Meet the 2019 Yankees: Jonathan Loaisiga

The New York Yankees traded away their top prospect and top pitching prospect Justus Sheffield in the deal that brought back James Paxton to the Bronx. Out with the old and in with the new, and the new Yankees top prospect and top pitching prospect is a young man we saw make his MLB debut with the club last season, Jonathan Loaisiga. Loaisiga will likely serve as the Yankees 6^th starter, a bullpen piece, the first man called up from Scranton in the case of an injury, or a combination of all of the above, so let’s meet the man that sounds like he will be pretty damn integral to the Yankees and their pitching staff here in 2016. Mr. Jonathan “Lasagna” Loaisiga.

Jonathan Loaisiga, 24-years old, is a right-hander starting pitcher inside the New York Yankees. organization. Lasagna stands just 5’11” and weighs just 165 lbs., but what he lacks in stature he more than makes up for in guts and natural ability. Despite his small frame, Lasagna can still reach 96 MPH on his four-seam fastball, 85 MPH on his curveball and 88 MPH on his changeup. Lasagna is a big groundball type pitcher whose stuff translates well into Yankee Stadium III.

Jonathan Loaisiga was born on November 2, 1994 (my birthday!!) in Managua, Nicaragua. Loaisiga was signed as an international free agent by the San Francisco Giants in September of 2012 and made his debut with the Dominican Summer League Giants in 2013. Lasagna did not pitch in 2014 or 2015 due to various injuries, forcing the Giants to release him in May of 2015. Lasagna remained an international free agent until February of 2016 when the New York Yankees signed him to a minor league deal and assigned him to the Charleston Riverdogs. Lasagna pitched just one game for New York before undergoing Tommy John surgery, this ending his 2016 season as well.

Loaisiga returned for the 2017 season after being added to the Yankees 40-man roster and made 11 starts between the GCL Yankees and the Staten Island Yankees. It was the 2018 season that Loaisiga saw his stock finally begin to rise. Loaisiga was called up from Double-A after an injury to Masahiro Tanaka left the Yankees in a bind, totally skipping the Triple-A level. Loaisiga made four starts for New York in 2018 and pitched to a 3.00 ERA before being optioned back down to Triple-A until September call-ups.

Now, Loaisiga finds himself at the top of the Yankees prospects list and at the top of the list for a call-up if needed here in 2019. He just has to stay healthy and remain productive and he can take the league by storm, the stuff is there to do it. Good luck to him this season and we all look forward to seeing you pitch in the Bronx again this year.

What it could take to acquire post-season superstar pitcher Madison Bumgarner

Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

One pitcher the Yankees should definitely look to trade for is 29-year-old Madison Bumgarner. His value diminished, as he has regressed significantly over the last three years, two of which have been plagued by injuries. In 2017, Bumgarner missed nearly three months of the season due to an injury that occurred when he was riding a dirt bike. This past season, Bumgarner missed all of April and May with a fractured left hand (off of a line drive that struck him during a preseason game against the Royals). Presumably, his recent drop in performance can be attributed to a combination of the aforementioned fluke injuries and age decline (which has subsequently led to decreased FB velocity and potency). The stat-line (all metrics according to Fangraphs) below provides evidence for Mad Bum’s recent reduction in effectiveness…

IP

2015: 218.1

2016: 226.2

2017: 111.0

2018: 129.2

K/9, FB Vel, and FB SwStr%

2015: 9.65; 92.8; 10%

2016: 9.97; 91.5; 9.7%

2017: 8.19; 91.0; 6.5%

2018: 7.57; 90.9; 4.7%

BB/9

2015: 1.61

2016: 2.14

2017: 1.62

2018: 2.98

ERA

2015: 2.93

2016: 2.74

2017: 3.32

2018: 3.26

xFIP

2015: 3.02

2016: 3.54

2017: 4.07

2018: 4.32

WAR

2015: 5.2

2016: 4.9

2017: 1.7

2018: 1.4

Despite the fact that Bumgarner’s value is deteriorating, there is lots of room for growth if Bumgarner virtually ditches his fastball…

Cutter SwStr%: 2015 – 14.8%; 2016 – 11.5%; 2017 – 11.3%; 2018 – 11.8%

vs

Fastball SwStr%: 2015 – 10%; 2016 – 9.7%; 2017 – 6.5%; 4.7%

and

Cutter AVG: 2015 – .230; 2016 – .224; 2017 – .224; 2018 – .214

vs

Fastball AVG: 2015 – .242; 2016 – .236; 2017 – .256; 2018 – .299

and

Cutter HRs and pitches: 2015 – 4 (1040 pitches); 2016 – 8 (1185 pitches); 2017 – 3 (594 pitches); 2018 – 5 (719 pitches)

vs 

Fastball HRs and pitches: 2015 – 11 (1630 pitches); 2016 – 18 (1709 pitches); 2017 – 10 (712 pitches); 2018 – 8 (703 pitches)

In 2018, Mad Bum threw his cutter 35% of the time and his fastball 34.2% (basically the same frequency). If he had implemented the following pitch mix (using more CBs and cutters in lieu of his FB), he would have indisputably pitched more effectively…

Cutter: 50% (2018 – 11.8 SwStr%)

Curveball: 37.2% (2018 – 11.7 SwStr%)

Changeup: 8.6% (2018 – 8.9 SwStr%)

Fastball: 4.2% (2018 – 4.7 SwStr%)

We can now estimate what his overall SwStr%, HRs against, and AVG against would have looked like last year with this seemingly improvised pitch repertoire. For the purpose of this investigation, let’s assume the 2018 SwStr%, HRs against, and AVG against for a particular pitch remain constant regardless of the change in its usage). 

