Lucas Erceg’s story is pretty well-known. A place participant for his first seven skilled seasons, the 2014 second-round draft decide transformed to the mound in 2021 and went on to make his big-league debut final Could after being traded from the Milwaukee Brewers to the Oakland Athletics. The transition has been a convincing success. Now with the Royals — Kansas Metropolis acquired the 29-year-old right-hander ultimately month’s commerce deadline — Erceg has eight saves to go along with a 3.40 ERA, a 2.87 FIP, and a 27.3% strikeout price over 50-and-a-third innings on the season.
Pitching and hitting are totally different animals, and that features the info and know-how used to assist hone one’s craft on the skilled degree. With that in thoughts, I requested Erceg if the diploma to which he’s analytically-inclined has modified alongside along with his job description.
“I’ve at all times been type of minimal with that” Erceg informed me previous to a recreation at Detroit’s Comerica Park. “I believe the extra I begin to have a look at numbers, and hyper-focus on what they’re telling me, the extra I’ll overcorrect as a substitute of simply making these day-to-day progressions.”
Erceg feels that he was responsible of overcorrecting throughout his hitting days down on the farm. Trying again, he realizes that he was vulnerable to listening to too many voices, and consequently ended up “type of bouncing round from thought to thought, by no means discovering consistency.” The potential — particularly within the energy division — was there, however he finally stalled out developmentally as a slugger. In his ultimate season as a place participant, Erceg slashed .219/.305/.398 in Triple-A.
Transferring to the mound coincided with a psychological shift for the Menlo Faculty product.
“Once I became a pitcher, I used to be slightly older and understood how lengthy the season is, and the way the method isn’t a week-to-week factor,” defined Erceg. “It’s an extended course of by way of seeing progress. I started to search out success by simplifying. Like I stated, I don’t wish to be overthinking and overcorrecting. As an example, after I really feel like I’m getting out of kinds in my mechanics, I remind myself to gradual issues down. I be sure that I’m feeling out the mound as a substitute of making an attempt to make use of it like a ball rolling down the hill, if that is sensible.”
Maturation having performed a main position in his success on the mound, would possibly issues have labored out equally in reverse? Suppose Erceg had transitioned from a pitcher to a hitter across the time he started to raised perceive the event course of and the way it utilized to his personal self? Is it potential that he could be residing as much as his potential as a place participant?
“Completely,” responded Erceg. “This recreation is difficult, and the extra you play the extra you perceive the ebbs and flows. Now that I’ve a greater understanding of how the sport works, and the way lengthy the season is, it’s simpler for me to make the changes wanted to place myself in a profitable place. I believe that might have occurred as a hitter. On the identical time, I’m glad to be a pitcher.”
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RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS
Ralph Kiner went 32 for 100 in opposition to Warren Spahn.
Al Kaline went 38 for 112 in opposition to Whitey Ford.
Henry Aaron went 42 for 116 in opposition to Sandy Koufax.
Dexter Fowler went 20 for 51 in opposition to Clayton Kershaw.
Ellis Valentine went 19 for 47 in opposition to Steve Carlton.
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John Schneider was impressed with the Kansas Metropolis Royals when his Toronto Blue Jays squad confronted the AL Central membership in a pair of early-season sequence. KC received 5 of the seven video games, but it surely wasn’t simply the outcomes that stood out to the Jays’ skipper. The expertise on the sector , particularly on the mound, is what captured his consideration.
“Kansas Metropolis jumps to thoughts with their beginning pitching,” Schneider replied when requested about Toronto’s 2024 opponents. “They’ve received Salvy [Salvador Perez] behind the plate and Bobby Witt Jr. at brief. They’ve actually taken an enormous step ahead. Baltimore. Each time we play them you type of scratch your head with the house runs they’ll hit. There are just a few groups. I really feel that there’s a lot of parity within the league, and also you catch groups at totally different instances of the yr — and also you by no means know with baseball — however Kansas Metropolis type of jumps out at me slightly bit. And Cleveland, to be trustworthy with you.”
Schneider went on to explain Royals southpaw Cole Ragans as being “fairly rattling good, and he’s younger” including that 24-year-old Witt Jr. as “an MVP candidate most likely yr after yr going ahead.”
