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Wyatt Langford

Rangers Place Wyatt Langford On Injured List

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The Rangers announced Wednesday that outfielder Wyatt Langford has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right oblique strain. Additionally, infielder Jonathan Ornelas has been optioned to Round Rock. Utilityman Ezequiel Duran and outfielder Dustin Harris have been recalled in a pair of corresponding transactions. Duran was only optioned to Triple-A yesterday, but he can return in fewer than the minimum 10 days since he’s technically replacing the injured Langford on the roster.

The 23-year-old Langford is out to a fast start, clubbing four homers through his first dozen games while slashing .244/.333/.561 overall. The 2023 No. 4 overall pick’s bid to follow up on a strong rookie showing last year will be placed on hold for the next week-plus at the very least, however, with a chance that he’ll require a lengthier stay.

Every injury is different, but even many Grade 1 oblique strains (the most mild on a scale of one to three) can sideline a player for upwards of a month. Texas will hope Langford’s current oblique strain plays out similarly to the one he sustained on the other side of his body early in camp this year, when a mild left oblique strain required him to be out of games for only about two weeks.

With Langford shelved for the time being, his reps in left field will fall to a combination of Harris, Duran, Kevin Pillar and Josh Smith. Leody Taveras and Adolis Garcia remain on hand to man center field and right field, respectively.

Harris, 25, could get his first stretch of any real action in the majors following this promotion. He was briefly called up last year but only appeared in two games, going 2-for-6 with a homer. He has a decent track record at the plate in the upper minors but is widely considered a sub-par defender with no true home on the diamond.

The Rangers have given Harris a look at all three outfield spots this season, and he’s also spent ample time at every infield position other than shortstop. He’s a lefty hitter who could work his way into Bruce Bochy’s lineup at a variety of positions, but he’s generally blocked from any sort of long-term regular role in Texas. Jake Burger, Marcus Semien, Corey Seager and Josh Jung have the infield locked down, while Langford, Taveras, Garcia and Evan Carter give him plenty of roadblocks in the outfield. Harris is out to a tough start in Triple-A this year but is a career .268/.361/.401 hitter in 894 plate appearances there (in addition to a .252/.358/.445 line in 660 Double-A plate appearances).

Rangers Notes: Rocker, Eovaldi, Langford

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Rangers righty Kumar Rocker made his Spring Training debut today against the Royals. The results weren’t good — he allowed four runs in his inning of work — but that’s inconsequential this early in camp.

As Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News writes, manager Bruce Bochy and GM Chris Young have left open the possibility for Rocker to break camp. That might require an injury elsewhere in the rotation, however, as it seems Rocker enters Spring Training sixth on the depth chart. Texas has a veteran top four: Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, Tyler Mahle and Jon Gray. The fifth spot could come down to a battle between Rocker and left-hander Cody Bradford — with the latter potentially having the leg up.

“We’re going to see where we come out of camp, where we are from a medical standpoint, who’s healthy, how guys have thrown the ball, but (Rocker is) certainly one that is in our plans,” Young said. “We just can’t tell you exactly how at this point.” The third overall pick in the 2022 draft, Rocker earned a brief debut last September. He started three games, allowing six runs (five earned) through 11 2/3 innings. The 6’5″ righty recorded 14 strikeouts with an excellent 13.3% swinging strike rate. It’s an exceedingly small sample, but he looks capable of missing bats at the highest level.

Rocker averaged 96 MPH on his heater, while opponents had few answers for his slider. The latter pitch may already be one of the game’s top breaking balls. Baseball America graded the slider as a plus-plus offering (70 on the 20-80 scale) while ranking Rocker among their top 20 prospects. The 25-year-old will certainly be a factor at some point this season, though it remains to be seen how the Rangers want to handle his workload. Rocker underwent Tommy John surgery in 2023 and has all of 19 professional appearances under his belt. He has tallied fewer than 30 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. Rocker carved up minor league hitters upon returning from the surgery, working to a 1.96 ERA with 55 strikeouts in 36 2/3 frames over 10 appearances.

