Don't what all that means, perhaps someone here does. Cleveland is roughly in the middle of all those categories with the highest ranking in "CSw" which i defined elsewhere as "Called & Swinging Strike (CSW) Percentage"

There's more; by specific pitch type

Results By Specific Pitch Types
To get more granular, we also looked at overall metrics and performance of some of the primary pitch types, again grouped by organization.

Four-Seam Fastballs
Currently, the four-seam fastball is primary pitch in the minor leagues, making up about 40% of pitches thrown. Below are the weighted averages of each organization’s aggregated four-seamers from the player pool.

IVB = Induced Vertical Break, HB = Horizontal Break, VAA = Vertical Approach Angle, RelHt = Release Height (in inches from the ground), Ext = extension (horizontal distance ball is being released from pitching rubber).

org stuff+ Velo ivb hb vaa relHt ext whiff% csw% chase%
BAL 106 93.1 17.3 8.9 -4.9 71.8 6.3 27% 44% 25%
BOS 104 93.3 15.5 9.9 -4.8 68.2 6.3 27% 49% 23%
TB 104 93.3 16.4 8.1 -4.9 70.6 6.2 25% 43% 26%
CIN 103 93 15.8 9.5 -4.9 69.4 6.2 23% 42% 24%
CWS 103 93.1 16.5 8.8 -5 70.9 6 26% 43% 24%
NYM 103 92.9 16.1 8.3 -5 70.8 6.3 24% 43% 25%
COL 103 92.9 16 9.7 -5 70 6 24% 43% 25%
LAD 102 94.1 15.5 8.8 -5.1 71.1 6.1 24% 40% 23%
DET 102 93.3 15.5 8.8 -5 69.7 6.3 23% 44% 24%
PHI 102 92.9 16 9.1 -5.1 71.7 6.2 24% 42% 23%
NYY 101 92.8 15.7 8.5 -5 69.9 6.2 24% 44% 22%
TOR 101 92.4 16 9.2 -4.8 69.4 6.1 24% 40% 25%
CLE 101 92 15.7 9 -4.8 68.6 6.4 24% 42% 24%
MIN 101 92.8 16.1 8.8 -5.1 71.7 6.1 23% 44% 24%
STL 101 93.3 15.2 9.8 -4.9 69.8 6.2 22% 43% 26%
PIT 101 92.9 15.5 8.7 -5 70.7 6.4 23% 42% 25%
MIA 101 93.2 15.1 8.5 -4.9 69.3 6.2 25% 42% 25%
KC 100 93.1 15.7 8.6 -5.1 71.8 6.2 21% 41% 24%
MIL 100 92.5 15.2 8.1 -4.9 68.7 6.3 25% 43% 23%
HOU 100 92.4 16.1 7.8 -4.9 70.8 6.3 25% 43% 24%
SF 100 92.1 15.6 9.1 -5 70 6.3 24% 42% 24%
LAA 100 93 15.1 10.1 -5.1 69.8 6 23% 41% 24%
TEX 100 93.2 15 8.6 -4.9 69 6.1 26% 41% 23%
SEA 99 92.1 15.1 10.8 -5.1 68.6 5.8 21% 43% 24%
CHC 99 93.2 15 7.4 -5.1 70.6 6.4 23% 41% 24%
WSH 99 92.7 15.5 9.8 -5 71 6.2 22% 41% 24%
SD 99 93.1 14.8 8.9 -5 69.6 6.2 23% 42% 23%
OAK 98 93 15.6 8.1 -5.2 72.3 6.1 23% 41% 23%
ATL 97 92.5 14.7 8.3 -5 69.3 6.3 24% 43% 24%
AZ 96 92.7 14.7 8.5 -5.2 71.2 6.2 25% 41% 23%
Below is the same table, but instead of the raw number, it is scaled where 100 is average and a standard deviation is 10. Because it is not “better” to throw from a higher release height, scaling it to the “plus” scale is meaningless and therefore that column was omitted. Similarly, the Stuff+ is already on the “plus” scale and was untouched. Note also that a VAA+ of 110 corresponds to a fastball that is flatter than the average fastball by one standard deviation.

