Dodgers & Blue Jays STREAKING in different ways + Bryson Stott interview | Baseball Bar-B-Cast

Dodgers & Blue Jays STREAKING in different ways + Bryson Stott interview | Baseball Bar-B-Cast

Let’s flip it to the Dodgers. They have lost five games in a row. Oh no. Shut it down. Five games in a row. It’s a wrap. Hello and welcome to Baseball Barbcast. The only baseball podcast in the world who thinks they should let Rob Manfred do the home run derby. I’m Jake Mintz. That’s Jordan Schustman. And have we ever seen the commissioner play baseball? Just the thought. Hey, why not? Let’s do it. You know, still uh still a few spots left in the derby. At the time we are recording this on Wednesday morning. We are going to get in to the latest Derby entrance later on in this Wednesday edition of Baseball Barbercast. I don’t think Manfred will be swinging for the fences, but maybe I am wrong. Uh Jake, we got a lot to talk about on this episode of Baseball Barbecue, we have a special guest, Bryson Stodd of the Philadelphia Phillies will be joining us a little bit later. Uh but before we get to him and a whole bunch else, let’s get to our opener. The old world met the new world. Last night in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as Jacob Miserowski, the uh Jen Alfa’s favorite pitcher went toe-to-toe with man with a baby boomer Clayton Kershaw at Amfam Field uh in Wisconsin. the flamethrowing Misarowski against the veteran Wy Kershaw. And the juxtaposition of these two pitchers, a surefire Hall of Famer and the next big thing was pretty enticing. Clayton Kershaw was asked about it beforehand. Hey Clayton, Jacob Miserowski is gonna be pitching against you. Thoughts? Uh Clayton Kshaw said, quote, “Is that the guy with the ankle who twisted the ankle on the mound guy? I know he throws hard. I saw a couple highlights. He throws hard, but so does everybody except me.” All right, let’s dig into this quote here because lot going on. Um he is Yes. Quickly before we get into the specifics of this, Kershaw has turned into a quote machine. And I’m not sure this is something I expected, but his de gaff level, his lack of craps given is so high right now. He like has baseball tenure where someone will be like, what do you think about this? He’s like, I don’t care. He’s like, I wake up and for four days I hang out with my kids and I do my workouts and on the fifth day I’m Clay Kershaw and I don’t even know what team Paul Goldman is on right now. I don’t watch baseball. I Jacob Miserowski, never heard of her. I just I just throw ball. Right. Which is which is great because I think that conveys a couple different things. One, which is what you’re getting at. And honestly, a sentiment that I think we have learned over the years talking to players is that they are pretty focused on what they’re doing. And that’s okay. I know we all like to think that the players who are in Major League Baseball know what’s going on in Major League Baseball. That’s really not always the case and that’s totally understandable. But let’s get back to Kershaw specifically because again there’s part of this quote that you read that almost if you read it too quickly and don’t really think about it, you’re like what does he think he’s he’s think like I don’t care about this rookie. What is he ever proven? But then to finish it with this wonderful, you know, moment of self-deprecation where he’s like, “Yeah, he throws hard like everybody else except for me cuz I’m old and broken and left-handed and throw 90 miles an hour on my best day.” So just a wonderful combination of of of things in this quote here, but that was beforehand. And you know, we’ve already had this is only Mr. I think fifth major league start. We’ve already had some of these these marquee matchups. We saw him against Skins, but you know, him versus Ski, you know, fighting fire with fire. This is a very, very different kind of matchup and and a truly wonderful contrast. And after giving up a leadoff home run to Show Otani, who has not been playing very well recently, but you know, it’s always a matter of time, only a matter of time before Show, you know, puts a charge into one. Uh, Miz went to work and he was just mowing him down. So Kershaw’s fastest or excuse me, Kershaw’s slowest fast ball last night, his slowest force was 88. Miserowski’s fastest force was 101.6. What was Miserowski’s slowest pitch on the entire night? Because his slider is 97. I mean, uh, 80. Okay. His slowest pitch of the night was 86.1, which was a curveball. So, he’s got this slider that is somehow registering as a slider on Stadcast that is averaging 94.6. His change up is averaging 92.2, which is way harder than Kershaw’s fast ball. And the Heater last night averaging 99.7. Every single fast ball, slider, and change up that Mizarowski threw last night was faster than every single fast ball that Clayton Kershaw threw last night. Every single pitch I think Kershaw has thrown the whole season. I’m not I’m not even sure that he’s crested 911, maybe more than once or twice. Um, so yeah, that that’s what we’re talking about. These these are two extremes. But hey, Kershaw hung in there. It’s not like he was a terrible outing. He goes six again. Yeah, there are multiple ways to strike out a cat and or to sit down a cat. Maybe not strike him out because Kershaw goes six strong. Unbelievable line. Six strong, six hits, two runs, both earned, one walk, threeks. Mrski, slightly different approach to pitching last night. Six innings, four hits, one run. It was earned. One walk and 12ks. 12 strikeouts is a lot of strikeouts, especially when you’re facing the Dodgers. Although, as we well, we’re going to focus on the Dodgers and the fact that they’re losing a bunch of games and like it’s hard to get super excited about them right now when there’s not a whole lot going super well for them. But before we we talk about the Dodgers slide in this little losing streak, let’s keep the focus on the Miz here because this is has so quickly become again it’s not that he wasn’t a top pitching prospect, but he had never quite crossed in and maybe it’s just because he’s on the Brewers. Uh maybe it’s because he’s had some fluctuations with control where he’s, you know, oh, is he gonna be a reliever? Never quite got into the very top of the prospect list. And because he kind of came out of nowhere, you know, a junior college guy, it just didn’t quite get to the level. This is one of the fastest rises to everyone being like, “Hey, you know Mrs. pitching today, right? Like you better be tuning in.” I can remember for a pitcher, but also, yeah, like watch him. It’s not that complicated. I This is some of the best stuff we’ve ever seen. And it is a an incredible, you know, 100th percentile outcome. Not again, we have no idea what his career is going to be, but this is the kind of example of a pitcher and an athlete that scouts see at a very early age. And I got to shout out the goat of draft coverage, Jim Callas, one of my my favorite humans and and a true mentor in this space for me. Of course, I’m in in full draft mode. Got my top 50 coming out this week. I remember Jim had Mizowski on the top draft prospect list in high school before he was even going to a junior college. He had barely pitched in 2020. This is 2020, so it was a weird year for sure. But he and his very obviously