2018 Overall SwStr% – 9.2%

vs

Overall SwStr% with improved pitch mix: [2018 total pitches – 2045; 50% cutters – 1022 pitches; 37.2% curveballs – 761 pitches; 8.6% changeups – 176 pitches; 4.2% fastballs – 86 pitches]; [(cutter 11.8 SwStr% * 0.5) + curveball 11.7 SwStr% * 0.372) + (changeup 8.6 SwStr% * 0.089) + (fastball 4.7 SwStr% * 0.047)] = 5.9 + 4.4 + 4.3524 + 0.7654 + 0.2209 = 15.6 SwStr%

That SwStr% is 6.4% higher than his 2018 mark and would have put Bumgarner in a tie for the 2nd highest overall SwStr% (Corbin: 15.6 SwStr% and Scherzer: 16.2%).

and

2018 HRs against: 14 HRs 

• # of HRs conceded / 100 cutters: 0.69541 (5 HRs off cutter in 2018 / 719 cutters thrown)
• # of HRs conceded / 100 fastballs: 1.13798 (8 HRs off fastball in 2018 / 703 fastballs thrown) 
• # of HRs conceded / 100 curveballs thrown: 0.21978 (1 HR off curveball in 2018 / 455 curveballs thrown)
• # of HRs conceded / 100 curveballs thrown: 0 (0 HRs off changeup in 2018 / 157 changeups thrown)

vs

HRs against with improved pitch mix: (0.69541% * 1022 cutters) + (0.21978% * 761 curveballs) + (0% * 176 changeups) + (1.13798% * 86 fastballs) = 7.11070902 + 1.6725258 + 0 + 0.9786628 = 10 HRs

and 

2018 AVG against: .235

• AVG against cutter: .214
• AVG against fastball: .299
• AVG against curveball: .187
• AVG against changeup: .303

vs

AVG against with improved pitch mix: (.214 * 50% cutter usage) + (.299 * 4.2% fastball usage) + (.187 * 37.2% curveball usage) + (.303 * 8.6% changeup usage) = .107 + .012558 + .069564 + .026058 = .215 AVG against

In summary, if Mad Bum had utilized the improved pitch mix, he would have likely…

• Gotten more strikeouts
• Given up fewer HRs
• Given up fewer hits

A trade of Bumgarner represents the best opportunity for San Francisco to obtain high-end young players as the franchise begins what it hopes will be a rapid rebuild under new president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi.

MLB.com’s Jon Morosi

Although "Zaidi has publicly stated that the Giants aren’t making outgoing calls regarding Madison Bumgarner, ... that doesn’t mean talks with every team have died down" (The Mercury News).

We will integrate Fangraphs’ new Update to Prospect Valuation system in order to most precisely formulate realistic compensation that the Yankees could conceivably part with (for Madison Bumgarner). 

results are presented in present-day WAR and translated to a rough dollar figure based on $9 million as the cost of a win on the free-agent market. Keep in mind that the dollar figure isn’t a direct value, but rather equivalent value of a prospect relative to the free-agent market. Part of the reason prospects have such tremendous value is due to the suppressed salaries permitted by the CBA until a player has reached six years of service time. By translating the WAR figure into a monetary value, we can compare the value of prospects with the values of major-league players and their contracts. These values likely roughly approximate what an individual player might get as a signing bonus if he were declared a free agent and teams could only provide a signing bonus instead of a long-term contract.

Fangraphs’ Craig Edwards

In other words, Fangraphs assigned a monetary value for all minor league prospects (based on how former prospects belonging to that tier / rank performed during the first 9 seasons of their baseball career [“including the season in which a prospect was ranked”]). These values are comparable to current major leaguers (calculated through incorporating WAR [$9 million / 1 WAR] and the cost of the player’s contract). 

The calculations for Madison Bumgarner’s surplus monetary value can be seen below…

(2.1 WAR projection [per Steamer] for 2019 * $9 million / 1 WAR) – $12 million (salary for 2019) = $18.9 million – $12 million = $6.9 million in surplus value

The chances of the Giants netting a top 100 prospect for Mad Bum are improbable, especially when you consider that Anthony Banda, who is ranked 131st on Fangraphs’ top 131 list, is worth $9 million in monetary value. The Giants would likely have to take back some salary on Bumgarner’s contract. The majority of the prospects that are excluded from Fangraphs’ top 131 list (which can be viewed at the bottom of their Update to Prospect Valuation article) are likely on the table, with the lone exceptions being position player (hitters) prospects who are graded 45+ FV (on the 20-80 scouting scale); they have a monetary value of $8 million.

