Cleveland Sports Forum

Was The Next Judge Unearther At The Spring Breakout?


Jones owns Spring Breakout with pair of towering homers

TAMPA, Fla. -- Spencer Jones stole the show with a two-homer performance in the inaugural Spring Breakout game at George M. Steinbrenner Field on Saturday afternoon, offering yet another glimpse of the light-tower power that appears to have the Yankees’ prospect headed for stardom.

Ranked as the club’s No. 2 prospect by MLB Pipeline, Jones cracked a two-run homer in his first at-bat of Saturday afternoon’s 9-1 win over the Blue Jays' top prospects. Then, he cleared the fences again in the fifth inning with a blast that traveled even further.

[ That second homer appeared to clear the light tower in centerfield and ending up on the expressway ??? - The kid has speed beatin out an infield single to second ]

https://www.mlb.com/news/spencer-jones- ... out-at-bat

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Fighting for a roster spot, Stowers homers in 3 straight at-bats

Orioles outfielder becomes first MLB player to hit 3 HRs in a spring game since 2018

LAKELAND, Fla. -- The Orioles have quite a few challenging roster decisions on their plate entering the final week of Spring Training, and Kyle Stowers is only making things tougher.

No player in MLB has hit as many spring home runs as Stowers, who went deep three times in Baltimore’s 4-4 split-squad tie with Detroit at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland on Sunday afternoon. The 26-year-old outfielder has belted seven Grapefruit League homers, and he leads the O’s with 13 RBIs this spring.

https://www.mlb.com/news/kyle-stowers-h ... -vs-tigers

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Deyvison De Los Santos cleared waivers and is officially back in the DBacks system

By westbrook Mar 24, 2024, 12:01am EDT 43 Comments / 43 New

The Guardians nearly finalized their roster on Saturday, and it does not include lightning rod Deyvison De Los Santos. And no, he is not going to another team on waivers. He already cleared and is the “property” of the Diamondbacks.

But don’t stop your scheming quite yet—the Guardians could still trade for him later. (And not have to roster him.)

Ya know how I mentioned that the roster is nearly finalized? Quincy already wrote about all this but it’s not final only because it’s been reported that Cade Smith could be replaced by an external pitcher. Personally, I think Tim Herrin should be the one on thinnest ice, but whatever.

After all this news broke, the Guardians went out and spanked another 2023 champion. Friday, they got the AL champion; Saturday they beat the NL champion. They have been on quite the tear to get back to .500 in Cactus action.

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GUARDIANS RUMORS

Guardians Return Rule 5 Pick Deyvison De Los Santos To Diamondbacks

By Nick Deeds | March 23, 2024 at 7:49pm CDT

First baseman Deyvison De Los Santos, who was selected by the Guardians in the Rule 5 Draft back in December, was returned to the Diamondbacks today, per a club announcement. Arizona is not required to add him to the 40-man roster.

De Los Santos, 20, enjoyed a breakout season in 2022 at the age of 19, slashing an impressive .306/.348/.499 in 126 games split between the Single-A, High-A, and Double-A levels that year. He mostly held his own in a return to the Double-A level last year, slashing 254/.297/.431 while crushing 20 home runs in just 481 trips to the plate. That performance was enough for De Los Santos to get plucked from the Diamondbacks organization during the Rule 5 Draft by the Guardians, where he figured to compete for playing time with top first base prospect Kyle Manzardo on a roster in desperate need of additional pop.

The news comes as something of a surprise following the club’s decision to reassign Manzardo to minor league camp earlier this week, which seemingly opened the door for De Los Santos to be the club’s Opening Day starter at first base. That hasn’t come to pass, however, as Cleveland clearly determined that De Los Santos would not make the club’s Opening Day roster and instead opted to send the 20-year-old back to his original organization.

The move seems to leave slugger Josh Naylor to take over first base duties on Opening Day. A career .270/.325/.439 hitter who posted a career-best 128 wRC+ last season, there’s little question that the 26-year-old is up to the task. With that being said, Naylor appeared poised to be slotted into the club’s DH spot on a regular basis this season. That may still end up being the case assuming Mazardo makes his way to the majors later this year, but as things stand the club instead appears likely to rely on the likes of Will Brennan and Estevan Florial at DH to open the season.

As for De Los Santos, he’ll return to the Diamondbacks organization and likely begin the season in the upper minors. With veterans Christian Walker and Joc Pederson slated for the lion’s share of playing time at first base and DH this year, it’s unclear if De Los Santos will have much of an opportunity to reach the majors this season. With that being said, both Walker and Pederson are set to hit free agency after the 2024 season, so a strong showing from De Los Santos in the upper minors this year could put him in line to impact the club as soon as 2025.

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Projected Minnesota Twins Opening Day roster after Anthony DeSclafani and Jhoan Duran injuries

How will things look for the Twins after losing Anthony DeSclafani, Jhoan Duran, and Caleb Thielbar?


