Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Pirates are young and hot, Cardinals still favored



The Pirates are hot and right now have a higher chance than the Giants of reaching the NLCS/World Series according to Fan Graphs playoff odds. They still have a chance to catch the Cardinals and win the Central, perhaps giving the Giants a break if they can dump the Cards into the wild card play-in game.

Interesting that the Fan Graphs odds ( http://www.fangraphs.com/coolstandings.aspx ) give the Cardinals almost twice the chance to advance as the Pirates, even though it's a virtual dead-heat both statistically and in the standings. Age before beauty, I suppose. Or maybe deference to prior history.

 Team                      NLDS    NLCS       WS
Nats                         65%       41%          24
Dodgers                   55%        25%         13%
Cards                       42%       16%          7%
Pirates                      21%         9%          4%
Giants                       18%         8%          3%

from MLB.com
Pittsburgh Pirates at Atlanta Braves - September 23, 2014 | MLB.com PIT Recap:
The Pirates had just been swept out of St. Louis at the beginning of September and went on to Chicago, where Clint Hurdle was asked about prospects for a turnaround. "We need to play our best ball," Hurdle said. "If we play our best ball for the remaining games, we'll get in." 
 From that point through Tuesday night, the Pirates went 15-3. "And we're in," Hurdle said, simply, not immodestly. Milwaukee's loss in Cincinnati officially punched the Bucs' ticket, but they still have eyes on jumping the October rails on the National League Central title express and not the NL Wild Card local.
'via Blog this'

Cards finish with Arizona while Pittsburgh closes with Cincinnati, a wash as to scheduling. The Cardinals have to collapse while Pirates have to keep the pedal to the metal something I'm pretty sure manager Clint Hurdle will have no problem conveying to his squad.

Pittsburgh will be the youngest team in the playoffs. Surprisingly, the Cardinals will be the second youngest. The Gigantes will limp in as the oldest.

from ESPN:
http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/rosters/_/sort/average_age/order/true

Normally, I would defer to experience over youth in the playoffs, but given the Giants injury/fatigue situation, now I'm not so sure.




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Giants Top Minor League Prospects

  • 1. Joey Bart 6-2, 215 C Power arm and a power bat, playing a premium defensive position. Good catch and throw skills.
  • 2. Heliot Ramos 6-2, 185 OF Potential high-ceiling player the Giants have been looking for. Great bat speed, early returns were impressive.
  • 3. Chris Shaw 6-3. 230 1B Lefty power bat, limited defensively to 1B, Matt Adams comp?
  • 4. Tyler Beede 6-4, 215 RHP from Vanderbilt projects as top of the rotation starter when he works out his command/control issues. When he misses, he misses by a bunch.
  • 5. Stephen Duggar 6-1, 170 CF Another toolsy, under-achieving OF in the Gary Brown mold, hoping for better results.
  • 6. Sandro Fabian 6-0, 180 OF Dominican signee from 2014, shows some pop in his bat. Below average arm and lack of speed should push him towards LF.
  • 7. Aramis Garcia 6-2, 220 C from Florida INTL projects as a good bat behind the dish with enough defensive skill to play there long-term
  • 8. Heath Quinn 6-2, 190 OF Strong hitter, makes contact with improving approach at the plate. Returns from hamate bone injury.
  • 9. Garrett Williams 6-1, 205 LHP Former Oklahoma standout, Giants prototype, low-ceiling, high-floor prospect.
  • 10. Shaun Anderson 6-4, 225 RHP Large frame, 3.36 K/BB rate. Can start or relieve
  • 11. Jacob Gonzalez 6-3, 190 3B Good pedigree, impressive bat for HS prospect.
  • 12. Seth Corry 6-2 195 LHP Highly regard HS pick. Was mentioned as possible chip in high profile trades.
  • 13. C.J. Hinojosa 5-10, 175 SS Scrappy IF prospect in the mold of Kelby Tomlinson, just gets it done.
  • 14. Garett Cave 6-4, 200 RHP He misses a lot of bats and at times, the plate. 13 K/9 an 5 B/9. Wild thing.

2019 MLB Draft - Top HS Draft Prospects

  • 1. Bobby Witt, Jr. 6-1,185 SS Colleyville Heritage HS (TX) Oklahoma commit. Outstanding defensive SS who can hit. 6.4 speed in 60 yd. Touched 97 on mound. Son of former major leaguer. Five tool potential.
  • 2. Riley Greene 6-2, 190 OF Haggerty HS (FL) Florida commit.Best HS hitting prospect. LH bat with good eye, plate discipline and developing power.
  • 3. C.J. Abrams 6-2, 180 SS Blessed Trinity HS (GA) High-ceiling athlete. 70 speed with plus arm. Hitting needs to develop as he matures. Alabama commit.
  • 4. Reece Hinds 6-4, 210 SS Niceville HS (FL) Power bat, committed to LSU. Plus arm, solid enough bat to move to 3B down the road. 98MPH arm.
  • 5. Daniel Espino 6-3, 200 RHP Georgia Premier Academy (GA) LSU commit. Touches 98 on FB with wipe out SL.

2019 MLB Draft - Top College Draft Prospects

  • 1. Adley Rutschman C Oregon State Plus defender with great arm. Excellent receiver plus a switch hitter with some pop in the bat.
  • 2. Shea Langliers C Baylor Excelent throw and catch skills with good pop time. Quick bat, uses all fields approach with some pop.
  • 3. Zack Thompson 6-2 LHP Kentucky Missed time with an elbow issue. FB up to 95 with plenty of secondary stuff.
  • 4. Matt Wallner 6-5 OF Southern Miss Run producing bat plus mid to upper 90's FB closer. Power bat from the left side, athletic for size.
  • 5. Nick Lodolo LHP TCU Tall LHP, 95MPH FB and solid breaking stuff.