Did you see this?
Our weekly look at some of the best and most interesting things I've seen over the last 7 days
TicketRev is the presenting sponsor of VIEW FROM THE BLEACHERS. Click to learn more, and download the TicketRev app on the App Store and Google Play to save on tickets to see the Marlins and Yankees this weekend as well as the rest of the games and concerts you don’t want to miss.
SHO-TIME
MLB.com’s Mike Petriello asks if Shohei Ohtani may be in the middle of the best season in Baseball history.
And you may not have heard, but he’ll be a free agent this winter. Where does the bidding start?
DEEP DEPTH
One lineup that wouldn’t appear to need Ohtani is the Braves. Petriello takes a stab at putting Atlanta’s impressive top-to-bottom attack into historical perspective.
REMEMBERING FERNANDOMANIA
The Dodgers retired Fernando Valenzuela’s #34 Friday night. I was 12, but I have vivid recollections of Fernando taking the Baseball world by storm as a rookie in 1981. Years later, I had the chance to work with the Mexican great when he pitched for the Padres at the tail end of his career.
In honor of his recent recognition, here’s a terrific MLB Network piece on Fernandomania from 2021, written and narrated by Jon Morosi.
HIT OR ERROR?
From The Athletic: Is there an official scoring conspiracy in 2023?
Despite MLB denials, some suspect official scorers have been encouraged, when in doubt, to award hits to aid a league-wide rise in batting average that is being attributed to new rules.
THERE’S ANOTHER ACUÑA ON THE WAY
At age 21 and now playing in Double-A with the Mets, Luisangel Acuña looks to follow in the footsteps of his superstar brother.
PROSPECT LISTS
Both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America this week published new Top 100 MLB Prospect lists and new organizational Top 30 lists coming out of the draft and the trade deadline.
On the Top 100 front, the lone Marlin listed by MLB Pipeline is 2023 first-round draft pick Noble Meyer, listed at #60.
Baseball America lists 2 Marlins among its top 100, Noble Meyer at #48 and 2020 first-round pick Max Meyer (no relation), who is currently working his way back from 2022 Tommy John surgery, at #73.
Having 2 prospects listed among Baseball’s top 100 (one if you trust MLB Pipeline) and only one home-grown Top 100 prospect (Eury Perez) currently in the majors isn’t ideal for the Marlins 6 years into a “build,” when their plan was to build a sustainable winner through scouting and player development.
Meanwhile, while his days as a Top 100 prospect have ended, Sixto Sanchez hangs in there at #19 on BA’s Marlins Top 30 list despite not being healthy and available to throw a competitive pitch since 2020. He has been a ranked prospect for the Phillies and Marlins for 7 consecutive seasons.
His time on that list and in the organization has to be winding down if he can’t ever advance beyond the occasional bullpen session in Jupiter.
Sixto is not listed among MLB Pipeline’s Marlins Top 30.
CHILLING ANALYSIS FROM FANGRAPHS
Meanwhile, Fangraphs analyzed how the draft and trade deadline impacted every organization’s farm system ranking, and the Marlins didn’t fare well.
They rank the Marlins farm system #27 in MLB after the draft and trade deadline, down from #22 before. No team in MLB plunged more in the ranking based on prospect capital surrendered in deadline deals. That, combined with how far the Marlins’ post-season odds have plunged in recent weeks, led to this sobering analysis from Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen:
“In my opinion, the Marlins have tended to overpay in trades while the current regime has been in place, and particularly if you look at the way teams’ playoff odds trended from mid-July (just before the bulk of trade activity took place) to August 2, the drop in Miami’s farm system value, rank and postseason chances look pretty disappointing next to one another.”
ICYMI
Among the week’s most popular posts on VFTB…
In hindsight, a look at how the Marlins handled managing Eury Perez’s innings.
After Eury struggled in his return against the Reds, I looked at the impact a month in Double-A may have had on the 20-year-old.
I asked, and you answered. What fans thought about the Marlins’ deadline deals.
While you’re here…
Learn more about one-on-one play-by-play coaching from Glenn Geffner via Zoom at glenngeffner.com.
Your feedback is always appreciated. Hit the “LIKE” button below if you enjoyed this post.
Ideas for future posts? Please share them in the Comments.
Interested in advertising on VIEW FROM THE BLEACHERS? Email me at glenn@glenngeffner.com to learn about opportunities to promote your business on a daily or weekly basis.
Monday night versus Houston: First inning, Altuve leads off with a shot to third. Burger does not even have to step, right to him, ball deflects off his glove. Base hit. Isn't this the Big Leagues¿
Commenting on a couple of items from this post. Anecdotally, I will add my belief that official scorers are more lenient that ever, although a directive/advisement to do so is a stretch. Announcers acknowledge the "gifts" of hit rulings without reticence and often with the same sad shrugs StatCast has highlighted regarding home plate umpires. Yesterday's game (Saturday, the 12th) elicited open scorn for Angel Hernandez's calls. Tommy Hutton noted that swinging and missing Sandy's pitches at least removed Hernandez's decisions. Pete Simonetti of NYYNewsTV called the game for Yankee fans (I listened to this airing) and openly stated New York should not have scored, but for obvious missed calls. The league's overall BA is not up much, although many categories (including so-called advanced metrics) are up. Lastly, the Marlins farm system is quite obviously near bottom. It is stunning to me what Marlins' fans in various platforms believe trades of several seriously flawed minor leaguers could return. Example: Burdick and Amaya for Gleyber Torres.