By Josh Hill | Mar 20, 2024

We haven't even reached Opening Day yet and the injury bug is already feasting on the Minnesota Twins.

On Monday the Twins announced that four pitchers would be hitting the IL to start the season: Anthony DeSclafani, Jhoan Duran, Caleb Thielbar, and Matt Canterino. There's already growing concern that DeSclafani's season is already over, although he's undergoing further testing to see exactly how bad things are.

It's not promising that we've already reached this phase, but the upside is that the Twins have a deep enough roster to navigate the beginning of the season.

Previous projections had four potential starters vying for a roster spot, but injuries have shurnk that list considerably. Matt Canterino is starting the season on the IL as well, which leaves rookies David Festa and Simeon Woods Richardson as the only other guys in the pipeline.

Twins Opening Day starting rotation

It could be argued that the starting rotation is the area most significantly impacted by the barrage of injuries, but the Twins have a pretty good contigency plan in place. Even before DeSclafani was potentially lost for the season, Louie Varland was giving him a run for his money as the fifth starter.

Now the role seems to be firmly his to lose, and based on what we've seen so far that might not end up happening.

Varland has been lights out so far this spring, posting a 0.640 WHIP while striking out 11 batters and allowing zero runs on six hits across 11 innings of work. We saw him begin to take some steps last year, specifically after he returned to the MLB roster and came out of the bullpen, but it appears he's starting to turn a corner.

Pitcher

Pablo Lopez
Joe Ryan
Bailey Ober
Chris Paddack
Louie Varland

Just Missed The Cut:

David Festa
Simeon Woods Richardson


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Twins lose yet another key pitcher to injury before Opening Day

Minnesota’s bullpen situation is quickly thinning out before the season has even started.

By Josh Hill | 1:39 PM CDT

A rough week for the Minnesota Twins started with Derek Falvey announcing key injuries during a television broadcast. On Monday he revealed that Jhoan Duran, Caleb Thielbar, and Anthony DeSclafani would begin the season on the IL, and on Sunday he bookended the week with more bad injury news.

Falvey announced that reliever Justin Topa was dealing with knee inflammation and soreness, something that will delay his regular season debut with the Twins. Star Tribune beat writer Phil Miller said that Topa would start the season on the IL — making him the fourth MLB pitcher to hit the list.

According to Do-Hyoung Park, the Twins are shutting Topa down despite the fact that he said he wanted to try and pitch through the injury. It’s a decision that seems to be for the best, although the grit is certainly appreciated.

t’s yet another massive blow to a bullpen that was rated as one of the league’s best heading into the season.

Twins are dealing with yet another injury concern, this time with Justin Topa

Topa was the main big league return in the Jorge Polanco trade, coming over from the Seattle Mariners alongside Gabriel Gonzalez as centerpieces of the deal. Anthony DeSclafani was also part of that trade but he’s been seen as more of a throw-in than anything else, as his involvement helped free up some money for the Twins to sign Carlos Santana.

Should Topa begin the season on the IL, Minnesota wouldn’t have neither of the big league pieces from the Polanco trade on its Opening Day roster.

It’s a brutal blow on a number of different levels, not the least of which is the Twins being without three key pieces of its bullpen to start the season. Minnesota signed Jesse Chavez on Sunday as a way to add more depth, but the hits just keep coming at a rate that is almost hard to comprehend.

Hits might be coming on the field too, as the combo of Topa, Duran, and Thielbar makes up some of the strongest parts of Minnesota’s bullpen.

With Topa missing time and needs to start the season on the IL, Kody Funderburk might re-enter the conversation as a replacement. He seemed to be in line for work after the Twins lost Duran and Thielbar, but was seemingly edged out when the team signed Chavez.

Having Funderburk up would be nice, but it’s a steep cost. Part of what made injuries to Duran and Thielbar slightly tolerable was the fact that Topa was there to anchor the bullpen. With him now out, the team’s depth is going to be tested right out the gate in ways that hopefully don’t set the tone for the rest of the season.

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Twins Sign 40-Year-Old Ageless RHP Jesse Chavez to Bolster Depleted Bullpen

Eric Strack

Updated: Mar 24, 2024

he Minnesota Twins have no money left in their shrunken budget for the 2024 baseball season. That much has become clear, given the holes they still have, along with their refusal to fill said holes, no matter how big of a bargain the price-tag might be.

And when you’re a broke MLB front office, the only place to shop is the clearance aisle, which usually includes the ‘coulda been’, ‘if healthy’ and ‘probably should’ve retired by now’ bins of MLB free agency. Let’s be honest, this is an offseason aisle the Twins have become very familiar with over the years.

But… when you’re strolling through the clearance aisle on opening week, even these bins are extremely picked through. Enter new Twins pitcher, Jesse Chavez, a 40-year-old journeyman right-hander who signed with Minnesota on Sunday (per Twins Daily), just hours after being cut from Chicago White Sox camp.



