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Get ready to step up to the plate with The Throwing Partners Pod! Join hosts Kirby Dickinson (@Kirbyd4) and Joseph Aguilar (@Jaguilar7891), and the official podcast handle (@Throwing_Partners_Pod) as they gear up to knock it out of the park with their brand new baseball podcast.
Kirby D (00:04)
Hey everybody, welcome back to the Throwing Partners podcast. It's Kirby and Joseph here. Coming to you on this Sunday night, it is Father's Day. So shout out to all the dads out there or dads to be, and all the moms that played the role of dad. So happy Father's Day. It was a great day. I went and spent the weekend with my mom and dad and celebrated my dad. So I'm glad to see that he is doing well. Joe, it's been quite the week in Braves country and I know it has an Astros world as well.
So if you could give us our usual Astro's update, let's get this thing rolling. I'm ready.
Joseph (00:43)
All right, well the Astros went three and three this week. They played a three game series against the Giants in San Francisco and then they finished off the week with a three game series against the Tigers here in Houston. Starting off on Monday, you know, the Astros struggles have continued and they basically played back to back heartbreaking games. As some would say the worst losses of the season back to back.
With that game on Monday The Astros would lose four to three and extra innings against the Giants they I mean they I Don't even know how to describe it. It's so frustrating to talk about still because they had the game it was It was within reach and then you know, it just fell apart. You know, they had scored two runs and extra innings for the first time You know all season
And it seemed like they, you know, had finally put something that like put a good inning together in extra innings for the first time since this whole Manfred Ghostrunner was added. But then, you know, Montero comes in and, you know, he only gets one out. He gives up four hits and that's the game. A lot of people were complaining that it was bad bullpen management.
to have Montero in in that situation to begin with, dating back to the weekend series against the Angels, which was a real point of contention considering that Espada had, I believe, Presley and Abreu pitched that Saturday game when they were up 6 -0. And they had pitched, or at least, sorry, Presley had pitched three days in a row.
And he wasn't available for the Monday game. So, I mean, it's just, it's tough. You know, the bullpen management wasn't great. but it's like starting pitching was great. Spencer and Getty pitched five and two thirds innings. He gave up four hits, one run. He had three walks and six strikeouts. you know, and we did see signs of improvement from him. Unfortunately though.
His start this weekend was not great. But the Astros lose a heartbreaker in the first game on Monday. And then they go and Ronell Blanco shines once again. They get the win. Ronell Blanco has been the Astro stopper. And if anybody doesn't know what that means, it means when the team is on a losing streak, you can always rely on him to come in and shut it down.
Get that team a much needed win. And that's exactly what he's been for the Astros so far this season. Basically every time his name has been called in the rotation, he has stepped up to the moment. And he's dazzled and he deserves to be an All -Star this year, that's for sure. He just needs to make a couple more good starts and I think that he should be a lock for the All -Star. He's been pitching out of his mind and he almost threw another no hitter today if it wasn't for his high pitch count.
but we would win the game on Tuesday, three to one. And like I said, Blanco struck out eight and over six innings and Dubon scored twice, playing his second game back in San Francisco since he was traded here to Houston. So, that was a little sweet revenge for him. And moving on to the Wednesday game, that was a day game.
The Astros just, I mean, they need to beat bad teams and I mean, I guess, I mean, they are a bad team, like I've been saying so far this season and the Giants are a bad team and they lost the series. You know, they just couldn't find a way to win it. The Giants got on, I believe it was from Brr early in the game and he just, he was giving up hard contact everywhere. They homered.
I believe twice off of him and he was just not able to, you know, be effective. like we usually is, he was giving up a lot of fly balls, and was not getting very many ground outs. So, once again, the bullpen was pretty taxed and you know, just Joe Espada has been put in a tough situation because people have been complaining about, you know, the way that he's been using the bullpen and the usage. And it's really.
In my opinion, it comes down to poor roster construction. You've got guys like Sean Dubin and Martinez, Nick Martinez in the bullpen. And those are unproven guys that have not looked good all season long. And, you know, they're expected to be put in high pressure situations. You know, a lot of people were complaining that they weren't used in.
in the game on Monday and sorry I messed up. It was Montero who had pitched three days in a row on Monday. That's why people were complaining that he was in the game. They said that he was overused starting from the weekend. But then one of guys like Sean Dubin and Nick Martinez in the game who are two triple A guys that should not be on the roster. I don't know why they're on the roster.
You know, you're putting any manager in a tough position when you're constructing a roster like this. And it just, it goes to show, you know, the problems that have been created over the last two years from choices after we won the world series. And I will get into more of that. I'm going to keep complaining about it just because I feel like it. I don't care if it gets tired. I honestly believe that this is where the Astro struggle stem from. And I don't believe that anything is going to be fixed until.
we actually allow the people who are put in place to do their jobs. So they dropped the series against the Giants. Again, they really needed that series win. They really needed a sweep. Obviously that didn't go according to plan on Monday. They dropped the first game. They needed a series win. We're not able to get the series win. So moving on to the Tigers, again, they needed a sweep. And you know what? They came out and Hunter Brown, I mentioned this last week.
you know, he has been dominant over the last six or seven starts and you could basically throw out, you know, the first six starts that he had in the season because he is not the same pitcher anymore. He added that sinker slash two seam and he has been so much more effective against right -handed batters, which is who he struggled against early on in the season. He pitched seven scoreless innings and the Astros beat the Tigers four to nothing. And.
You know, like I said, Hunter Brown, he struck out nine. So he's, he's starting to get that swing and miss that we saw when he first came up in 2022 as a September call up. And, you know, like I said, he struggled the first, you know, six starts, but he honestly, I think we can, we can probably confidently say that.
You know, he might struggle here and there from time to time, obviously, like all players do, but this might be the real Hunter Brown. And, you know, I think that he has stepped up big when the Astros have needed him the most, you know, losing or not having guys like Luis Garcia, you know, Jose Urquide, Christian Javier. You know, I think I believe if what I remember is correct or what the reports were correct.