The 27-year-old Bradford has almost the polar opposite approach. He’s a soft-tossing lefty who relies on a plus changeup and elite command. Despite lacking huge stuff, Bradford turned in a 3.54 ERA with a solid 22.7% strikeout rate over 76 1/3 innings last season. A back injury cost him three months, but he was a quietly productive starter when healthy. Both Rocker and Bradford have minor league options remaining. While Dane Dunning remains on hand as well, he’s likelier to pitch in long relief after a rough ’24 season.

There’s no doubt about Eovaldi’s role. He’ll be back in the top half of the rotation after re-signing on a three-year, $75MM free agent deal. The 13-year MLB veteran has been incredibly consistent, turning in a sub-4.00 ERA in five straight seasons. That hasn’t stopped him from using exhibition play to tinker with his arsenal.

Eovaldi told reporters last week that he has been working on a two-seam fastball throughout the offseason (link via Kennedi Landry of MLB.com). The righty confirmed that he used it a few times in his Spring Training debut on Friday against Kansas City. Brooks Baseball tracked five of his pitches as sinkers (which is the two-seam fastball) over two innings. Eovaldi has had a five-pitch mix for most of his career: four-seam, splitter, cutter, curveball and a slider that he only throws against right-handed hitters. He told Landry and other reporters that he’ll continue to work on the two-seam, which he wants to run up and in against righty batters to keep them off the splitter lower in the zone.

One player who has yet to get his exhibition season underway: second-year left fielder Wyatt Langford. Jeff Wilson of DLLS Sports was among those to report last week that Langford was being held back from baseball activities for a few days after being diagnosed with a mild oblique strain. Bochy maintained that the Rangers consider this a minor setback and anticipate that Langford will be ready for Opening Day. He’ll look to build off a solid rookie season in which he hit .253/.325/.415 with 16 homers across 557 plate appearances.

The Rangers’ Surprising Problem

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Each week at MLBTR, it seems we're covering a development that further tanks the Astros' chances of competing for a playoff spot. We've devoted less attention to their in-state rivals, but the Rangers are in no better a situation. Texas and Houston have identical 33-40 records after the Rangers' five-game losing streak. They're only four games clear of the Angels for fourth place in the AL West.

Texas starting the season slowly isn't a huge surprise in itself (even if the extent of their struggles is). The eye-opener is in the way the team has underperformed. The Rangers opened the season without Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer and Tyler Mahle. They were largely trying to stay afloat for the first couple months before welcoming that trio of starters back throughout the summer. The early-season rotation was the big question -- the main reason the Rangers might find themselves closer to the bottom of the AL West than the top more than halfway into June.

Starting pitching has not been the problem. Texas is middle-of-the-pack in that regard, solid work from a staff without three of its most talented arms. The collapse has been on the other side of the ball. The Ranger offense hasn't performed. An outfield that looked like one of the game's most talented groups has been a disaster. It's not the easiest problem for GM Chris Young to address at the deadline -- if the Rangers find themselves in position to add at all next month.

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Rangers Place Evan Carter On Injured List; Reinstate Wyatt Langford, Nathan Eovaldi

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The Rangers have reinstated outfielder Wyatt Langford and right-hander Nathan Eovaldi from the injured list, with Eovaldi starting tonight’s contest. In corresponding moves, outfielder Evan Carter lands on the 10-day IL due to back tightness while righty Yerry Rodríguez has been optioned out. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News was among those to relay the news prior to the official announcement on X (link one and two).

Carter’s back has been bugging him for a few weeks. Between May 8 and May 18, he only took two plate appearances for the Rangers. He’s been in the lineup more regularly of late but still hasn’t had a hit in about three weeks. It seems like the back problems have contributed to his lackluster results on the year. He was hitting .236/.328/.472 through May 4 but has a batting line of just .053/.100/.053 since then.

