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Speaker 1: At times to stay your lake Cracker.
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Speaker 2: You bring in here, we will sue you. Tis the Garner. Welcome the monu Tuesday the twenty first, the longest day of the year. Really today, it's June twenty first, your summer solstice. Yeah it is. What are you right? What am I going to do to celebrate? Yeah? I don't know. Is this something that we celebrate.
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Speaker 3: I've got the Indians and the Memphis Redbirds, the Triple A affiliated the Cardinals.
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Speaker 2: Game one of the series No.
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Speaker 3: ONEO Cruz by the way, which we'll get into off the top.
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Speaker 2: We've got just a whole bunch of.
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Speaker 3: Storylines and we want to hit Jack Peter just Baseball Show Tuesday to twenty first. I feel like we haven't gotten a unit update for you recently.
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Speaker 2: A unit update, like how I'm doing gambling wise. Yeah, I appreciate that it's been going okay. It's been going okay. I mean we're still up on the air. We're still up eleven point three to two units on the AAR winning at a fifty five percent rate. We had a great start to the week last week and then it came tumbling down at the end. But on prize picks, which the link is in our episode description as well. I run a Twitter space daily at two thirty pm Eastern where we bring a bunch of people from the community in to give prize picks, which is basically player props that we parlay. It's just for fun, but we've been doing really well on there, so that's the money that we've been picking up on the back end. But I would say, I mean, right now, we're getting into the summer months, right no football, no basketball, no hockey, and a lot of the stats it's like you want to follow the trends of the early year, but you also have to remember that some of those trends are going to start to go in the opposite direction as things starts to normalize. So we're at this point where do I trust the numbers in the early goings of the season or do I have to play future predictor and think those stats are going to normalize based on past trends. It's a lot happening right now. We have some two picks today, this is Monday. I'm on the Brewers first five innings against Miles Michael List with Corbyn Burns. I'm on the under in Padres Diamondbacks recording on Monday, Monday to be released on Tuesdays. You're going to see if these are right. Yeah, that's where we're starting off the week, right. I got my ice coffee, got my juice. I'm feeling good.
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Speaker 3: I got my ice coffee here. So we're chilling in that regard. Yeah, I so like in the dog days, like, do you feel like you go on stretches with.
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Speaker 2: That staff or no. That's the problem with this year. Last year it was a lot of two and one days, right or one in two days, just kind of coasting along a good even curve. But in April I had the best month of my entire life gambling. Every April I was up almost twenty units. And for anyone listening who's not familiar with gambling, let's say your unit is one hundred dollars just or ten dollars or one thousand dollars, whatever it is.
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Speaker 3: If your unit's one hundred dollars, you were up two thousand.
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Speaker 2: Bucks exactly ten, you're up two hundred, one thousand, you're up twenty thousand, whatever you do. But then in May, down thirteen units. One of the worst months, probably the worst month of my entire life gambling, and then we keep going on these stretches where we can't lose, and then we can't win. It's just been a big roller coaster. I'm hoping that it starts to normalize. So it's okay in my mental health because it's been it's been just this instead of this, which is definitely different.
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Speaker 3: I was going to bring up mental health. Are you what are you doing to combat that? Meditation therapy?
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Speaker 2: It's funny, you know what I have been doing. I have started meditating every morning. I love meditating. And you know what I do. So I sit on my bed in the morning, right as I wake up. I try not to look at my phone and I just sit there. And I found out this good way to do it. You just sit there and you count ten. Just sit there quietly. You count to ten. And if you can make it to ten without other thoughts getting in your mind. So if like you're like one, two, and then you think about something that you've been worried about, say okay, I recognize that thought. Bring it back in. Count to ten again. Once you make it to ten, get to twenty. Once you make it to twenty, get to fifty, Once you get to fifty, get to one hundred, and then meditation is over. It helps, it does help. It sounds weird, Try it, help, try it.
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Speaker 3: I'm also looking to get I'm also looking for a sponsorship with my friends at Balance. I use the Balance app and I have a guided meditation that I do pretty much every day. So that's my MOO that I go with.
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Speaker 2: I did not know that I just started it. I didn't know you were doing it.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm doing it, man, I've done it for a couple of years now and it's worked.
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Speaker 2: Wonders on my on my headspace. What would you say, help the best? Because I'm just starting in it and I've already noticed kind of a clearer mind in the moment. This app.
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Speaker 3: I've tried a lot of shit at this app is the one that helps me. And like my mind tends to race at night. And it's got like a night meditation that you're supposed to play and like you know, you can set it for thirty minutes or an hour and it will almost guide you into, like you know, this mental space where you can just fall asleep without any thoughts going through your head.
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Speaker 2: You're a night meditator because I'm a morning first thing meditator. They're a little bit different too, because it's like, what do you want to get out of it? Do you want like a resting period where then you fall asleep? Like for me, it makes me up in the morning. It's just different. I'm a morning meditator and I'm a night as needed, so some days I do two, but for the most part, I do one. So that's my thing.
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Speaker 3: Shall we start talking about baseball because we've probably lost a lot of listeners already.
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Speaker 2: I think that makes sense. Let's talk baseball. These guys are narcs, man, I don't need to meditate. I just want.
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Speaker 3: Brewers first five, just hurt the lose.
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Speaker 2: But let's let's talk about the NL central.
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Speaker 3: O'Neal's up, and I brought it up with ARM on yesterday's Just Baseball Show, which was so.
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Speaker 2: Fun by the way, Jason Stark, I mean that was great.
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Speaker 3: But I brought it up with arm yesterday, like I got, I got some textas some people was like, hey, man, can you can you confirm.
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Speaker 2: That O'Neill's going up? And I was like, dude, I have no idea what you're talking about. But O'Neill's going up.
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Speaker 3: And here's my thought on one A Cruz for watching him for you know, sixty games, this guy will likely not have the stars aligned for this to happen. Like, I think he's gonna be a very good baseball player. But the best case scenario the one hundredth percentile outcome for O'Neal Cruz. And I saw all three of these things, and Spurts is hitting the ball harder than Stanton, throwing the ball harder than Carlos Korea, and running as fast to show Hao Tani Like, that's the level of intrigue we're looking at with ONEO Cruz. We're looking at a six to seven shortstop, the tallest shortstop in baseball history, that hit a line drive single in Charlotte at one hundred and twenty one point seven miles an hour earlier this year, that is flirting with one hundred miles an hour across the diamond from short and that can steal twenty five to thirty bags in a given Major League season. We're looking at a guy that is as must watch if the stars align as Sho Hao Tani, Mike Trout and Fernando Tatis Junior. And I don't think I'm being hyperbolic when.
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Speaker 2: I say that, I have one question, what the fuck took them so long? I mean, come on now, I mean, I know you're gonna give up the answer. Yeah, I know. The Super two deadline is approaching, so it was like kind of now're not really now or never because we've seen teams manipulate service time, so it's not really now or never, but it's like almost now or never with this situation. What took the Pirates so long? With O'Neal Cruz Because Bobby Witt and Huliadriguez, all these guys, you know, maybe you could say they're slightly more talented, but in terms of a talent level, O'Neil Cruz could surpass all of them. So what took the Pirates so long?
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Speaker 3: Okay, so right now we're talking about ceiling, right, We're not talking about floor.
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Speaker 2: That's why I wanted to get into that. Yes, not everything's golden exactly.
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Speaker 3: The Super two deadline passed last week, so now oneal Cruz he will likely not qualify for this Super two, and he also was probably held down for long enough to the point where he finishes outside the top two in NL Rookie of the Year voting. Well, we'll see what happens with say on all that, But if you finish top two in Rookie of the Year voting, then you are awarded a full year of major league service time. So he will likely not be awarded a full year of major league service time. But honestly, I don't believe that was the thing, Like, I don't think there was a service time manipulation thing going on here. He was not good in the month of April. I mean, you can look at the monthly splits, like his OPS was well below six hundred in April, and he was striking out all the time. He was hitting the ball on the ground all the time. And oh, by the way, O'Neil Cruz commits sixteen airs in Indy through sixty games. That was the most in Triple A baseball. So O'Neill had some stuff to figure out. And I don't think anybody really understood that, Like they would just see the home run clipped and put out on Twitter and it's like, get him up. This is so stupid. We should arrest ben Cherrington. I see hashtag arrest ben Cherrington on Twitter.
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Speaker 2: What are we doing? What are we.
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Speaker 3: Saying about that? O'Neil had some stuff that he needed to figure out. Defensively, he needed to figure out a little bit more focused, that's what ben Cherrington said, and he figured that shit out. I think the time is right for O'Neil to go up. He really struggled in April. He put together a damn solid month of May in early part of June, and I think this is going to be really exciting for Pirates fans who are watching Jack Swinsky have a three homer day, including a walk off bomb leover Pagero make his major league debut, and now you've got O'Neil coming up after a cup of at the end of last year. I think the Pirates are like actually going to be a team that people watch, especially when Rowansi Andterraras is on a hill.
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Speaker 2: Totally agreed, And we can talk about the play, because when we talk about the play on the field all the time, But I really want to focus on the focus, no pun intended. The focus is what you talked about and what ben Cherrington has also spoken about too. And when you watch him in the minor leagues as well, you can tell there's something off. It's almost like he's not caring. But what changed because there was something that had to change because no matter all the production, if Ben Cherrington and the Pirates Brass see this guy mentally doesn't look like he wants it yet, did you see a light switch? I mean you watch him every day. Did you see a light switch? Did you see him start to progress fully in that? Or are you still thinking I didn't really see him progress. Just the talent was too much and the Pirates had to do it.
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Speaker 3: You know, Baseball is very hard to stay locked in for every pitch every day. Baseball is the longest sport on the counseler like it's one hundred and sixty two games. The line that I heard from I want to say it was Hawk Harrelson was baseball is a sport designed to make everybody involved with it go insane, and the team that goes the least insane is the one that's gonna win. And I totally stand by that. I mean, this is a long, long season, and it's a long game at times. I mean we see the four hour games, we see the back to back to back walks and it's like, oh my god, this thing is dragging. Are you bought in every single pitch and they needed to work on that, and they worked on that. I wouldn't necessarily say that there was a switch flipped, but I think when the weather warmed up that helped a little bit, because it's really hard to be out in Saint Paul, Minnesota when the wind chills has the real feel at nineteen degrees and you're playing baseball and you're from the Dominican Republic. So I think that O'Neill a buy in is obviously going to be there at the big league level, Like the focus is going to be there right level. I mean, listen, dude, you're at the show, like this is what you worked your entire life for. So that I think the question was like what was his focus and his buy in going to be like in minor league baseball when all of his buddies are getting called up, you know, with the Pirates, with other teams as well. And I think he realized once he like snapped it in, it was only a matter of time and you could see him snap it in offensively.
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Speaker 2: And now he's up and.
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Speaker 3: Hopefully he goes crazy and he does get that full year of service time and wins the Naur Rookie of the year.
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Speaker 2: I just want to see a fire lit under this dude's ask because can you imagine if he's one hundred percent motivated and angry, he might be No one's gonna stop this man. Nobody's gonna stop this man. That's just what I want to see. So I was curious if you saw there was a specific game or there was a stretch in June before getting called up where it was just like, Wow, this guy looks different, not only physically but mentally, just looks locked in right now. I was just curious if the pirates then saw that, because we, like I said, we know the talent is there. Yeah, I know he had about April, but everybody knows what he can do, right.
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Speaker 3: I mean we're saying, best case scenario for O'Neill is unicorn never before seen baseball.
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Speaker 2: Player Zingis as a Hall of Famer.
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Speaker 4: Yeah, Porzingis is a Hall of Famer on a baseball field.
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Speaker 2: Yeah.
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Speaker 3: I mean, like O'Neill's thing, I wouldn't say that there was like this five game stretch where it was like, oh my god, get him up right now.
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Speaker 2: It was a month and a half.
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Speaker 3: It was like, damn, he's got an ops, right, around one thousand for the last five weeks.
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Speaker 2: There we go, this is the O'Neill that.
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Speaker 3: We were expecting, right all of a sudden. And you know what's really interesting about Cruz. I don't think a lot of people realize how fast he is. He's very fast. I also don't think a lot of people realize that he's got good back to ball skills.
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Speaker 2: He was striking out a lot in April.