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Minnesota Twins sign veteran pitcher Jesse Chavez



Chavez is being brought in as an emergency patch for a bullpen that looked like the strength of the staff entering spring training. After injuries to two of their top relievers — Jhoan Duran (IL – Right Oblique Strain) and lefty Caleb Thielbar (IL – Left Hamstring Strain) — it looks more like a depleted floatation device that is going to struggle to keep the Twins’ discount starting rotation afloat.

Jesse Chavez has been in and out of the bullpen throughout his Major League career, which began in 2008 as a 24-year-old in the Pittsburgh bullpen. He broke out in 2009, when he posted a 4.01 ERA (104 ERA+) in 67.1 innings for the Pirates.

But he struggled from there. Between 2010 and 2012, Chavez was shipped around the continent. He was traded to Atlanta before the deadline in 2010, before moving to Kansas City, then up to Toronto and eventually landing in Oakland. In that time, his ERA ballooned to 7.29 (57 ERA+) in 95 total innings pitched. What happened while at his last stop in Toronto, however, changed the course of Chavez’ career. He started two games in the first half of the season, while with the Blue Jays.

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Explaining the MLB Pace-of-Play and More Rule Changes for 2024 Season

KRISTOPHER KNOXX.com Logo

MARCH 24, 2024

With opening day slated for Thursday, the 2024 Major League Baseball season is nearly upon us. In a matter of days, the Texas Rangers' title defense will be underway, while MLB's other 29 teams will begin their quest to unseat the champs.

As was the case in 2023, opening day will feature a few rule changes. Though perhaps not as dramatic as last year's changes—which included the introduction of a pitch timer, larger bases and limitations on defensive shifts—these changes may require an adjustment period for fans.

Last year's changes took some getting used to, though, with a faster pace of play, the results were largely positive. Games may be even faster and more exciting in 2024 with pace-of-play rules continuing to evolve.

Here, we'll take an in-depth look at what's new for 2024.




Pitch-Clock Change

As the only major American sport without built-in time constraints, baseball games had become too long and too slow prior to last year's pace-of-place changes.

The introduction of the pitch timer helped tremendously. The new rule set time limits of 30 seconds between batters, 15 seconds between pitches with empty bases, and 20 seconds between pitches with occupied bases.

The result was a 24-minute decrease in game length, according to Ronald Blum of the Associated Press.

This year will see a minor tweak, as the time limit with a runner on base will drop from 20 seconds to 18 seconds.

A pitcher who does not begin his throwing motion before the timer runs out will yield an automatic ball. Batters must be in the box and prepared to hit with no fewer than eight seconds remaining, otherwise an automatic strike will be awarded.

The pitch clock operator will restart the clock after a dead ball when the pitcher has the ball in hand. Previously, the clock would not restart until the pitcher was on the mound.

As was the case in 2023, the pitch clock will be used in both the regular season and the postseason.




Widening of First-Base Runner's Lane

Last year, the bigger base size resulted in a spike in stolen bases. In fact, the stolen-base rate reached its highest mark since the 1987 season. This meant that fans enjoyed many more exciting plays that didn't involve home runs or strikeouts.

In an effort to get more batters on bases, MLB is set to expand the runner's lane between home plate and first base. From MLB.com:

"Previously, MLB Rule 5.09 (a)(11) required a batter to run the last half of the distance between home plate and first base between the foul line and a three-foot line drawn on the right-hand side of the dirt. ...the runner will now be deemed in compliance with the rule as long as both feet remain on the dirt path between home and first."

In simple terms, the runner's path is acceptable as long as it's on the dirt and not in the grass. Officiating any potential first-base running violations should now be much easier, which in turn, should further hasten the pace of play.




Other Notable Rule Changes

A few more changes will be implemented to help quicken the pace of play. One of the most notable is that each team's allotted mound visits will be decreased from five to four per game. A fifth visit will be awarded in the ninth inning if the defensive team has none remaining at the end of the eighth.

Also, if a new pitcher enters the warning track with less than two minutes remaining on the inning break clock, the clock will reset to two minutes instead of two minutes and 15 seconds.

Pitchers who warm up for an inning must also face at least one batter while still complying with the three-batter-minimum rule. From MLB.com:

"MLB found 24 instances in 2023 of a pitcher warming up between innings and getting replaced before throwing a pitch, adding approximately three minutes of dead time per event."

In other words, a pitcher who warms up between innings must take the field.

Lastly, umpires have been instructed to emphasize an existing rule that limits the obstruction of the runner's path between bases. From MLB.com:

"[MLB's guidance] emphasizes the existing rule and asks umpires to call obstruction if they determine a fielder has positioned himself to impede or hinder a runner's path to the base before receiving the ball. The play remains non-reviewable, and the point of emphasis only applies to the bases, not home plate."

While the path-obstruction rule isn't new and isn't designed to quicken the pace of play, it should help make for cleaner plays and a more enjoyable experience for MLB fans.

