Here are three things to follow around Major League Baseball today:
1. Jacob Misiorowski to debut:
Brewers top pitching prospect Jacob Misiorowski is ticketed to make his MLB debut this evening as Milwaukee welcomes its division rival from St. Louis for a four-game set at American Family Field. The 23-year-old Misiorowski will face Cardinals ace and 13-year major league veteran Sonny Gray as Milwaukee looks to take advantage of this series to jump ahead of St. Louis in the standings. The Brewers are currently half a game back of the Cardinals, while the Cardinals are five games back of the Cubs for first place in the NL Central and 2.5 games back of a Wild Card spot.
Misiorowski was a consensus top-100 prospect entering the season and widely considered the most promising pitching prospect in the Brewers organization. Despite several injuries, the Brewers’ rotation has been a strength this season, much like it was last year. They will hope that Misiorowski – who has pitched to a 2.13 ERA with 80 strikeouts in 63 1/3 innings at Triple-A – will help their staff continue to flourish.
2. Yankees monitoring Jazz Chisholm Jr.:
Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr., who returned from an IL stint just last week, exited yesterday’s game early with what the team later told reporters (including Greg Joyce of the New York Post) was “left groin tightness.” According to manager Aaron Boone, the Yankees aren’t overly concerned, but considering Chisholm felt discomfort while running the bases, they’ll continue to monitor him and see how he feels before this evening’s game against the Royals. Chisholm has been on fire since he came off the IL last Tuesday, batting .346 with a 1.015 OPS and four stolen bases in eight games. He has also returned to playing third base, after having moved back to second to start the season. His lefty bat, strong baserunning, and defensive flexibility have made Chisholm a terrific asset for the Yankees since he arrived ahead of the deadline last summer, so the team will surely hope he doesn’t need to miss any more time.
3. Freddie Freeman playing through quad injury:
Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman suffered a quad injury Tuesday, which manager Dave Roberts relayed to reporters (including Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic). The skipper suggested the injury was manageable, and indeed, it wasn’t enough to keep him out of the lineup on Wednesday, when Freeman went 1-for-4 with a walk and a run. However, the injury prevented Freeman from running at full speed on a double play ball Tuesday, and Roberts has told him to “not go crazy on the bases” (per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times). While Freeman is no stranger to playing through pain, his latest injury issue is certainly something for the Dodgers to monitor. Hopefully, today’s off day will help him recover before this weekend’s upcoming series against the division-rival Giants.
Even with a nagging injury Freddie Freeman is still cranking out stellar production. The man gets better with age lol
He really is incredible.
Steady Freddie
They can’t finish the career summary yet but Cooperstown can certainly start working on the bust for the top of Freeman’s plaque.
In signing Freddie the Dodgers committed grand theft Atlanta.
Good to see true ball players like Freddie Freeman playing through injuries and being productive. Not too many guys like that nowadays. Just sign that big contract and go on the IL for the rest of the contract. I think the problem is that the teams baby the players too much. Either play and be productive or you don’t get paid. Problem solved…
Anthony Rendon has entered the chat.
… and then immediately broke his thumbs while typing.
…and pulled a hammy.
“Good to see true ballplayers” and “Anthony Rendon has entered the chat”….I recently heard Anthony Rizzo saying he didn’t sign cheap this past off-season because he didn’t want to hurt the “economic environment” for the “other guys” in the sport of baseball.
What doesn’t get said enough is how badly guys like Anthony Rendon, Chris Bryant and Jurickson Profar hurt the “economic environment” for the “other guys” by cheating or simply citing injury as a reason to rarely play.
You think a team getting burnt and receiving virtually no production for around a $200M+ investment doesn’t make other teams reluctant to spend and hurt the “other guy” and the “economic environment” of the players?
@mlb fan
It just pushes the league to be more DH-minded with less focus on paying defense. Just look at what happened with Harper. They wanted to keep him on the field and healthy so he ends up moving to 1B. Soon, we’ll have a league full of DH’s and we’ll use AI to decide if something was a hit or not.
@mlb fan
Not being a homer with this response.
It’s one of the reasons the dodgers as an organization have really adjusted who they bring in over the last handful of years. Higher character guys that don’t create drama or put themselves over the other guys in the locker room.
