July 3, 2020 • 53 mins
Davis Mattek is joined by Christopher Pacheco as the guys continue their MLB team by team previews. Today, they land in the very competitive NL Central division. Davis and Pacheco discuss some players that they like in fantasy this season. The guys take a look at the Cubs, Cardinals, Brewers, Reds, and Pirates. They also discuss which team in the NL Central that they like as a long shot to win the World Series!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Are you ready for the nation's first and only free,
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fantasy sports enthusiast. Sports Crade will provide you with a
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here to serve you the fanatic. This is sports Crade.
Get off the Grade. Hello everyone, and welcome to the
daily road to hour here on sports Crade TV. I'm
Davis Mannock joint today by Christopher Pacheco. We took a
small break from MLB Talk yesterday on the show when
(00:44):
we broke down the Cam Newton signing, the rumors that
Antonio Brown was perhaps going to be signing with the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers or another team in the NFL. But
we are back to our division by division, team by
team preview of the Major League base season. We've already
gone through the American League, Pacheco, we are heading to
(01:05):
the National League, which is going to have universal designated
hitter for the very first time in baseball history. I am.
I'm pretty excited about it. Yeah, I'm pretty excited about
about a d H in the National League to uh.
It's it's you know, I know, the baseball truthers or
are saying that, you know, the National League was special
(01:25):
and that you know, you had a little bit more
strategy because there's a picture spot on the on the
on the line up, so you have to hit your picture. Uh,
and so then you know, substitutions come into play later
in the game. But look, man, we don't want that anymore, right,
I mean, we we just want a d H on
both on both leagues. I'm really glad that they're bringing
(01:46):
it over to the National League. Yeah, I am too.
And I think that the division that we are going
to cover today, which is the n L Central, is
actually a division that is going to be really impacted
by the Universal Designated Hitter procheco because the Cubs have
guys you know that they really would want to play
there and not playing the field. Someone like Kyle Schoreberg,
(02:08):
you know, basically his whole career they thought about him
as a d H. The Brewers have loads of d
H style guys. The Reds pretty much signed in Nick
Castiano's expecting this rule to be passed, you know, basically
expecting that they were going to have a universal designated hitor.
So we're going to start at the top of the division.
I guess this is the top of the division by
(02:29):
the wind division percentage on fan graphs. Now, this is
not necessarily exactly how things will, you know, end up
shaking out, right, There's a there's a lot of vary
ability here. But the Cubs to me seem to be
the best team in the division. So uh, this team,
of course has a super strong lineup. Pacheco, however, I
(02:51):
think the bottom end of their pitching staff definitely leaves
some to be desired. But I think overall, I have
to consider myself higher than the market on the Cubs
in yeah, I think uh. I think there's there's certainly
a few teams that can compete for for the Central
as far as one of the division this year, Davis,
(03:12):
I think the Cubs are in a unique position to
do that. I think the Cardinals once again are going
to compete. I even think you know, the Reds and
the Brewers, uh can certainly make some noise in this
division as well. So it feels a little bit more
wide open to me, especially with the Reds having signed
Casciano's uh and and some of the youngsters uh you
(03:36):
know coming into play. I think they're gonna be able
to compete for this division as well. So it's a
really interesting division. But you're right, I think the Cubs
should be talked about as the number one uh if
if you would to asked me right now, I think
their lineup UH is stacked, and I think that the
h really serves them. Well. Have your bias with one
(03:58):
of the best hitters is and during his year twenty
eight season, I think he's a fantastic player. I think
you know, this year, if you thought that you saw
his ceiling in previous years, you know, I think the
sky's a limit for him entering you know, his age
twenty eight season. Uh. Kyle Schober had a monster year
last year, almost hit forty home runs. UH. He's also
(04:20):
a young ser as well for them. Uh He's I
don't believe he's even twenty seven yet, So that's that's
a big plus for them. Just just turn he did
there you go. I think Chris Bryant, who had a
bound back season last year, still very much in his prime. Uh,
Anthony Rizzo is thirty one, but still a very competent
(04:40):
fielder and hitter. Uh. They have a lot of pieces
here offensively, Davis, Uh, that are gonna be able to,
you know, help them compete for the division. I think
as you alluded to best, Uh, they're pitching, especially their
depth and their bullpen are a bit more of a concern. Yeah.
So you know, kind of looking at their lineup here. Uh,
(05:04):
they start out with Chris Bryant, who you know, was
kind of a star for a while. You know, people
thought of Chris Brian as one of the best hitters
in baseball, and you know, I I think that it's
become clear that he is not you know, he's not
that guy, right, He is not the the absolute, you know,
phenom that we thought he was gonna be. Career three
(05:24):
eight three weighted on base average, thirty one home runs
was the second best of his career. I guess one
thing we can say is he's had a super healthy
career and you know, really doesn't strike out a lot
relative to you know, really doesn't strike out a lot
relative to the other guys who play his position. Like
if you look at a lot of other third basement.
(05:45):
Who are power bats, you know, they are really high
strikeout guys. But Brian does take a lot of walks,
you know, has decent isolated power. Um. I don't know
if I would lead him off if I was the
Chicago Cubs, you know, if I was calling the shots there.
I actually, I actually think that I would probably go
with Shoreber as the leadoff guy. He actually, like Shoreber
(06:07):
actually has better kind of like raw isolated power numbers.
And if he chose to, if he chose to just
alter his approach at the play a little bit, I
think he could take even more walks, you know, career
walk rate, career to fifty four isolated slugging. Are you
are you a Chris Bryant guy or are you not
a Chris Bryant guy. I think I'm more so. I
(06:29):
think I'm I'm more of the belief that I'm a
Chris Bryant guy, uh than not. I still believe it.
He's he's twenty eight years old. I think the reason
why a lot of people thought he was gonna just
be a swing of miss player was because in his
rookie year he had a strikeout rate of almost thirty one.
So I think people understaid, Okay, he's just gonna sweat
(06:50):
for defences, you know, every single time, but then he
kind of cut down and strikeout right in a big way.
It's it's really hasn't been above like over the rest
of his career. Uh. And to your injury comment, you're
mostly right. The year that he was really banged up
wasn't twenty eighteen, and of course that was his worst
(07:11):
year where he only hit thirteen home runs. Uh. As
far as who should be the leadoff guy here, uh, Davis,
I think I would rather have Shoreber hit second or
potentially like clean up or something like that, because of
that high isolated number that you mentioned. I would want
(07:31):
one of my power, one of my best power guys,
uh to have uh, you know runners in in scoring
position pretty much. And I think having Shober leading off,
It's not that it doesn't make sense because he will
take a walk, but I think Bryant might might fit
that that, you know, that style a little bit more.
(07:51):
I think the Cubs in general would be better suited
if they found just another leadoff hitter, a guy that's
not gonna hit for a lot of power, but will
find himself a lot you know, don't getting on base.
I'm just not sure that they have that that caliber
of hit or say, for example, what Ben's over it's
used to be for them, but obviously you know Ben's
overs is it's no longer who he used to be anymore. Yeah. Um,
(08:15):
And you know, if you were going to point some
if you were gonna find some flaws in their lineup,
I think Bryant Rizzo, Bias, Sharber contrarists. That is about
as good as it's going to get one through five.
You know, where you start to find some problems is, Yeah,
Jason Hayward is you know, one of the best outfield
defenders in baseball, but at this point he is just
barely average as a hitter. Twenty one home runs last season,
(08:38):
but before that eight eleven and seven home runs. And
you know, it's been so long since we've talked about baseball.
We've even been forgetting to talk about the juice baseball, right,
But what if they go back to using the regular
baseball this year and you know, Hayward goes back to
being uh, you know, like a one third ISO style
guy that's not gonna be you know, that really is
not going to be a guy that should be batting
six for this team. Uh what I want them to do,
(09:01):
or not what I want them to do. I I
think that they should be trying to play Steven Sosa Jr.
More often in the outfield as opposed to Um, you know,
as opposed to Jason Award, because he is just a
even as a bench bat he is just a way
better isolated, slugging type guy and against left handed pitching.
I think he should pretty much be in there, um
(09:21):
every game and maybe maybe even a strict platoon with Hayward.
And I'd like to see I'd like to see more
played appearances for David Boat as well. Um. And you
know at second base. I guess they invited Jason Kipness
as a non roster invitee. Kidness, Uh, you know, just
was so bad last year. Uh you know, the last
three seasons three three or eight three oh one weighted
(09:43):
on bass average. But he is a career above average.
It or maybe there's some chance that Kidness is able
to put things back together. Yeah, I would be. I
would be more on the pessimistic side David's Kidness all
of a sudden, you know, as at least uh like
an average hit. Think those days are pretty much gone,
but I guess he could be serviceable enough for them. Um,
(10:05):
I agree with you. I think Susan junior should be
able to compete, uh and at least platoon with Jason Hayward.
I think the Cubs would just like, they would be
ecstatic if they could get what Jason Hayward gave them
last year. Uh moving forward, I think they'd be you know,
exciting that he posted a one on one way to
(10:26):
our created plus in a one seventies seven ey sell
over you know, nearly six hundred plate appearances last year.
So Uh, the question is whether that's repeatable or not.
We will see, but I'm I'm very much an agreement
with the SUSA Junior should be able to compete at
least what you know, a platoon guy h for the Cubs. Uh.
(10:47):
The thing with SUSA is that he missed the entire
twenty nineteen He was very banged up. Uh. So now
he's you know, he's thirty one, So there's a lot
of question marks about what he has left because of
the fact that he got hurt. He actually I heard Davis,
we didn't see him at all after that, So we'll
(11:08):
see whatout a player he is when he comes back,
but if he was anywhere where he left off, he
should be a very competent bat, at least off the bench.
So as we alluded to, you know you Darvish and
John Lester, Darvish pretty good starter projected three eight one
e r A uh, but you know Lester projected four
(11:29):
sixty six. Kyle Hendrix a you know, super low strikeout guy,
but he is pretty decent at run prevention. Jose King
Tanas someone that our projections at Daily Rhodo have liked
for a long time. And then Tyler Chatwood as their
fifth guy. I mean basically just outside of you, dar Wish,
they have no starting pitcher with strike out stuff. No,
(11:49):
they don't. And I love you, Darvish, I have always
loved you, dar Wish. But Davis, he's gonna be thirty four.
And this is typically a guy that has lots of
injury risk. We have we have only seen him pitch
over two hundred innings at the major league level once
and that was in so as much as through there
(12:13):
as I am for you, Darbish, it's they just simply
don't have a guy that could go out there and
give them two hundred innings and be extremely durable. It's
just not It's not in their boster. So that's where
I think things start to get really dicey for the Cubs.
You know, if Darbish all of a sudden gets hurt,
they're in shambles quickly. They simply can't have any of
(12:34):
their starters get hurt, you know, Kyle Hendricks, Soppos taking time.
It would be a problem if those guys got hurt
for them. So um, they are gonna have to have
things go right on the on the pitching side of things.
Uh And unfortunately they just don't really have a fifth starter.
You know. Tyler chap would was mostly like a bullpen
guy last year. Every time he started, he just walked
(12:56):
a million guys and end up seemed to work out.
