Around The Majors 2019

UNCBlue012 said:
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Shane Greene is 30 years old, and controlled for 2020 if FG is to be believed. He made $4M this year, will be going into Arb for the last time, and has 1 MiLB option remaining.

Nobody with any baseball acumen is fooled by the 1.09 ERA. His xwOBA values since converting from a SP:

2016: .283
2017: .310
2018: .322
2019: .288

He has been much better during those years vs RHH (.286 xwOBA) than LHH (.344 xwOBA), so he should be used accordingly.

He is not an elite BP arm, but he appears to be reliable...at least as reliable as BP arms can be. This would be a fine addition for the right price, but that price isn't very high.

I would still prefer the Braves pay market rate for an elite BP rental (2-3 FV 40s, maybe a 45) and get Smith. Of course, a Greene acquisition doesn't necessarily mean they won't also make a run at Smith.
 
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Enscheff said:
Shane Greene is 30 years old, and controlled for 2020 if FG is to be believed. He made $4M this year, will be going into Arb for the last time, and has 1 MiLB opton remaining.

Nobody with any baseball acumen is fooled by the 1.09 ERA. His xwOBA values since converting from a SP:

2016: .283
2017: .310
2018: .322
2019: .288

He has been much better during those years vs RHH (.286 xwOBA) than LHH (.344 xwOBA), so he should be used accordingly.

He is not an elite BP arm, but he appears to be reliable...at least as reliable as BP arms can be. This would be a fine addition for the right price, but that price isn't very high.

I would still prefer the Braves pay market rate for an elite BP rental (2-3 FV 40s, maybe a 45) and get Smith. Of course, a Greene acquisition doesn't necessarily mean they won't also make a run at Smith.
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It seems to me there is a better case for acquiring a lefty reliever than a righty. We simply have more options from the right side, including guys like Wilson and Gausman, who have been starting but could end up reliever later this season.
 
nsacpi said:
It seems to me there is a better case for acquiring a lefty reliever than a righty. We simply have more options from the right side, including guys like Wilson and Gausman, who have been starting but could end up reliever later this season.
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I'm going to guess the rotation ends up as Soroka, DK, Folty, Gausman and Teheran with Fried making spot starts and BP appearances by August.

Assuming Greene is a roughly .280-.290 xwOBA guy if used properly, the only current BP arms as good or better are:

Ynoa (SSS)
Swarzak
Jackson
Dayton (SSS)
Webb
Touki
Newk
Minter (assuming he's fixed)
Fried (speculatively in the BP)

There's probably room for two .280 or better BP arms, and in the case of Smith it doesn't matter which hand he throws with...he's elite.

It's a bit cart before the horse, but the Braves are set up really well to pair LHP/RHP against a team like the Dodgers who use platoons so aggressively. Newk opening for Gausman, Fried opening for Folty, Touki opening for DK...those are scenarios that could really mess up the Dodgers extreme platoon tactics.
 
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Enscheff said:
I'm going to guess the rotation ends up as Soroka, DK, Folty, Gausman and Teheran with Fried making spot starts and BP appearances by August.

Assuming Greene is a roughly .280-.290 xwOBA guy if used properly, the only current BP arms as good or better are:

Ynoa (SSS)
Swarzak
Jackson
Dayton (SSS)
Webb
Touki
Newk
Minter (assuming he's fixed)
Fried (speculatively in the BP)

There's probably room for two .280 or better BP arms, and in the case of Smith it doesn't matter which hand he throws with...he's elite.

It's also a bit horse before the cart, but the Braves are set up really well to pair LHP/RHP against a team like the Dodgers who use platoons so aggressively. Newk opening for Gausman, Fried opening for Folty, Touki opening for DK...those are scenarios that could really mess up the Dodgers extreme platoon tactics.
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It would most likely cause snit a stroke... the idea of using a guy for an inning or 2 then going to the normal starter. Nevertheless, the strategy is brilliant
 
Enscheff said:
I'm going to guess the rotation ends up as Soroka, DK, Folty, Gausman and Teheran with Fried making spot starts and BP appearances by August.

Assuming Greene is a roughly .280-.290 xwOBA guy if used properly, the only current BP arms as good or better are:

Ynoa (SSS)
Swarzak
Jackson
Dayton (SSS)
Webb
Touki
Newk
Minter (assuming he's fixed)
Fried (speculatively in the BP)

There's probably room for two .280 or better BP arms, and in the case of Smith it doesn't matter which hand he throws with...he's elite.

It's also a bit horse before the cart, but the Braves are set up really well to pair LHP/RHP against a team like the Dodgers who use platoons so aggressively. Newk opening for Gausman, Fried opening for Folty, Touki opening for DK...those are scenarios that could really mess up the Dodgers extreme platoon tactics.
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This entire post has me 8=======D. So good.
 
What's extra interesting about the Braves using an opener idea is there's no set number of innings the opener has to go since they are all former SPs.

For example, Newk opening for Gaus. In a traditional opener scenario, the Dodgers would still throw out their usual lineup vs RHP since Gausman would be the "bulk guy". However, if they did that, the Braves could simply let Newk go 3-4 innings and turn the LHH-heavy lineup over 1-2 times with the platoon advantage, most likely handing the game over to Gausman just in time to face Turner.

Or, the Dodgers throw out their usual lineup vs a LHP, and the Braves switch to Gausman early. This would force the Dodgers to either swap out their position players for platoon advantages early, or allow Gausman to face the LHP lineup 2-3 times.

