Bob DeChiara-Imagn Photos
This week’s All Star break is a uncommon hole within the baseball calendar, an opportunity for everybody to catch their breath earlier than the fun of the commerce deadline — and, when you’re a FanGraphs reader, perhaps the fun of the commerce worth collection, too. It’s additionally per week with little or no baseball, which suggests the traditional format for 5 Issues must take a break. As an alternative, listed below are 5 issues that I’m wanting ahead to within the second half of the season, from commerce deadline trendsetters to crazy leaderboards to my favourite younger star.
A fast programming word earlier than we proceed: No 5 Issues for the following two weeks, and as an alternative of my frequently scheduled chat look on Monday, we’ll have a jumbo-length commerce worth chat subsequent Friday on the conclusion of the collection. 5 Issues will probably be again on Friday, August 8, the primary week after commerce season winds down.
1. Who Will Promote First?
There are six groups hanging onto the fringes of the playoff chase, three-plus video games again of the ultimate wild card spot. Most of these groups are in win-now mode, which suggests all of them have attention-grabbing gamers to commerce in the event that they pivot to promoting. Solely considered one of them can transfer first, although.
Within the AL Central, your entire center of the division is beneath .500 and on the ropes. But when all three groups are intent on competing subsequent yr – and so they all look like – they won’t have a lot to supply. Seth Lugo is the perfect participant on an expiring deal, however regardless of their 11.7% playoff odds as of Thursday afternoon, the Royals may determine to face pat. They’re proper in the midst of the height Bobby Witt Jr. rivalry years and wouldn’t get an earth-shaking return again for dealing Lugo. So why not take a slim shot on the playoffs with their present roster? It’s a detailed name, although I’d most likely commerce him.
Neither the Guardians nor the Twins have many enticing pending free brokers, however in latest days, Joe Ryan has been the topic of commerce rumors. Minnesota definitely doesn’t must deal him; he has two extra arbitration years after this season.
That leaves two groups because the doubtless movers and shakers with a number of good gamers to commerce: Arizona and Baltimore. The Diamondbacks are three beneath, and with Corbin Burnes out for the yr, they’re not at full power anyway. Additionally they have a treasure trove of gamers on expiring contracts; Eugenio Suárez is the perfect hitter even presumably out there on the deadline, loads of pitching labs would like to work with Zac Gallen, and Merrill Kelly and Josh Naylor are confirmed veteran contributors.
The Orioles don’t have anybody I’d take over Suárez, however they make up for it in quantity. Zach Eflin, Ryan O’Hearn, and Cedric Mullins are all simply starter-caliber gamers on postseason groups. Seranthony Domínguez and Ramón Laureano are attention-grabbing. Gregory Soto and Andrew Kittredge can go. The Orioles have so many gamers they’re prone to deal that they’re going to have loads to say in regards to the tempo of the deadline: The longer they wait to make their first deal, the extra the market will wait together with them.
Two different groups might upset this equilibrium: the Cardinals and Purple Sox. Each golf equipment have attention-grabbing gamers whom they’ve beforehand signaled a willingness to deal and rosters that would use some massaging. The one drawback – “drawback” – is that they’re every enjoying too nicely. If both of them enters the fray, your entire tenor of the commerce deadline will change. I don’t anticipate that to occur, although, which suggests we is perhaps in for a deadline outlined by two sellers.
2. The Indefatigable Brewers
What if I advised you that everybody on our preseason Brewers beginning pitching depth chart, apart from workers ace Freddy Peralta, had mixed for 0.7 WAR? All of them. Not the opposite 4 projected members of the preliminary rotation – the entire dang depth chart? What if I advised you that Jackson Chourio would have a disappointing first half, that William Contreras would put up his worst offensive yr, that Joey Ortiz would flirt with the Mendoza line? You’d anticipate them to be lagging towards the underside of the Central, significantly if I additionally advised you that the Cubs, Cardinals, and Reds would all be above .500.
Proper, yeah, the Brewers are a sport out of first, tied for the fourth-best file in baseball. That beginning rotation? Positive, the blokes we anticipated to pitch nicely have been damage or ineffective, however the Brewers haven’t missed a beat. They traded for Quinn Priester, who appears completely able to supplying the amount of cromulent innings that Milwaukee adeptly converts into wins because of its glorious protection and bullpen. Chad Patrick has the identical ability set – fungible sufficient that the Brewers have been pleased to choice him to Triple-A, however solely after he’d racked up 2.0 WAR holding the rotation afloat.
Now, issues are beginning to decide up. Brandon Woodruff is again after a yr and a half on the shelf. Jose Quintana is the veteran model of Priester and Patrick. Jacob Misiorowski is perhaps the perfect of the entire bunch – a flamethrowing monster who solutions the hypothetical query of what it could appear like if a better might go for 5 innings at a time. All the sudden, Milwaukee’s rotation is an asset as an alternative of a legal responsibility.
