Department: Amateur Scouting Reports to: Senior Analyst, Baseball R&D Location: St. Petersburg, FL
Overview
The Amateur Data Technician will sit at the intersection of Amateur Scouting and Data Engineering, ensuring the completeness, accuracy, and accessibility of college/high school data to maximize its impact on the player evaluation process for the annual MLB Draft. This person will develop a thorough understanding of available data sources and the full data pipeline, from ingestion into the database through integration into the amateur model. The technician will work alongside analysts and engineers to support and maintain data pipelines, ensure reliable and complete data delivery, develop quality-control processes, identify and reduce query bottlenecks, and explore opportunities to incorporate underutilized information. The technician will also gain an understanding of the amateur model, assist with its day-to-day operation and maintenance, and support various ad hoc statistical and draft-related tasks.
Responsibilities:
(65%) Amateur Data Oversight
Develop and maintain processes to track data delivery and ensure completeness
Implement quality checks to identify recurring issues, including erroneous or duplicate data
Develop a working understanding of existing data pipeline frameworks and historical considerations
Partner with Amateur Scouting staff to improve the accuracy and efficiency of data mapping processes
Optimize existing queries and develop new ones to reduce data-access bottlenecks
Maintain a thorough understanding of amateur data sources and their characteristics
(35%) Amateur Analytical Support
Understand the amateur model framework and impact of underlying data sources
Assist with the execution and maintenance of the amateur model pipeline
Conduct ad hoc analytical explorations and support other draft-related tasks
Qualifications:
Applied experience with SQL and relational databases
Fluency in R
Experience working with large or complex datasets and troubleshooting data-quality issues
Working knowledge of statistical modeling and machine learning
Experience in amateur baseball or with TrackMan data a plus
Fluency in Python a plus
All offers are contingent on a satisfactory background check.
We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital or veteran status, or any other protected class.
There’s still a bit more baseball to be played this year — the most important baseball, in fact. But after the Dodgers got eliminated Thursday night, swept out of the NLCS by the Brewers, there are now 27 teams looking primarily at the offseason. When they get there, they’ll find a rather thin free agent market, especially if they are not the one to sign Tarik Skubal to the largest contract for a pitcher not named Brita. But even in a weak free agent market, there are plenty of lower-key free agents who would be nice fits for some teams, and being that I find myself employed as a baseball writer, I thought it might be fun to talk about some of them.
The Pirates’ offense had nearly a 50-point OPS platoon split disadvantage against lefties in 2026. Pirates DHs combined for an 83 wRC+ this year. Bringing in Seiya Suzuki would help immensely for both problems. Whether they play Suzuki at DH or shift another outfielder there, the Pirates were so close to the playoffs that it makes no sense to stick to their normal DH plan of Let’s Find a Dude Who Fans Will Remember Being Really Good 10 Years Ago.
When Petey Halpin hit a home run to lift the Cleveland Guardians to a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in yesterday’s ALCS Game 3, it came as a surprise to many. That’s understandable. Coming into October, the 24-year-old outfielder had left the yard just four times in 203 major league plate appearances. Moreover, his career wRC+ was a paltry 69, and as Eric Longenhagen wrote back in May of last year, “Halpin has tracked like a future fifth outfielder for practically his entire pro career based largely on his speed and defense.” A power hitter he is not.
That said, he’s by no means devoid of juice. Not only did Halpin hammer 14 home runs with Triple-A Columbus last season — a career best since being selected in the third round of the 2020 draft — our lead prospect analyst recognized his under-the-radar thump when ranking him 13th in the Guardians system in 2022. Eric noted that, “Though he’s wiry and skinny looking, Halpin has sneaky pop.”
Cleveland’s unexpected Game 3 hero smiled appreciatively when I told him of Eric’s assessment during the final week of the regular season. He had hit an impactful home run just two weeks prior — more on that in a moment — so I asked him about his potential to provide more power than he has thus far displayed in The Show. Read the rest of this entry »
Orange County native Jake Bauers placed a stake against the heart of the two-time defending champion Dodgers, and Garrett Mitchell and Aaron Ashby drove it home. After an initial four-run flourish from the Dodgers offense, the Brewers plated six unanswered runs; they took the lead in the sixth and never looked back. Ashby worked three scoreless and twice stranded the tying run at third base. The Brewers won Game 4, swept the mighty Dodgers, and are now headed to their first World Series since 1982.
Initially, it looked as though fortune favored Tyler Glasnow and the Dodgers. Brewers star outfielder Jackson Chourio hit an absolute rocket on the first pitch of the game, but it ricocheted off Enrique Hernández at third and right into the hands of Mookie Betts, who was poised to make a bang-bang play. After that, Glasnow was untouchable for a bit, remaining perfect through three innings.
In the meantime, Los Angeles jumped out to a four-run lead. Brewers starter Shane Drohan was bailed out of a wild first by a Will Smith double play ball, then was removed after he allowed a Kyle Tucker leadoff single in the second. Former Dodger Dustin May relieved Drohan, gave up singles to Teoscar Hernández and Andy Pages, and then left a fastball in the happy zone of an ailing Shohei Ohtani, who vaporized it.
Though Ohtani’s catharsis was evident as he rounded the bases, the feeling proved fleeting and would be replaced by frustration, as the Brewers battled back and the Dodgers squandered opportunity after opportunity in the middle innings.
That began in the fourth. Glasnow surrendered his first baserunner via a walk to Brice Turang. Then, somehow, William Contreras (who would later have several consequential blocks on pitches in the dirt) turned on a 96-mph fastball in on his hands and ripped a ground rule double into the left field stands. Up stepped Bauers, who worked a full count when a Glasnow two-seamer nearly nicked the inside corner. In real time, it looked like a pitch that Smith perhaps should have challenged; Glasnow certainly seemed to think so, though Gameday had it off the plate. On the very next pitch, Bauers hit his own ground rule double, and plated two.
Bauers was named NLCS MVP after the game. He went a respectable 4-for-14 with three walks in the series, and a couple of the hits were doozies, most notably the epic at-bat that led to his backbreaking two-run homer in Game 3, which was the moment of the series.
In the fifth, the Brewers tied the game via some small ball and a bit of self-inflicted Dodger damage. Sal Frelick walked, stole second, and then was singled home by David Hamilton. That ended Glasnow’s night. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts turned to Evan Phillips, who struggled. After Chourio hit a 110-mph line out, Roberts decided to intentionally walk Turang, and then Phillips walked Contreras on his own and was removed for Alex Vesia, who walked Bauers to force in a run and knot the game up at four.
In the top of the sixth inning, Roberts turned to Tanner Scott to face the bottom portion of Milwaukee’s order, which is mostly left-handed. Mitchell, who went to high school at nearby Orange Lutheran and to college at UCLA, battled back from an 0-2 count and, on the sixth pitch of his at-bat, got a fastball down the middle.
It was Mitchell’s second home run off a lefty in the series, after he had just one against a southpaw during the regular season.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy would only need two relievers to navigate the final five innings of the game, which hung in the balance several times. Deadline acquisition Jojo Romero needed just 12 pitches to deal with three future Hall of Famers in Ohtani, Betts, and Freddie Freeman in the fifth and became the pitcher of record when Mitchell homered. In the sixth, Romero gave up a left-on-left double to Tucker (who had two hits on Thursday and was the Dodgers’ best hitter in this series) but was able to strike out Max Muncy and strand Tucker at third later that inning.
In the seventh, Murphy called upon Ashby. To call Ashby dominant would be correct – he matched his season-high fastball velocity at 100 mph and punched three tickets – but it would also undersell how many times he and the Brewers had to avoid danger during his three innings of work. Ashby pitched around a leadoff double from Pages (who moved to third via an Enrique Hernández sac bunt) by striking out Ohtani on three pitches and inducing Betts to ground out to shortstop Cooper Pratt, who made multiple dynamite throws from deep in the hole in this game.
In the eighth, Smith finally ran into one and hit a double of his own to right field, then advanced to third as the ball rattled around in the corner and was fumbled by Frelick. Tucker followed him with a jam-shot flare that looked like it could be real trouble off the bat, only for Mitchell to come streaking in so far from center field that he fielded the ball just a few strides from the infield.
After that, Ashby bent in a pair of curveballs from hell to strike out Teoscar Hernández and end the inning. He worked a 1-2-3 ninth to close things out, capping off 6.2 scoreless innings for the series. Once upon a time, Ashby looked like a shell of his former self coming off a shoulder injury. Now he’s one of the nastier lefty relievers on the planet and had about as good an argument for series MVP as Bauers did.