Filter by...
Reset
org stuff+ velo+ ivb+ hb+ vaa+ ext+ whiff+ csw+ chase+
BAL 106 105 129 100 106 110 120 106 114
BOS 104 109 99 114 118 111 123 137 91
TB 104 108 113 89 109 104 110 105 118
CIN 103 103 103 109 105 101 92 99 100
CWS 103 105 115 99 102 86 115 102 104
NYM 103 101 109 92 98 110 98 104 110
COL 103 100 107 111 97 81 101 101 109
LAD 102 128 99 99 92 93 99 84 88
DET 102 109 98 99 101 106 93 110 105
PHI 102 101 108 103 93 104 102 98 92
NYY 101 97 101 94 101 100 98 109 81
TOR 101 89 107 105 118 92 104 88 110
CLE 101 81 101 102 116 115 100 97 104
MIN 101 98 109 99 93 95 95 111 101
STL 101 108 94 112 105 98 88 101 120
PIT 101 100 98 97 95 113 92 99 107
MIA 101 108 92 95 109 103 104 98 112
KC 100 105 102 96 85 103 83 93 105
MIL 100 91 93 89 113 106 109 103 92
HOU 100 88 109 85 109 105 108 104 104
SF 100 81 100 103 94 105 99 98 95
LAA 100 103 91 116 93 87 97 90 98
TEX 100 106 90 96 108 92 111 93 88
SEA 99 81 91 126 92 72 82 105 99
CHC 99 108 89 80 92 112 92 92 98
WSH 99 96 98 112 99 102 87 89 97
SD 99 104 86 100 97 102 95 97 91
OAK 98 102 99 89 79 91 93 89 90
ATL 97 90 84 92 99 105 101 105 96
AZ 96 96 85 95 81 98 109 91 82
Below is the same table as above, but instead of the ordinal values, the cardinal rank is displayed:

Filter by...
Reset
org stuff+ velo ivb hb vaa ext whiff% csw% chase%
BAL 1 11 1 13 9 5 2 5 3
BOS 2 3 17 3 2 4 1 1 24
TB 3 5 3 26 7 13 5 8 2
CIN 4 13 10 7 11 18 26 16 15
CWS 5 9 2 14 12 28 3 12 11
NYM 6 17 6 24 17 6 18 10 6
COL 7 19 9 6 18 29 13 14 7
LAD 8 1 16 17 26 23 15 30 27
DET 9 2 20 16 13 7 23 3 10
PHI 10 16 7 9 24 12 11 17 22
NYY 11 21 13 23 14 19 17 4 30
TOR 12 26 8 8 1 24 10 29 5
CLE 13 30 12 11 3 1 14 21 12
MIN 14 20 5 15 23 22 21 2 14
STL 15 4 21 4 10 21 27 13 1
PIT 16 18 18 18 20 2 24 15 8
MIA 17 7 23 22 5 15 9 19 4
KC 18 10 11 20 28 14 29 22 9
MIL 19 24 22 28 4 8 6 11 23
HOU 20 27 4 29 6 9 8 9 13
SF 21 28 14 10 21 11 16 18 21
LAA 22 14 25 2 22 27 19 26 18
TEX 23 8 26 19 8 25 4 23 28
SEA 24 29 24 1 27 30 30 6 16
CHC 25 6 27 30 25 3 25 24 17
WSH 26 22 19 5 16 17 28 27 19
SD 27 12 28 12 19 16 20 20 25
OAK 28 15 15 27 30 26 22 28 26
ATL 29 25 30 25 15 10 12 7 20
AZ 30 23 29 21 29 20 7 25 29

Here's some comments in words rather than numbers:

The Rays and Guardians threw the most four-seam fastballs amongst the organizations, with Guardians fastballs having the biggest extension and the largest increase in perceived velocity. Last year, the Blue Jays had the flattest four-seam fastballs, per VAA, and in 2024 they again lead, with the Guardians a close second.

Similar tables rating Sliders

Sliders
The second most-thrown pitch—and arguably the most important pitch in the modern game—is the slider, making up about 24% of pitches thrown.

Note that, because the release height and extension of a pitcher’s slider is essentially the same as their release height and extension of their four-seam fastball, these columns were omitted.

Below are the weighted averages of each organization’s aggregated sliders from the player pool.