Coming into the season, it was possible to envision Texas having two regular players battling each other for the Rookie of the Year crown, but it hasn’t played out that way thus far. Carter’s recent slide has dropped his season-long batting line to .188/.272/361. Langford, meanwhile, hit just .224/.295/.293 through 129 plate appearances before landing on the IL due to a right hamstring strain. Langford will now get a chance to improve his numbers while Carter takes some time to rest up and get healthy for later in the season.

Injuries have also been a key storyline for the Texas rotation all year long. They knew long ago that Jacob deGrom and Tyler Mahle would be on the IL for the first half, as each of them underwent Tommy John surgery in the middle of last season. Then Max Scherzer required back surgery in the offseason. There was a time when it seemed like he could come back in mid-May but he has been delayed by thumb soreness and his timeline is still up in the air.

Since the season started, the Rangers have also seen Eovaldi, Jon Gray, Dane Dunning, Michael Lorenzen and Cody Bradford miss time on the injured list. All that has left Andrew Heaney as the only consistent member of the rotation this year.

Some of those IL stints have now ended, including Eovaldi’s today, so the rotation currently consists of him, Heaney, Dunning, Lorenzen and José Ureña. The club used Gerson Garabito for a spot start on Sunday and it seemed he could stick around for now as a long reliever.

The various injuries up and down the roster have seemingly prevented the defending champions from charging out of the gate this year, as they are currently 25-29 on the season. But the American League West is surprisingly weak so far this year, as the Astros are also struggling. The Rangers are second to the Mariners, just 3.5 games back and still very much in it.

Getting Eovaldi back on the mound is obviously helpful, as he had a 2.61 ERA prior to hitting the IL with a groin strain and had a 3.63 ERA for the Rangers last year. Langford could slot into the designated hitter role that Adolis García has been in recently, pushing García back to the outfield next to Leody Taveras and a rotation of Ezequiel Durán, Robbie Grossman and Derek Hill, with Carter hopefully jumping back into that mix once he’s healthy.

Rangers To Place Wyatt Langford On 10-Day Injured List

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The Rangers will place outfielder Wyatt Langford on the 10-day injured list, manager Bruce Bochy told Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (X link) and other media.  Langford left yesterday’s game due to what was described as hamstring tightness, and Bochy reports that the injury is a strain, slightly beyond a Grade 1-level injury.  The expected recovery timeline for Langford is three or four weeks.

It has still been less than a year since Langford was selected fourth overall by the Rangers in the 2023 draft, and the star prospect’s quickly moved up the minor league ladder all the way to Triple-A before the end of his first pro season.  Langford posted a 1.157 OPS over 200 plate appearances across four different minor league levels last year, and another huge performance in Spring Training led Texas to make the aggressive decision to include Langford on the Opening Day roster.

Despite all the fanfare, it perhaps isn’t surprising that Langford has thus far been overmatched by big league pitching.  The 22-year-old has hit only .224/.295/.293 in his first 129 plate appearances in the Show, and he ranks slightly below average in most Statcast categories (though his chase and whiff rates are strong, and his elite speed has lived up to expectations).  While Langford’s barrels and barrel rate are around average, that hasn’t translated into much pop, as he has just one home run and an .069 Isolated Power score.

This isn’t exactly ideal for a designated hitter, which has been Langford’s regular role when he isn’t spelling Evan Carter in left field when a southpaw in on the mound.  Utilityman Ezequiel Duran seems likeliest to slide into this role in Langford’s absence, or Duran could play third base and Josh Smith could get some time in left field.  Depending on how the Rangers approach the situation, Jonathan Ornelas could be called up from Triple-A for further depth, or Texas could go beyond the 40-man roster to select someone with more MLB experience (Matt Duffy, Derek Hill, Jose Barrero, etc.) from Triple-A.