Milwaukee was able to tack on an insurance run in the ninth with a Hamilton homer off of Edwin Díaz, who pitched the final three innings of the game for the Dodgers. Though it was ultimately inconsequential, it was odd to see Díaz throw more than two innings for the first time since 2016 in a one-run elimination game. The homer was the lone blemish on his line. Hamilton had two hits after a failed attempt to bunt for a hit in the third, something Murphy told the fellas at the postgame desk he believed helped Hamilton get good pitches to hit later in the game.
That kind of minutiae has helped propel a very talented Brewers team, which has more wins than any other team in baseball over the last two seasons, within range of its first ever World Series title. Two weeks from now, we will either have a first-time champion in the Brewers or Rays, or watch the Guardians win their first World Series in nearly 80 years. The Dodgers, who should still hold their heads high after two consecutive titles, went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position on Thursday. After a 100-win season, and despite a punishing rotation, they simply weren’t whole and healthy when the postseason arrived, and were outplayed in every facet by a balanced Milwaukee club. Sometimes that’s baseball.
LOS ANGELES — The Brewers had the NLCS pretty much in the bag since they struck right back at Blake Snell in the top of the seventh on Wednesday night — it was just a matter of when the coup de grace came. You could argue when it became obvious that they’d log the Dodgers off with a sweep: Was it when they chased Tyler Glasnow, making it clear that this would become yet another battle of bullpens? When Jake Bauers worked his last climactic walk off Alex Vesia to tie the game?
I’ll tell you the exact pitch when I knew that Thursday was going to be the Brewers’ night. William Contreras came to the plate with two on and two out in the top of the fifth, and the Dodgers still up 4-3. Evan Phillips started Contreras off with a first-pitch sweeper, right down the middle for a called strike.
Contreras stepped back from the plate and nodded theatrically. That’s when I knew the Dodgers were drawing dead. Read the rest of this entry »
The ALCS opened in Cleveland for Game 3 on Thursday afternoon, with the game time moved up five hours to account for the threat of heavy rain in the forecast. All that extra time turned out to be unneeded, however, as the Guardians dispatched the Rays 3-2 in a briskly played game to take a 2-1 lead in the series. Gavin Williams got the start in Game 3 and was perfect in all but one of his five innings of work. That lone blemish, coming in the fourth, temporarily put the Rays on top before Pummelin’ Petey Halpin gave Cleveland the lead for good an inning later. From that point onward, both bullpens worked so efficiently that it seemed as if there was more time spent on commercials for toothpaste and premium dishwasher pods than baseball.
There may be no hotter pitcher in baseball right now than the 27-year-old Williams, coming off starts of 11 and 12 strikeouts against the White Sox in the ALDS. The Rays are a far better contact team than the White Sox, but the story was the same to start off the game, as he cruised through the first three innings, nine up, nine down with five strikeouts. Williams is one of the most aggressive starters in baseball when it comes to peppering breaking pitches against any batter, in any count, and Game 3 was definitely no exception. He threw only six fastballs total over the first three innings. Honorable mention for Nathaniel Lowe, who clipped the corner of the seats while catching a foul pop on the first play of the game and hung on for the out, just barely missing a painful blooper reel moment.
Making his first start of the playoffs, Rays right-hander Griffin Jax appeared to be consciously pitching around José Ramírez in the first inning, walking the Cleveland third baseman with one out. An aggressive base-stealing team, the Guardians ranked third in the American League with 146 stolen bases this year, with an 82% success rate that led the Junior Circuit. Ramírez, who led the team with 37 steals during the regular season, wasted little time trying to get into scoring position, taking off for second on the second pitch to three-hole hitter Chase DeLauter. He got a great jump and picked an offspeed pitch to run on, but Rays catcher Liam Hicks made an even better throw to the right side of the bag, tailing into the runner, where shortstop Taylor Walls applied a perfect tag. Read the rest of this entry »
Whether or not you tuned in for Game 3 of the NLCS between the Brewers and the Dodgers, you surely know by now that the highlight of the game belonged to Jake Bauers. After working a back-breaking 12-pitch walk that hastened Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s early departure from Game 2, Bauers put the Brewers ahead with a homer in the seventh inning on the 11th pitch he saw from Blake Snell. Ben Clemens wrote about it in his game story. Michael Baumann wrote about it in his article about the perils of leaving a starter (particularly this starter) in too long. Over at Brewer Fanatic, Matthew Trueblood wrote about both it and the also-impressive walk that Andrew Vaughn worked immediately beforehand. This is the kind of of moment that deserves to be enjoyed from as many angles as possible. As such, what follows is a pitch-by-pitch breakdown of the at-bat, diving into the intention and execution behind each pitch.
Pitch 1: Slider, Called Strike, 0-1
That may look like a get-me-over slider, and that Snell assumed Bauers would be taking on the first pitch because he’d just walked the previous batter, but it’s not. In his first plate appearance, Snell had started Bauers with a four-seamer and Bauers had fouled it off. In his second, he’d thrown a first-pitch slider just below the zone, and Bauers had whiffed. He’d swung at the first pitch in both his previous times up, and as you can see, he wasn’t up there looking to take. He fired his hips and had to check his swing. In fact, although Bauers had one of the lower swing rates in the league this season, his 33% swing rate on the first pitch was actually slightly above the league average.
Look at Will Smith’s glove as Snell delivers the ball. He’s got it all the way down on the ground. The plan was to repeat the first pitch from the second plate appearance, getting Bauers to chase another low slider for a whiff or maybe even hit a double-play ball. Instead, Snell missed — badly. The ball ended up right over the heart of the plate. This is a meatball, and Bauers failed to make Snell pay for it because he was focused on getting a fastball. “I was looking for a fastball, and I didn’t want to miss it,” he said after the game. “I said I’ll adjust to anything else, but get a heater, don’t miss it.” That’s certainly a reasonable approach, seeing as Snell throws his fastball half the time, and he’d already started Bauers with one earlier in the game. But it cost Bauers a chance at unloading on a good pitch and put him behind in the count.
Pitch 2: Changeup, Ball, 1-1
You can understand why Snell threw a changeup here. Bauers had tipped his hand with that check swing. He was way in front of that slider because he was looking fastball. You don’t want to give him a fastball, and you don’t want to give him two sliders in a row (especially because the last one ended up in murder-me territory). You want to throw something that starts out looking like a fastball, which eliminates the curveball. The changeup is all that’s left, but let’s be clear about how unusual that is. Snell throws his changeup to lefties just 3% of the time, and never in this situation. Over the past 10 seasons, he’d thrown just one 0-1 changeup to a lefty in the regular season. One. In 10 years. But he had also thrown one just 10 days earlier, to Drake Baldwin in Game 2 of the NLDS. The pressure of the playoffs can change even the most deeply ingrained tendencies.
Once again, Snell missed badly. The pitch was supposed to start out a strike and then drop below the zone, but it started too low and ended up bouncing. It never looked like a strike, and Bauers isn’t the kind of guy to chase on 0-1. This year, 206 batters saw at least 200 0-1 pitches. Among them, Bauers’ 35% swing rate ranked 200th.
Pitch 3: Fastball, Ball, 2-1
If we were talking about any other pitcher, you’d say this was supposed to be a get-me-over fastball, an attempt to get back on track after failing to execute two pitches in a row. But Blake Snell is not the kind of pitcher who lives up and chucks a pitch down the middle. Smith’s target was at the top of the zone. Snell had been racking up chases up above the zone for either whiffs or fouls all night, and he wanted another one. It sure looks like Snell yanked this one to his glove side because he was trying to put some mustard on it to make sure he blew it by Bauers. Instead, it was another bad miss and another easy take. This was a remarkable at-bat from Bauers, and it started out with him in an 0-1 hole against one of the best pitchers in the game, but it also started with Snell missing badly on the first three pitches.
Pitch 4: Changeup, Foul, 2-2
Now this is a gutsy pitch. You just walked someone. You’re behind 2-1 because you failed to execute your last three pitches. Why not aim another left-on-left changeup right at the very center of home plate, and just hope that it finishes with enough arm-side run to make it to the edge? If it doesn’t break as much as usual, or if you miss to your glove side, then it’ll just kind of sit there out over the plate begging to be pounded.
Incidentally, we should probably mention Statcast’s run values per 100 pitches. Did you know that when he saw left-on-left offspeed pitches this season, Bauers’ run value was 1.5, and the only lefties with a higher mark (minimum 25 pitches) were Jac Caglianone, Juan Soto, Yordan Alvarez, Shohei Ohtani, Gunnar Henderson, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and James Wood? Sort of sounds like a list of the very best left-handed hitters on the planet, right?