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Speaker 3: But this is not a guy that's going to strike out thirty percent of the time and hit thirty homers. He's probably going to hit twenty to twenty five. But his thing is he's going to hit one hundred and twenty mile an hour doubles into the gap or down the right field line, or he's gonna hit a ball out that has no business getting out. I mean, I know that you saw the highlight of him going to meet a seventy four mile an hour curve ball that was at the shoot tops pretty much in the other batter's box, and he just golfs it. It's like he's wedging it and it goes four thirty to right center. That's what we're gonna see. We're gonna see these feats of superhuman strength without the injection in somebody's ass cheek like we saw in the late nineties early two thousands, and we're gonna say who can do that? And the answer is ONEO Cruz end of list. I think that's what we're gonna see here.
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Speaker 2: I'm just excited. Yeah, And I wanted to hear from you that, like, oh yeah, over the past two weeks, he's just in the weeds angry because then I think to myself, will he might be worth a sprinkle on finishing close to the end and Rookie of the Year voting, Because I'm telling you, if this guy gets up and he's got a fire lit under his ass and he's got all the talent in the world and he starts to connect, nobody is gonna stop him. But before we keep moving on, because we have a bunch of topics to get to, you said that twenty to twenty five home runs is your projection of him? How right? Isn't this a forty home run guy? Or am I just completely off? I think he is. That's a good question.
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Speaker 3: I think best case scenario is a forty home run guy. But I think like this year, you're probably gonna see fifteen from him. Okay, I bet you see fifteen. But I think in like a typical year, you're gonna see let's say twenty five homers, let's say thirty five to forty doubles, and let's say twenty to twenty five bags, and he's gonna hit right around two seventy.
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Speaker 2: I don't hate that, No, pretty good. I don't hate it at all.
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Speaker 3: How about Riley Green, though, because this is a guy with a much higher floor than O'Neil and not a similar ceiling, because when ceiling is higher than anybody in all minor league baseball at this point, maybe except Grayson Rodriguez, who ceiling is literally Bob Gibson. But Riley Green has one of the highest floors.
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Speaker 2: In my league baseball.
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Speaker 3: I think I got to see him when he was in short season ball in twenty nineteen, after he went sixth overall to Detroit and or fifth overall.
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Speaker 2: I think CJ. Abrams went sixth.
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Speaker 3: But Riley Green he just looked like a college bat after he was taken out of high school, and that's still what he is. He obviously dealt with the foot thing that kept him out until this past weekend when he made his.
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Speaker 2: Major league debut.
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Speaker 3: Riley Green injected some life into this Tigers offense and on State of the Division with Ryan Miller, I was just running through the ops among like players on the Tigers, and there's not many guys with an OPS over six hundred.
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Speaker 2: I think there might be three or four. What Riley Green can do? You want to get even more down to it, they have the three worst hitters in all of baseball by w RC plus. The three worst that's not a joke. Hi Mark Candelario, Javier Bayaz and Jonathan Scope bottom three in w RC plus. This offense is terrible. Continue with Riley Green. Jesus, yeah, I mean it's horrible, but like horrible.
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Speaker 3: I think we saw Riley Green inject.
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Speaker 2: A little bit of light into the crazy I did see it. They put up a great outing this this he got his first hitt in a bluep hit and then he got another one. He I mean, he is already because we even said when we compared him as a Spencer Torkolsen, right, Jack, that Torkolsen's bat is probably, you know, a bit juicier is going to give you more power. But that Riley Green, even at the young age of twenty one is probably already closer to being kind of the product that we'll see from Riley Green. Right, is it crazy to say that?
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Speaker 3: I think Riley Green is just a better hitter than Spencer Torkolsen.
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Speaker 2: I don't think that's crazy at all. Who does Riley Green remind you of? That's a really good question. I don't know. I don't know.
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Speaker 3: Think about a guy that can hit three hundred with twenty five homers and good bat to ball.
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Speaker 2: See my I want to throw this at you. My thinking here was Brantley with more power. Yeah, that's where I go to. I think of like a guy who's you know, he's not going to strike out really that much, but he's going to show great plate disciplinet at the plate, he's going to take his walks. He may not ever win batting titles like Michael Brantley did, but I also wouldn't put it past him to win a batting title or two. Yeah, but he's not going to hit thirty thirty five forty home runs like a Torque can. But twenty five home runs and twenty steals is perfectly within reach while hitting three hundred. Right, totally different swing.
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Speaker 3: But my thought also goes to another astro, Kyle Tucker, right, Like, that's the type of offensive impact that Riley Green can have on.
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Speaker 2: A team, The Kyle Tucker effects where he's hitting.
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Speaker 3: Joey Gallo, Yeah, shut up, Like the high two hundreds with twenty five homers and twenty backs. I think that's what Riley Green is. And I think Riley Green can be a perennial All Star. That's how good this guy is. So we'll see what happens with the Tigers as a collective.
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Speaker 2: Like maybe it was just.
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Speaker 3: Like getting Torque's friend up that he came through the organization with. You know, maybe that injection life into Torkosin and that in turn injectson life into Tucker Freakin' Barnhart.
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Speaker 2: We'll see what happens here.
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Speaker 3: There are seasons a wash already, especially with the pitching staff going through what they're going through. But having said that, I think that Riley Green can be beneficial for the Tigers. At least he makes it easy to watch Tigers games for Tigers fans.
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Speaker 2: I think it's the problem with the Tigers offense has not necessarily been like the top of the lineup right, I mean, they have plenty of guys who at least are good table setters. I mean, Victor Reis has performed very well unlimited time. You know, Willie Cashro, Harold Cashro, these guys have been the best hitters on the Tigers. It's the middle of the lineup. The middle of the lineup can't do anything. Miggy is I mean, even Miggy's hitting two ninety seven, but he's man.
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Speaker 3: Miggy is the best offensive piece they have right now. Everybody he's got sucks, He's got no power. He's slugging below four hundred, like you're just not even probably gonna get twenty home run this year for Miguel Cabrera, which is just a far cry away from the forty plus he used to be putting up. Like even Austin Meadows has just been on and off the IL. You know, there's just the middle of the lineup. The guys who I was saying was Scope with Bayaz, who've been healthy all year and just can't hit. Candelario has been off and on the IL, but again can't hit it all. The middle of the lineup, the run producers can't hit. But Riley Green and then as soon as Bencer Torksten starts getting hot, they will at least help that. But Riley Green looks ready already at twenty one years old. Yeah, no, he's great and me arm and Ryan Finkelstein we're talking to. If Trek Scooble didn't exist, Miguel Cabrera, even with his sub four hundred slugging, would likely be the Tigers All Star.
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Speaker 2: That's how bad the team is this year. Just as we're talking about rookies too. The Braves might have the front runners in NL Rookie of the Year of Mackenzie Gore after his tough start with Spencer Strider and Michael Harris junior. So and the only reason I'm bringing that up, yeah, Michael Harris or Riley Green, they're both twenty one year olds. They're both outfielders. Who do you like for the rest of the season in terms of ANO Rookie of the Year voting? No? No, no, because I mean they're both in different leagues. I'm just talking about the player, like where they are in their development right now. Harris ends up having kind of the better season because I think also what that question does with the success of Harris if you say a guy like Riley Green. It's giving a ton of praise to Riley Green. But if you say that Michael Harris is still better, that just then again shows this Michael Harris guy. We're talking all this praise about Riley Green, but Michael Harris is still that dude. I just think it's an interesting hypothetical.
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Speaker 3: I'm gonna say, Riley Green.
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Speaker 2: Mmmm, that fires me up.
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Speaker 3: Green is the fourth high school guy to debut from that twenty nineteen draft, because it was Whitney Abrams right away CJ down in TRIPA A, and then he had Michael Harris, and then he had Riley Green.
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Speaker 2: And Michael Harris.
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Speaker 3: His tools are louder than Riley Green at this point, right Like, Michael Harris is a world class defender. There's a world where he wins the Gold Glove in center field in the National League this year as a rookie. He's that good Defensively, He's amazing. He covers so much ground. Riley Green is not that defensively, but the hit tool I think is better. I do think that Riley Green will have a better offensive season at the end of the year in what twenty fewer games, twenty five fewer games than Michael Harris will have, but I think Harris, especially for the Brave situation, I think Harris is going to be more important because I just don't think the Tigers are going to compete this year. But I think in terms of who will put together the better twenty twenty two season, it'll likely be Riley Green. And I think Riley Green is a better overall player.
00:22:56
Speaker 2: That just's and that's a member. That's not a detriment to.
00:23:00
Speaker 3: No, it's just like it's Riley Green's really good. Like I did text that, I think if you're trying to put more money on the n OL Rookie of the Year race, should.
00:23:13
Speaker 2: Be going on Spencer Strider.
00:23:16
Speaker 3: His odds are good. Last time I saw him there like plus eleven hundred. And I'm I'm not a gambling man at all, but listen, I dished out India. I'm not saying right the hot hand, but what Strider does seems like a Rookie of the Year type stuff.
00:23:31
Speaker 4: Right.
00:23:33
Speaker 2: My only thing with Strider is, you know he is a bullpen arm moved to the starting rotation. How long does one hundred miles an hour last? How long does ninety nine last? If he's just ninety nine. Like my worry is you know with Rodaan right when he's not turn into ninety five? Yeah, yeah, and then a couple of starts where he then turns into ninety five, Like, is he a good enough pitcher to still be able to get out consistently without this super super high below because it's still early in the year. He's only had a couple of starts, not a couple. I mean, now we're we're getting to a sample size of like six seven starts. But then again, that's what it is. So I'm I'm just I don't know. I don't know if this continues lost because we have no prior history of him doing it.
00:24:19
Speaker 3: I will say that Carlos Rodan does not have the thighs that Spencer Strider has.
00:24:23
Speaker 2: Facts.
00:24:24
Speaker 3: I mean, he doesn't have the leg like those are the best legs on a pitcher in baseball looks like Saquon. He looks like Saquon and legs. Last, what you were taught growing up as a pitcher, right is don't like your arms should feel sore after a start. Yeah, but your whole body should feel sore after a start. You should be getting everything you possibly can out of your body. You should feel it in your back. You should feel it in your lower back. You should feel it in your legs. Your legs should be sore. It should feel like you maxed out on squatting after a start. That's what Strider throws like. It looks like he maximized is his body, which is the biggest thing for a picture, and that can make him sustainable.
00:25:05
Speaker 2: I think I think so too. I'm not saying that I don't think so. It's just when I'm putting money on things, I want things that, at least in my head I can argue to myself, this seems like more of a sure thing. It's hard to place my money on a player who's a former reliever turn starter and expect him to continue this level of velocity throughout the year. Similar to Michael Harris, the reason why I'm not running to start to put money on him to win NL Rookie of the Year is because he is a twenty one year old who hasn't gone through the rookie lole yet, which it hits everybody. The pictures they throw to these guys. The rookies may perform well, and then there's a level of you know, the picture. You know, he's got to figure it out. Batter himself, has got to figure out from the adjustments that the pitchers make because they make up them quickly. Like will he go through a loll and then he might get good again, But I'm expecting him to still go through these types of things. That's my reasoning for just not wanting to put my money on it.
00:26:07
Speaker 3: So if you were to commit to one guy for NL Rookie of the Year, would it be Gore or would it be somebody else?
00:26:12
Speaker 2: It's still Gore for me. I mean, my pick at the beginning of the year was Saya and that was the only person I took. So I'm still riding with Saya. But if you told me who do I think will win it, I still think it's going to be Gore because think about it, who is like, out of all these rookie starting pitchers, Like what we've seen from Gore so far this year, he seems like the most sure thing barring an injury. Of course, he's so good. He's so good, right, and he already looks like that, And we've had prior history of him at least being a starter, being this guy who was about him figuring out the command, and the command has looked great. Those are tangible things where I think to myself, I'm okay losing this bed as long as it's on mcken's gore rather than a reliever turned starter than I'm hoping based on huge velocity spikes and the legs. Like, I can't just bet on quats, as much as I love it.
00:27:00
Speaker 3: I can bet on quads, man, I can absolutely I bet on ass more than quads and striders got both of them.
00:27:06
Speaker 2: And I'm also not saying that it's a bad bet to be on them. They could eat both of them, could be front runners for antal Rookie the Year, and they are right now. I just talking from my mindset of how I bet on futures and it's been it's been profitable for us generally, and so that's that's my thinking there.
