This Week In The Show 7.18.16: MLB Trade Deadline Preview

By Alex Hale, @ThatCLESportGuy


With the Mid-Summer Classic now past us, the Baseball season now heads into the 2nd Half with quite a few races up for grabs with teams looking to improve.  Teams will be looking to upgrade their teams for the final months of the season by the end of the month at the Trading Deadline.  Fans have been used to in the past having an idea of which teams would be, “buyers” or “sellers” but in an era of having 2 Wild Card teams teams normally don’t have any idea of what their plans are until the last moment.  Unlike previous years though, there seems to be a good number of teams that seem to have their plans made for the deadline and are going through with putting those plans into motion.  With that said this is going to be my MLB Trade Deadline Preview, I’ll be doing a separate Indians deadline preview early next week.

But first let’s quickly mark off one pitcher now off the market

Boston Red Sox acquire SP Drew Pomeranz from San Diego Padres in exchange for SP Anderson Espinoza

Analysis- I LOVE this trade for San Diego.  Boston seems to once again betting on a pitcher finally, “figuring it out” and willing to trade a prized prospect.  They traded Yoenis Cespedes in 2014 offseason for Rick Porcello and that hasn’t worked out the way they hoped.  Pomeranz is in the midst of a breakout season, but remember he was pitching in Petco Park, a very pitcher friendly ballpark.  He now goes to Fenway Park where the ball can fly out of the park.  Pomeranz still struggles with giving up fly balls and playing in Boston might hurt everything he’s been working on in San Diego.  San Diego gets the 18 year old fireballer Anderson Espinoza, one of Boston’s top prospects and Baseball America’s #15 Prospect in Baseball.  While Espinoza is having an average season Low-A Greenville, he’s young and has a ton of potential.  I don’t get why Boston didn’t just make a package with Espinoza for a more proven pitcher like Braves SP Teheran.  I’d give Boston a B- grade and San Diego an A for the deal.


Anyways let’s get into the Trade Deadline Preview.

Buyers

Houston Astros- I wanted to lead with the Indians here but at the last minute after they announced the signing of Cuban sensation 3B Yulieski Gurriel as this puts the Astros are my most intriguing buyer.  The Astros are finally playing the way they should’ve been all year and are poised to make a lot of noise in the 2nd Half.  Gurriel is a Major League ready talent that will be up in the Majors in probably a few weeks.  What makes them interesting is SS prospect Alex Bregman has been tearing up the Minors and is ready to debut at any time now.  Bregman has been rumored that he would move to 3B with Correa at SS.  But the catch is Gurriel is primarily a 3B, now while the Astros have said they won’t move Bregman I’m not buying that one bit.  If an ace pitcher becomes available, why shouldn’t they add a real ace since defending Cy Young winner Dallas Kuechel has struggled all season.  While the Astros have other prospects worth dealing, Bregman can land them their ace, you know…Chris Sale would fit in perfectly in Houston.

Cleveland Indians- The Indians stand in first place in the AL Central and quite a few national writers are starting to prep for a Fall Classic in Cleveland.  The Indians offense has come alive and shown consistency through the first half.  We all know the Indians strength in their Starting Rotation, but it seems the Indians have a major problem in the bullpen.  Cody Allen seems to be okay as the team’s closer, but the Indians need a lefty arm in there that can work in the 8th to setup for Allen.  It seems the Indians are really scouring all options for the bullpen and at least monitoring the hitters on the market to maybe find another bat to put them over the top.

Miami Marlins- Don Mattingly has done an outstanding job in his first year really putting together a very formidable team in the AL East that has them right with the defending NL Champion New York Mets fighting for 2nd behind the Nationals.  They added All-Star RP Fernando Rodney to their bullpen to create a great back end of the bullpen of Rodney and fellow All-Star RP AJ Ramos.  While the Marlins offense and bullpen are pretty much set for a playoff run, they need another arm behind ace Jose Fernandez.  Wei-Yin Chen was expected to be that #2 guy, but hasn’t lived up to his contract.  If they really want to compete with the Mets and Nationals in their division, they must acquire another front of the rotation starter.