he’s got good sources and good scouts. They were like, “This kid, if it comes together, has all the ingredients to have special special special stuff.” And it took a while, but my god, I mean, this is this is a level of of stuff that you just are not seeing from really anybody else right now. I have described Kyle Hendris, the experience of watching longtime Cub and current angel Kyle Hendris navigate a lineup as a fancy evening at home with a glass of wine. I feel like I’m wearing a suit there. It feels, you know, high class to watch. Kyle Hendricks. I would describe Miserowski as shotgunning a fourlooco in the forest, right? Where it’s like I’m out like it is full gas. There are no secrets here, right? He is here to blow your doors off. And that is exactly what he did last night. And Kershaw after saying I don’t know him, had this to say. This is via Jack Harris of the LA Times, friend of the show. quote, “I know him now.” Huh. Super impressive. That was unbelievable. I don’t know how you hit that, honestly. That’s just really tough. Yeah. And that’s uh that’s certainly what it looked like. I think the the one other thing I would say about Miserowski before we flip it to the Dodgers is like you mentioned that experience of watching him and just this full go, full throttle, this just kind of riveting viewing experience. I mentioned recently when we were talking about TKO about how much TKO seems to be enjoying being the best pitcher in the world and how his energy on the mound and honestly just kind of like the way he moves about now coming from fairly humble beginnings where it’s not like he was ever expected to be this. He’s having a good time but Ter Scoo also has this kind of like macho energy that he has taken over. Ms. Dowski is having the time of his life because he’s just like, you know, can’t believe that he has maybe the best stuff in the world and it’s just like this happy golucky skinny kid from Missouri who is averaging 100 miles an hour for six innings. Like the it is this this he’s just like how am I living in this body? Like he’s laughing. He’s ve it’s just very endearing. and the little interviews that I’ve seen with him too, like he really does come across as as a kid and just he’s just having a great time and he’s just so unassuming. He’s still I mean he’s very tall but he’s still extremely skinny and lanky and he’s he’s just got this kind of goofy smile and he’s just going up there hucking it and it’s it’s really something to watch. He’s a thunderstorm of a shucks. There was a tweet I saw the other day from at an account called live laugh Lucas who is a a you know Bruce fan in in Wisconsin who ran into uh Ms. Rowski. I think this is at Target and it is a picture of these two together at Target and you can’t really tell which one’s a big leager. Um, and it it Merowski is the most teenager working a summer job at target energy of any like person who throws baseballs 100 miles an hour that I’ve ever seen. It is amazing and endearing and just one. It’s the first baseball player who’s dominant where I feel old like old like he is a different generation like he is significantly younger than me. He looks like I look if you put us next to each other you’re like that guy’s older than that guy and I think that’s really the first time that I have felt that it is just an inc it’s an incredible video and he’s you know he’s he just turned 23 in April so he’s yeah he’s one of the youngest pitchers it’s not like he’s he’s a teenager but he still just has that that youthful energy and and that’s really something and I will say that like we’re going to talk about the futures game later his futures game appearance if you were paying attention and unfortunately the futures game kind of just gets buried because it happens when the regular season is still going on and it’s it we could talk about that another time, but his appearance in the futures game was this for one inning and and everyone was kind of looking around like um is that going to be a major league starter? Like it was it was so explosive and when you see it in the one stint you’re like well this probably won’t hold up. He wasn’t throwing a lot of strikes at that point, but now he’s he’s putting it all together and and yeah, he’s got some some bouts of wildness, but when your stuff’s this good, you are going to be just fine. All right, Jake, let’s flip it to the Dodgers. They have lost five games in a row. Oh, no. Shut it down. Five games in a row. It’s a wrap. Now, fortunately for them, um the NL West uh has kind of helped them out in recent weeks without pushing them especially. So, they still have a five-game lead over the Giants, who have won four in a row, but as I just mentioned, five games back still, but we are now at the point where it’s not like, okay, uh, the Dodgers are a bad baseball team, but we are pretty far removed from them looking like one of the best teams. And not just because they’ve lost five in a row, but almost because of how they’re losing, which is just getting demolished, right? I mean, what Houston did to them this past weekend was embarrassing. But now we’re also at a point where with some of the injuries, with some of the guys that are missing, especially with Muny out, you’re going through the lineup and you’re saying, “Okay, how many of these guys are actually playing well right now?” And not just over these five games, but really over the last month or so. Um, and that’s what I think we really wanted to kind of get into here with the Dodgers. So, what is going well for this team right now? And and why should we be some level of concerned? Okay, what’s going well? Show Otani, good player. Um, he’s been outstanding. Maybe not otherworldly over the last month and a half, but not the problem. Will Smith, I just have so much disdain for him. And it’d be just I and I I feel bad about that, you know, like I want to repurpose that energy in a more productive way. because I I just want him to look like he’s having a good time being the second best catcher in the world. That’s been going really well. And then I think Clayton Kershaw deserves a lot of credit for being a useful, effective, competent major league starting pitcher. He has been their best starter over the last month. Okay, what’s not going well? Mookie bets. Let’s have the Mookie Bets conversation. His move to shortstop has been phenomenally impressive. He has been plus over there and I think like far beyond what any of us could have expected. Offensively, Mukie Betts does not have the juice he once did. Maybe he will get it back one day. He does not have it right now. Yeah. And I think it’s I think what’s most concerning is that when you dig into some of the bad ball numbers, like Muki’s never had huge raw power, but he’s always got the most out of it. He’s always been able to pull the ball in the air, and he’s pulling the ball in the air at pretty much the same rate as last year, but the hard hit rate is down. He is still hitting more grounders than he has before, and he’s just not a threat. Now, the reason he his offensive profile has not completely bottomed out is because he basically never strikes out, right? He’s still absolutely elite in making contact. He is still making good good swing decisions. But when he swings, he is just not making a difference. And that is why he is slugging 