Luckily for Snell, this pitch was perfect. It clipped the very edge of the zone, and Bauers, still looking fastball, was way out ahead of it. He just managed to hold back long enough to nick it. Smith extended the catcher’s mitt toward his pitcher to congratulate him on a perfect pitch. That made it 2-2, and under normal circumstances, that would be a big deal. The league as a whole had a wRC+ of 70 from 2-2 onward this season. Had Snell missed the zone yet again, he’d be 3-1, when the league wRC+ was 214.
Bauers himself ran a wRC+ of 87 after reaching a 2-2 count. Oddly, though, he was up at 127 after getting to 2-2 against lefties, because he walked 24% of the time, the second-highest rate in baseball. Considering Snell’s above-average walk rate and Bauers’ unusual ability to draw a walk in this exact situation, a walk seemed very likely.
Pitch 5: Slider, Foul, 2-2 (again)
This was the slider Snell meant to throw on the first pitch. It was maybe an inch or two higher than he would’ve liked – if he got it down a little bit more, maybe Bauers would’ve missed it entirely rather than fouling it off – but Bauers was again way out in front and on top of it. Look at the way the ball comes off the bat, straight down and hooked so hard that bounces in the left-handed hitter’s batter’s box. That’s not something you see every day. Snell had thrown three pitches in the strike zone, and Bauers was way out in front on all three of them.
Pitch 6: Curveball, Foul, 2-2 (again again)
Oh right, Snell has a curveball. It was his second-best pitch this season, but this was just the second one he’d thrown Bauers all game, because Bauers was one of the best left-on-left curveball hitters in baseball this season. He ran a .458 wOBA against them and had just an 11% whiff rate. Most of the time, he took them for balls. But what else was Snell going to do? The curve is his best non-fastball pitch. He couldn’t seem to get a whiff on the slider, and he’d already risked two changeups to a guy who crushes them. The curveball was the only thing left that could surprise Bauers, and surprise him it did. He took a late, defensive hack, and met the pitch just 20 inches in front of his center of mass. He threw his mechanics out of whack in order to do so, and ended up with another odd foul, chopping it straight down only to bounce back up into his torso as he nearly fell backwards out of the box.
Here, we should stop and note something. This was Bauers’ third foul of the at-bat, and he would go on to foul off three more. In one sense, it shouldn’t be surprising that he has worked some impressive long at-bats in this series. He averaged just under 4.2 pitchers per plate appearances in 2026. Of the 205 players with at least 400 plate appearances, that ranked 24th, putting him in the 88th percentile. However, he didn’t get all the way up there because he’s a wizard at extending plate appearances. To do that, you need to be great at fouling off two-strike pitches and Bauers is actually well below average in that respect. He fouled off 20% of the two-strike pitches he swung at this year, which put him in just the 13th percentile. His plate appearances are long simply because he’s very passive. His 41% swing rate landed in just the sixth percentile. That’s all it takes, people. If you want to be one of the best hitters in baseball at working a count, just don’t swing much. Sometimes it’s a very simple game.
Pitch 7: Fastball, Ball, 3-2
Snell had been busting Bauers inside with fastballs all night. Five of the eight pitches he saw in his first two plate appearances were four-seamers, and he’d flied out and struck out. Bauers was ahead on soft stuff, but not so far ahead that he was whiffing entirely. Perhaps that meant that he was somewhere in between, and after seeing soft stuff for three straight pitches and five of the last six, it would be possible to blow one by him.
But Snell again missed his spot, this time to the arm side. Smith’s target was up again, but Snell was off the plate inside. It wasn’t a comfortable take for Bauers, who was finally seeing the pitch he’d been looking for, but it wasn’t easy either.
Pitch 8: Fastball, Foul, 3-2
There it is. That’s the elevated fastball Snell had been trying to throw. Nice and tempting, impossible to lay off. And at 98.2 mph, it was harder than the first two and with more induced rise than Snell’s average four-seamer. But Bauers wasn’t in between after all. With pinch-runner Christian Yelich breaking for second in the background, he still managed to get a piece of it. It was very high, and very definitely ball four. That’s a pitch designed to rack up whiffs. It was located 3.82 feet off the ground. This year, pitches that came in between 98 and 99 mph and between 3.8 and 4.0 feet had a 53% whiff rate. Maybe if he hadn’t just seen a fastball, Bauers would have been just that little bit farther behind, and Snell would’ve gotten the strikeout.
Perhaps we should acknowledge, though, just how good Bauers was against left-on-left four-seamers this season. He put up a .521 wOBA against them, second only to Ben Rice. His four home runs against them were tied for second. Snell was truly going strength against strength here.
Pitch 9: Changeup, Foul, 3-2 (again)
After throwing two fastballs in a row, and with Bauers clearly hunting velocity, Snell surely thought he’d set Bauers up so that he’d be out ahead of something soft. This changeup was much closer to where he wanted it, just an inch or so from the bottom of the zone. This time, though, Bauers didn’t look like he had to hold himself back for dear life. He was still very much ahead of the pitch, but by significantly less. You can tell because of the fact that he took a full, healthy hack, and Statcast backs it up; he made contact four inches deeper than he had on the first changeup.
Snell is no stranger to deep counts, but this is where things got scary. Bauers had been ahead of all the soft stuff he’d thrown at him. He took a defensive hack at that 2-2 curveball to stay alive. But then he got a piece of that absurdly high fastball, and on the very next pitch, a changeup down (though not quite as down as Snell would’ve liked it), he looked more comfortable. Look at the way he finishes his swing with a hop. This is what people mean when they say someone looks hitterish. That’s concerning.
Pitch 10: Slider, Foul, 3-2 (again again)
And we’re now escalating from concern to alarm. For Snell, it probably seemed like there was no right pitch to throw at this point. Even when he chased a fastball at his eyes, Bauers (like Vaughn before him) got a piece and stayed alive. He looked all too comfortable against the changeup, and how many left-on-left changeups can you really throw in one plate appearance? Until the playoffs, Snell had only once thrown more than one left-on-left changeup in a single game. The curveball might have made sense, but it also offered the least difference from the previous pitch in terms of velocity and movement profile. Snell had only followed a changeup with a curveball once all game, and it was to Vaughn in the previous plate appearance. The slider was the pitch Bauers had seen least recently, and sometimes it might just be that simple.
Regardless of the reasoning behind it, the pitch was nearly catastrophic. It was meant for the outside corner, and instead it ended up belt high out over the plate. Here’s a heat map that shows Bauers’ isolated power when he put the ball in play this season.
All the red and pink are up and out over the plate, right where this pitch was located. And it wasn’t just about the location. The location was a byproduct of the fact that this pitch was a hanger. Snell’s average slider this year had 7.2 inches of induced rise and 3.7 inches of glove-side break. This pitch had 9.4 inches of rise and 0.5 inches of horizontal break. It didn’t drop enough, and it basically didn’t slide at all. Snell hanged it and Bauers banged 305 feet — just foul. Whichever person at Dodger Stadium was caught on mic screaming for their life as this ball zoomed toward the foul pole was exactly right.
Pitch 11: Fastball, Home Run
Clearly, Snell wasn’t going back to the slider. At a certain point, the game theory starts to get too complicated to track. Sometimes you need to just throw your best pitch. Man cannot live on breakers alone. Snell threw Bauers his best pitch, and once again he couldn’t locate it. It ended up in almost exactly the same spot as the first pitch of the at-bat, and you should take that very literally. Pythagoras tells us that the ball crossed the plate a mere 0.87 inches closer to the very center of the zone than that first meatball. Bauers, who had been fighting to stay ready for the fastball throughout the entire at-bat, finally got one to hit. This was the ninth fastball Snell had thrown Bauers on the night. You don’t need to squint to see what’s different about it.
Aside from that one overthrown four-seamer earlier in the at-bat, every single one of those fastballs had been buried inside. Snell threw his second meatball of the at-bat, and Bauers was ready to dig in.
This was truly an impressive at-bat. Although Snell, at the end of a brilliant performance, failed to execute several of his pitches, most of his misses were either well out of the zone or within an inch or two of the edge. He threw Bauers every pitch he had, even the changeup. He changed speeds and eye levels. Across 11 pitches, he only threw the same pitch in a row once, and he only repeated the same two-pitch sequence twice. Bauers looked more and more comfortable as the at-bat went on, and when Snell missed over the fat part of the plate, he crushed the ball, twice. He went from taking defensive hacks to stay alive to punishing mistakes. It would be hard to ask for much more on an October evening.
