Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Daily Notes.

1. What Some Might Call “News”
2. Notable MLB Games (Including MLB.TV Free Game)
3. Today’s Complete Schedule

What Some Might Call “News”
Regarding This So-Called News, What It Is
The news today is that — according to (a) the entire internet and, specifically, (b) the Associated Press — is that Jim Thome has been traded from Philadelphia to Baltimore in exchange for minor leaguers Kyle Simon and catcher Gabriel Lino.

That News, What It Means for Baltimore
For Baltimore, what the trade means is — or, what the present author assumes it means — is that Thome will play a lot of DH for the Orioles, effective immediately.

Who’s DH’d for Baltimore This Season
Here’s who’s DH’d for Baltimore to date (courtesy Baseball Reference): Nick Johnson (19 times), Chris Davis (19 times), Mark Reynolds (12 times), assorted others (the rest of the times).

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Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Daily Notes.

1. Featured Game: Oakland at Texas, 19:15 ET
2. Other Notable Games (Including MLB.TV Free Game)
3. Today’s Complete Schedule

Featured Game: Oakland at Texas, 19:15 ET
What’s Notable About This Game
What’s particularly notable about this game is left-hander Martin Perez is starting it for Texas.

Regarding Perez, Who That Even Is
Perez has been a top prospect in the Rangers organization for some time, having been ranked by Baseball America among said organization’s top-five prospects each of the last four years — including third overall this season.

Regarding Perez, Where He’s Ranked on Four Other Lists
Here’s where Perez was ranked on four other preseason prospect lists:

• Kevin Goldstein, Baseball Prospectus: 2nd

• Marc Hulet, FanGraphs: 2nd

• Jonathan Mayo, MLB.com: 2nd

• John Sickels, Minor League Ball: 2nd

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It’s probably true that basically any idiot can capture and render into GIF form video footage of a few pitches from Trevor Bauer’s much-anticipated major-league debut on Thursday. Only one such idiot, however, both (a) writes for FanGraphs and (b) has 15 free minutes on Friday evening.

This guy, is who.

So, without anything further in the way of preface, here are three select pitches from Bauer’s debut. (Note: for each pitch, both velocity and movement — horizontal and then vertical — are listed. League-average velocity/movement indicated in parentheses).

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Episode 207
RotoGraphs contributor Howard Bender is the guest on this Fantasy Friday edition of FanGraphs Audio.

Discussed:
• Reliever turnover, what points in the season are more and less prone to it.
• Trevor Bauer vs. Andrew Cashner, the eternal debate of the last day and a half.
• Stephen Drew, his value in the second half.

Don’t hesitate to direct pod-related correspondence to @cistulli on Twitter.

You can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or other feeder things.

Audio after the jump. (Approximately 43 min. play time.)

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Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Daily Notes.

1. Featured Game: Detroit at Tampa Bay, 19:10 ET
2. Other Notable Games (Including MLB.TV Free Game)
3. Today’s Complete Schedule

Featured Game: Detroit at Tampa Bay, 19:10 ET
Regarding This Game, What’s Notable About It
What’s notable about this game between the Tigers and Rays is how the starters for both teams — that is to say, Justin Verlander (117.2 IP, 82 xFIP-, 3.8 WAR) and David Price (97.2 IP, 83 xFIP-, 1.9 WAR) — are generally regarded as Top Ace Pitchers, Thumbs Up!

Regarding What Makes Them Top Ace Pitchers
In terms of why both Verlander and Price are considered top aces, a lot of it — the lion’s share, one might even say — has to do with their ability to prevent runs.

Verlander and Price, Another of Their Praiseworthy Qualities
Another of Price’s and Verlander’s praiseworthy qualities is how they’ve recorded the second- and fourth-highest average fastball velocities (95.6 and 94.5 mph, respectively) among qualified starters this season.

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Episode 206
David Laurila, curator of FanGraphs’ Q&A Series, talks with Atlanta Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez and shortstop Andrelton Simmons.

Don’t hesitate to direct pod-related correspondence to @cistulli on Twitter.

You can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or other feeder things.

Audio after the jump. (Approximately 21 min. play time.)

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Daily Notes.

1. Featured Game: Arizona at Atlanta, 19:10 ET
2. Other Notable Games (Including MLB.TV Free Game)
3. Today’s Complete Schedule

Featured Game: Arizona at Atlanta, 19:10 ET
Regarding What’s About to Happen Tonight
What’s about to happen tonight is pitching prospect Trevor Bauer of the Diamondbacks will make his major-league debut in Atlanta, against the Braves.

Need-to-Know Information, So Far as That’s Concerned
When you talk about need-to-know information insofar as Arizona right-hander Trevor Bauer is concerned, what you’re talking about is how Trevor Bauer’s a right-handed pitcher with Arizona who throws with his right hand.

Video Evidence
Here’s some video evidence of Trevor Bauer throwing with his right hand, as reported (exclusively) by the author above.

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Episode 205
Dayn Perry, contributor to CBS Sports’ Eye on Baseball and author of two books (one of them serviceable), makes his weekly appearance on FanGraphs Audio.

Don’t hesitate to direct pod-related correspondence to @cistulli on Twitter.

You can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or other feeder things.

Audio after the jump. (Approximately 54 min. play time.)

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Daily Notes.

1. Three Notable Promotions
2. Notable MLB Games (Including MLB.TV Free Game)
3. Today’s Complete Schedule

Three Notable Promotions
The Big News in the World
The big news in the world — besides the fact that you and I haven’t shuffled off this mortal coil — is that three notable prospects either (a) have just been or (b) are about to be promoted to the majors.

Who They Are
Here are the names of those three prospects. Names accompanied by facts. Facts enriched by notation.

Player: Trevor Bauer, RHP, ARI
Line: 93.0 IP, 11.23 K/9, 4.65 BB/9, 0.48 HR/9, 3.02 FIP* at Double- and Triple-A
Notes: While Bauer has not been officially promoted to the majors (so far as I can tell), Jack Magruder of FOX Sports Arizona — and probably a number of other sources — confirm that Bauer will be recalled on Thursday and also will start that day. If you’re reading these words, you’re likely familiar with Bauer. He was selected third overall in the 2011 draft out of UCLA. Our Marc Hulet ranked him first among Diamondbacks prospects entering the season. He (Bauer, not Hulet) has real ideas about pitching. Of course, if you’re not reading these words — are, for example, having them read aloud to you by an intern or manservant or something — then you don’t really need to know who Trevor Bauer is, probably.

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Yesterday, in these pages, I suggested that possibly — if not probably — Detroit right-hander Justin Verlander could have entered the seventh inning of his Sunday start against Pittsburgh in pursuit of his third career no-hitter. The basis for that suggestion rested on the fact that both of the hits he allowed before that seventh inning were (a) of the infield variety and (b) hit in the direction of Miguel Cabrera, who is generally speaking considered to be something of a defensive liability at third base.

With that in mind, I provided video footage of the two hits — a bunt single by outfielder Alex Presley and an infield hit for catcher Michael McKenry — allowed by Verlander through the first six innings. With regard to each hit, I asked the learned, bespectacled readership to answer a single question — namely, “Do you think a league-average third baseman would convert this batted-ball into an out?”

Now here are the results:

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