New York Yankees

The Giants are bound to be interested in RHP Jonathan Loaisiga ($6 million). On the surface, his 5+ ERA in around 25 IP gives a bad impression; however, it is important to note that Loaisiga’s FIP and xFIP were 3.53 and 2.95, respectively. He also struck out over 12 batters per 9 innings and generated GBs at an above average clip (49.2%). Loaisiga’s minor league numbers in 2018 were spectacular (though they did drop off some after a promotion to AA)…

A+

• IP: 20
• K/9: 11.7
• BB/9: 0.45
• HR/9: 0
• GB%: 52%
• ERA: 1.35

AA

• IP: 34.1
• K/9: 10.49
• BB/9: 1.57
• HR/9: 1.57
• GB%: 38.7%
• ERA: 3.93

Loaisiga’s upside is that of a #3 starter, but it appears to me that he may be better utilized as a multi-inning reliever. His ERA as a SP the 1st time through the order (10 IP) is 0.90, and his ERA the 2nd time (7 IP) is 6.43.

In addition to Jonathan Loaisiga, the Giants could ask for $0.9 million or a 40 FV pitching prospect ($1 million)…

• RHP Trevor Stephan
• RHP Matt Sauer
• RHP Domingo Acevedo
• RHP Chance Adams
• RHP Garrett Whitlock
• RHP Nolan Martinez

Of the players on the list above, Domingo Acevedo would likely be the best fit. He had a 2.92 ERA in 64.2 IP at AA. His walk rate was a tad below 3 BB / 9 IP, and he struck out just over 7 batters / 9 IP. He had a solid 1.10 WHIP at AA. Acevedo’s upper 90s FB would presumably play up in the bullpen, where he is likely to land. 

The proposal we have come up with reads as follows…

The San Francisco Giants trade LHP Madison Bumgarner to the New York Yankees for RHP Jonathan Loaisiga and RHP Domingo Acevedo

Would you do this trade? Comment below.

Thanks for reading and if you're interested in reading the full article (includes what it could take for the Brewers and Mets to trade for Mad Bum), click here. Feel free to follow me on Twitter (to receives updates when I release new content) @MaxGold81356590 and make sure to check out my website (Max's Sporting Studio).

Remembering My 2018 Predictions: Managers of the Year

The original post was written on March 23, 2018 and it outlined my prediction that Ned Yost of the Kansas City Royals and Bruce Bochy of the San Francisco Giants would both win the American League and National League Managers of the Year Awards in their respective leagues. El wrongo, againo. 

Entering the weekend, the Kansas City Royals sat at 52-101 in last place in the American League Central Division race, a mere 33.5 games behind the Cleveland Indians. Meanwhile the Giants, after spending a ton of money and prospects acquiring Evan Longoria, Andrew McCutchen and others, find themselves entering the weekend with a 72-81 record, 13 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West.  

So far, we have predicted the New York Yankees winning their division en route to a World Series victory while the Washington Nationals will come up just a little short in Bryce Harper’s last hurrah. We have predicted a couple movements in the power rankings with strong showings this season by the Seattle Mariners and the Philadelphia Phillies, and we even predicted who would win the prestigious Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman Awards for the best relief pitcher in both of their respective leagues. None of that could be possible for any of these players or any of these teams though without a good manager, which is why the next award we will be predicting is the Manager of the Year Awards for the 2018 season.  

So, you would think since I specifically mentioned the Seattle Mariners and the Philadelphia Phillies not only in my previous paragraph but in my standings prediction as well that I would automatically go to that well again here for my managers prediction, right? Wrong! I like to shake things up a bit, and I don’t like to be predictable with my predictions, so keep reading. 

Once again, in my opinion, the New York Yankees have everything working against them here with another major award. Sure, the team has a new manager in Aaron Boone and sure, the team has a young nucleus of players that could get younger with the call ups of Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar, but the team is almost too good for their own good if you know what I mean. If the Yankees don’t win the World Series in 2018 it will be a huge disappointment to many, but if they do I can see many fans, writers and voters coming out with a feeling that they almost expected it. Like the Yankees are once again supposed to win every game, you know? So, sorry Aaron. I can’t see you winning the AL Manager of the Year Award, even if you should. Instead, that award will go to the Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost who will keep his team in the hunt for a playoff spot until the final week of the regular season, all without a major part of his core and his team that all left to free agency this winter. 

In the National League I have to go with the manager of the San Francisco Giants, Bruce Bochy. Bochy is nearing the end of his managerial career in my opinion and this may be Boche’s last true shot at not only this award, but at a World Series championship as well. Last season the Giants were horrible finishing with a 64-98 record, which was good for dead last in the National League West Division. I don’t feel like with just the additions of Evan Longoria, Andrew McCutchen and Austin Jackson that the team will be strides better than they were in 2017, but I also don’t believe that the likes of Jeff Samardzija, Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto and others can be as bad as they were in 2017 either. I think it will be a team effort and a collective effort that will not only bring the team back to the postseason, but it will also bring Boche an NL Manager of the Year Award as well. 

Off Day Meet a Prospect Special Edition: Andrew McCutchen

The New York Yankees needed an outfielder before the August 31^st trading deadline with the recent injuries to Didi Gregorius, Aaron Judge and others and the outfielder they chose was former Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants player Andrew McCutchen. McCutchen brings a certain veteran presence and swag to a young Yankees club in the midst of a pennant race and is the perfect choice for this particular team in my opinion, so let’s meet him. This is Meet a Prospect Special Edition for this off day, the Andrew McCutchen Edition.