00:27:21
Speaker 3: Yeah, how about an l MVP because Manny Machado just went down. Thank god he didn't break his ankle. Oh that looked so bad in real time. I was like, his foot's going the wrong way.
00:27:32
Speaker 2: I thought he broke it. I thought he broke it too.
00:27:34
Speaker 3: But it turns out he's just wearing super baggy pants. And it was just a bad sprain. But he's going to be out for several weeks apparently, maybe north of a month here. So Machado, he was probably the NL MVP front runner at this point, right, like him or Mookie.
00:27:48
Speaker 2: Yeah, gold Schmidt, like, oh Goldie, Yeah, there's gold Schmith's probably I don't know, like it's it's so tough with with Machado's acumen. All the best, all the best hitters right now are in the AL, like bold Schmidt is is really really amazing. Mooki has slowed down lately, and now Mooki hit the I l which yeah, he's got a cracked rib.
00:28:09
Speaker 3: No, But I mean, like Judge is the best hitter in baseball right now, and then Trout and then you're done, like this probably.
00:28:15
Speaker 2: Might be better than Judge right now. Trout had a weekend series against the Mariners where he could not get out.
00:28:19
Speaker 3: But how about your Don, dude, You're Don sitting like four eighty in June. Yeah, there's no wrong answer, but those three guys are in the American League at this point. With Machado, I want to get to what that means for the Padres in a moment. But does that mean like you should be running to Paul gold Schmidt for n L m VP right now.
00:28:41
Speaker 2: No, because also don't you expect gold Schmidt to at least regress slightly? I mean reason to expect. I don't think it's better than I know. I think it's.
00:28:51
Speaker 3: Better than he did at any point in Arizona.
00:28:54
Speaker 2: I think the race is wide open right now. I think the race is wide open right now. There's nobody that I'm running to bet. Absolutely not. But that's why I'm running.
00:29:03
Speaker 3: That's why I'm running to Edie Adreansa just got off the sixty day. He's I think he's hitting like one to eighty right now for Washington. But he's due for some positive regression for sure. Yeah, he's probably like one sixty five or something.
00:29:17
Speaker 2: Yeah, you just got to hit your weight, and he's hitting above his weight, so they're gonna make fun of him, exactly. We're good man.
00:29:23
Speaker 3: Listen, if you can't hit your weight, just like, drop some bills and you'll be on a major league team.
00:29:28
Speaker 2: Can I say how this affects the Padres for a second, because when I look at the roster, Many Machado has a nine to forty five. Ops. You know his next poor Heel Farro. The Padres don't have a hitter on their roster right now with an OPS over eight hundred, with Tatisa's timetable being pushed back, with Manny Machado not out for weeks with the ankle injury, you have to be worried about this offense. You have to be. I know Crona Worth can still hit and he's getting hotter, which is good to see. Luke Voight has had some great weekend series. The power is starting to come in. But as Eric Cosmer slows down and we know that he's gonna slow down, like Profar, what are we going to get from Jerikson Profar? This year? We've already gotten great production. Is this gonna stay throughout the entire year? I'm worried about the Padres offense. I'm not gonna lie. I've always been worried about the Padres. People who listen to the Just Baseball Show religiously, we freaking love you to death. And you know my grievances with the Padres. It's like, prove it, prove it? What's you prove it? I'm in because they have all the talent in the world. Just have a season where you freaking make the playoffs and dominate like you're supposed to on paper every single year. And now things are starting to fall a little bit. And the Giants have still not been healthy all year, and they're still right there with the Padres. I still lean Giants to finish over the Padres at the end of the year. And it's not just because of the Machado injury. It's just because the polarization with this team. It's like you.
00:30:53
Speaker 3: Never know, you never know. The pitching is better than it was last year. Yah, Musgrove and Gore at the front of that. And whatever you get from Snell is a bonus. Whatever you get from the other guys as a bonus, too, Darkish you.
00:31:12
Speaker 2: Like, Darvish has been great. Darbish has been great. Darvish is known for his blow ups, especially on the road.
00:31:18
Speaker 3: Yeah, and we'll see how sustainable this Mackenzie Gore is. But Musgrove I totally believe in offensively, like they need an answer offensively, And I don't know what that answer is.
00:31:28
Speaker 2: It might honestly be just getting CJ.
00:31:30
Speaker 3: Abrams back up and seeing if he figured some stuff out, because he's getting really, really well in TRIPLEA.
00:31:37
Speaker 2: Down there.
00:31:38
Speaker 3: He's crushing it down there. You know, maybe you give Robinson can Know another shot. I don't know what kind of trades you make right now.
00:31:45
Speaker 2: It's tough. It's just really tough. I just I don't know how they're going to pick up the pieces right now too, because like a replacement at third base, you know, does Haw Sound Kim.
00:31:55
Speaker 3: Go over there, like has Sung Kim probably goes to third, Abrams to shore, Croninworth.
00:32:01
Speaker 2: Stays at second. They still haven't called up Abrams yet either.
00:32:04
Speaker 3: I know, maybe Storry Ruiz gets up as well, the guy that's on pace to steal a hundred bags for the first time since Billy Hamilton.
00:32:13
Speaker 2: We'll see what they do. Preller's gonna get creative. I listen.
00:32:18
Speaker 3: I can't ding him for not being creative. He gets creative.
00:32:22
Speaker 2: But don't you think Preller could feel the pressure and then ultimately make a trade that ruins this team. I can also see that, Oh absolutely, I absolutely see that happening. Baron Ziety of the Giants ain't doing that, No, he's not.
00:32:35
Speaker 3: I think the Giants are hot right now because of the depth that they have, like Tyro Estrada and like the boltpen they're throwing. Well, this is the Giants that we were expecting where we don't know these names.
00:32:49
Speaker 2: But here we go. Here's San Francisco. Here's one name we do know. Camillo Duvall. He's hot again. Oh he looks good on one. Slider's coming in the command starting to really look good. He's rocking to two, four or five. He's really kind of moved into that closer role with San Francisco. And I think that matters too, because you got a twenty four year old who hasn't had much time in the bigs, but he's already the closer for a bullpen that had the best bullpen eer eight in the entire sport last year. And I know they've had some guys like Rogers has not looked the same as he has he looked McGee has not put together this season that he put together last year. But the fact that the Giants have this much confidence in this twenty four year old Camillo do fall. That's what I mean. I saw a man face the Dodgers and I said, that's the coolest relief I've ever seen. And now he's dominated it. I just it's it's must see TV. When Camillo Davall is pitching, in my mind.
00:33:44
Speaker 3: One oh one with that arm slot seems unhittable.
00:33:47
Speaker 4: Right, unhittable, unhittable. Hey, the Red Sox are really good. Yeah they are, Yeah they are. And we just cannot count this team out. Check we I didn't this year. I did last year, and I learned my life and similar to the way I learned my lesson with the Giants, this team, you cannot count them out.
00:34:04
Speaker 2: Alex Cora. We know that he's going to manage them to plenty of wins. Nick Pavetta has taken this huge jump, not more of a huge jump from when he was in Philadelphia, but he showed this level of potential in the playoffs last year for the Red Sox and now looks like one of the better right handed arms in the American League. Just shut down a Cardinals offense that looks great. Right now you move forward. Michael Waka, Dude, what's going on? I don't have an answer for that. I literally don't have an answer for that. How is he so good? Obviously he's gonna regress, but right now he looks amazing. Michael Waka looks amazing. Damn. I love that.
00:34:37
Speaker 4: You say, obviously he's gonna regress, like, yeah, no thing, Michael Watt. No, it's not like, but not regress to just a five E R.
00:34:44
Speaker 2: Like we've seen. Yeah, but I mean this is he's putting together a really good season. He looks really really good.
00:34:51
Speaker 3: I think we knew this offense was too good to sputter. They were sputtering at the beginning, but Rafael Devers is really freaking good. And I mean they just have so much depth, dude, Like I mean, the top end talent they pay for the top end production. I don't know, man, The offense is really really deep. It's going to continue to keep firing. And the biggest thing, like you're saying, is the starting pitching. I mean, these guys were running out like quality start after quality start after quality start, granted against like some not great teams, but they just took two or three from Saint Louis, who is I think a great team.
00:35:26
Speaker 2: I called that a prove it series. The Red Sox won two of three in that series and didn't do it like easily. It's not like they blew them out or anything, but they won two of three, and Jack, what do you think the bullpen era.
00:35:40
Speaker 3: Of the Red Sox ranks bullpen era for the Red Sox. I do think is like top is it top third, is it top ten, sixth, sixth?
00:35:54
Speaker 2: I think that's wildly impressive considering Garrett Whitlock moving to the rotation, and also with the Red Sox, They're gonna get better, dude. Chris Sale is gonna come back soon. Nate Yavaldi has been on the shelf. He's going to come back soon. And on the shelf right now. Yeah, also on the shelf, gonna come back soon. Joshwa Kowski, this right handed pitcher they pulled up. Nobody knows who he is, but he's one of the best prospect pitching prospects, at least in the Red Sox farm system. He doesn't look bad. He looks like a serviceable five.
00:36:22
Speaker 3: You know who I have de you know who I like? And like Austin Davis is obviously throwing really well, and Sali Moore is actually kind of throwing, Okay. John Schreiber is good. Shreiber is good. And then how about Matt Strom. I like Matt Strom.
00:36:39
Speaker 2: Matt Strom is good. I like the other guy better, Shreiver. I like better too. Yeah, I just Matt Strom just doesn't doesn't pop up the page for me. But he's pitching well, so I'm gonna give him all the credit in the world. He's pitching. The Red Socks are playing well.
00:36:54
Speaker 3: You did you say that you think they finished second in the ale least.
00:36:58
Speaker 2: Sam LUKENI said that on State of the Division. Yeah, I didn't call him crazy, I didn't say it. I still think that the Rays are gonna finish second. I really do still think that this is the Rays, and we're going to talk about them in a second. But I think that the Red Sox could do it. I really think they could do it. I don't think it's out of the rum of possibility. I mean, this is close, dude, and we're gonna have a Kevin Gosman second half. Let's see how well he does, because he's already starting to falter. Alec Manoa has looked phenomenal but just got beat up by the Yankees. Jose Brios has not been able to stay consistent, Ryo is now out for the Yar and Kakuchi is so inconsistent stripling. I mean, what are you gonna do? The Blue Jays are definitely gonna trade for some pitching, and the offense is gonna continue to roll. But the bullpen, I mean, you can't rely on Jordan Romano to get four outs every single time like he did against the Yankees on Sunday. You can't rely on that. Yeah, he's not superman. He can't pitch every single inning for the pen. And they have other guys, but like Simber is starting to get blown up, Like they just have guys who are just not that good. They need a lot in their pitching staff more than the Red Sox, I would say, I really do think so more than the Red Sox. The Blue Jays need more pitching than the Red Sox do.
00:38:08
Speaker 3: Yeah, I feel like a lot of our problems would have been avoided if Barrios was actually good.
00:38:13
Speaker 2: Literally, if Brios is good, I think the Blue Jays would be like four games behind the Yankees. Yeah, seriously, I'm with you, man. But also Gosman Gosman bro is falling off a cliff lately, and I think he's tipping his pitches. You mentioned tipping pitches. Where did you see that? It's on an ESPN Whether sure or not, we'll see.
00:38:32
Speaker 3: We'll see, man. I mean like it has been stark. It's been very different from the start of the year. Pretty much like if you were to split the season in half. Right now, front half of his third of a season, front half of his half of a season, he was best pitcher in baseball pretty much, and then now he's it's like second half in San Francisco last.
00:38:51
Speaker 2: Year he was just average. And the reason I say like tipping pitches, I saw like some rumor of about it on ESPN, so I just started watching to see if. I was like, is that true? ESPN? Like it could be so many other different things, but is that true? And then I'm watching, how are these guys timing up as splitter? Like they're timing it up. It's not just the lunging, And then like getting a base in, it's like they're sitting back on it. And I'm thinking to myself, how, like, how is that possible? Are people just sitting splitter and saying the fastball can't beat me? That's something. Maybe it's not even tipping pitches. Maybe that's just a change in It might just be a change, could be a change in approach. But I'm watching guys sit on a splitter, which I think is pretty much impossible considering it's Kevin Gusman. But they're doing it and they're hitting it.