In the meantime, the offense is clicking even with out contributions from a few of their stars. They’ve solely produced an mixture 101 wRC+, however these are the Brewers: They’re the perfect baserunning group within the majors, and that helps their offense play nicely above what you’d anticipate from a easy including up of hits and outs. They’re most likely not going to maintain up this tempo with out Chourio and Contreras enhancing, however then once more, I’d wager on these two to rebound.
This isn’t magical. It isn’t some unprecedented fluke. That is what the Brewers do. They stack baserunning and protection. They construct their offense round that blazing pace, and inventory their rotation with pitchers who give their fielders an opportunity to shine. It sounds too easy to work; but yearly, they piece it collectively. Milwaukee is greater than only a reminder that there’s extra to baseball than pitching and hitting – however I’ve to let you know, this group is superb at giving those that reminder.
3. Garrett Crochet’s Pursuit of a Full Yr
I beloved the Garrett Crochet commerce for the Purple Sox, and I beloved the Crochet extension for each the pitcher and the group. I like that Boston is letting him work deep into video games as an alternative of babying him all yr. However even with all of that, I by no means thought he’d make a run at 200 innings.
I can hardly imagine that this loopy truth is true: Garrett Crochet leads the majors in innings pitched. This isn’t some trick of an additional begin or a well-aligned off day. He’s simply throwing 6 1/2 innings per begin now. I get it. He’s a giant, sturdy man. However Crochet got here into 2025 with precisely three begins in his complete profession of that size or longer. He made a full 32 begins final yr and solely reached 146 innings, a mean of 4 1/2 innings per begin.
If he makes each begin the remainder of the way in which, he’ll finish the yr with roughly the identical variety of main league innings pitched that he tallied from 2020 via 2024. That shouldn’t really feel so doubtless. It shouldn’t appear so apparent. However Crochet is making it look simple, and if you watch the man pitch, it simply is smart. He’s large, tall and muscular, the type of body that screams “energy pitcher.” He’s economical on the mound and his supply seems to be easy and repeatable. When you put what you knew about Crochet earlier than this yr out of your head and easily watched him, you wouldn’t discover any of this significantly unusual.
However we do know all that historical past. We all know that the White Sox didn’t let Crochet pitch longer than 4 innings in a begin after the start of July final yr. We all know that he wasn’t keen to decide to beginning within the playoffs with out signing a contract extension. It feels just a little tenuous, even when nothing seems to be visibly improper. And that makes watching his pursuit much more fulfilling, no less than for me. I’m not apprehensive about his sturdiness any greater than I’m with another pitcher. And but, when he succeeds, I get just a little further enjoyment from understanding how unlikely this felt a yr in the past.
The Purple Sox are in playoff place in the meanwhile, and that’s much more incentive to let Crochet cook dinner. They’d be an intriguing group to look at even with out the subplot of Crochet’s workload; they’ve too many outfielders and never sufficient infielders, however each of these conditions are extra difficult than they initially sound as a result of all of these gamers are fascinating. However when Crochet begins, you get all of that and the prospect to see a contemporary marvel, the pitcher who was solely fragile as a result of they advised him to be. He has now solid off these chains.
4. The Bunt Hit Race
Oh, you want dwelling run races? Me too. Cal Raleigh in opposition to Aaron Decide in opposition to Shohei Ohtani for the title of boppingest bopper? It’s gonna be nice. However there’s a better race occurring proper now, too. And similar to the house run race, final yr’s chief is within the combine for a repeat. That’s proper: The bunt single leaderboard is crowded on the high:
Bunt Hit Leaderboard, 2025
Jacob Younger paced baseball with 11 bunt hits final yr. He did in order the embodiment of pace and protection: Gold Glove-caliber vary in heart, 97th percentile dash pace, and three homers in 521 plate appearances. He slugged solely .331 final yr, however managed an 85 wRC+ because of a knack for getting hit by pitches and people fantastic bunts. And whereas he isn’t getting hit so incessantly in 2025 – solely twice, as in comparison with 12 instances final yr – the bunts are coming simply as freely as all the time. Opponents play Younger to bunt. It simply doesn’t matter:
They play nice defenders to cease him. That doesn’t all the time work both:
The most important menace to Younger’s bunt hit totals, coming into the yr, appeared to be his personal teammates. Dylan Crews seems to be like a middle fielder long run, and if he had hit the bottom operating this season, the group most likely would have put there sooner quite than later. However Crews began gradual, after which he obtained damage, which implies that Younger is the on a regular basis starter with no alternative in sight. Now he can bunt to his coronary heart’s content material, and he’s doing simply that: His 19 in-play bunts lead the majors.
