Talkin' Baseball (MLB Podcast) - These Teams Could Disappoint Us | 796

Episode Date: March 6, 2024

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Hello and welcome to Talking Baseball. We are talking about units that might surprise you with a unit who might surprise you. Jolly Olive is in the lab. Let's talk all. And this is the story. The best hitter you've never heard of. The 2005 White Sox. Hello and welcome to Talking Baseball presented to you by Seat Geek.

Make sure use Code Talking. Go check out. some of these teams as we hit I don't know are we at the midway point of spring training is that overzealous I think that's a little overzealous right you might be spot on it's been two weeks zealous wheeler out um coming up on the korea game we're going to be streaming that at six a m on march

20th is that halfway i guess it depends when you start pitchers and catchers um excited to get into it today no trev on a big steel tube on his way to the warehouse as we're about to film some ball and play this weekend. John Boy at the warehouse setting up as we're about to play ball and play this weekend. So it's the dream team. Myself, Bebs, joined by Jolly Olive. You may have seen him from J.M. Baseball today.

Talking baseball before. Yeah. And where else have we seen you? On Jolly Olive. My channel. Jay Station. Jam gaming. How you doing?

I'm good. We've just been spending so much time together, Jake. Yeah. It's been really nice talking ball. No, I'm good, man. I'm excited to be here. We have a really fun episode today crafted by the two wonderful minds and the other boxes on your screen. And I'm excited, man, because talking ball is always a good time.

Talking ball is the best. And, you know, the ultimate compliment to you, Jolly. Chris Rose, when he needs a baseball today guy, you're kind of his one-one. I'm honored. Chris Rose doesn't mess around. No, sir. Chris Rose doesn't mess around. I almost message him late night last night because his Cleveland Cavaliers and Dean Wade went off.

And I know he was watching, but, you know, baseball season's common. I don't. Best D. Wade to ever play in Cleveland, Somersin. Bebs, how are you? I'm doing well. Yeah. We do have some construction going on around us today. So if you hear some ancillary buzz, you're not going crazy.

We have told our building, please stop. Kindly stop. Starting in two hours, you guys have like four days where we won't be here. And they said yes. So in theory it should be stopping. We will see. We're going to talk some ball today. We like peeling back the curtain for you guys.

Things we thought about. BPD's been dreaming up a wins draft for a while. Not against it. I think if we do it right, that's a binge episode. Because you end up talking probably 15 to 18 teams or so. And we're a bunch of guys that like talking ball. So we didn't have that grind today, just being real with you. Some breakout players.

There will be times for that. You'll hear that. We'll talk about that. And you've probably heard about that in a lot of the TPPs, which is the other thing we have going on. that we landed on kind of position units that can surprise you this year

and we're not, we do our unit draft, it's bigger than that. Essentially, I wanted to look into offenses and pitching staffs that can surprise us this year in a good way and a bad way. A lot of times we try to be, you know, we are players coaches.

We try to be nice to the players and often are. and in the world of baseball, you never know. You know, whether you're looking at the Reds lineup when they clicked last year, basically the San Francisco Giants are being banned this episode. Because I think you could look at the Giants pitching staff and be like, man, if they click and they, if they have a decent first half, they're going to get reinforcements for the second half,

and Jordan Hicks and Kyle Hare. Okay, the Giants lineup, man, they just, added Solarin Chapman and Junghuli, if he's the truth, Lamontz get on base. You could talk yourself into the Giants having a top eight pitching staff, probably an eight lineup. They could also have a bottom eight pitching staff in a bottom eight lineup. Why'd he pick eight?

A really odd number when it comes to baseball. Kind of an odd team. Ten, nine? Not a baseball number. So basically, it's really not. It's just a weird number. I wanted to dive into, which teams, offenses or defenses,

could surprise us this year while giving some love, but also sending it out a little bit. And this whole episode is brought to you by Shady Rays. I wore my Shady Rays into the office today. I'm wearing my Shady Rays right now. I wear my Shady Rays because, yeah, I like them. I love them.

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off two plus pairs of premium polarized shades. Jolly, I will kick off to you. And unfortunately for you, I do want to start with potential disappointing groupings. And again, I peel back the curtain for the people. That's because I think this is going to be some of the big teams. This is going to be teams with probably teams with World Series aspirations, which I think there's probably 12 to 14, depending how you stretch it out, that have

some sort of glimmer of actual World Series hope. Their fan bases are telling themselves. It's spring training. It's the time of Eternal Hope. You made some moves. This guy's going to kick back into gear. We got this prospect, man. I tell you what. The snakes were, what,

our 20th ranked team last year? Yeah. And I mean... Rangers were not much above Right? And on the opposite end of the spectrum, and jolly, all three of us will wear this. If we were doing this last season, if you had said the Yankees lineup or the Mets pitching staff,

those two units, I mean, Yankees' offense traditionally, always a wagon and judge coming off his home run AL record, just to clarify, and the Mets coming into the season with Verlander and Scherzer, You know, if we had said either of those units would disappoint, oh my God, dude, how could you say that? These guys don't know ball. You would have ended up looking pretty decent last year.

So our goal isn't to necessarily be savants and get ahead of this. It's just the world of baseball opens up many paths. So Jolly, teeing all of that up, I will kick to you. What is an offense or a pitching staff that you're a little nervous could be disappointing this year. I mean, first of all, great explanation. Thank you. Great lead up.

I got hot there. I know. You got passionate. Jake, what I said before we started the show when we were deciding what we were going to talk about, I said, let's be brave. You know? And being brave is willing to wear egg on your face when you're wrong. Sure.

So why not go for gold? Why don't we go for the gold standard? The team that used to wear gold in their uniform. the team that's been to seven straight ALCSs. Okay. A team that is not going to have their ace for opening day. Okay. Jake, I'm a little worried about the Houston Astros rotation.

