Post by Commissioner Erick on Dec 4, 2018 20:05:41 GMT -5
Washington Nationals (32-18) @ San Francisco Giants (20-32)
WAS: Max Scherzer (5-3, 2.86)
SF: Drew Pomeranz (3-4, 6.95)
Bryce Harper has consistently been the best hitter in the PBA year-after-year. He won the MVP in 2017, came close to winning it in 2018 despite missing half the season with a dislocated shoulder, and many felt he deserved to win it last year after falling short to winner Francisco Lindor. Harper has the two highest single-season OPS' in PBA history, and had he qualified in 2018, would have the top three.
The point is that Bryce Harper has been the best hitter in the PBA the past three years and is having his best season this year.
The first place Washington Nationals head west and force the San Francisco Giants to find an answer for Bryce Harper for the Game of the Week.
Harper has been spectacular every year of his career, but is outdoing himself this season. His numbers through 50 games are staggering. Harper is hitting .380 with a .520 OBP, which are both preposterous. He has 22 home runs through two months and is on pace to blast 71. He has more walks than strikeouts and is on pace for the most walks in a year in major league history, beating out his own mark in 2017—and his own mark last year. For fun, Harper has six steals and is playing the best right field of his career. Against same-side pitchers, Harper is hitting .559—with a 1.235 slugging percentage!
Harper has been the most dominating force in baseball and when historians look back at an amazing career, it's likely that his 2020 will be the best single-season offensive year in PBA history.
His success has also provided a number of opportunities for his teammates thanks to all the attention he gets. Fed a steady diet of fastballs, Victor Robles is batting .358 with a .439 on-base percentage in his second full year in the league. He's already scored 42 runs this year. Raul Mondesi has typically hit second and carries a .319 average with 41 runs scored. Both Mondesi and Robles have no issues running with Harper at the plate, and the two speedsters have 36 steals combined so far. In fact, both by stolen bases and wSB, the Nats are the best running team in the NL. Anthony Rendon doesn't have quite as many opportunities with Harper frequently clearing the bases, but he's driven in 30 runs and has a .330 average with a .391 OBP.
Those four players form a spectacular top of an order and do the majority of Washington's offensive damage. After those four, things are less explosive. Juan Soto already has 37 driven in thanks to good power and a favorable spot in the order, but he also has an on-base percentage under .300. Edwin Encarnacion also has an OBP under .300, and Kyle Tucker still hasn't hit in the majors. Washington can still have use for another bat without it being gauche, but they have the second best offense in the league despite their uneven bottom of the order.
If this wasn't enough for the Giants to deal with, the Nationals are also sending out the second best pitcher in the league in terms of WAR. Max Scherzer has been asked to start a ton of games for Washington, but that's settled down as Washington has incorporated a more normal rotation the last month. Scherzer is 5-3 with a 2.86 ERA in line with a 2.80 mark he put up last year. Scherzer strikes out a ton of batters, but everything in play is hit up in the air. If Scherzer is missing the sweet spot of bats, it leads to a lot of harmless fly outs and a low BABIP. In fact, Scherzer's BABIP is .249 this year, very close to last year's .248. The Giants will need to either hit some balls over the fence or make better contact to stay in the game.
Unfortunately, San Francisco is the fourth worst team at hitting home runs, playing in the worst park for home runs in the National League. They're middle of the pack at avoiding strikeouts, which will help them. However, they only have two regulars hitting above .244 as their offense has just not been consistent all season. Todd Frazier and Brandon Crawford are now batting under .200, while Christian Arroyo, batting champion in 2018, has seen his average drop to .259. Arroyo's departure from an MVP candidate to a league-average regular has been as damaging as its been perplexing.
Drew Pomeranz will take the hill with one of the more extreme home/road splits in baseball. He's been lit up on the road to the tune of a 12.05 ERA in six starts. In four home appearances, he's 2-0 with a 2.28 ERA in 23.2 innings.
Which Pomeranz shows up could determine whether or not the Giants stay in the game or whether Harper blasts the Giants to smithereens.
Questions for the GMs:
For Jake Pennel, as Bryce Harper's GM, how does it feel to witness his spectacular performances on a regular basis?
Veterans Michael Brantley and Adam Eaton haven't played nearly as often as expected thus far. How have you managed that situation?
Most teams wouldn't be as aggressive on the bases with such a powerful hitter in Harper, yet you still steal bases frequently. What feeds into that aggressive style?
For Samuel Rutledge, what goes through your mind when facing a hitter as destructive as Bryce Harper?
How has the change from Che-hsuan Lin to Austin Slater been this year?