Or, maybe Gaus opens for Newk to ensure he faces Turner in the 1st inning no matter which lineup the Dodgers throw out there. That strategy means Gaus could open several games in the series, and Turner always has to hit vs a RHP in the 1st, and the length of Gausman's outing is determined by which lineup the Dodgers decided to use.

The Braves are uniquely positioned to throw some sort of creative pitching deployment strategy at a team like the Dodgers, and I hope we see it. Of course, that's not something that can be sprung on the players suddenly in the playoffs, so the Braves would need to practice these strategies in September when the rosters expand.
 
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God I hope the Braves use an opener in the playoffs. And especially against the dodgers. As cheff pointed out that team is aggressive at using platoon advantages. I just don’t think snit has it in him to be that radical. Look at his vocabulary. Really good is about all he can say.


I think the best strategy for the Dodgers would be to set a more traditional, balanced lineup. Then I ploy there great depth later in the game. It would still be a win for the Braves.
 
Enscheff said:
What's extra interesting about the Braves using an opener idea is there's no set number of innings the opener has to go since they are all former SPs.

For example, Newk opening for Gaus. In a traditional opener scenario, the Dodgers would still throw out their usual lineup vs RHP since Gausman would be the "bulk guy". However, if they did that, the Braves could simply let Newk go 3-4 innings and turn the LHH-heavy lineup over 1-2 times with the platoon advantage, most likely handing the game over to Gausman just in time to face Turner.

Or, the Dodgers throw out their usual lineup vs a LHP, and the Braves switch to Gausman early. This would force the Dodgers to either swap out their position players for platoon advantages early, or allow Gausman to face the LHP lineup 2-3 times.

Or, maybe Gaus opens for Newk to ensure he faces Turner in the 1st inning no matter which lineup the Dodgers throw out there. That strategy means Gaus could open several games in the series, and Turner always has to hit vs a RHP in the 1st, and the length of Gausman's outing is determined by which lineup the Dodgers decided to use.

The Braves are uniquely positioned to throw some sort of creative pitching deployment strategy at a team like the Dodgers, and I hope we see it. Of course, that's not something that can be sprung on the players suddenly in the playoffs, so the Braves would need to practice these strategies in September when the rosters expand.
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What makes this a very realistic option is the fact that so many of our pitchers can go 2 or more innings. We can take them out very quickly if the Dodgers (or any other team) flip to opposite handed hitters. But we can also keep them in there for multiple innings if that is what is called for.
 
Braves1976 said:
They'd have to pass 8 teams to take that second WC. So while 5.5 back might not seem like a lot, expecting the Giants to beat out 8 teams the second half is very unlikely. I have no doubts they are sellers.
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Enscheff said:
What's extra interesting about the Braves using an opener idea is there's no set number of innings the opener has to go since they are all former SPs.

For example, Newk opening for Gaus. In a traditional opener scenario, the Dodgers would still throw out their usual lineup vs RHP since Gausman would be the "bulk guy". However, if they did that, the Braves could simply let Newk go 3-4 innings and turn the LHH-heavy lineup over 1-2 times with the platoon advantage, most likely handing the game over to Gausman just in time to face Turner.

Or, the Dodgers throw out their usual lineup vs a LHP, and the Braves switch to Gausman early. This would force the Dodgers to either swap out their position players for platoon advantages early, or allow Gausman to face the LHP lineup 2-3 times.

Or, maybe Gaus opens for Newk to ensure he faces Turner in the 1st inning no matter which lineup the Dodgers throw out there. That strategy means Gaus could open several games in the series, and Turner always has to hit vs a RHP in the 1st, and the length of Gausman's outing is determined by which lineup the Dodgers decided to use.

The Braves are uniquely positioned to throw some sort of creative pitching deployment strategy at a team like the Dodgers, and I hope we see it. Of course, that's not something that can be sprung on the players suddenly in the playoffs, so the Braves would need to practice these strategies in September when the rosters expand.
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Very interesting. I wonder how the Dodgers would prepare for that. Especially because we'd have to announce our starter before the game, which would be the opener. You might end up in a situation where Newcomb faces all righties in the first inning, and would have to consider going to Gausman quickly.
 
NYCBrave said:
Very interesting. I wonder how the Dodgers would prepare for that. Especially because we'd have to announce our starter before the game, which would be the opener. You might end up in a situation where Newcomb faces all righties in the first inning, and would have to consider going to Gausman quickly.
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We can outflank them though if we have a bunch of pitchers capable of going multiple innings. Which we do.
 
nsacpi said:
We can outflank them though if we have a bunch of pitchers capable of going multiple innings. Which we do.
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We could also let Newk only face one hitter if they deploy all righty lineup then have him start another game. Not sure MLB rules about changing starters for the next game.
 
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bravesfanMatt said:
We could also let Newk only face one hitter if they deploy all righty lineup then have him start another game. Not sure MLB rules about changing starters for the next game.
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And I guarantee if we did this and beat the Dodgers there would be rule changes immediately following the WS.
 
cajunrevenge said:
And I guarantee if we did this and beat the Dodgers there would be rule changes immediately following the WS.
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Maybe.
But anyone who doesn't mind the Dodgers deploying platoon advantage lineups shouldn't mind the Braves using platoon advantage pitchers. And anyone who dislikes those platoon heavy lineups should be happy to see it exploited.
 
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