As the 2023 regular season reaches its halfway point, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. College World Series finale tonight:
After a historic Game 2 performance from the Florida Gators saw them trounce the Louisiana State University Tigers 24-4, the College World Series is set to wrap up with a decisive Game 3 tonight. The LSU-Florida showdown will pit several of the expected top picks in this year’s draft against one another. LSU outfielder Dylan Crews and ace Paul Skenes are the consensus favorites for the top spot in this year’s draft, while Florida outfielder Wyatt Langford is also widely expected to be among the first five names off the board. Recent mock drafts from Kiley McDaniel of ESPN and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com have that trio going with the top three overall selections. It’s no guarantee that Skenes will pitch tonight’s game, as he just threw 120 pitches in the prior round of the CWS in a June 22 matchup against Wake Forest, firing eight scoreless frames in an eventual 2-0 victory in the process. LSU will make an announcement on their pitching plans later today, and tonight’s finale will be broadcast on ESPN at 6pm CT.
2. Westburg to debut for Orioles:
Orioles infield prospect Jordan Westburg is reportedly set to make his MLB debut against the Reds at Camden Yards this evening. A former first-round pick and consensus top-75 prospect in the game, Westburg has slashed an impressive .295/.372/.567 in 301 plate appearances at the Triple-A level this season. A 40-man roster move will be necessary to accommodate Westburg before tonight’s game, which is set to start at 6:05pm CT.
Tonight’s game will kick off a significant series for both teams. After failing to gain ground on the division-leading Rays during a two-game set last week, a strong series against Cincinnati could present another opportunity to cut into Tampa’s 4.5 game lead in the AL East as the Rays head out west for a tough series against the Diamondbacks. Meanwhile, the Reds are coming off a tough Braves series that snapped their streak of five consecutive series wins. Cincinnati’s hold on the division lead in the NL Central is tenuous, as the Brewers sit just half a game back prior to the start of a series against the Mets tonight.
3. Smith to return to Mets’ bullpen:
Mets reliever Drew Smith is due back from a 10-game foreign substance suspension today. The move should bolster the club’s bullpen significantly, not only thanks to Smith’s 3.16 ERA in 111 innings of work since the start of the 2021 season, but also because the Mets have been forced to play a man down during Smith’s suspension, as teams aren’t allowed to replace players who are suspended for sticky stuff violations on the active roster.
Reinforcements are desperately needed in Queens, particularly after last night’s game saw the Mets blow a 6-3 lead in the eighth inning against the division-rival Phillies, ultimately losing the game 7-6. Manager Buck Showalter told reporters (including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com) following the loss that high-leverage arms Adam Ottavino and Brooks Raley were both unavailable while closer David Robertson was only on the table for a ninth inning that was never played. With Smith set to return, the club should not only have more relief options available going forward, but an additional trustworthy arm for the late innings as they look to rebound from a brutal first half record of 35-42.
Did they really need to make another Drew Smith article? I garentee if he pitches a full inning tonight, hes giving up a homerun unless hes put in garbage time. When the game is out of reach, Drew Smith closes the door. If the lead is around 3-4 runs, you can say goodbye to your chances of winning the game
Well, all he has is a good fastball. Can’t throw anything else. Probably why the Rays passed
@Camden453 Looks like I was right, Mets up 1-0 in the fifth inning with Drew Smith in, 2 run homer
I’m laughing at how accurate this is. Unfathomable
@manfraud I watch every Met game, you notice these things after a while. Obviously Eppler and Showalter aren’t watching what I’m watching. This just goes to show that stats don’t always tell the full story. If I saw a reliever with Drew Smith’s stats on the Brewers, I’d think hes decent because I wouldn’t know any better. I trust the opinions of people who watch the games then these fancy stats. A player does need fancy stats to show how good they are, you should be able to see it with your own eyes
could be worse .. could have brigham out there. He has either allowed an inherited runner score or given up the run himself pretty much every outing since Smith has been gone.
@Roll Looks like I was right, Mets up 1-0 in the fifth inning with Drew Smith in, 2 run homer
Actually i was right … I never disagreed with you on this and i quote “could be worse … could have brought brigham out there.” ..
Better is giving up 4 runs without a single hit unless you count hits batsmen? Smith atleast hasnt been able to pitch for over 2 weeks. Btw how has brighams done in Smiths role? I remember you saying many times that role should have been his.
I expected a bad outing from Smith as most pitchers have with long layoffs on their first trip or two back especially without a rehab or real game time. If i remember right the suspension means he cant contact the team or use the facilities.