It’s been a rough season for José Ramírez. After a sluggish start, the 34-year-old third baseman suffered a fractured left hamate that required surgery and knocked him out of action for nearly six weeks, then struggled so mightily upon returning that it took him nearly two months to barrel a ball. His bat showed some life in the second half of September as he helped the Guardians overtake the White Sox in the AL Central race, and with his team pushed to the brink of elimination in the Division Series against those same White Sox, he collected four extra-base hits and drove in eight runs over the final three games, most notably golfing a two-run homer off Sean Burke to provide all the scoring Cleveland would need in Game 5. After more heroics in the ALCS opener against the Rays, however, his costly error on Tuesday night helped Tampa Bay even the series.
Ramírez made his error during the fourth inning of a scoreless game, and while it was the only play scored an error, it was hardly the Guardians’ only miscue in that frame. After Parker Messick issued a leadoff walk to Junior Caminero, Victor Mesa Jr. hit a potential double-play grounder to second baseman Travis Bazzana, who tossed to shortstop Brayan Rocchio for the force out. Rocchio’s throw at first base was high enough to pull Nathaniel Lowe off the bag, and while Mesa was initially called out, the call was overturned when the Rays challenged it (the Rays also challenged the out at second, but that was upheld).
After Messick struck out Jonny DeLuca, Chandler Simpson hit a high chopper to Rocchio, who unhesitatingly fired to first base. Simpson beat the throw, while Mesa motored around second base and alertly took third because Ramírez had ranged so far to his left. Ben Williamson then hit a grounder whose second hop took an odd bounce off the edge of the turf in front of Ramírez; instead of winding up in his glove, it squirted through his legs and into left field as Mesa scored the game’s first run, with Simpson taking third and Williamson second. Liam Hicks plated them both on a single into right-center, giving the Rays a 3-0 lead. The three unearned runs were all the scoring the Rays would need in a 3-1 victory. Read the rest of this entry »
Welcome to our Open Game Thread for the LCS games today. Chat with fellow readers as we watch the Rays play the Guardians then later tonight the Brewers play the Dodgers! Only Members can participate, and unlike our usual staff Q&A chats, your messages will be posted immediately.
Our Member community is made up of thousands of incredibly knowledgable baseball fans, and we think this is a great way to follow a game with like-minded baseball enthusiasts. We might even have some FanGraphs Staff drop in and join the fun. Please be courteous to your fellow Members, or you may find your chat privileges revoked.
Yuniesky Betancourt
Rob Manfred just announced that if the Guardians win today, tomorrow's game will be played at 9 a.m. as punishment.
Anonymous Member #46
When it rains, it gains.
Sean Dolinar
I'm ok with that. Get it done and out of the way first thing in the morning. Like going to the gym.
eandy
Why does MLB hate baseball? Forcing most of the nation to have a tab open at work to track playoff baseball
Pirates Hurdles
Why does MLB hate baseball? Forcing most of the nation to stay up way too late to track playoff baseball
Pirates Hurdles
it moved due to impending weather
Sean Dolinar
How does hockey and basketball do it? Longer time frames to complete the series?
Pirates Hurdles
shorter game times hlep
L. Ron Hoyabembe
Was the weather supposed to be bad? My app shows only light rain starting around 10 PM…
Pirates Hurdles
they can finish well before 11 EST even with a 830 start
Pirates Hurdles
mine too L. Ron, but that is what was stated
L. Ron Hoyabembe
Maybe the teams have better weather models than what is available to the public
Philip Christy
Re: other game (Brewers) – it's that lovely time of year when the team with the best record in baseball, in the highest-stakes games of their season, can only trust 3 of their starting pitchers
L. Ron Hoyabembe
Drohan+May is not embarrassing for your fourth starter. Unfortunately for the Brewers, the Dodgers' fourth starter is Tyler Glasnow
Sean Dolinar
Looks like there are more people at the just-moved up early Cleveland game than the Dodgers game last night.
Philip Christy
As far as I can tell, the Brewers have not even announced a starter for tonight, no?
Matt Martell
Not as far as I can tell. Here's the exchange from last night's postgame press conference:
Q. Pitching tomorrow?
PAT MURPHY: Yeah, there will be pitching.
Sean Dolinar
Wait this isn't a joke?
Matt Martell
Day baseball is the best!
Matt Martell
Also, hi
sb4321
begging baseball broadcasts to show defensive stats when they show the defensive alignments instead of gold gloves
Dan Szymborski
I appreciate Murphy being very literal as a source of snark, which is something I like to do
Dan Szymborski
I still think my Nereus commercial would have been more effectively targeted during the playoffs.
He's reacting to all the other early 1st inning challenges.
Philip Christy
Perfect throw, great tag
millvillemeltdown
something in me is convinced that if a starter comes out firing, they're bound to give up a homer or a big inning later in the game. so idk how to feel about either of these guys right now
millvillemeltdownedited
but especially gavin williams, some fallacious, treacherous part of my gut is about 85% sure that yandy is going to go yabo off him in the 4th or something
millvillemeltdown
or he makes me look totally stupid. that works too
Dan Szymborski
I've been on Gavin train for a while now!
lzfreak
A gambling commercial centered around a guy with a $100M+ contract becoming homeless is a choice
eandy
The fans and players need to really push back on the gambling ads. I know Alex Call did but for the Sweeney of it
Dan Szymborski
I'm putting some Cy Young money on him next year (since I'm not an AL voter)
Dan Szymborski
I did really well on $200 on Scherzer Cy Young in 2013! Feels like this is gonna be the same type of value bet
Terry Huseth
I think it is funny. No NY and soon No LA.
millvillemeltdown
don't jinx it, terry lol
Sean Dolinar
I'm down for an all Midwest WS. We'll go all out here for that.
Sean Dolinar
Don't know how many people will care.
millvillemeltdown
i will be razzing the person who once used the handle "hoby milner defender" on the website formerly known as twitter the whole time
Dan Szymborski
Turned on that one nicely
Matt Martell
That was a crazy ricochet off the wall
lzfreak
This postseason has featured way more Petey Halpin than I expected
millvillemeltdown
there's always one cleveland outfielder who goes nuclear for a postseason
millvillemeltdown
some of them are out of the league by the next… rip spongebob and big christmas, we will tell our children your stories
Dan Szymborski
I'm sorry, there's no way you can make a scour sponge exciting
riibett
chainsaw attachment might help
millvillemeltdown
2 cylinder scrub sponge would revolutionize the kitchen (by giving everyone co poisoning)
Philip Christy
I guess there's no rules about awards voters betting on awards?
Dan Szymborski
There are!
Dan Szymborski
If we're going to vote on them
Philip Christy
Okay so only the awards you vote on are off limits?
Dan Szymborski
I don't bet on any NL awards to avoid the chances I have to recuse
Dan Szymborski
We also have rules about working for gambling
lzfreak
You're not worried about Williams's postseason dominance inflating his odds for 2027? I'm guessing he's much more on people's radars now than he was a month ago
Dan Szymborski
It's kind of funny that Nereus discloses that it may inhibit your ability to use a vehicle or machinery at the same time their little animated video has a person driving a car in a high speed chase.
Dan Szymborski
Oh, I'll definitely check the odds first, but he's definitely a player I'm watching from a +EV standpoint!
Dan Szymborski
I don't gamble much, just opportunistically
Dan Szymborski
I get no endorphin-related thrill
eandy
Gambling is too expensive nowadays. Money is better used elsewhere
bosoxforlife
That did not look like Gold Glove defense.
Dan Szymborski
Walls *is* a good name for a defensive player
drplantwrench
JRam is so fun to watch
millvillemeltdown
he's like a little wrecking ball of baseball prowess
Dan Szymborski
Whenever I hear the name Griffin Jax, I think of Jax from Mortal Kombat and his robot arms and I imagine him with robot arms. Mostly because part of my brain is broken
moomin
hah, he would become a must-watch just for the chance someone charges the mound
Sean Dolinar
I'd watch that game/movie.
Sean Dolinar
Mortal Kombat, but baseball.
Dan Szymborski
Kinda like a modern Tungsten Arm O'Doyle
Dan Szymborski
Just once I want them to say marooned a runner or abandoned a runner
lzfreak
Marooned seems good for a Seattle Mariners game
Dan Szymborski
or maybe Taylor Walls immured a runner he tags out stealing
drplantwrench
apparently shane drohan is starting game 4
lzfreak
I think starting a lefty is smart for Milwaukee. Roberts seems to bench Muncy vs lefties which I believe is detrimental to their offense
bosoxforlife
The Dodgers just went 0-27 against lefties. Drohan is the correct choice.