Andrew Stefan McCutchen was born on October 10, 1986 in Fort Meade, Florida to Lorenzo McCutchen and Petrina Swan. Andrew’s father was a start running back with the Carson-Newman University football tea, in Jefferson City, Tennessee, but quickly gave up his dream to head to the NFL to be closer to his son and to Andrew’s sister, Loren. Instead Lorenzo helped Andrew follow his dream of being a professional baseball player and led Andrew to becoming eligible to play varsity baseball as an eight grader at Fort Meade High School. That season McCutchen hit .591 for the school’s team while also playing football and running track. McCutchen was one of the top football recruits in the state of Florida but ultimately decided to continue playing baseball, a decision that led him to the University of Florida and eventually to the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.

With the 11^th overall pick in the 2005 MLB First Year Players Draft the Pittsburgh Pirates selected Andrew McCutchen out of the University of Florida, immediately assigning the center fielder to their minor league affiliate. McCutchen spent four seasons in the Minor Leagues and was a Top 50 prospect in all four seasons according to Baseball America including a #13 ranking before the 2007 season. On June 9, 2009 the Pirates called up McCutchen to the big leagues after trading away starting center fielder Nate McLouth to the Atlanta Braves. McCutchen made his MLB debut the very next day against the New York Mets. McCutchen singled in his first at-bat off Mets starter Mike Pelfrey and ended the day with two singles, one RBI, three runs scored and a stolen base in a Pirates victory. McCutchen finished his rookie campaign with a .286 batting average, 12 home runs, 54 RBI and 22 stolen bases in 108 games, finishing fourth in the National League Rookie of the Year Award voting.

McCutchen was back on the Pirates big league club on Opening Day in 2010 and never looked back. While McCutchen had a strong 2010 campaign he did not make his first All-Star Game appearance until the 2011 season, replacing injured Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers. McCutchen was rewarded for his strong 2011 campaign with a new six-year deal worth $51.5 million to stay with the Pirates through his arbitration years that also came with a $14.75 million club option for the 2018 season. McCutchen was also named to the National League All-Star team for the second time in 2012 while also representing the Pirates in the 2012 Home Run Derby, replacing Giancarlo Stanton. McCutchen only hit four home runs and failed to make it out of the first round of the derby that year, but overall had a great season for Pittsburgh that resulted in a third-place finish in the National League MVP Award vote.

McCutchen was the cover athlete for the Playstation game MLB 13: The Show before the 2013 season beating out Yankees starter CC Sabathia for the honors. McCutchen also made another All-Star team in 2013 as a reserve for the National League, his third straight season being honored in the mid-season classic. 2013 also marked the first season that the Pittsburgh Pirates had a winning season and clinched a playoff birth since Barry Bonds led the Pirates to the postseason in 1992. The Pirates were eliminated by the St. Louis Cardinals in five games that season, but McCutchen was named the NL’s Most Valuable Player for the 2013 season after hitting .317 with 21 home runs, 84 RBI and stealing 28 bases. McCutchen was the first Pirates MVP award winner since Bonds won the award back in 1992. The Pirates were back in the postseason in 2014 behind another strong campaign from Andrew McCutchen, but this time the team ran into Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants. Mad-Bum was able to shut out the Pirates, thus ending McCutchen’s season after a fourth straight All-Star Game appearance and a second consecutive trip to the postseason.

Another year in 2015 and another trip to the All-Star Game for McCutchen and a third straight playoff appearance for the Pirates. In the All-Star Game the Pirates center fielder hit a home run off then Tampa Bay Rays starter Chris Archer to become only the fifth member of the Pirates to ever hit a home run in an All-Star Game, joining a few familiar names in Ralph Kiner, Willie Stargell, Roberto Clemente and Dave Parker. McCutchen also joined Clemente in the hearts and minds of the Pirates fans in 2015 after being named the winner of the Roberto Clemente Award, thus becoming the first Pirate to win the honor since Willie Stargell in 1974. Unfortunately, the Pirates season ended once again in the Wild Card round after a 4-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs and Jake Arrieta. 2015 was a high for McCutchen, and 2016 began the decline for the Pirates center fielder. McCutchen finished the 2016 campaign with a .256 batting average, his lowest-ever batting average at this point in his career, and just 24 home runs.

McCutchen was dangled in trades after the 2016 season and was reportedly almost dealt to the Washington Nationals before the 2017 season before the deal fell through. McCutchen represented Team USA as a member of the Pirates before the 2017 season and was a huge part of the team that won their first ever World Baseball Classic gold medal for the United States. McCutchen continued to decline in 2017 somewhat finishing the season with a .279/.363/.486 with 28 home runs in his final season with the Pirates. Before the 2018 season the Pittsburgh Pirates sent McCutchen to the San Francisco Giants in a trade for Kyle Crick, Bryan Reynolds and $500,000 of international bonus slot money. McCutchen hoped to lead the revitalized Giants to the postseason as a right fielder, but San Francisco quickly fell out of the playoff chase leading McCutchen to be traded for the second time during the 2018 season, this time to the New York Yankees.

On August 31 of this season the Yankees acquired McCutchen from the Giants for infielder Abiatal Avelino and RHP Juan De Paula. McCutchen shaved his beard to join the Yankees and changed his jersey number from 22, the number he had worn throughout his entire career, to 26 since Jacoby Ellsbury currently wears #26 for the Yankees. McCutchen is now playing right field for the Yankees in the absence of the injured Aaron Judge and also appears to be learning left field before the Yankees series with the Seattle Mariners starts inside Safeco Field this weekend in Seattle.

