Post by Commissioner Erick on Jul 25, 2018 7:11:07 GMT -5
Los Angeles Dodgers (56-34) @ Washington Nationals (57-31)
LAD: Clayton Kershaw (13-3, 1.80)
WAS: Max Scherzer (8-5, 2.82)
There are few moments in baseball more anticipatory then when the best hitter in baseball faces the best pitcher in baseball.
Tonight's Game of the Week affords us such an opportunity.
Bryce Harper looks to continue a monstrous season against the dazzling Clayton Kershaw, when the Washington Nationals square off against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Despite only playing half a season last year, Bam Bam Bryce Harper garnered serious consideration for MVP, ultimately finishing third after winning in 2017. He's already eclipsed most of his numbers last year. In just 87 games and 390 plate appearances, Harper has 30 home runs, 68 driven in, and a .456 on-base percentage. He has 85 walks to 67 strikeouts showcasing his plate discipline that compliments the prodigious power, and has nine stolen bases for good measure.
After a pedestrian June, albeit one with 11 home runs, Harper has a .509 on-base percentage in July so far, which is absolutely unheard of. He is hitting only .258 against lefties and with more strikeouts than walks, though he does have seven home runs in 107 plate appearances against lefties. He still has a .958 OPS against lefties, but it's not the nuclear 1.176 against righties.
Basically, the one thing Harper hasn't been able to conquer yet this season is All-Star pitching. Against 2019 All-Stars, Harper is 7-38, though with four home runs. The only lefty all-star he's faced is Chris Sale and Harper went 0-8 against him. Harper may be mortal against the best pitchers, which is good for the Dodgers as they have, with respect to Carlos Martinez, maybe the best pitcher.
Clayton Kershaw has a better FIP- this year than Martinez did last year, which is extraordinary when you think back to what Martinez did last year. Considering the way the league's offensive profile has jumped this year, Kershaw's 1.80 ERA thus far is competitive with Martinez' 1.27 a year ago for the best pitching performance of all time. Kershaw has nearly double the WAR of any other pitcher in the NL this year, and leads the league in strikeouts, strikeout per nine, strikeout-to-walk ratio, wins, complete games, ERA, WHIP, FIP, everything. Importantly, he leads the league in innings and his projected 243 innings would trail Madison Bumgarner in 2017 for the most all time.
Kershaw has simply been spectacular. If Washington is looking for hope, Kershaw has allowed four or more runs only twice this year, but they've been on the road against elite offenses. The Cubs tagged him for five runs, four earned, in 6.2 innings in Wrigley on June 24th, and on June 3rd, Kershaw allowed seven runs, four earned, in a 4 inning start in Coors Field against the Rockies. If the trend continues, Kershaw may be able to get nicked by the second best offense in the league.
More likely, Kershaw will continue his impressive stretch of dominance where, since April 20th, where 11 of his 16 starts have resulted in one or fewer run issued.
To boost the team's offensive outlook with Michael de Leon struggling this month, a pair of old friends were added to the roster before the all-star break. Ian Kinsler had a league average offensive season for the Dodgers last year and provided positive value with his glove. After teams balked on signing him for the cost of losing a draft pick, he resigned with the Dodgers and toiled in Triple-A for half the year. After hitting .324 with 10 home runs and 10 steals, he'll now likely start a few days a week at second base.
After a pair of 20-plus home run seasons with the Dodgers, Logan Forsythe too went unsigned after having a qualifying offer attached to his neck. He resigned on a minor league deal with the Dodgers, and was league average offensively in Triple-A, prompting a call up.
Forsythe and Kinsler give the Dodgers a little more juice at second base and from the right side of the plate.
The Nationals will send Max Scherzer to the mound to counter Kershaw, and a good choice as he's been one of the most consistent pitchers in baseball. His 2017 WAR was 5.0. His 2018 WAR? 5.0. He's on pace for a season right around 5.0 this year as well. Scherzer's FIP is much higher this year than last year, but thanks to league differences, it grades out to the same FIP-. In 2017 Scherzer overperformed that FIP, while last year he was in line with it. This season, he's overperforming it by nearly a full run, which may be concerning.
On the other hand, Scherzer is one of the hardest working pitchers in baseball and can plow through tough situations. His BABIP is way down at .250, which makes sense now that he has the lowest ground ball rate in the National League. Scherzer dominates up in the zone where he still has the gas to blow hitters away, while working of his fastball to accumulate missed swings with his secondaries.
Like Kershaw, he's allowed more than three earned runs only twice this year—and like Kershaw one of those outings was in Chicago against the Cubs (a home start against San Francisco was the other). If anyone is able to hang in against Kershaw and fire a gem against the third best offense in baseball, it's Scherzer, though seeing some of the fly-ball hitting sluggers on Los Angeles take hacks against Scherzer hints that things can end badly too.
Questions for the GMs:
For Troy Allenbaugh, you called up Kinsler and Forsythe last week. Why did you make the roster moves you did?
Scherzer gives up a lot of fly balls, but he's very successful that way. Do you set your lineup a certain way to counter what Scherzer tries to do?
After Willie Calhoun's struggles in the majors, you demoted him all the way to Double-A, not Triple-A. Why?
For Jake Pennel, how will you set your lineup with a guy like Kershaw on the hill and your lineup mostly left-handed?
Sean Doolittle has been amazing since joining your team with 32 strikeouts against three walks in 19 innings. Your team is 29-15 since acquiring him, and 18-3 in its last 21 games. How has Doolittle contributed to that?