Dan Szymborski
ZiPS has been meh on starter Drohan, so the probs are basically unchanged
Dan Szymborski
They're probably not quite THAT bad
Dan Szymborski
Though I do personally like the idea
maximus74
with the way the Dodgers are hitting right now, Smoltz and Wainwright could come out of the booth and shut them out
moomin
as long as Wainwright doesn't catch the last batter looking with that curve…. =\
bosoxforlife
I am completely bent out of shape at the changing of the starting time. My day was carefully planned and 2:00 was mowing the lawn which I cannot fail to do since it is going to rain tomorrow then drop into the 40's which is too cold for these old bones. CYA tonight.
Sean Dolinar
We'll be here!
drplantwrench
i feel like there was an article recently about how win streaks increase the chance of winning the next game, and same with losing streaks increasing the chance of losing the next game. feels like the dodgers are in the midst of that, but with hitting lefties
lzfreak
Ohtani turning into a slap hitting DH hasn't helped
Dan Szymborski
The Rays didn't even strike out seven times in a full game 73 times this year
Hazmat Corntail
How are we rating Mesa in drafts going into next year?
lzfreak
Extra bases for Simpson!
HappyFunBall
props to millvillemeltdown for calling this 45 minutes ago
millvillemeltdown
you know what's funny, i was going to call simpson going yard but i thought it was too unrealistic. triples is fun though
Dan Szymborski
Nice bit of hitting there
Philip Christy
The 6th sweeper of the at-bat caught too much of the plate there
beanbong
I think it'd be fun if we had a lottery before each season to let exactly one guy use steroids. Imagine Chandler Simpson on the early 2000's Bonds stack, he's giving you 5-7 homers no problem
lzfreak
Tyler Rogers would be a fun one too
drplantwrench
jo is the king of hitting it hard into outs
Ben Schneider
Hi everyone, the Rays and Guardians are playing a game like the Rays and Guardians
asf123
Dear MLB advertising sales team – I live in Chicago. Why are you so determined to try to make me hate Sherrod Brown?
adbernardi
I thought I was just seeing so many being in Ohio…
Ben Schneider
No, I'm seeing them too in Massachusetts, but obviously because an Ohio team is playing
Hazmat Corntail
The worst part of the playoffs has been the national political ad buys
Arathorn
Anybody happen to know the record for most times struck out by a winning team?
riibett
JRam probably has the highest approval rating of any player in the league but his official MLB pic this year is surely unsettling
jonmberra
I knew Gavin Williams was good this year. I didn’t realize just how good he was by xFIP, SIERA, or K to BB though.
Dan Szymborski
In the postseason, the most strikeouts for a winning team was 23 by the Orioles iN ALDS Game 4 in 1996. But that was a 12 inning game
Dan Szymborski
In a regulation game, the record for a winning team in the postseason was Rangers (ALDS Game 1, 2023) and Yankees (ALDS Game 5, 2017), with both team striking out 16 times
Arathorn
16 is a lot. I guess I don't see the Rays striking out 17 times this game if it's only 9 innings.
HappyFunBall
they're only 1 K off the pace…
Dan Szymborski
In the regular season, there are five teams that struck out 19 times and won
Dan Szymborski
Including the Steve Carlton complete game loss in 1969 when he struck out 19 Mets but lost 4-3
Dan Szymborski
I'm sorry Crest, there's only one Dr. Teeth and he woudln't have been the same without the Electric Mayhem
Matt Martell
Should Jax have let Walls get that? Would Walls have had a chance?
Dan Szymborski
I'd be in favor of a line on the pitching side of which only the pitcher can enter on defense
Dan Szymborski
Or maybe, I'd have to give it more consideration than 15 seconds
drplantwrench
BANGGG
Pirates Hurdles
Petey Halpin really
danodea
Petey
lzfreak
Petey Halpin
soddingjunkmail
Just as everyone expected: Petey Halpin post season heroics
Dan Szymborski
PETEY POWER
danodea
I was surprised Jax was still in
Ben Schneider
How does this guy keep coming through?
moomin
really wish I wasn't at work rn, this box score alone is exciting
drplantwrench
and this is why i love working remotely (baseball playoffs)
Dan Szymborski
He should just announce "for now on, I'm Pete."
asf123
Sure Peteyed that one.
Matt Martell
Petey Halpin has to have the highest ratio of go-ahead HR per HR in baseball
Alan Sherman
2 guys in there for defense making a rally
Philip Christy
Who TF is Petey Halpin
eandy
Took the words right out of my mouth
Jon Becker
Just remembered this chat was going on, hi all!
lzfreak
Now that's a bat flip
Dan Szymborski
So yeah, Griffin's allows some jax
Alan Sherman
kevin cash watching too much dave roberts
Jon Becker
I know his given first name is Peter but Petey Lyndon Halpin is one of the finest full names in the league
Rollie's Mustache
A name that would fit seamlessly on the 1902 Brooklyn Superbas roster.
lzfreak
He needs an adjective prefix. Like "Slidin' Petey Halpin"
riibett
some mf named petey
Dan Szymborski
The full name has a better ring to it. Petey Lyndon Halpin rolls off the etongue really nicely IMO
adbernardi
That is a dead-ball era ass name
Rollie's Mustache
Exactly what I said in the Game 1 chat lol. It's just perfect.
Solitaire
Petey Halpin fits neatly into my mind's imagination of Brett Phillips
Alan Sherman
I would love it if announcers did middle names on emphatic home run calls
lzfreak
Are they telling them to go their room?
drplantwrench
damn what a throw
Matt Martelledited
By What Means Peter Halpin Acquired the Style and Title of Petey Lyndon
asf123
When was the last time a guy got caught stealing without doing the “Challenge it! Challenge it!” bit to his dugout?
Dan Szymborski
I like the name Superbas
Alan Sherman
before challenges became a thing?
Dan Szymborski
Pummelin' Petey Halpin?
danodea
Why were they singing Country Roads
Ben Schneider
It's DeLauter's walk-up song with lyrics tailored to him
asf123
DeLauter is from West Virginia.
Solitaire
I cannot learn which toolsy and generally injured outfielder is named Jonny DeLuca and which is named Chase DeLauter. I know the Cleveland one is the better one, but man their names are interchangeable to me
Alan Sherman
because chase delauter matches the meter of west virginia
Pirates Hurdles
Lifting Gavin here?
asf123
Lifting Gavin…jam band or Christian rock?
Pirates Hurdles
sappy rock like the Fray
riibett
It's always disappointing when a random bench postseason hero is from California. I usually hope they're from Bumblesville, Nebraska
danodea
We put it on driving through WV once which a mistake, cause my daughter made us listen to it 1000 times. It's good, but nothing is good 1000 times in a row
lzfreak
Apparently that song isn't actually about West Virginia, but actually the western part of Virginia
danodea
When I lived in Maryland I met a few people who insisted it was about Maryland. "The country roads in West Virginia are taking him home to Maryland!!"
Alan Sherman
madison bumgarner is from bumtown, north carolina
Dan Szymborski
Between Packy Naughton, Petey Halpin, Liam Doyle, Mike McGreevy, Jack Flaherty, Kevin McGonigle, Jimmy Crooks, you got a pretty good Boardwalk Empire baseball crew
Ben Schneider
Crooks might be a bit on the nose
Ben Schneider
Yeah I'm surprised Williams is out of the game
Dan Szymborski
Though NOTHING beats early baseball where everyone sounded like an Irish gangster
Dan Szymborski
The best way to drive to Maryland from the midwest DOES go through west virginia extensively
asf123
Noted Irishman Honus Wagner ran the numbers racket on the side.
Dan Szymborski
I-79 to I-68 > I-70
Dan Szymborski
If Jimmy Crooks too on the nose you can put in Buddy Kennedy
Dan Szymborski
or Mick Abel
lzfreak
Espino really went from chronically injured post-prospect to part of the leverage bullpen quickly
danodea
I love Junior but the zero homers in the playoffs has been a bummer so far
Solitaire
Sure sure, fantastic Irish mobster names abound in early baseball, but let's not forget about the man who remains the greatest German pitcher ever, Pretzels Getzien, who started 6 games of the best-of-15 1887 World Series for the Detroit Wolverines
soddingjunkmail
That was some fairly impressive Espinoing
Dan Szymborski
When you tell stories about Brickyard Kennedy or Silver King or The Only Nolan, people think you're making crap up
Ben Schneider
Does Old Hoss Radbourn imply the existence of New Hoss Radbourn?