AL West Notes: Kirby, Rojas, Langford, Astros

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Mariners right-hander George Kirby underwent an MRI exam on his right knee yesterday, manager Scott Servais told reporters (including Adam Jude of the Seattle Times) prior to last night’s game against Houston. Servais didn’t provide details on the results of Kirby’s MRI but made clear that the imaging was precautionary and expressed optimism that Kirby will make be ready to make his next start. The righty was pulled from his start on Friday after just 88 pitches due to the issue, though following that game Kirby noted that his knee had been “bugging” him for the “past couple of weeks.” He’s pitched through it to this point, however, and like Servais suggested that he wasn’t concerned about the problem.

That’s surely a relief for the Mariners, Kirby has gotten off to a strong start this year. While his 3.76 ERA is actually just below league average by measure of ERA+, he currently sports a career-best 26.3% strikeout rate to go along with a 2.6% walk rate, while his 65.4% strand rate is much lower than is sustainable through seven starts. Given that, it’s no surprise that Kirby has some of the best peripheral numbers in the league with a 2.08 FIP, a 2.84 xERA, a 3.03 SIERA and a 3.10 xFIP.

That type of production is extremely hard to replace, and Mariners fans are surely hoping that Kirby’s knee issue is as minor as he and the team believe it to be. Should Kirby require a trip to the IL, the Mariners could turn to struggling Triple-A starter Levi Stoudt or perhaps non-roster veteran Dallas Keuchel to fill out the rotation while youngster Bryan Woo finishes up a rehab assignment at the Triple-A level.

More from around the AL West…

  • Sticking with the Mariners, Servais indicated to reporters (including Jude) yesterday that the club is hoping to get infielder Josh Rojas additional at-bats going forward. Rojas has gotten off to a hot start this year as part of a platoon with Luis Urias at third base, slashing .338/.420/.535 in 82 trips to the plate. Per Servais, the solution to that could be moving Rojas to left field on days that Urias is playing the hot corner. With Dominic Canzone on the injured list, Seattle has primarily relied on Luke Raley and Dylan Moore in left this season but neither has taken hold of the position with particularly strong offensive numbers, so affording more playing time to Rojas and Urias could be a way to bolster an offense that ranks 22nd in the majors with a 96 wRC+, including a 58 wRC+ in left field.
  • Rangers youngster Wyatt Langford entered the season as a widely-speculated AL Rookie of the Year candidate after he fought his way onto the Opening Day roster with an incredible Spring Training, but he’s scuffled somewhat in the early going this season with a wRC+ of just 68 and an ISO of just .069 that puts him in the bottom five among all qualified outfielders this year in terms of power production. Now, however, Langford may be dealing with an injury on top of his struggles at the plate after he exited last night’s game with tightness in his right hamstring, as noted Jeff Wilson of Rangers Today. Should Langford require a trip to the IL, the club would likely turn to veteran outfielder Travis Jankowski to fill out the lineup in his absence.
  • Astros outfielder Chas McCormick has only been on the injured list for a few days, but manager Joe Espada told reporters (including MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart) that he is already making good progress in his rehab from a right hamstring issue. Per Espada, McCormick has begun running and is nearing the point where he’ll be able to begin batting practice, adding that the club hopes to get the 29-year-old out for a minor league rehab assignment “pretty soon.” McCormick scuffled at the plate to open the season this year but was one of the club’s strongest contributors in 2023, when he slashed .273/.353/.489 in 115 games.
  • Sticking with the Astros, Espada also provided an update to reporters (including McTaggart) about injured right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. McCullers last pitched in the majors in late 2022 but has now progressed to throwing off a mound in his rehab process. It’s a major step for McCullers, who has made just eight starts since the end of the 2021 postseason due to flexor tendon issues. When healthy enough to take the mound, McCullers has been an impact starter for the Astros with a 2.96 ERA and 3.51 FIP in 36 starts from 2021-22. The right-hander isn’t expecting to return to action until later this summer, though yesterday’s news appears to indicate he remains on track to pitch for the club this season.

