Welcome to the first edition of my Random MLB thoughts, a look at happenings around the league, as well as some additional Blue Jays thoughts.
Miguel Cabrera has 3,000 hits:
On Saturday, Miguel Cabrera became only the 33rd player to reach the 3,000 hit mark. Last season, Miguel hit his 500th homer against the Blue Jays on August 22. He now joins an elite group of six other players who have hit 500 home runs while recording 3,000 hits.
One of 33 players with 3,000 hits.
Congrats, @MiguelCabrera! pic.twitter.com/0oWJHvmQ6A
— MLB (@MLB) April 23, 2022
Cabrera, 39, has one more guaranteed season after this one left on his contract worth an annual average of $30 million. However, he and the Tigers have a mutual option for 2024 and 2025, meaning that the eventual Hall of Famer could play until he’s at least 42.
He won a batting triple crown in 2012, the first to do so since Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski (also part of the 3K hits club) did it in 1967. No one has done it since. Not just that, but Miggy has a World Series to his name, winning it with the Florida Marlins in 2003.
He is all but a guaranteed Hall of Famer, maybe even unanimously, as having over 3,000 hits means you’re basically a lock. There are only six other 3,000 hit club members that aren’t in the Hall of Fame.
One of those players, Albert Pujols, is the only other player that is still actively playing. Both Ichiro Suzuki and Adrian Beltre won’t be eligible to join the HOF for another few years.
That leaves just Pete Rose, Alex Rodriguez and Rafael Palmeiro as the only three players that are eligible for the Hall, but haven’t been voted in. Both Rodriguez and Palmeiro tested positive for steroids in their career.
Pete Rose, who should 100% be in the Hall of Fame, allegedly bet on the Cincinnati Reds while he was the manager of the team. However, it’s unlikely that he bet against the team he was managing.
Vlad is the only current Jays that I can see reaching 3,000 hits. Hell, he was in the running for the Triple Crown last season. This is a reminder to sign him to a very long contract for many of the dollars.
Which teams have been the biggest surprise:
Just because we’re only two weeks into the season, doesn’t mean we can’t look at the standings!
As we all expected, the AL Central is still complete crap. However, it is incredibly surprising to see the Guardians at the top of the division, and the only team above .500 at 7-6. As I’m writing this, they are currently up 4-3 to the Yankees.
For the West, the Houston Astros have had a rough start to the season as they currently sit fourth in the division. Despite spending half a billion on two players, the Texas Rangers sit 4-9, last in the AL West. They’ll be playing against the Oakland Athletics… who are currently 8-7 as I write this? What? The Angels sit first, but this isn’t too surprising as they have Ohtani and Mike Trout.
Moving on to the National League, the Rockies are currently second in the NL West with a record of 8-4. They sit above the Giants and the Padres. I follow many Rockie fans on Twitter, but they apparently do this every season. I still want German Marquez.
The defending World Series champs have started their season 7-8, despite arguably upgrading their team. In reality, the Mets will easily win the division as they currently sit 11-4. Oh, and the best pitcher in the league has been injured all season for them. The Marlins are sucking… which brings me to my next point.
Should the Blue Jays target Jazz Chisholm?
This is just pure speculation on my part, but is it possible for the Jays to possibly pry Chisholm away from the Marlins? Without question, this would cost an absolute boatload, as the 24-year-old middle infielder won’t be a free agent until 2027, but just imagine the Jays with the Bahamian?
He’s a second baseman that bats left. Furthermore he’s an above average defender at second base (not short) with an Outs Above Average of 2 at the position.
Trent Thornton could be a high leverage reliever?
Last season, I wrote an article on Trent Thornton on how he was on his way to becoming a high leverage reliever. Now, it didn’t transpire in 2021 as he had a rough end, finishing with a 4.78 ERA and 5.46 FIP in 49 innings.
However, this season he’s been something else. In the four games that he’s appeared in, he’s allowed just one run in eight innings pitched. His ERA sits at 1.13 and his FIP at 3.04, which is an improvement of his stats when I wrote the article last season.
In 3 of his 4 games, Trent Thornton has been the pitcher used to "right the ship".
In the season opener against Texas, he allowed 1 run in his second of inning of work, but held the Rangers to a scoreless third. The #BlueJays came back an won#NextLevel
— Brennan Delaney (@Brennan_L_D) April 23, 2022
I want to go further in depth about what feels different about him, so let me know if you’re interested.
Biggest surprise, biggest disappointment for the Jays:
The biggest surprise this season has to go to Zach Collins. A part of me wishes that we could merge him and Reese to make the perfect catcher, but Collins has been great with the bat this season. He has two homers (career high is 4), but he’s also slashing .286/.310/.571 in his 29 plate appearances.
The biggest disappointment is a toss up between Bo Bichette and Hyun-Jin Ryu. Starting with Bichette, he’s slashing just .213/.225/.295 in 62 plate appearances. Furthermore, he’s walked only once, while striking out 25.8% of the time. His issue has been going down early to a 0-2 count. The hot takes will come later if this cold stretch continues.
Ryu just hasn’t been good since August last season. In 2022, he owns an ERA of 13.50 and a FIP of 6.04 in 7.1 innings pitched. The 35-year-old is making an annual average of $20 million in the next two seasons, so he really has to figure it out quickly, especially with Ross Stripling having a solid season.
What’s upcoming for me:
I haven’t really previewed what articles are in the works, but I feel this is a fitting article to do so.
My first “Getting to Know” article will be on a certain versatile Buffalo Bison. I’m probably going to start working on that article immediately after finishing this one.
Another article I have in mind is comparing the newcomers to the players that have departed. Spoiler alert, Ross Atkins is the best GM in the League.
One of my other long form ideas will focus on Cavan Biggio.
I also mentioned an article about Trent Thornton, but I need to gauge your interest for that.
Lastly, I will be reviewing the season so far for my Top 20 Prospect list, as well as shouting out players who you should be watching.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Brennan_L_D. I also wanted to mention that Espinal’s DRS sits at +3 and his OAA is at +2. Is Jazz Chisholm actually an upgrade over Espinal?
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