Pirates Hurdles
Probably just Hoss Radbourn
Rollie's Mustache
The 'Kid' nicknames really fit for that era. Like Kid Gleason or Kid Carsey. Carsey also threw 415 innings in his age 18 rookie season for the Washington Statesmen which is very of its time.
Solitaire
Or that you could go by the name Rube and be taken seriously
Dan Szymborski
It was a place holder just in case there was a new Hoss someday
Dan Szymborski
Glenn Hubbard is the player from Germany with the most games played BTW
lzfreak
Max Kepler could theoretically pass him soon
Pirates Hurdles
and had the most baseball cards featuring a giant snake
mopete12edited
Williams fastball velocity dropped to "only" 95mph in the 5th inning. Not surprised they pulled him based on that, plus it was the third time through the order.
Dan Szymborski
The most recent game that had an Irish-born player was 1945 (Joe Cleary). And before him, it had been since 1918 (Jimmy Archer)
Dan Szymborski
I imagine he probably will
Alan Sherman
"High Pockets" Kelly
Dan Szymborski
He was pretty bad this year, but he's probably still going to get MLB time for a bit longer
Dan Szymborski
Bazzana definitely sounds like something an Australian would say with several exclamation points
Solitaire
I could imagine Steve Irwin wrestling him to the ground and talking about how he could bite through an entire pack of big league chew with ease
Sean Dolinar
Rough day for the ump.
Alan Sherman
bazzzzzaaaaannnnna
Alan Sherman
how many big league pitchers are now shorter than high pockets kelly? (6'4") is it 25%? more? less?
Dan Szymborski
You know, Reggie's destroying his chances at getting easy service calls. Now he's not going to get a quick hour for a clogged dishwasher filter
Dan Szymborski
I used to call Tim Collins Low Pockets
Dan Szymborski
IM HERE IN JUNGAMUNGAWOOTSY AND CRIKEY, I SEE THE RECLUSIVE BAZZANA
the bazzana is faster than a speeding wombat, more powerful than a salty
Alan Sherman
popup petey
Dan Szymborski
Rays went down QUICKLY last two innings
adbernardi
"The Bazzana" definitely sounds like how a bunch of Aussie dudes would describe attempting to drink 3 pints in 2 minutes or something
Dan Szymborski
I've actually bugged MLB people to track bat flips
mopete12
Apparently the ump can't handle the shadows. Just some terrible calls today. Can't imagine not having ABS already.
Dan Szymborski
Did they run out of paid commercials? Just getting Commercial Break in Progress quiet
mopete12
Apparently they think it only takes 7 innings for everyone watching to have already voted, taken their motion sickness pills, and traded (not gambled) on their favorite prediction market.
maximus74
haha, I just saw the "Bio" at the bottom of the chat page "I build things here"
Dan Szymborski
Sean has a very Spartan bio
Ben Schneider
If we ever get FanGraphs Lego, then we can all build things here
Ben Schneider
Shouldn't they pinch hit for Walls?
Dan Szymborski
Honestly, if her oil pressure was low, she could either top off the oil if there was an action scene or something else was going on
We should get products to partner with us before preseasons
Dan Szymborski
FANGRAPH NEREUS DRUGS
Sean Dolinar
I can confirm many of us on the engineering have many Lego sets.
Sean Dolinar
And I've used Legos as a metaphor of cloud infrastructure.
lzfreak
This at bat is Bauers-esque
mopete12
Despite a terrible strike call on pitch #1 too.
Arathorn
We need a good name for that kind of AB, like a Maddux or equivalent.
drewcorb
If only Yandy would challenge
Dan Szymborski
There are too many teeth related commercials. While I brush my teeth they make me want to not brush my teeth out of spite
ncphl
Love the little head shake by Hicks after that ABS overturn
mopete12
He keeps having to challenge "balls" where the entire baseball is inside the strikezone.
Dan Szymborski
I like ABS challenges better than abs challenges because I always lose the latter
Dan Szymborski
When you're not there in person, it sounds like they're singing "Take me home, Jerry Lawler"
asf123
No, he plays for the Diamondbacks.
Sean Dolinar
I really like that walk up song getting the crowd involved.
jdbolick
Please change fWAR to use DRS for defensive WAR instead of OAA. Taylor Walls just showed us yet again why OAA is completely worthless.
lzfreak
If tomorrow gets rained out, what's the plan? Doubleheader Saturday? Move everything back a day? Use the travel day for game 5?
Matthew Tobin
Is Steven Matz proof you can just stay around as a lefty with a good changeup?
Sean Dolinar
I'm pretty sure they'll just shift everything around. I can't see anyone wanting a double header unless they have to. Or deal with a suspended game.
Dan Szymborski
Not necessarily proof, but gotta have a righty plan with LOOGYs dead
Arathorn
And now we wait……
Sean Dolinar
I'm going to make dinner in between. And ship some free agent crowd source code. We'll be back before 8PM. But I'll leave this open.
drplantwrenchedited
w
moomin
not a fan; except maybe one using pre-agreed fans/actors as a bit
moominedited
What'd everyone have for lunch? Mine was a meal-replacement shake, coffee, and a dried fruit bar.
Sean Dolinar
Roasted butternut squash, spinach, tomato, apple vinaigrette, parmesan, pecans. Also doing a variation of that plus chicken / nutmeg caramelized onions for dinner.
moomin
very seasonal, nice
Anonymous Member #46
What's your replacement-level meal that your Quad-A shake is substituting for?
lzfreak
Is it just me or does A Rod look particularly orange this postseason?
Rich Hill's Fastball
Let's score some (a lot of) runs!
lzfreak
Glasnow warming up to Dazed and Confused rocks
Francoeursteinedited
Does he actually? Just tuned in and didn’t catch that. That rocks so hard. The “Song Remains the Same” live version of Dazed is still my favorite live performance of all time
lzfreak
It was definitely playing right before the start of the game. Not your typical game start music so it really stuck out
Francoeurstein
Just YouTubed it and it is indeed his song. That rips so hard
lzfreak
Man you really don't want to miss the first pitch to Chourio this series
danodea
That was crazy
Rich Hill's Fastball
How was your autumnal dinner, Sean?
Sean Dolinar
Fantastic! Fall in a bowl!
Sean Dolinar
I've been playing around with savory fall dishes this October.
Sæder
Dodgers aren't losing!
lzfreak
I hope to some day love something as much as William Contreras loves early challenges
Sæder
great ABS challenge. I've noticed that neither team has finished a game burning all their challenges. Are they too cautious?
Sæder
ugly strikeout redeemed by a flurry of amazing hair
Sean Dolinar
Ohtani is lost.
danodea
I understand he is Shohei Ohtani but at some point you gotta admit he just doesn't have it right now. Or you can put him leadoff for some reason. Idk I don't get paid millions of dollars to run a baseball team.
jms4
they're batting him first?
Sæder
except that no one else is clearly meant to be on top of the order right now.
Rich Hill's Fastball
Not like anyone else is proving their worth in the box
The EV on the single yesterday from Ohtani was pretty impressive. Roberts might think it's the start of a turnaround. When you have to win 4 straight, I don't hate batting the generational superstar leadoff
Rich Hill's Fastball
^!!! If your superstar says "I got this," at some point you have to trust hiim
Sæder
am i reading correctly that Ohtani has the 2nd highest wRC+ on LAD in the NLCS?
SadaharuWhoa
I am also surprised he has a .417 OBP. Just goes to show how good bad Ohtani is
That is correct. He's got some BBs and a HBP that help.
Sean Dolinar
His wRC+ is 63 if you look at the whole postseason.
Rich Hill's Fastball
…*puts head in hands*
GammaDraconis
No Will Smith magic this time.
Sæder
yeah, the cut off is hard. because the NLDS and NLCS performances are almost inverted across the entire lineup. Hard to tell what to look at (from my browser window)
Sean Dolinar
I'm guessing the bats will come alive tonight.
Sean Dolinar
See, back-to-back hits.
Sæder
is max muncy pitch hitting? can there be a hitter/fielder version of an "opener"
Sean Dolinar
Clint Hurdle did this with Pedro Alvarez in 2015. He didn't start, but pinch hit when his lineup spot came up.
Phil
How aggressively do you expect Murphy to manage his bullpen? Go all out to try to end it here or figure you've got three more shots at this thing so don't overdo it?
