Brian McCann and Travis d’Arnaud Season Preview

Posted on by Daniel Cardona

To kick off 25 players in 25 days. Lets preview the backstops for our New York teams.

Brian McCann

Brian McCann was inconsistent his first season in the American League. McCann  sported a  .232 batting average and a .231 average on balls put into play because he faced the shift practically every at bat. McCann came into camp this year working on driving the ball to the opposite field. McCann’s .231 batting average on balls put into play should rise this year with his plan to drive balls to left field. Although McCann’s average was low his home run and RBI outputs were on track with his career numbers. The Yankees expect consistency from McCann his second season in the AL. With out Derek Jeter many believe McCann will be one of the veterans taking over a leadership position for the Yankees. McCann’s leadership, defensive prowess and improvement in offense will help the Yankees win more games. PECOTA, is Baseball Prospectus’ proprietary system that projects player performance based on comparisons with historical player’s season, projects McCann to have an improved season with a .241 batting average with 24 home runs and 76 RBI. This seems like a fair projection it will be considered a good season if the Yankees receive that kind of performance from McCann.

Travis d’Arnaud

The Mets young backstop had a tale of two halves his rookie season. d’Arnaud batted a miniscule .217 in the first half of the season followed by a very respectable .265 after the All- Star break. The power was consistent throughout the year hitting 13 home runs and driving in 41 runs. d’Arnaud’s rookie season included a demotion in June, which is common for rookies in their first year of big league play. The demotion seemed to light a fire under d’Arnaud. After the Mets  recalled  d’Arnaud he batted .272 with 10 home runs and 19 doubles. The Mets expect solid consistent offensive production from d’Arnaud in 2015. When d’Arnaud first made his major league début in 2013 he was a strong defensive catcher. 2014 proved to be a challenge defensively, d’Arnaud was only able to throw out 19% of runners who attempted to steal and lead the majors in passed balls. The defensive regression was a disappointing result of d’Arnaud’s inaugural season. If d’Arnaud can improve defensively and continue his offensive production the Mets will have a future All Star catcher.

Who Will Win The AL East?

Posted on by Juan Carlos Martinez

Many baseball fans this offseason have wondered who will win the AL East? Will it be the reigning champs Baltimore Orioles ? Could it be the boys from the Bronx? What about the high powered Blue Jays?

Baltimore Orioles

The O’s made it to the post season on the back of a good bullpen and their power hitting. They led MLB with 211 home runs. That is 25 more homers than the 2nd place team! The O’s also had the 6th best OPS in MLB at .734. The O’s lost a lot of talent during the offseason. Losing Nick Markakis, Nelson Cruz and relief pitcher Andrew Miller. Nelson Cruz contributed 40 hrs and 108 RBI. They completed a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates for Travis Snider to replenish their outfield depth. Chris Davis, Matt Weiters and Manny Machado are all talented young players, looking to bounce back this season. If the trio are successful it will go a long way in supporting an AL East title defense for Baltimore. Adam Jones is still on the roster he batted .280 with 29 home runs in 2014. While not as talented as last season the O’s have a formidable lineup. The bullpen will be a strength again this year with Zach Britton closing games for Baltimore.

Boston Red Sox

Two years ago the Red Sox were World Series champions. However last year the team took a huge step back. The offense suffered because the team had a lot of injuries. The team tried to compensate in the offseason by adding Hanley Ramirez and Pablo “Kung Fu Panda” Sandoval to their line up that already boast David “Big Papi” Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia. While the offense should be better than last year’s team. The pitching rotation on the leaves a lot to be desired. It is littered with many good pitchers, but there is no true ace. By default the ace is Clay Bucholz. If the current rotation does not work out they might have to depend on some one from the farm such as Henry Owen. Fortunately the Red Sox have the money and assets to make a trade during the deadline.

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees have a lot of questions in their rotation. But they do have players who have a track record of success. CC Sabathia could bounce back following two mediocre seasons. Masahiro Tanaka’s elbow could potentially hold up. Michael Pineda has a high ceiling and this could be the year he does not fall victim to injury. The Yankees’ line up last season underperformed, health permitting McCann, Beltran and Teixeira should have better seasons. Didi Gregarious should be an upgrade over the 2014 version of Derek Jeter.

Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays generally find a way to win. Despite their small payroll they generally field competitive teams. The biggest loss the Rays suffered this offseason was their manager Joe Maddon who now manages the Chicago Cubs. Despite trading ace David Price to the Detroit Tigers at the deadline, the Rays rotation is still competitive. Their rotation has Matt Moore, who is coming from Tommy John surgery. He boast a 3.53 ERA in 347 IP. The Rays expect a full season from Drew Smyley and Chris Archer returns to lead the rotation. Offensively the Rays hope that their leader Evan Longoria can bounce back. Last season he batted .253 which is well below his career average of .271. If Kevin Kiermayer can repeat his 2014 campaign and rookie Steven Souza Jr. proves he can hit major league pitching, the Rays should improve on their 77-85 record.

Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays are a great offensive team. They added All-Star 3rd basemen Josh Donaldson and Russel Martin to compliment Jose Reyes, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion. In 2014 the Jays were a top 10 team in OPS and in batting average. They had the 3rd best hr total in MLB. Going into the 2014 season there were many questions surrounding the pitching rotation. The rotation however proved solid and will be tested this season. Veterans R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle are returning to lead the pitching staff. However the rest of the staff is under flux with the recent season ending injury to Marcus Stroman, the projected #3 starter for the Jays. Aaron Sanchez, Drew Hutchinson and Daniel “Van Man” Norris will now vie for the last three spots in the rotation. The big questions for the Jays surround the bullpen. In 2014 the Blue Jays bullpen boasted a 4.09 ERA, which was 25th worst in MLB. The bullpen still needs a lot of work and a proven closer.

There are so many questions surrounding the AL East. There is no clear winner, while many in the media feel that the Red Sox will win the division. The Rays and the Yankees have enough talent to compete.

Who Is The Yankees Most Important Player ?

Posted on by Daniel Cardona

2015 will be an interesting year for the Yankees. The Core Four are gone, they do not have a captain, and their rotation is full of question marks. The Yankees will need several players to improve  in order for the team to succeed. Who is the most important player on the Yankees 25 man roster? Is it Masahiro Tanaka, Dellin Betances, Brian McCann or Carlos Beltran? I will examine who I believe is the most important Yankee.

The Yankees need multiple players to step up but no one is more important than Masahiro Tanaka. Tanaka, the Japanese import, signed a 7-year 155 million dollar contract in January of 2014. Tanaka was a mystery at the beginning of camp. Many were intrigued by his world famous splitter and his 24-0 season in Japan. Tanaka quickly showed that his 2013 season was not an aberration.  He started 2014 with a 6-0 record. After two poor starts in July team doctors conducted an MRI on Tanaka, finding a partial tear in his ulnar collateral ligament on his pitching elbow. Partial tears or injuries to the UCL usually lead to Tommy John surgery, which generally requires a year –long recovery, but doctors recommended Tanaka to rehab the injury instead of having surgery. Tanaka was able to make 2 starts in September after the injury, reporting no pain in his elbow. Tanaka finished the season 13-5 with a 2.77 ERA in only 20 starts. Six months later Tanaka is in spring training, on track to make his first start of the spring on Thursday. The problem with a partial tear is the fear of a complete tear of the ligament. Pitchers like Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals have gone on to pitch multiple years with a partial tear. Wainwright suffered a partial tear in 2004, then in 2011, the ligament finally tore. In 2014 Tanaka became the Yankees’ ace, he should start opening day at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees rotation already has a lot of question marks, the loss of their ace will diminish any playoff hopes.

Tanaka’s ability to win every 5th day makes him an invaluable starter. If Tanaka were to go down with injury, the Yankees would need elevated performances from CC Sabathia, Michael Pineda and Nathan Eovaldi. Sabathia is no longer the pitcher who led the Yankees to a World Series Championship in 2009. Michael Pineda needs to prove that he can make 30 starts and Eovaldi needs to prove he can pitch in the AL East. The Yankees will need to rely on 2 other pitchers, such as Adam Warren or Chris Capuano, to make consistent starts for the majority of 2015. If Tanaka is healthy, he can lead the Yankees staff and will allow the other starters to pitch with less pressure. Tanaka is a player who can pitch game 1 in any post season series. Tanaka is a top 10 pitcher and the envy of most major league clubs.

Who Will Be The Mets Closer?

Posted on by Juan Carlos Martinez

This season the Mets have an enviable problem. One of the perks of having many talented young arms is that sometimes teams do not know how to best utilize all of the arms.There are questions as to who will be the closer for the New York Mets this season. There are three pitchers in camp who could win the job. Lets compare the three pitchers competing for the job.

Bobby Parnell

Two years ago Bobby Parnell was the go to man for the New York Mets. He had a very solid season to the tune of a 2.16 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in 50 innings with 22 saves. On April 8th 2014 Parnell underwent Tommy John Surgery to fix an MCL tear in his elbow. Parnell can hit 100 mph on the gun and has a nasty curveball to keep hitters off balance.

Jenrry Mejia

After Bobby Parnell went in for Tommy John surgery, the closer’s job became Mejia’s. In 93.2 innings of work he had a 3.65 ERA with 28 saves. He only blew 3 saves all a season long. Some would argue that the closer job is his to lose but he had an alarming 1.48 WHIP. Mejia features a nasty slider a curveball and a cut fastball. Mejia has a high ceiling and is an exciting player for the Mets.

Jeurys Familia

Familia is likely the most intriguing name on the list. It it said that Familia has the best stuff out of any of the guys on the list. The biggest knock against Familia is his lack of experience. Last season he had a 1.59 ERA in 11.1 innings.

It would seem that the logical choice for the Mets would be to let Parnell have his job back. He has the most experience in the roll and he doest not give up as many hits as Mejia. Unless something drastically changes during the spring there should be no reason for the Mets to look over Parnell.