IVB = Induced Vertical Break, HB = Horizontal Break, VAA = Vertical Approach Angle, RelHt = Release Height (in inches from the ground), Ext = extension (horizontal distance ball is being released from pitching rubber).

Filter by...
Reset
org stuff+ velo ivb hb vaa whiff% csw% chase%
BAL 119 82 1.7 9.3 -7.8 37% 45% 29%
HOU 117 82.6 1.7 8.3 -7.6 34% 45% 27%
SEA 116 81.8 0.3 9.8 -7.6 33% 45% 31%
NYY 115 82.8 1.1 8 -7.7 34% 45% 29%
CHC 115 83.2 0.6 7.8 -8 39% 45% 28%
MIA 115 82.7 0.6 7.8 -7.9 37% 48% 30%
CIN 114 83.4 1.1 6.8 -7.6 36% 46% 27%
LAD 114 84.6 1.2 6 -7.4 39% 47% 29%
TEX 114 83.4 0.8 7.1 -7.5 39% 50% 31%
KC 114 83.5 1.5 6.1 -7.8 36% 47% 30%
TOR 114 82.9 2.2 6.6 -7.4 34% 46% 30%
NYM 113 82.6 1.3 6.5 -7.7 36% 45% 28%
CLE 113 82.9 1.7 7.1 -7.5 35% 48% 30%
BOS 113 84.2 2 5.2 -7.5 34% 46% 29%
PIT 113 82.9 1.6 6.7 -7.7 36% 46% 30%
MIN 112 83.4 1.5 6.3 -7.7 34% 47% 30%
SD 112 83.2 1.4 5.7 -7.6 37% 46% 30%
PHI 112 83 0.9 6.6 -7.8 35% 46% 29%
TB 112 84.2 2.4 4.7 -7.5 37% 48% 32%
MIL 112 82.7 0.6 7.1 -7.7 35% 46% 30%
LAA 112 83.5 0 6.7 -7.7 39% 45% 31%
DET 112 83.3 0.5 6 -7.9 40% 49% 32%
WSH 110 82.7 0.9 5.6 -8 36% 46% 29%
OAK 110 83.1 0.5 5.8 -8 37% 45% 30%
STL 110 82.8 0.3 5.7 -7.8 38% 45% 30%
CWS 110 83.3 0.8 5.5 -7.8 37% 48% 31%
ATL 110 83.5 1.8 5.1 -7.7 37% 47% 32%
COL 109 82.9 0.7 5.1 -7.8 37% 46% 30%
AZ 109 83.4 0.5 5.6 -7.8 39% 47% 31%
SF 109 82.2 -0.6 6.9 -8.1 36% 46% 30%
Below is the same table, but instead of the raw number, it is scaled where 100 is average and a standard deviation is 10. As with the four-seam fastballs, Stuff+ is already on the “plus” scale and was untouched. Note also that a VAA+ of 110 corresponds to a slider that is flatter than the average slider by one standard deviation. A slider with an IVB+ of 110 resists gravity more than the average slider by more than one standard deviation (though, that does not mean that it is “better” than a slider with a lower IVB).

Filter by...
Reset
org stuff+ velo+ ivb+ hb+ vaa+ whiff+ csw+ Chase+
BAL 119 83 109 122 93 101 90 96
HOU 117 92 110 114 109 88 87 81
SEA 116 79 89 126 108 80 92 109
NYY 115 96 101 111 103 87 92 92
CHC 115 101 93 110 86 114 89 88
MIA 115 93 93 110 91 101 112 99
CIN 114 105 101 102 107 98 100 80
LAD 114 125 102 95 117 112 101 95
TEX 114 105 96 104 110 112 129 112
KC 114 107 107 96 96 100 103 98
TOR 114 97 117 100 116 86 98 98
NYM 113 92 104 99 99 99 89 88
CLE 113 97 109 105 114 92 115 100
BOS 113 118 113 88 110 86 95 91
PIT 113 96 108 101 101 100 100 100
MIN 112 105 107 97 102 85 108 105
SD 112 102 105 93 106 104 101 102
PHI 112 99 98 100 92 94 97 92
TB 112 118 120 85 115 105 109 115
MIL 112 94 94 104 99 91 95 103
LAA 112 107 85 101 102 115 89 107
DET 112 103 91 96 90 117 118 118
WSH 110 93 98 92 85 96 97 90
OAK 110 100 92 94 85 102 89 100
STL 110 96 89 93 95 107 93 98
CWS 110 104 97 91 97 103 113 110
ATL 110 107 112 88 102 102 106 120
COL 109 97 95 88 94 106 97 99
AZ 109 106 91 92 97 115 101 112
SF 109 85 76 103 79 100 96 104
Below is the same table as above, but instead of the ordinal values, the cardinal rank is displayed:

Filter by...
Reset
org stuff+ velo ivb hb vaa whiff% csw% chase%
BAL 1 29 6 2 23 14 25 21
HOU 2 27 5 3 7 25 30 29
SEA 3 30 27 1 8 30 23 7
NYY 4 22 15 4 11 26 24 23
CHC 5 14 23 6 27 4 26 28
MIA 6 24 22 5 25 15 5 17
CIN 7 9 14 11 9 20 13 30
LAD 8 1 13 20 1 6 11 22
TEX 9 10 19 9 6 5 1 5
KC 10 4 9 18 20 16 9 18
TOR 11 17 2 14 2 28 15 20
NYM 12 26 12 16 16 19 27 27
CLE 13 18 7 7 4 23 3 15
BOS 14 2 3 27 5 27 20 25
PIT 15 20 8 12 15 18 14 13
MIN 16 8 10 17 12 29 7 9
SD 17 13 11 22 10 10 12 12
PHI 18 16 16 15 24 22 17 24
TB 19 3 1 30 3 9 6 3
MIL 20 23 21 8 17 24 21 11
LAA 21 5 29 13 13 2 29 8
DET 22 12 25 19 26 1 2 2
WSH 23 25 17 24 29 21 16 26
OAK 24 15 24 21 28 12 28 14
STL 25 21 28 23 21 7 22 19
CWS 26 11 18 26 18 11 4 6
ATL 27 6 4 29 14 13 8 1
COL 28 19 20 28 22 8 18 16
AZ 29 7 26 25 19 3 10 4
SF 30 28 30 10 30 17 19

Next: Two Seam Fastballs

Two-Seam Fastballs
The third most-thrown pitch from the examined minor league pitching pool was the two-seam fastball, comprising 12% of pitches thrown, half the frequency of sliders.

Again, for the same reasons as above, the release height and extension columns were omitted.

Below are the weighted averages of each organization’s aggregated two-seam fastballs from the player pool.

IVB = Induced Vertical Break, HB = Horizontal Break, VAA = Vertical Approach Angle, RelHt = Release Height (in inches from the ground), Ext = extension (horizontal distance ball is being released from pitching rubber).