Justin Verlander had notified the team that he was not going to make his start on Friday. So stepping up there, making sure that, you know, the Astros secure that first win of the series, especially because of what happened on Saturday. You know, just stepping up when his name is called since making the adjustment. I think, you know, he's a, he's been super valuable to the team, you know, after that horrible Kansas city start.
So like I mentioned, it was really big that he performed very well on sat on Friday because Saturday the Astros just, they did not play well. I had other words for that, but I'm not going to use that language on, on this podcast. They had, they lost 13 to five. Spencer Arrighetti made an emergency start for Justin Verlander, as I mentioned, who notified the team of neck discomfort on Friday.
Kirby D (09:34)
Ha ha!
Joseph (09:48)
Air Getty was on regular rest. His routine was thrown off by a day though. So make of that what you will. I believe that he was put in a tough situation. But you have to go out there and step up. I mean, like I said, Hunter Brown has stepped up. The team knew on Friday that Verlaner wasn't going to make that start. Hunter Brown was able to step up and make sure that we secured that win. But Air Getty put in a tough situation, was not able to.
He pitched poorly, very, very poorly. I mean, his stat line was awful. He only pitched an inning and a third. He gave up five hits and seven runs. He had two walks, two strikeouts, and he gave up three home runs. And then Sean Dubin came in to relieve for him the name that everybody was screaming for in extra innings on Monday. And he gave up six hits, three runs. He had two walks, no strikeouts.
That's kind of why everybody was saying that they wanted him in on Monday was because he gets a lot of strikeouts. it looks like he gives up a lot of hits, and runs and my opinion. So, you know, take it that way you will, but Nick Hernandez then came in for a three and two thirds innings. He gave up three hits, one run and he had five strikeouts, but he did get up a home run. So like I said, you're, I mean, this was garbage time at this point. The Astros were not mounting a comeback.
And you've got Sean Dubin and Nick Hernandez going out there and eating innings for you, giving up runs. I mean, and you want to trust these guys in high pressure situations. I just, I don't think so. I don't think that that's a good roster construction. I'm going to keep repeating that. I'm not even going to blame Dana Brown at this point because I think that his hands are tied as well. But I mean, just.
The lack of accountability from ownership, who at this point have had two bad off seasons in a row, which I truly believe is why they are in the position they are now. And I didn't even freaking mention that Jose Abreu was cut before this Tiger series. Didn't even mention that, but I'll get to that in a second.
Kirby D (12:03)
You can't believe it happened. I'm baffled that it even happened.
Joseph (12:06)
I'm baffled too, but I'm glad that they finally owned up to it at least that that's that's a little bit of accountability that they finally been able to show me But let's just finish off this Detroit series real quick. The Astros won today winning the series four to one We're now Blanco. I mean, like I said a little while ago he's gonna be an all -star just he needs to make one or two more really competitive starts and I
I think that he's got that all star locked up. He threw seven scoreless innings. He also threw seven no hit innings. He had one hitting inning where it got a little hairy and he gave up three walks, but he was able to escape that. And you know, he's been great. He's been fantastic. He's, he's another guy who has also stepped up big, you know, coming into the season, we knew that we weren't going to have,
You know, Luis Garcia, Lance McCullers, Jose Urquide was hurt at the time. JP France had just, you know, started throwing again from an injury. That's why he made the start that he did against the Blue Jays when he threw his no hitter. You know, he's been huge and, you know, I mean, I just, I, I, I'm going to go back to the sticky substance thing. I think that it is so laughable that he's got that on his record now.
because I'm going to say it again. I think that that's a stupid rule. It's a legal substance provided by MLB. He could want to put it wherever, you know, he wants. It should still be okay because it's there in broad daylight for everyone to see on the mound. I just, I don't understand that. Like he did not deserve that. He is pitched phenomenally. His story is great. He deserves to be an all star. He, like I said, two more good starts. He will be an all star.
And he deserves it because I mean, his journey to the big leagues is one that, you know, you, you dream of as a kid coming out of, you know, a Latin American country where, you know, you maybe weren't recruited at a younger age, like some of these players were, but you were able to stick with it and get recruited at an older age, you know, grind through the minor league process. And then finally find that one thing that sets you above like out and above.
you know, some of these other guys and you know, he has just been incredible for this team so far. Honestly, if I had to pick an MVP for the season so far, I'm going to say it's Ranel Blanco because he's been the most consistent part of the Astros team so far this season. He's gone out there and he's dominated time and time again. You know, finding that change up might be, you know, the stair step for his career, honestly. And I'm just, I'm excited to see him continue to pitch and I'm
I hope that he can continue this fairy tale run that he's had so far. So that's a little bit about what the Astros did this week game wise, but there was a lot of other things that happened this week. And we've got some news about what Dana Brown has said over the last couple of days as it pertains to the trade deadline. Jose Abreu was cut and I'm just going to give you his final stat line for his.
his year as an Astro this year. He racked, he, he, he, accumulated a whopping negative 1 .6 war and 113 at bats. He had 14 hits, two home runs. He hit 124. I can't believe my eyes when I'm reading that out loud. He scored 10 runs. He had seven RBIs. He had an OBP of 167. my God.
He had a slugging of 195 and OPS of 361 and an OPS plus of four.
Kirby D (16:01)
Those okay. So to build a perspective He basically got on base one out of every six chances chances So basically once every other game and that's either with the walk or a hit but more than likely maybe like a walker hit by pitch and Then his batting average being even lower than that. That's like one for seven every two games So basically in every series he was averaging like one maybe two hits out of like 14 at bats. That's horrible
Joseph (16:07)
Bye!
Mm -hmm.
Yeah. Yeah. And I just, I just want to explain this OPS plus number. the league average is 100. So if you're batting, let's say if you have an OPS plus of 124, that means you're 24 % better than, you know, the league average. His OPS plus was four. Like,
Kirby D (16:31)
That's that's poetic for somebody making nineteen and a half
Yeah, not even 40, not 44, 4, like this many. My favorite. Yeah. he was, he was, he was.
Joseph (16:57)
Thor.
Or he was horrible. His time as an Astros over, you know, it's easy to dog on him just because he played so poorly. But, you know, hearing all of the great things that so many people in the White Sox organization have have said about him and, you know, even people in the Astros Clubhouse have said about him. It's honestly disappointing to see, you know, the way that this contract played out.
