Baseball Analysis

It was clear the Rangers were getting a great one-year deal on Ian Desmond’s services at $8 million for the year. What wasn't clear at that point whether Desmond would make the switch from shortstop to the outfield successfully or whether his hitting would improve after a rough 2015. Read more »

In a time when pitchers are throwing harder and harder, when teams are always on the lookout for the next Moneyball-style advantage, we'll see more pitchers joining this exclusive club and bringing a little more chaos to the masses. Read more »

The Cubs' rotation has all been pitching better than you would expect based on their raw numbers. The defense is certainly helping the cause and maybe there's some catcher magic going on. Whatever they are doing, if they keep on doing it, this team is going to be scary come October. Read more »

The Pirates are contending because they have a smart front office who makes due with the financial realities that face their team. The way in which the Bucs are contending this year is a bit surprising, at least when compared to their recent templates for success. Read more »

There is a real Ichirenaissance going on in Miami with Ichrio hitting .323/.388/.376 and putting up his best numbers in years with him being even more selective and hitting the ball harder than ever. Read more »

The Mets re-signed Yoenis Cespedes for at least a year, popped off a good looking trade for Neil Walker and signed Asdrubal Cabrera, three moves that have worked out exceptionally well. Read more »

Dexter Fowler hasn't made some huge change to his approach that has turned him from a really good player to a superstar. Rather, he is simply doing everything just a little bit better at the plate and then icing that cake with a heaping helping of good luck, which is unquestionably a recipe for a breakout season from an already solid player. Read more »

Adam Eaton's been very good at the plate, but he has been spectacular on defense since he moved to right field full-time, which has pushed him up into the top tier of valuable players. Read more »

At $6.5 million a pop for 2018 and 2019, if the new Jose Altuve turns out to be for real, he’ll not only be one of the most valuable players in baseball, but also one of the best values. Read more »

The Marlins have been competitive despite Giancarlo Stanton being mortal and that's largely been due to the long awaited emergence of Christian Yelich. Read more »

With an epically bad farm system preventing the possibility of trading for decent starting pitching and the current state of the staff, there's not much the Angels can do other than take some chances, cross their fingers and hope for the best. Read more »

The Mariners are in first place in the AL West despite having the third lowest BABIP in all of baseball. With even a little more luck, they're a good bet to get a little more separation and to end their playoff drought. Read more »

Even if there's a little bit of early-season mirage going on somewhere here, we've seen the upside of the Phillies young rotation now and it looks like they could be around for their next competitive team thanks to how young they are. Read more »

If the Astros can get some more luck offensively and not have all of their starters underperforming at once, they're going to be winning way more games than they are right now to dig out of the hole of their slow start. Read more »

The White Sox paint pretty much the same picture that we were expecting to see before the season started, with a great front of the rotation but some holes in the lineup. Latos and Rollins are probably going to regress, but there's plenty of room for optimism when it comes to Abreu and Rodon. Read more »

The injuries to Robinson Chirinos and Shin-soo Choo over the weekend are certainly big news down in Arlington and could have big ramifications going forward. Read more »

Using the depth of their farm system to trade for a starter so early in the season is unorthodox, but it would also give the Red Sox a better chance to make a postseason run. Read more »

If Brandon Belt stays healthy and keeps on doing what he's doing, it's already a win for the Giants, but if Belt improves a bit and reaches toward his ceiling, this deal could look like an absolute steal. Read more »

While it's obviously ridiculous to come out and say "blow the whole thing up" after a measly three games, the Padres' record-breaking really put a magnifying glass over just how feckless their offense looks to be in 2016. Read more »

When you have consistently have one of the lowest payrolls in baseball, you have to get creative in order to stay competitive, and this move certainly seems to be the right amount of risk versus reward. Read more »