MLBTR goes deep into the bench for this week’s mailbag. With Tim Dierkes and Steve Adams every on trip, I am going to step in to reply questions on the Braves’ poor begin, whether or not the Twins are a playoff-caliber crew, this yr’s most improved rosters, Sutter Well being Park, situational hitting, and rather more!
Abner asks:
Even when the largest concern with the NY Mets has at all times been their beginning rotation, to date the starters have regarded fairly good basically and the bullpen has carried out virtually completely. With the issues which have skilled the Atlanta Braves within the opening week (Reynaldo López damage, Jurickson Profar suspended, Ronald Acuña out no less than till Could, Spencer Strider is out for a few weeks initially of the season) do you assume that we’re about to see a battle between Mets and Phillies the remainder of the way in which?
I had the Phillies and Mets just a little forward of the Braves to start the season. The previous week actually hasn’t elevated Atlanta’s odds of profitable the division. It is method too early to start out digging their grave, although. Final yr’s Astros dropped 5 of their first six video games and 7 of 9. They bottomed out at 12 video games under .500 within the second week of Could; they ended up profitable the AL West by 3.5 video games. Most groups that dig themselves that huge a gap is not going to make the playoffs, after all, however additionally they often do not have as a lot expertise because the Braves do.
Atlanta has began the season towards arguably the 2 finest groups within the Nationwide League. They’re with out their finest participant, one of many league’s finest pitchers, and their beginning catcher. Even in the event you do not count on a lot out of Sean Murphy at this level, getting Acuña and Strider again inside the subsequent few weeks is very large. They have 96% of the season remaining to place this behind them.
Dropping Profar and López clearly hurts, largely as a result of they’re stressing areas the place the roster already regarded weak. The Jarred Kelenic left discipline experiment did not work out in yr one. Alex Verdugo might push Kelenic right into a fourth outfield function as soon as Acuña comes again, however he was unsigned deep into Spring Coaching for a cause. The rotation depth behind the highest 4 or 5 is spotty. Strider, Chris Sale, Spencer Schwellenbach and a few mixture of AJ Smith-Shawver, Grant Holmes, Bryce Elder and prospect Hurston Waldrep might be workable. In the event that they lose any of their high three to damage earlier than López is ready to return, it is teetering.
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