Welcome to the organization, Andrew, and also a huge welcome to the Yankees family from everyone here at The Greedy Pinstripes. Enjoy your stay because you never know, we may be seeing you in 2019 as well. Stay well, Cutch.

Yankees Acquire Andrew McCutchen

The New York Yankees and the San Francisco Giantss have agreed on a deal that will send Andrew McCutchen to the Bronx for infield prospect Abiatal Avelino and another prospect. Welcome to the Bronx, Cutch!

More to come, stay tuned...

TGP 2018 Predictions: Managers of the Year

So far, we have predicted the New York Yankees winning their division en route to a World Series victory while the Washington Nationals will come up just a little short in Bryce Harper’s last hurrah. We have predicted a couple movements in the power rankings with strong showings this season by the Seattle Mariners and the Philadelphia Phillies, and we even predicted who would win the prestigious Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman Awards for the best relief pitcher in both of their respective leagues. None of that could be possible for any of these players or any of these teams though without a good manager, which is why the next award we will be predicting is the Manager of the Year Awards for the 2018 season.  

So, you would think since I specifically mentioned the Seattle Mariners and the Philadelphia Phillies not only in my previous paragraph but in my standings prediction as well that I would automatically go to that well again here for my managers prediction, right? Wrong! I like to shake things up a bit, and I don’t like to be predictable with my predictions, so keep reading.

Once again, in my opinion, the New York Yankees have everything working against them here with another major award. Sure, the team has a new manager in Aaron Boone and sure, the team has a young nucleus of players that could get younger with the call ups of Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar, but the team is almost too good for their own good if you know what I mean. If the Yankees don’t win the World Series in 2018 it will be a huge disappointment to many, but if they do I can see many fans, writers and voters coming out with a feeling that they almost expected it. Like the Yankees are once again supposed to win every game, you know? So, sorry Aaron. I can’t see you winning the AL Manager of the Year Award, even if you should. Instead, that award will go to the Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost who will keep his team in the hunt for a playoff spot until the final week of the regular season, all without a major part of his core and his team that all left to free agency this winter.

In the National League I have to go with the manager of the San Francisco Giants, Bruce Bochy. Bochy is nearing the end of his managerial career in my opinion and this may be Boche’s last true shot at not only this award, but at a World Series championship as well. Last season the Giants were horrible finishing with a 64-98 record, which was good for dead last in the National League West Division. I don’t feel like with just the additions of Evan Longoria, Andrew McCutchen and Austin Jackson that the team will be strides better than they were in 2017, but I also don’t believe that the likes of Jeff Samardzija, Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto and others can be as bad as they were in 2017 either. I think it will be a team effort and a collective effort that will not only bring the team back to the postseason, but it will also bring Boche an NL Manager of the Year Award as well.

TGP 2018 Predictions: The Playoffs

Welcome back to Prediction Season here on The Greedy Pinstripes. With the standings, division winners and Wild Card winners now predicted here on the blog by yours truly it is time to move on to the postseason. Just as a reminder, not that I have to remind any of you reading because you are all dedicated and hardcore Yankees and MLB fans, the first Wild Card winner will host the second Wild Card winner in a one-game playoff. The winner of that game heads out on the road to face off with the team with the best record from their respective league, who has a “bye” in the first round of the postseason. ALDS and NLDS series are best-of-five while the ALCS, NLCS and the World Series are of course best-of-seven. Let’s get to it!

American League Wild Card Round

Seattle Mariners @ Boston Red Sox

The first time in what feels like forever that the Seattle Mariners make the postseason. Is this 1995 all over again? Honestly, I don’t think so, but I went with it anyway… because to hell with the Red Sox. Anything can happen in a one-game playoff. Anything. Even the Mariners taking down the might, mighty Red Sox. Dave Dombrowski should be fired at the end of the game, but he won’t be which is great news for Yankees fans.

National League Wild Card Round

San Francisco Giants @ Chicago Cubs

These two foes have matched up time-and-time again it feels like in the postseason, so what is one more time for old times sake, right? The Chicago Cubs will, in my opinion, take a step back in 2018 in terms of production from their previous two seasons, which will suit the Giants just fine. The Giants have potentially a strong starting staff and enough veteran leadership to get them over the hump in Evan Longoria and Andrew McCutchen and I truly think they will find a way in the later innings to take down the Cubs. Chicago goes home, San Francisco moves on in an even-numbered year. Both road teams winning the Wild Card Round? That has to be unheard of, oh well.

American League Division Series

Seattle Mariners @ New York Yankees (Yankees win series 3-1)

I am going to give the tie-breaker for home field advantage to the New York Yankees (a) because I am a homer that owns a Yankees blog, and (b) because of some head-to-head matchups or something like that. With the Mariners high off their “1995 all over again” victory of the Boston Red Sox in the AL Wild Card Round the New York Yankees are here to remind the Mariners of another playoff series they were both a part of, the 2001 American League Championship series where the 116-win Mariners came into the series the heavy favorites over the Dynasty Yankees. The Mariners lost, and sometimes history repeats itself. Sometimes it just takes 17 years to do so. Yankees win.