Last year, I spent a lot of time looking at that rotation. One, because my Mets had gotten Justin Verlander. I had picked Christian Javier to win the American League Cy Young. I was wrong. From Roldez is a name that is there every year, and they were boasting, you know, this new young crop of guys that they internationally scouted or in the U.S. scouted and were really excited about.

And those guys are going to be relied upon heavily this year. Right now, the rotation as listed is Framber Valdez. At the top, you like that. Kirshin Javier is your two. Okay, we'll see. Got that extension, took a step back last year. I think they still believe he can be the guy he was in the 2020 playoffs. If we were doing bounce back players, there's a chance Christian Javier could have been on the list.

I would let him, you know, fool me again for sure. Jose Erkiti, you're number three, Hunter Brown and then J.P. France. So right now, it's not at full strength, and that's obvious. The reason I'm picking them is one because of the caliber of the Houston Astros. We expect them to be there every single year and every year. They are there. Also last year, eighth in Major League Baseball for Staff ERA at 3.94. a pretty good mark.

I expect that mark to go up this year. And I'm specifically targeting the rotation because I don't think anyone of sound mind should be doubting that bullpen, especially that back three of Brian DeBray, you, Ryan Presley, Josh Hader. That might be the best bullpen in baseball. And when you guys didn't take them in the unit draft,

I was shocked. I never got the chance to say that. It was a little crazy. There's, you know, names. There were names for sure. Raphael Montero, too. Point being, when I think of the Houston Astros and all the winning they've done in the past few years,

I think of rotations. I think of your Gary Cole's. Charlie Morton was in the mix at one point. Obviously, Justin Verlanders at Granky. This is, I think, the weakest Houston rotation I've seen since they became the Houston Astros that we know and fear in these days. And they're going to be relying upon a lot of bounceback,

which is always a little scary. I mean, take it from a Mets fan who's relying on basically four or five guys who might not crack a rotation, to make up a rotation. So for them, it's going to be, is Javier's fastball going to go back to normal? Which, who knows, all this stuff got a little bit worse last year?

I'm sure they're trying to figure out why. Can Framber give you another 200-inning season? I mean, we just saw Lucas Gialito, unfortunately, go down. He was signed to be a horse for his team. Fromber is the horse of this team. 201 innings in 2022 led the American League. Last year, 198. So that's back-to-back seasons of a really heavy,

workload considering MLB standards. Can he bring that upon again? Because that's kind of the starting point of this rotation. Framber and then you go from there. What exactly is Hunter Brown? He was kind of a sexy Cy Young pick last year. I think everyone's a little bit off him now. Can he still be the guy? Can he still be Verlander light, as many were dubbing him? And when do you get back Verlander? I mean, what is the timetable here? I saw him go down and miss all of April last year, still finish the full season, still finished with a decent workload. Can he still bring back the magic? How old is Justin Verlander going to be this year?

He's going to be 41 years old. When does the magic run out? I don't know. You shouldn't doubt someone like Verlander or Scherzer, but at some point, the careers end. So I'm just curious to see what the timetable is there if they really know what's going on with him. And then it's the bonus pieces.

It's the Jose Orquidi, the JP France. We've seen highlights and low lights and playoffs and regular season. They're slot in as the starting rotation right. now. So obviously, when you think of the AOS, even with the Rangers winning the World Series, you default and say it's the Astros until it isn't. And I think I'm still in that boat. But if anything is going to hold them back from losing or winning the AOS again after losing it last year, I think it might be their starting rotation. So I think their rotation has a capability to be bad. Jolly, we all wrote down because we're revealing these to each other.

Right. I told you guys, hey, everyone write down a could be bad, could be bad, could be good. Houston Astros' rotation I had as a potential one. Yeah. Because I've got more to go with you. I think Justin Verlander already getting injured and sorry to relay it back to your Mets a little bit last year.

But 41 is 41's a real number. I'm sitting here at 34 telling you it's a real number after doing half a workout this morning. I mean, Joe's McFly, 41, just strain his hamstring. Easy. I'm sorry. Easy. He's actually

42. Sorry. Framber Valdez, his second half last season, he had a 466 IRA. So you're talking about Warenterre, and you're mentioning those two Beast regular seasons. He's also pitching a lot of postseason. Right. So, hey, this is a pro Framber pod. It would not be surprised if he ends up on, you know, the all-JM team at some point because he's Framber Valdez.

but we have seen pitchers, you know, you start putting that workload on that there could be something there. Knowing the Verlander injury allows us a little more leeway here. And did the Hunter Brown thing, go check out his second half last year. 61.2 innings pitch is 657.

Like Hunter Brown came in hot and we started penciling and like, here we go, Houston. We thought, no, next Verlander. Oh, you got the next one. Man, like Ritees off Hunter Brown last year had an 839 OPS on the season. Hey, Houston has had pitching labs,

although a reminder, their old man pitching coach guru took his retirement job and went to the World Series with that team. So, and as we talk about all this high-level stuff with the Houston Astros, that they still deserve seven straight ALCSs. Don't be surprised.

prize if they're back there. The team that did win the World Series is in their division, and there's still another young sexy team in their division that, hey, they could be discussed later a little bit in some different forums. I don't know. I'm a little happy you took it, just because Houston always has a little bit of the target on it. Of course.

I guess here's what I'll say. For our Houston fans that we do have a lot of, and even the Houston fans that aren't, don't jazz with us, I partially get it. I think you can join the bus. You could get involved. I get it why you might not have yet. You know, if you're on the fringes, whatever.

I guess let us know. Like, do you have rotation concerns? Because like you are saying, compared to previous years, it's not as locked in. Right. And I mean, like I said, egg on my face, because the Astros are probably going to win 90 games again. They're going to be in the playoffs again. and no part of their lineup or bullpen worries me at all.

In fact, I think the lineup got better because now Yonner Diaz is going to play every day. So if anything's going to hold them back, it will be the starting five. I like that you went into the nitty-gritty with their second-half stats because the Astros were the team until that second half, you know? So we'll see.