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TWINS RUMORS

Jhoan Duran, Caleb Thielbar, Anthony DeSclafani To Begin Season On Injured List

By Steve Adams | March 18, 2024 at 1:39pm CDT

1:39pm: There’s concern that DeSclafani could require season-ending surgery, president of baseball operations Derek Falvey tells Nightengale and others.

1:00pm: Twins closer Jhoan Duran, lefty reliever Caleb Thielbar, and rotation hopeful Anthony DeSclafani will open the season on the 15-day injured list, tweets Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Duran is dealing with a “moderate” oblique strain, while Thielbar will head to the IL with a strained hamstring. DeSclafani has a more ominous forearm strain and is slated to meet with Dr. Keith Meister for further evaluation.

Beyond that trio of surefire big leaguers, the Twins will also see prospect Matt Canterino and roster hopeful Zack Weiss start on the injured list, tweets Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Canterino, long one of the organization’s most promising arms, will be on the Triple-A injured list after suffering a subscapular strain in his shoulder. Weiss, a waiver claim out of the Red Sox organization, has been rehabbing a teres major strain and will be on the major league injured list.

Losing Duran even for a short spell is painful for the Twins, given the flamethrower’s emergence as one of MLB’s premier relievers. Since making his big league debut on Opening Day 2022, Duran has pitched 130 innings of 2.15 ERA ball with 35 saves, 19 holds, a 33.2% strikeout rate, a 7.9% walk rate and a massive 63.4% ground-ball rate. He averaged a ludicrous 101.8 mph on his heater last season and 98.4 mph with his splitter/sinker hybrid (“splinker”). The good news for the Twins is that a moderate strain shouldn’t result in excessively lengthy absence, but even Grade 1 strains have been known to sideline players for upwards of a month. The team hasn’t formally announced a timetable for Duran’s expected return just yet.

Wit Duran sidelined, it’ll likely fall to Griffin Jax and Brock Stewart to handle save situations early in the season. Jax has become one of Duran’s top setup men in recent years and offers an above-average strikeout rate and strong command of a slider-heavy arsenal. Stewart returned from a yearslong MLB absence and multiple arm surgeries brandishing an upper-90s cutter that helped him punch out nearly 36% of his opponents while pitching to a 0.65 ERA in 27 2/3 innings for the Twins last saeson.

The 37-year-old Thielbar has flown under the radar since returning to affiliated ball following a five-year absence in 2020, but he’s quietly been one of the team’s most important relievers in that time. Over the past four seasons, the Minnesota native has given his hometown club 174 innings of 3.21 ERA ball, piling up 45 holds while punching out 30.2% of his opponents against a 7.4% walk rate. He struggled against right-handers last season, yielding a .258/.319/.621 batting line, but Thielbar didn’t have glaring struggles against righties from 2020-22. As with Duran, they’ll hope for a relatively brief absence, but the team hasn’t given any specifics on how long he’s expected to miss just yet.

Word of DeSclafani’s injury is the most concerning of the three. Acquired from the Mariners (who’d picked him up from the Giants previously) as part of the trade sending Jorge Polanco to Seattle, DeSclafani had been in the running to open the season as the Twins’ fifth starter. He was slowed early in camp by some discomfort and is now headed for evaluation with one of the sport’s more notable surgeons.

DeSclafani has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career. He missed the entire 2017 season with a UCL sprain that never required surgery, pitched a mostly healthy year in 2018 and enjoyed one of the best seasons of his career with the Reds in 2019. A teres major strain hobbled him in 2020 and limited him to 33 2/3 innings of 7.22 ERA ball, however. DeSclafani bounced back with a bit 2021 season in San Francisco, working 167 2/3 frames of 3.17 ERA ball over a mostly full slate of 31 starts.

DeSclafani re-signed in San Francisco on a three-year, $36MM deal that hasn’t at all gone according to plan. An ankle injury that eventually required surgery limited him to 19 frames in 2022. Shoulder fatigue and a pair of flexor strains capped him at 99 2/3 frames in 2023. He’ll now be slowed to begin the 2024 season, though a timeline won’t be known until that appointment with Dr. Meister has taken place.

The Twins are only the hook for $4MM of DeSclafani’s $12MM salary. The Giants sent $6MM to the Mariners in their original trade involving DeSclafani, and the M’s sent that plus another $2MM to Minnesota in the Polanco swap. With DeSclafani headed to the injured list, right-hander Louie Varland should have the fifth spot in the rotation all but locked up. He’ll follow Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan, Chris Paddack and Bailey Ober in what should be a solid Twins staff if everyone can remain healthy. However, the Twins will undoubtedly feel the losses of Sonny Gray and Kenta Maeda, particularly now with their top depth option shelved. In the event of additional pitching injuries, Minnesota would likely turn to one of Simeon Woods Richardson, Brent Headrick or yet-to-debut top prospect David Festa.