Filter by...
Reset
org stuff+ velo ivb hb vaa whiff% csw% chase%
BAL 108 92.5 7.8 16.5 -5.6 19% 48% 24%
SEA 108 92.2 8.3 16.8 -5.5 18% 44% 21%
CIN 106 92.9 8.7 15.4 -5.7 18% 43% 26%
MIA 106 93.2 9.4 15.3 -5.6 17% 44% 24%
LAD 106 93.0 8.6 15.3 -5.6 17% 41% 22%
NYM 105 92.8 9.5 15.2 -5.5 17% 43% 23%
WSH 105 92.5 9.1 15.4 -5.9 18% 43% 28%
TB 105 93.5 9.5 14.8 -5.4 18% 43% 23%
SF 105 92.2 7.8 15.3 -5.8 16% 43% 23%
CWS 105 92.1 8.2 15.5 -5.6 17% 41% 21%
DET 105 92.6 7.9 14.9 -5.8 17% 45% 24%
STL 104 92.1 9.6 15.4 -5.6 18% 44% 26%
BOS 104 92.5 7.9 14.9 -5.9 19% 44% 26%
AZ 104 92.2 8.6 14.9 -6.0 18% 40% 24%
LAA 103 93.1 9.6 14.8 -5.6 20% 40% 23%
MIL 103 92.0 9.3 15.0 -5.5 17% 44% 22%
HOU 103 92.5 8.1 14.7 -5.7 20% 42% 25%
NYY 103 92.2 9.2 15.0 -5.7 20% 46% 23%
KC 103 93.0 9.8 14.4 -5.6 19% 43% 26%
COL 103 92.9 10.2 15.0 -5.6 20% 43% 26%
PHI 103 92.3 11.1 14.9 -5.5 17% 41% 25%
PIT 102 92.1 8.3 14.5 -5.8 18% 37% 23%
MIN 102 92.2 8.5 14.6 -5.8 18% 47% 22%
TOR 102 91.5 9.2 15.0 -5.3 25% 45% 24%
CLE 101 91.4 9.3 14.7 -5.0 18% 45% 25%
SD 101 92.3 10.1 14.3 -5.4 19% 42% 21%
TEX 101 91.8 6.9 14.3 -5.7 17% 42% 23%
ATL 100 91.4 8.5 14.5 -5.6 18% 45% 25%
OAK 100 91.5 8.8 14.5 -6.0 17% 39% 25%
CHC 98 92.3 9.7 13.0 -5.8 20% 41% 22%
Below is the same table, but instead of the raw number, it is scaled where 100 is average and a standard deviation is 10. As with the four-seam fastballs, Stuff+ is already on the “plus” scale and was untouched. Note also that a VAA+ of 110 corresponds to a two-seam fastball that is flatter than the average two-seam fastball by one standard deviation. A two-seam fastball with an IVB+ of 110 resists gravity more than the average two-seam fastball by more than one standard deviation (though, that does not mean that it is “better” than a two-seam fastball with a lower IVB or less flat VAA).

Filter by...
Reset
org stuff+ velo+ ivb+ HB+ vaa+ whiff+ CSW+ chase+
BAL 108 102 87 123 100 104 120 103
SEA 108 96 93 127 107 101 104 81
CIN 106 110 98 107 97 101 100 115
MIA 106 115 105 104 101 90 104 101
LAD 106 112 97 105 102 93 91 92
NYM 105 108 107 104 107 91 100 94
WSH 105 103 102 107 86 97 99 122
TB 105 122 107 97 111 98 101 96
SF 105 97 87 106 90 88 101 97
CWS 105 95 91 108 101 93 91 86
DET 105 104 89 99 94 91 111 103
STL 104 96 108 106 104 98 104 112
BOS 104 103 88 99 88 106 104 114
AZ 104 98 97 98 83 99 89 99
LAA 103 114 108 98 101 109 87 93
MIL 103 94 104 101 108 92 106 87
HOU 103 102 91 96 97 110 97 104
NYY 103 98 103 101 98 110 112 93
KC 103 112 110 91 101 103 102 112
COL 103 111 114 101 103 109 99 113
PHI 103 99 124 100 105 90 93 107
PIT 102 95 93 93 90 100 74 94
MIN 102 96 95 95 93 101 118 88
TOR 102 83 104 100 115 140 109 103
CLE 101 82 104 96 130 96 108 105
SD 101 98 114 90 113 103 95 85
TEX 101 90 77 90 95 95 97 98
ATL 100 83 95 93 100 96 110 105
OAK 100 84 99 94 83 90 84 107
CHC 98 99 108 71 95 107 91 91
Below is the same table as above, but instead of the ordinal values, the cardinal rank is displayed:

Filter by...
Reset
org stuff+ velo ivb hb vaa whiff% csw% chase%
BAL 1 13 28 2 16 8 1 14
SEA 2 21 23 1 7 11 9 30
CIN 3 7 17 5 19 12 16 2
MIA 4 2 10 9 13 27 10 15
LAD 5 4 18 8 11 23 26 24
NYM 6 8 8 10 6 25 17 21
WSH 7 10 15 4 28 18 19 1
TB 8 1 9 20 4 17 14 19
SF 9 19 29 7 25 30 15 18
CWS 10 23 24 3 14 22 25 28
DET 11 9 26 16 23 26 4 12
STL 12 22 6 6 9 16 11 5
BOS 13 11 27 17 27 7 12 3
AZ 14 17 19 18 29 15 27 16
LAA 15 3 7 19 15 4 28 22
MIL 16 25 12 13 5 24 8 27
HOU 17 12 25 21 20 2 21 11
NYY 18 18 14 12 18 3 3 23
KC 19 5 4 27 12 10 13 6
COL 20 6 2 11 10 5 18 4
PHI 21 14 1 15 8 29 23 7
PIT 22 24 22 25 26 14 30 20
MIN 23 20 20 23 24 13 2 26
TOR 24 28 13 14 2 1 6 13
CLE 25 30 11 22 1 20 7 9
SD 26 16 3 29 3 9 22 29
TEX 27 26 30 28 21 21 20 17
ATL 28 29 21 26 17 19 5 10
OAK 29 27 16 24 30 28 29 8
CHC 30 15 5 30 22 6 24