MLBTR Podcast: A Live Reaction To The Jordan Montgomery Signing, Ohtani’s Interpreter, And J.D. Martinez Joins The Mets

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Luis García Jr, Lance McCullers Jr, and Kendall Graveman of the Astros are likely out, at the very least, until mid-June.  How come none of these guys are on the 60-day injured list?  Do you seen the Astros moving them there and if so, when? (49:15)
  • Do you think it’s possible that the league begins to follow the Angels and Rangers footsteps and call up recent draft picks as soon as they show any signs of potential? Also, do you think it is at all possible that teams start to call up teenagers? (52:25)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Rangers To Select Wyatt Langford

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Rangers manager Bruce Bochy informed the club’s beat that outfielder Wyatt Langford has made the team, with Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News among those to pass it along. He will need to have his contract selected but the club has several players who could be added to the 60-day injured list in order to open a roster spot.

The ascent of Langford, 22, is truly remarkable. He was just drafted last summer, going fourth overall to the Rangers after hitting .363/.471/.746 in college ball. After his draft, the Rangers put him to work right away and he tore through minor league pitching. He played three Complex League games, 24 in High-A, 12 in Double-A and five in Triple-A. He took a combined 200 plate appearances over those levels and walked more than he struck out, 36 free passes to 34 punchouts. He hit 10 home runs and slashed .360/.480/677 for a wRC+ of 199, stealing 12 bases along the way.

He was invited to major league camp, despite having just a few months of professional experience. He just kept on mashing, with six home runs in 56 plate appearances and a batting line of .388/.446/.796. After that non-stop onslaught of offense, he’ll get to break camp with the defending World Series champions.

If there’s a question about Langford, it’s his defense, which will make it interesting to see how the Rangers utilize him. The club has Leody Taveras as their everyday center fielder with Adolis García and Evan Carter the top options for the corners. That could leave Langford primed to see plenty of time as the designated hitter, which wouldn’t be ideal for his development, but perhaps he can rotate through the corners as well with Carter and García taking turning DHing.

The latest collective bargaining agreement contains incentives for clubs to carry top prospects on their Opening Day rosters, which are in play if a player is on two of the top 100 lists at MLB.com, ESPN or Baseball America. A qualified player can earn his club an extra draft pick by winning Rookie of the Year or by finishing in the top three in voting for MVP or Cy Young.

Langford is in the top six for each of those aforementioned prospect lists, making him easily qualified. If he meets any of those awards criteria, he’ll net the Rangers an extra draft pick just after the first round in the future.

This promotion will also put him on track for free agency one year earlier than if he had debuted midway through the season. If he isn’t optioned to the minors for a significant stretch of time at some point, he’ll get to six years of major league service time after the 2029 season, going into his age-28 campaign.

Rangers Notes: Seager, Jung, Langford, Bradford

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Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News had some positive updates from Rangers camp on Friday, reporting that manager Bruce Bochy is “more optimistic” that Corey Seager and Josh Jung will both be in the Opening Day lineup at the end of the month. Seager had surgery on a sports hernia about six weeks ago, while Josh Jung has been nursing a calf strain since mid-February. Neither has played a game thus far in spring training, but both players figure to be key pieces for the club as it looks to defend its 2023 World Series championship this season.

Seager, 30 next month, won World Series MVP honors during the club’s title run in the fall and slashed an excellent .327/.390/.623 en route to his fourth All Star appearance and a second-place finish in AL MVP voting. Jung, meanwhile, made his first career All Star appearance and finish fourth in AL Rookie of the Year voting on the heels of a solid rookie campaign that saw him hit a respectable .266/.315/.467 in 122 games. Losing either player for an extended period would be a significant blow to the Rangers’ chances in a competitive AL West that’s seen the Astros add star closer Josh Hader while seeming also pursuing two-time Cy Young award winner Blake Snell while the Mariners have completely retooled their starting lineup to add threatening players such as Jorge Polanco and former Ranger Mitch Garver.