As for the others, Canterino is still working his way back from 2022 Tommy John surgery. Injuries have regularly slowed him since being selected in the second round of the 2019 draft. Between shaky health and the scrapped 2020 minor league season, he’s still pitched only 85 professional innings. They’ve been excellent — 1.48 ERA, 39.2% strikeout rate, 10.5% walk rate — but his persistent injury troubles have undercut his considerable upside. As for Weiss, he’s pitched just 27 1/3 MLB frames but has a history of strong strikeout totals in the minors. He could be a bullpen option for the Twins at some point, but for now he’ll collect MLB service and pay while rehabbing. For a 32-year-old with just 91 days of big league service to this point in his career, that’s not insignificant.

It seems unlikely that the Twins will go outside the organization to boost their depth — at least in term of significant salary additions. Owner Joe Pohlad all but declared his team out on top names like Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery earlier in camp when stating that his team was not going to “go out and spend $30MM on a player right now.” The Twins shocked baseball with a pair of Carlos Correa signings that came together under similar circumstances, but it doesn’t seem there’s another splash of that magnitude up their sleeves. Minnesota was reportedly interested in Michael Lorenzen earlier in the offseason, so it’s possible they could still circle back on that front. More likely is that they’ll just ride things out with internal options, perhaps adding a veteran on a minor league deal. A particularly lengthy absence for DeSclafani could create some extra urgency, so the results of his evaluation are worth tracking with a close eye for Twins fans.

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The unheralded ace who just might be one of MLB's best pitchers

March 24th, 2024

Cole Ragans looked nearly unhittable.

For six dominant innings against the A’s on Aug. 23, the Royals left-hander baffled the Oakland lineup. Ragans allowed just two hits and racked up 11 strikeouts, matching his career high and tying for the most K’s by a Royals starter all season. Against A’s catcher Shea Langeliers in the fifth, the lefty uncorked a 101 mph fastball, the fastest pitch of his young career.

Part of a standout second half for Ragans after a midseason trade from the Rangers to the Royals, the start in Oakland put the young pitcher’s potential on full display. Ragans finished his 2023 season with a 2.64 ERA in 12 starts with Kansas City, striking out 89 batters in 71 2/3 innings and cementing himself as one of the hardest-throwing starters in the game.

During Spring Training, Ragans mostly picked up where he left off, striking out eight across five scoreless innings in his first two outings and later surpassing 99 mph on the radar gun.

It’s clear the 26-year-old -- who was named K.C.’s Opening Day starter on March 17 -- has the potential to be one of MLB’s best pitchers, and he’s a rare find for a Royals team that could really use a No. 1 starter.

Here’s how Ragans developed into a budding ace for a Kansas City club in need and how the left-hander plans to sustain his success in 2024.

A new arsenal

What is it about Ragans’ arsenal that makes him so special?

Start with a four-seam fastball that averaged 96.5 mph in 2023, topping out with that 101 mph toss against the A’s. Ragans’ 96.7 mph average with the Royals was tied for second among all left-handed starters, tied with the Marlins’ Jesús Luzardo and trailing only the Rays’ Shane McClanahan. Ragans’ fastball also featured well-above-average horizontal movement when compared to other four-seamers thrown with a similar velocity and release point.

The increased velocity itself was a huge step for the left-hander. In 2022 with the Rangers, Ragans averaged just 92.1 mph on his fastball, ranking in the 21st percentile in MLB. A jump of more than 4 mph in a single year is extremely rare: Of the 175 pitchers who threw at least 300 four-seamers in 2022 and 2023, Ragans’ year-over-year increase was the largest -- by far.

Largest four-seam fastball velocity increase, 2022-23
Min. 300 four-seamers each season (175 pitchers)

1. Cole Ragans (KC): +4.4 mph
2-T. Carlos Hernández (KC): +2.3 mph
2-T. Sean Manaea (NYM): +2.3 mph
4. Freddy Peralta (MIL): +1.8 mph
5. Tarik Skubal (DET): +1.7 mph

It wasn’t just the fastball. After being shipped from the Rangers to the Royals in the Aroldis Chapman deal on June 30, Ragans debuted with Kansas City on July 15. The first time he faced lefty Luke Raley in the second inning, Ragans dropped in the first slider of his MLB career for a called strike. In the fourth, Ragans greeted Raley with another slider, resulting in a weak ground ball to the right side.

Ragans fully incorporated the slider into his arsenal beginning with his next start, a strong outing against the Mets on Aug. 2, and the pitch has paid dividends. With above-average velocity and vertical break, Ragans’ slider induced a preposterous 64.0% swing rate, second among all sliders in 2023, and hitters came up empty on a hefty 40.0% of swings against the pitch.

What was behind this transformation? Ragans credits remote work during the 2022-23 offseason with Charlotte, N.C.-based Tread Athletics, focusing on his mechanics and mobility. His time with Tread proved so fruitful that Ragans went back this past offseason, too.

“They helped me just get stronger, help my body move better, mobility stuff, arm move quicker -- just that kind of thing,” Ragans said in August. “It’s been one of the best things I’ve ever done.”

Ragans is also in the midst of developing another offering, a two-seam sinker. The lefty threw it once during his first spring outing but said the pitch is still a “work in progress” as he tinkers with the grip and aims to maximize its horizontal break.

