Earlier this week, Michael Baumann wrote about how Kirby Yates has a chance to join Craig Kimbrel and Wade Davis as only relievers in MLB history with multiple seasons of 40 or more appearances and an ERA south of 1.25. Five years after logging a 1.19 ERA over 60 outings with the San Diego Padres, the 37-year-old right-hander has come out of the Texas Rangers bullpen 44 times and has a 1.19 ERA.
I procured subject-specific quotes from Yates for my colleague’s article, but there were a few other perspectives I wanted to glean from him as well. That he has quietly put up better numbers than many people realize was one of them. For instance, since he began throwing his signature splitter in 2017, the underrated righty has a 36.0% strikeout rate that ranks sixth-best among pitchers who have thrown at least 250 innings.
“It’s almost like a tale of two of two careers,” Yates said upon hearing that. “It’s before the split and then after the split. Now I’m getting into a situation where you could call it three careers in a sense — since [March 2021 Tommy John] surgery and how I’ve been coming back from that. Last year was good, but also kind of shaky. The two-and-a-half to three years off, I felt that. This year I feel more comfortable. I’ve felt like I could attack some things I needed to attack.”
Yates doesn’t feel that his splitter is quite as good as it was pre-surgery, although he does believe it is getting back to what it was. His fastball is another story. He told me that it’s never been better.
Which led me to another question. Why is his fastball, which ranks in the 34th percentile for velocity, as good as it is?
“I think hitters have a hard time seeing the ball,” reasoned Yates. “I think I hide it well. I think it comes out of a different slot than they’re used to. I’m also able to carry it well. Look, I know it’s 93 [mph], but it doesn’t seem like guys can catch up to it easily. It feels like it takes a few fastballs for them to get the timing down, which usually gives me the advantage because I can throw some other stuff in there to keep them off the heater.
“Everybody is so caught up in velo,” added Yates, who has 21 saves on the season. “What people are missing is that what’s happening at the plate tells a bigger story than any of the numbers. If the hitters are swinging and missing it doesn’t matter if it’s 88 or 98. The biggest thing is, ‘How can you miss barrels?’ There are a lot of guys who throw 98 to 100 and are struggling to miss barrels. There are other guys who have really good heaters — effective heaters — and are in the 92-94 range. What you see at the plate tells you good their fastball are.”
Hitters have a .132 batting average and a .198 slugging percentage against Yates’s heater this season. Against his splitter, those numbers are .119 and .153.
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RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS
Jason Donald went 6 for 10 against Bruce Chen.
Josh Donaldson went 5 for 5 against Logan Gilbert.
John Donaldson went 4 for 6 against Bill Butler.
Billy Butler went 5 for 6 against Shawn Camp.
J.T. Realmuto went 5 for 6 against Eddie Butler.
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I’ve been asking players what they consider to be the best game(s) of their life, not just as a professional, but rather at any level since they first began playing youth baseball. Hunter Brown, who grew up in the Detroit area and attended Lakeview High School and Wayne State University before being drafted by the Houston Astros, is among the latest to field my question.
“I definitely have one,” Brown told me. “I don’t remember if it was my junior or senior year of high school, but I threw a complete-game shutout with 14 strikeouts and also hit two homers. It was against Warren Woods-Tower. That was the best game of my life, no doubt. I mean, if you punch out 14 over seven shutty and also hit two home runs, that’s tough to top.”
“In pro ball, it was probably last year in Tampa. I feel like that was my most-dominating game — maybe not numbers-wise, but I went seven shutout innings [and allowed] two hits. That’s one I was really proud of. I felt really dialed in that day.”
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A quiz:
Only one pitcher in the modern era has led the AL or NL in both wins and losses in the same season. Who is he? (A hint: He’s in the Hall of Fame.)
The answer can be found below.
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NEWS NOTES
The Hudson Valley Renegades (High-A, NY Yankees) are hosting 12 baseball and softball athletes from the Kingdom of Bhutan this coming week on a cultural enrichment and sports trip to New York. An online auction is currently being held to help cover the cost of the trip. Any money raised beyond those costs will be donated to the Bhutan Baseball & Softball Association.
The U-15 Baseball World Cup, which is taking place in Barranquilla, Colombia, got underway on Friday. If you’d like to follow the tournament, you can do so here.
Mike Cubbage, a third baseman who played for three teams — primarily the Minnesota Twins — from 1974-1981, died recently at age 74. Originally with the Texas Rangers, he was dealt to the Twins as part of a six-player swap that included Bert Blyleven and Roy Smalley. Following his playing career, Cubbage coached for the Astros, Mets, and Red Sox.
Bob Chlupsa, a right-handed pitcher who went went 0-2 with an 8.84 ERA while making 15 relief appearances for the St. Louis Cardinals across the 1970-1971 seasons, died last month at age 78 (per Baseball Player Passings). The firs of two home runs Chlupsa allowed was a 10th inning grand slam by Lee May in a 4-0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.