So uh Um, this team when it comes to pitching
and bullpen you know, even Craig Kimberrell as a closer
last year was a complete disaster. I wouldn't expect that
moving forward just because we saw that last year. But
in this favorite question, what version of Creik kimberl are
we going to get moving forward? Right? So everyone, We're
(13:18):
gonna go ahead and had to break here real quick
on the Daily Road to Hour. When we get back,
we will continue our team by team preview of the
n L Central for MLB. Are you ready for the
nation's first and only, free, twenty four hour network dedicated
to you, the betting and fantasy sports enthusiast. Sports Crade
(13:39):
will provide you with a real time content, statistics and
gaming intelligence unlike anything you've ever seen before. Located both
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FanDuel Sports book at the Metal Lends Sports Crede, He's
live eighteen hours a day here to serve you the fanatic.
This is sports Crade. Get off the Grade. Hello everyone,
(14:05):
and welcome back from break on the Daily Road to Hours.
Here on sports Grade TV, I'm Davis Mannick joined by
Christopher Pacheco as we break down the National League Central,
going back to our MLB team by team previews. Now
that we you know we're gonna have an MLB season,
the eyes have been dotted, the teas have been crossed.
We are we are in agreement between the MLB and
(14:26):
the MLB p A to have a season, and in
our NL Central team preview, we've already gone through the
Chicago Cubs now moving on to the St. Louis Cardinals
that are gonna be a little bit of a new
look team Pacheco. So you know, at at third base,
we know we're no longer gonna have uh, We're no
(14:47):
longer gonna have Matt Carpenter there. Kevin Newman is new
to the major league roster, Brian Reynolds is gonna be new,
Adam Fraser is gonna be new, Josh Bell is gonna
be doing I mean, this is a this is really
a revamped team for for the Cardinals. Yeah, it is. Um,
I think the Cubs are a little bit stronger of
(15:09):
a team when we when we're talking strictly hitting. I
think the Cardinals pitching wise, seemed to have it a
little bit more figured out than the Cubs, and and
I think that's why what makes it so interesting at
the top of this division. But as I said earlier,
the Reds and the Brewers are going to be able
to make some noise here too at the top. Um.
You know, we'll see how this team looks up on
(15:29):
Santly Davis. Matt Carpenter is now going to be He's
he's thirty four now should be three or five going
into the season. We'll see, we'll see what Matt Carpenter
we get. Right last year he only had fifteen home runs,
which was, uh just not the Matt Carpenter that we're
used to seeing. Um, I'm not sure if there was
(15:50):
an injury there. I'm like, I'm not sure what happened,
but all of a sudden, Matt Carpenter was not like
an above average hitter. Uh. And that would not be
a good thing, uh for for the Cardinals because he
was definitely one of the best hitters. Uh. So we'll
see what happens with Matt Carpenter. He wasn't He wasn't
even leading off for a good portion of the season
(16:11):
last year. So, um, that's gonna be really important important
for them to figure out. But in general, with all
the new names that you mentioned, does seem like also
I was wrong, I had the wrong roster resource page
pulled up and were they were displaying a different roster. However,
it still is. My my guess is that we see
(16:32):
less of the old guys on this roster and way
more of the young guys from this roster in And
that's what what is going to be interesting because I
think the Cardinals for forever now have had a really
strong farm system. Seems like just guys that they call
up are are always able to um rise to the
(16:53):
occasion and give them good at bats um if they're hitters. So,
uh well, we'll see, we'll see how this team looks
come opening Day. But I think that Matt Carpenter thing
is is certainly want to be a really big deal
for that. What version of Matt Carpenter do we got? Now?
You know, they do have some ways that they can
get around playing Matt Carpenter every single day because they
(17:17):
can play Tommy Edmund at third base. Uh, they can
play Tyler O'Neil at d H. I mean, I think
theoretically they could play Lane Thomas at d H. Really,
if they really wanted to get crazy, they could, uh
you know, they could just bring up one of their
prospects right away, right they could bring up Dylan Carlson
or you know, something like that and have because every
(17:38):
team is going to have a sixty man roster prochecko.
So if Matt Carpenter just can't hit the ball, you know,
if Yahya Malina just can't hit the ball, if you know,
if if these guys are just really incapable of of
hitting early on to start the year. I definitely think
that teams are gonna be way quicker to bench guys
in than they would have been, you know if there
(18:00):
was a hunter and sixty two games season. Yeah, I
I certainly think that's that's more right than wrong. I
think with someone like Daddia will not be surprised if
that was the case. Not that he's, you know, the
best hitter out there or anything like that, but his
presence is really important to the pitching staff and uh,
and he's he's still one of the better defensive catchers
(18:23):
uh in the league. And I think David that this
is going to be his last year um uh for
for the Cardinals. Like I think he might be retiring
after this year, so it's a send off for him.
I'd expect him to be with them. He's still a
very important piece of the puzzle for the Cardinals for sure.
So Colton Wong actually is a guy that I love
(18:45):
for fantasy purposes. Um, you know, I I think he
is fantastic. He has a little bit of power, he
steals a little bit. They were really burying him in
the batting order last year. He did not have a
he did not have a particularly great twenty nineteen season.
But you know, cool, like if we assume that Matt
Carpenter is able to have a decent season, right, so
(19:08):
let's let's let's say decent season, you know, something close
to what he was able to do in so Colton Wong,
you know, uh, three thirty four wild but last season,
let's you know, pull Matt Carpenter back to like a
three five ish. Then we have Paul gold Schmidt total stud,
Paul de Young above average for his position, Uh, Yadi
(19:30):
a little bit below average, but Dexter Fowler close to average,
Tommy Edmun above average, and I mean the sky with
Dylan Carlson. Uh. This this Cardinals hitting lineup, really, they
could be absurd if things break their way. But I think,
like I add a median perspective, the Cubs offense is
definitely better, agreed, And I think another big thing for
(19:51):
the Cardinals David's Paul Goldschman, believe it or not. As
you said, you know, for the most part, he's best
stud throughout his career, but now he's he's gonna be
thirty three. Uh, last year he did hit thirty four
home runs but only generated to sixteen is so um,
you know, I had a way to run create a
plus of one sixteen, So just very slightly above average.
(20:16):
The Cardinals are gonna need Paul Goldschman to be like
what he did for the Diamondbacks type of Paul Goldschman,
where he was hitting a lot of home runs but
also hitting a lot of doubles and and being a
constant threat when it came to getting on base. Even
last year his his on base percentage scaled down to
three six Most of those Diamondbacks years he was like
(20:40):
in the four hundreds. Uh and o b P. So
I'm not sure how you know how sustainable some of
these things are. I know the babbit for him last
year was also a little bit on the lower side.
Uh he only hit three or two babbitt um. For
for the most part, his career average is nearly in
the three fifties. So maybe if he gets a little
bit just luckier in general, that LVP is going to
(21:03):
go up. But nonetheless, the Cardinals are going to need
a little bit more production from from Paul gold schmant
uh if they're gonna be able to compete, because he's
He's really one of, if not their their main hitter
in this line up. I mean, I think you make
a great point that Paul gold Schmidt in his first
year as a member of the Cardinals was massively disappointing.
(21:23):
His three forty six weighted on bas average was the
worst of any year of his career. His weighted runs
created a plus of one sixteen was the worst of
any season of his career. Uh, even even back in
two eleven. You know, as a rookie he was better
than that. He stole only three bases, that was the
lowest amount of his career. Uh. Thirty four home runs
(21:44):
was great, but his k rate, his carrate was about average,
but his walk rate went down. His isolated slugging was
pretty low. I mean, he just basically he looked like
a guy who went from his peak to kind of
what his dissension was going to be. Like, the three
forty six weighted on base average is fine, but when
(22:04):
you look at what the Cardinals thought they were getting,
which was like a four hundred weighted on base average,
guy like, it just has to feel really disappointing for them.
It does. And if you look at some of the
raw stuff like, you know, thirty four home runs and
nineties seven r bis. You know, everything is kind of
fine there, but it's just relative to what he once
was with the Diamondbacks. Then all of a sudden, you're like, okay,
(22:27):
you know, thirty four home runs, ninety seven rn bis.
It's still good, but it's just not what he once
was producing for the Arizona car for the for the
Arizona Diamondbacks. Excuse me. And the concerning thing here is
that he's now going to be thirty three, and so
now you start to wonder, Okay, maybe Paul Goldsman just
can't be the same hitter, Uh he once was, simply
(22:49):
because he's he's getting older, and that is what happens.
You mentioned that he stole only three basis last year. Uh,
this used to be a guy that had, you know,
either in the teens or twenties stolen basis. That's no longer.
When Paul Goldschman is going to go on to be
a good comp for this, Davis would be someone like
Albert Poohols. He used to be, you know, a great
defensive first baseman and one of the best, if not
(23:10):
the best, right handed hitter we've ever seen, but when
he started to get older, he no longer stole bases,
his home run totals one down, and he just wasn't
the same caliber hit her. So maybe we end up
getting a similar Paul Goldschman moving forward. Yeah, I I
hope so, because Paul gold Schmidt is a guy. That's uh,
(23:30):
he's a guy I really like, you know, guys like
a first baseman who steals a little who steals a
little bit. Like that's uh, you know, that's a that's
a pretty awesome guy for fantasy. Okay, getting to their
pitching staff, I what's so interesting is I really like
these dudes. Uh. Well, I don't really like Flaherty for
what he costs in seasonal drafts, but I really like
Carlos Martinez. Um, I really like to go to Hudson,
(23:53):
And I really like Miles Nicholas because he is like
stone free. You know, he's not gonna get you any
strikeouts or anything like that, but he is a really
solid run prevention guy. It's also crazy to me, Adam
Wayne Wright still pitching for the Cardinals. Isn't that wild? Uh?
It is wild when you consider that he's almost like
forty years old. Um, but you know, kind of still
(24:14):
like a competent starting pitcher. Uh, not someone that's gonna
miss a bunch of bats either. But I think I
think I'm more comfortable with the pitching depth for the
Cardinals than I am the pitching depth with the Cubs,
and that could really, you know, be a big factor
um and the end and l Central this year, especially
(24:34):
at the top, because I think if if you are
of the belief that pitching is gonna win out, then
the Cardinals are positioning really well even guys like you know,
like Alex Rays and Daniel positively on, like younger guys
that don't seem to have it all figured out. What
if one of those guys, you know, figures it out
and all of a sudden, you know, has like a
(24:55):
Jack Flaherty type of season, all of a sudden, that's
a really big deal for the Cardinals. So also the
type of guys name is that the Cubs don't have
but the Cardinals do, And I think that's that's that's
a really big deal. Yeah. So I think you could
rationally say, you know, with the upside of you know,
younger guys like to go to Hudson, Uh, you know,
(25:15):
we can't, we can't think of Nicholas as a prospect anymore.
But yeah, Alex reys Is is definitely one of those
guys who could really, you know, who could just really
change the way that this season goes for the Cardinals.
