 40 home runs and 40 RBIs, which would be remarkable.
Just as their young hitters have had great seasons, they're also seeing steady progress from staff ace Mark Appel. The 27-year old continues to learn how to use his stuff to put away hitters, and he now has 80 strikeouts in 80 innings. He has a real good fastball he commands low in the zone, plus a put-away slider. As a result he's much better against righties against lefties. With only 20 walks in his 80 innings though, he's been terrific at limiting the damage that would be done by his mistakes. He was in a zone a few weeks ago, when he went three straight starts without allowing a run.
He'll need to be sharp to take on a team that's second in the AL in home runs. The Yankees have gone 42-12 since April 25th, turning themselves into a juggernaut. Every member of their conventional starting nine has at least nine home runs, giving their lineup unmatched depth. Pitchers simply aren't afforded easy outs.
The Yankees, as is typical, feature an elite pitching staff. Their bullpen has the best ERA in the league as three relievers have an ERA of 2.02 or lower. They also have former All-Star Jonathan Holder striking out 41 hitters in 34 innings. With Dellin Betances back from a biceps chain, opposing teams better do their damage early.
That'll be tough with Dan Straily on the mound, part of a rotation where all five guys have an ERA under 4.00. The former Royal and Mariner is 7-1 with an ERA of 3.67. Embedded within those numbers are severe home/road splits. Straily has a 5.06 ERA in seven road starts and a 2.11 ERA in six home outings.
Straily gives up a fair share of fly balls, but he's been one of the more fortunate pitchers in the AL in the sense that he has the fourth lowest home run per fly ball rate in the league. If more of those fly balls started going over the fence, he'd be in trouble. As is, Straily's strong command of his 90mph fastball and his exceptional changeup have managed to miss the sweet spot of bats this year. As is, if Straily can avoid the middle of Franco's bat, the Yankees should have enough to win the game.
Questions for the GMs:
For Matt Grubbs, Mitch Walding has had a good start to his career, with a .300 average in a small sample. He's dealing with a strained hamstring though. Will he suit up?
Crawford and Franco have a lot of games under their belt this season. Will they get a game off today or during this series?
Colton Murray was a career minor-leaguer headed into this season. Now he's leading the league in saves. What convinced you that a player who was a 28-year-old rookie heading into the year would do such a good job as a closer?
For Greg Masceri, you've pivoted away from some of the lumbering, strikeout prone lineups you fielded in the past. This year you've rolled with Dustin Fowler in left field, but he has nine home runs, and an OBP under .300. Have you gotten what you expected or wanted out of Fowler?
Each year Greg Bird gets a little bit better, this year really improving his plate discipline, in turn allowing the power to play up further. There are a lot of good first basemen out there, but should he be starting the All-Star Game?
Nick Runeblow has a 1.84 ERA out of your pen. Ronald Herrera has a 2.02 mark. Where do you keep finding these guys?
PHI: Mark Appel (5-3, 3.38)
NYY: Dan Straily (7-1, 3.67)
The Philadelphia Phillies find themselves surprisingly in the middle of a playoff hunt after a pair of 90-loss seasons. They sit at 38-32, but much of their season will depend on how they fare against a brutal schedule the next two and a half weeks. They'll do battle with the Braves, Nationals, and Dodgers during that period.
If that's not enough, they'll kick off a tough interleague series tonight when the Philadelphia Phillies travel to take on the New York Yankees.
The Phillies have had success on the backs of a few youngsters. J.P. Crawford and Maikel Franco appear to be a bit tired, but it may be from how they've carried the Philadelphia offense.
Crawford has made steady progress his first two years in the league. After a good year in Triple-A in 2017, he burst on the scene as a speedster last season. His 46 steals led the league despite a fairly inefficient percentage. However, we walked 99 times to 103 strikeouts, which is very advanced for any hitter, let alone a rookie. He produced a .273 average and 16 home runs, finishing second in Rookie of the Year voting. This season, Crawford only has nine steals, but he hasn't been caught. He's only struck out 22 times compared to 33 walks. His triple-slash is .302/.404/.503, and he's looking like one of the game's best young stars.
All Franco has done this year is put up the third most RBI's in the league as he's up to 18 home runs and 63 so far. With 18 doubles and a .298 average, he's on pace for a .300 average with 40 home runs and 40 RBIs, which would be remarkable.
Just as their young hitters have had great seasons, they're also seeing steady progress from staff ace Mark Appel. The 27-year old continues to learn how to use his stuff to put away hitters, and he now has 80 strikeouts in 80 innings. He has a real good fastball he commands low in the zone, plus a put-away slider. As a result he's much better against righties against lefties. With only 20 walks in his 80 innings though, he's been terrific at limiting the damage that would be done by his mistakes. He was in a zone a few weeks ago, when he went three straight starts without allowing a run.
He'll need to be sharp to take on a team that's second in the AL in home runs. The Yankees have gone 42-12 since April 25th, turning themselves into a juggernaut. Every member of their conventional starting nine has at least nine home runs, giving their lineup unmatched depth. Pitchers simply aren't afforded easy outs.
The Yankees, as is typical, feature an elite pitching staff. Their bullpen has the best ERA in the league as three relievers have an ERA of 2.02 or lower. They also have former All-Star Jonathan Holder striking out 41 hitters in 34 innings. With Dellin Betances back from a biceps chain, opposing teams better do their damage early.
That'll be tough with Dan Straily on the mound, part of a rotation where all five guys have an ERA under 4.00. The former Royal and Mariner is 7-1 with an ERA of 3.67. Embedded within those numbers are severe home/road splits. Straily has a 5.06 ERA in seven road starts and a 2.11 ERA in six home outings.
Straily gives up a fair share of fly balls, but he's been one of the more fortunate pitchers in the AL in the sense that he has the fourth lowest home run per fly ball rate in the league. If more of those fly balls started going over the fence, he'd be in trouble. As is, Straily's strong command of his 90mph fastball and his exceptional changeup have managed to miss the sweet spot of bats this year. As is, if Straily can avoid the middle of Franco's bat, the Yankees should have enough to win the game.
Questions for the GMs:
For Matt Grubbs, Mitch Walding has had a good start to his career, with a .300 average in a small sample. He's dealing with a strained hamstring though. Will he suit up?
Crawford and Franco have a lot of games under their belt this season. Will they get a game off today or during this series?
Colton Murray was a career minor-leaguer headed into this season. Now he's leading the league in saves. What convinced you that a player who was a 28-year-old rookie heading into the year would do such a good job as a closer?
For Greg Masceri, you've pivoted away from some of the lumbering, strikeout prone lineups you fielded in the past. This year you've rolled with Dustin Fowler in left field, but he has nine home runs, and an OBP under .300. Have you gotten what you expected or wanted out of Fowler?
Each year Greg Bird gets a little bit better, this year really improving his plate discipline, in turn allowing the power to play up further. There are a lot of good first basemen out there, but should he be starting the All-Star Game?
Nick Runeblow has a 1.84 ERA out of your pen. Ronald Herrera has a 2.02 mark. Where do you keep finding these guys?