Luis Garcia, 2B, Nationals –
Garcia is enjoying a heck of a breakout season, with 15 homers and 21 steals heading into the final month of the season – he had never had more than nine of either in four MLB seasons prior to this. And he's got the underlying numbers to back him up, with an xwOBA of .347 that actually slightly outstrips his .337 mark. But Fantasy players have been fairly slow to buy into Garcia, mostly because he just hasn't been an everyday player, as the Nationals have largely protected him from lefties. It's a strategy that, frankly, doesn't make much sense – isn't it a lot more valuable to find out if your 24-year-old, potential franchise cornerstone can handle lefties than whatever marginal gain you get from having Ildemaro Vargas out there instead? The Nationals owe it to themselves to see if Garcia can be an everyday player down the stretch. If Garcia plays semi-regularly against lefties and holds his own in September, we could be talking about a top-100 player for 2025.
https://view.email.cbssports.com/?qs=95 ... 855008f274
2024 Padres non-prospects news and notes
Moderator: Padres
-
Padres
- Site Admin
- Posts: 4822
- Joined: Sat May 13, 2006 1:00 am
- Location: Wells, Maine
- Name: Jim Berger
Re: 2024 Padres non-prospects news and notes
Austin Riley will undergo a CT scan on Monday to see if he can get the cast removed from his right hand.
Riley’s injury has been generically reported as a fractured hand, but the player said today that it’s the hamate bone that was broken. He’s currently 4 1/2 weeks into a projected absence of 6-8 weeks. If the cast can come off Monday, it’s possible he’ll be able to make it back for the beginning of the postseason, should the Braves advance.
https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/austin-riley/48500
Riley’s injury has been generically reported as a fractured hand, but the player said today that it’s the hamate bone that was broken. He’s currently 4 1/2 weeks into a projected absence of 6-8 weeks. If the cast can come off Monday, it’s possible he’ll be able to make it back for the beginning of the postseason, should the Braves advance.
https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/austin-riley/48500
-
Padres
- Site Admin
- Posts: 4822
- Joined: Sat May 13, 2006 1:00 am
- Location: Wells, Maine
- Name: Jim Berger
Re: 2024 Padres non-prospects news and notes
Austin Riley is out for the season after a CT scan revealed not enough healing for him to return, according to Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Riley hoped to get the cast on his fractured hand removed and return for the playoffs, but now that’s off the table. It was a nightmare of a 2024 season that ends on a down note. He saw his streak of three straight years with at least 159 games played, 33 home runs, 90 runs scored and 93 RBI come to an end. Riley could be a bargain in drafts next year, though he’s coming off a broken hamate bone, which typically saps power upon return to the field.
https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/austin-riley/48500
Riley hoped to get the cast on his fractured hand removed and return for the playoffs, but now that’s off the table. It was a nightmare of a 2024 season that ends on a down note. He saw his streak of three straight years with at least 159 games played, 33 home runs, 90 runs scored and 93 RBI come to an end. Riley could be a bargain in drafts next year, though he’s coming off a broken hamate bone, which typically saps power upon return to the field.
https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/austin-riley/48500
-
Padres
- Site Admin
- Posts: 4822
- Joined: Sat May 13, 2006 1:00 am
- Location: Wells, Maine
- Name: Jim Berger
Re: 2024 Padres non-prospects news and notes
Note: Unless traded, he figures to be the IBC Padres starting 2B in 2025 ... he was pretty much a non-factor this IBC season because of his lousy defensive rating ...
One day, Luis García Jr. ‘just decided to swing real hard.’ It worked.
Depending on your interpretation, Luis García Jr. explained his swing change in either the plainest or funniest way possible, though the 24-year-old’s grin indicated that he would prefer you see it as the latter.
“One day, out of nowhere, I just decided to swing real hard and see what the results were,” he said through a team interpreter.
That day was July 3 against the New York Mets. Before that date, his average swing was about 0.3 mph slower than the average big league hitter’s. In the sixth, he swung 13 mph harder than that. He and the fans at Nationals Park liked what they saw — a second-deck homer — so he swung extra hard in his next at-bat in the eighth and hit another no-doubter.
“The results were very good that day, so I just kind of ran with it,” he said.
Since that date, no qualified primary second baseman in baseball has a better OPS than Garcia’s .865.
This is who García has become in 2024. He is still the same happy-go-lucky character who has endeared himself to teammates in one of baseball’s youngest clubhouses, explaining, for instance, massive swing improvements away with a comedic touch.
He is also now focused on the process behind his progress. Not only does he make positive changes in his process — adding 1 mph to his swing in the second half, stabilizing his posture as well as his throwing mechanics and pre-pitch routine — but by and large, he sticks with them.