You know, everybody at the time loved the signing and I get it revisionist history is, you know, you go back in time and you, maybe you take a little bit of a harder look at the numbers and you, you see that that decline is greater than, you know, what you're investing in, but you want like, I didn't want him to play bad, obviously, because I don't think anybody wanted him to play bad. No one wanted him to fail, but it got to the point where he was failing so often and hurting this team so bad that.
You just couldn't have him in the lineup anymore. It was unavoidable. Every big moment was he was coming up to the plate or it was a ball hit to him that he couldn't field. And like I said, no one wanted him to fail. Everybody wanted him to be successful because that would obviously mean that the team is being helped and in a time when the team were desperately needed it. So it was really, it's really disappointing that, you know, this contract played out the way that it did. The Astros are going to eat.
you know, the $30 million that are left on his contract. And honestly, I mean, like I said, I wish that it didn't play out this way. I wish him the best I do. But I'm really thankful that the Astros finally made the move to let him go and just eat the contract. And it is really just disappointing at the end of the day, but I'm hoping, you know, the Astros can can now.
you know, address the elephant in the room and address, you know, the big need at first base. I think John Singleton is okay for the time being, but I think you got to think bigger picture. and you've got to find someone better than John Singleton. you know, and hopefully this might create some more consistency. The Astro so far in June, it's been the tail of the season. It's.
You know, Altuve is batting 314, Pena is batting 204, Alvarez 354, Bregman 340, Jake Myers 152, Mauricio Dubon 256, Yiner Diaz 355, John Singleton 211. It's no one can get hot at the same time. It's everybody is just they're either hotter or not and it just fluctuates and
There is no, you know, they cannot put it together all at once. And I keep saying it, but it is, it is a fact. It's like they have all had such a good individual seasons for the most part, but not at the same time. No one is doing it at the same time. There was maybe a week where I believe they had a, was it a six game or seven game win streak?
And that was about it. That was the only time that it looked like the Astros had put it all together. But other than that, I mean, it's been a month since they've won three games in a row. That's how inconsistent they've been. That's horrible. And, you know, Joe Espada has made some mistakes. I like, I'm not going to like go out here and think that he's infallible. He's, he's made some mistakes. He's, he did not manage the bullpen very well in the Angel series. And I will, you know, I will acknowledge that, but.
I do not think the larger problems have been because Dusty Baker or Martin Maldonado are no longer on this team or managing this team. I think that it has to do with poor roster management from the GM by committee staff. And I think that, you know, I'm going to keep saying it. James Click was, you know, a very big part of why this organization was successful in 2022.
He got Mauricio Dubon for Parker, not Parker Mersinski, the Astros catcher. I don't even remember his name. He's so irrelevant. I don't like he was released by the Giants in like two months that like he got a very key role player on this team. Someone that can play almost every position for some guy that the Giants would literally DFA two months later. He got Yiner Diaz and Phil May Tom for.
Miles straw, who everybody cried about at the time at the, in the trade deadline in 2021, you got Kendall Graveman and Rafael Montero for Abraham Toro. Like these are all moves that played a very big role in that 2022 world series. And then you just told them to go F off at the end of the season because you thought that you could do it better. And I just, there's also, there's one trade in particular, the Willer of Braille you trade.
Kirby D (22:10)
Mm.
Joseph (22:10)
for, Christian Vasquez, who I'm going to admit, you know, some people have said that we could have won the world series without Christian Vasquez. He did call that no hitter. I like, I'm going to be honest. I don't know if the Astros won that world series without that no hitter. you know, that Philly's offense was toured at the time, but. You know, the Astros had an opportunity to go get Wilson Contreras straight up for Jose Yerkidi, who is now out with Tommy John.
for the rest of the season and probably in the 2025. And they gave up Willer Abreu and Emmanuel Valdez to very high prospects and to prospects that have, you know, I believe that Valdez hasn't played very well and his time in the majors, but Willer Abreu has been killing baseballs for the Red Sox so far this year. That's someone in the Astros organization that they really could have used. But Dusty Baker vetoed that trade. James Click knew what he was doing. He...
He knew what the stats said for Jose Urquide. Jose Urquide is not a good pitcher in my opinion. I think that his hands were handcuffed by Jim Crane and Dusty Baker. They need to just let these GMs who they are putting in place do their jobs. Two guys that I think that Dana Brown actually played a role in getting, freaking Victor Caratini and Taylor Scott.
You know, I can very clearly tell you that those are guys that Dana Brown probably scouted and liked.
Kirby D (23:45)
Those were moves which is what he learned in Atlanta.
Joseph (23:50)
Yeah, Josh Hader does not scream a Dana Brown type move. At all.
Kirby D (23:54)
That is a 100 % crane move.
Joseph (23:57)
That exactly. And that's the problem is I can see where Dana Brown has had, you know, played a role in. And I, it is very, there's such a stark contrast in the way that, you know, Dana Brown operates signing Josh Hader or Dana Brown operates going and getting out a Victor Caratini and a Taylor Scott. Like there's a very two ends of the spectrum to, you know, take a flyer out on two different guys and then one.
you know, the very pricey flashy move that I don't believe Dana Brown was very happy about or would have agreed to.
That's, I mean, and you know, he, I started all this off by talking about the comments that he made regarding the trade deadline. And I think that he doesn't really have a say in it. He's going to say whatever Jim Crane tells him to say, because he likes his job. You know, I would too, if I were him, you know, Jim Crane was the one that came out and said after the, the Josh Hader signing that, you know, the window was going to be open as long as I'm.
the owner, but he's really done some work to hamper that. And the position that they're in right now, they're, I believe, six games under 500, they're seven games out of the division. They've got to play some good baseball to get back in it if they genuinely want to be.
Buyers at the deadline because if they continue to keep playing the way that they have been, you know, just winning series, not sweeping and, you know, occasionally losing, you know, a series to a bad team. There there's no reason why they should be buying at the deadline. They need to be selling. They need to be getting assets in the minor leagues and they need to be building the farm system back up. They need to be getting prospects that they could potentially develop because the Astros have a very good player development system in place right now.