Well, welcome Houston as we get into it. Let's see. I've got a lineup in a rotation. What are you looking at over there, Bebs? I have a rotation. Okay. Yeah, a rotation that closely related to Houston, if we're just, if we're being honest and getting into it,

that I took a look at and it's like, oh, kind of even if they get a guy we think they might get, I don't know how much I believe in that group. and that is the defending champion Rangers. Yeah, I had them. They, I generally like a lot of what they're working with. Of all these, the guy I will always believe in when he pitches. He's got health concerns.

John Gray and the Heing Dog 2-3, they were fighting to get starts in the playoffs, find innings and different roles. Didn't see a whole lot of them. Dane Dunning, guy. Yeah. who has a good relationship with the show. I generally like.

I generally like. I don't know what the ceilings on those three fully are. It doesn't feel like you could bank on anything too high ceiling-wise. Cody Bradford is, they're currently listed five starter. And Rangers fans, you might be saying, like, well, who's on the IL, they'll come back at some point this year. Your Max Scher's are projected sometime in June. I mean, one, it's a back.

You never know what's popping up there. One setback, and now that's a trade deadline timeline. There's Tyler Molly, who's questionable for some time this year, I think had the TJ in May. Sure, he'll be back. What can you bank on? DeGrom, if you get anything, it's like a one start at the end of the year, like a month of bullpen, or if you're going to get any of that. I don't believe there's like a...

prospect that they're saying, like, let us know. I don't believe there's a prospect. They're saying, like, well, a month into the year, we think this guy will be ready to come up instead. Nobody stuck out on the 40, man. Cole win, I think, is well regarded. But even then, that's only one. Even if they got a Monty,

ballad doesn't have the best reputation for staying on the field. The other guys, there's holes in their game. For a team that was pretty rotation forward, I have my concerns and coming off a World Series Rangers kind of have to prove to me they're a team that'll go out and get the reinforcements there as well

to support that group by the end of the year. They already seem to be balking at bringing back Monty. That's the Monty part of this makes this interesting and I feel like we've had to say this for so many episodes

because it's like, if it happens, that'll change the formula a little bit. I like the Evaldi point at the end, like a guy that kind of wasn't regarded as you're lock him in for 170 innings. He's, he's 34 now. His, you know, when of all these out there, he had a killer first half last year and then he got banged up.

Jolly, I think we even talked about this a little bit the other day, because aren't sneaky the top four of this rotation, the top four guys that threw innings for them last year? Or isn't there some sort of fun fact like that? It's sort of, so the leading strike. pitcher, which is what we did in our top 30 video for team baseball, is Andrew Heaney, which I think is a fun fact from this defending champion team. And that's because before the trade deadline, the rotation, like, wasn't sexy. It was getting it done and that it was keeping them in the race.

But after they added Monty and after they added Scherzer, those became the guys they used in the playoffs. And that was sort of the storyline for their run. Now you're without those guys and you're kind of back to square one. So is it, am I doubting what they did in the first half last year? Not necessarily, but what magic do they pull out of the hat this year? Is it going to be, let's wait for our guys to come back from injury? Let's call up Jack Leiter, who's going to start the year at AAA, or is it, are we going to

trade for guys at the deadline again, which they demonstrated they can do to good success? So I'm kind of with you. I'm a little bit in the middle. I'm not sure what to expect. And it's going to be a lot asked of Dane Dunning to maybe take a step up because I think guys like Heaney and Gray, we know who they are at this point in their career. So, yeah, I'm a little apprehensive on the Texas Rangers rotation as well. And yet, I guess BPD, the other part of it, like you're saying, I, you know, I think in everyone's,

maybe in the back of everyone's head, it's like, you know, Scher-Dagram are going to come back. I don't know. I mean, we've done a lot of-Grom, I'd take the under on whatever your line is of games he pitches this year. Right, we've done a lot of Tommy John lists and there's that Excel spreadsheet you can find online. And, like, you know, if DeGrom gets involved in this season for Texas, it could be like a sick roll. It could be like a two-winning bullpen roll or something. But you're also, they gave that man a lot of money.

Yes, they did. Are you familiar? Okay. You know DeGrom. And then Scherzer. He has heard that, right? There's a part. I mean, you know, I don't know.

Mad Max. He'll be out there come October. He'll find a way to be a way to be a lot. But there's a long way to go, and that division is really tough that, I don't know. I'm interested to see the Monty update, because in my head I've had them going to the Red Sox, especially with the Gialito news. I know their TV contract stuff has been one of the messier ones, and Trev has kind of been on that.

And little secret Jakey Curveball here, this lineup is stacked, and you know that. That was that, like a parapa the rap line? And you know that. We know top prospect, Wyatt Langford. This guy is supposed to be like, righty Evan Carter. I don't know. And then Justin Foske, Foske, I think I'm saying that right.

He's a decently big prospect who's supposed to be ready to come up to the show. Do the Texas Rangers, Zique Duran is currently on their bench? We talked a lot this offseason about Shane Bieber. We talked a lot about Dylan Sees. We talked a lot about the Marlins. Will they ever? I don't know. The Texas Rangers haven't been the landing area for any of those teams,

but they have a front office that we know is going to make, is willing to make transactions. Right. I don't know. I guess I kind of wasn't. I haven't heard the Texas Rangers mentioned with any of the trade candidates. I've heard them mentioned with Monty a lot, obviously. I don't know.

That got my wheels spinning a little bit. And we do this all the time of the Baltimore Orioles, too. And they finally punch that ticket. and got Corbyn Burns, and we're still doing it with them. The Rangers are kind of in a similar boat. I think we don't have this discussion because they just won the World Series.