“I feel like sometimes in the past, I would focus on the big things and not worry so much about the little things, and it would affect my play,” he said. “Now it’s the other way around. Now I focus on the little things, and the big things just play themselves out.”
In spring training, following a surprise demotion in August 2023, it wasn’t a guarantee that García would even make Washington’s Opening Day roster. During a stint in the Dominican Winter League, he got his confidence back and became more attentive to the way others, such as Robinson Canó, approached the game. Now a more refined question has emerged — can he be the team’s everyday second baseman of the future?
García has decided to ignore the impressive statistics tied to his name, though the data tells a compelling and promising tale. The following are career-best figures: a .281 average, a .758 OPS, 16 home runs and 21 stolen bases. He also has graded out as one of baseball’s better defensive players (which, after he graded out as one of the worst in 2022 and as below average in 2023, is a more-than-welcome development).
His future now seems to revolve around whether he can hit left-handed pitching. In the past, his at-bats against lefties often looked awkward. He showed a tendency to open up his stance too early, swing his arms out wide and make weak contact. Now he is picking his spots better — swinging at more pitches inside, which are easier for him to turn on — and crushing the ball.
In García’s first 50 plate appearances against lefties, he hit .170 with a .433 OPS. Since, he has hit .354 with an .893 OPS. Manager Dave Martinez has been particular about which left-handers he lets García see, trying to put him against more conventional lefties and sitting him against those with unorthodox releases, such as the Atlanta Braves’ Chris Sale and the New York Yankees’ Nestor Cortes.
The idea is to prevent García from facing a pitcher who would send him entirely out of whack. In a season filled with emerging talents having up-and-down seasons, García has had only one truly down month. There is, however, a flip side to Martinez’s approach: If García is the everyday second baseman on a team competing in October, he has to learn how to face those players eventually. Why not do so now, when he’s hot?
On Sept. 13, García’s 101st plate appearance against a lefty, he hit his first home run off a southpaw.
“He should tell himself, ‘I can hit anybody,’” Martinez said. “He’s got to keep his legs underneath him and not trying to do too much. When he does that, he can hit. I mean, he really can. I’m really proud of him because I was hard on him, as we all know, and so far, he’s put up some pretty good numbers. I only think he’s going to get better.”
“Every player wants to play 162 games,” García said. “Whether I’m facing a righty or lefty, I want to play out there.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2 ... s-hitting/
One day, Luis García Jr. ‘just decided to swing real hard.’ It worked.
Depending on your interpretation, Luis García Jr. explained his swing change in either the plainest or funniest way possible, though the 24-year-old’s grin indicated that he would prefer you see it as the latter.
“One day, out of nowhere, I just decided to swing real hard and see what the results were,” he said through a team interpreter.
That day was July 3 against the New York Mets. Before that date, his average swing was about 0.3 mph slower than the average big league hitter’s. In the sixth, he swung 13 mph harder than that. He and the fans at Nationals Park liked what they saw — a second-deck homer — so he swung extra hard in his next at-bat in the eighth and hit another no-doubter.
“The results were very good that day, so I just kind of ran with it,” he said.
Since that date, no qualified primary second baseman in baseball has a better OPS than Garcia’s .865.
This is who García has become in 2024. He is still the same happy-go-lucky character who has endeared himself to teammates in one of baseball’s youngest clubhouses, explaining, for instance, massive swing improvements away with a comedic touch.
He is also now focused on the process behind his progress. Not only does he make positive changes in his process — adding 1 mph to his swing in the second half, stabilizing his posture as well as his throwing mechanics and pre-pitch routine — but by and large, he sticks with them.
“I feel like sometimes in the past, I would focus on the big things and not worry so much about the little things, and it would affect my play,” he said. “Now it’s the other way around. Now I focus on the little things, and the big things just play themselves out.”
In spring training, following a surprise demotion in August 2023, it wasn’t a guarantee that García would even make Washington’s Opening Day roster. During a stint in the Dominican Winter League, he got his confidence back and became more attentive to the way others, such as Robinson Canó, approached the game. Now a more refined question has emerged — can he be the team’s everyday second baseman of the future?
García has decided to ignore the impressive statistics tied to his name, though the data tells a compelling and promising tale. The following are career-best figures: a .281 average, a .758 OPS, 16 home runs and 21 stolen bases. He also has graded out as one of baseball’s better defensive players (which, after he graded out as one of the worst in 2022 and as below average in 2023, is a more-than-welcome development).
His future now seems to revolve around whether he can hit left-handed pitching. In the past, his at-bats against lefties often looked awkward. He showed a tendency to open up his stance too early, swing his arms out wide and make weak contact. Now he is picking his spots better — swinging at more pitches inside, which are easier for him to turn on — and crushing the ball.