The Royals’ unexpected-by-many emergence as a critical contender?
“You possibly can type of see that coming,” stated Schneider. “I believe they’ve received a fairly good run forward of them.”
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A quiz:
Two gamers within the fashionable period (since 1901) have received a Nationwide League batting title in a season the place they didn’t hit a house run: Ginger Beaumont with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1902 and Zack Wheat with the Brooklyn Robins in 1918. Just one American League participant has received a batting title in a season the place he didn’t hit a house run. Who was it? (A touch: it was post-integration.)
The reply may be discovered under.
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NEWS NOTES
Mark Quatrani was named MVP of the summer time collegiate Futures League after placing up a .906 OPS over 40 video games for the Vermont Lake Monsters. A rising sophomore at Cornell College who had earlier been honored because the 2024 Ivy League Rookie of the Yr, Quatrani joins Dartmouth product — and present New York Yankees first baseman — Ben Rice because the second Ivy Leaguer to win the Futures League’s prime honor.
Don Wert, a slick-fielding third baseman who performed for the Detroit Tigers from 1963-1970, and for the Washington Senators in 1971, died final Sunday at age 86. The Strasburg, Pennsylvania native received a World Collection with the Tigers in 1968.
Tyrone Brooks has been appointed to SABR’s Board of Administrators. The founding father of the Baseball Trade Community, Brooks is the Senior Director of MLB’s Entrance Workplace & Subject Employees Variety Pipeline Program.
A historic database of MLB group staff — masking greater than 40,000 folks relationship again to the late nineteenth century — is now obtainable on-line by SABR’s Enterprise of Baseball Committee. Extra data may be discovered right here.
SABR’s Boston chapter will host a free occasion that includes Melissa Ludke this coming Tuesday, September 3, from 7:00 to eight:30pm, at Boston College’s Katzenberger Heart, which is situated at 871 Commonwealth Avenue. Ludke is the writer of Locker Room Discuss: A Lady’s Battle to Get Inside, which focuses on her 1977 federal courtroom case, Ludtke v. Kuhn, that gave ladies sportswriters the identical entry to interview gamers as their male colleagues. Jen McCaffrey, who covers the Crimson Sox for The Athletic, will function moderator.For those who’re not within the space, the occasion shall be accessible through Zoom.
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The reply to the quiz is Rod Carew, who went with out a house run whereas main the American League with a .318 common in 1972.
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The Seattle Mariners have 4 beginning pitchers between the ages of 24-27. For those who may have one in every of them going ahead, which might you are taking?
I requested that query in a Twitter ballot just a few days in the past, with the pitchers in query being Bryan Woo (age 24), George Kirby (26), Bryce Miller (26), and Logan Gilbert (27). Curiously, the youngest of the bunch — this regardless of his having the bottom ERA, and earlier than final night time the bottom FIP — obtained simply 8.5% of the votes solid. As for the others, Miller received 13.2%, Gilbert 31.2%, and Kirby 47.1%.
One takeaway from the ballot is that Woo and his upside are a bit underrated. Whereas his harm historical past is admittedly a trigger for concern, he has an opportunity to be excellent. With a 2.30 ERA and a 3.29 FIP in 17 begins comprising 94 innings, he’s definitely been good this season.
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Hunter Brown has been particularly good since reintroducing a two-seamer to his repertoire in early Could. Within the 124 innings which have adopted a tumultuous April, the Houston Astros right-hander is 11-3 with a 2.40 ERA and a 28.1% strikeout price.
What led the 26-year-old (as of August 29) Detroit native to carry again a pitch he’d put in his again pocket just a few years prior?
“I’d type of questioned [not throwing it] for a pair years now,” Brown informed me when the Astros visited Fenway Park just a few weeks in the past. “I at all times thought it was a superb pitch, however I used to be having success, so it didn’t actually come up. Then, after I wasn’t having success, it was, ‘All proper, nicely.’ Proper-handed hitters had been type of crushing me. I had my cutter, a curveball, a four-seamer with slightly little bit of lower — every thing was type of going away — and wanted one thing that may go in to them, go in on their arms. It felt like guys had been sitting away, and this [counteracted] that.”