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The answer to the quiz is Phil Niekro, who went 21-20 for the Atlanta Braves in 1979. Notable among those who just missed the distinction is fellow knuckleballer Wilbur Wood, who went 24-20 in 1973. Wood’s Chicago White Sox teammate Stan Bahnsen, finished 18-21 that year.
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Ceddanne Rafaela likely won’t win American League Rookie of the Year honors, but he has arguably been the most valuable rookie-eligible player in MLB. The 23-year-old native of Curaçao not only leads all AL rookies in hits (113), runs scored (63) and RBIs (58), he has also set a big-league record along the way. Rafaela has played 74 games in center field and 65 games at shortstop, making him the first player in the modern era (since 1901) to see action in 60-plus games at each position in the same season. (He has also played in six games at second base and in four games at third base.) Moreover, he has nine DRS in center and has arguably been Boston’s best defender at the position other than Jackie Bradley Jr. in recent decades. Rafaela is slashing .262/.295/.408 with an 89 wRC+ on the season.
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A random obscure former player snapshot:
Robin Jennings is the only player in MLB history to have been born in Singapore. An outfielder/first baseman who attended high school in Alexandria, Virginia, Jennings appeared in 93 games from 1996-2001, seeing action with the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Colorado Rockies, and Oakland Athletics. His career ledger includes 52 hits, including three home runs which he hit during his Reds tenure. The first of his taters was a grand slam — he also had a bases-clearing triple that day — which catapulted Cincinnati to an 11-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 31, 2001. The son of a United States Foreign Service employee, Jennings spent parts of his youth in Switzerland, France and Indonesia.
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FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Twenty-year-old Ugandan catcher Dennis Kasumba has signed with Japan’s Asahikawa Be Stars, who compete in the independent Hokkaido Baseball League (per @yakyucosmo). Kasumba went 0-for-33 with 22 strikeouts and five walks in parts of two seasons with the MLB Draft League’s Frederick Keys.
Seiryu Kotajima has allowed 20 hits and three runs over 38 appearances comprising 35 innings in his rookie season with NPB’s Orix Buffaloes. The 25-year-old right-hander has fanned 31 batters and been on the winning end of both of his decisions.
Two dozen 24 NPB players have 10 or more sacrifice hits so far this season. St. Louis’s Michael Siani (10) is the only MLB player who has reached double figures in that category.
Do Yeong Kim became the youngest-ever player with a 30/30 season in the KBO when he homered earlier this week for the Kia Tigers. The 20-year-old infielder has 31 homers and 34 steals to go with a .344/.416/.640 slash line over 503 plate appearances.
Ji-Chan Kim is slashing .320/.404/.385 with 45 walks and 32 strikeouts in 434 plate appearances for the KBO’s Samsung Lions. The 23-year-old center fielder/second baseman has swiped 33 bases in 36 tries.
Ariel Jurado is 10-5 with a 3.19 ERA over 152-and-a-third innings in his second season with the KBO’s Kiwoom Heroes. The 28-year-old right-hander from Aguadulce, Panama pitched for the Texas Rangers in 2018 and 2019, and briefly for the New York Mets in 2020.
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If you’re not a baseball historian, there is a good chance you’re not familiar with Deacon Phillippe. You should be. The long-ago right-hander arguably merits a plaque in Cooperstown. A native of Rural Retreat, Virginia who grew up in what is now South Dakota, Phillippe debuted with the National League’s Louisville Colonels in 1899, then spent the next 12 seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Six times a 20-game winner, he is one of the best control pitchers ever to toe a big-league rubber. His 1.15 walks per nine innings is second-lowest, behind Cy Young’s 1.12, in the modern era (since 1901) among pitchers to work at least 500 innings.
And then there is his post-season résumé. Phillippe was the winning pitcher in the first-ever World Series game (October 1, 1903) and went on to finish the inaugural Fall Classic with three wins. In 1909, the Pirates won the first of their five World Series championships with Phillippe contributing six scoreless innings over a pair of appearances. All told, Phillippe had a 2.70 ERA in 50 World Series innings.
Lefty Gomez is a good comp. The Hall of Famer had a 2.86 ERA in 50-and-a-third World Series innings, and a regular-season log that included a 189-102 record, a 125 ERA+, and 33.9 WAR. Phillippe had a 189-109 record, a 119 ERA+, and 42.2 WAR.
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FARM NOTES
Nick Yorke has gone 21-for-59 with six doubles for Triple-A Indianapolis since being acquired by Pittsburgh from Boston at the trade deadline. The 22-year-old infielder is slashing .290/.369/.427 with 10 home runs over 432 plate appearances on the season.