So it's kind of like, it always puts a team in a weird spot because you're obviously, that's the end goal every year, but they just reached the goal. But yeah, I mean, if we're talking about where they currently stand, it's a lineup with no holes in it

that's going to add more to it. So you are in sort of that perfect situation. We saw them do it mid-season last year. Maybe they pulled the trigger earlier. I don't know. Interesting. Good. Okay.

Good. You know, maybe I'm just balking at a lot of front offices haven't around baseball. Maybe the Rangers are different. Just haven't been the most urgent to add in any level of payroll, even via trade with some money out, some money in. Don't seize? I would love them as a C. He looks like a Ranger.

He does kind of have Ranger vibes. A little sad we didn't get, like, mad at them for not getting involved in Burnsey. sure yeah i mean it's also really tricky because the other the other half of this is what de graham molly and shirzer are combining for 100 mil on the iL 50 innings maybe that's got a real deal rangers owner seems pretty chill with some of the deals we did last year but that's it's a lot of queso not not throwing the pill um okay little a l west early on shots fired um i've done ducking us Let's go. I know, right?

Well, no, let's just go on who could be good. No, I'll do my could be bad, and I, uh, hey, I was kind of dreading this one, but I'll bring it to a lineup. Um, I just ripped a band-aid. Are you doing it? Toronto, I don't know, man. These were my three. How fun.

I don't know, man. Uh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I'm, I'm a George Springer guy. Yukon, and that guy's had a couple seasons when he's playing and he's, gets just banged up that you extrapolate his numbers for the year and you're like, oh shit.

Like George, sometimes we forget where George Springer kind of can be on the pantheon of MLB players. Yukon guy. He's getting a little older. 154 games for Georgie last year. I love it. Didn't have that. Did you have him with a 732 OPS?

Yeah, he's playing right field now too. He went 2020, which I like. Hey. A lot of guys did that. 2020, 2.1 war, he's 34 now. He's played a lot of games. He's got an injury history. You know, going back to 2021, he played 78 games.

So, okay, so a little age, a little injury risk, whatever. I still obviously love George Springer. Boba Chet, honestly, no argument against it. He just hits. He just hits. That's it. Vladito! What's going on, Vladie?

MLB the show cover guy. We've got a ton MLB, the show content coming soon. If you haven't seen Shelfy has joined the John Boy media team. Myself, Joe's. I think Jolly wants to get in the lab. I've seen peeps on the sticks. A lot of MLB, the show, content coming. So if you're excited for that.

Vladdy is on the cover. And you can say this for almost every baseball player. I end up calling myself out a lot. What are you, Vladdy? because right now that 2021 is an outlier where you 1.0.0.0.0.0. Otherwise, your highest OPS

in a season has been 818. And that's a little skewed because offense was down in 2022. So he had a 133 OPS plus, which that's a really nice number. Last year, 78 OPS. 117 OPS plus. That's a good, that's a good player.

Again, we're judging Vladimir Guerrero, probably slightly unfairly because of his name. You know, if we didn't know who his daddy was, but that's also part of the reason he's probably on the show cover. So like if we're doing all of that, if Vladdy is the 117 OPS player he was last year and Springer and not the 131 OPS player, those guys are the lineup.

Yeah. Like they signed Justin Turner. I love Justin Turner. He's 39, which is insane. When he's out there, he's hitting, and he gets out there enough that I'm not even really going to complain, but he's Justin Turner. I think you kind of know what you're going to get.

Right now, Kiermeyer slot as their fifth hitter. Now, I know this is a little lineup in Fangraph's BS. They love their catching situation with Kirk and Danny Jansen, and I've seen the Danny Jansen Babe Ruth stats. It's like I won't even argue there. I think the catcher position can click for them. Alejandro Kirk, if we were doing bounce back players. I could see him on this.

Totally. Dalton Varshow in his second year in the ALE East. Let's see what it looks like. I think he's probably another one of your 2020 guys. For me, I was a little scared when the snakes cashed that chip in because I don't know. The snakes cashed in a 25-year-old. old who just had his best season.

I don't want to say buyer beware, but what's going on here? And they turn that into Gabriel Moreno, who's now, you know, lockdown catcher and World Series and all that. Dalton Varshow has a career OPS Plus of 96. I think there's more in the tank, second year in the AL East. His defense is awesome. I'm just really worried about this Blue Jays lineup because you're also in a pitching where the Yankees pitching should be better

than last year. The Ray's always pitch. Orioles kind of, let's find out, but they're a very good baseball team. That the Toronto's Toronto Blue Jay lineup, I'm a little nervous. I think they're fan bases too.

You know, Brandon Bell contributed a lot for them last year. He's not there currently. He's nowhere, right? Matt Chapman, who I know a lot of Blue Jay fans will also tell you his final five months. they're saying it's addition by subtraction. Little rude to Maddie Chapman. So I don't know.

I really love the Blue Jays pitching. When I'm looking at this lineup, I get a lot of like, I know Biggio had an on-bacy second half. This is supposed to be the Blue Jays. They're supposed to mall. Yeah. You said something when we were talking about the Blue Jays a while ago

about how in 2021, they were like this fearsome lineup and that was their identity. and it's not their identity anymore. Their identity is a really consistent and fleshed out rotation, which I think will be good again this year. But when I look at the roster resource, and I see Justin Turner in the four and Kevin Keenreyer and the five,

I agree with you, I get a little worried. That being said, there are ways for this to click. Sure. And you mentioned those things. Like top three guys have to be the top three guys. Springer, Bichet, Vlad, all should be MVP vote getters if this team is working. Laddie and Bichette have plus years You almost have enough for an offense

Dalton Varshow you can talk yourself into it From in the last two months of the season He was a 790 OPS bat plus his stellar defense I think that's what they were expecting for the whole year 750 to 800 and improve our defense marginally Which he did outside of the offensive stuff Danny Jansen man is a really funny Baseball reference page to look at

Because I feel like he never gets talked about Unless you watch your team play the Blue Jays 12 times a year, in which case he's terrorizing those teams. But he's a really, he's one of the better offensive catchers in ball. It's nuts. And Alejandro Kirk is the guy that I think gets that title. So if he's the guy he was in 2022, which by the way, he won the silver slugger. He had a 127 OPS plus.