Just like with their four-seam fastballs—which were the first and third flattest amongst organizations—the Blue Jays and the Guardians interestingly have the two flattest collection of two-seam fastballs in the league. This suggests that they may not emphasize distinction between the two main types of fastballs.

No more tables on curve balls or changeups or what is that pitch Skenes throws?

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Cleveland Guardians Prospect Report 11/13/24
Matthew Kennell
Nov 14






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Scoreboard:
Arizona Fall League - Surprise Saguaros 8, Salt River Rafters 5
Colombian League - Caimans de Barranquilla 11, Vaqueros de Montería 9
Premier12 - Japan 9, Australia 3
Guardians Prospects:

Travis Bazzana (2B, Australia): 2-4, 1 R, 2 K, 1 SB - Bazzana was one of the stars of Australia’s tournament-opening loss to Samurai Japan, recording the Southern Thunder’s lone multi-hit performance of the night.

Milan Tolentino (3B, Surprise): 1-for-4, 3B, 2 RBIs - Tolentino made a rare appearance at third base after a majority of games played at shortstop for Surprise. His triple drove in two runs in the midst of a six-run bottom of the second inning.

Next Year in Cleveland is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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Allan Hernandez (RP, Surprise): H (1), 1.0 IP, H, 0 R, 0 BBs, 2 Ks - Hernandez struck out two in his inning of relief work on Wednesday.

Dayan Frias (SS, Vaqueros): 1-for-3, RBI, BB, HBP - Frias reached base three times in the game with a hit, walk and hit by pitch and drove in a run. He had a chance to do further damage in the ninth but recorded an out.

maybe Allan Hernandez is a major league bullpen possibility in a year or two? He's not pitched beyond A ball so he certainly will not be added to the 40 man roster; he was signed in 2019 so he's eligible for the rule 5 draft but would be stunned if anyone picked him

rosters need to be set already by 5 p.m. next Tuesday. Cleveland usually announces all moves at the very last second

LVBP: Gabriel Arias reports to Tiburones and prepares for debut

The major league infielder will begin his training to get into rhythm as soon as possible

Thursday, November 14, 2024 at 03:19 pm

On Thursday afternoon, several days after the announcement was made official that the Cleveland Guardians infielder would report to play with Tiburones de La Guaira for the 2024-25 season of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (LVBP) , the press team reported that Gabriel Arias was already with the team and would immediately start preparatory training to get into uniform as soon as possible. The team is led by Oswaldo Guillen.

The 24-year-old infielder will have his second trip in the local winter league after having played in 2018-19 also with the Tiburones. In turn, he will bring Major League experience to a lineup already full of good players after having played 53 games with the Guardians in the most recent season major leagues, leaving .222 AVG with three home runs and 15 RBIs.

Gabriel Arias will try to give a new lease on life to the Tiburones

The performance in November for the Tiburones de La Guaira has been disappointing. They have decreased their level both offensively and from the pitching side, which has caused them to lose seven of their last 10 games.

Many fans and league analysts claim that the decline has been due to the departure of Yasiel Puig and the drop in level of some players who had a very good start to the season.

Now, the arrival of Arias could bring good contact hitting to the lineup as well as formidable defense at any position in the infield.

<

LVBP: Sharks Management offers news about Brayan Rocchio

The shortstop is coming off a very good season with the Cleveland Guardians in 2024

According to a report by journalist Carlos Valmore, Alberto Díaz, general manager of Tiburones de La Guaira , expressed his firm conviction that the talented infielder Brayan Rocchio will join the team in the upcoming 2024-2025 season of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League.