00:39:38
Speaker 3: So I don't know what to tell you right I'm not sure either. I do think that Toronto and Boston finish ahead of Tampa, and Tampa might have the cy Young Award winner. They're unhealthy, like we were talking about via text this morning' Zannino, Lao, Franco all on the il. But you look at guys that are playing consistently here. Kevin Kiirrmeyer is a six point fifty OPS. Brett Phillips has a five to thirty OPS. Taylor walls of four eighty ops in fifty six games and in thirty three games. For Vidal Bruhan, he's got a four to sixty OPS. They can't hit right now, and I'm worried that Shane McClanahan is not going to get any run support to save his life for the next you know, for the rest of the year. I have no clue what's gonna happen with Tampa. Do you have faith that they get good again when those three guys come off, because Zanino was terrible before he got hurt. Franco obviously was good. Brandon Lao was fine. It wasn't the Brandon Lao of last year. But you can't really ride Wander Franco and Yandi Diez and g man Choi to.
00:40:42
Speaker 2: World Series contention. That's the thing. But the Rays. It's so tough because the Rays show up for good pitching regardless, Like they're facing Garrett Colt tonight, I mean recording on Monday again to be released on Tuesday. Let's see how they do against him. Brandon Lao is still on the shelf when he comes back. Let's see wander Franco when he comes back. Let's see this isn't a finished product. Also Mike s Unino, But then again, Mike's Unino is pretty much only good against the soft thrown lefty. But then again, that's still offense for you and a guy who could hit you thirty plus home runs if you pro rate that over a full season, that's the kind of power production you'll get from him. I still think that this Rai's offense is better than what they've shown. I think they've gotten off to a really slow start with all these injuries in the way, and you know they're continuing to start guys who you know they had the Josh Lao experiment didn't really work. Videl Bruhan can't hit anything, Taylor Walls can't hit anything. So I feel like they're also trying a lot of these rookies at the back end of their lineup that just aren't hitting. So all those stats are accumulating, and these guys, you know, they give them two hits and thirty eight bats and then that gets thrown into the rest. So you're right, totally right the raised offense as a whole. But when they start replacing a lot of those abs, you know, Videl Breuhan versus Brandon Lao, huge difference there, Wander Franco versus Taylor Walls, huge difference there. That's when I think we're going to see the offense start to pick up. But at least what we know is that the pitching has been unbelievable. And just to close on the Gosman point, I was like guys were sitting back on the splitter. That's what I was seeing with my eyes when I first saw the game. But I'd like to just clarify that because opponents are really crushing his fastball right now. I think that's what I was seeing was guys were hitting his sitting on the splitter because they know they can hit the fastball, and then the fastball is just getting torn up right now. So when I when I was making the argument that they're just killing a slider, it's not that they're killing a slider. They just that they hit the what did I say, Yeah, slidder, Yeah, splitter, splitter, sitting on the splitter because they know that the fastball ain't going to buy them.
00:42:37
Speaker 3: Yeah, one hundred percent. I'm with you, just jumping back to the Rays real quick. On the pitching, the pitching has been so good. I mean, Klueber's got a three to five right now. Rasmussen, he's on a fifteen day, but he's got a three to four in twelve starts. Jeffrey Springs has been great. Jason Adam has been elite out.
00:42:53
Speaker 2: Of the ball. Jason Adam might be the most underrated believer in the.
00:42:56
Speaker 3: Entire He's an all star. He's for sure an all star.
00:42:58
Speaker 2: Should be an All Star. Also, Matt Whistler throws ninety four percent sliders. Pisses me off. My most angry watch of a reliever. How like, how do you keep getting away with it?
00:43:07
Speaker 4: Sit?
00:43:08
Speaker 2: On a slider.
00:43:08
Speaker 3: I'm telling you, man, the Rays, they tell you to do one thing all the time.
00:43:12
Speaker 2: That's Matt Whistler. They're taking it too far with him. They're taking it too far with him, but it works. I don't know what to tell you, man.
00:43:19
Speaker 3: Beaks has been good, Colin Postsha has been good. But McClanahan is the king in McClanahan. I'm so so so excited, and again this comes out tomorrow morning, but I'm so excited to watch McClanahan and Cole tonight in the air and to be maybe one.
00:43:36
Speaker 2: Of them, I mean, one of the best pitching matchups of the year.
00:43:39
Speaker 3: Yeah, because here we saw Bieber and Cole and that was game of the year.
00:43:42
Speaker 2: That was pretty good. Also, I'm just I'm just interested in McClanahan third time against the Yankees or no, excuse me, second time around, either second or third time around. Garrett Cole has faced him a bunch this year. Should we check out real quick? I think it's his second or third time around more. I'm the main point of this is that I'm very interested to see how McClanahan does multiple times against the best offense in baseball in New York right now, This like shows this is a shit McClanahan.
00:44:10
Speaker 3: This is third time around. The first time was on May twenty ninth. He went six innings, a one run ball, struck out seven. Yeah, he started on the fifteenth. So back to back starts against the Yankees. First one was in the Bronx. He went six innings, four runs, just one was ironed, struck out seven. So we'll see what it looks like when McClanahan back to back times he's out there sees the same lineup.
00:44:32
Speaker 2: Who adjusts McClanahan or the Yankees short thing on earn runs. I understand how they're calculated. But he gave up two home runs in that game. Yeah, but it probably came after an air and like it was no it did. It came up to like a It came after like an era of a pickoff attempt and like yeah, technically doesn't count, but like you gave up to him runs. Basically, what I'm saying here is that he got hit. He got hit. He did what I'm curious to see in his third start, does he shut the door or does it get worse? Right, We'll see what happens there. Yeah, that's what we'll see.
00:45:04
Speaker 3: Let's wrap with Cleveland, because what the Cleveland Guardians are doing right now could actually make them look like playoff contenders.
00:45:11
Speaker 2: Arm and I pounded our fists on the table when someone asked what should the Guardians do? Like should they retool, should they completely rebuild? Should they buy fully at the deadline? And we were pounding our fists on my desk saying, by the time is now you have the pitching. Bieber looks healthy. Jose Ramirez is maybe the best player in the sport.
00:45:34
Speaker 3: We didn't even mention Jay rim when we talked about best players in baseball. Like the four best players in baseball right now I think are in the American League.
00:45:42
Speaker 2: Seriously, and you can make the argument, but they have the guys like Oscar Gonzalez has been this great rookie for them too, Like Miles Straws, the table setter hasn't really been hitting, but one of the best center feels defensively in the game. Med Rozario looks like a solid option at shorts up, a guy can really wreck havoc on the bases and at least does some things at the plate and can play good short stuff for them. Josh Naylor looks like a really good hitter Owen Miller down there in their lineup. I just know all about the Guardians. I bet on them way too much.
00:46:08
Speaker 3: I watched even Kwan Kwan's hitting three twenty in June. Yeah, these guys are getting hot. Man, these guys are good. This is a good team.
00:46:18
Speaker 2: They just went into Los Angeles and played to the level of the Dodgers. Now, the Dodgers are at their like lowest common denominator I've seen them in the past couple of years while still putting together wins. But the Guardians played really, really well against the Dodgers. If I'm not mistaken, they took two out of three. This is just off the dumb from watching this weekend. I think they took two out of three from the Dodgers. I know they won on Sunday. I know they lost when cal Quandrill's on the mountain, and I'm pretty sure that they won two to one in the first game. Yeah, that's the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Guardians are fucking good and they should buy a bat. Now who did they go get? Like, where do they make the upgrade?
00:46:55
Speaker 3: My mind immediately goes to catcher Austin Hedges cannot be the catcher.
00:47:00
Speaker 2: Good Wilson Manny's good at defense?
00:47:03
Speaker 4: Is it?
00:47:03
Speaker 2: Wilson Contreras. That's what we said. That's what we said, Like, why not because he doesn't handcuff you. He's just a rental, So you don't have to unearth all these prospects that you love. Why not get Wilson Gatreras? Could use a right he also, I mean, could use a lefty probably a little bit more. Their their lineup is pretty dominant. I also talked about Josh Bell, but of course they have for animal. But he's not been anything this year. But you can't give up on him either. And he's on the ten day. He's played thirty five games this year.
00:47:34
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, Josh Bell. How about it's in division, so no, Benny.
00:47:46
Speaker 2: How about an easy one? Go get David Peralta from the Diamondbacks, easy one.
00:47:52
Speaker 4: Yeah.
00:47:52
Speaker 2: You can hit play good outfield for them, easy one, yeah, Because it's not like you have to you know, it's not like you have to go get a one soda or anythink. Of course they're not going to, but it's not like you have to completely unearthed for one of the best haders. Impossible just to be up there. The Twins. I'm not afraid of Sorry, I'm not afraid of the Twins me neither. I'm not afraid of them, and I'm not afraid that White Sox. I mean, the White Sex gotta get healthy. Lance Lynn is gonna throw on Monday, which is again where we're recording. They got to get better too, Lynn Burrios tonight. Yeah, it's yeah. That game's gonna be hilarious. That division is open. Cleveland, go get it, Go get it, because you can do it. They have a great bullpen, Brinshawn, Manuel class A and Trevor Steep. They have a great bullpen. They've great everything. By a bat can we.
00:48:46
Speaker 3: Can we agree as a collective that Cleveland could win the AL Central. I think so, all right, let's stamp it now, Cleveland's gonna win the AL Central.
00:48:57
Speaker 2: Well, no, they have to do something.
00:48:59
Speaker 3: They're a game back of Minnesota without doing anything. They're a game back in Minnesota right now.
00:49:04
Speaker 2: But the White Sox are gonna get much healthier, and the Twins are gonna get healthier too. I don't believe in the White Sox right now. As a White Sox fan, I don't believe in the White Sox. I don't think the White Sox are a better team right now than Cleveland. I can't say the Guardians are gonna win the division unless they at a bat. I can't do it. I'm going too. I'm gonna says good wins the Al Central. That's my final word. I love it. I love it. I think they can do it. Absolutely. That's where we're at. That's where we're at with Cleveland. There we go, all right, give us the social media's well, if you want to go follow us. Of course. We're on Twitter at just bb Media. We're on TikTok at Just Baseball Fans, We're at Instagram at just Baseball Show. Check out the Loop link in our episode description. It's an absolute banger. Might as well get twenty three dollars in order to download the Loop app. You get twenty three bucks just for doing it. Helps us out a ton. Let us know that we sent you for all my baseball card folks. And also, just as we're talking about Loop, what did I say, Clark, I say about the million dollar card man three and a third no runs against the Rays.
00:50:10
Speaker 3: Let's go again that Rai's offense can't hit you buy me thirty more seconds. I'm gonna go get my cards that I just got from Loop.
00:50:17
Speaker 2: I still think that it's a great card to have this Clerk Schmidt PSA Mint nine Absolute Banger. Jack has walked off the screen. It's my time to shine and that means this add Now he's back. I can't do a full thirty minutes on Clark Schmidt, but check it out and there's a bunch more cards like it on the Loop app as well as Prize Picks. If you want to join our daily stream at two thirty pm Eastern on Twitter, it's an absolute banger. You must join follow my Twitter. It's in the episode link. As well as Prize Picks. A code might as well get some free money if you want to jump along with us. You don't need to use your own money. Might as well use Prize Picks given money, so use code just Baseball when you're downloading the Prize Picks app. Is there anything else? Before we go? Jack Valera Bowman first? Wow, Ellie de la Cruz Bowman First, I'm an Ellie de la Cruz Bowman first too. I'm excited for that, dude.
00:51:08
Speaker 3: I've got John Kencey, Noel and Lenning and Soso over there as well. So that's it, that's it for me, man, and with that thank everybody.
Speaker 1: At times to stay your lake Cracker.
00:00:18
Speaker 2: You bring in here, we will sue you. Tis the Garner. Welcome the monu Tuesday the twenty first, the longest day of the year. Really today, it's June twenty first, your summer solstice. Yeah it is. What are you right? What am I going to do to celebrate? Yeah? I don't know. Is this something that we celebrate.
00:00:57
Speaker 3: I've got the Indians and the Memphis Redbirds, the Triple A affiliated the Cardinals.