Baltimore Orioles- We all know the Orioles have one of the better lineups in the American League and with the emergence of Mark Trumbo to go with Manny Machado, their lineup seems as dangerous as ever.  Not to mention they still got a great bullpen led by Zach Britton, the Orioles should be able to sustain their success in the 2nd Half.  With all that said, the Orioles starting rotation is average to say the least.  Outside of Chris Tillman, the Orioles don’t have a real reliable option in the rotation.  If the Orioles want to continue to hold off Boston and Toronto, they must find another arm to go in their rotation by the deadline.

New York Mets- The defending National League Champions are in quite the interesting spot here.  They already lost 3B David Wright and now have lost SP Matt Harvey for the year.  Coming into the year, it was thought that the Mets rotation and bullpen would carry them to the NL East crown.  Instead it’s been injuries and lack of help behind OF Yoenis Cespedes that is holding them down.  Cespedes has followed up hist 2015 run in the Big Apple with another monster year, yet the Mets need more.  Neil Walker has been a solid addition, yet no David Murphy.  Outside of those two, the Mets next 2 most reliable hitters are James Loney and Asdrubal Cabrera.  Mike Conforto hasn’t lived up to the hype, Lucas Duda has been injured, and Travis D’Arnold is proving to be a mediocre hitting catcher.  The Mets should look to upgrade their Outfield and add another bat to help out Yoenis in the 2nd Half.


Honorable Mention- Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals


Sellers

San Diego Padres- As evidenced by the Drew Pomeranz trade, the fire sale is already underway.  While Pomeranz was one of their more intriguing players on the block, the Padres have numerous others that teams might be interested in.  Wil Myers has been rumored, but for now SD has no intention of trading him.  Melvin Upton is quietly having a great year, but the Padres might need to throw in cash to get a team to trade for him.  Matt Kemp is always an intriguing name, but his contract and his mediocre play make it hard for me to imagine a team trading for Kemp.  Andrew Cashner might have some value, but his decline has hurt the value he had a year ago.  Derek Norris is an intriguing trade option for teams looking for an upgrade at Catcher.

Minnesota Twins- I admit, I never expected the Twins, who took a huge step forward last year to take as huge of a step back this year.  Now the Twins are the worst team in the AL and fighting the Reds and Braves for the worst record in Baseball.  What makes the Twins so intriguing as a seller is that they don’t offer much to begin with as a seller.  While Eduardo Nunez is having a career year, most buyers don’t need an IF like Nunez.  The Twins could put up Kurt Suzuki and Trevor Plouffe, they don’t have a lot of value to begin with.  On the pitching side, it’s just as bad.  Ricky Nolasco has a big contract and really isn’t a great pitcher to begin with.  Ervin Santana may be the Twins best asset.  While he has a big contract, there are teams that will make a good offer to get a veteran starter like Santana to stabilize their rotations for the playoffs.  The Twins can try to be sellers, but reality is there’s not much to sell.

Atlanta Braves- Since April, we’ve known the Braves were going to be sellers at the Trade Deadline, but the question is who is on the market from the Braves?  A month ago it seemed to be a sure thing that SP Julio Teheran would be dealt, but now the Braves seem to be hesitant and have moved other starters like SP Bud Norris instead.  I think after the Pomeranz deal, Teheran staying in Atlanta seems to look better now.  After Teheran, the Braves have hard throwing CP Arodys Vizcaino that could intrigue teams looking for a young reliever.  As for the offensive side, as much as teams may want 1B Freddie Freeman, the Braves won’t deal him.  They still have OF Nick Markakis that could really benefit a team looking for a consistent bat and a great defensive outfielder.  There also have been rumblings of C Tyler Flowers getting moved as well.  Expect the Braves to be active at the deadline.

Cincinnati Reds- Quite possibly the most intriguing team at the Trading Deadline.  The Reds are obviously going to start the rebuilding process here at the deadline, but the question is how much are they going to, “blow it up”?  All talks about the Reds starts with OF Jay Bruce who is having one of his better years.  Teams have already talked to the Reds regarding Bruce and people forget that the Reds did have a deal done with Toronto in Spring Training.  I would expect Bruce dealt by the deadline.  Teams might call on veteran Brandon Phillips, but it looks like the buyers on the market are already set in the middle infield.  Adam Duvall is having a breakout year and teams might be calling, but I doubt he’s moved.  The big question is if someone calls on team icon Joey Votto, do the Reds listen?  My prediction, the Reds will listen on the Votto and don’t rule out maybe a Boston or New York Mets work out a deal.