They're one of these teams that they're kind of relying on their guys to get back to who they were. And if that happens, it'll be an egg on our face situation because the Blue Jays can bang. It's so right-handed too. It's, that's the next point. You took the words out of my mouth. It's very right-handed. Like, if you have a Garrett Cole on the mound, if you have a Corbyn Burns on the mound,

it's a tough day at the office for the Blue Jays lineup. So I don't know. That's a little bit where I stand. I would have loved to see one more bat. Like when they got Turner, I was like, yes, that's a good fit. Bring back Chapman. Maybe bring back belt. I don't know.

But it feels like we're one bat short, and I know that this office has had this discussion so many times. IKFs starting at third base makes me weary. I don't know. It's a power position. I've seen my Mets coast at third base for a long time, and it hurts you in a full 162 to not have a power bat at that position.

So I think that's my main cause of concern. But I like the pick. They were one of my three. My three were Astros rotation, Rangers rotation, Blue Jays lineup. So we all had the same thing in there, I guess. Yeah. Brin about still out there.

Yeah. They need to... It's crazy. He was really good for them in 100 games last year. He was really good last year. He was really good last year. I think he was a big part of what helped the whole offense be like fully a top 10 offense last year. Added more balance.

And it seemed like they picked Turner over him when I could pretty easily start just and Turner at third base. Turner's three years older also. And they need a lefty bat. Maybe do a platoon. Maybe, hey, we talked about Monty and the Rangers. I don't think it's the same effect. But Brandon Belt, 8508 OPS last year, 103 games, the lefty bat.

It's crazy. I think he's probably telling all, he's telling a lot of teams. I can do this for you. But then, again, we just had the Eddie Rosario newsbreak that it was one for four, which I thought he would get a little more sauce because he's a left-handed hitting outfielder. Yeah, hey, maybe Toronto brings back Brandon Bell And I do remember comedically last year

I think he signed late with Toronto Let me see if I got a date on it Or no January 10th Maybe he got banged up in camp He had a line like, I don't need to hit He's like just let me know in the seasons here And I'll be... I'm Brandon Bell

Yeah, so... And he is. Let's get to the second half. Let's put that in our rear view. Sorry to all those. teams in a way we're not because it's just a discussion. Let's get to the good. What are some units that have a chance to click? And this half of the show is brought to you by Johnboy Media around the horn.

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Jolly, let's change the whole tone. It's spring training. Who might have the sauce? I've been waiting, Jake. So I picked a rotation last time. I'm going to pick a lineup this time. and call me not so brave this time because this team offensively was a 101 team weighted runs created plus last year.

So that's above average. Top half of teams, they're 14th in baseball, but they lost the greatest player to ever do it. So I think a lot of people are a little weary on what's looking like a weaker lineup. But I disagree. I think the 2024 angels can be. Bang. Now, let me explain. One, Mike Trout has to play a full 162. I'm not going to spend too much time on him.

He played half the season last year. He's been a little banged up. I posted on Twitter that I did a little sprinkle on the Draft King Sportsbook, fun fact, of Mike Trout winning MVP, plus 2000. If you told me plus 2,000 odds on Trout winning MVP two years ago, I would have laughed in your face. And I got some blowback. People are sleeping on Mike Trout, which is crazy to think about because he's only 32 years old.

It's not like he's this old man past his prime. We've seen plenty of players, Adrian Belcher, who just went to the Hall of Fame, have great 30s in their career. So Mike Trapp, no doubt there. His quotes have been awesome for Angels fans, too. I'm not going anywhere. I want the ownership to spend. Hell yeah.

I think that's great. Outside of him, it's a lot of loose parts. It's a lot of spare parts. It's a lot of guys we haven't seen put together great full seasons. I think that's the main apprehension. So I want to go down the list here. number one, and I'm going to get his name wrong, and I'm really sorry about it. January.

Shanual? Let me know. I'm sorry. Shamuel? Like Manuel? That's his cousin. Jake. He lived in Sam's house.

29 games last year. Yeah. 20 walks, 19 strikeouts, 4.02 on base percentage. Let's see a full season. He got rushed up a little bit. West Coast Pasquantina. Oh, I like that. That's fun.

Maybe. Maybe. Maybe. Jake, when the Angels signed Brandon Jury to a three-year deal, I said, this has disaster written all over it. The guy's been injury prone his entire career. Now he goes to the Angels. I've seen them signed Zach Cozard after a great contract year.

That was a disaster. Man, he had the best full season of his career. 26 home runs, 803 OPS, 125 games. Basically was the only consistent beacon for a very chaotic team last year. best part 800 OPS against lefties 8.04 against righties. He's an everyday player. He's your infielder, third base, first base, left field, wherever you want to put him. They had him at second base a lot last year, too.

Didn't know that. I like brain injury a lot. Anthony Rendon. We do it every year. He recently tweaked his groin, his hamstring, so he might be out for a little bit. We'll see. I don't want to spend a portion of this talking about him because he is, at this point, the most expensive bonus piece in baseball.

I love them. It's when he's right, he's really good, but we haven't seen that since 2019. So if we see it, great, if not, I think we're all kind of expecting that. Winning record in Anthony Rendon starts last year. Okay. Spin it.

Spin it. Just a note on Schnuel and Rendon. On the Angels, like, team baseball reference page for 2023, they played 29 and 43 games respectively and are listed as a starter, and I've never seen a number of that low get, the starter number, and that's freaking me out. Yeah.

But get excited. Because, don't laugh. Come on. I laughed. The angels, who are known for having some tough trades in their recent time, were able to get Mickey Moniac on the team. For Noah Cindergarde, who currently is without a team. So that's looking like a good deal for them.