00:01:02
Speaker 2: Game one of the series No.
00:01:04
Speaker 3: ONEO Cruz by the way, which we'll get into off the top.
00:01:07
Speaker 2: We've got just a whole bunch of.
00:01:08
Speaker 3: Storylines and we want to hit Jack Peter just Baseball Show Tuesday to twenty first. I feel like we haven't gotten a unit update for you recently.
00:01:17
Speaker 2: A unit update, like how I'm doing gambling wise. Yeah, I appreciate that it's been going okay. It's been going okay. I mean we're still up on the air. We're still up eleven point three to two units on the AAR winning at a fifty five percent rate. We had a great start to the week last week and then it came tumbling down at the end. But on prize picks, which the link is in our episode description as well. I run a Twitter space daily at two thirty pm Eastern where we bring a bunch of people from the community in to give prize picks, which is basically player props that we parlay. It's just for fun, but we've been doing really well on there, so that's the money that we've been picking up on the back end. But I would say, I mean, right now, we're getting into the summer months, right no football, no basketball, no hockey, and a lot of the stats it's like you want to follow the trends of the early year, but you also have to remember that some of those trends are going to start to go in the opposite direction as things starts to normalize. So we're at this point where do I trust the numbers in the early goings of the season or do I have to play future predictor and think those stats are going to normalize based on past trends. It's a lot happening right now. We have some two picks today, this is Monday. I'm on the Brewers first five innings against Miles Michael List with Corbyn Burns. I'm on the under in Padres Diamondbacks recording on Monday, Monday to be released on Tuesdays. You're going to see if these are right. Yeah, that's where we're starting off the week, right. I got my ice coffee, got my juice. I'm feeling good.
00:02:42
Speaker 3: I got my ice coffee here. So we're chilling in that regard. Yeah, I so like in the dog days, like, do you feel like you go on stretches with.
00:02:51
Speaker 2: That staff or no. That's the problem with this year. Last year it was a lot of two and one days, right or one in two days, just kind of coasting along a good even curve. But in April I had the best month of my entire life gambling. Every April I was up almost twenty units. And for anyone listening who's not familiar with gambling, let's say your unit is one hundred dollars just or ten dollars or one thousand dollars, whatever it is.
00:03:20
Speaker 3: If your unit's one hundred dollars, you were up two thousand.
00:03:22
Speaker 2: Bucks exactly ten, you're up two hundred, one thousand, you're up twenty thousand, whatever you do. But then in May, down thirteen units. One of the worst months, probably the worst month of my entire life gambling, and then we keep going on these stretches where we can't lose, and then we can't win. It's just been a big roller coaster. I'm hoping that it starts to normalize. So it's okay in my mental health because it's been it's been just this instead of this, which is definitely different.
00:03:51
Speaker 3: I was going to bring up mental health. Are you what are you doing to combat that? Meditation therapy?
00:03:58
Speaker 2: It's funny, you know what I have been doing. I have started meditating every morning. I love meditating. And you know what I do. So I sit on my bed in the morning, right as I wake up. I try not to look at my phone and I just sit there. And I found out this good way to do it. You just sit there and you count ten. Just sit there quietly. You count to ten. And if you can make it to ten without other thoughts getting in your mind. So if like you're like one, two, and then you think about something that you've been worried about, say okay, I recognize that thought. Bring it back in. Count to ten again. Once you make it to ten, get to twenty. Once you make it to twenty, get to fifty, Once you get to fifty, get to one hundred, and then meditation is over. It helps, it does help. It sounds weird, Try it, help, try it.
00:04:44
Speaker 3: I'm also looking to get I'm also looking for a sponsorship with my friends at Balance. I use the Balance app and I have a guided meditation that I do pretty much every day. So that's my MOO that I go with.
00:04:58
Speaker 2: I did not know that I just started it. I didn't know you were doing it.
00:05:01
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm doing it, man, I've done it for a couple of years now and it's worked.
00:05:05
Speaker 2: Wonders on my on my headspace. What would you say, help the best? Because I'm just starting in it and I've already noticed kind of a clearer mind in the moment. This app.
00:05:13
Speaker 3: I've tried a lot of shit at this app is the one that helps me. And like my mind tends to race at night. And it's got like a night meditation that you're supposed to play and like you know, you can set it for thirty minutes or an hour and it will almost guide you into, like you know, this mental space where you can just fall asleep without any thoughts going through your head.
00:05:34
Speaker 2: You're a night meditator because I'm a morning first thing meditator. They're a little bit different too, because it's like, what do you want to get out of it? Do you want like a resting period where then you fall asleep? Like for me, it makes me up in the morning. It's just different. I'm a morning meditator and I'm a night as needed, so some days I do two, but for the most part, I do one. So that's my thing.
00:05:55
Speaker 3: Shall we start talking about baseball because we've probably lost a lot of listeners already.
00:06:00
Speaker 2: I think that makes sense. Let's talk baseball. These guys are narcs, man, I don't need to meditate. I just want.
00:06:05
Speaker 3: Brewers first five, just hurt the lose.
00:06:09
Speaker 2: But let's let's talk about the NL central.
00:06:12
Speaker 3: O'Neal's up, and I brought it up with ARM on yesterday's Just Baseball Show, which was so.
00:06:16
Speaker 2: Fun by the way, Jason Stark, I mean that was great.
00:06:19
Speaker 3: But I brought it up with arm yesterday, like I got, I got some textas some people was like, hey, man, can you can you confirm.
00:06:27
Speaker 2: That O'Neill's going up? And I was like, dude, I have no idea what you're talking about. But O'Neill's going up.
00:06:31
Speaker 3: And here's my thought on one A Cruz for watching him for you know, sixty games, this guy will likely not have the stars aligned for this to happen. Like, I think he's gonna be a very good baseball player. But the best case scenario the one hundredth percentile outcome for O'Neal Cruz. And I saw all three of these things, and Spurts is hitting the ball harder than Stanton, throwing the ball harder than Carlos Korea, and running as fast to show Hao Tani Like, that's the level of intrigue we're looking at with ONEO Cruz. We're looking at a six to seven shortstop, the tallest shortstop in baseball history, that hit a line drive single in Charlotte at one hundred and twenty one point seven miles an hour earlier this year, that is flirting with one hundred miles an hour across the diamond from short and that can steal twenty five to thirty bags in a given Major League season. We're looking at a guy that is as must watch if the stars align as Sho Hao Tani, Mike Trout and Fernando Tatis Junior. And I don't think I'm being hyperbolic when.
00:07:34
Speaker 2: I say that, I have one question, what the fuck took them so long? I mean, come on now, I mean, I know you're gonna give up the answer. Yeah, I know. The Super two deadline is approaching, so it was like kind of now're not really now or never because we've seen teams manipulate service time, so it's not really now or never, but it's like almost now or never with this situation. What took the Pirates so long? With O'Neal Cruz Because Bobby Witt and Huliadriguez, all these guys, you know, maybe you could say they're slightly more talented, but in terms of a talent level, O'Neil Cruz could surpass all of them. So what took the Pirates so long?
00:08:08
Speaker 3: Okay, so right now we're talking about ceiling, right, We're not talking about floor.
00:08:12
Speaker 2: That's why I wanted to get into that. Yes, not everything's golden exactly.
00:08:16
Speaker 3: The Super two deadline passed last week, so now oneal Cruz he will likely not qualify for this Super two, and he also was probably held down for long enough to the point where he finishes outside the top two in NL Rookie of the Year voting. Well, we'll see what happens with say on all that, But if you finish top two in Rookie of the Year voting, then you are awarded a full year of major league service time. So he will likely not be awarded a full year of major league service time. But honestly, I don't believe that was the thing, Like, I don't think there was a service time manipulation thing going on here. He was not good in the month of April. I mean, you can look at the monthly splits, like his OPS was well below six hundred in April, and he was striking out all the time. He was hitting the ball on the ground all the time. And oh, by the way, O'Neil Cruz commits sixteen airs in Indy through sixty games. That was the most in Triple A baseball. So O'Neill had some stuff to figure out. And I don't think anybody really understood that, Like they would just see the home run clipped and put out on Twitter and it's like, get him up. This is so stupid. We should arrest ben Cherrington. I see hashtag arrest ben Cherrington on Twitter.
00:09:26
Speaker 2: What are we doing? What are we.
00:09:28
Speaker 3: Saying about that? O'Neil had some stuff that he needed to figure out. Defensively, he needed to figure out a little bit more focused, that's what ben Cherrington said, and he figured that shit out. I think the time is right for O'Neil to go up. He really struggled in April. He put together a damn solid month of May in early part of June, and I think this is going to be really exciting for Pirates fans who are watching Jack Swinsky have a three homer day, including a walk off bomb leover Pagero make his major league debut, and now you've got O'Neil coming up after a cup of at the end of last year. I think the Pirates are like actually going to be a team that people watch, especially when Rowansi Andterraras is on a hill.
00:10:07
Speaker 2: Totally agreed, And we can talk about the play, because when we talk about the play on the field all the time, But I really want to focus on the focus, no pun intended. The focus is what you talked about and what ben Cherrington has also spoken about too. And when you watch him in the minor leagues as well, you can tell there's something off. It's almost like he's not caring. But what changed because there was something that had to change because no matter all the production, if Ben Cherrington and the Pirates Brass see this guy mentally doesn't look like he wants it yet, did you see a light switch? I mean you watch him every day. Did you see a light switch? Did you see him start to progress fully in that? Or are you still thinking I didn't really see him progress. Just the talent was too much and the Pirates had to do it.
00:10:55
Speaker 3: You know, Baseball is very hard to stay locked in for every pitch every day. Baseball is the longest sport on the counseler like it's one hundred and sixty two games. The line that I heard from I want to say it was Hawk Harrelson was baseball is a sport designed to make everybody involved with it go insane, and the team that goes the least insane is the one that's gonna win. And I totally stand by that. I mean, this is a long, long season, and it's a long game at times. I mean we see the four hour games, we see the back to back to back walks and it's like, oh my god, this thing is dragging. Are you bought in every single pitch and they needed to work on that, and they worked on that. I wouldn't necessarily say that there was a switch flipped, but I think when the weather warmed up that helped a little bit, because it's really hard to be out in Saint Paul, Minnesota when the wind chills has the real feel at nineteen degrees and you're playing baseball and you're from the Dominican Republic. So I think that O'Neill a buy in is obviously going to be there at the big league level, Like the focus is going to be there right level. I mean, listen, dude, you're at the show, like this is what you worked your entire life for. So that I think the question was like what was his focus and his buy in going to be like in minor league baseball when all of his buddies are getting called up, you know, with the Pirates, with other teams as well. And I think he realized once he like snapped it in, it was only a matter of time and you could see him snap it in offensively.
00:12:29
Speaker 2: And now he's up and.
00:12:31
Speaker 3: Hopefully he goes crazy and he does get that full year of service time and wins the Naur Rookie of the year.
00:12:36
Speaker 2: I just want to see a fire lit under this dude's ask because can you imagine if he's one hundred percent motivated and angry, he might be No one's gonna stop this man. Nobody's gonna stop this man. That's just what I want to see. So I was curious if you saw there was a specific game or there was a stretch in June before getting called up where it was just like, Wow, this guy looks different, not only physically but mentally, just looks locked in right now. I was just curious if the pirates then saw that, because we, like I said, we know the talent is there. Yeah, I know he had about April, but everybody knows what he can do, right.
00:13:08
Speaker 3: I mean we're saying, best case scenario for O'Neill is unicorn never before seen baseball.
00:13:13
Speaker 2: Player Zingis as a Hall of Famer.
00:13:16
Speaker 4: Yeah, Porzingis is a Hall of Famer on a baseball field.
00:13:20
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:13:20
Speaker 3: I mean, like O'Neill's thing, I wouldn't say that there was like this five game stretch where it was like, oh my god, get him up right now.
00:13:26
Speaker 2: It was a month and a half.
00:13:28
Speaker 3: It was like, damn, he's got an ops, right, around one thousand for the last five weeks.
00:13:32
Speaker 2: There we go, this is the O'Neill that.
00:13:34
Speaker 3: We were expecting, right all of a sudden. And you know what's really interesting about Cruz. I don't think a lot of people realize how fast he is. He's very fast. I also don't think a lot of people realize that he's got good back to ball skills.