In García’s first 50 plate appearances against lefties, he hit .170 with a .433 OPS. Since, he has hit .354 with an .893 OPS. Manager Dave Martinez has been particular about which left-handers he lets García see, trying to put him against more conventional lefties and sitting him against those with unorthodox releases, such as the Atlanta Braves’ Chris Sale and the New York Yankees’ Nestor Cortes.
The idea is to prevent García from facing a pitcher who would send him entirely out of whack. In a season filled with emerging talents having up-and-down seasons, García has had only one truly down month. There is, however, a flip side to Martinez’s approach: If García is the everyday second baseman on a team competing in October, he has to learn how to face those players eventually. Why not do so now, when he’s hot?
On Sept. 13, García’s 101st plate appearance against a lefty, he hit his first home run off a southpaw.
“He should tell himself, ‘I can hit anybody,’” Martinez said. “He’s got to keep his legs underneath him and not trying to do too much. When he does that, he can hit. I mean, he really can. I’m really proud of him because I was hard on him, as we all know, and so far, he’s put up some pretty good numbers. I only think he’s going to get better.”
“Every player wants to play 162 games,” García said. “Whether I’m facing a righty or lefty, I want to play out there.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2 ... s-hitting/
-
Padres
- Site Admin
- Posts: 4822
- Joined: Sat May 13, 2006 1:00 am
- Location: Wells, Maine
- Name: Jim Berger
Re: 2024 Padres non-prospects news and notes
Yankees placed LHP Nestor Cortes on the 15-day injured list with a left elbow flexor strain.
Cortes underwent an MRI on his left elbow which revealed the strain. His regular season is obviously over, and it remains to be seen if/when the southpaw will return in the postseason. Marcus Stroman is starting Wednesday’s game against the Orioles, and Cody Poteet is up to take Cortes’ place on the roster.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters it was unlikely that Nestor Cortes (elbow) will return before in the postseason.
Boone said he wouldn’t say he was optimistic about Cortes making that return after the southpaw was placed on the injured list Wednesday with a left elbow flexor strain. The manager wouldn’t completely rule it out, however. Cortes could be a valuable left-hander out of the bullpen for the deeper series if New York was to make it, but it sounds like it’s more likely we see the southpaw back on the mound in 2025.
https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/nestor-cortes/49224
Note: Yet another player I traded for specifically for the upcoming playoffs ... sigh. Cortes enjoyed a solid 2024 IBC season playing for the Cardinals, Yankees and Padres. Overall in 34 games he went 20 -10 with a 3.05 ERA and 202/46 K/BB in 224.1 IP. With the Pads he started 8 games going 4-1 with 3.38 ERA and 42/18 K/BB in 51.1 IP ...
Cortes underwent an MRI on his left elbow which revealed the strain. His regular season is obviously over, and it remains to be seen if/when the southpaw will return in the postseason. Marcus Stroman is starting Wednesday’s game against the Orioles, and Cody Poteet is up to take Cortes’ place on the roster.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters it was unlikely that Nestor Cortes (elbow) will return before in the postseason.
Boone said he wouldn’t say he was optimistic about Cortes making that return after the southpaw was placed on the injured list Wednesday with a left elbow flexor strain. The manager wouldn’t completely rule it out, however. Cortes could be a valuable left-hander out of the bullpen for the deeper series if New York was to make it, but it sounds like it’s more likely we see the southpaw back on the mound in 2025.
https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/nestor-cortes/49224
Note: Yet another player I traded for specifically for the upcoming playoffs ... sigh. Cortes enjoyed a solid 2024 IBC season playing for the Cardinals, Yankees and Padres. Overall in 34 games he went 20 -10 with a 3.05 ERA and 202/46 K/BB in 224.1 IP. With the Pads he started 8 games going 4-1 with 3.38 ERA and 42/18 K/BB in 51.1 IP ...
-
Padres
- Site Admin
- Posts: 4822
- Joined: Sat May 13, 2006 1:00 am
- Location: Wells, Maine
- Name: Jim Berger
Re: 2024 Padres non-prospects news and notes
Free agent-to-be Justin Verlander said he intends to pitch in 2025.
There’s never been anything to suggest Verlander would walk away, but some quick confirmation is nice. Verlander, who will turn 42 in February, was limited to 17 starts this year and went 5-6 with a 5.48 ERA. It’s just the third time in his 17 relatively full seasons that he’s been below average. He just finished up a two-year, $86,666,666 deal he signed with the Mets before being traded back to Houston.
https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/justin-verlander/48244
There’s never been anything to suggest Verlander would walk away, but some quick confirmation is nice. Verlander, who will turn 42 in February, was limited to 17 starts this year and went 5-6 with a 5.48 ERA. It’s just the third time in his 17 relatively full seasons that he’s been below average. He just finished up a two-year, $86,666,666 deal he signed with the Mets before being traded back to Houston.
https://www.nbcsports.com/mlb/justin-verlander/48244
