This week in baseball blogs:
- Jays From the Couch interviews Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro.
- The Point of Pittsburgh could see Pirates right-hander Tyler Glasnow eventually becoming their version of Dellin Betances.
- Unsung Zeroes, in the wake of Betances’ offseason clash with the Yankees, calls for changes to the arbitration system.
- Clubhouse Corner compares Cubs left fielder Kyle Schwarber and Twins third baseman Miguel Sano.
- Sports Talk Florida chats with Rays owner Stuart Sternberg.
- Inside the ’Zona is optimistic about Diamondbacks right-hander Archie Bradley’s transition to the bullpen.
- Underthought analyzes the first week of the season.
- The UCB Podcast discusses the Cardinals’ extensions of Yadier Molina and Stephen Piscotty.
- Wayniac Nation is a fan of the Braves’ minor league signing of Ryan Howard.
- The First Out At Third offers its own projections for the Brewers’ pitching staff.
- The K Zone ranks the top 10 players at each position.
- Call To The Pen lists the majors’ 30 best second basemen.
- Pinstriped Prospects talks with Yankees star infield prospect Gleyber Torres.
- Cascaudio chats with former major league catcher and current Cubs mental skills coordinator John Baker.
- Notes From the Sally scouts Red Sox third base prospect Bobby Dalbec.
- Pirates Breakdown delves into Bucs righty Jameson Taillon’s terrific 2017 start.
- Sports Talk Philly wonders which player will represent the Phillies in this year’s All-Star Game.
- South of the 6ix heaps praise on Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson.
- Chin Music Baseball is optimistic about Rays ace Chris Archer after watching his season debut.
- The Runner Sports has high hopes for Astros righty Charlie Morton.
- MLB451 likens Athletics slugger Ryon Healy to Mark McGwire.
- The 3rd Man In has a mock amateur draft.
- The Unbalanced suggests that drafting high school players is a bad idea.
- Real McCoy Minor News interviews Padres outfielder Jabari Blash.
- Motor City Bengals names some Tigers who didn’t make the team’s Opening Day roster but could still contribute this season.
- Two Strike Approach: A Baseball podcast (link to iTunes page) talks with Eric Roseberry of Baseball Prospectus and SB Nation’s Reds Reporter.
- Everything Bluebirds and Dan Grant of Same Page Team have pieces focusing on the Blue Jays’ decision to release Melvin Upton Jr.
- Outside Pitch MLB argues that Yankees pitching prospect James Kaprielian’s injury issues make Luis Severino all the more important to the organization.
- District On Deck searches for the reasons for Nationals righty Joe Ross’ demotion to the minors.
- Nyrdcast looks at some under-the-radar Cardinals stats.
- Clubhouse Corner reviews Angels righty Garrett Richards’ return to action.
- MetsMind writes that infielder Wilmer Flores will have chances to prove he’s an everyday-caliber player this year.
- Ladodgerreport shares 10 predictions for the Dodgers’ season.
- Jays Journal updates the statuses of some former Blue Jays.
- Call To The Pen details how the Phillies came to be.
- Mets Daddy isn’t a fan of the club’s Opening Day lineup.
- The Runner Sports previews the now-in-progress Yankees-Orioles series.
- Clutchlings profiles Brazilian right-handed prospect Eric Pardhino, whom the Blue Jays could be on their way to signing.
- rascalsoftheravine recaps the Dodgers’ season-opening series against the Padres.
- MetsRewind revisits shortstop Kazuo Matsui’s time with the Mets.
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Archer is going to have a monster year
With Tim Beckham and Brad Miller up the middle? Yea… I don’t think so, the only real solid defense he has behind him is Kiermaier. Longos gold glove days are behind him. Souza not Rasmus are known for the glove. They have anemic throw out rates from Norris (21% last year)
The whole defense out there is just bad. I mean you don’t have to have a bunch of fielding bible or gold glovers out there but when your catcher is most likely going to throw out runners at a sub 20% clip and your middle infielders are bad at doing their jobs… I just don’t see him having a “monster year”. Good? Maybe. 20 wins with an All Star Trip and a Cy Young? I don’t think so.
Aren’t known for their glove, jfc
Rasmus was a gold-glove caliber LF last year and Souza is a solid if not better RF.
The questions with Flores in terms of his everyday potential are:
1. Are his platoon splits going to remain as pronounced as they were in 2016?
2. Can he play good enough defense to justify playing everyday on the left side of the infield?
For what it’s worth, I would say no in both cases, However, mashing lefties is also definitely his clearest path to playing time right now.
Also, my dad and I used to call Matsui “Matstinky.” Not an unfair assessment of the value they got out of him.