390. That is why his ex wobba is not that I mean, it’s better than his wobba, but it’s not that much better. And you’re just now talking about a player who who’s batting second and again is is but again because he’s also not walking very much. It’s a 320 on base and it’s just not an we’ve been we we’ve been so conditioned rightfully so to talk about these three MVPs at the top of the lineup. But Muki just has not been hitting anywhere close to an MVP even an all-star level this season. And that has made the whole lineup just look less threatening. His average exit velocity in 2023 was 94th percentile and right now it is 29th percentile. That is a significant drop. Do I think that Mookie Bets is going to make the necessary adjustments to maybe become a different style of hitter and be an effective offensive player? Yeah, I do. I think it might take a little bit more time. I think remember it was a pretty short off season. there’s a chance he’s he’s still suffering from some of the strength he lost when he was in Japan and he got really sick. Like I I’m not giving up on Mukie Betts the impact bat. Like I’m not that stupid, but I think that what we’ve seen so far this year is a yellow orange red flag. Not quite red, an orange flag. Uh Freddy Freeman, speaking of flags, since June 1, Freddy Freeman has a 548 OPS. His first two months of this season, he looked unbelievable, hitting the ball harder than he ever had before. On pace for the best offensive season of his career, and it is kind of bottomed out recently in a really weird way. He’s been very upfront like, yo, I don’t feel good. I am not swinging it well. I don’t feel comfortable at the plate. He has not really broken out of that schnide quite yet. I think that’ll be fine in the long run. But it is just important to understand why the Dodgers have struggled somewhat is the reliance on that top three of Otani Freeman. Bats call top four and include Will Smith. It’s really only been two guys. It’s been Otani and it’s been Smith. T Oscar has been disappointing and Muny is on the IIL. And so that has kind of shortened the lineup and they are more of a top 13 12 10 offense than top three. On the pitching side, Yamamoto has just kind of had a couple bad starts. I’m not really worried about that. I guess I’ll ask you this question, Jordan. As it pertains to the postseason, are you more more worried about the Dodgers as an offensive club or as a run prevention club? Um, as it stands right now, like do you think that the bottom of the order is going to rebound enough come playoff time? I do. I I definitely am still more worried about the pitching. I think what’s so hard about the pitching and this has been true. I mean literally every week you wake up and you’re like what the heck is the plan on the mound for the Dodgers? That has not changed. Yes, Tyler Glass now is coming back today. That’s good. Maybe Blake Snell comes back. Roi Suzaki, who knows? It’s so hard to think even two weeks ahead, let alone two months, let alone into the postseason. And then really when you see them struggle like this, it’s not just like, oh, who’s going to start game three? It’s just like who’s going to even cover all of these innings that you need to not just innings postseason high stress innings against the best other teams. It is we’re just running out of guys and and especially now that the bullpen is no longer an obvious strength. It’s that is it’s not just oh who’s going to start. There’s a lot beyond that that has me concerned on the mound and and just trying to project it forward is so hard. I think on the mound like the thing about Freddy that that is a little concerning is you know we mentioned with Muki oh how much is what happened at the start of the season affecting him. Freddy is also we just know because it was true for all of last season all the way through the postseason and still this year is playing through a lot of stuff. We know that he is hurt. We know that he’s going to go out there but we also know that there are things that are hurting this guy who is in his what 15th season uh 16th season. He’s he’s gonna turn 36 in September. like we know he is not physically at his best and we can tell ourselves, well, who cares? Look at what he did in October when he was limping around. It’s like, okay, sure, at some point that’s probably going to catch up to you. And I know Freddy’s never going to use that as an excuse, but I’ll use it as an excuse for him because I know that he’s one of the best hitters in the world. And when he’s playing this poorly, I have to imagine that his his physical status has something to do with it. So, it is also about those second level guys like Inforto and Tay Oscar and Tommy Edmond not really being impackable hitters and losing Muny when he was really heating up again that that hurts. Uh, but that’s the thing about Freddy that is just like kind of ominous moving forward. Uh, he’s still so special that if he can get physically right, I’m sure he’ll get back to being one of the best hitters in the league. But that’s that’s where I’m just a little shaky on that one. He could use a DNP old like just throw him on the Phantom IL for like two weeks. let him go to the beach. You know, he’s not gonna want to do that, but his body seems to need it. Yeah. Uh last thing on the Dodgers, and then this speaks again to like just how desperate they are on the mound. They’re calling up Alexis Diaz, who they traded for, and the idea was like, “Oh, well, okay, buy low on Alexis Diaz. Sounds good.” Alexis Diaz, it’s not, you know, if you saw this headline, you said, “Oh man, I bet he’s been down there in Oklahoma City throwing 100 miles an hour and, you know, striking out the world.” know he’s been in a mess just walking guys left and right can’t get out of the inning like it’s not been good now and remember those are not rehab outings those are like get right outings he had already been option to triple AAA so you can’t just be like ah he’s hurt he’s working his way back and yet here he is coming back up so maybe they’re seeing something that that believes that he can help them right now but I also think it speaks to the state of the pitching staff that they’re calling on him and and we’ll see what Glass now looks like because it’s not like he looked especially sharp in his rehab outings either so your time in Dodger World. Again, there’s still so much talent on this team that I still think they’re going to find a way to win the division, but it could definitely end up being closer than I’m sure they would expect. I think we’re going to blink. It’ll be August 1st and their lead will be 10 games because that’s how they do things. Uh, let’s give some love to the Toronto Blue Jays before we send it to our interview with Bryson Stodd because the vibes up north are just sensational. They are immaculate. They have won 10 in a row. They have a three and a halfame lead in the American League East. If they win today against the White Socks, I like their chances. Although Adrien Hower going for the Socks, he’s been he’s going to start a playoff game for somebody for sure and get traded at the deadline. Uh if they win today, that’ll be W1, which is a franchise record. Haven’t done that since 2015. What’s going well with the Blue Jays? Well, 2015 is is an important year there. They actually had two different 