He's their center fielder. Still figuring out the whole lefty situation, but had great numbers against righties and plays good defense. A former one-one pick, there's talent there he's young we know it i like him in the lineup as well the biggest piece for me right now to take this angels lineup to the next level is taylor ward okay because we've seen taylor ward at one point be the best hitter in baseball for a two-month span in 2022 at the end of may he had a one point one four five ops he was lighting the league on fire he got hurt happens

happens to a lot of great players only played 97 games last year. This is a bat that I still think can be one of the best corner outfield bats in baseball. And I think the angels are going to have to allow on him if they're going to make anything of this season. So if you put me in a situation where Trout's playing a full season, Taylor Ward gets a full season of run, Nolan, Shanwell, gets at least 100 games and continues that on base streak. Brandon Jury is healthy again and does what he does last year. And then Anthony Rendon, but I'm talking about four to five guys at the top of the last. lineup that can be really good. So I'm excited for the Angels. I didn't even mention Luis

Renhifo, who's pretty damn underrated in my opinion. Huge second half for them. Logan O'Hoppy didn't even get a mention. He was great before he got hurt. Another Philly trade. How about that? I like the Angels lineup a lot. I'm not going to talk about the rotation. I think these guys can bang. And now there's no Otani pressure. Go out there, be studs. No one's expecting you to snap a curse and buy Otaniback and all this stuff, just go out there and bang. I like the Angels lineup. Powerful stuff, Jolly.

Thanks, man. I considered putting the Angels lineup on my list. I did not. I don't love, I got scared off by the balance a little bit, especially thinking of like, you know, those Seattle Riteys looking at this lineup. I, again, a lot of right-handed pitching. And in theory, the bottom, 60% of their,

lineup could be righty or if Renhifo's down there, but lefty is also his lesser side. Again, I'm picking, I'm giving my reasoning for not bringing this to the table. Sure. There is something here, though. Trevor in our TPP, he kind of had, he kind of did the head turn look. He's like, wait, this Angel's lineup has a chance. It does. It does. There's a lot of youth. Shaniel Margo He Again, it's such a small sample size

But him and Netto And Logan O'Hoppy You have three young guys at important positions That have a chance If that clicks, okay Okay, HALOs You're asking three young players Catch your shortstop and first base to click

It's a big ask They can They've shown a little bit of talent We've seen baseball And that's kind of this whole exercise Logan O'Hoppy FanGraphs has him projected for 25 homers next year Which go look at that in the catcher realm

And then everything you said about those veterans That's without getting to You know, is there still a Joe Adele Hives? He's 24. They have some options to click Jimmy led the bus I'm not believing in the Angels I joined the bus

They broke my heart two years ago. I said I will never believe in them until they do it. Until I see them playing a playoff game, I just won't believe in it. Especially now where the playoff standards are, 84 wins or so, can get you dancing. Until I see the Halos team do it, they have a chance to click. And it feels a little dirty saying that, just having done talking baseball. and Otani leaving. Like this team was 12th,

or there were 12th in OPS last year, and how much of that was Otani? And they'll have to replace that. It's a scary thought, but if the whole lineup works, the last thing I'll say. It's the exercise. I like it.

When they did their buying at the deadline, which I liked, and it crashed into flames, but I thought it was a cool baseball moment. They were 56 and 51. They were a good team. It was a lot of Otani, I understand, but 56 and 51, after losing O'Hopi for the year,

after not having Taylor Award for most of the year, not having Rendon, which could be in that same boat again. But I'm saying if they get the health bug to stop biting them, there's a window. There's a chance. Health bug, injury bug? Health bug. For me, just the group,

they don't have the benefit of the doubt on health, and I don't love the depth. Aaron Hicks. You see his Orioles stats? Health. Health. Aaron Hicks. But the healthiest version of this team, I could, I, I don't, I don't dislike what I'm looking at as much as I would have thought.

We're being brave. Hey, be the fun, be a fun late night watch. How about that? How about that? That's a request. We're on a weekend. Bebs, what, where did you go with this one? Yes.

I'm excited that I'm not stealing this team from you because you're locked into a rotation with this flip. I am a little jazzy on that Brewer's lineup. Okay. I had them too. A little jazzy on that there. You need some things to go well. Obviously a lot of what the organization is doing,

a lot depends on like, Jackson Troyo, you've got to be a real boy. Right. He is the biggest, the biggest flip in here. But Christian Yowich, he's fully a productive player again.

Really good, sets the tone, good vet for that team. William Contreras really good. Sal Freelick showed some stuff in a rookie year. Reese Hoskins, I don't know if there was a bad out there. There was a more perfect fit for

this Brewers team. When we did our reactions to that, signing. I think we all looked at each other and we're pretty mad. We hadn't thought of this sooner. I think we were a little bit blind about like we think they're going to trade Corbin Burns. They did after and that was weird, but the Brewers get their value and I like that. Willie Adomas, we've always loved. Weirdier last year, but I believe second half it stepped up. Forgive me if I'm wrong there. They've got young guys that they're excited about that have gotten their feet wet that are ready to take a step up.

I don't hate some of the depth I'm looking at here. Joey Weamer was a big part. of their locker room last year, and he is in a bench roll, according to Fangrass right now. Gary Sanchez really hit last year. He is in a reserve role right now. There's room for him to get some D.H. at bats if one of these bats isn't working out or an injury happens. Jake Bowers, okay. Monasterio, baseball reference projects him for an OPS in the Sevens.

He's a real boy. Okay. You're just a guy? I like that. I could be talked into that Brewer's lineup clicking. Truro is the biggest piece that, like, I need to see something. And they have time for that to happen. But they're a team that, like, hey, best version of this would work.