And and yeah, you're right. For the Cubs to do that,
you know, something would really have to break in, you know,
kind of a different direction for them. So you know,
(25:35):
let's sell, let's just put it right here, who over
sixty games, who has a better record the Cardinals are
the Cubs. I'm still going to go. I'm still going
to go with the Cubs. I think their offense is
going good enough to propel them to the top. Yeah,
(25:56):
I am actually gonna go the Cardinals because I think
that it the short season benefits them because I think
they will play their younger guys earlier. So I think
like everyday played appearances for Dylan Carlson, more played appearances
for Tyler O'Neil and Lane Thomas. I think they'll be
more aggressive with you know, shutting down Adam Wayne, right,
(26:17):
you know, just being like, look, it's it's not gonna happen,
and you know, giving giving plate appearances to or giving
starts to Alex Rays, So I am gonna go that direction,
I think, and we're not even done with, you know,
good hitting offenses in this division, though the Cardinals and
the Cubs clearly have a better pitching staff than the
next team that we are going to discuss when we
get back from break, which is going to be the
(26:40):
Milwaukee Brewers. A lot of a lot of hitting to
be found in this division, but we are going to
go ahead and had to break here real quick on
the Daily Road to Hour. When we return, we will
continue our team by team, division by division preview of
the National League Central by moving to the Milwaukee Brewers.
(27:00):
Sports grid dot Com Betting insights and entertainment at your
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(27:33):
Hello everyone, Welcome back from break here on v Daily
Road to Hour on sportscree TV. We are continuing our
discussion of the National League Central in our team by team,
division by division preview of Major League Baseball. Getting very
excited to have the season back upon us. Uh, you
know feeling I'm feeling that, uh, We're definitely gonna get
(27:54):
some very memorable games. There's just gonna be a lot
of a lot of close races, a lot of stuff
that you know, just by the nature of baseball and
how even the playing fields are and how results shake out.
You know, I just think that we are going to
have a ton of very interesting races. And I think
the n L Central seems like maybe the most interesting
Pacheco because all these teams are lumped so close together.
(28:17):
Moving to the Milwaukee Brewers, now, I mean, for me,
literally one through nine, this is a team that can
hit home runs. And you know, if if the baseballs
are anything close to what they were last year, I
gotta think that is a massive advantage for I have
to think that this is a massive advantage for the Brewers. Yeah,
(28:38):
I think so too. They certainly have a very competent lineup.
This year. They went out there and signed a v
sale or c uh who I still think is an
above average bat. They signed Justin Smoke to replace Eric Thames.
Smoke is going to be thirty four, uh, and last
year he deteriorated quite a bit. Um, we'll see what
(29:00):
version of justin smoke we get. But um, I still
think he's a very competent like bench bat that that
could produce for them. He still hit like over its
many home runs last year. He's a guy that can
get on base for you. He's always been able to
do that. So, um, I think the Brewers made some
good signings in the off season. Uh. And I think
those guys are going to get at bast especially uh
(29:21):
obviously Garcia. I don't think he should play the field
much Davis. He's just not a very good defender. But
last year he posted a Waiter moncret of plus a
hundred and twelve. Uh and so also at a world
of three thirty four, which both both of those kind
of point towards him being an average to an above
average hitter. Um. I still believe in Aby Garcia. I
(29:44):
think the Brewer shouldnt play him a lot on the field,
and if they managed to give him, you know, these
amount of DA starts, I think they're gonna be in
a in a good spot. Yeah, I mean, obviously on
Garcia is kind of one of those signings where baseball
starts up. You know, you and I we played d fast.
We're grinding everything, so we don't necessarily get down to
you know, who every team's fourth outfielder is until baseball
(30:06):
is literally there and you're like, oh, wow, obviously Garcia
is the fourth outfielder for the Milwaukee Brewers. And this
is a guy who you know has a career isolated
slugging of and way higher than that against left handed pitching,
guy who hit twenty home runs in a terrible ballpark
for home runs last year. So yeah, that is a
pretty big signing. Okay, huge question for you. I know
(30:28):
that our projections at Daily Rhodo don't always like this guy,
but are you and Eric Sogard, guy, do you do
you believe in the nerd Uh, You're gonna have to
be a little bit more specific, or are we talking
like power last year? Last year was the first year
of his career he had an isolate the first time
in his career with over a hundred plate appearances that
(30:50):
he had an isolated slugging higher than one oh four.
Do you buy that he can be a league average
isolated slugging guy for second base? No chance, no chance?
You think you think it was mostly in the ball
whatever it was right point to whatever it was. I
just don't think that that we can get like double
(31:12):
digit home run yerk so guard every year. Uh and
he actually he he pulls it a one fifteen win
around creative plus two like he was. He was like
an average two and above average hit or last year,
and there's just no sign of him like ever doing
this for the rest of his career. David So. I
think it's one of those things where you know, he's
(31:33):
he's a veteran UH that performed well last year, but
at this stage of his career, it's gonna be really
difficult for him to replicate even what he did last year.
He'd be lucky to just be like a slightly below
average hitter. I think the Brewers will happily take that. Yeah,
And I mean they are probably going to lead him off,
(31:53):
but if things end up not working out for leading
him off, I think they could easily lead off Keston Hia,
you know, no problem, and and move and and even
there are bench bats that they could use instead. You know,
they could play Jed Jerko at third base, they could
play brock Holt at third base, they could play Orlando
Arcia at shortstop, and move Louis Louis Urias out to
(32:15):
third base. You know, there are a lot of different directions.
I mean literally, I think other than yours, who is
just you know a pretty average you know, middle and
field bad Like, He's not a guy that we think
of as having you know, a super ceiling or or
you know, a ton of home run power four home
runs in two nine played appearances, six MLB home runs
(32:36):
in eighty three games. Um, like, I mean Omar Navarrez.
Omar Navarrez is a good hitter for a catcher, and
justin smoke as your first baseman slash you know, combo
d h. I think you. I think you just have
to feel so good about this team's ability to generate runs. Yeah,
I think so, I think, Um, they also have many
(32:58):
pia By the way, at catcher, I love every time
he starts is in. He is in my lineups on
DraftKings for sure. Yeah, I think, like, I think more
than what he does up untim really which right, It's
a catcher. They're They're not out there, uh, to to
hit for a lot of power or really do much.
Their main position is is catching and being there for
(33:20):
the pitching staff. And I think, uh, Pena is like
an above average defender. He's he's one of the best
catcher's defensively in the league, has a really good arm
UH as well. So he's still with the team and
I'm sure he'll he'll get a decent amount of bats
for the Brewers this year. I think the only thing
that I disagree with you UM so far is like
(33:42):
Keuss and Hero leading off. I think you mentioned that,
and I think he's not the guy that you want
leading off. He's think, do you think they'd put Kane
up there if so guard sucked? I think so. I
think that's the way to do makes sense because here
here just strikes out too much. UH. And this is
something that like like UH for example, in when he
(34:05):
was in Triple A, he struck out twenty six percent
at the time, went over to the majors and struck
out thirty percent at the time. Now that that's not
necessarily about thing, UM, he did hit nineteen home runs
in three hundred plate appearances UH for the Brewers last
year at the major league level. This is a guy
that has legitimate power upside, and over like a full season,
(34:26):
over six d plate appearances, UH, he could end up
hitting you know, thirty home runs in the near future,
so that's a really important bat for them. Davis About
that's young. About that has a lot of upside, and
I think you're going to see him in the lineup
a lot this year. He should be in the middle
of the lineup moving forward, I would think, Yeah, I mean,
(34:47):
it's crazy that this team is gonna lose Mike Mustakis,
you know, one of the best left handed power bats
in baseball, and it feels like they're not even gonna
really miss him, right, and we have this is we
literally have not even talked about Shan Yellow yet. Who
is their best hitter? You know, former National League m
v P hit forty four home runs last year after
hitting thirty six home runs the year before four or
(35:10):
forty two waited on bass average. I mean this, this guy,
since he has entered Milwaukee has become I mean he
is he is the best. I think it's probably Hammer
Bellinger for you know, best player, most valuable player in
the National League for sure. Yeah, I think Yellow is
in the top three hitter, uh, regardless of conference. Yeah, no,
(35:33):
moving forward like that. That's what he's been doing over
the last couple of seasons and in his MVP year,
he hit thirty six home runs. Last year he didn't
win it and hit forty four with a three forty
two eyes. So like he actually got better last year
over his MVP season, which is kind of absurd. Uh,
stole thirty basses last year too. Um, this guy is
(35:56):
an animal, Davis. He's he's also just twenty eight by
the way, so he's very much in his prime years. Uh,
don't expect them to slow down anytime soon. Yeah, I
mean he is. He is fantastic. And we've said all
kind things about the Brewers thus far, I have I
have nothing at all kind to say about their their
(36:17):
pitching rotation. Unfortunately. Um, you know, Brandon Woodruff is coming
in as their their best picture and he is sort
of aggressively mediocre as as a picture you know, projects
for a three e r A uh, you know, not
not barely. I mean maybe he gets to a strikeout perrinting.
He is there only picture who projects to have you know,
(36:40):
a strikeout perinning or or anything even close. I mean
Adrian Houser fifty five projected strikeouts over fifty nine innings.
Brett Anderson was a guy who we thought was done.
You know, multiple years ago, you know, not not good
enough to make the Oakland A's not And and now
you know he's a fly ball pitcher. They are playing
and they that very home run friendly stadium at Miller Ballpark. Um,
(37:04):
Josh Lynn Bullom, I mean he's coming back from the
KBO to play, to play for the Milwaukee Brewers. And
then Eric Lower, a guy who couldn't make his game
work in uh, you know, a guy who couldn't make
his game work in Petco Park. I just it's I mean,
it sucks for Brewers fans, but this this is just
a brutal pitching rotation. Yeah, they do have they still have,
(37:25):
uh like one of the best closers in the game
though so sore not not not herb h Josh Hayder,
Josh Hayder. I mean that that that certainly helps. And
and you know they could, uh, you know, their bullpen
is good enough that that they could turn some of
these rotational spots into just bullpen games and and be
(37:47):
able to get away with it. Like uh, you know,
Freddie perraulta is another guy that I'm torn because that
he seems to be missing a lot of bats. But
you know how many starts can we get out of him?
How many innings could the Brewers get out of him?
That's gonna be a really big deal for them simply
because they just they don't have a lot of swing
(38:07):
and miss in their rotation. And if you know, Freddy
Perlitic can can go out there and be someone that
they can depend on, that would be great. UM. I
don't disagree with you for all those names I think
I might be in. Our projections typically are higher on
random Woodroof than you are. UM. Last year this was
(38:28):
a picture that posted a k rate in a six
percent walk rate, had an a r A of three
point six two, and then even lower fit. His fit
was at three. Granted it was only over a hundred
and twenty one innings pitch, so not a massive sample
or anything like that. I think where things get questionable
with Woodroof is he's not a true number one. You know,
(38:50):
he's not an ace picture. UM, he's never been that
throughout his career. He shouldn't be depended upon that UM
for for him to be valuable. But at he's a
great potentially number two. They just don't have a number one,
so by default it's wood Ruff and I think he's
a good picture. I think that's where he and I
might disagree on this whole thing. I think what is
(39:11):
actually a good picture. At the very worst, he's an
average picture when it comes to run prevention, and by
all means, you know, given his U given his career
e r A, he seems like an above average pitcher
when it comes from run prevention. Yeah, and I mean,
as you mentioned, they do have some solid bullpen guys. Obviously.
They have one of the the you know, basically the
(39:32):
best relief pitcher in baseball in Josh Hader. Uh Corey
Knebel is another super solid guy. You know, he's gonna
is gonna generate more strikeouts than innings pitched. We think
he's pretty solid. Freddy Peralta was not a good starting pitcher,
but has been good at the bullpen. Brent Suitor, you know,
kind of a guy who used to be a closer,
is now like their six fifth inning guy. David Phelps
(39:55):
another guy who has been solid in the past who
we think can be an above average um bullpen arm.