Cleveland Indians @ Houston Astros (Astros win series 3-2)

In a matchup of two titans, two powerhouse offenses and two dynamic pitching staffs this series has all the makings of being an instant classic that will undoubtedly go all five games. These kinds of series remind me of those games that come down to the last second with the winner being the last team who has the ball, the last team to take an at-bat, whatever the case may be. I truly think both teams will be amazing once again in 2018, but the pitching staff and the depth that the Astros have will prevail in the five-game series. Plus, I wanted a rematch of the 2017 ALCS between the Yankees and the Astros, I mean who doesn’t? Right? It is time for Justin Verlander to eat his preseason words regarding the Yankees.

National League Division Series

San Francisco Giants @ Washington Nationals (Nationals win series 3-1)

The window for the Washington Nationals to win is just about closed, hell it will be all but closed once the calendar turns to October of 2018, and the Nationals will play like it this postseason. The Giants are a great team but having to presumably burn Madison Bumgarner in the Wild Card Round will come back to bite them as the Nationals dominate the series on all sides of the game. The Nats will pitch better, they will hit better, they will defend better and they will do the little things they have to do when it counts in order to win. Nats in 4.

St. Louis Cardinals @ Los Angeles Dodgers (Dodgers win series 3-2)

Here is a series we haven’t seen before in recent memory, a playoff matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals are younger than ever, and subsequently hungrier than ever, in the ever-changing aspect that is Major League Baseball. This is truly a David v. Goliath type situation, but in this one I think the Cardinals, like the Yankees from 2017, have one more year to wait before they can knock off the big boys. The Cardinals will be back in 2019 with another year under the wings and a chip on their shoulder, but this year it will be the Dodgers once again moving on after a hard-fought five-game series.

American League Championship Series

Houston Astros @ New York Yankees (Yankees win series 4-2)

Here we go again, so much for parity in Major League Baseball, huh Commissioner Manfred? In a rematch of the 2017 American League Championship Series the Houston Astros and the New York Yankees will once again square off head-to-head. This time around the Yankees will have homefield advantage, and this time New York will have Giancarlo Stanton and a slew of others at their disposal that they did not have last time around. The young, inexperienced Yankees took the Astros to an eventual Game 7 before falling to the reigning World Series Champions, but that was last season. This is 2018 and the New York Yankees are on a collision course with a certain team from the National League, and not even Gerrit Cole, Justin Verlander or some dude with a long beard could stop them. Call me a homer, call me an optimist, just don’t call me late to the Canyon of Heroes. Yankees in six.

National League Championship Series

Los Angeles Dodgers @ Washington Nationals (Nationals win series 4-3)

Remember how I said the Cardinals and Dodgers series was a David v. Goliath type series? Well if that is the case then this series is a Goliath vs. Goliath type series as both teams here matched or exceeded the 95-win plateau during the 2018 regular season. This will be a hard-fought battle that will go all seven games, but one man in particular will be the difference maker in my opinion. Bryce Harper knows what he is playing for. Bryce is playing for a chance at a World Series ring, his legacy as a part of the Washington Nationals and his next free agent contract after the season ends, and for that reason I think we will see a version of Harper that we have never seen before. We will see a focused, yet unruly, and disciplined, yet unyielding, version of himself both at the plate and in the field that will go unmatched by anyone wearing a Dodgers uniform this series. It won’t be easy, but it will be fun to watch as the Washington Nationals shock the World and head to the World Series to face off with the New York Yankees.

BOLDED teams are predicted as the winner in each respective series.

The 2018 World Series, folks. The New York Yankees and the Washington. Let us keep in mind that the last two seasons I didn’t have the Yankees making the World Series, but I did have them winning a second Wild Card in both, so my predictions, albeit biased, are usually pretty spot on with them. “Haters gonna hate” though, am I right?

Two million strong and counting folks! I can’t say it enough. Leave your thoughts, comments and predictions down below in the comments section, or drop us a line on Twitter @GreedyStripes. Another day closer to Opening Day, can you smell the fresh cut grass yet? Because I can…

Jacoby Ellsbury, His No-Trade Clause and Terrible Journalism

I feel a bit of rant coming on, you have been warned.

Remember back around Christmas when many writers and bloggers were reporting that Jacoby Ellsbury would be willing to waive his no-trade clause to a few teams, including the Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Francisco Giants? I would link that original article written by Jon Heyman of Fan Rag Sports by conveniently and coincidentally that article is now nowhere to be found on the web. Interesting, huh? Not for me, but I don’t believe in coincidence and I definitely don’t think it was convenient that the post just disappeared, especially after Ellsbury himself said that he was never approached by the New York Yankees or asked about waiving his no trade clause.

Come on, Jon. I know the offseason was a slow one and you have to justify your position at Fan Rag Sports because that’s what you do to make a living, but you’re making all the writers and journalist out there look bad when you downright lie, and then downright cover up your lie by making the article simply disappear. Just because you used the word “might” and other vague terminologies doesn’t mean you’re reporting anything, it means you’re baiting for clicks and you’re lying. It is journalism like this that made me even want to get into writing. On the other side of the equation though it is journalism like this that makes me want to just throw my hands up and quit as well.

This is why I don’t care if I ever get big, famous, well known, or anything like that. I’d rather be the king of the trailer park then the servant in a mansion, and I like doing things my own way. I don’t want to have to force or create content, and I never have, and I never will. I want to do things the right way, and I want to do things my way. Period, end of discussion.