Honorable Mention- Los Angeles Angels, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland A’s

On The Edge

New York Yankees- The struggle for power of the Yankees is real folks.  GM Brian Cashman sees that the Yankees need to rebuild by trading away one or two of their relievers for prospects in a market where everyone will want their relievers.  Unfortunately Hal Steinbrenner is in his way.  The Yankees will probably play out the week and make their decision then on whether to buy or sell at the deadline.  With Carlos Beltran to go with their relievers, the Yankees have pieces teams could be interested in. 

Colorado Rockies- Surprisingly the Rockies are sitting in 3rd Place in the NL West and 7GB in the NL Wild Card.  Like usual, the Rockies calling card is their stellar offense and their pitching needs help.  I don’t think the Rockies will be buyers, but if they start the 2nd Half strong, they won’t be sellers at the deadline.  Obviously if a Carlos Gonzalez was on the trade market, it would make things very interesting, but Rockies know they can always trade him in the offseason.

Pittsburgh Pirates- The Pirates are very intriguing as they are right in the Wild Card race.  The Pirates are in my opinion at a point where they must retool instead of contend.  I’m not saying rebuild, but because their prized young arms are finally arriving in Pittsburgh.  The Pirates have some nice young players to be excited about but I’d consider some form of retooling the roster that makes the Pirates even better in 2017.

Kansas City Royals- The defending World Champions have had quite the interesting first half.  They’ve suffered through injuries to key players and having to call up unknown players to replace the shoes of key players.  While the Royals sit in 4th in the AL Central, the Royals still think they can make a run.  They really need starting pitching help, but it might cost the rest of the farm system they haven’t traded over the past few years to get that.  The question is will Kansas City mortgage the rest of their future to try to overcome a big deficit in the AL Central?

Honorable Mention- Seattle Mariners


While I know we covered a lot in there, since the introduction of the Wild Card Game and adding a 2nd Wild Card team, teams have proven at the deadline to be indecisive.  Only the teams truly out in front of everyone and those clearly out of it really make deals.  I would expect things to really pick up over the next week as teams start to figure out where they stand and decide what they want to do.  I hope this gives Baseball fans a wide perspective of what to expect at the deadline.  I’ll follow this up in the next few days with my Cleveland Indians Trade Deadline Preview and before the Trade Deadline passes I’ll give you guys the 5 trades I want to see happen.  This is possibly my favorite time of the Baseball season as we finally will start to see which teams are going to make a run for their chance to win the Fall Classic later this year and I’m excited to see what the next few weeks bring us that shape up the hunt for October.

The Stars Shine In San Diego #MLBAllStarGame #AllStarGame

By Alex Hale, @ThatCLESportGuy

It’s that time of year again when the American and National League All-Stars are announced for the MLB All-Star Game.  After last year’s debacle of watching Kansas City Royals fans stuffing the ballots, I realized that there really should be an unbiased opinion giving their own take on the All-Star Game.  So instead of writing about the Indians and their trade options, we’re going to go through my choices for the American and National League All-Stars.  This will include my starting choices and my selections for the reserves.  I decided to do this after the announcement of the All-Star Rosters to compare to see how a Baseball fan like myself compared with how the Fans voted.  I’m pretty sure I’m not going to agree with everything the fans did.  This is a completely unbiased opinion of my choices for the 2016 Mid Summer Classic.


National League

Catcher- Wilson Ramos, Washington Nationals- First off, how can anyone vote Yadier Molina who is past his prime and the numbers clearly show it.  Ramos is having a career year hitting .340 with 13 HR and 46 RBIs.  Most people honestly have no idea who Ramos is and the fact he is a very good hitter.  Ramos has been a big part of the Nationals this year and currently is in 3rd place behind Yadier Molina and Buster Posey.  Compared to those two ahead of him, Ramos is the starter and its not even close.