00:13:47
Speaker 2: He was striking out a lot in April.
00:13:49
Speaker 3: But this is not a guy that's going to strike out thirty percent of the time and hit thirty homers. He's probably going to hit twenty to twenty five. But his thing is he's going to hit one hundred and twenty mile an hour doubles into the gap or down the right field line, or he's gonna hit a ball out that has no business getting out. I mean, I know that you saw the highlight of him going to meet a seventy four mile an hour curve ball that was at the shoot tops pretty much in the other batter's box, and he just golfs it. It's like he's wedging it and it goes four thirty to right center. That's what we're gonna see. We're gonna see these feats of superhuman strength without the injection in somebody's ass cheek like we saw in the late nineties early two thousands, and we're gonna say who can do that? And the answer is ONEO Cruz end of list. I think that's what we're gonna see here.
00:14:34
Speaker 2: I'm just excited. Yeah, And I wanted to hear from you that, like, oh yeah, over the past two weeks, he's just in the weeds angry because then I think to myself, will he might be worth a sprinkle on finishing close to the end and Rookie of the Year voting, Because I'm telling you, if this guy gets up and he's got a fire lit under his ass and he's got all the talent in the world and he starts to connect, nobody is gonna stop him. But before we keep moving on, because we have a bunch of topics to get to, you said that twenty to twenty five home runs is your projection of him? How right? Isn't this a forty home run guy? Or am I just completely off? I think he is. That's a good question.
00:15:18
Speaker 3: I think best case scenario is a forty home run guy. But I think like this year, you're probably gonna see fifteen from him. Okay, I bet you see fifteen. But I think in like a typical year, you're gonna see let's say twenty five homers, let's say thirty five to forty doubles, and let's say twenty to twenty five bags, and he's gonna hit right around two seventy.
00:15:39
Speaker 2: I don't hate that, No, pretty good. I don't hate it at all.
00:15:43
Speaker 3: How about Riley Green, though, because this is a guy with a much higher floor than O'Neil and not a similar ceiling, because when ceiling is higher than anybody in all minor league baseball at this point, maybe except Grayson Rodriguez, who ceiling is literally Bob Gibson. But Riley Green has one of the highest floors.
00:15:59
Speaker 2: In my league baseball.
00:16:00
Speaker 3: I think I got to see him when he was in short season ball in twenty nineteen, after he went sixth overall to Detroit and or fifth overall.
00:16:09
Speaker 2: I think CJ. Abrams went sixth.
00:16:11
Speaker 3: But Riley Green he just looked like a college bat after he was taken out of high school, and that's still what he is. He obviously dealt with the foot thing that kept him out until this past weekend when he made his.
00:16:25
Speaker 2: Major league debut.
00:16:27
Speaker 3: Riley Green injected some life into this Tigers offense and on State of the Division with Ryan Miller, I was just running through the ops among like players on the Tigers, and there's not many guys with an OPS over six hundred.
00:16:38
Speaker 2: I think there might be three or four. What Riley Green can do? You want to get even more down to it, they have the three worst hitters in all of baseball by w RC plus. The three worst that's not a joke. Hi Mark Candelario, Javier Bayaz and Jonathan Scope bottom three in w RC plus. This offense is terrible. Continue with Riley Green. Jesus, yeah, I mean it's horrible, but like horrible.
00:17:01
Speaker 3: I think we saw Riley Green inject.
00:17:04
Speaker 2: A little bit of light into the crazy I did see it. They put up a great outing this this he got his first hitt in a bluep hit and then he got another one. He I mean, he is already because we even said when we compared him as a Spencer Torkolsen, right, Jack, that Torkolsen's bat is probably, you know, a bit juicier is going to give you more power. But that Riley Green, even at the young age of twenty one is probably already closer to being kind of the product that we'll see from Riley Green. Right, is it crazy to say that?
00:17:35
Speaker 3: I think Riley Green is just a better hitter than Spencer Torkolsen.
00:17:38
Speaker 2: I don't think that's crazy at all. Who does Riley Green remind you of? That's a really good question. I don't know. I don't know.
00:17:46
Speaker 3: Think about a guy that can hit three hundred with twenty five homers and good bat to ball.
00:17:54
Speaker 2: See my I want to throw this at you. My thinking here was Brantley with more power. Yeah, that's where I go to. I think of like a guy who's you know, he's not going to strike out really that much, but he's going to show great plate disciplinet at the plate, he's going to take his walks. He may not ever win batting titles like Michael Brantley did, but I also wouldn't put it past him to win a batting title or two. Yeah, but he's not going to hit thirty thirty five forty home runs like a Torque can. But twenty five home runs and twenty steals is perfectly within reach while hitting three hundred. Right, totally different swing.
00:18:30
Speaker 3: But my thought also goes to another astro, Kyle Tucker, right, Like, that's the type of offensive impact that Riley Green can have on.
00:18:38
Speaker 2: A team, The Kyle Tucker effects where he's hitting.
00:18:40
Speaker 3: Joey Gallo, Yeah, shut up, Like the high two hundreds with twenty five homers and twenty backs. I think that's what Riley Green is. And I think Riley Green can be a perennial All Star. That's how good this guy is. So we'll see what happens with the Tigers as a collective.
00:19:00
Speaker 2: Like maybe it was just.
00:19:01
Speaker 3: Like getting Torque's friend up that he came through the organization with. You know, maybe that injection life into Torkosin and that in turn injectson life into Tucker Freakin' Barnhart.
00:19:10
Speaker 2: We'll see what happens here.
00:19:12
Speaker 3: There are seasons a wash already, especially with the pitching staff going through what they're going through. But having said that, I think that Riley Green can be beneficial for the Tigers. At least he makes it easy to watch Tigers games for Tigers fans.
00:19:27
Speaker 2: I think it's the problem with the Tigers offense has not necessarily been like the top of the lineup right, I mean, they have plenty of guys who at least are good table setters. I mean, Victor Reis has performed very well unlimited time. You know, Willie Cashro, Harold Cashro, these guys have been the best hitters on the Tigers. It's the middle of the lineup. The middle of the lineup can't do anything. Miggy is I mean, even Miggy's hitting two ninety seven, but he's man.
00:19:50
Speaker 3: Miggy is the best offensive piece they have right now. Everybody he's got sucks, He's got no power. He's slugging below four hundred, like you're just not even probably gonna get twenty home run this year for Miguel Cabrera, which is just a far cry away from the forty plus he used to be putting up. Like even Austin Meadows has just been on and off the IL. You know, there's just the middle of the lineup. The guys who I was saying was Scope with Bayaz, who've been healthy all year and just can't hit. Candelario has been off and on the IL, but again can't hit it all. The middle of the lineup, the run producers can't hit. But Riley Green and then as soon as Bencer Torksten starts getting hot, they will at least help that. But Riley Green looks ready already at twenty one years old. Yeah, no, he's great and me arm and Ryan Finkelstein we're talking to. If Trek Scooble didn't exist, Miguel Cabrera, even with his sub four hundred slugging, would likely be the Tigers All Star.
00:20:47
Speaker 2: That's how bad the team is this year. Just as we're talking about rookies too. The Braves might have the front runners in NL Rookie of the Year of Mackenzie Gore after his tough start with Spencer Strider and Michael Harris junior. So and the only reason I'm bringing that up, yeah, Michael Harris or Riley Green, they're both twenty one year olds. They're both outfielders. Who do you like for the rest of the season in terms of ANO Rookie of the Year voting? No? No, no, because I mean they're both in different leagues. I'm just talking about the player, like where they are in their development right now. Harris ends up having kind of the better season because I think also what that question does with the success of Harris if you say a guy like Riley Green. It's giving a ton of praise to Riley Green. But if you say that Michael Harris is still better, that just then again shows this Michael Harris guy. We're talking all this praise about Riley Green, but Michael Harris is still that dude. I just think it's an interesting hypothetical.
00:21:47
Speaker 3: I'm gonna say, Riley Green.
00:21:50
Speaker 2: Mmmm, that fires me up.
00:21:54
Speaker 3: Green is the fourth high school guy to debut from that twenty nineteen draft, because it was Whitney Abrams right away CJ down in TRIPA A, and then he had Michael Harris, and then he had Riley Green.
00:22:06
Speaker 2: And Michael Harris.
00:22:08
Speaker 3: His tools are louder than Riley Green at this point, right Like, Michael Harris is a world class defender. There's a world where he wins the Gold Glove in center field in the National League this year as a rookie. He's that good Defensively, He's amazing. He covers so much ground. Riley Green is not that defensively, but the hit tool I think is better. I do think that Riley Green will have a better offensive season at the end of the year in what twenty fewer games, twenty five fewer games than Michael Harris will have, but I think Harris, especially for the Brave situation, I think Harris is going to be more important because I just don't think the Tigers are going to compete this year. But I think in terms of who will put together the better twenty twenty two season, it'll likely be Riley Green. And I think Riley Green is a better overall player.
00:22:56
Speaker 2: That just's and that's a member. That's not a detriment to.
00:23:00
Speaker 3: No, it's just like it's Riley Green's really good. Like I did text that, I think if you're trying to put more money on the n OL Rookie of the Year race, should.
00:23:13
Speaker 2: Be going on Spencer Strider.
00:23:16
Speaker 3: His odds are good. Last time I saw him there like plus eleven hundred. And I'm I'm not a gambling man at all, but listen, I dished out India. I'm not saying right the hot hand, but what Strider does seems like a Rookie of the Year type stuff.
00:23:31
Speaker 4: Right.
00:23:33
Speaker 2: My only thing with Strider is, you know he is a bullpen arm moved to the starting rotation. How long does one hundred miles an hour last? How long does ninety nine last? If he's just ninety nine. Like my worry is you know with Rodaan right when he's not turn into ninety five? Yeah, yeah, and then a couple of starts where he then turns into ninety five, Like, is he a good enough pitcher to still be able to get out consistently without this super super high below because it's still early in the year. He's only had a couple of starts, not a couple. I mean, now we're we're getting to a sample size of like six seven starts. But then again, that's what it is. So I'm I'm just I don't know. I don't know if this continues lost because we have no prior history of him doing it.
00:24:19
Speaker 3: I will say that Carlos Rodan does not have the thighs that Spencer Strider has.
00:24:23
Speaker 2: Facts.
00:24:24
Speaker 3: I mean, he doesn't have the leg like those are the best legs on a pitcher in baseball looks like Saquon. He looks like Saquon and legs. Last, what you were taught growing up as a pitcher, right is don't like your arms should feel sore after a start. Yeah, but your whole body should feel sore after a start. You should be getting everything you possibly can out of your body. You should feel it in your back. You should feel it in your lower back. You should feel it in your legs. Your legs should be sore. It should feel like you maxed out on squatting after a start. That's what Strider throws like. It looks like he maximized is his body, which is the biggest thing for a picture, and that can make him sustainable.
00:25:05
Speaker 2: I think I think so too. I'm not saying that I don't think so. It's just when I'm putting money on things, I want things that, at least in my head I can argue to myself, this seems like more of a sure thing. It's hard to place my money on a player who's a former reliever turn starter and expect him to continue this level of velocity throughout the year. Similar to Michael Harris, the reason why I'm not running to start to put money on him to win NL Rookie of the Year is because he is a twenty one year old who hasn't gone through the rookie lole yet, which it hits everybody. The pictures they throw to these guys. The rookies may perform well, and then there's a level of you know, the picture. You know, he's got to figure it out. Batter himself, has got to figure out from the adjustments that the pitchers make because they make up them quickly. Like will he go through a loll and then he might get good again, But I'm expecting him to still go through these types of things. That's my reasoning for just not wanting to put my money on it.
00:26:07
Speaker 3: So if you were to commit to one guy for NL Rookie of the Year, would it be Gore or would it be somebody else?
00:26:12
Speaker 2: It's still Gore for me. I mean, my pick at the beginning of the year was Saya and that was the only person I took. So I'm still riding with Saya. But if you told me who do I think will win it, I still think it's going to be Gore because think about it, who is like, out of all these rookie starting pitchers, Like what we've seen from Gore so far this year, he seems like the most sure thing barring an injury. Of course, he's so good. He's so good, right, and he already looks like that, And we've had prior history of him at least being a starter, being this guy who was about him figuring out the command, and the command has looked great. Those are tangible things where I think to myself, I'm okay losing this bed as long as it's on mcken's gore rather than a reliever turned starter than I'm hoping based on huge velocity spikes and the legs. Like, I can't just bet on quats, as much as I love it.
