Better Leadoff Production Should Help Braves Push Phillies For NL East Title
PLUS: TIGERS DID OKAY -- NOT GREAT -- AT TRADE DEADLINE
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Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
Blake Snell’s no-hitter at Great American Ballpark last night was the first complete game of his nine-year career . . .
Kodai Senga’s calf injury, suffered last Friday against Atlanta, could keep him out 8-10 weeks and end his opportunity to opt out of his five-year, $75 million deal after next season; he needs to pitch 400 innings from 2023-25 for the opt-out to vest, so he’ll likely be wedded to the Mets through 2027 since he’s thrown just 171 2/3 innings since he broke into MLB last season . . .
Speaking of the Mets, Francisco Lindor is a sudden MVP contender after never finishing better than fifth in any season since 2017, when still with Cleveland . . .
The Yankees have baseball’s best offense against right-handed pitching . . .
Former Phillies are filling the Baltimore bullpen, which suddenly has Gregory Soto and Seranthony Dominguez in addition to Craig Kimbrel . . .
The Philadelphia Competitive Balance Tax payroll was hovering around the second luxury-tax threshold of $257 million, a major factor in the two deadline day deals . . .
Phillies rookie Tyler Phillips unfurled a four-hit, complete-game shutout in his third big-league start, stifling the front-running Guardians, 8-0, at Citizens Bank Park . . .
With 15 strikeouts in six innings against Colorado, San Francisco southpaw Blake Snell convinced the wishful-thinking Giants to take him off the trade market.
Leading Off
New Leadoff Hitter Could Help Braves Close Gap
By Dan Schlossberg
When they rolled to 104 wins, 370 home runs, and a record .501 slugging percentage last summer, the Atlanta Braves got plenty of production from the leadoff spot.
That was the home of Ronald Acuña, Jr., who not only had 41 home runs and a club-record 74 stolen bases but also a career-best .337 batting average, second in the National League.
This year, however, things have gone awry almost from the get-go.
Acuña started the season in a slump, then tore his left ACL May 26 and landed on the injured list for the duration.
No one has come close to replacing him, though several have tried.
Manager Brian Snitker has used Michael Harris II, Ozzie Albies, Jarred Kelenic, and even Adam Duvall in the leadoff spot without much success.
Since Acuña’s injury, the Braves who batted leadoff combined for a .208 average (the third-worst mark in baseball) with a .631 OPS (third-worst). But that was before Alex Anthopoulos acquired Jorge Soler, a rare slugger with patience at the plate.
Soler hit first for the Braves before — three years ago, after Atlanta acquired him from Kansas City in a Deadline Day deal. He was hitting under .200 at the time but moving to a contending club helped; he went on to win the 2021 World Series MVP award.
Kelenic had a nice run in the leadoff spot but then slipped into the same malaise that has been pervasive throughout the lineup to everyone except Marcell Ozuna (and lately Matt Olson).
The point here is that getting the leadoff man on base, even if only with a walk, often jump-starts the scoring. And for a team with such strong pitching, getting an early lead usually means winning the game.
Atlanta entered play Friday in second place, six games behind Philadelphia but first in the wild scramble for the three wild-card spots.
Historically, the Braves are a second-half team that plays its best ball once the Dog Days of August have started. Since both the Phillies and Mets face tough road trips while the Braves play the stripped-down Marlins at home, the distance from first to second could get even smaller by the end of the weekend.
With no Rickey Henderson, Tim Raines, or Acuña to get things started, Atlanta will have to hope Soler continues his recent penchant for blending power with walks. A slugger who reaches base often starts things off for the rest of the team.
Former AP sportswriter Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ is the author of 40 baseball books, including Home Run King: the Remarkable Record of Hank Aaron. He covers baseball for forbes.com, USA TODAY Sports Weekly, and other outlets. Contact Dan via ballauthor@gmail.com.
Cleaning Up
Detroit Tigers: Trade Deadline Reflections
By Joe Underhill
The 2024 trade deadline has come and gone, and the Detroit Tigers were once again sellers for what they hope is the last time. In four trades during deadline week, Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris flipped catcher Carson Kelly, outfielder Mark Canha, and pitchers Andrew Chafin and Jack Flaherty for seven prospects.
The internet reviews from the deals have been mixed, with most seeming to be underwhelmed by the return — especially for Flaherty, who is having a resurgent year.