If there are any publications out there looking for a writer who tells it like it is, does things differently than everyone else, and wants to actually make a difference in journalism… let me know. Until then, please stop emailing me asking me to write for this site and that site. The day I leave or write for another website not named The Greedy Pinstripes is the day I feel like I can be the change I wish to see in the world. Gandhi. Thanks for listening.

The Yankees Are One Trade Away From Calling It An Offseason

The New York Yankees are one of the best teams in the American League on paper right now, so I stand behind my thought process that the team doesn’t necessarily “need” to do anything else this offseason. Much of the team that was one win away from the World Series in 2017 is back and while the Astros probably got better with the acquisition of Gerrit Cole, it is debatable whether the team is better suited for a World Series run than the Yankees are currently. That’s another topic for another blog post though, instead I’d rather focus my efforts on one trade that, albeit an unpopular trade I am sure amongst most Yankees fans, could basically end the heavy lifting for the Yankees this offseason, at least on the trade front. The San Francisco Giants presumably need two outfielders and the Yankees have two to spare while San Francisco has a middle infielder that may strike the Yankees fancy for a season or two. Is it time for “Let’s make a deal?”

The Yankees need either a second baseman or a third baseman this offseason with Gleyber Torres waiting in the wings to take on either position full time later on in the year. The Giants second baseman currently is Joe Panik while their third baseman is a familiar foe in Evan Longoria. Now I don’t know about you, but I personally want absolutely nothing to do with Longoria in pinstripes leaving me with just one option, Panik. Who is Joe Panik? Panik is a proven second baseman with postseason and World Series experience at just 27-years old. Panik is a left-handed bat that would benefit from the short porch in Yankee Stadium, a solid defender in the middle infield that would fit in well with Didi Gregorius defensively, and a cost-effective piece for a Yankees team still looking to get under the $197 million luxury tax threshold.

Panik just agreed to a deal with the Giants worth $3.45 million through arbitration giving the Yankees a nice chunk of money to spend elsewhere on the free agent or trade market. How so? Because one of those two outfielders the Giants need that the Yankees will be giving them is Jacoby Ellsbury. The Yankees already reportedly have $22 million to play with this offseason while still remaining under the luxury tax “cap” and trading away at least half of Ellsbury’s salary would give New York a lot of wiggle room to make moves, maybe even enough wiggle room to land a Yu Darvish or another top-tiered free agent.

The other outfielder the Yankees would send to San Francisco, I know you’re dying to know and I know you probably already have a sneaking suspicion. It is Clint Frazier. As much as I would like it to be Brett Gardner I just can’t see the Giants taking on that much salary for two aging and identical players. The Yankees are going to have to sweeten the pot to get anyone to take Ellsbury and Frazier is that sweetener, in my opinion. The Giants already have Miguel Gomez, who made his MLB debut last season and is the team’s 22^nd best prospect according to MLB.com, ready to take over at the position in place of Panik as well as vastly improving their outfield situation with the trade.

Is giving up basically Clint Frazier for Joe Panik and cash considerations a “loss” for the Yankees? Some may think so, yes, but one must also remember that the money saved will or could lead the Yankees in another direction. Is Jacoby Ellsbury and Clint Frazier worth Yu Darvish, Alex Cobb or Jake Arrieta and Joe Panik? 100 times out of 100, yes. At least in my opinion. It is all about giving something to get something and that’s what the Yankees are doing here with this trade. You trade from a position of strength or depth to fill a gap, that’s how the 1995 – 2000’s Dynasty Yankees did it and that is how this team can do it as well.

And before you jump all over me let’s take a look at the stat line for Joe Panik while remembering that Panik plays half his games in the very pitcher-friendly AT&T Park. Just because Panik is left-handed and just because Barry Bonds made it look easy to hit home runs out of that stadium it doesn’t mean that it is. Panik will benefit from the dimensions at Yankee Stadium and the Yankees team as a whole would benefit from having another left-handed bat in the lineup day in and day out. Anyway, I’m rambling so here are his stats with the Giants

Year	Age	G	PA	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
2014	23	73	287	31	82	10	2	1	18	0	33	.305	.343	.368	.711	104
2015	24	100	432	59	119	27	2	8	37	3	42	.312	.378	.455	.833	129
2016	25	127	526	67	111	21	7	10	62	5	47	.239	.315	.379	.695	88
2017	26	138	573	60	147	28	5	10	53	4	54	.288	.347	.421	.768	104
4 Yr	4 Yr	438	1818	217	459	86	16	29	170	12	176	.282	.345	.408	.753	105
162	162	162	672	80	170	32	6	11	63	4	65	.282	.345	.408	.753	105

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

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As you can see, thanks to Baseball Reference, Panik is a very solid second baseman. Oh, and did I mention that Panik was born in Yonkers, New York? That has to count for something, right? Panik would be under contract through the 2020 season through arbitration and could give the Yankees comparable production to Starlin Castro for a fraction of the cost, while again also potentially bringing in a Yu Darvish type player as well.

I know, my trade proposal sucks so what’s yours? And do you think the Giants would go for it? Leave it all below in the comments section. Thanks in advance. 