00:27:00
Speaker 3: I can bet on quads, man, I can absolutely I bet on ass more than quads and striders got both of them.
00:27:06
Speaker 2: And I'm also not saying that it's a bad bet to be on them. They could eat both of them, could be front runners for antal Rookie the Year, and they are right now. I just talking from my mindset of how I bet on futures and it's been it's been profitable for us generally, and so that's that's my thinking there.
00:27:21
Speaker 3: Yeah, how about an l MVP because Manny Machado just went down. Thank god he didn't break his ankle. Oh that looked so bad in real time. I was like, his foot's going the wrong way.
00:27:32
Speaker 2: I thought he broke it. I thought he broke it too.
00:27:34
Speaker 3: But it turns out he's just wearing super baggy pants. And it was just a bad sprain. But he's going to be out for several weeks apparently, maybe north of a month here. So Machado, he was probably the NL MVP front runner at this point, right, like him or Mookie.
00:27:48
Speaker 2: Yeah, gold Schmidt, like, oh Goldie, Yeah, there's gold Schmith's probably I don't know, like it's it's so tough with with Machado's acumen. All the best, all the best hitters right now are in the AL, like bold Schmidt is is really really amazing. Mooki has slowed down lately, and now Mooki hit the I l which yeah, he's got a cracked rib.
00:28:09
Speaker 3: No, But I mean, like Judge is the best hitter in baseball right now, and then Trout and then you're done, like this probably.
00:28:15
Speaker 2: Might be better than Judge right now. Trout had a weekend series against the Mariners where he could not get out.
00:28:19
Speaker 3: But how about your Don, dude, You're Don sitting like four eighty in June. Yeah, there's no wrong answer, but those three guys are in the American League at this point. With Machado, I want to get to what that means for the Padres in a moment. But does that mean like you should be running to Paul gold Schmidt for n L m VP right now.
00:28:41
Speaker 2: No, because also don't you expect gold Schmidt to at least regress slightly? I mean reason to expect. I don't think it's better than I know. I think it's.
00:28:51
Speaker 3: Better than he did at any point in Arizona.
00:28:54
Speaker 2: I think the race is wide open right now. I think the race is wide open right now. There's nobody that I'm running to bet. Absolutely not. But that's why I'm running.
00:29:03
Speaker 3: That's why I'm running to Edie Adreansa just got off the sixty day. He's I think he's hitting like one to eighty right now for Washington. But he's due for some positive regression for sure. Yeah, he's probably like one sixty five or something.
00:29:17
Speaker 2: Yeah, you just got to hit your weight, and he's hitting above his weight, so they're gonna make fun of him, exactly. We're good man.
00:29:23
Speaker 3: Listen, if you can't hit your weight, just like, drop some bills and you'll be on a major league team.
00:29:28
Speaker 2: Can I say how this affects the Padres for a second, because when I look at the roster, Many Machado has a nine to forty five. Ops. You know his next poor Heel Farro. The Padres don't have a hitter on their roster right now with an OPS over eight hundred, with Tatisa's timetable being pushed back, with Manny Machado not out for weeks with the ankle injury, you have to be worried about this offense. You have to be. I know Crona Worth can still hit and he's getting hotter, which is good to see. Luke Voight has had some great weekend series. The power is starting to come in. But as Eric Cosmer slows down and we know that he's gonna slow down, like Profar, what are we going to get from Jerikson Profar? This year? We've already gotten great production. Is this gonna stay throughout the entire year? I'm worried about the Padres offense. I'm not gonna lie. I've always been worried about the Padres. People who listen to the Just Baseball Show religiously, we freaking love you to death. And you know my grievances with the Padres. It's like, prove it, prove it? What's you prove it? I'm in because they have all the talent in the world. Just have a season where you freaking make the playoffs and dominate like you're supposed to on paper every single year. And now things are starting to fall a little bit. And the Giants have still not been healthy all year, and they're still right there with the Padres. I still lean Giants to finish over the Padres at the end of the year. And it's not just because of the Machado injury. It's just because the polarization with this team. It's like you.
00:30:53
Speaker 3: Never know, you never know. The pitching is better than it was last year. Yah, Musgrove and Gore at the front of that. And whatever you get from Snell is a bonus. Whatever you get from the other guys as a bonus, too, Darkish you.
00:31:12
Speaker 2: Like, Darvish has been great. Darbish has been great. Darvish is known for his blow ups, especially on the road.
00:31:18
Speaker 3: Yeah, and we'll see how sustainable this Mackenzie Gore is. But Musgrove I totally believe in offensively, like they need an answer offensively, And I don't know what that answer is.
00:31:28
Speaker 2: It might honestly be just getting CJ.
00:31:30
Speaker 3: Abrams back up and seeing if he figured some stuff out, because he's getting really, really well in TRIPLEA.
00:31:37
Speaker 2: Down there.
00:31:38
Speaker 3: He's crushing it down there. You know, maybe you give Robinson can Know another shot. I don't know what kind of trades you make right now.
00:31:45
Speaker 2: It's tough. It's just really tough. I just I don't know how they're going to pick up the pieces right now too, because like a replacement at third base, you know, does Haw Sound Kim.
00:31:55
Speaker 3: Go over there, like has Sung Kim probably goes to third, Abrams to shore, Croninworth.
00:32:01
Speaker 2: Stays at second. They still haven't called up Abrams yet either.
00:32:04
Speaker 3: I know, maybe Storry Ruiz gets up as well, the guy that's on pace to steal a hundred bags for the first time since Billy Hamilton.
00:32:13
Speaker 2: We'll see what they do. Preller's gonna get creative. I listen.
00:32:18
Speaker 3: I can't ding him for not being creative. He gets creative.
00:32:22
Speaker 2: But don't you think Preller could feel the pressure and then ultimately make a trade that ruins this team. I can also see that, Oh absolutely, I absolutely see that happening. Baron Ziety of the Giants ain't doing that, No, he's not.
00:32:35
Speaker 3: I think the Giants are hot right now because of the depth that they have, like Tyro Estrada and like the boltpen they're throwing. Well, this is the Giants that we were expecting where we don't know these names.
00:32:49
Speaker 2: But here we go. Here's San Francisco. Here's one name we do know. Camillo Duvall. He's hot again. Oh he looks good on one. Slider's coming in the command starting to really look good. He's rocking to two, four or five. He's really kind of moved into that closer role with San Francisco. And I think that matters too, because you got a twenty four year old who hasn't had much time in the bigs, but he's already the closer for a bullpen that had the best bullpen eer eight in the entire sport last year. And I know they've had some guys like Rogers has not looked the same as he has he looked McGee has not put together this season that he put together last year. But the fact that the Giants have this much confidence in this twenty four year old Camillo do fall. That's what I mean. I saw a man face the Dodgers and I said, that's the coolest relief I've ever seen. And now he's dominated it. I just it's it's must see TV. When Camillo Davall is pitching, in my mind.
00:33:44
Speaker 3: One oh one with that arm slot seems unhittable.
00:33:47
Speaker 4: Right, unhittable, unhittable. Hey, the Red Sox are really good. Yeah they are, Yeah they are. And we just cannot count this team out. Check we I didn't this year. I did last year, and I learned my life and similar to the way I learned my lesson with the Giants, this team, you cannot count them out.
00:34:04
Speaker 2: Alex Cora. We know that he's going to manage them to plenty of wins. Nick Pavetta has taken this huge jump, not more of a huge jump from when he was in Philadelphia, but he showed this level of potential in the playoffs last year for the Red Sox and now looks like one of the better right handed arms in the American League. Just shut down a Cardinals offense that looks great. Right now you move forward. Michael Waka, Dude, what's going on? I don't have an answer for that. I literally don't have an answer for that. How is he so good? Obviously he's gonna regress, but right now he looks amazing. Michael Waka looks amazing. Damn. I love that.
00:34:37
Speaker 4: You say, obviously he's gonna regress, like, yeah, no thing, Michael Watt. No, it's not like, but not regress to just a five E R.
00:34:44
Speaker 2: Like we've seen. Yeah, but I mean this is he's putting together a really good season. He looks really really good.
00:34:51
Speaker 3: I think we knew this offense was too good to sputter. They were sputtering at the beginning, but Rafael Devers is really freaking good. And I mean they just have so much depth, dude, Like I mean, the top end talent they pay for the top end production. I don't know, man, The offense is really really deep. It's going to continue to keep firing. And the biggest thing, like you're saying, is the starting pitching. I mean, these guys were running out like quality start after quality start after quality start, granted against like some not great teams, but they just took two or three from Saint Louis, who is I think a great team.
00:35:26
Speaker 2: I called that a prove it series. The Red Sox won two of three in that series and didn't do it like easily. It's not like they blew them out or anything, but they won two of three, and Jack, what do you think the bullpen era.
00:35:40
Speaker 3: Of the Red Sox ranks bullpen era for the Red Sox. I do think is like top is it top third, is it top ten, sixth, sixth?
00:35:54
Speaker 2: I think that's wildly impressive considering Garrett Whitlock moving to the rotation, and also with the Red Sox, They're gonna get better, dude. Chris Sale is gonna come back soon. Nate Yavaldi has been on the shelf. He's going to come back soon. And on the shelf right now. Yeah, also on the shelf, gonna come back soon. Joshwa Kowski, this right handed pitcher they pulled up. Nobody knows who he is, but he's one of the best prospect pitching prospects, at least in the Red Sox farm system. He doesn't look bad. He looks like a serviceable five.
00:36:22
Speaker 3: You know who I have de you know who I like? And like Austin Davis is obviously throwing really well, and Sali Moore is actually kind of throwing, Okay. John Schreiber is good. Shreiber is good. And then how about Matt Strom. I like Matt Strom.
00:36:39
Speaker 2: Matt Strom is good. I like the other guy better, Shreiver. I like better too. Yeah, I just Matt Strom just doesn't doesn't pop up the page for me. But he's pitching well, so I'm gonna give him all the credit in the world. He's pitching. The Red Socks are playing well.
00:36:54
Speaker 3: You did you say that you think they finished second in the ale least.
00:36:58
Speaker 2: Sam LUKENI said that on State of the Division. Yeah, I didn't call him crazy, I didn't say it. I still think that the Rays are gonna finish second. I really do still think that this is the Rays, and we're going to talk about them in a second. But I think that the Red Sox could do it. I really think they could do it. I don't think it's out of the rum of possibility. I mean, this is close, dude, and we're gonna have a Kevin Gosman second half. Let's see how well he does, because he's already starting to falter. Alec Manoa has looked phenomenal but just got beat up by the Yankees. Jose Brios has not been able to stay consistent, Ryo is now out for the Yar and Kakuchi is so inconsistent stripling. I mean, what are you gonna do? The Blue Jays are definitely gonna trade for some pitching, and the offense is gonna continue to roll. But the bullpen, I mean, you can't rely on Jordan Romano to get four outs every single time like he did against the Yankees on Sunday. You can't rely on that. Yeah, he's not superman. He can't pitch every single inning for the pen. And they have other guys, but like Simber is starting to get blown up, Like they just have guys who are just not that good. They need a lot in their pitching staff more than the Red Sox, I would say, I really do think so more than the Red Sox. The Blue Jays need more pitching than the Red Sox do.
00:38:08
Speaker 3: Yeah, I feel like a lot of our problems would have been avoided if Barrios was actually good.
00:38:13
Speaker 2: Literally, if Brios is good, I think the Blue Jays would be like four games behind the Yankees. Yeah, seriously, I'm with you, man. But also Gosman Gosman bro is falling off a cliff lately, and I think he's tipping his pitches. You mentioned tipping pitches. Where did you see that? It's on an ESPN Whether sure or not, we'll see.
00:38:32
Speaker 3: We'll see, man. I mean like it has been stark. It's been very different from the start of the year. Pretty much like if you were to split the season in half. Right now, front half of his third of a season, front half of his half of a season, he was best pitcher in baseball pretty much, and then now he's it's like second half in San Francisco last.