Requested if it’s the identical two-seamer he’d thrown at Wayne State College and early in his skilled profession, Brown stated that it was. He couldn’t say definitively whether it is analytically the identical, however by way of really feel, it’s primarily no totally different.
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FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Roki Sasaki threw seven scoreless innings with seven strikeouts on Friday as NPB’s Chiba Lotte Marines beat the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks 6-2. The 22-year-old right-hander, who has 2.45 ERA and 91 strikeouts over 77 innings on the season, reportedly featured numerous sliders and was 98-100 along with his fastball.
Hiroto Takahashi allowed one run over seven innings in his final begin and is now 11-2 with a 0.98 ERA and 115 strikeouts over 119-and-two-thirds innings. The Chunichi Dragons right-hander celebrated his twenty second birthday three weeks in the past.
Kazuki Sugiyama has a 1.91 ERA to go along with 46 strikeouts and 26 hits allowed in 37-and-two-thirds reduction innings for NPB’s Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. The 26-year-old right-hander has made 37 appearances and has a 4-0 report.
Ji Hwan Park is slashing .300/.347/.400 with two house runs in 199 plate appearances for SSG Landers. The 19-year-old rookie second baseman was the highest-rated prospect in final yr’s KBO draft.
Kyumin Woo has fanned 39 batters and issued simply two walks whereas logging a 2.21 ERA over 40-and-two-thirds reduction innings for the KBO’s KT Wiz. The 39-year-old right-hander has performed in South Korea’s prime league since 2004. His 799 profession appearances are fifth-most in KBO historical past, one behind Deuk-yeom Ka, a.okay.a full salt (a play on phrases from the interpretation of his identify).
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A random obscure former participant snapshot:
Charlie Choose had 333 big-league hits (340 in case you rely the postseason) however a recreation during which he went hitless is probably the most notable in his profession. Taking part in second base for the Boston Braves on Could 1, 1920, the Brookneal, Virginia native went 0-for-11 in a 26-inning 1-1 tie in opposition to the Brooklyn Robins. No different participant in MLB historical past has had as many at-bats in a single recreation with out recording a success. Two years earlier, he’d excelled — albeit in defeat — within the Fall Basic. Choose went 7-for-18 for the Chicago Cubs after they misplaced the 1918 World Collection to the Boston Crimson Sox. Two of his hits had been off of Babe Ruth.
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FARM NOTES
Cam Smith was promoted to Excessive-A South Bend earlier this week after going 15-for-48 with six house runs for Low-A Myrtle Seaside in his first style {of professional} motion. Drafted 14th-overall by the Chicago Cubs out of Florida State College in July, the 21-year-old third baseman has since gone 7-for-16 on the greater of the 2 ranges.
Blake Mitchell is slashing .241/.380/.445 with 18 house runs and a 143 wRC+ over 461 plate appearances for the Low-A Columbia Fireflies. Drafted eighth-overall final yr out of Sinton (TX) Excessive Faculty, the 20-year-old catcher is now the highest prospect within the Kansas Metropolis Royals system.
Caleb Ketchup leads the Low-A Northwest League with 59 stolen bases. Drafted within the fifteenth spherical final yr by the Los Angeles Angels out of the Lipscomb College, the 22-year-old infielder/outfielder is slashing .206/.311/.310 with six house runs in 463 plate appearances.
Jose Davila has thrown 104-and-a-third innings for Low-A Palm Seaside and has but to be taken deep. Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals out of Maracaibo, Venezuela in 2019, the 21-year-old right-hander has a 43.6% ground-ball price, a 24.1% strikeout price, a 3.71 ERA, and a 3.06 FIP.
Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang is 6-2 with a 2.09 ERA and a 2.98 FIP over 86 innings between Low-A Stockton, Excessive-A Lansing, and Double-A Midland. Signed as a world free agent by the Oakland Athletics in 2021, the Taipei, Taiwan native celebrated his twenty fourth birthday earlier this week.
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In mid-August, my colleague Michael Baumann wrote about how Kirby Yates has an opportunity to grow to be the third reliever in MLB historical past with a number of seasons of 40 or extra appearances and an ERA of 1.25 or decrease. When informed of that chance, the Texas Rangers right-hander was pragmatic, saying that “being a bullpen man, rather a lot can occur in six weeks.”