First Base- Anthony Rizzo, Chicago Cubs- This isn’t much of a debate here.  The leader of the Cubs who is once again having a big year with 20 HRs and 61 RBIs.  This was a tough call because Paul Goldschmidt is just as deserving as Rizzo.  What really was the deciding factor as the numbers in their own rights were equally as impressive was the fact that Rizzo is playing for the Cubs, the best team in baseball.  So in a way by default Rizzo for me would get the nod.  But again for the record, Paul Goldschmidt is just as deserving.

Second Base- Daniel Murphy, Washington Nationals- A .347 average, 14 HRs, and 56 RBIs, Washington really looks smart for paying Murphy the money they did to get him.  While I can understand the support for Cubs 2B Ben Zobrist, but the debate isn’t even close.  I’m surprised especially after his October stretch last year from a national standpoint that more people aren’t voting for him.  He should be the starter here over Zobrist.

Shortstop- Corey Seager, Los Angeles Dodgers- First off…HOW IS ADDISON RUSSELL AN ALL-STAR?  That’s a joke, the guy is hitting barely over .240 right now!  Corey Seager in his first full year has clearly lived up to the hype.  He has 17 HRs, is hitting around the .300 level and guys, this kid is for real.  What’s more alarming was Seager was behind Trevor Story and Addison Russell in the voting.  This is a joke if Russell starts.  You cannot deny Seager is the best SS in the NL right now.

Third Base- Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies- I get it Cubs fans…you’re stuffing the ballots this year but once again there’s another player whose numbers are far better than your player.  America meet Nolan Arenado, the 2015 NL HR and RBI leader and your current NL RBI leader.  Nobody knows about him most likely because he plays for the Rockies, but he’s the most talented 3B in baseball today.  He plays great defense and although he plays in Coors Field, he really is that good of a hitter.  I know Kris Bryant is having a good year as well, but if the 2015 NL HR and RBI leader is following up with another strong year like Arenado, he must start.

Outfielder #1- Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals- This doesn’t deserve much explanation at all.  Unanimous 2015 NL MVP, and while he isn’t have a strong year, this is the most talked about player in baseball, for the sake of the game he has to start.  Also…Bryce be in the HR Derby please.

Outfielder #2- Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies- Carlos Gonzalez is somehow 7th in the voting for NL Outfielder behind the entire Cubs outfield and that’s a crime.  CarGo is hitting .317 with 18 HRs and 51 RBIs…how is this not as good as anyone in the Cubs outfield?  Reality is this guy should be in the starting lineup without question, yet again fans are too biased to be allowed to vote.  CarGo is a proven MLB star who deserves the respect of fans everywhere as one of the games best.  It’s not his fault people he’s played in Colorado all these years.

Outfielder #3- Yoenis Cespedes, New York Mets- As it stands Yoenis Cespedes and Bryce Harper seem to be locks on the current balloting to start for the NL and at least we got 2 of the 3 outfielders right.  Cespedes has followed up his MVP level 2nd Half with the Mets last year and had it carry over this year.  He has 20 HRs, 50 RBIs and has his average at the .300 mark.  There’s no question that the Mets offense revolves around his stellar performance.  He’s earned his spot on the NL Starting lineup.

Starting Pitcher- Jake Arrieta, Chicago Cubs- Does this really warrant an explanation now that Clayton Kershaw won’t be available for the All-Star Game?  No it doesn’t.  Arrieta has continued his 2nd Half dominance from last year into this year so yeah I’m starting him.

NL Reserves

C Buster Posey SF
C Jonathan Lucroy MIL
1B Paul Goldschmidt ARI
1B Wil Myers SD
2B Ben Zobrist CHC
2B Neil Walker NYM
SS Aledmys Diaz STL
3B Kris Bryant CHC
OF Starling Marte PIT
OF Marcel Ozuna MIA
OF Obdel Herrera PHI
OF Jay Bruce CIN

NL Pitchers

SP- Julio Teheran ATL
SP- Madison Bumgarner SF
SP- Jon Lester CHC
SP- Noah Synergaard NYM
SP- Jose Fernandez MIA
CP- Jeurys Familia NYM
CP- Kenley Jensen LAD
CP- Mark Melacon PIT
CP- AJ Ramos MIA



American League

Catcher- Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals- Arguably the heart and soul of the defending champion Royals has continued his stellar play in 2016 and looking at really the rest of his competition in the AL, this is a no-brainer.  The next choice would be Matt Wieters, but Perez’s stats clearly top Wieters offensively and its arguable the two are equal defensively.  By where their respective teams stand, Wieters’ Orioles are in 1st in the AL East, while Perez and the Royals are in 2nd in the AL Central.  My theory is if the stats are equal, team record is the tiebreaker.  In this case, Perez’s stats surpass Wieters and gets the nod from me.