Everybody loves to hate on their minor league system, but they are constantly producing big league players that can go out and produce at some point. Like Chas McCormick and Jake Myers, for example, no one had them on the radar. Renell Blanco, no one had them on the radar. Before 2020, Christian Javier and Luis Garcia, no one had them on the radar. They're now big league staples. I mean, all of these guys, the Astros player development has produced, but...
You can't really do that right now when you have a subpar minor league system and you got to go build those assets back up. And that's why I think buying at the deadline would be a mistake. And like I said, he's going to say whatever, you know, Jim Crane wants to hear, I get that, but I would really like to see him, you know, go make the moves that he, he believes will benefit this team. And I'm going to end it there because we're almost 30 minutes in now, and you got to talk about the Braves.
Kirby D (26:59)
Alright Joe, well I mean overall that was a great Astros update. Some of the moves that Jim Crane decides that he wants to do were just frustrating. Because Dana Brown could have easily gone out and gotten two or three really solid relievers for the price of one Josh Hader. Who would have filled out that bullpen completely. They wouldn't have had the obvious holes there. And that bullpen would have actually been complete and had plenty of depth. Because that's one thing Dana Brown learned from Alex Anthopoulos is...
Joseph (27:17)
Yep.
Kirby D (27:28)
We don't run out of depth. We're not going to be caught with our pants down. We are going to have plenty of depth, quality depth.
Joseph (27:34)
The Ashras have been caught with their pants down.
Kirby D (27:37)
several times. So anyway, let me get into the Braves update here. It was also a 3 -3 week, but let me tell you, after Wednesday, this was a very doom and gloom type of week because they lost Tuesday and Wednesday, so the Orioles, and it looked really bad. Tuesday, Max Fried pitched. He threw five innings, he gave up four on runs, had two walks and three Ks.
He made one bad pitch really to Jorge Mateo and he put it into the seats for a three run bomb. For some reason, Brian Snicker thought it would be a fantastic job to put Marcelo Zuna in the five hole that night. Don't understand that one at all because he's arguably the MVP, which I will get into later. And this was actually the second time in like less than a week that they had actually been shut out.
And before their first shutout of this year, they had gone over a year without being shut out So it was very alarming to see him get shut out the offense. Well, I mean just did absolutely nothing And then Wednesday They also lost against the Orioles four to two Spencer swelling Bach though. Let me tell you we were six innings He only gave up four hits to a very good Orioles team gave up two on runs He had two walks and he'll and he had three caves. I
The command is there for Schwelly. I really like watching this guy pitch. He's got some plus plus pitches and He the command is just awesome to watch this guy is he's gonna stick in the rotation The Braves offense once again did not look good but in the top of the eighth Matt Olson came up and hit a Game -tying to run homer, so I'm like, okay. Well, at least we're not gonna get skunked You know, so that made it two to two well then at the bottom of the eighth they blew that freakin lead and
To Colton Kouser on a two run homer off Joe Jimenez And that was a ballgame. They lost four to two. So right there that actually dropped them to 35 and 30 on the year Which is kind of alarming and the offense like I said just man. It's just it was looking bad Anyway, so Thursday they played a day game And they actually actually ended up winning this game six to three
Reynaldo Lopez, kind of like Ronel Blanco, he's been the stopper this year. He threw six innings, no runs, one walk, eight Ks, and actually lowered his ERA to 169. Reynaldo Lopez is an all -star and he should be in the top three in the Scion conversation, probably outside of Rangers -Juarez. He looked fantastic. He's cool, calm, and collected on the mound. He doesn't get excited.
He can sit 93 to 95 and amp it up to 98 when he needs to. The dude is just absolutely just pitching, man. It's great to see. Michael Harris actually had probably a game -saving catch in center field in the ninth inning, which gave them two outs. Fantastic catch. I was like, man, this is like a total web shim here. And then another good sign from that day.
Ozzy Albie's had four hits and as a team the Braves hit five doubles. So five extra race hits. I'll take that all day. So like I said, they won that game six to three that ended their five game losing streak, which had been their longest losing streak since 2017. That was before they won their first of six division titles. So good to get back on track there. Then they come home and they play the Rays. The Rays have not been a good team this year, which is kind of surprising for them.
Friday night they played Chris sale came out ballin through seven innings He gave up two runs had two walks and he had seven case And he really didn't even have his best stuff, but that helped bring his era back down under three to 298 They offense actually had seven runs in the first two innings Which I just felt like 20 23 to me where they put up a crooked number in the first inning and then the game's over Ozuna and Riley both had a homer
and Riley was actually a triple short of the cycle. The only bad part about this game is Michael Harris led off the game with a single, Ozzy Albies hit a double right after that, and Harris came up kind of limp going to third, and turns out he's got a hamstring strain. So no telling how long this guy's gonna be out, it could be a month, could be six weeks. I'm not expecting to have him back until after the All -Star break.
Joseph (32:17)
Ahem.
Kirby D (32:20)
But they did win that game 7 -3. Offense looked great. I was very pleased to see that. Saturday, they won again 9 -2. Charlie Morton, kind of looked kind of rough in the first inning. But he ended up going six innings. He only gave up the one run in the first. Had two walks and eight Ks. Quality start. Great job Charlie Morton, 40 year old. The offense had four homers. And finally, something that we saw in this game.
I have been screaming this for like two weeks that Jared Kellnick needs to hit leadoff He made a swing adjustment I'm sorry a stance adjustment May 21st in Chicago. Okay, I have the numbers pulled up right here Since that stance adjustment adjustment. This is three yesterday on fan graphs Jared Kellnick has a 152 WRC plus He's sitting 308 with a 352 OBP and a 554 slug
and his K percentage is down like 9 points and he's actually taking his walks and if it wasn't for some umpires absolutely hoeing him on probably 3 or 4 different 3 -2 called strikes he'd probably have 3 or 4 more walks. So he gets to hit leadoff finally and then he hits a homer which is awesome. And like I said the Braves had 4 homers that day between their leadoff hitter their 3 -hole, 4 -hole and 5 -hole which was Kelnik, Ozuna, Olsen and Riley.