“Some days, it’s kind of put on the back burner,” Ragans recently told MLB.com. “We talk about it a little bit, but I’m not just going to go out there and kind of wing it. I’m here to win. We’re all here to win.”

Maintaining his dominance in 2024 won’t be easy: Ragans knows he won’t be taking anyone by surprise this season. But he’s prepared for that. Even without his new sinker, his five-pitch arsenal is designed to stop hitters from making adjustments as they get used to facing Ragans.

“If I’m mixing in the breaking balls with the changeup, the cutter, my fastball, they can’t really have an approach if I’m commanding stuff to both sides and my breaking balls and stuff like that,” Ragans said.

Can he back it up?

Watching Ragans blow away hitters and reach triple digits, it might be hard to tell that the young pitcher has come a long way.

In 2019, Ragans became one of the unlucky few pitchers to require a second Tommy John surgery. He first underwent the procedure in 2018 after experiencing elbow discomfort, and 14 months later -- near the end of his rehab process -- Ragans blew his elbow out again. The lefty was on the shelf for a long time: From 2018 to 2020, he did not appear in a single Major League or Minor League game. (The COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the entire 2020 Minor League season.)

Not many pitchers manage to shine in MLB after multiple Tommy John procedures, but Ragans appears to be among the exceptions -- so far. Next up is backing up his stellar second half and doing so over a full season. Ragans’ 114 1/3 innings between the Majors and Minors in 2023 represented the highest total of his pro career, so he’ll have to prove his durability this year to hold down a spot in the Royals’ rotation.

Can he? Opinions vary. FanGraphs’ depth charts projection estimates 165 innings for Ragans -- just enough to qualify -- but Baseball-Reference projects him to pitch just 95 innings in 2024.

Ragans said his strength and conditioning work is critical when it comes to going deep into games and staying on schedule with his starts. The lefty often checks in with trainers, weight room staff and veteran teammates like Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo, making sure he’s maintaining his strength while not overdoing anything.

“It’s like I know if I do this it’s going to keep me in the right shape to where when it does get to that sixth, seventh, eighth inning, if I’m out there, I still feel good,” Ragans said. “I still feel like my body is ready to go.”

In his 12 starts with K.C. in 2023, Ragans posted a 2.6 bWAR that easily led Royals pitchers. Even if his 2023 production level isn’t sustainable (a 2.64 ERA would be Cy Young Award territory), anything like a full campaign from the lefty would go a long way. Ragans is ready for it: After pitching exclusively out of the bullpen with the Rangers prior to the trade, he said with a smile that he’s “very” excited to return to the rotation for a full year with the Royals.

“I’m looking forward to getting after it with the guys,” Ragans said. “It’s going to be a fun season.”

Why do the Royals need an ace?

Since back-to-back trips to the World Series in 2014 and 2015, the Royals haven’t been back to the postseason. Their best record in that span? An 81-81 campaign in 2016. K.C.’s 56-106 record last season equaled a last-place finish in the American League Central.

Hitting struggles have been a large reason for that, with the Royals’ .706 team OPS from 2016 to 2023 ranking 27th in MLB and their 4.15 runs per game ranking 28th. But pitching has been a problem, too: Kansas City’s 4.76 overall ERA and 4.93 starter ERA are both 28th in that same span.

To put it one way, 19 MLB teams had at least one qualified starting pitcher with an ERA of 4 or lower in 2023. The Royals’ last such season was 2016, making them the team with the longest drought in that area. (Brady Singer came close in 2022, but he didn’t pitch enough innings to qualify.) In 2024, Ragans stands a solid chance of being the first Royals starter since Danny Duffy and Ian Kennedy to post a qualified ERA under 4, although Singer, Wacha or Lugo are good candidates as well.

For a Royals team that seems intent on snapping its postseason drought and competing in the AL Central in 2024, Ragans is undeniably a key piece. Kansas City made its presence known in the free-agent market, signing pitchers Wacha, Lugo, Will Smith and Chris Stratton in addition to hitters Hunter Renfroe and Adam Frazier. A trade for Red Sox reliever John Schreiber and an extension for star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. were among the Royals’ other moves.

Despite all that added depth, there’s a lot riding on Ragans’ talented left arm. It certainly depends whether his twice-repaired elbow (and his 2023 production) can hold up, but if he can put together a strong season, Ragans could be something the Royals haven’t had in a while.

“We’ll see where it goes, but I think everybody has super high expectations, and we’re super excited,” Ragans said.

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Professional Baseball Season Starts: Hopes Are High for Energetic Plays with Tradition in Mind



Editorial

17:06 JST, March 29, 2024

The Central and Pacific leagues are both set to begin the 2024 season on Friday. This year marks the 90th anniversary of professional baseball in Japan. It is hoped that players and others will build a new era with their exciting performances, bearing in mind the long history of the sport in the nation.