In the past we have had high talent guys that weren’t always the best team guys. Those that were focused on themselves than winning. They weren’t necessarily bad guys (some were), but I think after signing Mookie, they changed how they approach roster construction. He was a great example of what they wanted moving forward.
“Not being a homer”..Some good insights no doubt. Personally, I don’t think giving insights on a team you watch frequently is being a “homer.
I’m a storyline guy who watches 3-5 teams a couple times a week and I rely on guys like you for specific information on teams I don’t watch as frequently.
I’m not big on chemistry analysis because we really don’t know what goes on inside the clubhouse, but I think this is generally right. They seem to be picking players with subdued egos. Even when they aren’t playing the best baseball, they bring joy to the game, and have each other’s backs. Credit also goes to Dave Roberts. He has a big part in creating the clubhouse culture.
Speaking of “chemistry”, “we really don’t know what goes on inside the” training room.
No way of knowing but maybe Freddie is one of those players comfortable taking a shot to numb pain. Maybe he’s doing it here and he did it to be able to play through the ankle issue during the WS? And maybe other players pass on taking shots in fear of further damaging the injured body part without realizing it?
Well, we do know some of the treatment Freddie’s been receiving. I’m not sure if he’s still doing this, but for quite a while he was getting something like an hour of massage therapy on the ankle from the trainers every day. He said the physical therapy was painful, but it helped. I don’t know where you get the idea that the teams would give players harmful treatments.
Thanks for the intel on Freddie’s therapy approach. And don’t get me wrong, i love his game.
In regards to taking a shot to help play through pain; i thought it was a common practice in all high level sports competition?
Anybody else have a take here?
“Harmful treatments”. What is considered “harmful” to ones body may not be considered harmful to another. As long as the team is offering it as an option only, I’m fine with it. And then, there are players who seek shots privately outside of team purview to play through pain. I definitely think that goes on.
The most common treatment for inflammation is topical cortisone injections. They take a few days to work, and they should not be administered frequently as they can have cumulative side effects. I’m sure every doctor in sports medicine is aware of the limitations. I got read that riot act by a doctor when I got one for an arthritic toe. I’m guessing few doctors are going to hand those out like popsicles, especially if the patient is a pro athlete. But we have to know a lot of crazy stuff goes on.
As for Freddie, what can you say? He’s Captain America.
Freddie and also, Mookie. Two studs with no egos. Love their whatever takes attitudes to win a game.
Trevor Bauer approves of Blue_Skies’s post.
@christaylormvp
Bauer should be in the MLB helping one of the teams headed to the playoffs. He even said he’d play for free. Imagine a no-cost pitcher being added?
It’s easy to find the contradictions in your argument. The teams “baby the players too much,” but they still get injured? Are the players deciding on their own when they are unable to play, or are the teams determining when to put them on the IL? Are the teams making the contract offers, or is it the players? Who is paying the salaries?
Your argument makes Jell-O look like building material.
@BlueSkies_LA
Yes, they baby the players too much, which ends up causing more injuries because they’re trying to protect them from being injured. Micromanaging pitch limits, promoting players that throw hard all the time, despite the fact that it’s been shown numerous times that throwing hard all the time isn’t beneficial to the health of the body and isn’t really pitching either.
Yes, contracts are signed by both sides and bank of making money from the sale of merchandise and marketing of that big name player signing.
My argument is the most solid form of building material as bedrock.
You are making a contradictory and inherently illogical argument. It doesn’t improve with repetition. I wouldn’t build a dollhouse on it.
Teams make contract offers to players based on their risk-reward assessments. It makes no logical or financial sense to argue that they then do everything in their power to compromise their investment. Nothing can be made of this argument because it makes no sense. It’s their money being put at risk, not yours.
@BlueSkies_LA
Not sure what argument you’re making there. Didn’t counter anything I presented in reply to you.
Your argument is contradictory and illogical, for reasons I explained in detail.
@BlueSkies_LA
Nothing I said was contradictory, and you haven’t bothered to present any…
🙁
Chisholm has always been very productive when healthy, you just have to live with 2-4 IL placements year in, year out.
And being a big baby if someone tags him the wrong way. Yeesh.