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MLB Announces All-Star Starters

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Major League Baseball announced the starting lineups for the 2021 All-Star Game this evening. The starting lineups are determined by fan vote. This year’s All-Star Game will take place in Coors Field on Tuesday, July 13. The starting pitchers and reserves will be announced at a later date.

National League

American League

*On the 60-day injured list

NL East Notes: Acuna, Marlins, Betances, Strasburg

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Ronald Acuna Jr. left today’s game in the bottom of the fifth due to right pectoral tightness, but Braves manager Brian Snitker doesn’t believe the injury is too serious.  Snitker told reporters (including The Athletic’s David O’Brien) that the current belief is that Acuna won’t miss any games at all, as the star outfielder will get a chance to rest and recuperate during Atlanta’s off-day on Monday.

Acuna exited games twice earlier in the season with what turned out to be minor injuries — a bruised pinkie after a hit-by-pitch, and a mild abdominal strain suffered while on the basepaths.  A few missed games haven’t slowed down what is shaping up as an MVP-caliber season from the Atlanta superstar, as Acuna is hitting .282/.390/.597 with 18 home runs through 259 plate appearances.

More from the NL East…

  • Jose Devers and Corey Dickerson each left today’s Marlins game with injuries — Devers with right shoulder discomfort after a big swing early in the game, and Dickerson with foot soreness.  Manager Don Mattingly indicated to reporters that Dickerson’s removal was “precautionary,” while Devers could require more examination since the rookie’s shoulder has been bothering him for several days now.
  • Dellin Betances is set to begin a minor league rehab assignment today, Mets manager Luis Rojas told MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo and other reporters.  The right-hander pitched in one game before going on the injured list April 8 due to a shoulder impingement, and while it been a lengthy road to recovery for Betances, the early returns are promising.  “He’s had some really good reads with his fastball.  We’re pretty optimistic about him going into this assignment and keeping ramping things up….He did a good job in the progression, in strengthening the shoulder,” Rojas said, noting that Betances’ fastball was sitting in the 93-94mph range during live batting practice sessions.  Since signing with New York in the 2019-20 offseason, Betances has posted a 7.82 ERA and tossed only 12 2/3 innings over 16 appearances, due to an IL stint due to lat tightness in 2020 and this season’s shoulder problems.
  • Nationals manager Davey Martinez provided an update on Stephen Strasburg, telling reporters (including Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post) that the right-hander has yet to start throwing, as Strasburg is still feeling nerve irritation in his neck.  Strasburg was placed on the 10-day IL on June 2, and it isn’t yet clear when he might be back in action.  This is already Strasburg’s second IL trip of the year, as between shoulder inflammation and his current neck issue, the righty has tossed only 21 2/3 innings.  This comes on the heels of a 2020 season that saw Strasburg pitch five innings total due to carpal tunnel syndrome.  Injuries all over the roster have contributed to Washington’s 27-35 record, and Strasburg’s status could certainly factor into whether the Nats will keep trying for a late-season push, or perhaps look to sell at the trade deadline.

Snitker: Ronald Acuna Jr. Could Return To Lineup Today After Hit-By-Pitch

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MAY 9: Fortunately, it seems Acuna avoided any major injury. The Braves announced last night he was day-to-day with a left pinky contusion and that X-rays had come back negative. After the game, manager Brian Snitker told reporters (including Mark Bowman of MLB.com) the team “dodged a bullet” and said Acuna could be back in the starting lineup as soon as this evening if he feels fine during pregame batting practice.

8:59PM: Ronald Acuna Jr. was removed from tonight’s game in the seventh inning after the Braves star was hit in the left hand by a pitch.  Phillies reliever Sam Coonrod hit Acuna with a 97.8mph sinker, and Acuna almost immediately left the field (in visible pain) after a visit from the trainer.

More will be known post-game, though the worst-case scenario would be a serious hand injury that would sideline Acuna for several weeks or months.  Such a loss would be a potential disaster for an Atlanta lineup that has been inconsistent despite Acuna’s MVP-level performance thus far in the season.

Through 137 plate appearances, Acuna is hitting .313/.409/.652 with 10 home runs.  Entering Saturday’s action, Acuna was leading the NL in both slugging percentage and OPS, and was leading the majors in both homers and runs scored (29).  With Freddie Freeman, Ozzie Albies, Marcell Ozuna, Dansby Swanson, and (the currently injured) Travis d’Arnaud all off to slow starts in 2021, it isn’t a huge exaggeration to say that Acuna has carried the Braves’ offense.