The guys that they need to get going, they were all going. Kalnick had three hits, Ozuna had three, Olsen had two, and Riley was actually on base three times with two walks and the homer. So really good to see from the middle of their order because Riley had really been struggling. He'd been going through it. So that was Saturday's game. They won that game 9 -2. And then today, today they lost 8 -6. However, the offense looked good again.
Hurston Walter pitched. He's just not ready for the big leagues. He's given up too many walks. But he's got good stuff. He's going to be a good major leaguer, but it's not his time yet. He's got sent back to Triple A. They're going to bring up another reliever to cover him. But he's just he's not ready yet. Kelnick and Riley Homer it again, which was great to see. Riley, that's three straight games for him with the Homer. The Braves need that guy going if they're going to win ballgames.
Matt Olson had three hits and Travis Darnow had two of them. This was actually their fourth straight game with six or more runs. So to say that the Braves offense is back, I'm going to go ahead and say that their offense is back. Kellenick is having some fantastic at bats from the leadoff spot. He's taking a lot of pitches. He's got a lot of power up there. For some reason, I guess since the stance adjustment, he just he looks a lot more comfortable up there. And like I said, if it wasn't for some umpires hoeing him,
3 -2 or whatnot, he would probably have a lot more walks as well. So that was the weekly update from the Braves. I think it's pretty positive looking forward because now they're going to play the Tigers who are not a good team. I mean, if the Astros can take two out of three, hopefully the Braves can at least take two out of three. Yeah, but let me say this though. A big part of their offense and their struggles...
Joseph (35:36)
Well.
Kirby D (35:43)
goes to Orlando Arcia and Adam Duvall. Orlando Arcia has a negative F -war since April 19th. For those of you who don't know, that actually factors in offense and defense. So for those of you who say, well, his defense is making up for it, no, it's not. He is a negative war player since April 19th. That is like an eight week stretch now. However,
My guy Nacho Alvarez has a 394 OBP between AA and AAA. He doesn't have a ton of power, but he gets on base a lot. He takes his walks. He hustles and he's got decent speed. And so far he actually looks like he's playing shortstop pretty well. So I'm not saying that Orlando Arce's job is on the line, but...
Nacho Alvarez is knocking on the door telling him that he needs to get it in here because Nacho looks like he wants to play pro ball. He doesn't have a lot of power, but man that OBP at 394 through those two leagues just screams a guy that's going to hit nine hole for the Braves and then be on base two or three times a game and really being helping those guys at the top driving runs.
Adam Duvall is unplayable against right -handed pitching, but Brian Snicker keeps running him out there. He must have blackmail on Snicker. That's all I can figure because Duvall is literally worse than we would be, Joe. I'm not even kidding. He is absolutely atrocious against right -handed pitching. It's awful. I would give a dumpster a shot in right field before I would get Adam Duvall another chance. He is horrible against right -handed pitching. I don't know if he needs a day off or an IL stint.
But man, it's rough to see him out there. And then I said I was actually going to talk about Marcelo Zuna. Yes, I am. For those of you who don't know, Marcelo Zuna is having a career year. He is leading the National League. Now, this is through some of yesterday. With an OPS, home runs, RBIs, total bases, OPS plus runs created and a whole bunch of nerd stats on baseball reference.
That's really good. Shohei Otani is not leading in those categories. Ozuna is also second in batting average. He's sixth in hits. He's fourth in OBP and he's second in extra base hits. I know that people want to say Keitel Marte is the MVP because of the war numbers or maybe you look at Shohei because of his war numbers. I don't care because...
If we're talking about most valuable, without Marcelo Zuna, the Braves are an under 500 team and their season is very doom and gloom. Marcelo Zuna is 100 % in my opinion, the NL MVP right now. I don't like the whole idea of the war stats to begin with because DHs obviously get knocked because of their lack of defense, which I don't get if you don't play, how do you get knocked on that?
But anyway, I still believe that I think right now Ozuna is the MVP over Marte. Other than that, one person I did not mention on that MVP list and because of what happened today is Mookie Betts. Probably my favorite player outside of the Braves and Astros organization. Mookie Betts actually fractured his hand today. Got hit with a 98 mile an hour pitch. I don't know how long he's going to be out.
I would imagine four to six weeks. But I absolutely hate that for Mookie because I love watching that dude play. So that just sucks for Mookie. And then also too, more Dodger news. Yamamoto is actually gonna be out due to a strained rotator cuff on the 15 day IL. So no telling how many starts he's gonna miss. But in my opinion, Yamamoto and Mookie being out is the same as Ronnie and Strider being out.
That is their comp. So the Dodgers depth is once again going to be tested and we'll see how they do. Once again, their division sucks. So they'll probably hold that divisionally just fine. But it's tough seeing both of those guys out. I want to see the stars healthy, that's for sure. Joe, what else we got today?
Joseph (40:22)
well, you covered the Dodgers injury news. the Yankees were the first team to 50 wins this week. and gosh darn it. If there was ever a year where I want to pluck my eyeballs out during the world series, I think this one might be the year because it's really shaping up to be, to be a Yankees Dodgers world series. So far, I know that you still got to go through the crazy test of the postseason, but I mean,
The Yankees lead all of baseball and runs scored and runs allowed. And they have just, they do everything right now. I mean, I still don't understand how people were down on them going into the season. I don't know if I've brought up, you know, getting back a healthy Anthony Rizzo and a healthy Aaron Judge. Anthony Rizzo has been garbage, I think for a little while now so far this year, if I'm not mistaken.
I heard some reports that the Yankees were trying to figure out what they're going to do with him, but Jesus, man. I mean, they're just, they're solid in almost every facet of the game. And that's without Garrett Cole, who has made a couple of rehab starts now. So, who knows how much better they are going to get once he returns. It's just.
I mean, you got to give the props to them as just someone who likes to see competitive baseball. I mean, they've just they made they went out if they knew what they needed to do this offseason and they made the moves that they needed to, you know, regardless of what the cost was. You know, and that's something I like to see from teams. I like teams that are aggressive. I hate it as an Astros fan because, you know, the Yankees have.
