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Greetings, fellow baseball enjoyers! And welcome to our thrice-weekly newsletter/blog.
My name’s AJ… and this is Two-Strike Count.
Contreras injury latest blow for Cardinals (and catchers)
When JD Martinez’s swing caught Cardinals catcher Wilson Contreras on the arm Tuesday night, St Louis fans must’ve thought, “here we go again.” The last couple years have been rough for them, and things don’t appear to be getting better anytime soon. The Redbirds are off to a 15-21 start and already occupying the NL Central cellar.
And now, they’ll be without their All-Star backstop for a while, as Contreras is expected to be out at least 6 to 8 weeks. Obviously it’s a bad situation for Contreras, the Cardinals, and their fans, but it’s also part of a much bigger (and disturbing) trend for big league catchers.
Catchers are being hit by swings at such an alarming rate that MLB even sent teams a memo about it before Opening Day. So what’s causing it? In a word… strategy. Catchers keep moving closer to home plate to make it easier for them to “frame” pitches and, in theory at least, get more favorable strike calls for their team.
MLB’s memo this spring basically told them to knock it off… but they haven’t. Look, I understand that working the strike zone (and the umps) is a big part of today’s game, but this strategy comes with way too high a price tag.
And if teams won’t listen to MLB, maybe they’ll pay attention now that one of baseball’s best catchers is sidelined with a broken arm.
Hopefully.
Because I hate to think what could happen if they don’t.
No, Mason Miller isn’t on the trading block
Imagine my surprise when I stumbled across an article about growing trade interest in A’s lights-out closer Mason Miller. Apparently, teams have been calling Oakland to inquire about what it would take to acquire the 25 year-old fireballer. Okay, I guess I shouldn’t be that surprised considering the year he’s having.
Miller’s racked up 8 saves so far while posting an absurd 1.10 ERA, 33 strikeouts, and .673 WHIP.
What would be surprising, though, is the A’s entertaining any trade offer. At least for now. We’re nearly at the quarter point of the season and Oakland is only 4 games out of first place in the AL West. No, that’s not a typo. 4 games. This has gotta be the longest they’ve been out of the cellar in a very long time. And, despite all the drama around their possible move to Las Vegas (which is far from a done deal, by the way), the A’s are playing some pretty damn good baseball.
Throw in the fact that any team interested in making a deal for Miller would have to (rightfully so) give up a king’s ransom, and I just don’t see any scenario where the A’s move him.
Although, to be fair, we are talking about the team owned by John Fisher (AKA the worst owner in baseball)... so I guess anything’s possible.
What to expect in Skenes’ debut
Pirates’ top draft pick Paul Skenes (pronounced Skeenes as I’ve just recently learned) is set to make his highly-anticipated MLB debut this Saturday. Against the division rival Cubs, no less.
So… what can we expect from Skenes’ first start in The Show?
Well, for starters, he’s got electric stuff. His pitch arsenal includes a two-seam fastball he can dial up to triple digits, a four-seamer, a change-up, and… a splinker? Yeah… splinker. That’s Skenes’ splitter-sinker hybrid of sorts that looks like a fastball out of his hand before dropping off the table.
Oh yeah, MLB hitters are gonna love that.
But how will Skenes fare against those big league hitters? How will he adjust to the talent gap between Triple-A and the bigs?
Having watched a few of his games this year, I’ve got every reason to believe he’ll be just fine. I’d expect him to go about 4 innings in his first start and for the splinker to leave hitters (especially lefties) perplexed. At least until they adjust to it.
And they will adjust. These are the best hitters on the planet, afterall. And there’ll be plenty of hard-hit balls. But on the whole, Skenes should show the Pirates why drafting him number one overall was a smart move.
Boy, what I wouldn’t give to at PNC Park on Saturday.
That’s it for this edition of Two-Strike Count, baseball fans. Until next time!
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