So so maybe their plan is just to use a
lot of bolt like to to go, you know, five
innings for the starters and then really use that bullpen.
I could see a lot of teams, you know, really
pursuing that strategy. But we are going to go ahead
and had to break here real quick. At the Daily
Road to Hour on Sports Grade TV. I'm Davis Mannick,
(40:18):
joined by Christopher Procheco. When we get back, we are
going to go over the last two teams in this division,
the pitiful Pirates and the potentially high flying Cincinnati Reds.
You guys in justin mot sports grid dot com Betting
insights and entertainment at your fingertips as our team covers
the most important topics in sports wagering, real time odds,
(40:39):
predictive betting models, expert picks, and more want the edge
than get on the grid sports grid dot Com. Hello everyone,
and welcome back from break here on the Daily Road
to Hour on Sports Grade TV. I'm Davis Manni joined
by Christopher Pacheco as we continue our team by team,
division by division pre view series of the Major League
(41:02):
Baseball season. Rounding out today our discussion of the NFL
the n L Central. We still have the Reds and
the Pirates to discuss. Not a ton to talk about
with the Pirates, will get to them at the end
of the episode. Um, the Cincinnati Reds though so many outfielders,
so so many outfielders. They have show Go Akiyama, who
they signed as a free agent from the Nippon League.
(41:24):
They have Nick Castianos, who they signed to pretty much
be there full time v H. They have Jesse Winker,
their former first round draft pick, Nick Senzel, who is
another first round draft pick who the team seems to
be really excited about. And they still have you know,
Josh Van Meter, Philip Irvan, Mark Payton. So many outfielders
on this team, Pacheco. Uh, you don't even mention Arisia
(41:46):
as a keyno who was like their young stud uh
last year, the punisher as they call him. Uh, this team, Davis,
I mean, just just just listen to the names Nick
ass Uhnio swar As. He was coming off a career year,
by the way, which he hit like almost fifty one runs.
Maybe he got there, um last year. Mike Mustakas is
(42:09):
what the Reds now? Um, I just mentioned a keynote
who you know, over the full span of of you know,
a regular season has like thirty plus home run upside,
especially in this ballpark and this bandbox. Of a ballpark. Uh,
that's just they're hitting pitching. They have Trevor Bauer, Luis
Castello and Sunny Gray who turned it around last year. Uh,
(42:32):
in a big way. That's like they're one to three.
I mean, I think the Reds are in a like,
in a position to potentially win the division. Davis And
I can't believe I'm saying that because typically, you know,
we talk about the Reds as as a team that's
that's always gonna finish that either that last or close
to it in this division. But not this year. Man.
(42:54):
They have a lot of hitting, and I think they're
They're pitching is certainly well above being a complicent enough
to be able to compete for this division. Yeah, I mean,
I I love this team. So many guys who are
projected for double digit home runs even in a shortened season.
I think the Reds are we talked on this show
already about you know, just finding guys who have the
(43:15):
ability to or finding teams that have the ability to
take advantage of the variants and Harror and Harrent in
a shorter season. Uh. And I definitely think the Reds
are that team. You know, Joey Vado obviously at the
age of thirty six, has really slowed down, not really
a power bat anymore. But you know, Akayama Suarez, Mustakas
(43:36):
Casciano's even Freddy Galvis and Nick Senzel, uh, you know,
look at their But as you mentioned, I mean the
pitching rotation, Sonny Gray, Luis Castillo, Trevor Bauer. I'm not
optimistic about Wade Miley pitching in this division. I think
he might get I think he might get um, you know,
I think actually it's gonna be a pretty tough scene
for him, though I guess for the Astros last year
(43:58):
he did have a three point nine eight e r
A and you know whatever, maybe they figured out something
with him and his delivery to uh to make him better.
But I I am not optimistic. And Descal Fannie is
a guy who's super good against right handers and just
can't get left handers out. But also this is a
really strong bullpen, so Rice Iglesias really strong, I Mere
(44:22):
Garrett really strong, Pedro Strop really strong, Uh, Tyler Molly
really strong. Like they have some really good bullpen arms.
So kind of as we were just talking about with
the Brewers, maybe their plan in Descal Fannie and Miley starts.
Is you know, four innings for the starters, five innings
for the bullpen, Like I think that is a pretty
reasonable plan for them, to be honest. Yeah, I mean,
(44:44):
we'll see what they do with Malley, because he's he's
been a starter for them, you know, right ever since
he's been up with the team. But he is being
listened as a reliever. And I'm pretty sure it's because
the red starting rotation right now is including Wade Miley
in it. But Miley and Molly you could just probably
like just circle back on them, like it's probably gonna
(45:07):
be a battle for who gets that that starting rotation spot.
The other just moves over to the bullpen. Miley was
very competent for the Astros last year, and then he
hit a stretch of starts towards the end of the
of the season, Davis where he was a complete disaster,
like just unstartable. The literally the Astrots could not start
him anymore, that's how bad he got. I mostly agree
(45:31):
with you. It's gonna be really tough for him, especially
now that the National League has a d h Uh.
It's it's gonna be tough for him to uh to
do much um, so, I think Mally might be able
to just beat him out right because he has more
strikeout stuff. But nonetheless, I think that the rotation is
is really solid, man. And I think a big deal
(45:54):
for them is can they get out of Sonny Gray
what they got last year? Because Sonny Gray was lights
out rate? Uh, the walk rate was a little bit higher,
it was nearly a ten percent, but the r a
of two point oh seventh bit of three point four
to do you remember the Sonny Gray one really bad
(46:14):
with the Yankees and so bad. So if we can
get if the rest can get Sunny Gray again through
like producing like that, it's gonna be a really big
deal for the rotation because all of a sudden they
have a very competent one through three, like potentially one
of the best in the division. Yeah, they don't have
(46:36):
a ton of like a ton of cavalry on the
way in terms of their prospects, but you know, I
could I could see them beating out the Brewers if
you know, Gray is just on fire, Castillo is on fire.
You know, Bauer kind of figures out his delivery a
little bit, is not walking guys in, and like these
(46:56):
three guys are really probably three of the best pictures
in baseball, and you combine that with the ceiling they
have on this offense. You know, if Joey Votto puts
up a three forty weighted on base average over this sample,
Mustachus is on fire, Castidanos is playing DH like, I
think the sky kind of is the ceiling for this offense.
(47:16):
And uh, I am gonna I am gonna bet the
Reds to win the World Series because I think they
are kind of the perfect team for this format. Yeah,
they're a plus twenty right now on fandual sports books
are right there with the Cardinals and Cubs. But actually,
look at this roster, Davis, It's like you don't have
(47:38):
to have all of those things that you mentioned go right.
It's like you have to have some go right, and
all of a sudden they have a really strong season
and could potentially win the division. Obviously, to win the
World Series, of course, we have to have, you know,
most things go right for you. But as you look
at their roster, like I could argue for the Cubs,
they need way more to go right to be to
(48:00):
be able to win the division. And I'm still very
high on them. Same thing with the Cardinals because they
have a lot of names that they need things to
go right for them in order for them to succeed.
The Revs, they have so much depth that it doesn't
feel like they need everything to break right in order
for them to win the division. And that's a really
good thing for them for sure. So we got to, uh,
(48:21):
we have to talk about the Pirates now. So the
Pirates are the worst team in the division. They might
be one of the worst teams in the National League.
They have one hitter who is projected to hit double
digit home runs in the sixty game season. That is
Josh Bell. Uh, pretty much everyone else on this offense,
Kevin Newman, Brian Reynolds, Adam Fraser, Giarmo Herrita, Colin Mran,
(48:44):
Jacob Stalling's, Jared Dyson, even their bench hitters. Uh. We
just it's like they looked at the way that baseball
has played now and they said, you know what, we
we want to do the opposite of that. We just
want we only want slap hitters on our team. For
whatever reason, it's it's gonna be a tough team for
the Pirates. Um. So Starley Marte has no long with
(49:05):
the team, obviously, Andrew mccutton was not not with the
team even last year. Um, so they you know, as
far as star star power is concerned, it's it's tough.
They have Josh Bell and that's pretty much it really
big deal for the Pirates as well. Chris Archer is
not going to picture them this season. And also Jamison
(49:26):
tie On, well we'll see what happens with him, but
right now he's being listed on the forty five day
on the forty five day injured list, and so if
ti On is is you know, like if he's not
pitching for them either, it's it's a disaster for the Pirates.
They just don't have a lot um and so not
(49:47):
having Archer already heard some not having tay On would
be uh the nail and the coffin per Se Davis.
So things aren't really looking up for the Pirates this year.
Easily the worst team in the division. I don't see
them being able to compete for the division title or
even a Wald card, So uh, you know, I guess
things to be excited about on this team. Josh Bell
(50:08):
is very fun, uh you know, just one of those
huge pure power guys. He's a switch hitter, which you
always love and uh, you know, bums me out that
Gregory Gregory Polanco never became awesome. You know, he was
one of those guys who was supposed to be, you know,
a super elite prospect, to top five overall prospect in baseball. Uh,
he only got to twenty four, only got to over
(50:31):
twenty home runs twice in his major league baseball career,
didn't even really steal bases career three eighteen waited on
base average has always struck out a little bit too much.
I mean, I I guess you know that ten season,
twenty three home runs, twelve stolen bases, eleven percent walker
rate k rate three three wOBA. You know, is there
(50:52):
is there any chance you know, for us in fantasy
leagues this year that Polanco kind of turns back into
that guy as opposed to the injury riddled guy from
last season in I think there's a chance, especially when
you consider that, like he's twenty years old. You know, um,
maybe he's a late bloomer, Davis, you know, like we
have seen that before. I mean, this is the one
sport where lay bloomers are actually kind of a thing.
(51:15):
It is it is, Um, the thing is I think expectations.
Even with that being said, I have to be tempered
a bit like he's not gonna be a guy right,
Like he's not gonna be a twenty home round twenty
solent basis guy. But if he can be twenty home
round ten solen basis guy, that that's really valuable. Uh.
And fantasy, I'm still like, I still believe in Gregory Polanco.
(51:36):
I still think the talent is there. It's just a
matter of can he put it together. But even then,
I don't think he's a thirty more run guy even um,
so it is a little bit limited. Uh. And I
think given the pitching in this division like it's it's,
it might be tough for for him to to get
it together, especially the Reds. It's it's one of those
(51:56):
things where when you went to the Reds, especially their
ballpark as the way hitter, it's always great because you
get had lots of whole runs. But this year, because
the Reds pitching STAPs improved, that might not be even
a thing anymore. Yeah, I I definitely think I definitely
think all of that is is legit. It's it is
a real possibility. So we we have gone through the
(52:19):
n L Central. You know, I think that it is
a really interesting division. You know, we have the Cardinals
who are very solid all the way throughout. We have
the Brewers who have a ton of upside with their hitting,
maybe not so much upside with their pitching though, uh
Pacheco is a little bit higher on on Brandon Woodrift
(52:40):
than I am. We have the Cubs who, uh, the
Cubs are kind of the stereotypical very good n L team.
You know, they have plenty of power, They have pictures
who are maybe not the greatest in terms of k
rate outside of you, Darvish, but they do have guys
who are able to you know, generate a ton of
contact and good contact rather which is going to be
(53:00):
Kyle Hendrix and Jose Kintana, The Reds who have loads
of upside, and the Pirates who have have no upside.