For the reason that piece ran, Yates has seen his ERA rise from 1.02 to 1.36, drop again to 1.25, then climb to 1.40. Following a scoreless body on Saturday, it now sits at 1.38. In his 9 post-article appearances, Yates has been credited with two wins and 5 saves whereas permitting three runs over 9 innings.
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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE
Chet Lemon has suffered quite a few strokes and may now not stroll or discuss, however he was there, in a wheelchair, when the 1984 World Collection championship group was celebrated at Comerica Park yesterday. Jeff Seidel wrote concerning the former All-Star outfielder’s state of affairs for The Detroit Free Press (no subscription required).
Pitcher Checklist’s Trevor Powers profiled Oakland Athletics 2024 first-round draft decide Nick Kurtz.
Twinkie City‘s John Foley investigated Minnesota Twins right-hander David Festa’s times-through-the-order struggles.
A report variety of followers have attended KBO video games already this season, with roughly a month left on the schedule. Jee-ho Yoo has the story at Yonhap Information Company.
Oakland A’s minor league pitching coordinator Gil Patterson was as soon as a prized prospect with the New York Yankees, and his solely look on a Topps baseball card was in 1977… with a photograph of a distinct participant hooked up to his identify. Practically 5 a long time later, at age 68, he’d prefer to have a card along with his personal image on it. Tyler Kepner has the story at The Athletic (subscription required).
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RANDOM FACTS AND STATS
Tigers rookies have mixed for 308 hits, probably the most within the majors, whereas Crimson Sox rookies have the second-highest complete at 300. Boston has gotten probably the most house runs (38) from rookie-eligible gamers, with Detroit rating second (37). The New York Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates are sans a success from a rookie-eligible participant.
Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Bowden Francis made 5 begins in August and allowed 4 runs over 34 innings. The 28-year-old right-hander surrendered 9 hits, issued 4 free passes, and fanned 39 batters.
Pittsburgh’s Connor Joe has slashed .365/.447/.670 with eight house runs in 132 profession plate appearances in opposition to the Chicago Cubs. His slash line at Wrigley Subject, the place the Pirates start a three-game sequence tomorrow, is .340/.390/.585.
The Boston Braves had been swept in doubleheaders seven instances in September 1929. Additionally they cut up a twin invoice that month.
Sweet Cummings, who many credit score for inventing the curveball, went 35-12 for the Nationwide Affiliation’s Hartford Darkish Blues in 1875. He logged a 1.60 ERA and fanned 82 batters in 416 innings.
Toby Harrah and Bump Wills hit back-to-back inside-the-park house runs for the Texas Rangers in an August 27, 1977 recreation in opposition to the New York Yankees. Wills homered twice because the Rangers beat the house group 8-2.
On at present’s date in 1964, Masanori Murakami grew to become the primary Japanese-born participant in MLB historical past when he took the mound for the San Francisco Giants in opposition to the New York Mets at Shea Stadium. Twenty years previous when he debuted stateside, the left-hander went 5-1 with a 3.43 ERA over 51 appearances in 1964-1965, then returned to Japan the place he pitched into the 1982 season.
On at present’s date in 1983, LaMarr Hoyt went the space to run his report to 18-10 because the Chicago White Sox routed the Kansas Metropolis Royals 12-0. The burly right-hander completed the season 24-10, 3.66 and captured the AL Cy Younger Award.
Gamers born on at present’s date embody José Constanza, whose big-league tenure received off to a rousing begin solely to rapidly fizzle. The Dominican-born outfielder debuted with the Atlanta Braves on July 29, 2011 and proceeded to go 24-for-58 (.414) with a pair of house runs over the following two-plus weeks. For the rest of his profession he went simply 36-for-152 (.222) with nary a dinger. To his credit score, Constanza did go 1-for-1 in every of the 2012 and 2013 postseasons.
Additionally born on at present’s was Fred Rath, a right-hander who went 0-2 with a 4.70 ERA over eight appearances comprising 23 innings for the Chicago White Sox throughout the 1968-1969 seasons. His son, additionally named Fred Rath, had an even-shorter MLB profession. He appeared in two video games for the Colorado Rockies in 1998 and allowed one run in five-and-a-third innings.