First Base- Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers- Who else am I going to choose?  Chris Davis has shown great power this year, but his average has dropped.  Eric Hosmer might be a good selection as well, but like the case of Perez over Wieters, Miggy’s stats top Hosmer.  Besides who else in the AL should start at 1B?  As long as Miggy is having a, “Miggy” type season, he needs to start.  With a .300 avg, 18 HRs and 51 RBIs, Miguel Cabrera edges Hosmer and gets my selection to start at 1B.

Second Base- Jose Altuve, Houston Astros- This position was extremely hard for me to vote on.  Robinson Cano has had an outstanding first half, looking like the Yankees Robinson Cano who was an offensive force to be reckoned with.  The problem is…Jose Altuve is that damn good now.  Altuve is hitting .353 leading the MLB.  On top of that, Altuve has had a power explosion in the first half with 14 HRs so far (his career high is 15 last year).  Add to that he’s at the top of the AL in steals with 21, Altuve might be a leading candidate in the AL for AL MVP.  At the end of the day, love the bounce back year by Cano, but it’s not enough.

Shortstop- Francisco Lindor, Cleveland Indians- To the National Fans of Major League Baseball…stop hating on Francisco Lindor.  First off, the Writers Association ROBBED Francisco Lindor of the AL Rookie of the Year last year.  Now because Carlos Correa got all that publicity, nobody knows who Lindor is and it’s shown in the voting for AL Starting SS.  This is not even a debate.  Yes, Xander Bogaerts is having a great year, but Lindor matches him offensively, far surpasses him defensively (can I see seriously Altuve and Lindor turn a double play in this game?)  The National Media is going to rob the fans of last year’s Gold Glove 2B turning two with this year’s Gold Glove SS.  While Bogaerts beats Lindor out in average, the rest of the stats are somewhat the same.  So that tiebreaker comes into play, Indians are in 1st in AL Central, Red Sox are in 2nd in AL East.  Therefore Lindor wins in my book.

Third Base- Manny Machado, Baltimore Orioles- We all talk about Mookie Betts, Mike Trout, and Bryce Harper as these big name hitters in the game, but where’s the Manny Machado love?  Well I’ll admit people are starting to notice the talent he has.  After a great season last year quietly hitting 35 HRs and had 20 steals, he’s followed it up with 18 HRs and 50 RBIs this year.  Although he doesn’t have any steals this year, his average has jumped from a .286 avg to right now a .330 avg on the year.  Honestly if I had to vote for the AL MVP today, it’s going to be Manny Machado.

Outfielder #1- Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels- Well the Angels might be in last place in the AL West, but it’s not because of Mike Trout.  Once again Trout is the one bright spot in the Angels season so far as nothing has gone right for them this year.  After socking 41 HRs last year, he’s followed it up with 17 HRs so far and is back to hitting over .300 on the year.  If he only was on a better team that made it so he didn’t have to carry the load and just play his game…the numbers he’d put up.

Outfielder #2- Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox- My MLB Preview dark horse pick to be the AL MVP hasn’t disappointed me at all.  Mookie has made a major jump from his first full MLB season into his second full season.  While his average is around the same area it was last year (.296 avg.), he’s already hit 18 HRs and has 57 RBIs and 13 steals.  Betts will probably have a 25-25 season when its all said and done, but for right now to put Mookie Betts in the same outfield as Mike Trout is a treat for every MLB fan in the All Star Game.

Outfielder #3- Ian Desmond, Texas Rangers- Yes I’m going out of the box in a way with my 3rd AL Outfielder selection.  Remember last year when Ian Desmond was the SS for the Washington Nationals?  Now he’s the CF for the Texas Rangers and has done an outstanding job with the defensive transition and not letting the change in position and jump to the AL effect his offense.  It’s arguable that he’s better than what he was offensively last year.  Currently he’s hitting a career-high .321 with 15 HRs, 52 RBIs and 14 steals as well.  So basically he’s on pace for a 30-30 season, which basically is Mike Trout/Mookie Betts territory, bottom line…he deserves to start with them.