This isn’t Acuna’s first injury scare of the season, as he suffered a mild abdominal strain that forced him out of a game back on April 18.  That issue ultimately didn’t require a visit to the injured list, however, and Acuna was back in action by April 23.  It should be noted that Acuna has hit only .200/.328/.400 in the first 61 PA since that abdominal injury, though some regression was probably inevitable after Acuna’s red-hot start.

Ronald Acuna Jr. Day-To-Day After Suffering Mild Abdominal Strain

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TODAY: Acuna is day-to-day after an MRI “revealed a mild abdominal strain,” the Braves announced via Twitter.

APRIL 18: 9:50PM: Acuna has an abdominal strain, according to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (Twitter link).  A decision about an injured list placement will come tomorrow.

7:48PM: Braves superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. left tonight’s game against the Cubs in the fourth inning “due to pain in his lower abdominal muscles,” the team announced.

Acuna drew a walk to begin the fourth inning, and then “appeared to tweak something” (as per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian) while diving back to the bag on a pickoff attempt.  After advancing to second base on a Freddie Freeman walk, Acuna was visited by the Braves trainer but remained in the game, and later had to dive across the plate to score on a Travis d’Arnaud fly ball.  For the bottom of the fourth, Ehire Adrianza took Acuna’s spot in right field and Johan Camargo entered the game to take over for Adrianza at second base.

More will be known about Acuna’s status after he undergoes tests, but needless to say, both Atlanta fans and the entire baseball world at large are holding their breath that the injury is a minor one.  After establishing himself as one of the sport’s best players in his first three MLB seasons, Acuna is already drawing NL MVP buzz after hitting an extraordinary .419/.486/.887 with seven home runs over his first 72 plate appearances.

Should Acuna have to miss any time, he’ll join fellow outfielders Cristian Pache and Ender Inciarte on the injured list.  The shorthanded Braves still have Marcell Ozuna in left field, but might have to rely on some combination of Guillermo Heredia, Adrianza, Camargo, or Austin Riley to handle the other two outfield positions in the interim.  Atlanta does have several experienced options at its alternate training site (including Phil Ervin, Abraham Almonte, and Terrance Gore), as well as top prospect Drew Waters.

Gold Glove Nominees Announced

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The 2020 Rawlings Glove Glove Award finalists have been released, with the Cubs netting the most nominations with seven. The Mets, Nationals, Phillies, Brewers, Rays, and Red Sox were shut out.

The awards for defensive prowess will be handed out based on defensive metrics alone this year, since managers and coaches weren’t able to see players outside their regional bubble. Moving to a metrics-based system, even for a year, certainly make for interesting television, especially since these awards can make an impact on arbitration cases. Considering the uncertainty of a 60-game season, awards could carry greater weight than usual in those proceedings, thought that’s just speculation. Without further ado, here are this year’s nominees:

AL Pitcher

NL Pitcher

AL Catcher

NL Catcher

AL First Base

NL First Base

AL Second Base

NL Second Base

AL Third Base

NL Third Base

AL Shortstop

NL Shortstop

AL Left Field

NL Left Field

AL Centerfield

NL Centerfield

AL Right Field

NL Right Field

Nicky Lopez of the Royals was originally left off the list, but he is in fact a nominee at second base, one of four nominations at the keystone in the American League. It’s the only position with four nominations.

There are a few other interesting things of note. Perennial candidates like Andrelton Simmons and Matt Chapman did not make the list this year due to shortened seasons, nor did last season’s Outs Above Average leader Victor Robles. Both Gurriel brothers earned nominations this year, with the younger Lourdes (LF) joining perennial candidate Yuli (1B).

There are also a couple of largely part-time players that made the cut, like Hoerner of the Cubs and Mendick for the White Sox. Neither was the everyday second baseman, but they did reach the inning minimum of 265 total defensive innings. They qualified at second because that’s where they played the most innings. Mendick, for example, registered just 226 innings at second, but with 27 innings at third and 15 at shortstop, he ended the year with 268 total defensive innings played.

Catchers required a minimum of 29 games, which is how we got a pair of White Sox catchers making the top-3. Pitchers had to throw a minimum of 50 innings.

The winners will be selected using the SABR Defensive Index and announced on November 3rd, per sabr.org.

Latest On Ronald Acuna Jr., Chris Martin

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Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. and reliever Chris Martin dealt with injuries at the end of the regular season, but both players will be available when the team starts its playoff series against the Reds on Wednesday, David O’Brien of The Athletic tweets.