The Brewers lineup is a little mental warfare. Because I think in a way they have some, I think they have more pillars than they have had in previous years. I think Yelich, Contreras, Reese, and Willie. those are guys that are pretty locked in to be good baseball players. Outside of that, it's all young. So like we say, the story of baseball, if it comes together, Freelick showed something last year,

Garrett Mitchell got hurt, Tru Rio got the bag. So yeah, are you a Bobby Witt, like Luis Robert type that deserve that contract year one? Probably the bros are pretty smart org. I guess for me, and coming off of Jolly's Halos, currently on the Milwaukee Brewers, there's one, two, three, four, five. They have, well, how about this? They have five guys in their lineup projected to hit 16 or more homers.

That's the whole angels. So again, these are fan graphs projections, do what you want with them. But that's where, I know homers aren't everything. They're pretty damn good, though. The brewers currently have one, two, three, four guys in their lineup set to not eclips 10 homers. Now, it's because they're young and they're going to, like, split time and stuff like that. But that just, that makes me worried about the brewer's lineup. I've got two things.

One, do you want 15 seconds to talk about Abnery Reba? No, not yet. Okay, soon. Yeah. The Mets played the Brewers early last year, so I got to see them at full health in their opening day lineup. Gary Mitchell, I think, will shock some people this year. Former first round pick 2020.

I saw him at three homers in two days against the Mets. He has a nice Corbyn-Carrel-esque swing. So I think he's going to be good. I think they're getting a big piece back with him being healthy. Joey Ortiz in the Corbyn-Burns deal. The fact that, that they traded Corbyn Burns for this kid means they see something in him. Seems like they like him.

They probably picked him out and said, we want Ortiz in the deal. And he's going to be an upgrade over Brian Anderson. So I like that for them. The power thing worries me. I fully agree with you. When we did our first baseman tier list, and we were figuring out a spot for Reese Hoskins,

we thought we were going to goof on him a little bit, put him in Orioles first basing because he kind of looks like the Orioles first baseman. We looked at his baseball reference and we said, damn. Reese Hoskins has been good every single year he's played since 2017. There is no weak link. The weak link is a year

where he led the league in walks with 116. Reese Hoskins is a perfect fit for them. I fully agree on that front as well. My only apprehension, and I keep using that word, my only caution, the source, is that their only source of offense

for their final two months last year was Mark Kana, who had a 120 OPS plus was a trade guy for them. They kind of do that every year, though. When they're going to the playoffs, they trade for somebody. It was Mike Mastakis a few years ago. Last year was Mark Kana.

Carlos Santana was in the mix. That's going to be part of the equation for them. So I'm just wondering, what does this Brewer's offense look like in late July? Are they in the mix for the central? I think they will be. What becomes the whole? Is Salphreli going to have a sophomore slump

after a pretty explosive start last year? is well, Lee Adam is going to struggle again. It's kind of a similar game you're playing with the Angels where you can buy a lot into the top five, top six, but there's still just question marks galore, and I think it's a little bit more power-centered, which is scary. It's always scary.

So I like the pick. I had that pick as well. I ended up going with the Angels because I talk about the Brewers a lot. They're kind of my angels for you. Like they always kind of hurt me every year. They're in my World Series pick in 21. Every year they go to the playoffs,

and I go, this is the year. It never happens. Maybe this year's the year. Who knows? I like the pick, Bebes. There's a chance. I guess I get worried. I'm in.

Who becomes the second lefty? Like, Yelly has found kind of a on-base resurgence. He had a really nice year. Still stealing bags, Yelly, okay. Who becomes the second lefty? They need a middle of the order left. This was a problem with the Yankees. Like, this is Aaron Hicks sliding up the lineup to break up.

judge and Stanton, and it just never kind of felt right, because lineup balance is important. You know, when you're calling in that reliever for the seventh inning, say a guy like Abner, your rebate, and he sees three righties, it's just, it makes the task just a little more easier, and I don't know. So maybe it is Garrett Mitchell, maybe it is Freelick, who they're trying in the infield, too. Maybe it's burning belt. I don't know. The Brewers won't be bad.

on it. Everything they deserve pitching credit-wise. They don't necessarily deserve hitting credit-wise. Maybe this is the crop that changes it. I will close it out. Wow, I'll have a heck of an app. I will close it out. I had three could-be-goods down.

One I talked about with their TPP, and I don't fully believe, especially. One's illegal. So I'll just do the, one that kind of sparked this idea, and it's been going around the office, and maybe Jeff Passon got in my head with his stupid article. The Royals might pitch this year. The Royals might pitch this year. Cole Reagan's great little rookie year, right? And we're like, okay, yeah, the guy in the Chapman trade. Yeah, lefty, I guess he can pitch a little bit. Jeff

Passan put it out there, and I'll steal it. They said he's looking like a lefty de Grom. They said he's sitting 99 at camp and that he just looks disgusting. Okay, whatever. I'm not going to believe in Lefty de Grom until I see that for a season and a half. But let's say Cole Reagan's is good. Sure.

Michael Waka and Seth Lugo were extremely solid last year. These are guys that have pitched well at the Major League level. Like Lugo finally got that transition from the Bulls. and he seems to be taking advantage of his opportunity. I could spin you as not as many miles on the tire because of that.

Michael Waka, we've seen the bounce back in his career. It's a little more injury, but he's been good. Michael Waka's been good. That now Brady Singer, who was kind of looked at the, as the next Royals won, remember he kind of broke out, I want to say 22. He bounced better, or he fell off last year. So he's 27 years old. can he tap back in?

Can he have a bounce back season? Jordan Liles has a five can't happen. But, I mean, go look at some of the stats. It's just crazy. They also redid their whole entire bullpen. Their whole entire bullpen. Stratton, Anderson, Striber, Will Smith. Like, they added a lot of bodies back there.

