The Moonshot: Braves–Dodgers, Jasson Dominguez and MLB Award picks
Well, we believe in exit velocity, bat flips, launch angles, stealing home, the hanging curveball, Big League Chew, sausage races, and that unwritten rules of any kind are self-indulgent, overrated crap. We believe Greg Maddux was an actual wizard. We believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment protecting minor league baseball and that pitch framing is both an art and a science. We believe in the sweet spot, making WARP not war, letting your closer chase a two-inning save, and we believe love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good, too.
The Braves begin a four-game set with the Dodgers on Friday. What can they do to make a statement and get themselves back into a Wild Card slot?
Terrence Jordan: There’s not much time left for the Braves to turn this thing around, and they need a split at minimum to feel good heading into the final two weeks of the season. Brian Snitker’s starters are doing their job, as they’ve allowed three earned runs or fewer in 28 straight games. The offense has completely disappeared, though, a fact that was never more clear than in a two-hit shutout loss to the Reds on Monday. Jarred Kelenic is the only Brave to homer in the last week. That’s not good, and if the season is to be saved, Marcell Ozuna, Matt Olson and Jorge Soler need to start slugging again.
Zach Pressnell: Like Terrence said, a split at the minimum. I would say they need to take three of four if they really want to feel like they control their own destiny. The Mets have seven games left against the Phillies and three against the Brewers. The difference in the wild card race will likely be the Mets and the Braves from September 24th through the 26th. Atlanta is going to need Matt Olson, specifically, to end the season on a tear if they want a real shot at locking up the third wild card spot.
Zachary Rotman: You want to make a statement? Win the series. It’s a tall task, obviously, but why can’t Atlanta, a team with a strong starting pitcher taking the mound every night win three of four at home? Their offense will have to show up, and it’s tough to expect that with how they’ve performed and with their injuries, but it’s time to really get going right now. To fend off the red-hot New York Mets, Atlanta is going to have to play some really great baseball, and that might mean taking a hard-fought series against the powerful Dodgers.
Robert Murray: They need to win the series. The Braves are 79-67 and one game out of a wild card spot. They can’t afford to lose any ground in the postseason race and to get there, they need to win the series against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. But the same can be said for the remainder of their season, which features matchups against the Reds, Marlins, Mets and Royals. Winning is the only option in Atlanta. Because if they don’t, their season will end before the playoffs even begin.
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Jasson Dominguez call-up — game-changer for the Yankees or fart in a hurricane?
Terrence Jordan: This reminded me that I wanted to see Twisters in 4DX, so thanks for that. Dominguez’s return to the Yankees’ Major League roster isn’t going to single-handedly propel them to the World Series, but it’s a necessary move for a club that’s in need of a shake-up after playing .500 ball for a month. Alex Verdugo has been a net negative, and Dominguez, who’s put up an OPS of .848 in AAA this year, brings a speed element that no Yankee outside of Anthony Volpe or Jazz Chisholm can come close to matching. As an added benefit, this will be a great audition for him to take Juan Soto’s spot after Soto leaves for the Mets in free agency *ducks to avoid a flying street vendor hot dog thrown by a game named Tony*.
Zach Pressnell: I have to say it’s a game-changer. If Dominguez comes up and plays average baseball, he’s significantly an upgrade over Verdugo and Lemahieu. In a Yankees lineup with Judge and Soto, the opposing pitchers will be forced to throw Dominguez more strikes than he’s ever seen in his career. His speed and power combination looks like the aspect of the game that New York’s lineup has been missing. He’s a top prospect for a reason. His first stint in the big leagues was a success. I have no reason to believe he has taken a step back for this stint.
Zachary Rotman: Can I say something in the middle? Dominguez should be a major upgrade over Alex Verdugo in left field, but I’m not sure his presence will be what gets them over the top. Having a good supporting cast helps, but this team is still built around Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, and the pitching staff. Dominguez makes them better, but it’s hard to envision him swaying a series.
Robert Murray: It’s a game changer. Quite honestly, it’s puzzling that the Yankees didn’t call up Dominguez sooner. The duo of Alex Verdugo and Trent Grisham wasn’t cutting it in the outfield and yet Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone stuck with the duo. Bizarre. Dominguez is one of baseball’s most electric and tantalizing prospects and should make a legit impact at the major league level. If the Yankees play him every day, and they should, they should reap the rewards sooner than later.
Which of the MLB regular season award races should be closest and who wins?
Terrence Jordan: Nobody outside of Mets fans seems to be giving real credence to Francisco Lindor’s National League MVP candidacy. I get it, because I think most baseball fans still have his dreadful April in mind and don’t realize that he’s been one of the very best players in baseball for the entire summer. He’s also competing with Shohei Ohtani, who is a freak of nature that has a very real shot of putting up the first ever 50-50 season in MLB history. Ohtani’s going to win, and as someone who has blue and orange pumping in my veins, I’ve already accepted it.
This race should be a lot closer than it is, though. Lindor recently completed a 35-game on-base streak, and he leads the resurgent Mets in just about every statistical category. He’s going to put up a 30-30 season of his own by the time the regular season is done, and he hasn’t missed a game all year. He’s also one of the best defensive shortstops in the game, and in case you missed it, he broke up a no-hitter with a game-tying homer in the ninth inning Wednesday, spurring the Mets to a much-needed 6-2 win in Toronto.
Zach Pressnell: The real answer is the NL Rookie of the Year. Paul Skenes and Jackson Merill have put together two of the more impressive rookie seasons in recent history. I just wanted to mention that race because my answer is going to be the NL Cy Young race. How in the world is Chris Sale the runaway winner? Sale has been incredible, don’t get me wrong.
But the betting odds having him as such a heavy favorite feels disrespectful to what Paul Skenes has done this year. Skenes is two or three good starts away from a sub-2.00 ERA in his rookie year. I think there needs to be more discussion to be had about the dominance that Skenes has shown this year, regardless of whether he qualifies for the ERA title or not. It shouldn’t be Sale, cut and dry. There should be some sort of discussion before you land on Sale as your NL Cy Young, at the very least.
Zachary Rotman: It might not be as exciting as NL MVP or Rookie of the Year, but who is going to win the AL Rookie of the Year Award? As of now, I have absolutely no idea. Austin Wells might be the favorite with his recent strong play, but should he be? His teammate Luis Gil seemed like the runaway favorite earlier this season before hitting a bit of a skid and missing some time due to injury. Mason Miller has had a phenomenal year as Oakland’s closer, but is 56.2 innings and 23 saves for a bad A’s team enough to give him the award? Even outfielders like Colton Cowser and Wilyer Abreu deserve recognition. There are a ton of ways this can realistically go and there is no clear favorite. They haven’t been as good as Merrill and Skenes, but the fact that there is no clear winner into the middle of September makes it an interesting race to follow.
Robert Murray: It’s funny. I had a scout ask me about the American League Rookie of the Year race and who I’d vote for between Yankees starter Luis Gil, Yankees catcher Austin Wells and Orioles outfielder Colin Cowser. My answer was Gil. He was the strong favorite earlier in the season, but struggled and missed time with injuries. Still, he kept the Yankees’ rotation together and has a 3.18 ERA and 156 strikeouts in 135.2 innings this season. He’s been great. The Yankees have needed him. And he deserves the AL ROY Award
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