Rocchio, who has excelled in his time in the Major Leagues with the Cleveland Guardians, has established himself as a key figure on the team, playing the shortstop position and contributing significantly to their success. During this season, the young player was instrumental in leading the Guardians to the Championship Series, where they unfortunately fell to the New York Yankees.

The possible arrival of Rocchio to the roster of the Tiburones de La Guaira would generate great expectations among fans , who see in him a player capable of making a difference on the field. His speed, defensive ability and ability to hit at key moments make him an attractive player for any team.

Key piece

The Sharks are looking to strengthen their squad to try to defend their championship, and the inclusion of a talent like Rocchio could be the boost they need to compete for the title in a league that has started off fairly evenly.

The shortstop was nominated for the Gold Glove for his defensive contribution to the Ohio team. Also, rumors point to the possibility of joining Tiburones during the month of December, which would leave him available to play the last month of the regular season and be active for the LVBP Round Robin.

<

That would be interesting. Arias at third? Rocchio at short stop?

Roki Sasaki to be Posted to MLB

Yuri Karasawa

November 11, 2024

With the DeNA BayStars winning the Japan Series last week, the NPB offseason is officially underway, and Samurai Japan’s WBSC Premier12 tournament run will begin on Wednesday. But the elephant in the room for almost an entire year has been the status of Lotte Marines fireballing phenom Roki Sasaki. And on Saturday, we learned his fate. The team announced on Twitter/X that the 23-year-old will be allowed to make a move to MLB via the posting system. How did this happen, and what’s next? Let’s dig in.

Last offseason, reports emerged that Roki Sasaki had asked the Lotte Marines to post him to MLB. Under the current Japanese posting system, players under the age of 25 are subject to MLB international bonus pool money restrictions, meaning Sasaki nor Lotte would earn true market value (Sasaki with his MLB contract, Lotte with the subsequent posting fee). As a result, the team rejected his posting request…at least, that’s what many in the media assumed at the time. Nobody knows what went on behind the scenes for sure.

Fast forward to 2024, the team has agreed to prematurely post Sasaki to MLB, presenting it as a goodwill gesture to their superstar despite seemingly gaining nothing from it. So what changed? If this scenario is true, it would imply Lotte is honoring a gentleman’s agreement from 2019, when Sasaki joined the team via the NPB Draft. However, the more likely situation, as journalist Jim Allen has written extensively, is that Sasaki and his agent had worked a concrete, legally binding clause into his contract to force the team’s hand. In other words, Sasaki served his five years with the club that was originally agreed upon, and the team had no choice but to post him.

Why would Lotte agree to such a clause in 2019? While clubs typically have the upper hand at the negotiation table, players have the ultimate leverage after being drafted. NPB does not award compensation picks for unsigned draftees. As a result, players (especially top prospects who already have an interest in playing overseas) can try to negotiate for many concessions. If the team rejects these demands, they risk the player walking away, wasting their top pick. In this case, Sasaki could have threatened to sit out a year to re-enter the draft, go to college in the United States, or sign a minor league deal with an MLB team straight out of high school if Lotte did not agree to an early posting. The implications for the future of NPB and the posting system are difficult to say at this time, but it’s fair to say that a Pandora’s box has been opened as far as MLB teams potentially poaching more young Japanese talent before they make their mark in NPB.

As for Sasaki, the wunderkind is following a Shohei Ohtani-esque path, giving up hundreds of millions of dollars in the short term for an opportunity to follow his dreams and fast-track his way to the Big Leagues as quickly as possible. While he only threw 394.2 innings in NPB and failed to stay healthy for a full season, his ability speaks for itself. He threw 17 consecutive perfect innings in 2022, including a 19-strikeout perfect game, and leaves Japan with a career 2.10 ERA, 1.78 FIP, 32.7 K%, and 5.7 BB%. His average fastball velocity fell from 99 to 97 mph this season but he became more comfortable throwing his slider, which Yu Darvish helped him develop at the WBC, giving him a nasty three-pitch mix with the splitter as his best weapon. At his best, he has the talent to be a top-five arm in the world. Many believe he will land with the Los Angeles Dodgers or San Diego Padres.

https://youtu.be/VRNzQciL86U

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