11game winning streaks in 2015 and that is the last time they won the division. So if you’re wondering uh is this a special season for the Blue Jays? Well, maybe a winning streak like this is telling you that maybe that is indeed the case. I think what stands out now when you look at at Toronto and you know I always reference it’s like okay on the Fan Grass roster resource pages you can kind of see where they rank in hitting and and starting pitching and relief pitching. Uh the offense now is is way up there. I mean second in average, third in on base percentage, ninth in OPS, ninth in runs scored. The starting pitching is still lagging behind and I know that those guys are the players that a lot of casual fans are more familiar with whether that is a Gossman, Bereos, Basset, guys that have just been stellar starting pitches for a long time. And now Max Shers are back in the mix. But really, it’s just been the offense. This has just been been really really putting it together against good teams and against bad teams. Guys that have been good for a long time like Vlad and Bo, guys that are just coming up, breaking out like Addison Barger, guys that are bouncing back and having these huge seasons like George Springer. It has become a a pretty complete lineup. And it is funny because this is a a great thing about just I mean this is true most seasons but even the good teams like Toronto have just some massive whiffs. They gave Anthony Santandere $90 million. I don’t care how much of it was deferred. He has he has barely played and when he played he was awful. He was supposed to be the answer. He was supposed to be the guy that was going to bring the power to this lineup and instead it’s Addison Barger which is which is awesome. I Oh, by the way, Andres Gimenez, that dude’s got a 600 ops also, right? And he’s playing great defense, which is of course what you’re counting on. But it is so funny when when some of the offseason moves, Max Jer’s barely given them anything. Jeff Hoffman was awesome to start and has certainly been a little bit shakier lately. He’s been good since he he’s been he’s been better. He had a couple like awful outings that kind of tanked his RA, but when you have that much of your off season in what was considered to be a crucial offse, now listen, extending Vlad was the most important thing. When you have that many offseason moves that have not worked out and you’re in first place doesn’t say a little bit about the AL East of course, but they’re feeling really good. I saw them here in Cleveland a couple weeks ago and and they were they were starting to feel it, but now they are they are redot and I would love to see them be aggressive. This is what I’m excited about. This is still not an especially strong farm system, but there should still be a level of urgency here, especially on the mound. I still think that they should get some more starting pitching, get some more bullpen. Like, could they go trade for Sandy? I don’t know if they have enough to do it, but like that would be the kind of team that should be taking that kind of swing. And I I don’t know. Are they going to be able to out bid some of the other teams interested? Probably not with their farm system, but maybe they’ll be the most aggressive because I think they should have that urgency. Starting pitching erra since June 1st, right, which includes much of this hot stretch. uh 475 for the Blue Jays, which is 23rd in baseball, right? Like there are reasons to be like, how are they doing this? Now, it depends on when you move the since date line, right? You can play with that and get the answers you’re looking for. I Brios has been good. It’s been some good starts from Eric Lowour. I would say Gossman has been fine. Bassid has been sufficient and Sherzer in my opinion is not good enough to start a playoff game. And so I think they need a playoff quality starter. I like their team. I think the offense is just freaking electric right now. Do they have the arms to hold off the Yankees? I don’t want to be a hater, but I kind of lean no. At least right now. Yeah. I think the last thing I would say about Toronto, uh, and then we will take a break is it’s just really cool that this is the season that we’re watching and and lot of baseball left to be played. So, we’ll see where they end up. But after the offseason that they had and and after the conversation about the direction of this franchise, it’s refreshing and and so it’s such a pleasant surprise where it’s like we were just kind of talking even once they extended Vlad, it’s like, okay, sure, but how good are you really? like there is still a lot of big picture questions about how good this team can be. We were just assuming they were going to be fighting to be relevant, let alone in first place. And now, you know, we’re we’re talking about a team that’s playing as well as anyone. And and we will see how long they can extend this win streak because, you know, they got this one more game against the White Sox and they then they head to Sacramento before the break. So, um could could rack up a few more wins here uh before before next week. And we were basically like, “Okay, Bo, Vlad, who else?” And the answer to that has been a lot, right? George Springer turning into an all-star level hitter again. Ernie Clement, Addison Barger, Alejandro Kirk have all been outstanding. That’s the difference, right? That is the difference in the arrow of this organization. And I think the big league coaching staff deserves a lot of credit for getting the most out of that kind of second level of contributors to allow the Blue Jays to get to where that they where they’ve been. Um, let’s take a break and send it to our interview with Bryson Scott. This interview was recorded before the Phillies suffered a soulcrushing, heartbreaking defeat last night on a walk-off inside the park threerun home run from Patrick Bailey. The Phillies record in Oracle Park over the last however many years is comically horrible. Like horrible. Rice Scott, our guest, do not play in that game. So, you can’t blame him. He’s he’s blameless. Don’t get mad at at Bryson. Yeah. But uh Yeah. Anything else on that before you sign a turn? No. Yeah. Phillies three and 18 in their last 21 games in San Francisco is just very very weird. But that was one heck of a highlight. Sorry to our friend Bryson, but he’s been he’s been good to us over the past few years and we appreciate him taking some time to uh to join the pod. So we’re going to take a break. When we return, we talk to Bryson Scott. We’ll be right back. Welcome back to Baseball Barbcast. We are now very excited to be joined by Philly second baseman Bryson Stock. We appreciate you taking some time to join us. Now, we wanted to start with uh one of your most recent highlights, which was a homer you hit recently, a big go-ahead home run late, and that was a notable at bat, not just because it gave the the Phillies a lead, but also it was a seven pitch at bat. and we wanted to kind of get into something about your approach that really stands out statistically, which is that you see on average more pitches per plate appearance than any other hitter in Major League Baseball. Now, I don’t know if you knew that that you were at the top of that leaderboard, but it does stand out when you go ahead and sort and be