Your series against the Cubs notwithstanding, your starting pitching has really settled down and pitched well this month. What's been the key for your guys to keep runs off the scoreboard?
WAS: Max Scherzer (5-3, 2.86)
SF: Drew Pomeranz (3-4, 6.95)
Bryce Harper has consistently been the best hitter in the PBA year-after-year. He won the MVP in 2017, came close to winning it in 2018 despite missing half the season with a dislocated shoulder, and many felt he deserved to win it last year after falling short to winner Francisco Lindor. Harper has the two highest single-season OPS' in PBA history, and had he qualified in 2018, would have the top three.
The point is that Bryce Harper has been the best hitter in the PBA the past three years and is having his best season this year.
The first place Washington Nationals head west and force the San Francisco Giants to find an answer for Bryce Harper for the Game of the Week.
Harper has been spectacular every year of his career, but is outdoing himself this season. His numbers through 50 games are staggering. Harper is hitting .380 with a .520 OBP, which are both preposterous. He has 22 home runs through two months and is on pace to blast 71. He has more walks than strikeouts and is on pace for the most walks in a year in major league history, beating out his own mark in 2017—and his own mark last year. For fun, Harper has six steals and is playing the best right field of his career. Against same-side pitchers, Harper is hitting .559—with a 1.235 slugging percentage!
Harper has been the most dominating force in baseball and when historians look back at an amazing career, it's likely that his 2020 will be the best single-season offensive year in PBA history.
His success has also provided a number of opportunities for his teammates thanks to all the attention he gets. Fed a steady diet of fastballs, Victor Robles is batting .358 with a .439 on-base percentage in his second full year in the league. He's already scored 42 runs this year. Raul Mondesi has typically hit second and carries a .319 average with 41 runs scored. Both Mondesi and Robles have no issues running with Harper at the plate, and the two speedsters have 36 steals combined so far. In fact, both by stolen bases and wSB, the Nats are the best running team in the NL. Anthony Rendon doesn't have quite as many opportunities with Harper frequently clearing the bases, but he's driven in 30 runs and has a .330 average with a .391 OBP.
Those four players form a spectacular top of an order and do the majority of Washington's offensive damage. After those four, things are less explosive. Juan Soto already has 37 driven in thanks to good power and a favorable spot in the order, but he also has an on-base percentage under .300. Edwin Encarnacion also has an OBP under .300, and Kyle Tucker still hasn't hit in the majors. Washington can still have use for another bat without it being gauche, but they have the second best offense in the league despite their uneven bottom of the order.
If this wasn't enough for the Giants to deal with, the Nationals are also sending out the second best pitcher in the league in terms of WAR. Max Scherzer has been asked to start a ton of games for Washington, but that's settled down as Washington has incorporated a more normal rotation the last month. Scherzer is 5-3 with a 2.86 ERA in line with a 2.80 mark he put up last year. Scherzer strikes out a ton of batters, but everything in play is hit up in the air. If Scherzer is missing the sweet spot of bats, it leads to a lot of harmless fly outs and a low BABIP. In fact, Scherzer's BABIP is .249 this year, very close to last year's .248. The Giants will need to either hit some balls over the fence or make better contact to stay in the game.
Unfortunately, San Francisco is the fourth worst team at hitting home runs, playing in the worst park for home runs in the National League. They're middle of the pack at avoiding strikeouts, which will help them. However, they only have two regulars hitting above .244 as their offense has just not been consistent all season. Todd Frazier and Brandon Crawford are now batting under .200, while Christian Arroyo, batting champion in 2018, has seen his average drop to .259. Arroyo's departure from an MVP candidate to a league-average regular has been as damaging as its been perplexing.
Drew Pomeranz will take the hill with one of the more extreme home/road splits in baseball. He's been lit up on the road to the tune of a 12.05 ERA in six starts. In four home appearances, he's 2-0 with a 2.28 ERA in 23.2 innings.
Which Pomeranz shows up could determine whether or not the Giants stay in the game or whether Harper blasts the Giants to smithereens.
Questions for the GMs:
For Jake Pennel, as Bryce Harper's GM, how does it feel to witness his spectacular performances on a regular basis?
Veterans Michael Brantley and Adam Eaton haven't played nearly as often as expected thus far. How have you managed that situation?
Most teams wouldn't be as aggressive on the bases with such a powerful hitter in Harper, yet you still steal bases frequently. What feeds into that aggressive style?
For Samuel Rutledge, what goes through your mind when facing a hitter as destructive as Bryce Harper?
How has the change from Che-hsuan Lin to Austin Slater been this year?
Your series against the Cubs notwithstanding, your starting pitching has really settled down and pitched well this month. What's been the key for your guys to keep runs off the scoreboard?