That they retooled their whole pitching staff. I haven't been buying a ton of royal stock. I don't know if I'm going to. Their rotation has a legitimate chance to be something. Their whole pitching staff has a chance to be something. That's where I'm going to stop, to be honest. Again, again, I'm not saying this is likely. But if Reagan's can be the one, the other guys can be threes.

Yale Central. I don't know. I don't mind it at all. Because I think it's weird that it's become like an off-discussed topic with baseball heads. Like the Royals rotation is pretty good. And they play in Kaufman. And Kaufman is a giant cavernous Comerica Park-esque ballpark where pitchers can really succeed. And you can say all these same things for the Tigers rotation, which is actually where I thought you were going.

I'm intrigued. I agree that Jordan Laws is the five is tough. I would have much rather seen another innings eater-esque pitcher there. like Kyle Gibson, who I think they could have afforded. But Brady Singer bounced back. You can talk me into that. He was really good in 2021, 2021, 22. Seth Lugo, man.

I love Seth Lugo. If you go on his baseball reference right now and look at his picture, he just looks like a royal. Like he just looks so much like a royal. He looks right in that hat. And it's weird, man. When you go on their roster resource, you see Cole Reagan's first round pick, Waka, first round pick, Singer first round, Lowe's first round.

Seth Lugo, former third. former 34th round pick. Pick number 132. He's got a really cool baseball story. I like what they did. Don't. Don't do the voice. Really good baseball story for Seth Lugo?

It's just a matter of how far can a rotation take you? Because I have question marks pretty much everywhere else. But the Royals are going to be better than they were last year, which I think is a positive message to send to their fans who, you know, saw a World Series in the last 10 years. There is sort of an expectation there to be better than what they've been these past two years. Can I say some quick? Of course you can.

Michael Walker's last two years. You know, I know we've gone away from wins and losses. Michael Walker's last two years, 47 starts, a 327 ERA, 25 and 6 record. That's kind of crazy. What's that about it? What is that? So I don't know, man.

Those two guys both did it on the Padres last year. They were trying to compete. They both had ERAs and the threes. I don't know. I don't know. Give me a fun summer in Kansas. Let's, I guess the teams that I had that didn't get listed, Twins rotation may be being bad.

Hi, Trev. Hope you're enjoying your flight. It's just some depth stuff there. Like sunny, one was really good last year. Let's see what happened. happens. I had two lineups that could be good. Pirates,

I talked about it in there. I put pirates with a question mark. It's a ton of youth. It's really hard to believe in. But again, the formula we talked about with those teams, there's a couple staples that can bring you something. There's some young guys that can elevate.

And then I put Cardinals lineup, which is just illegal. I had that as an illegal vote. They kind of are good. Because they were kind of good last year, and it's the same. They're just supposed to be good. And I think they will be.

Who else did you guys have? You want to go first? I had Pirates lineup in there. They just sneaky have a top six at minimum. Their fans are excited about. Yeah. And I'm not even saying this one. So like I didn't say this,

but like I wrote down Orioles bad lineup. Like there's just a ch- there's a lot of young guys. A lot of young guys. I couldn't say that. That's a-haven. I couldn't say that. I was trying to collect lineups. could make a case for, like, not believing in.

I don't believe in that. I think their line-ups very good. But, Yankees. The other potentially bad pitching staff, I did write down the New York Yankees. Wow. Okay. Interesting.

I believe, if these five are healthy, look, I believe, I'm one of the bigger, I'm probably one of the bigger Clark Schmidt believers of the Yankees contingent in our office. and even with that they are Their depth has been the hot button topic They're an injury And any of Rodan, Clark, and Esther

Like kind of just not being usable Which two of those guys kind of weren't last year And Clark wasn't for stretches last year From it being a dire situation Where Luke Weaver is like a fully a starter And you have a kid coming up that I have no idea if they're ready along with that their bullpen is just not

it's just not the sexiest looking as a unit Yankees have my blind trust with a bullpen but there is they're not getting bonus points on sex appeal there yeah they're one and a half things away from the rotation being in a bad place I don't think it I think all of us would say like if we could predict

one trade deadline move it's a trade for a starter at the deadline which a lot of us have Yankees on our minds Enough Yankee talk. Jesus. I had two rotations that could be good. Everything else got talked about. Brewers rotation.

I talk about the brewers all the time. People think I have a weird soft spot for them because I do. Apparently. Oh, this guy talks about it. This guy's so soft. I'm a big cheesehead, big Milwaukee guy. I want to go to Miller Park. It looks fun.

It's not Miller Park. American Family Field. It is Miller Park. Can we stop? It's Miller Park. Just a lot of... Big ballpark. Been twice.

Tough names to defend. It's a little. crafty. Well, giants ask. Can I just trying out pieces, young guys, whatever. My other one, which I heavily considered because I really like the top three, it just thins out so much after that. Padres rotation, I think has the chance to be good.

Joe Musgrove, if he didn't get hurt last year, is talked about as one of the best pictures in the National League. I think everyone thinks Michael King is going to break out this year. And then U. Darvish is you Darvish. It's just after that, Brito and Vasquez and a lot of guys, They just have somebody else go down? A lot of guys I'm not familiar with. It kind of worries me.

You're going to need starters in the long run, so I end up not going with them. But I can see it for the Padres rotation. I see the top end town of that team. It's just what happens under it. That's all. I've been selling the Padres a little bit, but I can see the top three having to be talked about.

I'm worried about their depth. It's all you need. It's all you need. Free guys. I like a card series. Tatis MVP, I guess. That's what I have. Fellas.

Good stuff. Appreciate you, Jolly. Make sure you're following Jolly Olive on every forum. King BBD, myself. Tweet at Trevin Joms. I missed you big guys. We'll be back.

Jake sucks at the outset. Last episode, they missed it. And he threw my mind. New merch guy was like. You might have to take all the Jake sucks stuff off the website. So you better not. What? You knew here?

There was like one on the main page. And he's like, hey, we just can't have this. We need to, like, promote stuff. No deal.