like, man, Bryson Sty, he’s he’s seeing a lot of pitches. So, first of all, does that stat surprise you? And is this something that you’ve always kind of made a major part of your your offensive game? Um, I don’t think it surprises me just kind of standing up there and and feeling how long I’m up there, but uh, obviously I try to foul off the close pitches and I never want the umpire to um, have the last say. So, if I could do something about that, then um, I’m going to try to do that. And, um, obviously when you get to the 10 and 12 pitch bets, there’s probably one or two pitches in there that I should hit forward. Um but sometimes you get caught in between and and things like that. So, uh seeing as many pitches as I can for for guys behind me and um trying to help our pitchers out and get them off their feet and and things like that go into it and uh then you can pick and choose when you want to be u ultraaggressive or or anything of that sort. So, time of possession very very important. Um, I’m I’m curious like when you talk about seeing a lot of pitches in an atbat, do you find that as the at bat goes on, the advantage kind of starts to flip to you as you just see more of a pitcher and what they have to offer? Yeah, I think uh it’s both sides. Um, obviously if I’m up there just flailing away and and barely fouling off pitches, that means I’m probably not seeing them very well. and um I want one that I could handle and um then on the other side is I think the pitcher kind of gets annoyed and then they’re just like all right let’s just get this over with and um try to just throw something down the middle or um up that just gets the bat over with. So, I think it’s it’s both. And um I think the guys behind me, especially um if they have one of those 10 pitcher bats or eight pitcher bats and um I’m the lead off hitter of the inning, it’s it’s kind of like, well, I go seven innings and I just threw 10 pitches to one guy. So, right, I’m going to group one or I’m going to group the second one or or anything like that. So, just helping out where I can. So you definitely have what I would describe like as a more passive approach whereas you know like Nick Castanos has one of the more aggressive approaches in the sport in terms of like swing rate when you’re talking about hitting with a guy whose approach is so drastically different to yours is do you learn anything from those kinds of conversations? Uh yeah. Um I mean Nick’s been doing it for 12 years, so um just seeing how he I mean he knows he won’t take his a swing on a first pitch and and he’s okay with that. And um if it’s a single to right, it’s a single to right, but uh he doesn’t want to miss one that that he knows he could do damage with. um kind of where he hits in the lineup, it’s guy on third or or something like that with less than two outs and he just knows he’s that good and um his bat ball skills are that good that he could get that runner in and um then he’ll surprise everyone and and he’ll take four close pitches and and take his walk. So, uh you never know what you’re going to get out of Nick and um I think that’s what makes him what makes him good and um I don’t even think the pitcher knows. So, um, just seeing how he could attack the first pitch kind of whenever he wants and hit 1450 or or hit a single ride, it’s it’s pretty impressive. I I think fans like kind of miss that sometimes where like if you’re if I’m a pitcher, right, and I’m facing Nick, like I’m throwing a first pitch slider three balls off the plate, right? And if Nick decides to take it, then he’s up one in the count and then the balance completely flips in his favor, right? Yeah. And then there’s the flip. If he swings at it, you think you have him set up and then you try to throw another one and then he hits it in the bleacher. So, um I think he’s just a one-of-a-kind hitter and and an incredible hitter at that. So, we wanted to zoom a little bit farther out for you in your career. Now, this is, you know, your fourth major league season and you have basically been there, you know, since you debuted in 2022. The Phillies have just been one of these main character teams in our sport. for you personally as someone who is from Vegas and has now become just such a big part of this Phillies team in a city that I don’t know how many times you had been there uh before you were drafted by Philadelphia, but what has it been like and then how how different is it now just calling Philadelphia home compared to the uh the desert you you grew up in? Yeah. Um I mean I’ve never been there. I don’t think I’ve I think Florida is the farthest I’ve gone. Um, so before signing it was just all foreign to me and um it’s still weird to me that you get to four different cities in less than two hours and um the proximity like the idea that you What was your first train like? I didn’t know what we were doing. I I I mean I just saw trains in movies so um you hop on a train and you’re in a different state in 30 minutes was was kind of crazy to me. And um where I’m from when it rains it brings the cool weather in and Philly when it rains it brings the hot weather in. So that was a another thing and uh yeah it’s a lot different than but it’s it’s home now and daughter was born there and got married there and um yeah it’s just been a 180 from what I’m used to. So yeah I want to ask you you bring up your daughter. You’ve been a dad now for what a year and a half? Two years. Yeah. Almost two years. Yeah. Okay. So Jordan nor I have ever in our entire lives changed a diaper. Zero. We’re at zero diapers changed. You are now familiar with this experience. Do you have any tips for two guys who like presumably at some point soon may have to change some diapers? Like there any secret to it? Cover your nose. Um I cover your nose and you just got to get it over with. Just anything toys on the head. Um songs you got to sing sometimes, right? uh you try to get it over with cuz they’re little my daughter’s she doesn’t like it so she’s okay twisting and turning so sometimes I got to put her in um she’s got to grab her arms and then my wife has to grab her legs and then we said team effort so show and go. Yeah, just got to whatever you got to do just got to do it. No, that’s good. But it seems like you you are making those those necessary adjustments. And I I have to imagine as I just mentioned like right that’s where you know you got married your daughter’s growing up just I mean when when she gets older are you going to have to like explain like this is what Vegas is all about. Like are you is there going to be a level where it’s like no this is not what I had when I was a kid these these trains and these these cities and this weather that we’re not used to. It’s not just 115 degrees for the entirety of the summer. Yeah. I think that’s going to be something she’s going to have to kind of realize. Um we actually move to to Texas um little bit ago. So I mean we still go to Vegas all the time and um holidays and things like that, but she’ll grow up in Philadelphia and um yeah, she’s going to be she’s gonna think trains are normal until we have to drive 30 minutes just to go to the next freeway exit. So you one last Vegas question like you care about that place like you have a tattoo of the Vegas sign and growing up there without a team. I’m curious now that Vegas is going