Here’s An Idea, Jacoby Ellsbury to the San Francisco Giants

Brian Cashman, or someone in Brian Cashman’s ear anyway, reads my stuff so Brian, let me help you out a little bit this offseason. You have an outfielder on your roster that doesn’t need to be there, an outfielder that is taking precious at-bats away from players like Clint Frazier and Aaron Hicks. You also have a team out there that is seemingly always in the market for speedy, top of the lineup hitting outfielders that are said to be “flush with cash” this offseason but are also a team that are said to be lacking in terms of prospects in the San Francisco Giants. The Giants may want Giancarlo Stanton but they won’t have the prospects or MLB ready talent to make that happen so do you think maybe you should pick up the phone and dump, I’m sorry…. I mean trade, Jacoby Ellsbury to the Giants… even if you don’t exactly get the best prospects in return for him? Or am I making too much sense right now for you guys?

Ellsbury can be the latest Giants center fielder to head out there after struggling with their former teams, see Angel Pagan as a recent example of this. San Francisco knows they cannot make a big splash if the moves involves prospects and the Yankees could move Ellsbury without eating any, or much, of his salary with that in mind. Ellsbury is an excess part, it truly doesn’t and shouldn’t matter what the team gets back from San Francisco because the salary relief (insert luxury tax threshold and austerity line here) in itself should be sufficient to the Yankees.

Ellsbury hasn’t been horrible and he has actually been pretty durable during his tenure with the Yankees, a concern of many when he was signed, so it’s not like I am asking to dump absolute trash on the Giants here without eating his salary. Ellsbury is still a useful player, he just isn’t as useful in the Bronx as he could be elsewhere with the emergence of all this young talent with New York.

Moving Ellsbury to San Francisco is likely easier said than done and a lot of chips would have to fall before this happened including the signing of JD Martinez and the trade of Giancarlo Stanton but this is definitely an idea that the Yankees and Cashman should keep in their back pocket. Or maybe we can just keep the guy and keep stunting Frazier’s growth and Hicks’ development, either way. Your call, I’m just a blogger.

USA Today’s Weekly MLB Power Rankings

Another week of Major League Baseball down the drain here in 2017 and pretty soon we won’t have any baseball left to talk about. We as a fan base need to enjoy the good times while they are here and that includes these weekly MLB Power Rankings brought to you by the USA Today. After the Yankees took three-of-four from the Boston Red Sox over the weekend was that enough to propel them up the rankings? Keep reading to find out.

The Red Sox dropped one spot out of the Top 5 to the 6^th position overall after the Yankees pummeled them over the weekend while New York also fell a spot to the #8 position. Tough crowd. The question the USA Today asked in their rankings post was whether Chad Green was the next closer. While I should probably make that another post for another day I’d just like to interject and say that I hope not. With a team that has David Robertson, Aroldis Chapman and Dellin Betances on it I am not sure how I feel about having Green as the closer. He has pitched well, don’t get me wrong, but the playoffs are what I have my eyes on and the playoffs are a whole new animal. I’m cautiously pessimistic, I can’t help it. It is in my nature.

The Top 5 consists of the Los Angeles Dodgers, duh, followed in order by the Houston Astros, the Cleveland Indians who rose a spot from last week, the Washington Nationals who fell a spot from last week and the Arizona Diamondbacks who won’t even win their own division. It is amazing what the Los Angeles Dodgers have done this season. The Cubs took the Yankees #7 position while the Colorado Rockies remained 9^th overall in a stacked National League West Division.

Don’t look now but the Minnesota Twins are red hot as they jumped three spots this week to the #11 position. Here is an interesting note on the Twins while we are on the subject, Minnesota is the only team in the league with a winning record on the road and a losing record at home. Maybe winning the second Wild Card in the American League was in the plans all along. Meanwhile the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the team I chose to win the second Wild Card in the AL, tripped up against the Oakland Athletics and fell one spot to the #12 position.

Madison Bumgarner has as many home runs (3) as wins (3) as a starting pitcher this season and we wonder why the San Francisco Giants are 29^th overall. 

USA Today’s Weekly MLB Power Rankings

Another week down and another week down and another week bites the dust. Queen reference, sorry, but really another week of baseball has just bit the dust and the Yankees had a good week overall. After sweeping the New York Mets in a four game series the Yankees ended the weekend losing two-of-three to the Boston Red Sox to finish the week on a 5-2 climb. How many spots would the team climb in the USA Today’s set of weekly MLB Power Rankings though? Keep reading.

Okay, I could have some fun with this but I won’t and I won’t keep waiting for long. The Yankees climbed an impressive three slots this week back up to the #6 position overall.

The Top 5 teams according to the rankings are the Los Angeles Dodgers (duh), the Washington Nationals, the Houston Astros, the Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians. The Arizona Diamondbacks were in the Top 5 until the team slid four spots to the #9 spot overall while the St. Louis Cardinals fell four spots to the #13 position and out of the Top 10. Ouch.

Don’t look now but the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are 12^th overall on the rankings and climbing while the Seattle Mariners are 15^th after all their July 31^st trade deadline acquisitions. Meanwhile the Tampa Bay Rays are 5-13 since the All-Star Break after some writers and journalist had them winning the AL East Division, because journalism.

Oh and the San Francisco Giants are the only and the first team to be mathematically eliminated from playoff contention…. With two weeks left in August. Let that sink in.