Starting Pitcher- Danny Salazar, Cleveland Indians- This was a tough call between Chris Sale and Danny Salazar.  Ironically, Sale was my preseason AL Cy Young pick, while Salazar was my dark horse pick.  As of now I’d give the nod to Salazar over Sale.  Right now Salazar leads the AL in ERA at 2.22 with a 10-3 record, while getting June AL Pitcher of the Month with a 5-0 record, with a 1.91 ERA.  Everyone is talking about how historically great the Indians rotation is and as long as Salazar keeps it up, because of how good the Indians rotation has been, Salazar must get the nod.

AL Reserves

C- Matt Wieters BAL
1B- Eric Hosmer KC
2B- Brian Dozier MIN
2B- Robinson Cano SEA
SS- Xander Bogaerts BOS
3B- Danny Valencia OAK
3B- Evan Longoria TB
OF- Jackie Bradley Jr BOS
OF- Carlos Beltran NYY
OF- Mark Trumbo BAL
DH- David Ortiz BOS
UTIL- Jose Ramirez CLE

AL Pitchers

SP- Chris Sale CWS
SP- Josh Tomlin CLE
SP- Cole Hamels TEX
SP- Steven Wright TEX
SP- Marco Estrada TOR
RP- Andrew Miller NYY
CP- Wade Davis KC
CP- Zach Britton BAL
CP- Craig Kimbrel BOS
CP- Alex Colome TB


Now I’m not going to compare pick for pick with what the real MLB All-Star Game rosters are like.  This was my unbiased view of the players who thought should go to San Diego.  It really is a shame that the players couldn’t get the right players in front the teams at the bottom of the division.  For example Adam Duvall who is having a great season for Cincinnati got the nod over teammate Jay Bruce.  In my opinion, Bruce should’ve been the choice.  I also think the Indians were disrespected by the league with only 2 All-Star players.  Everyone keeps talking about how great the Indians rotation is and while Corey Kluber ruined it for himself in Toronto, Josh Tomlin deserved an All-Star appearance.

In the end when it comes to All-Star Starters, fans need to do their homework.  In no way should Cubs SS Addison Russell be a starter.  Over the past 2 years, we had the Royals fans almost vote 2B Omar Infante as an All-Star (who is now a FA), and now Cubs fans picked their entire Infield.  Fans need to know the longer this kind of voting occurs, the more likely that in the future, you might lose your power to vote for All-Stars.


Fans must remember, the Winner of the All-Star Game determines Home Field Advantage for the World Series.  So for next year, make sure your vote is counted.  The All-Star Game is normally a fun and competitive game to watch so enjoy the game because after the All-Star Game, the fun is just beginning…

This Week In The Show 7.1.16 #MLB #Indians

By Alex Hale, @ThatCLESportGuy

After a few weeks of almost nothing major to talk about regarding the Baseball season in the month of June, the last week of the month really has brought a lot of stories to light.  For the non diehard fans of the game, June is typically a month where there’s a lot of nothing to talk about.  It’s almost fitting that the MLB Draft is during that time period.  During this time, no team really sticks out from the rest of the pack, teams are still in the race, while some are on the verge of potentially already being eliminated.  This month normally is to set up the craziness of July with the trade deadline, and August with playoff teams separating himself.  With that said, we’re going to take what has happened over the past month into one big, “This Week In The Show”.

Mickey Moniak Outta Nowhere- The 2016 MLB Draft was highlighted with a couple of big time names, but no clear #1 pick.  The Philadelphia Phillies held the #1 pick and picked HS OF Mickey Moniak, which stunned myself.  According to a lot of analysts think that Moniak has the ability to be a 5 tool player that can make a big impact for the Phillies sometime down the road.  The draft’s theme continued to follow the trend of surprising picks highlighted by Florida SP AJ Puk falling to the Oakland A’s at #6 and Mercer OF Kyle Lewis falling to the Seattle Mariners at #11.  It was by far one of the more interesting drafts in recent memory.

