Brandon Beachy has elected to become a free agent. He’s thrown 38 big league innings since 2012. In 2011 he went 7-3 with a 3.68 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 169 strikeouts over 141.2 outings. His elbow is just broken at this point.
Nelson Cruz went 40-108-87 in 2014. In 2015 he went 44-93-90. In 2016 he went 43-105-96. He’s also appeared in 159, 155 and 152 games. Pretty damn impressive for a guy who from 2009 to 2013 failed to appear in 130 games four times in five seasons.
Todd Frazier went .225-40-98-89-15. The average stinks, but why are people complaining about his effort? Do you know how many third baseman went 40-98-89-15? The answer is one. How many went 40-98-89-15 at any position? The answer is two – Frazier and Brian Dozier. Are you really sitting there complaining that Frazier hit .225? Shame on you.
John Jaso is going to work out at third base this offseason. You shouldn’t care unless you play in an NL-only league.
Jim Johnson has agreed to a 2-year deal with the Braves for a reported $10 million. The 33 year old righty saved 51 and 50 games in 2012 and 2013. He then had a hysterically bad 2014 with a 7.09 ERA and 1.95 WHIP over 54 outings. He rebounded a bit in 2015 though it’s not like a 2-6 record, a 4.46 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP is anything that caused anyone to ever look his way on draft day. Last season for the Braves he rebounded and became a person of note yet again. Johnson, for a poor club, saved 20 games with a 3.06 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. That’s more like it. Most intriguing for Johnson was that a man who has a 6.54 K/9 rate for his career flew upwards to 9.46 per nine in 2016. Can he sustain that? How can you think he will? This guy has pitched in the big league for 11 seasons and he’s never posted a mark above 7.52 and that was way back in 2010. Another reason to believe it won’t continue is that his swinging strike rate was 7.7 percent in 2016, still below his 7.9 career mark. #Caution
Joc Pederson went .210-26-54-67 as a rookie. In 2016, in 109 fewer plate appearances, Joc went .246-25-68-64. Better production in more than 100 fewer plate appearances. His OBP went up six points to .352 while his SLG went up to .495, an improvement of .078 points. Not often a guy posts a .847 OPS and no one talks about him. Pederson shouldn’t be slept on at the draft next season, though he still has a dangerous split to worry about (he has a .599 OPS over 213 plate appearances against lefties).
PLAYOFF NOTES
2: The number of pitchers who have beaten the Cubs 1-0 in the playoffs. The arms belong to lefties Clayton Kershaw and… Babe Ruth.
11: The number of postseason games this year that have been decided by one run (11-of-21 games).
Jose Bautista is batting leadoff in Game 3 for the Jays against the Indians. He is 0-for-6 with five strikeouts and two walks through two games. He’s complaining that the umps aren’t being fair. The data.
Yasmani Grandal is bringing the leather in the playoffs. He’s really boosting his mates with elite pitch framing. That link is really worth checking out, and it’s why Grandal will continue to be in the lineup even if his bat slumps.
The Indians’ Corey Kluber will start in Game 4 if Trevor Bauer is unable to go deep in Game 3 as he tries to pitch through the finger issue he suffered while playing with his drone. If the bullpen is needed heavily in Game 3 and Kluber is moved up to Game 4 it sounds like Ryan Merritt will start Game 5. If Bauer does deep and pitches well in Game 3, saving the bullpen, it sounds like Merritt will pitch Game 4 with Kluber going Game 5. Two things. (1) Mike Clevinger isn’t going to make a start. Sounds like the team just doesn’t trust him at this point. (2) Ryan Flippin’ Merritt is going to make a start. The 24 year old lefty made four big league appearances during the regular season, one start, with six strikeouts and no walks over 11 innings. A team is going for the AL championship and is starting Ryan Merritt in the playoffs. Yowzahs.
Andrew Miller has been spectacular for a few years. He’s taking his game to the next level in the playoffs. In four outings in the playoffs he’s nearly averaging two innings a turn with 7.2 innings of work. He’s yet to allow a run, has posted a 0.65 WHIP and has struck out 17 batters. Stupendous is the word I would use. Can’t pitch better. Can’t.
Devon Travis is done for the postseason as he will have arthroscopic surgery to help with a bone bruise and damaged cartilage in his knee. He should be fine for the start of Spring Training next year.
Ray Flowers can be heard Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday, 8 PM EDT, Wednesday 7 PM EDT on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 9 PM EDT PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).
Player News
Kyren Paris hit a two-run homer in Wednesday’s win for the Angels over the Blue Jays.
That’s the first homer for Paris since April 9 when he went deep twice against Tampa Bay and caused everyone to lose all sense of rational thought. The 23-year-old did also single and walk to improve his on-base percentage to .311,, while the homer bumps his slugging mark to .378. There is long-term upside in Paris with flashes that suggest he can be a fantasy option. Fantasy managers should still absolutely looking elsewhere for options up the middle.
Jorge Soler hit a three-run double in the bottom of the ninth to give the Angels a 5-4 win over the Blue Jays on Wednesday.
Trent Grisham went 1-for-1 with a game-tying two-run home run in the eighth inning of a 4-3 win over the Padres on Wednesday.
While the Yankees won this game on a walk-off in the 10th inning, Grisham’s game-tying home run in the eighth was the biggest moment. He came on as a pinch-hitter for Jorbit Vibas against the usually stout Jason Adam and smashed a two-strike changeup into the right field seats. This clutch shot will only continue to push Grisham’s playing time in the right direction after he just started eight of the last 10 games, hit either first or second in each, and already has 10 homers in 31 games played this season.
Jeff Hoffman blew a save and picked up a loss Wednesday against the Angels.
Devin Williams struck out three batters with one walk and hit another in a scoreless 10th inning to earn the win against the Padres on Wednesday.
The Yankees entrusted Williams with the all important 10th inning and the inherited ghost runner on second base after their dramatic comeback. While he loaded the bases and had some tense moments, he left the inning unscathed and opened the door for them to win it right after. It should be noted that Luke Weaver came on for what were the most important outs of this game at the time, after Ian Hamilton walked two to begin the eighth inning and Weaver allowed both of those inherited runners to score. He was called upon as the fireman though and will likely get the next save opportunity. Still, this was a massive step in the right direction for Williams.
Max Fried allowed five hits and one run with no walks and eight strikeouts over seven innings in a no-decision against the Padres on Wednesday.
Fried’s excellent season continued as he set down the Padres easily besides for a mammoth solo home run by Jackson Merrill. It was no matter though, as they rarely threatened otherwise and Fried continued to find his strikeout stuff. This was his fourth outing of the year with at least seven strikeouts, a mark he only hit 10 times last season in 29 starts. Fried with a strikeout rate that’s better than league average – which is where he’s at right now – is a clear top-10 pitcher in fantasy baseball. He’s set for a two-start week coming up against the Mariners and Mets.