So everyone, thank you very much for watching and listening
to the Daily Road to Hour. We will be back
soon with our continued preview of the n L starting tomorrow.
Good luck. Until then, Sports grid dot Com betting insides
and entertainment at your fingertips as our team covers the
(53:23):
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here to serve you the fanatic. This is sports Crade.
Get off the Grade. Hello everyone, and welcome to the
daily road to hour here on sports Crade TV. I'm
Davis Mannock joint today by Christopher Pacheco. We took a
small break from MLB Talk yesterday on the show when
(00:44):
we broke down the Cam Newton signing, the rumors that
Antonio Brown was perhaps going to be signing with the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers or another team in the NFL. But
we are back to our division by division, team by
team preview of the Major League base season. We've already
gone through the American League, Pacheco, we are heading to
(01:05):
the National League, which is going to have universal designated
hitter for the very first time in baseball history. I am.
I'm pretty excited about it. Yeah, I'm pretty excited about
about a d H in the National League to uh.
It's it's you know, I know, the baseball truthers or
are saying that, you know, the National League was special
(01:25):
and that you know, you had a little bit more
strategy because there's a picture spot on the on the
on the line up, so you have to hit your picture. Uh,
and so then you know, substitutions come into play later
in the game. But look, man, we don't want that anymore, right,
I mean, we we just want a d H on
both on both leagues. I'm really glad that they're bringing
(01:46):
it over to the National League. Yeah, I am too.
And I think that the division that we are going
to cover today, which is the n L Central, is
actually a division that is going to be really impacted
by the Universal Designated Hitter procheco because the Cubs have
guys you know that they really would want to play
there and not playing the field. Someone like Kyle Schoreberg,
(02:08):
you know, basically his whole career they thought about him
as a d H. The Brewers have loads of d
H style guys. The Reds pretty much signed in Nick
Castiano's expecting this rule to be passed, you know, basically
expecting that they were going to have a universal designated hitor.
So we're going to start at the top of the division.
I guess this is the top of the division by
(02:29):
the wind division percentage on fan graphs. Now, this is
not necessarily exactly how things will, you know, end up
shaking out, right, There's a there's a lot of vary
ability here. But the Cubs to me seem to be
the best team in the division. So uh, this team,
of course has a super strong lineup. Pacheco, however, I
(02:51):
think the bottom end of their pitching staff definitely leaves
some to be desired. But I think overall, I have
to consider myself higher than the market on the Cubs
in yeah, I think uh. I think there's there's certainly
a few teams that can compete for for the Central
as far as one of the division this year, Davis,
(03:12):
I think the Cubs are in a unique position to
do that. I think the Cardinals once again are going
to compete. I even think you know, the Reds and
the Brewers, uh can certainly make some noise in this
division as well. So it feels a little bit more
wide open to me, especially with the Reds having signed
Casciano's uh and and some of the youngsters uh you
(03:36):
know coming into play. I think they're gonna be able
to compete for this division as well. So it's a
really interesting division. But you're right, I think the Cubs
should be talked about as the number one uh if
if you would to asked me right now, I think
their lineup UH is stacked, and I think that the
h really serves them. Well. Have your bias with one
(03:58):
of the best hitters is and during his year twenty
eight season, I think he's a fantastic player. I think
you know, this year, if you thought that you saw
his ceiling in previous years, you know, I think the
sky's a limit for him entering you know, his age
twenty eight season. Uh. Kyle Schober had a monster year
last year, almost hit forty home runs. UH. He's also
(04:20):
a young ser as well for them. Uh He's I
don't believe he's even twenty seven yet, So that's that's
a big plus for them. Just just turn he did
there you go. I think Chris Bryant, who had a
bound back season last year, still very much in his prime. Uh,
Anthony Rizzo is thirty one, but still a very competent
(04:40):
fielder and hitter. Uh. They have a lot of pieces
here offensively, Davis, Uh, that are gonna be able to,
you know, help them compete for the division. I think
as you alluded to best, Uh, they're pitching, especially their
depth and their bullpen are a bit more of a concern. Yeah.
So you know, kind of looking at their lineup here. Uh,
(05:04):
they start out with Chris Bryant, who you know, was
kind of a star for a while. You know, people
thought of Chris Brian as one of the best hitters
in baseball, and you know, I I think that it's
become clear that he is not you know, he's not
that guy, right, He is not the the absolute, you know,
phenom that we thought he was gonna be. Career three
(05:24):
eight three weighted on base average, thirty one home runs
was the second best of his career. I guess one
thing we can say is he's had a super healthy
career and you know, really doesn't strike out a lot
relative to you know, really doesn't strike out a lot
relative to the other guys who play his position. Like
if you look at a lot of other third basement.
(05:45):
Who are power bats, you know, they are really high
strikeout guys. But Brian does take a lot of walks,
you know, has decent isolated power. Um. I don't know
if I would lead him off if I was the
Chicago Cubs, you know, if I was calling the shots there.
I actually, I actually think that I would probably go
with Shoreber as the leadoff guy. He actually, like Shoreber
(06:07):
actually has better kind of like raw isolated power numbers.
And if he chose to, if he chose to just
alter his approach at the play a little bit, I
think he could take even more walks, you know, career
walk rate, career to fifty four isolated slugging. Are you
are you a Chris Bryant guy or are you not
a Chris Bryant guy. I think I'm more so. I
(06:29):
think I'm I'm more of the belief that I'm a
Chris Bryant guy, uh than not. I still believe it.
He's he's twenty eight years old. I think the reason
why a lot of people thought he was gonna just
be a swing of miss player was because in his
rookie year he had a strikeout rate of almost thirty one.
So I think people understaid, Okay, he's just gonna sweat
(06:50):
for defences, you know, every single time, but then he
kind of cut down and strikeout right in a big way.
It's it's really hasn't been above like over the rest
of his career. Uh. And to your injury comment, you're
mostly right. The year that he was really banged up
wasn't twenty eighteen, and of course that was his worst
(07:11):
year where he only hit thirteen home runs. Uh. As
far as who should be the leadoff guy here, uh, Davis,
I think I would rather have Shoreber hit second or
potentially like clean up or something like that, because of
that high isolated number that you mentioned. I would want
(07:31):
one of my power, one of my best power guys,
uh to have uh, you know runners in in scoring
position pretty much. And I think having Shober leading off,
It's not that it doesn't make sense because he will
take a walk, but I think Bryant might might fit
that that, you know, that style a little bit more.
(07:51):
I think the Cubs in general would be better suited
if they found just another leadoff hitter, a guy that's
not gonna hit for a lot of power, but will
find himself a lot you know, don't getting on base.
I'm just not sure that they have that that caliber
of hit or say, for example, what Ben's over it's
used to be for them, but obviously you know Ben's
overs is it's no longer who he used to be anymore. Yeah. Um,
(08:15):
And you know, if you were going to point some
if you were gonna find some flaws in their lineup,
I think Bryant Rizzo, Bias, Sharber contrarists. That is about
as good as it's going to get one through five.
You know, where you start to find some problems is, Yeah,
Jason Hayward is you know, one of the best outfield
defenders in baseball, but at this point he is just
barely average as a hitter. Twenty one home runs last season,
(08:38):
but before that eight eleven and seven home runs. And
you know, it's been so long since we've talked about baseball.
We've even been forgetting to talk about the juice baseball, right,
But what if they go back to using the regular
baseball this year and you know, Hayward goes back to
being uh, you know, like a one third ISO style
guy that's not gonna be you know, that really is
not going to be a guy that should be batting
six for this team. Uh what I want them to do,
(09:01):
or not what I want them to do. I I
think that they should be trying to play Steven Sosa Jr.
More often in the outfield as opposed to Um, you know,
as opposed to Jason Award, because he is just a
even as a bench bat he is just a way
better isolated, slugging type guy and against left handed pitching.
I think he should pretty much be in there, um
(09:21):
every game and maybe maybe even a strict platoon with Hayward.
And I'd like to see I'd like to see more
played appearances for David Boat as well. Um. And you
know at second base. I guess they invited Jason Kipness
as a non roster invitee. Kidness, Uh, you know, just
was so bad last year. Uh you know, the last
three seasons three three or eight three oh one weighted
(09:43):
on bass average. But he is a career above average.
It or maybe there's some chance that Kidness is able
to put things back together. Yeah, I would be. I
would be more on the pessimistic side David's Kidness all
of a sudden, you know, as at least uh like
an average hit. Think those days are pretty much gone,
but I guess he could be serviceable enough for them. Um,
(10:05):
I agree with you. I think Susan junior should be
able to compete, uh and at least platoon with Jason Hayward.
I think the Cubs would just like, they would be
ecstatic if they could get what Jason Hayward gave them
last year. Uh moving forward, I think they'd be you know,
exciting that he posted a one on one way to
(10:26):
our created plus in a one seventies seven ey sell
over you know, nearly six hundred plate appearances last year.
So Uh, the question is whether that's repeatable or not.
We will see, but I'm I'm very much an agreement
with the SUSA Junior should be able to compete at
least what you know, a platoon guy h for the Cubs. Uh.
(10:47):
The thing with SUSA is that he missed the entire
twenty nineteen He was very banged up. Uh. So now
he's you know, he's thirty one, So there's a lot
of question marks about what he has left because of
the fact that he got hurt. He actually I heard Davis,
we didn't see him at all after that, So we'll
(11:08):
see whatout a player he is when he comes back,
but if he was anywhere where he left off, he
should be a very competent bat, at least off the bench.
So as we alluded to, you know you Darvish and
John Lester, Darvish pretty good starter projected three eight one
e r A uh, but you know Lester projected four
(11:29):
sixty six. Kyle Hendrix a you know, super low strikeout guy,
but he is pretty decent at run prevention. Jose King
Tanas someone that our projections at Daily Rhodo have liked
for a long time. And then Tyler Chatwood as their
fifth guy. I mean basically just outside of you, dar Wish,
they have no starting pitcher with strike out stuff. No,
(11:49):
they don't. And I love you, Darvish, I have always
loved you, dar Wish. But Davis, he's gonna be thirty four.
And this is typically a guy that has lots of
injury risk. We have we have only seen him pitch
over two hundred innings at the major league level once
and that was in so as much as through there
(12:13):
as I am for you, Darbish, it's they just simply
don't have a guy that could go out there and
give them two hundred innings and be extremely durable. It's
just not It's not in their boster. So that's where
I think things start to get really dicey for the Cubs.
You know, if Darbish all of a sudden gets hurt,
they're in shambles quickly. They simply can't have any of
(12:34):
their starters get hurt, you know, Kyle Hendricks, Soppos taking time.
It would be a problem if those guys got hurt
for them. So um, they are gonna have to have
things go right on the on the pitching side of things.
Uh And unfortunately they just don't really have a fifth starter.
You know. Tyler chap would was mostly like a bullpen
guy last year. Every time he started, he just walked
(12:56):
a million guys and end up seemed to work out.
So uh Um, this team when it comes to pitching
and bullpen you know, even Craig Kimberrell as a closer
last year was a complete disaster. I wouldn't expect that
moving forward just because we saw that last year. But
in this favorite question, what version of Creik kimberl are
we going to get moving forward? Right? So everyone, We're
(13:18):
gonna go ahead and had to break here real quick
on the Daily Road to Hour. When we get back,
we will continue our team by team preview of the
n L Central for MLB. Are you ready for the
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This is sports Crade. Get off the Grade. Hello everyone,
(14:05):
and welcome back from break on the Daily Road to Hours.