Of course, the Rangers have versatile youngster Ezequiel Duran able to help out on the left side of the infield if either Jung or Seager were to open the season on the shelf. Duran, 25 in May, slashed a solid .276/.324/.443 in 439 trips to the plate last year while splitting time between all four infield spots and both outfield corners. With that being said, Duran could already be tabbed to cover for first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, who is also questionable for Opening Day due to an oblique strain. Aside from Duran, the Rangers have Jose Barrero and Josh Smith as infield depth options should Seager, Jung, and Lowe start the season on the shelf.

More from Rangers camp…

  • Grant also notes that, according to GM Chris Young, top prospect Wyatt Langford has done “everything he can” to make a case for himself as a member of the Opening Day roster. Langford, 22, was the club’s first-round pick in the 2023 draft and slashed an incredible .360/.480/.677 in 200 plate appearances across four levels of the minors down the stretch last season. He’s continued to tear the cover off the ball this spring with a .361/.442/.806 in 43 trips to the plate during camp. Should Langford make the roster, he’d figure to factor into the club’s outfield/DH mix alongside Evan Carter, Adolis Garcia, and Leody Taveras.
  • While Young didn’t make any commitments to Langford as a regular entering the season, he told reporters (including Grant) recently that left-hander Cody Bradford is going to be in the club’s starting rotation to open the season. With Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray, Andrew Heaney, and Dane Dunning all seemingly locked into rotation spots of their own, that would appear to preclude the club from making additions such as former Ranger Jordan Montgomery to their starting mix prior to Opening Day. When asked about the possibility of further rotation additions, Young was noncommittal, simply stating that “The group we have is the group we have, and it’s a great group.” Bradford has certainly done everything he can to earn a rotation spot this spring, pitching to a 2.45 ERA across four appearances including three starts.

Big Hype Prospects: Caminero, Langford, Holliday, Carter, Marte

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As the clock runs out on the 2023 season, we take a look at the Big Hype Prospects who have advanced their hype-levels to all new… levels.

Five Big Hype Prospects

Junior Caminero, 20, SS/3B, TBR (MLB)
(AA) 351 PA, 20 HR, 3 SB, .309/373/.548

The will they/won’t they dance with Caminero finally resolved. Despite foregoing a promotion to Triple-A, the Rays saw fit to inject an offensive weapon into their postseason repertoire. Part of me wonders how much gamesmanship went into leaving Caminero at Double-A, as if the Rays could convince their playoff rivals he wouldn’t be promoted, maybe they would scout him less? A player of his age and profile undoubtedly has exploitable weaknesses, so the deeper the Rays can get into the postseason before those weaknesses are discovered, the better. Caminero batted fifth in his first two MLB games, going 2-for-9 with a walk and producing impressive exit velocities on six batted balls. While small sample caveats apply, the beauty of exit velocity is instant gratification. A 112-mph EV immediately validates a hitter as possessing impressive pop. All the other stats, well, they need more time to mature into larger samples.

Wyatt Langford, 21, OF, TEX (AAA)
(4 levels) 200 PA, 10 HR, 12 SB, .360/.480/.677

With Caminero up, Langford is the next future superstar on the cusp of promotion. We discussed him last week prior to his promotion to Triple-A. Since then, he’s batted .368/.538/.526 in 26 plate appearances with MLB-level exit velocities. Round Rock has a three-game series remaining for the PCL Championship, and I suspect we’ll see Langford join the Rangers upon the conclusion of the series. Where he fits on the roster is less certain. Leody Taveras is a quality defender with a league-average bat, and Evan Carter has performed well in limited action. Langford likely represents a net upgrade on both outfielders, but it can be tough to justify changing something that’s working well. Now might be the wrong moment to mess with team chemistry.