Rich Hill's Fastball
I expect him to go for the jugular
rluzinski
May will go 3+. If the game is still close, will play for the win
lzfreak
There he is
Rich Hill's Fastball
THERE IT IS
Sean Dolinar
Ohtani's back!
bosoxforlife
Sean, you get the Ted (Double Duty) Radcliffe Award for the day.
Sæder
was about to emoji reply to sean but my hands left my keys
SadaharuWhoa
I was really hoping Ohtani would be very bad so I could redraft him for cheap next year in fantasy…
rluzinski
May trade was so anti-Brewer and he has been a net negative add
bosoxforlife
Any Red Sox fan could have told them that he wasn't a positive addition to the Brewers.
rluzinski
If they had given up some mid-level prospects for him, whatever.
Francoeurstein
And there it is…
lzfreak
There's something about Brewers Dodgers NLCS game 4 that brings out Ohtani's best I guess
Sæder
they're gonna announce that Ohtani is pitching tomorrow
Sean Dolinar
That HR bat flip was pure catharsis.
Jon Becker
Hello everyone
Sean Dolinar
Did you make anything good since the last time we saw you?
Sean Dolinar
For dinner?
Jon Becker
Sadly no, I am having leftover pizza from my freezer that FanGraphs paid for (and by extension, our lovely Members paid for) during SaberSeminar though!
Jon Becker
Popping in to say I found the brief split screen of Ohtani going through the dugout to be a little much
Matt Martell
Well now seems like a good time to hop in here
Sean Dolinar
Oh, now yinz show up!
Matt Martell
113.1 mph, 428 feet
Rich Hill's Fastball
Emotionally, that felt like 700 feet lol
Matt Martell
From Baumann: "I missed the bulk of the celebration because I was watching the ball" — That's how far it went
Sæder
Dustin got angry there wasn't any gatorade left in that cooler
Alan Sherman
angry pat murphy time
SadaharuWhoa
Evergreen
GammaDraconis
Dodgers better hope that that wasn't a one off. Jays fans spent the summer thinking Vladdy was back every time he had a good AB or two, but he never got it together.
danodea
Wow Ohtani is back just like I knew he would be. Batting him leadoff was a genius move that I also would have done.
Sæder
love that strike out. interrupted smoltz from talking for one thankfully quiet moment
lzfreak
Do people still get mad about bunting during a no hitter or have we moved past that?
Sæderedited
do any paying members of FG care about bunting during a no-hitter? how weird are we?
Sean Dolinar
I'm sure most players and people over 40 do.
Phil
I am well over 40 and don't care.
lzfreak
The Dustin May esophagus injury story never ceases to unsettle me
lzfreak
Like when it comes up, not all the time thankfully
Sæder
indeed. life is freaky
hopbitters
Moral of the story: Never eat salad.
Sean Dolinar
Oof, I just ate a salad and then read about that.
Sæder
"I like when a tall pitcher pitches tall." The Smoltz Word Salad
lzfreak
The perceived velocity point was valid but yeah that's bad phrasing
Phil
I like when a Smoltzy announcer announces Smoltzy.
lzfreak
Back to back ground rule doubles
Sæder
Unreal
Rich Hill's Fastball
Rake Bauers
bosoxforlife
You hang 'em, we bang 'em.
Sæder
is he only good at full counts?
Alan Sherman
a billion dollars of pitchers can't get out noted health insurance needer jake bauers
beanbong
cannot emphasize enough how much awful these in game interviews are
lzfreak
The Pat Murphy one where he finished by swearing at Jackson Merrill was incredible
Sæder
the toy story shoes. wow. is he on the disney dole?
Phil
I really like David Hamilton. Fast guys with smarts are one of my favorite ballplayer types.
beanbong
Hamilton was born 20 years too late
danodea
Vogelbach sighting. Loved that dude on the Buccos
Sæder
what is this ???
Rich Hill's Fastball
Bauers coming up with the bases loaded…
Sæder
he can't possibly get a clutch hit every night
David
Not if you walk him
danodea
Guy_tapping_his_head.gif
bosoxforlife
Pitching around Bauers with the bases loaded is an unusual strategy.
Phil
Man. The Dodgers are. . . not having a great week.
lzfreak
The half-intentional walk of Turang not looking great
Sean Dolinar
I'll be really bummed if these LCSes are short series.
danodea
A full week between games would be sad
Sæderedited
yeah i hope the NLCS goes 7🤣
Sean Dolinar
Rust vs rust in the WS. 🤮
Sæder
at least we won't be seeing the top of the Brewers line up for at least the first 10 minutes of their next half inning at the plate
David
If the Dodgers lose tonight, they won't have to face them again for months!
lzfreak
I hope this game goes to extras. I cherish every playoff extra inning ever since they ruined extras in the regular season. We haven't had many extra inning games this year yet
bosoxforlife
Games 4 &5 of the 2004 ALCS will forever be the most exciting and , life threatening to me, I ever watched.
Sean Dolinar
I'm still very ok with the ghost runner. Those 18-inning regular season games were killers.
bosoxforlife
Game 3 of the 2018 WS is another unforgettable experience. They are rare so they are great in the post-season.
lzfreak
Game 3 last year was also incredibly fun
bosoxforlife
Game 3 in 2018 ended at 3:36 here in New England.
Sæder
WOW
lzfreak
Is Garrett Mitchell even a homerun guy?
AdvantageSchneider
When he gets a hold of one they go far.
Matt Martell
He hit 11 in 531 PA this year, so not really
AdvantageSchneider
Was he 18th in exit velocity this season ? The power is there
Matt Martell
Good call – just hasn't consistently happened yet
danodea
These Brewers may be inevitable
Sæder
Full Count Killers
bosoxforlife
Rang him up on strike 2.
Nick Smith
Veteran pitcher.
bosoxforlife
I wonder if everybody is getting the TV feed at the same moment in time.
Rich Hill's Fastball
Got back from walking the dog! What'd I mi–wtf
Sæder
bad bad not good
Phil
I believe Sæder is referring to the game. Your dog is presumed to be a very good boy or girl.
Sæder
Rich Hill walking his dog; the rest of the Dodgers walking the Brewers
Sæder
low key take away from this NLCS is that Kyle Tucker has been one of the only bright spots on this squad on offense.
SadaharuWhoa
I'm happy for him. This can't have been a fun year for him. Not that I'm getting out the smallest of violins for the very rich man who was sad sometimes, but still
bosoxforlife
Amazing to see Jo Jo still out there. In 55 appearances this year he went 2 exactly once.
AdvantageSchneider
He was well rested didn’t pitch since Monday and prior to that Oct 6th.
David
I would consider paying for a feed without the in-game interviews.
springtraneing
boog has been fantastic on the national radio call
senor_coffee
Charlie Manuel, who refused to do them when they were first becoming a thing, had the right idea.
Rich Hill's Fastball
Bring back the Petriellocast!
lzfreak
Diaz wearing 3 for the Dodgers feels odd
ncphl
Last I checked, 3 isn't even, so you're right
lzfreak
This is a big moment
Rich Hill's Fastball
And are any of us surprised?
Benny The Jet
I understood the Dodgers might lose but I never thought they could look so juiceless
Sæder
kudos to MIL
millvillemeltdown
truly, how hard have they been squoze, to have no juice
lzfreak
If the Dodgers do lose this, it'll be interesting to see the narrative around them heading into the offseason. It feels a little 2010 Phillies, but there's still a ton of talent and resources here.
Sæder
might depend on how many players end up getting major surgery that they've not yet announced to the public
Phil
Also on some interesting decisions they need to make. I'll be fascinated to see what they do and say about JDP and other young players–are they prepared to get younger, even if it means moving on from some veterans or rethinking some positioning? Obviously that starts with Ohtani, which is tough.
millvillemeltdown
would a busted ohtani be a better outfielder than jdp
millvillemeltdown
im still slightly riding the high of calling "two good pitchers, cruising early, give up a crooked number in the middle innings" but had a truly awful nap and am debating calling it a day without having done anything productive today. anyway, how's the baseball been
Sæder
18 inning game, here we come!
Crapshoot
Whoa – potentially huge error there.
danodea
Why do they keep telling us the results of the ABS challenge before showing the graphic. So annoying.
Rich Hill's Fastball
Must be a mandate from FOX, as Davis didn't do this on SNLA broadcasts
Sæder
Kyle Tucker, the rich man's Jake Bauer
Crapshoot
Wow. Maybe the Brewers are truly blessed by the beer gods
millvillemeltdown
dionysus more powerful than the abrahamic G-d?
lzfreak
Nice job by Mitchell there to call everyone else off. No chance to tag up
Nick Smith
I was dreading a collision there.