Here on sports Grade TV, I'm Davis Mannick joined by
Christopher Pacheco as we break down the National League Central,
going back to our MLB team by team previews. Now
that we you know we're gonna have an MLB season,
the eyes have been dotted, the teas have been crossed.
We are we are in agreement between the MLB and
(14:26):
the MLB p A to have a season, and in
our NL Central team preview, we've already gone through the
Chicago Cubs now moving on to the St. Louis Cardinals
that are gonna be a little bit of a new
look team Pacheco. So you know, at at third base,
we know we're no longer gonna have uh, We're no
(14:47):
longer gonna have Matt Carpenter there. Kevin Newman is new
to the major league roster, Brian Reynolds is gonna be new,
Adam Fraser is gonna be new, Josh Bell is gonna
be doing I mean, this is a this is really
a revamped team for for the Cardinals. Yeah, it is. Um,
I think the Cubs are a little bit stronger of
(15:09):
a team when we when we're talking strictly hitting. I
think the Cardinals pitching wise, seemed to have it a
little bit more figured out than the Cubs, and and
I think that's why what makes it so interesting at
the top of this division. But as I said earlier,
the Reds and the Brewers are going to be able
to make some noise here too at the top. Um.
You know, we'll see how this team looks up on
(15:29):
Santly Davis. Matt Carpenter is now going to be He's
he's thirty four now should be three or five going
into the season. We'll see, we'll see what Matt Carpenter
we get. Right last year he only had fifteen home runs,
which was, uh just not the Matt Carpenter that we're
used to seeing. Um, I'm not sure if there was
(15:50):
an injury there. I'm like, I'm not sure what happened,
but all of a sudden, Matt Carpenter was not like
an above average hitter. Uh. And that would not be
a good thing, uh for for the Cardinals because he
was definitely one of the best hitters. Uh. So we'll
see what happens with Matt Carpenter. He wasn't He wasn't
even leading off for a good portion of the season
(16:11):
last year. So, um, that's gonna be really important important
for them to figure out. But in general, with all
the new names that you mentioned, does seem like also
I was wrong, I had the wrong roster resource page
pulled up and were they were displaying a different roster. However,
it still is. My my guess is that we see
(16:32):
less of the old guys on this roster and way
more of the young guys from this roster in And
that's what what is going to be interesting because I
think the Cardinals for forever now have had a really
strong farm system. Seems like just guys that they call
up are are always able to um rise to the
(16:53):
occasion and give them good at bats um if they're hitters. So,
uh well, we'll see, we'll see how this team looks
come opening Day. But I think that Matt Carpenter thing
is is certainly want to be a really big deal
for that. What version of Matt Carpenter do we got? Now?
You know, they do have some ways that they can
get around playing Matt Carpenter every single day because they
(17:17):
can play Tommy Edmund at third base. Uh, they can
play Tyler O'Neil at d H. I mean, I think
theoretically they could play Lane Thomas at d H. Really,
if they really wanted to get crazy, they could, uh
you know, they could just bring up one of their
prospects right away, right they could bring up Dylan Carlson
or you know, something like that and have because every
(17:38):
team is going to have a sixty man roster prochecko.
So if Matt Carpenter just can't hit the ball, you know,
if Yahya Malina just can't hit the ball, if you know,
if if these guys are just really incapable of of
hitting early on to start the year. I definitely think
that teams are gonna be way quicker to bench guys
in than they would have been, you know if there
(18:00):
was a hunter and sixty two games season. Yeah, I
I certainly think that's that's more right than wrong. I
think with someone like Daddia will not be surprised if
that was the case. Not that he's, you know, the
best hitter out there or anything like that, but his
presence is really important to the pitching staff and uh,
and he's he's still one of the better defensive catchers
(18:23):
uh in the league. And I think David that this
is going to be his last year um uh for
for the Cardinals. Like I think he might be retiring
after this year, so it's a send off for him.
I'd expect him to be with them. He's still a
very important piece of the puzzle for the Cardinals for sure.
So Colton Wong actually is a guy that I love
(18:45):
for fantasy purposes. Um, you know, I I think he
is fantastic. He has a little bit of power, he
steals a little bit. They were really burying him in
the batting order last year. He did not have a
he did not have a particularly great twenty nineteen season.
But you know, cool, like if we assume that Matt
Carpenter is able to have a decent season, right, so
(19:08):
let's let's let's say decent season, you know, something close
to what he was able to do in so Colton Wong,
you know, uh, three thirty four wild but last season,
let's you know, pull Matt Carpenter back to like a
three five ish. Then we have Paul gold Schmidt total stud,
Paul de Young above average for his position, Uh, Yadi
(19:30):
a little bit below average, but Dexter Fowler close to average,
Tommy Edmun above average, and I mean the sky with
Dylan Carlson. Uh. This this Cardinals hitting lineup, really, they
could be absurd if things break their way. But I think,
like I add a median perspective, the Cubs offense is
definitely better, agreed, And I think another big thing for
(19:51):
the Cardinals David's Paul Goldschman, believe it or not. As
you said, you know, for the most part, he's best
stud throughout his career, but now he's he's gonna be
thirty three. Uh, last year he did hit thirty four
home runs but only generated to sixteen is so um,
you know, I had a way to run create a
plus of one sixteen, So just very slightly above average.
(20:16):
The Cardinals are gonna need Paul Goldschman to be like
what he did for the Diamondbacks type of Paul Goldschman,
where he was hitting a lot of home runs but
also hitting a lot of doubles and and being a
constant threat when it came to getting on base. Even
last year his his on base percentage scaled down to
three six Most of those Diamondbacks years he was like
(20:40):
in the four hundreds. Uh and o b P. So
I'm not sure how you know how sustainable some of
these things are. I know the babbit for him last
year was also a little bit on the lower side.
Uh he only hit three or two babbitt um. For
for the most part, his career average is nearly in
the three fifties. So maybe if he gets a little
bit just luckier in general, that LVP is going to
(21:03):
go up. But nonetheless, the Cardinals are going to need
a little bit more production from from Paul gold schmant
uh if they're gonna be able to compete, because he's
He's really one of, if not their their main hitter
in this line up. I mean, I think you make
a great point that Paul gold Schmidt in his first
year as a member of the Cardinals was massively disappointing.
(21:23):
His three forty six weighted on bas average was the
worst of any year of his career. His weighted runs
created a plus of one sixteen was the worst of
any season of his career. Uh, even even back in
two eleven. You know, as a rookie he was better
than that. He stole only three bases, that was the
lowest amount of his career. Uh. Thirty four home runs
(21:44):
was great, but his k rate, his carrate was about average,
but his walk rate went down. His isolated slugging was
pretty low. I mean, he just basically he looked like
a guy who went from his peak to kind of
what his dissension was going to be. Like, the three
forty six weighted on base average is fine, but when
(22:04):
you look at what the Cardinals thought they were getting,
which was like a four hundred weighted on base average,
guy like, it just has to feel really disappointing for them.
It does. And if you look at some of the
raw stuff like, you know, thirty four home runs and
nineties seven r bis. You know, everything is kind of
fine there, but it's just relative to what he once
was with the Diamondbacks. Then all of a sudden, you're like, okay,
(22:27):
you know, thirty four home runs, ninety seven rn bis.
It's still good, but it's just not what he once
was producing for the Arizona car for the for the
Arizona Diamondbacks. Excuse me. And the concerning thing here is
that he's now going to be thirty three, and so
now you start to wonder, Okay, maybe Paul Goldsman just
can't be the same hitter, Uh he once was, simply
(22:49):
because he's he's getting older, and that is what happens.
You mentioned that he stole only three basis last year. Uh,
this used to be a guy that had, you know,
either in the teens or twenties stolen basis. That's no longer.
When Paul Goldschman is going to go on to be
a good comp for this, Davis would be someone like
Albert Poohols. He used to be, you know, a great
defensive first baseman and one of the best, if not
(23:10):
the best, right handed hitter we've ever seen, but when
he started to get older, he no longer stole bases,
his home run totals one down, and he just wasn't
the same caliber hit her. So maybe we end up
getting a similar Paul Goldschman moving forward. Yeah, I I
hope so, because Paul gold Schmidt is a guy. That's uh,
(23:30):
he's a guy I really like, you know, guys like
a first baseman who steals a little who steals a
little bit. Like that's uh, you know, that's a that's
a pretty awesome guy for fantasy. Okay, getting to their
pitching staff, I what's so interesting is I really like
these dudes. Uh. Well, I don't really like Flaherty for
what he costs in seasonal drafts, but I really like
Carlos Martinez. Um, I really like to go to Hudson,
(23:53):
And I really like Miles Nicholas because he is like
stone free. You know, he's not gonna get you any
strikeouts or anything like that, but he is a really
solid run prevention guy. It's also crazy to me, Adam
Wayne Wright still pitching for the Cardinals. Isn't that wild? Uh?
It is wild when you consider that he's almost like
forty years old. Um, but you know, kind of still
(24:14):
like a competent starting pitcher. Uh, not someone that's gonna
miss a bunch of bats either. But I think I
think I'm more comfortable with the pitching depth for the
Cardinals than I am the pitching depth with the Cubs,
and that could really, you know, be a big factor
um and the end and l Central this year, especially
(24:34):
at the top, because I think if if you are
of the belief that pitching is gonna win out, then
the Cardinals are positioning really well even guys like you know,
like Alex Rays and Daniel positively on, like younger guys
that don't seem to have it all figured out. What
if one of those guys, you know, figures it out
and all of a sudden, you know, has like a
(24:55):
Jack Flaherty type of season, all of a sudden, that's
a really big deal for the Cardinals. So also the
type of guys name is that the Cubs don't have
but the Cardinals do, And I think that's that's that's
a really big deal. Yeah. So I think you could
rationally say, you know, with the upside of you know,
younger guys like to go to Hudson, Uh, you know,
(25:15):
we can't, we can't think of Nicholas as a prospect anymore.
But yeah, Alex reys Is is definitely one of those
guys who could really, you know, who could just really
change the way that this season goes for the Cardinals.
And and yeah, you're right. For the Cubs to do that,
you know, something would really have to break in, you know,
kind of a different direction for them. So you know,
(25:35):
let's sell, let's just put it right here, who over
sixty games, who has a better record the Cardinals are
the Cubs. I'm still going to go. I'm still going
to go with the Cubs. I think their offense is
going good enough to propel them to the top. Yeah,
(25:56):
I am actually gonna go the Cardinals because I think
that it the short season benefits them because I think
they will play their younger guys earlier. So I think
like everyday played appearances for Dylan Carlson, more played appearances
for Tyler O'Neil and Lane Thomas. I think they'll be
more aggressive with you know, shutting down Adam Wayne, right,
(26:17):
you know, just being like, look, it's it's not gonna happen,
and you know, giving giving plate appearances to or giving
starts to Alex Rays, So I am gonna go that direction,
I think, and we're not even done with, you know,
good hitting offenses in this division, though the Cardinals and
the Cubs clearly have a better pitching staff than the
next team that we are going to discuss when we
get back from break, which is going to be the
(26:40):
Milwaukee Brewers. A lot of a lot of hitting to
be found in this division, but we are going to
go ahead and had to break here real quick on
the Daily Road to Hour. When we return, we will
continue our team by team, division by division preview of
the National League Central by moving to the Milwaukee Brewers.