My thoughts- To fans who don’t understand the MLB Draft, it’s far more complex than people think.  There are so many factors to take in as a GM that teams in the NBA and NFL never had to take into effect like sign-ability, signing bonus cap, and concern over whether players will attend school or play pro ball.  The MLB Draft is always something I love to watch because of its unpredictability.

A Crack in Shield’s armor- So… a month ago I was commenting on the Chicago White Sox trade for SP James Shields.  In his first 5 starts for the White Sox, Shields has a record of 1-2 and has an alarming 11.07 ERA…wait I’m reading that right, right?  11.07 ERA?  Yes that’s not a typo.  The White Sox really have struggled over the past month with their pitching, which was dominating the first few months, but now Mat Latos was released and picked up on a minor-league contract with Washington.  The White Sox have slipped back down to 3rd in the AL Central and the way it looks, the White Sox probably peaked too early and have come back down to earth.

My thoughts- First off, Chicago didn’t pay a huge price price to get Shields, plus they got San Diego to take on some of his contract.  Shields is an older veteran that honestly shouldn’t be relied on as a front of the rotation option.  While the Sox have Chris Sale and Jose Quintana ahead of him but if the Sox have any chance, they need Shields to bounce back, but honestly he’s on the rapid decline.

San Diego Fire Sale- After trading away James Shields last month, the Padres continued their fire sale by trading away closer Fernando Rodney to the Marlins.  On top of that, OF Matt Kemp has been shopped to teams, with the Padres offering to pay some of Kemp’s salary to move him.  While Kemp has some value it seems most teams are calling off 1B Wil Myers and SP Drew Pomeranz.  While the Padres have said they have no interest in trading either player, when it comes down to it at the deadline, they might move one or both.

My thoughts- As much as the Padres don’t want to trade Wil Myers or Drew Pomeranz, those two will bring back the most in terms of prospects to replenish their farm system in their rebuild.  Matt Kemp will probably be dealt too, but the Padres will have to pay a hefty sum of salary with him to make a team interested to bringing him into a playoff contender.  Bottom line, there’s smoke coming from San Diego and there’s a full blown fire sale going right now.

Cleveland Rocks- You cannot deny June has been a special month for Cleveland.  Not only did the Cavs bring home the NBA Championship, but the Indians ended the month of June on fire tying a Franchise record of 13 straight wins.  The pitching has been outstanding, the bullpen has done enough and the bats have finally come alive.  It’s making some fans actually debate if the Indians actually need to trade for a bat (what dimension am I living in?).  Lead by a rotation of Carlos Carrasco, Corey Kluber, Danny Salazar, and an emerging Trevor Bauer, the Indians rotation is a living nightmare for the American League.  Now that the bats have come alive, Cleveland needs to brace themselves for what Radio Broadcaster Tom Hamilton likes to call, “An October to remember”.

My thoughts- The Indians are for real, their pitching is outstanding, although they should target a closer in the trade market.  If they could add maybe another bat to solidify the lineup, when Brantley comes back from injury the Indians could really make some noise in a wide open American League.

With the All-Star game right around the corner, I’ll have up here my personal All-Star picks in the next week so stay tuned for that.  Other than that, we’re now heading into the best part of the Baseball season which are those, “dog days of summer”.  Over the next few weeks with a lot of teams needed to make moves, expect a flurry of movement with some blockbuster trades and trust me I’ll be right on top of that for you.  After a few months of some great feel-good stories, this is the part of season where the men will separate for the boys so strap in folks, this roller coaster is going full force right now as we go through this baseball season.  As I keep saying, enjoy it, before you know it the season will be over.  We’re heading into July now, so to especially Tribe fans, go out and support your teams!

This Week In The Show 4.15.16

By Alex Hale, @DaSportsGenius7

It didn’t take long for the MLB Season to give us quite a few big stories.  From record breaking starts, injuries, controversial finishes, and crazy weather cancelling games for teams, we’ve been through almost 2 weeks of the season and it’s already shaping up to be a crazy season.  Throughout the season every so often I’m going to give my thoughts on some of the MLB’s biggest storylines.  For this we did ignore the great starts of Robinson Cano, the Cubs and the Nationals because those shouldn’t surprise anyone.  We instead took some teams and situations and shed a different light on them for you.