What we know from the deals, the Tigers restocked some of the lower levels of their minor leagues while taking a shot on some prospects with some serious upside. They also opened more playing time for young players to prove they should be a part of the Tigers’ future.
Also, by not trading Tarik Skubal, the Tigers are making a statement that they feel they are finally close to the end of their eight-year-plus rebuild. Established players for prospect deals are always a crap-shoot with the team acquiring the prospects gambling on the future of players who often have significant development time in front of them.
Like the draft, trading for prospects is a gamble, and the beauty often lies in the eyes of the beholder.
Here’s how I see the Tiger trades:
Jack Flaherty to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Thayron Liranzo (catcher/first baseman) and Trey Sweeny (shortstop). Thayron is the player with the highest upside, and will immediately slide into most publications’ lists of top Tigers prospects.
Liranzo gives the Tigers a lower-level catching prospect with both a hit-and-power profile but will need to continue working on his defense — even if he must shift to first base (the Tigers really don’t have a prominent prospect there either).
Sweeny, on the other hand, is one of the closest-to-the-majors of the prospects the Tigers received. Long-term, Sweeny is probably more of a left-handed utility player who the Tigers are hoping can better tap into his pre-draft profile as an above-average hitter.
For those who thought the Tigers didn’t get enough, remember if the Tigers’ held unto Flaherty until he left for free agency, all they would have gotten is a pick at the end of the Competitive Balance round.
Liranzo is as good or better right now then the type of prospect the team would hope to land there, and adding Sweeny, who could be a low cost platoon option (think Zach McKinstry type), the Tigers did fine.
Andrew Chafin to the Texas Rangers for pitchers Joseph Montalvo and Chase Lee. Interestingly both pitchers are relievers. Montalvo is pitching in the lower levels of the minors with good success this year. Lee is a strikeout pitcher with a strikeout rate over eleven per nine innings. There is a very real chance Lee could pitch in Detroit before the end of the season.
Mark Canha to the San Fransico Giants for Eric Silva. Silva is another relief pitcher with a high strikeout rate and is currently pitching in AA. The Tigers have been able to develop their pitching far better than hitting, so the team probably feels it is going to be able to help Silva improve his command.
Carson Kelly to the Texas Rangers for Liam Hicks (catcher) and Tyler Owens (pitcher). Owens is another AA reliever who has shown flashes of being an above- -average arm but has some command/control issues. Hicks is an on-base-over-power catcher who has performed well at the plate and behind it in AA this year. More importantly, moving Kelly, who was going to be a free agent in the fall, created the opportunity for the Tigers to see what prospect Dillon Dingler can do as the time-share catcher with Jake Rogers.
Overall, the Tigers had a solid trade deadline. The Tigers think they landed players who will help them compete in the future. Only time will tell if they are correct.
Here’s hoping this is their last deadline sell-off for a long time.
Joe Underhill is a high school administrator and diehard baseball fan and fan of the city of Detroit. Joe currently writes for the HTP Newsletter. You can follow Joe on Twitter @TransplantedDet and @transplanteddet.bsky.social
Timeless Trivia: Looking Ahead To 2024 Awards
With two months to go, races for individual awards seem all but settled . . .
Shohei Ohtani, in his first National League season, stands head-and-shoulders above everyone else, especially with Ronald Acuna, Jr. and Mookie Betts both injured . . .
Should he win, he’ll join Frank Robinson as the only players to win the trophy in both leagues . . .
Although the first-year Dodger DH is en route to his third MVP, Aaron Judge could lose out to teammate Juan Soto, new to the Yankees this year, in the voting for American League MVP . . .
That could change if Judge breaks his own AL record for home runs (62) . . .
As for Cy Young Awards, put these names in the books: Tarik Skubal (Tigers) in the American League and first-year Brave Chris Sale in the National. Neither has won the trophy previously, though Sale came close numerous times in past seasons with the Boston Red Sox.
Know Your Editors
HERE’S THE PITCH is published daily except Sundays and holidays. Benjamin Chase [gopherben@gmail.com] handles Monday and Tuesday editions, Elizabeth Muratore [nymfan97@gmail.com] does Wednesday and Thursday, and Dan Schlossberg [ballauthor@gmail.com] edits the weekend editions on Friday and Saturday. Readers are encouraged to contribute comments, articles, and letters to the editor. HTP reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity, and good taste.