You know, been in our way for a couple of runs to the World Series, you know, obviously not stopping us, but you know, they've been in the way kind of 2022. It was more of like a, you know, just a small, you know, little fly that we just swatted away, but you know, in 2017, they gave us a run for our money. 2019 was pretty, you know, exciting, but, you know, I, I mean, they're just, they're
They're playing out of their mind. The Dodgers are also going crazy right now. I mean, with their stacked top half of the lineup. I don't know how they're going to bounce back or I don't know how they're going to compete without Mookie who has been on pace for an MVP to the season up there with Otani and Ozuna. But and especially losing Yamamoto, who has been better as of late, it's going to be very interesting to see how.
the rest of their season plays out because you know, Lord only knows how long both Mookie and Yamamoto are going to be out with some pretty serious injuries. I mean, the Phillies are also on a tear. I mean, they're not me. I don't even know what to say anymore. They pitch really well. They did just lose a big series against Baltimore. But I mean, Baltimore has also been killing it. I mean, you called it earlier this season. Gunnar Henderson has been.
playing out of his mind. He's also up there for an AL MVP. The Guardians have been playing good. The whole AL Central is just an interesting case study. I don't know if they're gonna continue to all play this well, but the Guardians, Kansas City, and the Twins are all playing some pretty good baseball. No, I don't know if...
If they can sustain that, like, I don't know how sustainable it is for all three of them to be this good, but they've so far all played really good. And honestly, I think that the Royals are probably. I would say out of the three teams, I think the Royals and the guardians are the most real. I think the twins could potentially be frauds, but you know, we have to wait for the season to play out. I think that the twins lack real depth, pitching wise.
And I don't know if their lineup can really keep it going, but we'll see. Maybe they make some moves at the deadlines to shore up some of their weaknesses. But yeah, I mean, I don't know. That's.
Kirby D (44:44)
Can we talk about a team that is not lacking pitching depth and especially starting pitching?
Joseph (44:53)
Alright, we're going to talk about the Mariners because they've also been playing really well as of late and they've been pulling away from... They've been separating themselves from the AL West.
Kirby D (44:59)
So.
So as of yesterday, they played in 73 games and their starters had thrown 45 quality starts. That is six better than the next team, which is the Phillies. That's unreal for those of you who don't know. That is phenomenal. If they go out and get a bat or two at the trade deadline, which they absolutely should, and they said they will,
Joseph (45:15)
Yeah, that isn't real. Yeah.
Yep.
Kirby D (45:31)
That Mariner's team is going to be really good going into the postseason.
Joseph (45:34)
Yeah, so I was talking to my dad earlier and I told him straight up, I said, you know, if there's one team that's going to ruin my scenario of the Yankees and Dodgers World Series, I think it could be the Mariners. I really do. They remind me a lot of the 2022 Astros and I follow the Mariners closely, especially right now because of the position the Astros put themselves in. But this team reminds me a lot of the 2020 Houston Astros, the 2022 Houston Astros.
just one of the most dominant pitching staffs and you know, the history of the game, that's why 22 Astros team, one of the most dominant bullpens of all time. And the regular season and in the postseason, and you know, a really solid starting rotation. and the app, the 2022 Astros didn't need to score very many runs to win baseball games. and you know, they.
because the pitching would pitch so well that, you know, they score three or four runs and the game is over because you just know that you could hand the ball off to any guy in there and, you know, they're gonna shut it down. And that's what really the Mariners do remind me of. I mean, they're not blowing teams out. They're not, you know, they're not doing anything particularly well on offense, but they're getting some timely hits. They're putting that best together. They're keeping it close, late in games. And then they're finding a way to,
to get those one or two extra hits that, you know, they've played in a lot of close games and they've had a couple, they've had their fair share of walk -offs so far this season and late inning wins. So their pitching staff is keeping them in games and their offense is doing just enough. And I think that that perfectly embodies the 2022 Astros. And I think that, like you said, if they go out and get a bat, that they could really be a contender for sure.
Which sucks, obviously for me, but as a fan of baseball, their games are so fun to watch with the energy that those fans bring in Seattle. They may be some stupid people online, but they do know how to cheer for their teams up there in Seattle. That's all you can really ask for is a good atmosphere at a baseball game.
Kirby D (47:56)
I mean, it's unreal looking at their one in one run games this year. The Mariners are 17 and seven. Good for a second away percentage.
Joseph (48:02)
That's like almost that that's almost the exact opposite of what the Astros are. So it's just it's really a tale of two seasons. Honestly, I mean just it's I don't even want to get back into it, but it's been tough. It's been a struggle run one game one run games. The Astros are five and 14. So there you go. It's literally almost the exact opposite.
Kirby D (48:09)
Yeah.
Joseph (48:31)
The Astros have been in positions to flip their record. I mean, they've given themselves the chances. They're just not getting those timely hits like the Mariners are. Which is why some people still believe that the season is salvageable because you have a ball or two fall when they don't. And maybe the outlook on the season is a lot different, but it's not happening for this team. Quite honestly.
You know, I do think that it's a crapshoot. I think that with all the injuries that keep piling up, you know, we don't know how severe the verlander injury is. I know that he did throw today. but you know, you've got Tucker still out, you know, everybody was saying that he was going to be back by Friday and he still hasn't done any baseball activity. You know, he might need a little bit of a stint.
Kirby D (49:20)
And they said quality. Yeah, they were saying, I guess yesterday, that he's gonna need some rehab games.
Joseph (49:28)
Yeah, he's probably going to need some rehab games and just the inconsistency with the lineup and just, you know, compile all of these things that the bad bullpen, the back half of the bullpen, you know, Ryan Presley, a Ken came in today and did not. He, I mean, he got out of it without giving up a run, but he, he wasn't able to get a clean inning. He gave up the one hit or the first hit of the game.
when he took the ball in the eighth, Josh Hader gave up a run, you know, he's been giving up a lot of hard contact lately. Someone was saying online is like, Jesus Christ is every time Josh Hader comes in, is someone going to have to make a leaping grab at the wall? Because I've seen that on a handful of occasions so far this year where he's been saved by good defensive plays at the wall. Obviously he wasn't saved during that walk off against the angels, but like good Lord.