It gained’t be simple to take the title, although. Kyle Isbel has an on a regular basis heart fielder function of his personal and as a lot license to bunt as Younger. He’s the large facet of a platoon, which might theoretically restrict his at-bats, however he’s been wholesome all yr and thus has collected extra plate appearances than Younger anyway. He’s additionally a a lot better hitter than Tyler Tolbert, his present platoon accomplice, which suggests the Royals incessantly use Isbel as a pinch hitter even when he doesn’t begin. And like Younger, he goes for bunts even when the protection performs him that manner:
These two titans of bunting – first and second in makes an attempt, tied for first in hits – have firm on the high. TJ Friedl doesn’t fairly match the archetype, although. He’s a middle fielder, positive, however the place Younger and Isbel bat ninth, Friedl leads off. He’s slashing .276/.368/.406 this yr, good for a 117 wRC+ even in hitter-friendly Cincinnati. When Younger and Isbel bunt, they’re doing so with out loads of different good choices. Friedl has a double-digit stroll price and extra homers than Younger has extra-base hits.
When Friedl bunts, the protection is usually caught no less than barely off guard. That’s why he does it; it’s much less a matter of necessity and extra in regards to the aspect of shock. The O’s have been utterly flat-footed on this high-percentage play:
Oh, and Friedl isn’t the one one coming for the title. What bunt race could be full with out Victor Scott II? He’s fallen again to earth exhausting after a scorching begin – 113 wRC+ via Might 23, 53 wRC+ since. His bunts have dried up, too: He has just one bunt base hit because the begin of June. That one, although, reveals you why he’s nonetheless a menace to take the crown:
That wasn’t an excellent bunt. Everybody within the stadium knew it was taking place. Nobody fumbled the ball or blended up an project. Scott was comfortably secure anyway. He’s simply that quick.
I’m pretty sure that the winner of the bunt base hit title will garner much less consideration than the winner of the house run race. That’s truthful, truthfully: Dwelling runs are much more vital to successful baseball video games than bunts. However I like the chaos that comes with a bunt, whether or not profitable or unsuccessful, so I’m going to maintain watching this leaderboard. Might the perfect bunter – or no less than, the man who tries most incessantly — win.
5. Watching James Wooden
I do know, I do know. Two gadgets in regards to the Nationals? They’re one of many worst groups in baseball. However the coronary heart desires what it desires, and mine desires to look at the D.C. 9. Younger’s bunts are good when he pulls them off, however bunt singles are uncommon even for the profitable practitioner. The actual enchantment of watching the Nats is that you simply get to see a generational expertise determining how one can dominate baseball in actual time.
James Wooden was an attention-grabbing however speculative prospect when the Nats acquired him within the 2022 Juan Soto commerce, solely a yr after the Padres had drafted him within the second spherical. He promptly dominated the minors so totally that Washington promoted him to the majors final season after solely 231 Triple-A plate appearances. Whenever you hit .353/.463/.595, there simply isn’t that a lot to show. And since reaching the large leagues at 21, he’s solely continued his torrid play.
If any 22-year-old posted a 152 wRC+ for a half-season, touchdown him among the many high 20 gamers within the sport by WAR, that might be noteworthy. However Wooden isn’t some backyard selection high prospect. He’s a bodily specimen, a 6-foot-7 alien despatched from the longer term to overcome baseball. He seems to be like he’s found out a brand new, totally different approach to play baseball whereas the remainder of his group tries the outdated strategies.
Wooden’s energy is past thunderous. Even the nice Pete Crow-Armstrong can’t retreat shortly sufficient when Wooden places one over his head:
When he hits them with a bit extra loft than that, it’s fireworks time:
One thing about watching Wooden invitations magical considering. Might he be prime Aaron Decide in a couple of years? He definitely seems to be the half. Might he stroll 20% of the time? He’s fifteenth within the majors in stroll price already, and nobody else within the high 30 is underneath the age of 25. His sense of the zone is precocious, in different phrases. Might he be an elite outfield defender whereas doing it? He’s improved markedly by each defensive system and by the attention check. Might he hit 60 homers whereas doing all of that? I imply, positive, have you ever seen the scale of this man?
When you, like me, are all the time on the lookout for the following sensation, Wooden is your man. Elly De La Cruz? He’s nice, however he’s so 2024. Oneil Cruz? That ship has sailed. Fernando Tatis Jr., even? Enjoyable, however not transformative. Wooden is the type of participant who doesn’t come round fairly often, the kind of man who enables you to think about stuff you’ve by no means seen earlier than transpiring on the sphere. He’s already so good, and he’s nonetheless enhancing at such a speedy clip. Watching what’s occurred to the Nats is a reminder that rebuilding is difficult. Watching Wooden is a reminder that something is feasible.