The San Diego Padres: While currently their record sits at 3-7, their first series against the Dodgers was a clear warning sign.  They were shutout and swept by the Dodgers and a majority of their runs came from 2 wins in Colorado scoring 29 runs in those games.  They’ve scored 8 runs in the other 8 games combined.  On top of that, on Thursday Vince Velasquez of the Phillies limited the Padres to a 3 hit shutout, striking out 16 Padres.  Padre fans may get the All-Star game, but they’re in for a bad season ahead of them.

My thoughts: Padres are one of those Franchises that thinks it can do a small retooling of their team and not rebuild.  After last season’s failure when they traded for Matt Kemp and Wil Myers, the Padres should’ve rebuilt.  They will be selling big time come July and will have a new GM next year.

The Baltimore Orioles: The Orioles have started the season red hot, jumping out to a 7-1 record.  So far their pitching has been better than expected, especially in the starting rotation where Chris Tillman has emerged as their ace.  We all knew their offense and bullpen were near the top of not just the division, but the American league.  If the pitching staff can continue to hold down the fort all year, the Orioles could cause problems in the American League.

My thoughts: I’m not going to buy the Orioles hot start.  Their rotation has proven in the past to be very erratic.  While they sometimes do just enough to get the W, they lack an ace to really push them over the top.  If they keep this up, they will need to acquire one.  If not, this is a classic, “fool’s gold” start.

Minnesota Twins are still winless: After jumping my expectations of them last year and being one of the young teams to watch out for, the Twins have opened the season and have yet to win a game.  2015 Rookie standout Miguel Sano is only hitting .143 and the team combined is hitting only .210.  The crazy part is the pitching staff has done well, led by Ervin Santana.  What’s worse is the Twins’ Closer Glen Perkins was just put on the 15-day DL.  In a competitive AL Central, they need to turn it around quick, or start prepping for 2017.

My thoughts: The Twins will go as far as Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano can take them.  Both guys are key cornerstones to the franchise and although last year was a great first step, the Twins still got a ways to go before they’re truly ready.

Kyle Schwarber Out for Season with Torn ACL: Really bad break for the Cubs, who were expecting a lot from Schwarber after his strong rookie season and an impressive postseason campaign.  Schwarber was expected to be the Cubs everyday LF in a stacked Cubs OF with Dexter Fowler, Jason Heyward and Jorge Soler coming off the bench.  This forces the Cubs to play Jorge Soler everyday where probably Jorge Soler isn’t ready to play everyday.

My thoughts: Jorge Soler, first off, is a top flight talent with major upside that hasn’t been tapped into yet.  This is a great opportunity for the Cubs to find out how good Soler is because if he’s as good as he was advertised coming out of Cuba, the Cubs are going to have quite the OF problem that is good to have in 2017.  Tough break for Schwarber, who I believe is best suited next year to move to 1B.

Trevor Story… enough said: So much for the Rockies missing Troy Tulowitzki, the long hyped Rockies prospect has not just emerged but dominated the baseball scene in his first few weeks in the bigs.  In the 9 games he’s played, he’s hit 7 HRs.  While hitting in the friendly skies of Coors Field, Story’s talent is there and teams are starting to take notice.  While the reality is Trevor Story won’t hit 40-50 HRs, it’s amazing that Story came into the league and hit the most HRs to begin a career with 7 HRs in 6 games.  Whatever he does the rest of this year and even more so, his entire career, he’s got one of the greatest starts to a career ever.

My thoughts: Trevor Story was hyped up for the past 4 years as the SS behind Tulowitzki and the trade last year opened the door for all of this to happen.  Story is the real deal and he will be the new face of the Rockies franchise with Nolan Arenado for the next few years.

So there you go, some of the big highlight stories to begin the baseball year.  We’ve only been through 2 weeks of this season and already it’s looking crazy.  Anything and everything can very well happen any night this season.  My suggestion, enjoy it because I know this from experience, before you know it we’ll be in October ready for the playoffs.  With a great group of rookies this year and emerging stars like Carlos Correa, Francisco Lindor, and Corey Seager among those players along with established names of Mike Trout, Clayton Kershaw and Bryce Harper, if you haven’t gotten into the MLB season, you better start now before you miss out on all the fun I guarantee is bound to happen this season.