The history of Japanese professional baseball dates back to 1934. Babe Ruth and other players of a U.S. Major League Baseball all-star team visited Japan to play in various locations. The Dai-nippon Tokyo Yakyu Kurabu (Great Japan Tokyo Baseball Club), the present-day Yomiuri Giants, was later founded, mainly comprising players from the Japan team that played the U.S. team at that time.

The following year, the Osaka Yakyu Kurabu (Osaka Baseball Club), now the Hanshin Tigers, was also formed. Since then, Japanese professional baseball has grown significantly, overcoming such difficult times as a war.

This season, a game between traditional rivals — the Giants and the Tigers — will be held as an opener of the Central League. It will be interesting to see how the Giants, who are celebrating their 90th anniversary, will play against the Tigers, who won the league title last season with a wide margin over the second-place team.

The key for the Giants this season is likely to be the leadership of new manager Shinnosuke Abe, who is knowledgeable about the team’s strengths after serving as the manager of the Giants’ farm team and a coach of their top team. Another point of interest is how far players such as Kazuma Okamoto, last season’s home run king, can extend their individual records.

In the Pacific League, the focus will be on whether any other teams can put pressure on the Orix Buffaloes, who ran away with the title last season. The Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, led by new manager Hiroki Kokubo, are considered to be a strong challenger, given the team has strengthened their offense with the addition of new players. These two teams will face off in their season opener.

Among the rookies, expectations are high for the Yokohama DeNA Baystars’ Ryuki Watarai and the Giants’ Shunsuke Sasaki, both of whom performed well in preseason exhibition games. The rise of young players will help revitalize the baseball world as a whole.

In the farm league, which has already started its season, the newly established Kufu Hayate Ventures Shizuoka and the Oisix Niigata Albirex Baseball Club, which previously played in an independent league, joined this season.

Many promising athletes are playing in the farm league. It is hoped that they will showcase their superb techniques and speedy play to local children and broaden the sport’s fan base.

The Premier 12, an international tournament, is scheduled to be held in autumn. Last spring, Japan’s national team, Samurai Japan, won the title of the World Baseball Classic, an intercountry and interregional tournament, exciting people across Japan. Once again, hopes are high for the Japan team to compete against foreign teams.

The number of spectators at official Central and Pacific league games in 2023 totaled 25.07 million, nearing the previous record high in 2019 of 26.54 million, which was the highest since actual visitor numbers started being released. These signs suggest that visitor numbers are returning to pre-pandemic levels. It is hoped that Japanese professional baseball will offer exciting games and grab the hearts of more people.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 29, 2024)

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Chourio does it all in Opening Day debut


NEW YORK -- Less than three weeks ago, Jackson Chourio was still a teenager. Now he's a big leaguer, making his MLB debut on Opening Day.

Debuts like this don't happen very often. Chourio wasn't just playing his first Major League game, he was the Brewers' starting right fielder and leadoff hitter in Friday's season-opening 3-1 win over the Mets at Citi Field. And the No. 2 prospect in baseball is just 20 years and 18 days old.

That makes Chourio's first game historic. Chourio is one of the youngest players to debut as his team's leadoff hitter on Opening Day in modern AL/NL history. Only Hall of Famer Bobby Doerr, who was 19 years and 13 days old when he debuted for the Red Sox on Opening Day 1937, did so at a younger age.

And it didn't take Chourio long to show why he earned that spot at the top of the order.

Chourio led off the game by drawing a four-pitch walk against Jose Quintana. And then he took off.

With William Contreras batting after him, Chourio swiped second for his first career stolen base, diving in headfirst just ahead of the tag. He reached a sprint speed of 28.9 feet per second, much faster than the MLB average sprint speed of 27 ft/sec.

Four innings later, Chourio notched his first Major League hit, poking a two-strike single into right field. As he pulled into first, a smile on his face, Chourio pumped his fist in the air.

The moment he stepped into the batter's box, Chourio became the fifth-youngest player to start on Opening Day at any position in MLB’s divisional era (since 1969). And his company is all Hall of Famers.

The only younger players than Chourio with an Opening Day start in the past 55 years: Robin Yount in 1974 (18 years, 201 days old) and '75 (19 years, 204 days), Ken Griffey Jr. in 1989 (19 years, 133 days) and Adrián Beltré in 1999 (19 years, 363 days).

Yount is the only Brewer to take the field on Opening Day at a younger age than Chourio. Like Chourio, Yount's first Opening Day start was also his Major League debut.

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The Yomiuri Giants' Takayuki Kajitani watches his two-run home run clear the wall at Tokyo Dome in a Central League game against the Hanshin Tigers on March 29, 2024. (Kyodo)



Baseball: Giants' Takayuki Kajitani ruins Japan champion Tigers' Opening Day

March 29, 2024 (Mainichi Japan)

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Veteran Yomiuri Giants outfielder Takayuki Kajitani saved a run with his glove and smacked a game-breaking two-run home run in a 4-0 Central League win Friday over the defending Japan Series champion Hanshin Tigers on Opening Day.