Can we get some consistency from this team? That's all it takes. It's just the smidgest amount of consistency from everybody at one time. And I truly do believe that this team could find themselves in a race, but that it just hasn't happened so far this year. It hasn't happened. They need, something needs to go right for them to where they figure it out. But I mean, that's, it's, it's been frustrating. It's been frustrating to watch and they're not a good team. And I can admit that as a fan of the team.
that's just that simple.
Kirby D (50:58)
I mean, Joe, do you think Dana Brown has been saying that they are going to be buyers at the deadline? He's been very hard nosed on that. Do you think they are actually going to be buyers? Because right now I think they're what, seven games under 500?
Joseph (51:13)
They are six games under 500. They are nine games back at the division and they are seven and a half games back of a wild card spot, I believe. Seven, just seven games back. And it's interesting. So Jim Bowden, a writer for the athletic came out with an article this week highlighting every team's needs and with Dana Brown's comments on the fact that the Astros will be buyers at the deadline. He didn't say they might be. He didn't say, you know,
We'll see. It has literally been straight up. We will be buyers at the deadline. So it has been an attitude change, you know, from earlier on in the season. He wrote that the Astros will be targeting starting pitching, which he said that the Astros, I mean, sorry, Dana Brown said that the Astros are we're going to look to acquire two starting pitchers at the deadline. He said that without even any pressure. So that just tells you where his mentality is at.
They're going to try to look for starting pitching a first baseman and a reliever. And the starting pitchers that they have listed are Jesus Lazzardo, Garret crochet, Luis Severino, Tyler Anderson, Jack Flaherty, Eric Fried and Trevor Williams, who is currently on the I L a first baseman that they're going to be looking to target or Peter Lanzo, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Paul Goldschmidt. Goldschmidt has been awful. Peter Lanzo was a contract dump for the Mets. Well, actually, no, he's going to be a free agent.
The end of this year, correct? It's an expiring. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So he's it's not a it's not a salary dump more of a he's just gonna be a free agent. So they want to get rid of him as a rental Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The Blue Jays aren't playing well. They're looking I think to do the same thing as the Mets will be to Pete Alonso because I don't think he signed a contract yet either. so, you know, I think
Kirby D (52:42)
Correct. Correct.
Joseph (53:07)
Paul Goldschmidt has been bad. Paul Goldschmidt would be a contract dump. And I don't, I'm not sure how many years he has left on his contract, but he is making some money. So that would also that it would, if he's on an expiring deal, that would be an expiring deal and a salary dump at the same time. And then some relief pitchers are Kyle Finnegan, Michael Koepke, Lucas Urkeg and then Tanner Scott. So not Taylor, Ursegg.
Kirby D (53:34)
nursing.
Joseph (53:36)
Yeah, I don't know how to pronounce that weird ass spelling. But and then Tanner Scott.
Kirby D (53:40)
Basically, it's not.
Joseph (53:43)
Sorry, what'd you say?
Kirby D (53:44)
Ursaeg is really good. He's got great stuff.
Joseph (53:49)
okay. Well, anyhow, and then Tanner Scott, not Taylor Scott, are the relief pit round out the relief pitchers at the Astro. He's Jim Bowden say that the Astros target. And that's that's pretty long list of guys. I don't know if they have the assets to go out and get literally any one of them because I think that the Astros might have one or two guys in the minor leagues that they do like one of them.
being someone who threw or was part of a combined no hitter this weekend for this space, not the space Cowboys, the Corpus Christi hooks. And I believe his name is Jake Bloss, who was the Astros number 10 prospect. He's got a 98 mile per hour fastball. He throws strikes and he's got good power stuff and he's got good movement on his secondary pitches.
And Dana Brown came out and said that they're not afraid to promote guys fast. And I think that that would be someone who if God forbid another injury happen might get the call up sometime soon, depending on how serious Verlander's injury could be. But that might be someone that teams are looking for at the deadline because the archetype that he is is something that a lot of teams value in a prospect.
so I don't know if they're willing to give up on him or give him away for a rental when, you know, the season could very well be lost at this point. I don't think it would make sense. I think would make more sense to trade a guy like Alex Bergman who we, who we have a little bit of news about. so, you know,
Kirby D (55:41)
Yeah, -
Joseph (55:41)
trade a guy like Bregman and get rid of a piece like Chaz for somebody, but more specifically Alex Bregman because Kirby is about to mention a Y.
Kirby D (55:51)
Okay, Joe. So the other day I was out at a restaurant and I was talking to some people and we overheard them talking about baseball. So I'm like, Hey, me, me and my buddy, Joe, we have a podcast. And so I was trying to promote the pod a little bit. And so we started talking about the Astros. and one of them, is basically friends of friends, of Alex Bregman's wife. and they, she cuts her hair and apparently his wife.
stated that they want to get out of dodge. They want to be out of Houston. So if that is true, if they really do not want to come back to Houston, if they are done living in Houston, I'm trading Alex Bregman. Especially if you are a few games under 500, if the playoff odds are maybe not in your favor, maybe they're less than 50%.
If I know for sure, if I'm Dana Brown, I go to Bregman or his agent and I say, look, do you want to sign an extension here? And if the answer is no, and especially if it's a hard no, that guy's gone. Trade into a contender and get some kind of value back because he will be valuable to another team specifically. He can play third base well, he could DH, he can get on base at a good clip, he can hit doubles.
He can get some value, even though a lot of times it doesn't look like it. But I would actually trade him, especially if they're not in a position to possibly make the postseason. And you know that he doesn't want to come back. I'm sure there are a lot of teams that would like to have him playing third base instead of their current one. There's a lot of teams in the National League right now, just looking at the standings, who are in the race, because the National League right now sucks.
I mean, I think there's only like four or five teams total in the National League that are even above 500. So you've got the Padres, the Nationals, the Diamondbacks, the Giants, the Reds, the Pirates, the Cubs, and the Mets, who are all a game and a half out of the third wild card spot. Alex Brayman could go play third for pretty much any of those teams, except maybe a couple that haven't established third baseman.