(27:00):
Sports grid dot Com Betting insights and entertainment at your
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sports grid dot Com. Mhm hm, this is sports dream.
(27:33):
Hello everyone, Welcome back from break here on v Daily
Road to Hour on sportscree TV. We are continuing our
discussion of the National League Central in our team by team,
division by division preview of Major League Baseball. Getting very
excited to have the season back upon us. Uh, you
know feeling I'm feeling that, uh, We're definitely gonna get
(27:54):
some very memorable games. There's just gonna be a lot
of a lot of close races, a lot of stuff
that you know, just by the nature of baseball and
how even the playing fields are and how results shake out.
You know, I just think that we are going to
have a ton of very interesting races. And I think
the n L Central seems like maybe the most interesting
Pacheco because all these teams are lumped so close together.
(28:17):
Moving to the Milwaukee Brewers, now, I mean, for me,
literally one through nine, this is a team that can
hit home runs. And you know, if if the baseballs
are anything close to what they were last year, I
gotta think that is a massive advantage for I have
to think that this is a massive advantage for the Brewers. Yeah,
(28:38):
I think so too. They certainly have a very competent lineup.
This year. They went out there and signed a v
sale or c uh who I still think is an
above average bat. They signed Justin Smoke to replace Eric Thames.
Smoke is going to be thirty four, uh, and last
year he deteriorated quite a bit. Um, we'll see what
(29:00):
version of justin smoke we get. But um, I still
think he's a very competent like bench bat that that
could produce for them. He still hit like over its
many home runs last year. He's a guy that can
get on base for you. He's always been able to
do that. So, um, I think the Brewers made some
good signings in the off season. Uh. And I think
those guys are going to get at bast especially uh
(29:21):
obviously Garcia. I don't think he should play the field
much Davis. He's just not a very good defender. But
last year he posted a Waiter moncret of plus a
hundred and twelve. Uh and so also at a world
of three thirty four, which both both of those kind
of point towards him being an average to an above
average hitter. Um. I still believe in Aby Garcia. I
(29:44):
think the Brewer shouldnt play him a lot on the field,
and if they managed to give him, you know, these
amount of DA starts, I think they're gonna be in
a in a good spot. Yeah, I mean, obviously on
Garcia is kind of one of those signings where baseball
starts up. You know, you and I we played d fast.
We're grinding everything, so we don't necessarily get down to
you know, who every team's fourth outfielder is until baseball
(30:06):
is literally there and you're like, oh, wow, obviously Garcia
is the fourth outfielder for the Milwaukee Brewers. And this
is a guy who you know has a career isolated
slugging of and way higher than that against left handed pitching,
guy who hit twenty home runs in a terrible ballpark
for home runs last year. So yeah, that is a
pretty big signing. Okay, huge question for you. I know
(30:28):
that our projections at Daily Rhodo don't always like this guy,
but are you and Eric Sogard, guy, do you do
you believe in the nerd Uh, You're gonna have to
be a little bit more specific, or are we talking
like power last year? Last year was the first year
of his career he had an isolate the first time
in his career with over a hundred plate appearances that
(30:50):
he had an isolated slugging higher than one oh four.
Do you buy that he can be a league average
isolated slugging guy for second base? No chance, no chance?
You think you think it was mostly in the ball
whatever it was right point to whatever it was. I
just don't think that that we can get like double
(31:12):
digit home run yerk so guard every year. Uh and
he actually he he pulls it a one fifteen win
around creative plus two like he was. He was like
an average two and above average hit or last year,
and there's just no sign of him like ever doing
this for the rest of his career. David So. I
think it's one of those things where you know, he's
(31:33):
he's a veteran UH that performed well last year, but
at this stage of his career, it's gonna be really
difficult for him to replicate even what he did last year.
He'd be lucky to just be like a slightly below
average hitter. I think the Brewers will happily take that. Yeah,
And I mean they are probably going to lead him off,
(31:53):
but if things end up not working out for leading
him off, I think they could easily lead off Keston Hia,
you know, no problem, and and move and and even
there are bench bats that they could use instead. You know,
they could play Jed Jerko at third base, they could
play brock Holt at third base, they could play Orlando
Arcia at shortstop, and move Louis Louis Urias out to
(32:15):
third base. You know, there are a lot of different directions.
I mean literally, I think other than yours, who is
just you know a pretty average you know, middle and
field bad Like, He's not a guy that we think
of as having you know, a super ceiling or or
you know, a ton of home run power four home
runs in two nine played appearances, six MLB home runs
(32:36):
in eighty three games. Um, like, I mean Omar Navarrez.
Omar Navarrez is a good hitter for a catcher, and
justin smoke as your first baseman slash you know, combo
d h. I think you. I think you just have
to feel so good about this team's ability to generate runs. Yeah,
I think so, I think, Um, they also have many
(32:58):
pia By the way, at catcher, I love every time
he starts is in. He is in my lineups on
DraftKings for sure. Yeah, I think, like, I think more
than what he does up untim really which right, It's
a catcher. They're They're not out there, uh, to to
hit for a lot of power or really do much.
Their main position is is catching and being there for
(33:20):
the pitching staff. And I think, uh, Pena is like
an above average defender. He's he's one of the best
catcher's defensively in the league, has a really good arm
UH as well. So he's still with the team and
I'm sure he'll he'll get a decent amount of bats
for the Brewers this year. I think the only thing
that I disagree with you UM so far is like
(33:42):
Keuss and Hero leading off. I think you mentioned that,
and I think he's not the guy that you want
leading off. He's think, do you think they'd put Kane
up there if so guard sucked? I think so. I
think that's the way to do makes sense because here
here just strikes out too much. UH. And this is
something that like like UH for example, in when he
(34:05):
was in Triple A, he struck out twenty six percent
at the time, went over to the majors and struck
out thirty percent at the time. Now that that's not
necessarily about thing, UM, he did hit nineteen home runs
in three hundred plate appearances UH for the Brewers last
year at the major league level. This is a guy
that has legitimate power upside, and over like a full season,
(34:26):
over six d plate appearances, UH, he could end up
hitting you know, thirty home runs in the near future,
so that's a really important bat for them. Davis About
that's young. About that has a lot of upside, and
I think you're going to see him in the lineup
a lot this year. He should be in the middle
of the lineup moving forward, I would think, Yeah, I mean,
(34:47):
it's crazy that this team is gonna lose Mike Mustakis,
you know, one of the best left handed power bats
in baseball, and it feels like they're not even gonna
really miss him, right, and we have this is we
literally have not even talked about Shan Yellow yet. Who
is their best hitter? You know, former National League m
v P hit forty four home runs last year after
hitting thirty six home runs the year before four or
(35:10):
forty two waited on bass average. I mean this, this guy,
since he has entered Milwaukee has become I mean he
is he is the best. I think it's probably Hammer
Bellinger for you know, best player, most valuable player in
the National League for sure. Yeah, I think Yellow is
in the top three hitter, uh, regardless of conference. Yeah, no,
(35:33):
moving forward like that. That's what he's been doing over
the last couple of seasons and in his MVP year,
he hit thirty six home runs. Last year he didn't
win it and hit forty four with a three forty
two eyes. So like he actually got better last year
over his MVP season, which is kind of absurd. Uh,
stole thirty basses last year too. Um, this guy is
(35:56):
an animal, Davis. He's he's also just twenty eight by
the way, so he's very much in his prime years. Uh,
don't expect them to slow down anytime soon. Yeah, I
mean he is. He is fantastic. And we've said all
kind things about the Brewers thus far, I have I
have nothing at all kind to say about their their
(36:17):
pitching rotation. Unfortunately. Um, you know, Brandon Woodruff is coming
in as their their best picture and he is sort
of aggressively mediocre as as a picture you know, projects
for a three e r A uh, you know, not
not barely. I mean maybe he gets to a strikeout perrinting.
He is there only picture who projects to have you know,
(36:40):
a strikeout perinning or or anything even close. I mean
Adrian Houser fifty five projected strikeouts over fifty nine innings.
Brett Anderson was a guy who we thought was done.
You know, multiple years ago, you know, not not good
enough to make the Oakland A's not And and now
you know he's a fly ball pitcher. They are playing
and they that very home run friendly stadium at Miller Ballpark. Um,
(37:04):
Josh Lynn Bullom, I mean he's coming back from the
KBO to play, to play for the Milwaukee Brewers. And
then Eric Lower, a guy who couldn't make his game
work in uh, you know, a guy who couldn't make
his game work in Petco Park. I just it's I mean,
it sucks for Brewers fans, but this this is just
a brutal pitching rotation. Yeah, they do have they still have,
(37:25):
uh like one of the best closers in the game
though so sore not not not herb h Josh Hayder,
Josh Hayder. I mean that that that certainly helps. And
and you know they could, uh, you know, their bullpen
is good enough that that they could turn some of
these rotational spots into just bullpen games and and be
(37:47):
able to get away with it. Like uh, you know,
Freddie perraulta is another guy that I'm torn because that
he seems to be missing a lot of bats. But
you know how many starts can we get out of him?
How many innings could the Brewers get out of him?
That's gonna be a really big deal for them simply
because they just they don't have a lot of swing
(38:07):
and miss in their rotation. And if you know, Freddy
Perlitic can can go out there and be someone that
they can depend on, that would be great. UM. I
don't disagree with you for all those names I think
I might be in. Our projections typically are higher on
random Woodroof than you are. UM. Last year this was
(38:28):
a picture that posted a k rate in a six
percent walk rate, had an a r A of three
point six two, and then even lower fit. His fit
was at three. Granted it was only over a hundred
and twenty one innings pitch, so not a massive sample
or anything like that. I think where things get questionable
with Woodroof is he's not a true number one. You know,
(38:50):
he's not an ace picture. UM, he's never been that
throughout his career. He shouldn't be depended upon that UM
for for him to be valuable. But at he's a
great potentially number two. They just don't have a number one,
so by default it's wood Ruff and I think he's
a good picture. I think that's where he and I
might disagree on this whole thing. I think what is
(39:11):
actually a good picture. At the very worst, he's an
average picture when it comes to run prevention, and by
all means, you know, given his U given his career
e r A, he seems like an above average pitcher
when it comes from run prevention. Yeah, and I mean,
as you mentioned, they do have some solid bullpen guys. Obviously.
They have one of the the you know, basically the
(39:32):
best relief pitcher in baseball in Josh Hader. Uh Corey
Knebel is another super solid guy. You know, he's gonna
is gonna generate more strikeouts than innings pitched. We think
he's pretty solid. Freddy Peralta was not a good starting pitcher,
but has been good at the bullpen. Brent Suitor, you know,
kind of a guy who used to be a closer,
is now like their six fifth inning guy. David Phelps
(39:55):
another guy who has been solid in the past who
we think can be an above average um bullpen arm.
So so maybe their plan is just to use a
lot of bolt like to to go, you know, five
innings for the starters and then really use that bullpen.
I could see a lot of teams, you know, really
pursuing that strategy. But we are going to go ahead
and had to break here real quick. At the Daily
Road to Hour on Sports Grade TV. I'm Davis Mannick,
(40:18):
joined by Christopher Procheco. When we get back, we are
going to go over the last two teams in this division,
the pitiful Pirates and the potentially high flying Cincinnati Reds.
