Game 73, Mariners at Yankees
Marco Gonzales vs. Domingo German, 4:05pm
The M’s head to the Bronx to take on the formidable Yankees, whose line-up is one of the league’s best. They’ve garnered attention (and envy) by pairing first-round colossus Aaron Judge with trade coup Giancarlo Stanton, all while staying under the luxury tax threshold. To do *that* they’ve had to piece together a rotation around aging vet CC Sabathia, and that’s gone better than I think anyone would’ve anticipated.
As Travis Sawchick wrote today, the Yanks have turned a bunch of low-bonus lottery tickets and low-minors trade targets into a rotation that’s among the league’s best. Today’s starter, righty Domingo German, was acquired from the Marlins and needed TJ surgery almost immediately. Once healthy, he was throwing in the mid-upper 90s, and has an effective curve and change, allowing him to be successful to both righties and lefties. Formerly a command/control guy, he’s now something of a raw fireballer, with very high K rates, but also high walk and HR rates, which is why he’s a back-of-the-rotation guy for NY – albeit a back of the rotation guy with a K% pushing 30% for his brief MLB career.
Marco Gonzales is the M’s biggest player development success since James Paxton emerged from Tacoma touching 100 MPH, but it’s a much different kind. He’s *still* much the same as he was out of Gonzaga. He’s not someone who’ll wow scouts with velo, but whose command allows him to avoid loud contact and misses enough bats to succeed in 2018-style baseball. Sure, there’ve been mechanical tweaks along the way, both in Seattle and in St. Louis, but it’s more about making him more successful with his current approach than rethinking the whole package. I think I’ve struggled with the Dipoto regime because I look at the Yankees/Astros models as the ones to emulate – I want a Gerrit Cole and Charlie Morton and Jose Altuve and Luis Severino and Aaron Judge. The whole approach with the M’s seems much more limited, and still, a bit more spotty. Even with lower ambitions, there’ve been missteps (as, to be clear, there have been in New York and Houston as well). Still, with the M’s way up in the wild card and the Angels reeling, you’ve got to hand it to them: it’s worked. Let’s hope it keeps working and that this season just gets even more fun.
1: Gordon, 2B
2: Segura, SS
3: Haniger, RF
4: Cruz, DH
5: Seager, 3B
6: Healy, 1B
7: Span, LF
8: Zunino, C
9: Heredia, CF
SP: Gonzales
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8 Responses to “Game 73, Mariners at Yankees”
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Gonzales has a HR/9 of 0.68 coming into tonight’s game. Keeping NY’s power-bats under control could go a long way to assure success.
Maybe I’m nut’s, but I like the way we match up tonight.
So of course Stanton hits one out.
Well, reality is settling in and the Mariners aren’t a 100-win talent team.
And of course two more out of the park.
Of course.
Well, reality is settling in and the Mariners aren’t a 100-win talent team.
The reality is they’re 20 games above .500 and this is still just one game that isn’t even over.
What’s the deal with Seager? Is the midst of his decline?
I wonder how bad Seager will have to get, right now he’s at 86 wRC+ and falling, before Servais drops him lower in the batting order?