Jackson Holliday, 19, SS, BAL (AAA)
(4 levels) 581 PA, 12 HR, 24 SB, .323/.442/.499

Like Langford, the Norfolk Tides have a championship series over the next three days. If Holliday is summoned to the Majors, it will likely follow these games. He’s had a longer stint in Triple-A, and after a slow start, he’s up to .267/.396/.400 in 91 plate appearances. His average quality of contact is better than a typical Major Leaguer, but his top-end EVs are poor. That’s no cause for concern. Holliday is a teenager. If anything, it might indicate that the Orioles are best served to play it slow rather than forcing an awkward situation with a last-minute promotion. Holliday might represent a modest upgrade over Adam Frazier and Jordan Westburg at second base. He certainly improves upon seldom-used benchman Ryan McKenna. Whether that’s sufficient cause for a promotion is a tough question to answer.

Evan Carter, 21, OF, TEX (MLB)
(CPX/AA/AAA) 513 PA, 12 HR, 25 SB, .288/.413/.450

Though he is deservedly a Top 10 prospect, Carter profiles differently than most of the top names. He’s one of the surest things in the minors. True stardom might be out of his grasp, especially in this rich era of uber-prospects. Then again, no era of baseball has offered players such tangible opportunity to transform their game. The high-floor, low-ceiling expectation is reinforced by a profile, build, and approach that screams “Brandon Nimmo clone.” Nimmo, of course, recently signed a nine-figure deal entering his age-30 season, hence everyone’s comfort ranking Carter highly. Still, nobody expects Nimmo to carry the Mets. He’s a rich man’s complementary piece. Carter seems destined for a similar role.

Carter is off to a hot start in the Majors. Improbably, he’s hit four home runs in 54 plate appearances as part of a .318/.426/.705 batting line. The dingers, in addition to a .400 BABIP, have served to carry his offensive line beyond even the wildest expectations. Look under the hood, and you’ll see Carter produces only modest quality of contact. He has a knack for barreling the ball, but those barrels aren’t impactful. Like Holliday, this is more of a “now” problem than a future concern. He’ll develop more pop as he ages.

Noelvi Marte, 21, 3B/SS, CIN (MLB)
(AA/AAA) 399 PA, 11 HR, 18 SB, .279/.358/.454

There are no questions about Marte’s exit velocities. They’re among the best in the game. Alas, a ball smashed into the ground is still a ground ball. He’s running a predictably high BABIP as the result of his worm murdering. He’s not producing any power numbers despite hitting the ball powerfully. We have every reason to anticipate growth from Marte in the coming years. What we’re seeing now is a fantastic platform for a quality Major Leaguer. At present, he’s roughly a replacement-level performer. He’s batting .293/.350/.380 (96 wRC+) in 100 plate appearances. If he can learn to generate any lift whatsoever, he’ll quickly morph into a dangerous hitter.

Three More

Orion Kerkering, PHI (22): Arguably the top pure relief prospect in the minors (excluding those being developed as starters), Kerkering features triple-digit gas. He lives off a filth-monster slider. After starting the season in Low-A, the right-hander made his big league debut on Sunday. He seems destined for high-leverage postseason innings.

Christian Encarnacion-Strand, CIN (23): Since he has expended his rookie eligibility, this will be Encarnacion-Strand’s last appearance in this column. After an unimpressive August, CES has caught fire in September. Over the last 20 days, he’s batting .378/.429/.778 with six home runs in 49 plate appearances. Volatility will likely always be a part of his game.

Pete Crow-Armstrong, CHC (21): Crow-Armstrong drew a trio of starts shortly after his promotion. He looked overmatched and has since been reduced to a pinch runner/defensive replacement role. I fully expect PCA to fill this same role in the postseason – assuming the Cubs hang onto a Wild Card slot.

Did I miss a detail or nuance? DM me on Twitter @BaseballATeam to suggest corrections.

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