Coming off their first Japan Series championship since 1985, the Tigers were poised to break the ice in the third against Shosei Togo, making his first career Opening Day start for the Giants.

With two on and one out, Kajitani made a diving catch in right field and doubled off the runner at first to prevent two runs. Togo, who pitched for Japan in last year's World Baseball Classic, worked six innings to earn the win.

With the Giants leading 1-0 in the fifth, Kajitani homered to make it 3-0.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1773669130320711828


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DeNA BayStars rookie Ryuki Watarai



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In other action from Nippon Professional Baseball's six Opening Day matchups, highly-touted DeNA BayStars rookie Ryuki Watarai belted a game-tying three-run homer in his second pro at-bat in a 4-3 CL win over the Hiroshima Carp.

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The three-time defending Pacific League champion Orix Buffaloes started their season with a loss, 3-1 to the SoftBank Hawks.

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Twins' Lewis exits vs. Royals with quad injury

Josh Goldberg

1d ago

Minnesota Twins third baseman Royce Lewis was forced to exit Thursday's Opening Day game against the Kansas City Royals in the third inning with a right quad injury, the team announced, according to The Athletic's Dan Hayes.

Lewis pulled up rounding the bases on a double by Carlos Correa. He was replaced by Edouard Julien.

The 24-year-old was off to a fast start, hitting a 423-foot home run off Royals ace Cole Ragans in his first at-bat before singling in his second.

Betsy Helfand

@betsyhelfand

Royce Lewis had an MRI and they are awaiting results of the imaging.

He described the injury as feeling like a cramp and displayed his usual positivity, even in the face of another setback.

Lewis has battled through injuries throughout his young career. He tore his right ACL in consecutive years, limiting him to just 70 games across the 2022 and 2023 campaigns.

Lewis was excellent at the plate in his abbreviated rookie season, hitting 15 home runs with 52 RBIs across 58 games in 2023.

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Rays' Franco goes on administrative leave as sexual abuse probe continues

The Associated Press

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay All-Star shortstop Wander Franco was placed on administrative leave through June 1 under an agreement between Major League Baseball and the players' association while the investigation continues in an alleged relationship with a minor.

Administrative leave is not disciplinary under the sport's joint domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy, and a player continues to be paid. Franco, who has a $2 million salary this year, has remained in his native Dominican Republic while authorities there investigate and did not report to spring training.

The Rays open the season Thursday against Toronto, forcing MLB and the union to make a decision on Franco's roster status.

Franco has not played since Aug. 12. He was placed on the restricted list for a week on Aug. 14 while MLB launched an investigation following social media posts suggesting Franco was in a relationship with a minor. The AP has not been able to verify the reported posts.

Franco was moved to administrative leave on Aug. 22 and remained there through the end of the season. There is no leave during the offseason.

MLB is likely to wait until the Dominican investigation is concluded before deciding whether there will be any discipline.

Originally accused of commercial and sexual exploitation and money laundering — charges that carry up to 30 years, 10 years and 20 years of prison respectively — Franco stands accused instead of sexual and psychological abuse, according to a judge's resolution that The Associated Press obtained in January.

Franco had not been formally accused, but if found guilty on the new charge, he could face between two to five years in prison.

Franco, who turned 23 on March 1, was in the midst of his third major league season when his career was halted and was hitting .281 with 17 homers, 58 RBIs and 30 stolen bases in 40 attempts over 112 games.

Franco agreed to a $182 million, 11-year contract in November 2021.

He earned $706,761 last year in addition to his salary as part of MLB's pre-arbitration bonus pool, a fund agreed to by the league and players' association as part of their 2022 labor contract. The bonus pool was created to reward young players, most who earn at or just above the minimum major league salary based on how long they've been in the big leagues.

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Chicago Cubs Ace Suffers Apparent Injury vs Texas Rangers

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Justin Steele left in the fifth inning of Thursday’s game with the Texas Rangers after suffering an injury while fielding a bunt at Globe Life Field.

With the game tied at 1-1 and with a runner at second base, Steele went to field a bunt put down by the Rangers’ Leody Taveras. Steele fielded the bunt cleanly and threw the ball like a shovel pass toward first baseman Michael Busch before falling to the ground.

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Justin Steele left in the fifth inning of Thursday’s game with the Texas Rangers after suffering an injury while fielding a bunt at Globe Life Field.

With the game tied at 1-1 and with a runner at second base, Steele went to field a bunt put down by the Rangers’ Leody Taveras. Steele fielded the bunt cleanly and threw the ball like a shovel pass toward first baseman Michael Busch before falling to the ground.

Steele remained on the ground and as he attempted to get back up he reached for what appeared to be his left hamstring.

Cubs trainers took the field to examine him and after a few minutes he was walked off the field.

At the time he was cruising. He took a no-hitter into the fourth inning before it was broken up by Josh Jung’s double. He left with the game tied, having thrown 4.2 innings, giving up three hits, one run (earned) with a walk and six strikeouts.

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