As the 2023 MLB regular season continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. Means to return:
Left-hander John Means is set to return to the Orioles for their home game against the Cardinals today. The 30-year-old southpaw will be starting opposite veteran righty Adam Wainwright (8.19 ERA) this evening for his first time on a big league mound since April 2022. Means is on the 60-day IL, but will not require a corresponding 40-man move as Baltimore’s roster currently stands at 39. While Means has been on the shelf rehabbing Tommy John surgery, the Orioles have transformed from a 100-loss team to a surefire playoff contender. After going 82-74 the rest of 2022 following Means’s injury, the club has posted a 91-52 record while surging to the top seed in the AL’s postseason bracket.
Means sports a 3.72 ERA in 353 1/3 innings of work since the start of the 2019 season, good for an ERA+ of 124. Though his FIP is a less impressive 4.59 ERA during that time, a healthy and effective return from Means could transform the complexion of Baltimore’s postseason rotation, joining Kyle Bradish and Grayson Rodriguez while perhaps taking pressure off the likes of Kyle Gibson and Dean Kremer. Means posted a 3.74 ERA in 21 2/3 rehab innings and built his pitch count as high as 86 in a recent Triple-A outing.
2. Seager approaching milestone:
Rangers shortstop Corey Seager is in the midst of a career year, slashing an incredible .337/.398/.651 (177 wRC+) with 5.7 fWAR in just 100 games this season. He’s also on the cusp of a personal milestone, sitting just one hit away from his 1000th knock in the majors. The milestone puts Seager, still in the midst of his age 29-season, at 62nd on the career hits leaderboard among active players, and eighth among players who debuted in 2015 or later. It’s possible that hit No. 1000 for Seager proves to be a pivotal one for the Rangers this year, as the club is in the thick of the AL Wild Card race. They hold control of the final spot over the Mariners by half a game while sitting half a game behind the Blue Jays for the second spot.’
3. MLBTR Chat Today:
The end of the season is fast approaching, and the league’s 30 clubs are all pushing full steam ahead into the stretch run. While some are already looking ahead to 2024, many are focused on the current pennant chase, with more than half the league either occupying a playoff spot or within two games of doing so. If you’re curious how your team will hold up over the season’s final weeks or what their plan for the future is, MLBTR’s Steve Adams is hosting a live chat with readers at 1pm CT today. You can click here to ask a question in advance, join in live once the chat begins, or read the transcript once the chat is complete.
Wainright:
0-8 9.07ERA in last 9 starts (all of june-august)
40.2ip 63h 41er 12hr 19bb 24k
June-August OPS against: .955, 1.053, 1.233
Note the August OPS against. In 2003, Barry Bonds, the closest comp I could find, had a 1.278 OPS—
.341/.521/.749 (avg/obp%/slg%)
That means everyone he faced in August turned into 2003 Barry Bonds.
Ouch.
Typo— .529 was Bonds’ ob% in 2003.
They couldn’t have given him a much worse matchup tonight trying to get to 200 wins either.
Going to be extremely difficult for him to get 2 more.
Brian,
I am not sure it matters who he faces. He got clobbered by the Royals a few starts ago. Then again, as bad as his August was, he still could have won two of his more recent starts from that month:
Aug 17 6.0ip 4h 3er Lost 4-2 to Mets
Aug 28 6.0ip 8h 1er Lost 4-1 to Padres
He could have won 5 of his starts this year (either lost or no decision) but either the offense didn’t score enough or the bullpen blew a lead that he left with.
He’s had a great career even without 200 or more wins.
Wainwright tonight—
IP H R ER BB K HR P
5.0 7 2 2 3 3 0 94
Win #199 if the bullpen holds the 3-2 lead..
Lol Mets,
Corey Seager is no Gavin Cecchini according to the Mets scouts who passed on drafting him because they didn’t think Seager could stick at SS.
There is a Hank Aaron award for the best offensive performer. Why not award Seager the MVP and award Shohei Ohtani the Hank Aaron award? Or, maybe have co-MVPs?
WAR, a decent means of establishing value for an MLB player, says Ohtani is more than 50% more valuable than Seager:
Ohtani = 10 WAR
Seager = 6.3 WAR
If you want to give Seager the hitter award, go for it, I guess, but he’s simply not more valuable then Ohtani as an overall player.
The MVP award is not just for position players. Ohtani’s pitching has to be included in his overall value as a player.
WAR, huh, yeah
What is it good for?
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING
All jokes aside, Ohtani is MVP because he tore his UCL and still played more games than Seager and Ohtani is a better hitter by the thinnest of margins
Look at rate stats, though. Besides, 2 WAR = average, so Ohtani has to be 4 WAR to be average, while Seager has to be 2 to be average. It’s closer than you would think in terms of wins above average. Also, Seager has helped Texas more in terms of championship probability added. My point is that the Trout vs Cabrera stuff showed that a player can be the best offensive player, but MVP would be better at showing who is more valuable to that team. If they just had 1, obviously give to Ohtani
They can call it the Best Player award, but MVP has ambiguous interpretations
Thank you for pointing this out. It’s way underappreciated that Ohtani does take up two slots in the lineup. He’s not free offense as a P, or free pitching as a DH.
Incredibly valuable and talented like nobody before him, but he is more like two separate players than a pre-DH NL pitcher who can hit like an MVP.
Yep. That’s another reason WAA matters way more than WAR. Semien also gets 162 games and a lot of PAs each season, so guys like him shouldn’t get helped as much by WAR, though his case is within 0.5 WAR of the 2 WAR = 0 WAA that bref shows, but Ohtani does highlight that flaw.
Yes, lets find a way to give everyone an award just like in elementary school! Seager is good, but Ohtani should get both accolades.
Ohtani vs Seager, ONLY hitting and Defense—
OPS+
Ohtani 183
Seager 179
bWAR:
Ohtani (oWar 5.9, dWar -1.1)
Seager (oWar 5.9, dWar 1.0)
fWAR:
Ohtani (Off: 59.9 Def: -14.5 fWAR: 6.6)
Seager (Off: 37.4 Def: 4.5 fWAR 5.7)
Very close but once you add in Ohtani’s pitching, (omitted for a lack of time right now) it makes him the clear choice for MVP.
Good points
So many people hated the Seager signing…
All Means has to do is get three outs before his teammates give him a 12 run lead to work with after the first.