to get a team. I know the way that they got it maybe wasn’t ideal, leaving Oakland behind, etc. Like when you think back about your childhood growing up there, how would it have maybe been different if there had been like a big league ball club in the city? Um, I think I would have been like a better fan. Um, for sure. Um, just kind of not having a team. I got to pick and everyone got to kind of pick who they wanted. And, um, I think it’s going to take like where your parents are from, right? Yeah. Or your first little league team or whatever it was was like what you kind of went with. Um, I think it’s going to take a few years to get those real fans in in Vegas for the the A’s going there. And um I think it’s going to take a little bit. It’s not going to be an instant hit like the Knights were. And um that’s my opinion. Um who knows? It could just be the away team wants to come to Vegas. Kind of like the Raiders um going to those games. It’s 65% the away team and and things like that. Obviously, they’re dieh hard A’s fans and Raiders fans that are going to show up and and go to the games, but um I think once the this younger generation of of kids who are playing little league now that are going to have a A’s there, um I think that’s when it’s really going to kind of take off and um kind of explode in that sense. So, turning it back uh to your Phillies team to kind of wrap up here. I’m curious, especially, you know, we got All-Star coming up. a couple of your teammates will will be going and probably even more certainly deserve it. But I want to ask about Kyle Schwarber in particular, someone who of course you you’ve gotten to be teammates now for a few years and we talk about offensive approaches and Kyle Schwarber is also way up there closer to you on the leaderboard of most pitches seen per played appearance. What is it like to have him as a teammate? Um, I I know behind the scenes he means even more to the team than people even realize, not just what he does on the field, but both sides, both behind the scenes and just like what it’s like to watch him do his thing as a hitter. Uh, just talk about Kyle Schwarber a little bit. Yeah, he’s um one of a kind teammate and uh just the way he goes about it and and cares about each person in the locker room. It doesn’t matter if you have two hours in the big leagues or or 15 years, it’s treats you the same. and um just kind of watching his routines. I mean, he’s a designated hitter. Uh we want to call him an outfielder, but uh just the way he goes about hitting and um he’s got iPads up and and he’s prepared um for every single at bat and uh just the way he cares about us, our families. Um it’s it’s a one-of-a-kind teammate for sure. And then my last question for you is like you’ve, as Jordan mentioned before, like you’ve only known winning in the big league level, which is rare and I’m sure very special. When you look back over the last couple years of like being on these competitive Phillies teams, is there a moment for you that stands out like when you like blink and think of it like a picture album in a way? Is there like a play, a moment, a game that kind of has stuck in your mind? Yeah, I always joke that it only took them calling me up to to make to the playoffs because it was Yeah. Yeah. 11 years, but not the You did it, buddy. Not the Harper or Nick or Trey signings that I was like, “You guys call me up and we’ll make the playoffs.” See, it’s just um But now Breie was like, “Hop on my back, guys.” Like about time. No. Uh I always joke about that cuz uh my rookie year going to the World Series and and things like that. It’s it’s been uh amazing just getting to play and and play on a good team, which is always what you want to do with with good players and good teammates. Um I think back to the Angel series um after our managerial change um going from there and just kind of seeing how um it just took off from there and uh we haven’t looked back. So Bryson Sto, thank you for joining us. We really appreciate it. We’ll see you at a ballpark sometime soon. Enjoy your All-Star break. Take a nap, I guess. Yes, take a nap. See you when we play the Royals. And welcome back to Baseball Barbass. Thank you to Bryson Scott for joining us. Let’s go around the league. We talked about the upheaval in DC on Monday’s show. Mike Rizzo out the door. Davey Martinez, thanks for the mems. Mike Debardalo, new general manager, spoke yesterday. We also have news that Miguel Cairo, who was the bench coach over David Martinez, is going to be the interim manager. Everything that I have heard about Darlo and heard from Dardalo make it I would say yeah makes me believe that he’s the guy that he has a modern innovative vision for the Nationals and that he’s going to get the job full-time this winter. Cairo is the opposite. Cairo was so close to Davey Martinez that yesterday he said he only took the job because he got Davey’s blessing. If he would have told me no, I would go home. I would have gone home to see my family. Does that sound like new blood, Jordan? You’re less concerned about this than I am. Yeah, I’m not I’m not concerned about it because I just think that like interim managers in the middle of the season. It’s they’re not trying to nail the hire. Now, there’s some precedent for like the Mariners saying, “Screw it, Dan Wilson. You’re the guy.” Like, and that that was that was unusual, right? But I think in most cases, it’s interim for a reason. And I think that because we know that there’s going to be significantly more changes on this full coaching staff and properly probably player development as well, those are decisions that just aren’t going to happen over the course of a over in a week in the middle of the year. whereas I and I think that they’re just like we need some stability because I think that if you’re Mike Darlo like you’re focused on much bigger picture things to start getting in place from an infrastructure standpoint uh and and establishing those leadership goals whereas like it’s a lost season. It’d be one thing if the Nats were two games out of of a playoff spot and it’s like we really have to nail this right now. I just don’t think that’s the case. So I agree that based on that quote it doesn’t seem like Miguel Cairo who is that close to someone who you’re trying to kind of move away from is going to be the guy. I just I don’t think he is going to be and I also don’t think what he does the rest of this year is going to make much of a difference for the future of the Nationals either way. I a disagree with your last point. To me, it’s like dropping your kids off at the neighbor’s house for them to watch your kids. Like that’s okay. I don’t have kids, but that’s okay for like a couple hours, maybe even a day, but you don’t want those people raising your children, right? I think there comes a point so like having Miguel Cairo keep track of everyone and make sure that you know the nationals don’t completely go off the rails and there are fights in the locker room like that is important and there’s value there right I also think it is worth noting that most of the development that happens at the big league level does not come via the manager right it’s usually via the rest of the coaching staff my concern is that every if you’re identifying the coaching staff as an issue that is not doing a good