Phil
Should they have run for Smith?
Rich Hill's Fastball
Arguably yes, though wouldn't have mattered on a ball that shallow
millvillemeltdown
never thought i would be talking about running with known speed demon rich hill and his blazing mid-80s fastball
Rich Hill's Fastball
Excuse you, it was high 80s!
millvillemeltdown
my deepest apologies for shorting you of a few crucial mph
cowdisciple
The Dodgers' performance with RISP is just not survivable.
Benny The Jet
100 mph sinkers with that curve… I know it's been said, but how does anyone ever get a hit anymore? Like genuinely, do the biophysics add up?
millvillemeltdown
the human nervous system is pretty nuts
John Church
Well, if there’s anyone on Earth who knows about being down a run in the ninth, down 3-0 in a 7 game series, staring elimination in the face, he’s managing the team that is…
Phil
See, you'd think Roberts would be very eager to deploy pinch-runners!
bosoxforlife
You definitely see things that you never see during the regular season, such as Edwin Diaz going 3.
Rich Hill's Fastball
Huge kudos to Edwin here, wow
Rich Hill's Fastball
Why did I talk
Phil
Hamilton! Wow.
millvillemeltdown
david !???!?
Gregg
Now the Brewers are ruining baseball
danodea
David Hamilton of all people
cashgod27
That is amazingly the first time this postseason I've said "I cannot believe that just happened"
lzfreak
I have a feeling this is it for the series
John Church
I was misled about the Brewers HR prowess
Sæder
There's a soul jar somewhere in Wisconsin fueling all this
Benny The Jet
Brewers just making up new guys to hit homers now
danodea
Blew their last ABS challenge on a 0-0 count? Ok
Nick Smith
Can't take 'em home with you.
danodea
You can take them to the bottom of the 9th in an elimination game when you need 2 runs, though
Rich Hill's Fastball
Did this graphic forget about Cleveland?
lzfreak
They appeared in the 2016 World Series
Rich Hill's Fastball
Oh, appearance, missed that thanks!
Rollie's Mustache
Rajai Davis had the biggest, most inconsequential World Series GM7 home run that year until… Bichette last year.
millvillemeltdown
if this is it, talk about poetic justice
millvillemeltdown
swept one way, swept the other
Phil
Hamilton had an ISO of .091 this year.
millvillemeltdown
i'm waiting on the statcast bat speed on savant
South Detroit
He is tied with Ohtani for homers this post season
millvillemeltdown
76.8 on the swing, exited at 105. solid
millvillemeltdown
whoa chourio and bauers kind of mogging ohtani in swing speed
John Church
I see, the Dodgers are just setting it up to do something legendary
lzfreak
Is Muncy really this bad against lefties that he needs to be pulled here? I'd think he's one of the Dodgers better hitters
millvillemeltdown
at least a pesky at bat…
Sæderedited
muncy had looked completely lost today
millvillemeltdown
edman's also good from the right side
Phil
Edman's one of those guys that make me annoyed that he's on the Dodgers, since he'd be a very helpful full-time player on lots of other teams.
Crapshoot
Sean weren't you going to do a series on the best "picks" so far? That was incredible by Pratt!
cashgod27
Pat Murphy is an actual madman
bosoxforlife
As the great sage, Lawrence Peter Berra was credited with saying, "It is getting late early" for the Dodgers.
Rich Hill's Fastball
Ballgame. And season.
Sæder
ICk
Rich Hill's Fastball
Been a pleasure, everyone
Sæder
well. Milwaukee has been good for years and years.
Phil
Wow. That was just an unbelievable four-game performance, particularly the bullpen.
danodea
I have a hard time imagining the AL teams beating the Brewers
Benny The Jet
I did not think he was catching that ball
comradeyurika
Ashby my god
Sæder
i like MIL. But I actually quite like the rays and guards too. I'd think I'd root for the AL in this case
South Detroit
Going to be a great WS
Matthew Tobin
Rob Manfred is in shambles
Nick Smith
Good.
TKDC
But doesn’t he want parity?????????
Sean Dolinar
So are we!
Matthew Tobin
Those small market teams just can’t compete without a salary cap.
TKDC
MLBPA should demand an end to CBT. It’s only fair!
John Church
Blue Blood and rain,
John Church
I can hear the bugle playin
Phil
Go Guards! All Midwest series, let's go! It's going to be so frickin' cold.
David
Perfect for the offseason negotiations
comradeyurika
If the Rays win we'll have a guaranteed new champion
millvillemeltdown
even a guards ws is not a bad outcome given the drought, imo
TKDC
And yet the Guardians have waited the longest!
millvillemeltdown
yes i am biased because jose ramirez deserves a ring, but no matter the outcome i'm chillin
comradeyurika
It is if you're a Tigers fan who hates the Guards
millvillemeltdown
… ah, my condolences comrade
comradeyurika
Here's hoping
Sæder
in the midst of this Man City scandal, how can anyone take owners' claims seriously
millvillemeltdown
pls give us more money plsplsplsplsplsplspls we're soooo hungry – owners
millvillemeltdown
reminds me of my stupid hyperthyroid cat
Nick Smith
Brewers going to the Series, and I'm going to bed. Merry Baseball, everyone!
millvillemeltdown
gutenacht nick!
Sæderedited
Rays have never won it. And yet have been an exceptional franchise for so many years. So many good story lines all around.
Sean Dolinar
Alright everyone. One half of the WS is set. We'll be back for the next ALCS game.
ALEX HICKS JR./STAFF / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Brooks Brannon raised his prospect profile this season, and atypically he did so despite sliding down the defensive spectrum. Breaking out with the bat was the reason why. Now a first baseman after primarily wearing the tools of ignorance for his first four professional seasons, Brannon bashed 22 home runs while putting up a .280/.355/.560 slash line and a 133 wRC+ over 398 plate appearances with Double-A Portland. His slugging percentage led all qualified Eastern League hitters.
The positional change didn’t come as a surprise. As Brendan Gawlowski and Eric Longenhagen wrote when ranking him 29th when our 2026 Red Sox Top Prospects list came out in mid-May, Brannon “had been developed as a catcher throughout his career, though most scouts expected him to wind up at first base, which has finally come to pass.” With a caveat that strikeouts remain a concern — Brannon went on to finish the season with a 28.9% strikeout rate — our prospect analyst duo opined that he “could have a productive, bat-only prime.”
Again, Brannon broke out with the bat. Now ranked 22nd in the system with a 40 FV — not to mention a 70 grade for raw power — Boston’s ninth-round pick in the 2022 draft out of a Randleman, North Carolina high school has emerged as a prospect with more promise than he’d previously possessed as a bat-first backstop.
Brannon discussed his evolution, both positionally and as a hitter, in the final month of the regular season.
———
David Laurila: This is your fifth year in the system, yet you’re still just 22 years old. I have to admit I thought you were older than that.
Brooks Brannon: “I was a younger draft pick out of high school — I’d just turned 18 a month or two prior — so I’m blessed to have been in the org for quite awhile and still be on the younger side. But yes, I’m just 22.”
Laurila: Had you been drafted out of college, the numbers you’re putting up this year would draw a lot more attention than they are. With that in mind, what might your development path been like had you gone the college route?
Brannon: “It’s hard to say, because one thing the Red Sox are — and it took me awhile to appreciate this — is very analytical. The way they approach hitting is like blackjack almost. It’s, ‘This is what is expected to happen, so we’re going to live and die on this hill. Mathematically, this should happen.’ Air-pull being the optimal launch angle, focusing on hitting the ball hard in the air, making the right swing decisions and drawing walks to get on base… that’s what you want. I always prided myself on being a hitter, so it took time for me to understand what the most optimal way is to help the team win games.
“This past offseason was the first offseason where I really bought in to everything they were preaching. It has helped me tremendously. So, had I gone to college… you know, a lot of colleges are still kind of on the old-guard way of hitting. I don’t think I’d have had the growth I’ve had, even though it admittedly took awhile for me to realize what was optimal.”
Laurila: This year was a turning point for your career…
Brannon: “Yes. My first couple of years I had a lot of injuries, and then for a few seasons I wasn’t doing what I knew I could do. I knew that what I was doing wasn’t working, so something needed to change. Having conversations with our hitting coordinators and coaches, learning who moves like me — how people who have my skills and strengths play the game — and molding that into my game to the best of my ability… I mean, I couldn’t have been able to do that without their help.”