And like I said, I don't know if that rumor is true or not, but I found it very interesting that he and his wife do not want to come back to Houston. And if they don't buy, trade him, you know, get some kind of value for him, whether it's a starter, a reliever, somebody with some contractual control, or maybe a highly thought after prospect. Maybe this is kind of my thought, Joe. Maybe they replace him.
with a starter and that's one less thing they have to look for next year or during the offseason. Or maybe they look for an outfielder. I don't know. It would be really interesting to see what he could get at the trade deadline for sure, especially depending on how he's playing or maybe how he plays over the last two months.
Joseph (59:08)
Yeah, maybe they look for his replacement. Maybe they look for a minor league player that handles the hot corner very well and has a good bat. I mean, who knows? I mean, if that rumor is true, Alex Bergman continues to play well. He's raised his average to 240 and he's now got a 103 WRC plus. I mean,
Kirby D (59:17)
Definitely.
Joseph (59:34)
He's going to be a hot commodity at the deadline. And if he doesn't want to be here, then we don't want him here. Honestly, quite honestly, like if we're going to continue to play crappy baseball and as a team, we need those reinforcements in the minors or we need some control for some pitching. Then get out, go, go play for a contender for half a season. And then you figure out what you want to do with your life in the off season. I mean, I hate to be as blunt as it is, but I mean, this city has given him everything.
You know, and if he doesn't want to be here, then. Bye, the team is not playing well. You're part of the reason why the team hasn't been playing well. You know, you reap what you sow and so get out. Like give us something more valuable. I mean, that's really how I can put it. I think the Astros have done a bad job of keeping their star players over the years. I know that you know.
Kirby D (1:00:21)
I agree.
Joseph (1:00:33)
Look, you know looking back at it, you know contracts like George Springer's contract haven't really panned out the way that the Blue Jays wanted it Carlos Correa has continued his injury problems as a twin, but when he does play he has played decent for them But you know that that's some guy that's that's Carlos Correa Honestly is the guy that I look at the most and I I wish that The Astros kept just because it was leadership and you know that he wanted to be here He wasn't afraid to be outspoken
when other guys in the Ashrows Clubhouse were taking a pounding after the sign -stealing scandal. That's a guy that rode for his teammates. And Alex Bregman, he kind of just curled up into his shell and he hasn't been the same player since. And he hasn't had that same energy and I think everybody can tell. And if he doesn't wanna be here, then...
Give us something valuable at least. I mean, I know that if we don't trade him and we just get a qualifying offer from him and he doesn't sign with us, we do get a draft pick, which could be pretty good if we continue to be bad this year. But getting a solidified prospect who has actually played instead of taking a flyer on someone who hasn't played in the minors, I think is the more surefire bet.
Kirby D (1:01:46)
Honestly, that's not a bad thing.
Joseph (1:01:59)
you know, I would take that probably seven out of 10 times. So, you know, I just, it's frustrating to hear that, as someone who's been a fan of this team, you know, from day one, dating back to before 2017, obviously, but you know, he's, he's gone through his struggles here. You know, he started off his career. I believe it was like one for 32 and 2016. I mean,
And we, I mean, we built a culture around him because we believed in him and we didn't give up on him. And, you know, to see that, you know, he doesn't want to be here as a little disheartening. I'm not going to lie. And I get it. You know, these athletes, they're drafted to these teams and cities that they have no connection to, most of the time. And they want to go be, you know, where they're familiar. You know, I believe that that's probably what Kyle Tucker wants to do. He wants to be in Florida.
because he's another player that I've heard does not want to be here as well. But you know, if they sometimes money talks, and I don't think that the Astros have done a good job of giving their star players money. But at the same time, I do think that they have been fair to Bregman. It just sucks that he doesn't want to be here anymore is really what I'm getting at.
Kirby D (1:03:17)
Agreed. Joe, is there anything else on the Doctrine Night that we need to talk about? We've talked about Bregman not wanting to be in Houston. We have talked about our teams very much in depth. I have one. Shout out to Orbit for making it into the Mascot Hall of Fame. I love that for Orbit. Fantastic Mascot. Other than that, Joe, what else is there?
I think we pretty much wrapped everything up.
Joseph (1:03:47)
There's nothing. Yeah, there's nothing really else for me. I basically got all of my rants from today and that I've been holding back. Not really. But yeah, I mean that pretty much wraps it up for the Astros. Hopefully they can go out this week and beat a really bad White Sox team and then you know, be competitive against a really good Baltimore Royals team. I shouldn't even be saying competitive because honestly a lot of these games that they've been losing have been competitive.
Kirby D (1:04:16)
Mm -hmm.
Joseph (1:04:17)
I want them to go beat the brace off the wheels. I don't want close games. I want I want them to pound them Probably not gonna happen It'll probably be like a heartbreaking three to two loss where they blow the lead and you know the eighth inning Ryan Pressley's probably gonna go up like two doubles back -to -back and that's gonna be the game but you know, I Like I'm starting a rant again. I'm done Have a happy Father's Day. Have a good week. I
Kirby D (1:04:45)
I have one more thing that I'll close on and then I'm gonna give one last update about the pod itself. So today, June, what is it, 16th, this was actually the 10 year anniversary since we lost Tony Gwynn. Joe knows this, I am a contact hitter just like Tony Gwynn. I don't do much more than that. We were even kind of built the same.
I love Tony Gwynn. I love what he did for the game. I love watching him play. I love his hitting philosophies. He's a Hall of Famer, 15 time All -Star, seven time Silver Slugger, eight time Batting champ, 3 ,141 hits. He hit 394 in 1994 and he had 200 hits five different seasons.
So just shout out to Tony Gwynn. Really wish he was still alive and still with us because his knowledge, his wisdom and his love for the game was just like none other. So shout out to Tony Gwynn. And then the last thing, Joe, that I have for the night is obviously we've been on YouTube for a long time now since the pod started. But as of this week, we are actually on Apple podcast as well. So if you could go to the Throwing Partners pod.
Our logo is on there, so it's easy to find. If you could leave us a five -star review, that would really help the show. We would really appreciate that. And then also, please remember to like, share, and subscribe to our YouTube channel. That also helps our show. And thanks, everybody, for listening. Sorry that we rancid a little bit, but sometimes it's just needed, because our teams right now are just a little bit frustrating. So thanks again, everybody.
Have a wonderful Father's Day and we'll see you next week.