Acuna missed the Braves’ regular-season finale with left wrist irritation, but he’s now “fine,” according to manager Brian Snitker. That’s obviously excellent news for the Braves, with whom Acuna slashed .250/.406/.581 and totaled 14 home runs and eight stolen bases in 202 plate appearances. Acuna, potential MVP Freddie Freeman and Marcell Ozuna, who each managed a wRC+ of no worse than 159, give the NL East-winning Braves a terrifying offensive trio as the team heads into the playoffs.

Along with their high-powered offense, the Braves’ bullpen was among the reasons they reigned supreme in their division for the third straight time. Their relief corps ranked fourth in ERA and ninth in fWAR, owing in part to Martin’s work. After re-signing with the Braves last winter on a two-year, $14MM contract, Martin fired 18 innings of 1.00 ERA/2.36 FIP ball with 10.0 K/9 against 1.5 BB/9. Martin left the Braves’ last game with groin troubles, but it appears he dodged a serious problem.

Ronald Acuña Jr. Scratched From Sunday’s Lineup

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Ronald Acuña Jr. was scratched from today’s lineup because of left wrist irritation, the team announced via Twitter. Obviously, it’s not an ideal situation for the Braves, but there’s no apparent reason to read anything more into this than what’s on the surface. With their playoff position locked, the Braves don’t gain much from playing Acuña today, especially if he’s anything less than 100%. There’s no reason to expect Acuña won’t be back in the lineup for their 3-game wild card playoff.

Acuna wanted to be in the lineup today, so the injury clearly isn’t all that limiting, but the Braves wanted to be cautious with their superstar, per MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (via Twitter). It is the same wrist that caused him some trouble in August. That said, the 22-year-old still managed to play in 46 games this season and post 2.0 rWAR with a triple slash of .250/.406/.581.

While Acuña’s wrist soreness will surely make some Braves fans a little nervous, there’s cause for optimism coming out of Atlanta as well. Ace Max Fried threw a bullpen session today, and as expected, he’d been given the green light for the playoffs, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter). Perhaps even more important than Acuña, Atlanta really needs a healthy Fried in order to make a deep run this postseason. He was their best starter by a wide margin this season, emerging from a muddled and hectic rotation to establish himself as an ace and Cy Young candidate.

In 11 starts this season, Fried went 7-0 with a sterling 2.25 ERA/3.10 FIP across 56 innings. His contributions amount to 2.9 rWAR, the fourth-highest mark among pitchers in the majors. The only concern for Fried is that he’s thrown just 6 innings across two starts since going on the injured list early in September. The Braves have held the division lead or some time now, so they’ve been able to be patient with their ace. Still, he’ll be watched closely as he prepares to start the opener of the postseason. As the #2 seed, the Braves will be playing in Atlanta, though their opponent has yet to be decided. Beyond Fried, none of the Braves potential starters (Ian Anderson, Kyle Wright, Bryse Wilson) have more than a year of service time under their belts.

Ronald Acuna Jr. Exits With Apparent Foot Injury

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7:19pm: The Braves look to have dodged a bullet. They announced that Acuna underwent X-rays that didn’t reveal a fracture. He’s day-to-day.

6:33pm: Braves star outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. exited their game Friday with an apparent left ankle/foot injury, Mark Bowman of MLB.com was among those to report. Acuna departed after fouling a ball off his foot, and he had to be helped off the field. The Braves replaced him with Ender Inciarte.

The severity of Acuna’s injury isn’t known yet, but anything requiring an absence would be worrisome for the Braves at this late stage in the season. They hold a three-game lead in the NL East, but it’s fair to say they’ll need a healthy Acuna in the fold if they’re going to make a serious run at a World Series in the next couple months.

Acuna missed time earlier in the year with a left wrist injury, but he has been better than ever when he has taken the field. The 22-year-old has slashed a career-best .286/.440/.667 (184 wRC+) with 11 home runs and a personal-high 20.2 percent walk rate in 134 plate appearances.

NL East Notes: Marlins, Givens, Acuna, Mets, Red Sox

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Mychal Givens was a popular figure in trade speculation before the Rockies acquired him from the Orioles earlier today, and The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link) reports that the Marlins were one of the clubs who also had an interest in Givens’ services.  With Givens now off the board, the Fish will continue to pursue relief pitching help, and Rosenthal notes that, unsurprisingly, Miami’s “young starting pitchers are popular with other clubs.”  MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro (Twitter links) reports that the Marlins have thus far been asked about the likes of Elieser Hernandez, Edward Cabrera, Braxton Garrett, and Trevor Rogers, but the Fish have thus far been resistent to such demands.