Dude, you sure called that one! Much appreciated…
@kripes-brewers I watch every Met game, you notice these things after a while. Obviously Eppler and Showalter aren’t watching what I’m watching. This just goes to show that stats don’t always tell the full story. If I saw a reliever with Drew Smith’s stats on the Brewers, I’d think hes decent because I wouldn’t know any better. I trust the opinions of people who watch the games then these fancy stats. A player does need fancy stats to show how good they are, you should be able to see it with your own eyes
1. Let’s go, Florida!
2. Dude’s raking in AAA. He should be up in the majors so he can end the career of the top MLB pitchers. RIP Zac Gallen, Spencer Strider, Sonny Gray, Gerrit Cole & Ohtani.
3. Don’t worry, Drew, the MLB is such a mess when it comes to their substance rules. You’d think they would be smart and just have one uniform tacky ball but no, they would rather have this unnecessary drama. If they get a uniform, tacked ball, the pitchers have grip and then anything else found on it would result in an ejection and suspension.
This is where manfred is so hypocritical. While pitchers are being suspended for too much rosin on their hands, manfred is having minor league teams use a tacky baseball which he intends to introduce to the major leagues. Make up your so-called mind, manfred. What’s illegal now will be legal soon. Gaylord Perry must be smiling.
Game two of LSU-Florida yesterday was as thorough an ***-kicking as I’ve seen on a ball field in a long time. Reminded me of game three Sox-Yanks in 2004. Florida pulverized LSU yesterday. Coach Johnson was visibly irritated at the post game press conference – any wonder. LSU is leaving far too many runners on base and Thompson looks totally rattled at SS. Hoping for a great game three – Geaux Tigers!
Anaheim literally whooped someone 25-5 last week.
I think it was 25-1 against the Rockies in Colorado, but maybe the Rox did get 5 runs. Not sure.
Even though Ottavino said after the game he told Buck he could pitch
Ottavino was probably a purely analytics driven choice
I don’t watch every Mets game. One reason is I don’t live in NY. But I don’t understand this team. Yes, Cohen spent $300m on new, top players. So why are they struggling so much instead of being the world beaters they were expected to be? Is it injuries, which every team has? Is it that the chemistry isn’t there? Is it Showalter, who was expected to sort out all of these great players into a winning starting nine? Mets fans, inform me.
Simply they have terrible pitching! Scherzer and Verlander have been spotty, Carrasco is replacement level. MeGill and Peterson have been so awful they are now in AAA. Quintana and Diaz are injured. Bullpen has been overworked because the starting pitchers almost never get out of the 5th inning. The Mets minor system have 0 MLB ready pitchers.
Crews is not a top talent. You can see it just from a few at bats. There’s not much projectability there, in fact it’s negative projectability. Once he fills out he loses quickness. I’m not sure what people see in some of these guys
These are the same people that thought Bubba Starling and Clint Frazier were incredible prospects, or projecting an MVP for Amed Rosario
Crews is a total pass, especially if Skenes is there. I wouldn’t even take a chance on Crews with a first round pick. You can took one look at his mechanics and see he won’t develop well
Nobody is ever going to nail all these prospects. But it’s a fair bet Bubba Starling, Courtney Hawkins, and Mickey Moniak were not going to work out. Total waste of a first round pick
I wouldn’t put Crews in that category, but there’s major issues there, and the upside isn’t that great
@Camden453 I disagree on your assment of Crews. I don’t think hes necessarily going to be a hall of famer or anything but what hes done in college will translate well to the major leagues. I’m predicting a .290 BA, .360 OBP, with 20 to 25 homeruns a year in his prime years
Once he gets drafted, Crews will have the benefit of working with coaches who might detect and fix some problems he’s having. Or he could be a total flop.
camden453: The White Sox now have Frazier. Not exactly sure what anybody saw in him.
The entire college postseason has been great. I don’t have a dog in this fight but I’m glad we’re getting a winner take all game.
Mets are collapsing because their terrible prospects are arriving
Baty, Vientos, David Peterson. Those were bad picks. And it’s not going to get any better with Parada and Jett Williams
The only smart thing they did was trade Dunn and Kelenic for Diaz
They should be trading Baty, Vientos, Parada, Jett Williams
And, you know, maybe figure out how to draft. Braves succeed because they draft the Sean Newcombs of the world with most picks and hope a few of them stick
The Mets could have drafted Justin Crawford and Brandon Barriera. Could have had them both
Prospects are hit or miss. You remember Eric Jaiego? No probably no one does unless you are trivia person. He was the guy the yankees drafted before they drafted Aaron Judge in the same draft which btw pretty much every team passed on him.
Ridiculous uneducated comment about the Mets’ farm system.
When draft day comes I’m going to see who drafts Tanner Witt. And I’ll bet you it’ll be the Braves or the Dodgers
Most teams will pass because the analytics dont check out
I hate the sound of aluminum bats
I live in Chicago and there was a local high school boy who was either one or two in the nation. I don’t remember who drafted him, but he was quickly released because he couldn’t adapt to wooden bats. Good thing they now have summer leagues where wooden bats are used.
I think the Cape Cod League has used wooden bats for decades now.