Thayron Liranzo is 16-for-43 with five doubles and four home runs for High-A West Michigan since being acquired by Detroit from the Dodgers at the trade deadline. The 21-year-old catcher/first baseman is slashing .240/.369/.411 with 11 home runs in 366 plate appearances on the season.
Nick Kurtz has begun his professional career 9-for-22 with a double and four home runs for Low-A Stockton. The 21-year-old first baseman was drafted fourth overall this year by the Oakland Athletics out of Wake Forest University.
Seaver King has begun his professional career 5-for-17 with a triple for Low-A Fredericksburg. The 21-year-old infielder was drafted 10th overall this year by the Washington Nationals out of Wake Forest University.
Nestor German has a 1.40 ERA, a 2.24 FIP, and a 30.6 strikeout rate over 58 innings between Low-A Delmarva and High-A Aberdeen. The 22-year-old right-hander was drafted in 11th round last year by the Baltimore Orioles out of Seattle University.
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Texas Rangers broadcaster Matt Hicks called games in the minor leagues for more than two decades, so he has no shortage of interesting anecdotes from down on the farm. One is from his days with the Carolina League’s Frederick Keys.
“In the 1991 season, Erik Schullstrom threw a no-hitter for us at home,” recalled Hicks, who has been in the Rangers radio booth since 2012. “I don’t remember who he threw it against [it was the Kinston Indians], but his next start was on the road in Salem, Virginia. In that start, Salem’s leadoff hitter came up to the plate in the bottom of the first inning and hit a home run. Then the two-hole hitter hit a home run. Three-hole hitter, home run. Cleanup hitter, home run. You talk about going from one extreme to the other. He throws a no-hitter and in his next start he gives up home runs to the first four batters he faces.”
Schullstrom went on to reach the major leagues, pitching for the Minnesota Twins in 1994-1995 and logging a 6.00 ERA over 46 appearances comprising 60 innings. He recorded neither a win nor a loss, which is every bit as notable as the oddity of his back-to-back minor-league outings. Schullstrom’s 60 career innings are the most in history for a pitcher who had neither a win nor a loss.
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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE
Pitcher List’s Jack Foley wrote about Washington Nationals left-hander DJ Herz’s potentials and the importance of a good foundation.
Arizona Diamondbacks centerfielder Corbin Carroll has begun collecting baseball cards. Steve Gilbert has the story at MLB.com.
NW Baseball History’s Amanda Lane Cumming did some baseball tourism and checked out the site of Detroit’s old Tiger Stadium.
At CBS Sports, Matt Snyder looked at how MLB is reportedly weighing a six-inning requirement for starting pitchers (no, this isn’t a joke).
The SABR Defensive Index Rankings through August 11 have been released and can be found here.
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RANDOM FACTS AND STATS
The Pittsburgh Pirates are in last place in the NL Central and have a minus-24 run differential. The Chicago White Sox are in last place in the AL Central and have a minus-256 run differential.
Luis Arraez (.308) and Marcell Ozuna (.307) are currently the only qualified hitters in the National League with a batting average of .300 or higher. The lowest-ever average for a batting-title winner is .301, by Carl Yastrzemski in 1968.
Carlos Santana is 16-for-16 in stolen base attempts since the start of the 2019 season. The Minnesota Twins first baseman made his MLB debut in 2010 and has played in more games (2,044 games) than any player since that time.
Freddie Freeman, who also debuted in 2010, played in his 2,000th game on Friday. Andrew McCutchen, who debuted in 2009, likewise played in his 2,000th game on Friday.
Including the postseason, Houston’s Yordan Alvarez is 27-for-56 (.482) with eight home runs at Fenway Park.
Ryan Howard had a four-year stretch (2006-2009) where his average season included 50 home runs and 143 RBIs. In the postseason, he had seven home runs and 27 RBIs — as well as an NLCS MVP award — during that span.
On today’s date in 1996, the Seattle Mariners scored three runs in the top of the 12th inning, then hung on to beat the New York Yankees 13-12. The game featured 38 hits — 19 for each team — including four home runs, two by Paul Sorrento and one each by Ken Griffey Jr. and Joe Girardi.
On today’s date in 1982, the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs 2-1 at Wrigley Field in the completion of a game that had been suspended in the top of the 18th inning the previous day. Dusty Baker drove in the deciding run with a sacrifice fly in the 21st inning.
Players born on today’s date include Bucky Guth, an infielder whose big-league career comprised three games and three hitless plate appearances for the Minnesota Twins in 1972. Guth scored one run, with the RBI going to future MLB manager Charlie Manuel, whose given first and middle names are Charles Fuqua.
Also born on today’s date was Billy Consolo, a utility infielder who logged 250 hits while playing for five teams, primarily the Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins, from 1953-1962. A boyhood friend of Sparky Anderson, Consolo was on the Detroit Tigers coaching staff from 1979-1992 and again in 1995.