enough job, you are now spending three months with people who you don’t think are doing a good enough job around players that you need to improve. To me, that’s lost time infusing. I know that they they brought up I think Bob Henley, who is one of their minor league coordinators, he’s going to be on the big league staff now. I just think that that staff needs an infusion of a new perspective that isn’t just Miguel Cairo being the bench coach. And I think that there’s a productive way to do that in the season right now that wouldn’t be completely destabilized. I just don’t know. I just don’t know what that is. I just don’t know. Like should you call up like the low pitching coach who was like some pitching lab dork that is more modern? I guess it just there’s no to me there’s no realistic thing you can do. you’re not hiring your future manager on July. It’s just not happening. So, I agree that maybe it is counterproductive or maybe you are wasting time by having the same coaches you don’t believe in spend more time with your young players. Like, I I get that, but whatever. You’re in this crappy situation because of them. Like, it’s this is, as I mentioned, it’s a lost season. So, I I’m with you that it it is a little weird to keep going with those people because you’re right that it is way more than Dave and a lot of those guys are still there. So, I’m totally with you on that. I’m just not really seeing a realistic way that that you are going to give some massive change in in view direction on a coaching staff in the moment. It’s just it’s just not something that happens for the most part when the new guy is emotional and best friends with the old guy. So, it’s like like how like that to me doesn’t seem like enough of a cultural break. That’s just my take. I understand the limitations and I understand your point. Let’s move on. Let’s uh the one other thing we wanted to talk about just from last night before we get to some all-star stuff um is the guys that are hitting all the home runs. So, I don’t know if you saw this, but Cal Rally homered again and so did Aaron Judge. And it happened in the same game. Now the Yankees demolished the Mariners in this one 10 to3 as Logan Gilbert was left in just a little too long and Casey Leamina did not exactly um stop the bleeding there as the Yankees hit three homers late. Judge hits his 34th. Cal Raleigh has 36 homers which is the most ever by a Mariner before the All-Star break. And he’s still got a few more games to go. We’ve talked about what it would take for Cal Raleigh to overtake Aaron Judge. Judge still has nearly 200 point lead in OPS. He is hitting 360 which um that in and of itself remains just very difficult. Do you know who is second and how far behind he is? Like do you know the what the rest of the batting average leaderboard looks like uh for Aaron Jud? Jacob Wilson is second. He is. He is. But you know where he’s at. 3 I’ll go like 327 331. So 335 for Jacob Wilson who’s now dealing with some some injuries but Jacob get better hopefully to see you at the All-Star game. Will Smith who you bismerched earlier is hitting 332. Oh no no no I did not burch. No I did not bismerch. I I respect Will Smith’s game. Okay. Let me let me let me rephrase that. I mean you literally said the word I have disdain for him which is not bismerching him. That’s really more bismerching your own vibe uh viewpoint of Yeah. Yeah, that’s fine. Uh the guy’s a ball player. He just has the charisma and pizzazz of a baked potato. Uh Jeremy Pñena 322. Jonathan Ronda allstar 321. Jake Meyers 308. Oh my god. Anyway, the point is point is Michael Garcia another all-star snow. Freddy Freeman, Alejandra Kirk, Jose Ramirez. The point is there are only nine qualified hitters hitting 300. Aaron judges hitting 360. So again, uh it’s he’s whatever. He’s going to be way ahead. Cal Raleigh is like I mean whatever we it doesn’t change the fact that we’re watching one of the greatest seasons of all time by catcher, by switcher, all these things. And like he might hit 50 home runs. He might hit 60 home runs. I don’t know. I hope that we’re still Aaron Judge is hitting 360. Aaron Jud is hitting 360, but Cal Rally might hit 360 home runs. Well, well, I guess the last thing on this is just like when because MBPSI, let’s just let’s just focus strictly on the dingers, right? Sure. When if and when Judge passes Raleigh in homers, like where do you think they both end up? Let’s just let’s just go for it right now. Let’s just give a prediction for for both of them. End of the season. I’m I again they are I don’t even know who is uh who’s okay so Otani’s third he’s at 31 then it drops off to Schwarber and Spar is at 28 so Otani’s also on pace for 50 plus and like if Otani gets on a heater like again he has not actually been that productive relatively by show standards in the last few weeks so like it’s it would not be unreasonable if he was also up there at 34 35 36 so we can lump him into this conversation and let’s let’s do that anyway let’s go Let’s Let’s make our predictions here. We love making predictions. Where do these three end up? Uh, do you want me to go first? Yeah. All right. I’m going to go judge 55. I’m going to say Raleigh 51. And I’m going to say show 52. I’m gonna say Judge 59. I’m going to say Raleigh 57. And I’m going to say Otani 57. Oh my god, what a ridiculous thing. You’re hitting 50 home runs. Uh, all right, we are heading to Atlanta tomorrow and there is so much to look forward to. Oh my goodness. But one event that we have not mentioned at all that we wanted to get into is the Futures game which is happening on Saturday. Maybe we’ll give it some more love on Friday when we record in Atlanta, but we didn’t even talk about it when the rosters came out. And uh as I just kind of mentioned with Jacob Miserowski earlier, like you could see some cool stuff in this game that gives you a little glimpse into what Major League Baseball is going to feature here in the very very near future. So with that in mind, with these rosters out, we just wanted to run through a couple of the the guys we’re most looking forward to to watching at the futures game. Now, the game itself because it’s I think they’re still doing seven innings. Um, and because it’s, you know, during the regular season still going on, it’s it’s it’s frustrating that what it is. I want to rant. I want to rant. I want to rant. If we’re spending all this money and time to promote the game and to fly all these prospects in and to try and get people interested in the next generation of ball players. Why are we limiting this to seven innings? Why are we having this when games are going on? It makes no sense. It always makes no sense. It lessens the value and the reach of the event and it makes it more difficult for people like us to try and promote it for you Major League Baseball when you’re trying to get people to care. So just I don’t know do it on Monday before the derby. Do it on Sunday night when don’t have a Sunday night baseball game right before the break. have the game on Sunday night in the All-Star City on prime time. I’m not a genius. I’m just a regular man doing his best. Yeah, Sunday Night Baseball is the obvious answer, which I’ve been saying, but now you have the draft. So, you’ve kind of shoved that in also to All-Star Week, and now that becomes less of