Many of your minor league teams lack coaches. Is there a reason for that development strategy?
LAD: Clayton Kershaw (13-3, 1.80)
WAS: Max Scherzer (8-5, 2.82)
There are few moments in baseball more anticipatory then when the best hitter in baseball faces the best pitcher in baseball.
Tonight's Game of the Week affords us such an opportunity.
Bryce Harper looks to continue a monstrous season against the dazzling Clayton Kershaw, when the Washington Nationals square off against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Despite only playing half a season last year, Bam Bam Bryce Harper garnered serious consideration for MVP, ultimately finishing third after winning in 2017. He's already eclipsed most of his numbers last year. In just 87 games and 390 plate appearances, Harper has 30 home runs, 68 driven in, and a .456 on-base percentage. He has 85 walks to 67 strikeouts showcasing his plate discipline that compliments the prodigious power, and has nine stolen bases for good measure.
After a pedestrian June, albeit one with 11 home runs, Harper has a .509 on-base percentage in July so far, which is absolutely unheard of. He is hitting only .258 against lefties and with more strikeouts than walks, though he does have seven home runs in 107 plate appearances against lefties. He still has a .958 OPS against lefties, but it's not the nuclear 1.176 against righties.
Basically, the one thing Harper hasn't been able to conquer yet this season is All-Star pitching. Against 2019 All-Stars, Harper is 7-38, though with four home runs. The only lefty all-star he's faced is Chris Sale and Harper went 0-8 against him. Harper may be mortal against the best pitchers, which is good for the Dodgers as they have, with respect to Carlos Martinez, maybe the best pitcher.
Clayton Kershaw has a better FIP- this year than Martinez did last year, which is extraordinary when you think back to what Martinez did last year. Considering the way the league's offensive profile has jumped this year, Kershaw's 1.80 ERA thus far is competitive with Martinez' 1.27 a year ago for the best pitching performance of all time. Kershaw has nearly double the WAR of any other pitcher in the NL this year, and leads the league in strikeouts, strikeout per nine, strikeout-to-walk ratio, wins, complete games, ERA, WHIP, FIP, everything. Importantly, he leads the league in innings and his projected 243 innings would trail Madison Bumgarner in 2017 for the most all time.
Kershaw has simply been spectacular. If Washington is looking for hope, Kershaw has allowed four or more runs only twice this year, but they've been on the road against elite offenses. The Cubs tagged him for five runs, four earned, in 6.2 innings in Wrigley on June 24th, and on June 3rd, Kershaw allowed seven runs, four earned, in a 4 inning start in Coors Field against the Rockies. If the trend continues, Kershaw may be able to get nicked by the second best offense in the league.
More likely, Kershaw will continue his impressive stretch of dominance where, since April 20th, where 11 of his 16 starts have resulted in one or fewer run issued.
To boost the team's offensive outlook with Michael de Leon struggling this month, a pair of old friends were added to the roster before the all-star break. Ian Kinsler had a league average offensive season for the Dodgers last year and provided positive value with his glove. After teams balked on signing him for the cost of losing a draft pick, he resigned with the Dodgers and toiled in Triple-A for half the year. After hitting .324 with 10 home runs and 10 steals, he'll now likely start a few days a week at second base.
After a pair of 20-plus home run seasons with the Dodgers, Logan Forsythe too went unsigned after having a qualifying offer attached to his neck. He resigned on a minor league deal with the Dodgers, and was league average offensively in Triple-A, prompting a call up.
Forsythe and Kinsler give the Dodgers a little more juice at second base and from the right side of the plate.
The Nationals will send Max Scherzer to the mound to counter Kershaw, and a good choice as he's been one of the most consistent pitchers in baseball. His 2017 WAR was 5.0. His 2018 WAR? 5.0. He's on pace for a season right around 5.0 this year as well. Scherzer's FIP is much higher this year than last year, but thanks to league differences, it grades out to the same FIP-. In 2017 Scherzer overperformed that FIP, while last year he was in line with it. This season, he's overperforming it by nearly a full run, which may be concerning.
On the other hand, Scherzer is one of the hardest working pitchers in baseball and can plow through tough situations. His BABIP is way down at .250, which makes sense now that he has the lowest ground ball rate in the National League. Scherzer dominates up in the zone where he still has the gas to blow hitters away, while working of his fastball to accumulate missed swings with his secondaries.
Like Kershaw, he's allowed more than three earned runs only twice this year—and like Kershaw one of those outings was in Chicago against the Cubs (a home start against San Francisco was the other). If anyone is able to hang in against Kershaw and fire a gem against the third best offense in baseball, it's Scherzer, though seeing some of the fly-ball hitting sluggers on Los Angeles take hacks against Scherzer hints that things can end badly too.
Questions for the GMs:
For Troy Allenbaugh, you called up Kinsler and Forsythe last week. Why did you make the roster moves you did?
Scherzer gives up a lot of fly balls, but he's very successful that way. Do you set your lineup a certain way to counter what Scherzer tries to do?
After Willie Calhoun's struggles in the majors, you demoted him all the way to Double-A, not Triple-A. Why?
For Jake Pennel, how will you set your lineup with a guy like Kershaw on the hill and your lineup mostly left-handed?
Sean Doolittle has been amazing since joining your team with 32 strikeouts against three walks in 19 innings. Your team is 29-15 since acquiring him, and 18-3 in its last 21 games. How has Doolittle contributed to that?
Many of your minor league teams lack coaches. Is there a reason for that development strategy?