You guys in justin mot sports grid dot com Betting
insights and entertainment at your fingertips as our team covers
the most important topics in sports wagering, real time odds,
(40:39):
predictive betting models, expert picks, and more want the edge
than get on the grid sports grid dot Com. Hello everyone,
and welcome back from break here on the Daily Road
to Hour on Sports Grade TV. I'm Davis Manni joined
by Christopher Pacheco as we continue our team by team,
division by division pre view series of the Major League
(41:02):
Baseball season. Rounding out today our discussion of the NFL
the n L Central. We still have the Reds and
the Pirates to discuss. Not a ton to talk about
with the Pirates, will get to them at the end
of the episode. Um, the Cincinnati Reds though so many outfielders,
so so many outfielders. They have show Go Akiyama, who
they signed as a free agent from the Nippon League.
(41:24):
They have Nick Castianos, who they signed to pretty much
be there full time v H. They have Jesse Winker,
their former first round draft pick, Nick Senzel, who is
another first round draft pick who the team seems to
be really excited about. And they still have you know,
Josh Van Meter, Philip Irvan, Mark Payton. So many outfielders
on this team, Pacheco. Uh, you don't even mention Arisia
(41:46):
as a keyno who was like their young stud uh
last year, the punisher as they call him. Uh, this team, Davis,
I mean, just just just listen to the names Nick
ass Uhnio swar As. He was coming off a career year,
by the way, which he hit like almost fifty one runs.
Maybe he got there, um last year. Mike Mustakas is
(42:09):
what the Reds now? Um, I just mentioned a keynote
who you know, over the full span of of you know,
a regular season has like thirty plus home run upside,
especially in this ballpark and this bandbox. Of a ballpark. Uh,
that's just they're hitting pitching. They have Trevor Bauer, Luis
Castello and Sunny Gray who turned it around last year. Uh,
(42:32):
in a big way. That's like they're one to three.
I mean, I think the Reds are in a like,
in a position to potentially win the division. Davis And
I can't believe I'm saying that because typically, you know,
we talk about the Reds as as a team that's
that's always gonna finish that either that last or close
to it in this division. But not this year. Man.
(42:54):
They have a lot of hitting, and I think they're
They're pitching is certainly well above being a complicent enough
to be able to compete for this division. Yeah, I mean,
I I love this team. So many guys who are
projected for double digit home runs even in a shortened season.
I think the Reds are we talked on this show
already about you know, just finding guys who have the
(43:15):
ability to or finding teams that have the ability to
take advantage of the variants and Harror and Harrent in
a shorter season. Uh. And I definitely think the Reds
are that team. You know, Joey Vado obviously at the
age of thirty six, has really slowed down, not really
a power bat anymore. But you know, Akayama Suarez, Mustakas
(43:36):
Casciano's even Freddy Galvis and Nick Senzel, uh, you know,
look at their But as you mentioned, I mean the
pitching rotation, Sonny Gray, Luis Castillo, Trevor Bauer. I'm not
optimistic about Wade Miley pitching in this division. I think
he might get I think he might get um, you know,
I think actually it's gonna be a pretty tough scene
for him, though I guess for the Astros last year
(43:58):
he did have a three point nine eight e r
A and you know whatever, maybe they figured out something
with him and his delivery to uh to make him better.
But I I am not optimistic. And Descal Fannie is
a guy who's super good against right handers and just
can't get left handers out. But also this is a
really strong bullpen, so Rice Iglesias really strong, I Mere
(44:22):
Garrett really strong, Pedro Strop really strong, Uh, Tyler Molly
really strong. Like they have some really good bullpen arms.
So kind of as we were just talking about with
the Brewers, maybe their plan in Descal Fannie and Miley starts.
Is you know, four innings for the starters, five innings
for the bullpen, Like I think that is a pretty
reasonable plan for them, to be honest. Yeah, I mean,
(44:44):
we'll see what they do with Malley, because he's he's
been a starter for them, you know, right ever since
he's been up with the team. But he is being
listened as a reliever. And I'm pretty sure it's because
the red starting rotation right now is including Wade Miley
in it. But Miley and Molly you could just probably
like just circle back on them, like it's probably gonna
(45:07):
be a battle for who gets that that starting rotation spot.
The other just moves over to the bullpen. Miley was
very competent for the Astros last year, and then he
hit a stretch of starts towards the end of the
of the season, Davis where he was a complete disaster,
like just unstartable. The literally the Astrots could not start
him anymore, that's how bad he got. I mostly agree
(45:31):
with you. It's gonna be really tough for him, especially
now that the National League has a d h Uh.
It's it's gonna be tough for him to uh to
do much um, so, I think Mally might be able
to just beat him out right because he has more
strikeout stuff. But nonetheless, I think that the rotation is
is really solid, man. And I think a big deal
(45:54):
for them is can they get out of Sonny Gray
what they got last year? Because Sonny Gray was lights
out rate? Uh, the walk rate was a little bit higher,
it was nearly a ten percent, but the r a
of two point oh seventh bit of three point four
to do you remember the Sonny Gray one really bad
(46:14):
with the Yankees and so bad. So if we can
get if the rest can get Sunny Gray again through
like producing like that, it's gonna be a really big
deal for the rotation because all of a sudden they
have a very competent one through three, like potentially one
of the best in the division. Yeah, they don't have
(46:36):
a ton of like a ton of cavalry on the
way in terms of their prospects, but you know, I
could I could see them beating out the Brewers if
you know, Gray is just on fire, Castillo is on fire.
You know, Bauer kind of figures out his delivery a
little bit, is not walking guys in, and like these
(46:56):
three guys are really probably three of the best pictures
in baseball, and you combine that with the ceiling they
have on this offense. You know, if Joey Votto puts
up a three forty weighted on base average over this sample,
Mustachus is on fire, Castidanos is playing DH like, I
think the sky kind of is the ceiling for this offense.
(47:16):
And uh, I am gonna I am gonna bet the
Reds to win the World Series because I think they
are kind of the perfect team for this format. Yeah,
they're a plus twenty right now on fandual sports books
are right there with the Cardinals and Cubs. But actually,
look at this roster, Davis, It's like you don't have
(47:38):
to have all of those things that you mentioned go right.
It's like you have to have some go right, and
all of a sudden they have a really strong season
and could potentially win the division. Obviously, to win the
World Series, of course, we have to have, you know,
most things go right for you. But as you look
at their roster, like I could argue for the Cubs,
they need way more to go right to be to
(48:00):
be able to win the division. And I'm still very
high on them. Same thing with the Cardinals because they
have a lot of names that they need things to
go right for them in order for them to succeed.
The Revs, they have so much depth that it doesn't
feel like they need everything to break right in order
for them to win the division. And that's a really
good thing for them for sure. So we got to, uh,
(48:21):
we have to talk about the Pirates now. So the
Pirates are the worst team in the division. They might
be one of the worst teams in the National League.
They have one hitter who is projected to hit double
digit home runs in the sixty game season. That is
Josh Bell. Uh, pretty much everyone else on this offense,
Kevin Newman, Brian Reynolds, Adam Fraser, Giarmo Herrita, Colin Mran,
(48:44):
Jacob Stalling's, Jared Dyson, even their bench hitters. Uh. We
just it's like they looked at the way that baseball
has played now and they said, you know what, we
we want to do the opposite of that. We just
want we only want slap hitters on our team. For
whatever reason, it's it's gonna be a tough team for
the Pirates. Um. So Starley Marte has no long with
(49:05):
the team, obviously, Andrew mccutton was not not with the
team even last year. Um, so they you know, as
far as star star power is concerned, it's it's tough.
They have Josh Bell and that's pretty much it really
big deal for the Pirates as well. Chris Archer is
not going to picture them this season. And also Jamison
(49:26):
tie On, well we'll see what happens with him, but
right now he's being listed on the forty five day
on the forty five day injured list, and so if
ti On is is you know, like if he's not
pitching for them either, it's it's a disaster for the Pirates.
They just don't have a lot um and so not
(49:47):
having Archer already heard some not having tay On would
be uh the nail and the coffin per Se Davis.
So things aren't really looking up for the Pirates this year.
Easily the worst team in the division. I don't see
them being able to compete for the division title or
even a Wald card, So uh, you know, I guess
things to be excited about on this team. Josh Bell
(50:08):
is very fun, uh you know, just one of those
huge pure power guys. He's a switch hitter, which you
always love and uh, you know, bums me out that
Gregory Gregory Polanco never became awesome. You know, he was
one of those guys who was supposed to be, you know,
a super elite prospect, to top five overall prospect in baseball. Uh,
he only got to twenty four, only got to over
(50:31):
twenty home runs twice in his major league baseball career,
didn't even really steal bases career three eighteen waited on
base average has always struck out a little bit too much.
I mean, I I guess you know that ten season,
twenty three home runs, twelve stolen bases, eleven percent walker
rate k rate three three wOBA. You know, is there
(50:52):
is there any chance you know, for us in fantasy
leagues this year that Polanco kind of turns back into
that guy as opposed to the injury riddled guy from
last season in I think there's a chance, especially when
you consider that, like he's twenty years old. You know, um,
maybe he's a late bloomer, Davis, you know, like we
have seen that before. I mean, this is the one
sport where lay bloomers are actually kind of a thing.
(51:15):
It is it is, Um, the thing is I think expectations.
Even with that being said, I have to be tempered
a bit like he's not gonna be a guy right,
Like he's not gonna be a twenty home round twenty
solent basis guy. But if he can be twenty home
round ten solen basis guy, that that's really valuable. Uh.
And fantasy, I'm still like, I still believe in Gregory Polanco.
(51:36):
I still think the talent is there. It's just a
matter of can he put it together. But even then,
I don't think he's a thirty more run guy even um,
so it is a little bit limited. Uh. And I
think given the pitching in this division like it's it's,
it might be tough for for him to to get
it together, especially the Reds. It's it's one of those
(51:56):
things where when you went to the Reds, especially their
ballpark as the way hitter, it's always great because you
get had lots of whole runs. But this year, because
the Reds pitching STAPs improved, that might not be even
a thing anymore. Yeah, I I definitely think I definitely
think all of that is is legit. It's it is
a real possibility. So we we have gone through the
(52:19):
n L Central. You know, I think that it is
a really interesting division. You know, we have the Cardinals
who are very solid all the way throughout. We have
the Brewers who have a ton of upside with their hitting,
maybe not so much upside with their pitching though, uh
Pacheco is a little bit higher on on Brandon Woodrift
(52:40):
than I am. We have the Cubs who, uh, the
Cubs are kind of the stereotypical very good n L team.
You know, they have plenty of power, They have pictures
who are maybe not the greatest in terms of k
rate outside of you, Darvish, but they do have guys
who are able to you know, generate a ton of
contact and good contact rather which is going to be
(53:00):
Kyle Hendrix and Jose Kintana, The Reds who have loads
of upside, and the Pirates who have have no upside.
So everyone, thank you very much for watching and listening
to the Daily Road to Hour. We will be back
soon with our continued preview of the n L starting tomorrow.
Good luck. Until then, Sports grid dot Com betting insides
and entertainment at your fingertips as our team covers the
(53:23):
most important topics in sports wagering real time odds, predictive
betting models, expert picks, and more want the edge than
get on the grid. Sports grid dot com
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