00:38:51
Speaker 2: Year he was just average. And the reason I say like tipping pitches, I saw like some rumor of about it on ESPN, so I just started watching to see if. I was like, is that true? ESPN? Like it could be so many other different things, but is that true? And then I'm watching, how are these guys timing up as splitter? Like they're timing it up. It's not just the lunging, And then like getting a base in, it's like they're sitting back on it. And I'm thinking to myself, how, like, how is that possible? Are people just sitting splitter and saying the fastball can't beat me? That's something. Maybe it's not even tipping pitches. Maybe that's just a change in It might just be a change, could be a change in approach. But I'm watching guys sit on a splitter, which I think is pretty much impossible considering it's Kevin Gusman. But they're doing it and they're hitting it.
00:39:38
Speaker 3: So I don't know what to tell you right I'm not sure either. I do think that Toronto and Boston finish ahead of Tampa, and Tampa might have the cy Young Award winner. They're unhealthy, like we were talking about via text this morning' Zannino, Lao, Franco all on the il. But you look at guys that are playing consistently here. Kevin Kiirrmeyer is a six point fifty OPS. Brett Phillips has a five to thirty OPS. Taylor walls of four eighty ops in fifty six games and in thirty three games. For Vidal Bruhan, he's got a four to sixty OPS. They can't hit right now, and I'm worried that Shane McClanahan is not going to get any run support to save his life for the next you know, for the rest of the year. I have no clue what's gonna happen with Tampa. Do you have faith that they get good again when those three guys come off, because Zanino was terrible before he got hurt. Franco obviously was good. Brandon Lao was fine. It wasn't the Brandon Lao of last year. But you can't really ride Wander Franco and Yandi Diez and g man Choi to.
00:40:42
Speaker 2: World Series contention. That's the thing. But the Rays. It's so tough because the Rays show up for good pitching regardless, Like they're facing Garrett Colt tonight, I mean recording on Monday again to be released on Tuesday. Let's see how they do against him. Brandon Lao is still on the shelf when he comes back. Let's see wander Franco when he comes back. Let's see this isn't a finished product. Also Mike s Unino, But then again, Mike's Unino is pretty much only good against the soft thrown lefty. But then again, that's still offense for you and a guy who could hit you thirty plus home runs if you pro rate that over a full season, that's the kind of power production you'll get from him. I still think that this Rai's offense is better than what they've shown. I think they've gotten off to a really slow start with all these injuries in the way, and you know they're continuing to start guys who you know they had the Josh Lao experiment didn't really work. Videl Bruhan can't hit anything, Taylor Walls can't hit anything. So I feel like they're also trying a lot of these rookies at the back end of their lineup that just aren't hitting. So all those stats are accumulating, and these guys, you know, they give them two hits and thirty eight bats and then that gets thrown into the rest. So you're right, totally right the raised offense as a whole. But when they start replacing a lot of those abs, you know, Videl Breuhan versus Brandon Lao, huge difference there, Wander Franco versus Taylor Walls, huge difference there. That's when I think we're going to see the offense start to pick up. But at least what we know is that the pitching has been unbelievable. And just to close on the Gosman point, I was like guys were sitting back on the splitter. That's what I was seeing with my eyes when I first saw the game. But I'd like to just clarify that because opponents are really crushing his fastball right now. I think that's what I was seeing was guys were hitting his sitting on the splitter because they know they can hit the fastball, and then the fastball is just getting torn up right now. So when I when I was making the argument that they're just killing a slider, it's not that they're killing a slider. They just that they hit the what did I say, Yeah, slidder, Yeah, splitter, splitter, sitting on the splitter because they know that the fastball ain't going to buy them.
00:42:37
Speaker 3: Yeah, one hundred percent. I'm with you, just jumping back to the Rays real quick. On the pitching, the pitching has been so good. I mean, Klueber's got a three to five right now. Rasmussen, he's on a fifteen day, but he's got a three to four in twelve starts. Jeffrey Springs has been great. Jason Adam has been elite out.
00:42:53
Speaker 2: Of the ball. Jason Adam might be the most underrated believer in the.
00:42:56
Speaker 3: Entire He's an all star. He's for sure an all star.
00:42:58
Speaker 2: Should be an All Star. Also, Matt Whistler throws ninety four percent sliders. Pisses me off. My most angry watch of a reliever. How like, how do you keep getting away with it?
00:43:07
Speaker 4: Sit?
00:43:08
Speaker 2: On a slider.
00:43:08
Speaker 3: I'm telling you, man, the Rays, they tell you to do one thing all the time.
00:43:12
Speaker 2: That's Matt Whistler. They're taking it too far with him. They're taking it too far with him, but it works. I don't know what to tell you, man.
00:43:19
Speaker 3: Beaks has been good, Colin Postsha has been good. But McClanahan is the king in McClanahan. I'm so so so excited, and again this comes out tomorrow morning, but I'm so excited to watch McClanahan and Cole tonight in the air and to be maybe one.
00:43:36
Speaker 2: Of them, I mean, one of the best pitching matchups of the year.
00:43:39
Speaker 3: Yeah, because here we saw Bieber and Cole and that was game of the year.
00:43:42
Speaker 2: That was pretty good. Also, I'm just I'm just interested in McClanahan third time against the Yankees or no, excuse me, second time around, either second or third time around. Garrett Cole has faced him a bunch this year. Should we check out real quick? I think it's his second or third time around more. I'm the main point of this is that I'm very interested to see how McClanahan does multiple times against the best offense in baseball in New York right now, This like shows this is a shit McClanahan.
00:44:10
Speaker 3: This is third time around. The first time was on May twenty ninth. He went six innings, a one run ball, struck out seven. Yeah, he started on the fifteenth. So back to back starts against the Yankees. First one was in the Bronx. He went six innings, four runs, just one was ironed, struck out seven. So we'll see what it looks like when McClanahan back to back times he's out there sees the same lineup.
00:44:32
Speaker 2: Who adjusts McClanahan or the Yankees short thing on earn runs. I understand how they're calculated. But he gave up two home runs in that game. Yeah, but it probably came after an air and like it was no it did. It came up to like a It came after like an era of a pickoff attempt and like yeah, technically doesn't count, but like you gave up to him runs. Basically, what I'm saying here is that he got hit. He got hit. He did what I'm curious to see in his third start, does he shut the door or does it get worse? Right, We'll see what happens there. Yeah, that's what we'll see.
00:45:04
Speaker 3: Let's wrap with Cleveland, because what the Cleveland Guardians are doing right now could actually make them look like playoff contenders.
00:45:11
Speaker 2: Arm and I pounded our fists on the table when someone asked what should the Guardians do? Like should they retool, should they completely rebuild? Should they buy fully at the deadline? And we were pounding our fists on my desk saying, by the time is now you have the pitching. Bieber looks healthy. Jose Ramirez is maybe the best player in the sport.
00:45:34
Speaker 3: We didn't even mention Jay rim when we talked about best players in baseball. Like the four best players in baseball right now I think are in the American League.
00:45:42
Speaker 2: Seriously, and you can make the argument, but they have the guys like Oscar Gonzalez has been this great rookie for them too, Like Miles Straws, the table setter hasn't really been hitting, but one of the best center feels defensively in the game. Med Rozario looks like a solid option at shorts up, a guy can really wreck havoc on the bases and at least does some things at the plate and can play good short stuff for them. Josh Naylor looks like a really good hitter Owen Miller down there in their lineup. I just know all about the Guardians. I bet on them way too much.
00:46:08
Speaker 3: I watched even Kwan Kwan's hitting three twenty in June. Yeah, these guys are getting hot. Man, these guys are good. This is a good team.
00:46:18
Speaker 2: They just went into Los Angeles and played to the level of the Dodgers. Now, the Dodgers are at their like lowest common denominator I've seen them in the past couple of years while still putting together wins. But the Guardians played really, really well against the Dodgers. If I'm not mistaken, they took two out of three. This is just off the dumb from watching this weekend. I think they took two out of three from the Dodgers. I know they won on Sunday. I know they lost when cal Quandrill's on the mountain, and I'm pretty sure that they won two to one in the first game. Yeah, that's the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Guardians are fucking good and they should buy a bat. Now who did they go get? Like, where do they make the upgrade?
00:46:55
Speaker 3: My mind immediately goes to catcher Austin Hedges cannot be the catcher.
00:47:00
Speaker 2: Good Wilson Manny's good at defense?
00:47:03
Speaker 4: Is it?
00:47:03
Speaker 2: Wilson Contreras. That's what we said. That's what we said, Like, why not because he doesn't handcuff you. He's just a rental, So you don't have to unearth all these prospects that you love. Why not get Wilson Gatreras? Could use a right he also, I mean, could use a lefty probably a little bit more. Their their lineup is pretty dominant. I also talked about Josh Bell, but of course they have for animal. But he's not been anything this year. But you can't give up on him either. And he's on the ten day. He's played thirty five games this year.
00:47:34
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, Josh Bell. How about it's in division, so no, Benny.
00:47:46
Speaker 2: How about an easy one? Go get David Peralta from the Diamondbacks, easy one.
00:47:52
Speaker 4: Yeah.
00:47:52
Speaker 2: You can hit play good outfield for them, easy one, yeah, Because it's not like you have to you know, it's not like you have to go get a one soda or anythink. Of course they're not going to, but it's not like you have to completely unearthed for one of the best haders. Impossible just to be up there. The Twins. I'm not afraid of Sorry, I'm not afraid of the Twins me neither. I'm not afraid of them, and I'm not afraid that White Sox. I mean, the White Sex gotta get healthy. Lance Lynn is gonna throw on Monday, which is again where we're recording. They got to get better too, Lynn Burrios tonight. Yeah, it's yeah. That game's gonna be hilarious. That division is open. Cleveland, go get it, Go get it, because you can do it. They have a great bullpen, Brinshawn, Manuel class A and Trevor Steep. They have a great bullpen. They've great everything. By a bat can we.
00:48:46
Speaker 3: Can we agree as a collective that Cleveland could win the AL Central. I think so, all right, let's stamp it now, Cleveland's gonna win the AL Central.
00:48:57
Speaker 2: Well, no, they have to do something.
00:48:59
Speaker 3: They're a game back of Minnesota without doing anything. They're a game back in Minnesota right now.
00:49:04
Speaker 2: But the White Sox are gonna get much healthier, and the Twins are gonna get healthier too. I don't believe in the White Sox right now. As a White Sox fan, I don't believe in the White Sox. I don't think the White Sox are a better team right now than Cleveland. I can't say the Guardians are gonna win the division unless they at a bat. I can't do it. I'm going too. I'm gonna says good wins the Al Central. That's my final word. I love it. I love it. I think they can do it. Absolutely. That's where we're at. That's where we're at with Cleveland. There we go, all right, give us the social media's well, if you want to go follow us. Of course. We're on Twitter at just bb Media. We're on TikTok at Just Baseball Fans, We're at Instagram at just Baseball Show. Check out the Loop link in our episode description. It's an absolute banger. Might as well get twenty three dollars in order to download the Loop app. You get twenty three bucks just for doing it. Helps us out a ton. Let us know that we sent you for all my baseball card folks. And also, just as we're talking about Loop, what did I say, Clark, I say about the million dollar card man three and a third no runs against the Rays.
00:50:10
Speaker 3: Let's go again that Rai's offense can't hit you buy me thirty more seconds. I'm gonna go get my cards that I just got from Loop.
00:50:17
Speaker 2: I still think that it's a great card to have this Clerk Schmidt PSA Mint nine Absolute Banger. Jack has walked off the screen. It's my time to shine and that means this add Now he's back. I can't do a full thirty minutes on Clark Schmidt, but check it out and there's a bunch more cards like it on the Loop app as well as Prize Picks. If you want to join our daily stream at two thirty pm Eastern on Twitter, it's an absolute banger. You must join follow my Twitter. It's in the episode link. As well as Prize Picks. A code might as well get some free money if you want to jump along with us. You don't need to use your own money. Might as well use Prize Picks given money, so use code just Baseball when you're downloading the Prize Picks app. Is there anything else? Before we go? Jack Valera Bowman first? Wow, Ellie de la Cruz Bowman First, I'm an Ellie de la Cruz Bowman first too. I'm excited for that, dude.
00:51:08
Speaker 3: I've got John Kencey, Noel and Lenning and Soso over there as well. So that's it, that's it for me, man, and with that thank everybody.
