The Moonshot: MVP dark horses, magical mascots and franchise shortstops

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.

Welcome to The Moonshot.

1. Two Yankees and two rising shortstops headline the top four of the AL MVP race. Who should finish fifth?

Robert Murray: I’ll go with Luis Gil. His presence in the Yankees’ rotation allowed them to overcome Gerrit Cole’s injury and vault New York to the best record in baseball. He’s been dominant and has emerged as a star and without him, there is no telling where the Yankees — or their rotation — is today.  

Zachary Rotman: He might be injured now, but Kyle Tucker was doing whatever he possibly could to keep the Astros afloat when healthy. The 27-year-old is slashing .266/.395/.584 with 19 home runs and 40 RBI. He’s tied for fifth in the majors with those 19 home runs despite playing at least nine fewer games than everyone tied or in front of him. Adding onto his ridiculous power and on-base ability, Tucker has ten stolen bases and is a great defender too. He’s the complete package, and nobody should be surprised to see him potentially gain ground on the top four in the MVP race.

Terrence Jordan: My answer for this was Yankees starter Luis Gil, who has been as dominant a mound presence as anyone in the league this year, but that was before the Orioles bludgeoned him for seven runs and chased him in the second inning on Thursday. I do like Zach’s Tucker pick because the Astros’ right fielder was absolutely crushing the ball before fouling one off his shin. I’m old-fashioned, though, and I like my MVP votes to go to players on winning teams. Give me Jose Ramirez for that fifth spot for now. Perennially underappreciated by casual fans, Ramirez is the offensive catalyst of the 45-26 Guardians. He’s mashed 18 homers and has the second-most RBIs in the majors, and his OPS+ is exactly the same as it was in 2017, the first of his four top-four MVP seasons.

2. Grimace may have saved the Mets season. What magical mascot would it take to save the White Sox?

Terrence Jordan: Make whatever jokes you like about the Mets, and the baseball world frequently does, but you have to give them credit for their Grimace-fueled run to get back into the NL Wild Card race. What other team could go from a Rally Pimp to a giant purple burger salesman and roll off seven straight wins? The White Sox, on the other hand, have a “Poochie died on the way back to his home planet” feel to them. At 20-55, they’re 5.5 games behind the abysmal Marlins for the worst record in all of baseball, and all of the mascot sorcery in the world wouldn’t change that. Pedro Grifol’s team is beyond saving.

Robert Murray: Let’s be real, the White Sox are beyond saving, and not even a magical mascot can get them out of this hole in 2024. Their roster lacks talent. Their manager, Pedro Grifol, is on the hottest seat in baseball. The front office has seen sweeping changes, with longtime general manager Rick Hahn out and Chris Getz replacing him. The White Sox will control the deadline with options such as Luis Robert, Garrett Crochet and Erick Fedde, so their farm system will see an influx of talent. But the major-league roster is nowhere near competing. It figures to be a long stretch of mediocrity for Chicago.

Zachary Rotman: There is nothing that can be done to save this White Sox team, as sad as that is. They’ve dug themselves into too big of a hole, and things will only get worse when they start selling at the trade deadline. If you know a White Sox fan, give that person a big hug.

3. ESPN’s baseball experts recently debated which shortstop they’d pick to build a franchise around right now. Who is the correct pick?

Terrence Jordan: We tackled the Gunnar Henderson vs. Bobby Witt Jr. conversation almost a month ago, and both players have only continued to prove why they’re the brightest young stars in the game since then. Henderson trails only Aaron Judge for the MLB home run lead, and his ongoing excellence at the top of the Orioles lineup is the biggest reason why the Orioles are hanging with the Yankees for baseball’s best record. Witt has done it all in powering the Royals back to contention — he leads the majors in batting average, and he also has 11 homers and 21 steals while being one of the best defensive shortstops in the game. Henderson is two years younger, which gives him the nod on the flimsiest of tiebreakers, but needless to say, I would throw Grimace off the 7 Train if it meant getting either of these guys on the Mets (don’t worry, Lindor could move to second).

Robert Murray: Bobby Witt Jr. is my pick. He’s one of the best hitters in baseball. His defense is even better. He’s also the fastest player in baseball, too. There are so many quality options to choose from here, which makes this decision difficult, but Witt Jr. is everything you want in a shortstop. And it’s why the Royals were aggressive in extending the young superstar to an 11-year, $288.7 million contract — which could prove to be a steal before too long if it isn’t already. 

Zachary Rotman: As was the case last time this question was asked, there truly is no right answer. Henderson has a bit more power, Witt has a bit more speed. They’re both excellent defenders, even if Witt has a slight advantage there. They’re both elite on-base threats, even if Henderson does it more via walks. If I had to pick one, I’d pick Henderson just because he’s second in the majors with 22 home runs, doubling Witt’s total.