Caleb Smith could potentially be a different story, as Frisaro tweets that Miami is at least “exploring his market” with potential suitors.  It remains to be seen if the Marlins will actually send any of these young arms elsewhere, though it’s worth remembering that last year’s trade deadline saw Miami send a young starter in Trevor Richards (as well as a very notable young reliever in Nick Anderson) to the Rays for a reliever in Ryne Stanek and an outfield prospect in Jesus Sanchez.  One would imagine the Marlins would only move any of Hernandez, Cabrera, etc. if they could land a similarly controllable piece back, rather than a rental player.

More from around the NL East…

  • Ronald Acuna Jr. left tonight’s game “as a precaution with right hamstring tightness,” according to the Braves’ official update.  Acuna has already missed a good chunk of the season with a wrist injury, and another injured list visit (especially over something as potentially pesky as a hamstring issue) would leave the Braves without their best player for much of the stretch drive.  More will be known once Acuna is tested, though in the short term, one wonders if this could lead Atlanta to look into adding a bat as a security measure by tomorrow’s trade deadline.
  • The Braves acquired Tommy Milone from the Orioles today but aren’t likely to stop there in their pursuit of starting pitching, as reporter Robert Murray tweets that Atlanta has considered “every starter imaginable.“
  • The Mets’ deadline wish list includes a catcher and pitching (both starting and relieving) help, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets.  Perhaps in a related item, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal writes that the Red Sox have been “doing background on Mets minor leaguers,” which could hint at a potential trade.  Rosenthal figures Christian Vazquez would be a natural fit to address the Mets’ catching needs, and we’ve already heard that the Sox have discussed Vazquez with the Rays in recent days.  Speculatively, such Red Sox hurlers as Martin Perez, Matt Barnes, or Ryan Brasier could potentially be on the Mets’ radar, though the Sox just lost potential trade chip Nathan Eovaldi to the injured list.

Braves Promote Ian Anderson, Activate Ronald Acuna Jr.

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The Braves announced this morning that they’ve selected the contract of top pitching prospect Ian Anderson and reinstated outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. from the injured list. Anderson will make his Major League debut and start tonight’s game. In a pair of corresponding moves, right-hander Touki Toussaint and catcher Alex Jackson were optioned to Atlanta’s alternate training site.

Anderson, 22, was the No. 3 overall draft pick in 2016 and has steadily ranked among the game’s 50 or so best prospects over the past three years. He spent the 2019 season with the Braves’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates, pitching to a combined 3.38 ERA with 11.4 K/9, 4.3 BB/9 and a 44 percent grounder rate. Like so many pitchers, Anderson was blown up in the explosive offensive setting in Triple-A last year, surrendering five homers in 24 2/3 frames. However, he only yielded eight big flies in 111 innings of Double-A work.

Scouting reports on Anderson peg him as more of a mid-rotation starter than a frontline ace. His fastball climbs to 96 mph, and Anderson garners praise for a plus curveball and a changeup that’s a bit behind that offering, though all three are considered above-average pitches.

Given the considerable rotation woes they’ve experienced in 2020, there’s some pressure on Anderson to put forth a strong debut effort. It’s not exactly fair to put such lofty expectations on a young prospect, but Atlanta has lost Mike Soroka (torn Achilles), Cole Hamels (triceps tendinitis), Felix Hernandez (opted out of 2020) and Mike Foltynewicz (outrighted after his fastball velocity dipped 6 mph) from its expected early-season rotation. Sean Newcomb, meanwhile, was optioned to the alternate site after surrendering 17 runs in 13 2/3 innings. Kyle Wright and Toussaint both posted underwhelming numbers in four starts apiece as well. The Braves have recently leaned on swingman Josh Tomlin and waiver claim Robbie Erlin to start games for them.

The Braves waited on Anderson long enough that he’ll miss out on Super Two status and the opportunity to accrue a full year of Major League service in 2020. As such, even if he’s in the big leagues for good, Anderson won’t be eligible for arbitration until after the 2023 season and won’t be eligible for free agency until after the 2026 season. Future optional assignments could further impact those timelines, of course, though the organization surely hopes that he pitches his way into a permanent rotation spot.

The return of Acuna is obviously a major boon for the Braves as well. He’s missed the past 10 days due to a left wrist injury but had rebounded from a slow start to boost his line to .258/.372/.515 at the time of his IL placement. In 10 August games, Acuna was hitting .364/.488/.818 with four homers and three doubles.

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