an option. Uh, but yeah, even if you made it Saturday night and you just told all the teams, hey, you’re playing day games on Saturday uh in July. Sorry, that’s happening on this Saturday before the All-Star games. These are all day games and we will do this on prime time and we will give this event the attention. What’s the draft seem to think it deserves? Make the draft on Saturday day one like do the they’re just trying to they they’re trying to have too many things going on at once and that is frustrating. Anyway, okay, with that rant aside, we will be covering this event and we are looking forward to watching it. So, who are uh who are some players that that people should definitely be knowing about uh going into this game? Well, for me, I always like seeing these people in person, right? The physicality because you can look at a statline and you can watch video and you can see the way that they move, but seeing them in person gives you a sense um that you really can’t get on TV. That is why people scout in person. I am very excited to see Lazaro Montes, who is a gargantuan outfielder for the Seattle Mariners. I’m excited to see Connor Griffin, who we interviewed at the draft last year, who is a shortstop for the Pirates, high school pick with a lot of physicality, tons of power, high ceiling, and everyone was like, “But can he hit though?” And very quickly, the answer to that has been yes. He is the type of player who could, you know, join Paul Ske in winning 72 games a year for the Pirates. I would say those are the two I’m most excited about. Yeah, I think Griffin’s ascent this year cannot be discussed enough. I I I I wish we’ve covered it more. It is one of the more amazing because he had everything else. It’s one of the most incredible tool sets beyond the hit tool that we’ve seen from a high schooler in years. And the fact that it has already clicked this fast for a guy who’s playing shortstop, who’s playing some center for the Pirates is who got him, you know, after all those college picks at the top of last year’s draft is is amazing. And and in a year where you didn’t have all these historic college performers, it would maybe would have been more likely for one of those other teams to to take a swing on an athlete like Connor Griffin. but he falls into the pirates lap and now my god he has been amazing. You mentioned Lazar Montes with Seattle. Of course, one of the other headliners will be Darangelo Sancha, the the switch pitcher for Seattle who is still switch pitching. Now, I think it is important to to update folks on this from the perspective of he is still doing this, but it is undeniable that he has been so much worse left-handed, not just from a scouting perspective, but from a results perspective. They’ve kind of moved him back and forth and in the in the way that they’re letting him continue to throw left-handed. They’ve had him do it where he like does a left-handed relief outing in between his right-handed starts. They’ve had him where he sprinkles it in during his right-handed starts. It’s been a little wonky. I think that he still wants to do it and they’re giving him runway to try, but the progress that he’s making right-handed, which is throwing 100 miles an hour and looking like one of the best right-handed pitching prospects in the league, is making it harder to continue down that road. So, I still believe he will throw left-handed in a major league game, but I don’t think that he will just like do it for 10 years. I do think at some point it will kind of uh wind down. Who would you rather have face the best hitter lefty hitter on the other team? Spencer Strider or your second best left-handed reliever? That’s essentially the question, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. There’s uh there it is. I mean it I I don’t want to poo poo it because like it is so interesting and like all the different strategic ways and and especially with the Mariners who are already so far ahead when it comes to pitching development and just like thinking about these things. It is so interesting and and honestly it’s it’s like Otani in the sense that like not that it’s as impressive but in the sense that like there’s no road map for trying to what they’re doing. So it’s not like you can be like oh no you can’t do it this way. They’re like well why not like we don’t know what this looks like. Sure, you’ve had, you know, relievers like Pat Vendetti, but other than that, this is a totally different thing. And so what they’re trying, we don’t know whether it’s going to work or not. But either way, he will probably throw in some form in this game, and it will be, and I would expect him to throw both ways in the game because it’s a showcase game, and that’s what you should do. Uh, but yeah, and then I guess the the only the other couple guys I just wanted to mention, um, the Tigers are having hell a hell of a year at the big league level. They’re also having a hell of a year at the minor league level. And Max Clark, who was a top pick a couple years ago, has been playing great. But what Kevin McGonagal has become, which is one of the top prospects in baseball, he’s another one I’m interested to see from a physicality standpoint because, you know, his reputation coming in is like, yeah, he’s kind of a stockier, shorter second baseman, like how much impact is he going to have really, but it sounds like he’s really added enough strength to become a seriously impressive hitter. So, I’m looking forward to seeing what his like batting practice looks like. Uh, Joe Brenneno, their catching prospect, also has some real pop. So, they’ve got three guys in the game and that is welld deserved. And then another fun thing to keep an eye on is just like the really young guys. Yeah. So the age range and physicality range here like we have a dude Jesus Mday Brewers infield prospect born in 2007. Okay. 2007. And the Orioles have a pitching prospect born in 1998. Keegan Gillies. Right. And so how do the children look against the adults is a hilarious dynamic in the Futures game. As far as the young guys go, I would say Mate, he’s the only uh 2007 guy, but Connor Griffin is 06. Leo Deere, who is a Padres’s infield prospect. He is 2006. And then Alfredo Duno is a 2006 catching prospect with the Reds, who is super fun. make sure you spend some time watching him play. Yeah, he is definitely someone who I’m looking forward to just seeing how he physically stands out next to these other guys and then remembering that he’s a catcher I think is going to be pretty mind-blowing. And then I guess the last thing is, you know, I mentioned Mizowski. Looking at these list, I’m not I’m not sure there’s a pitcher that jumps out where it’s like look forward to that inning. You know, Durangelo Sanchez certainly stands out because of how unique it might be. I’m not I mean I’m seeing some good pitchers on these rosters for sure in terms of just pure velocity. Um I’m not Yeah, would be Travis Sakura who’s a pitcher for the Nats now. He was pulled from his last outing and I don’t know if he’s going to end up going already replaced already replaced. Yeah, they just they just replaced him with with Alex Clemy who is also going to be fun to watch. They got him in the Lane Thomas deal from Cleveland. He’s a lefty who throws very hard. So Clemmy will be entertaining also. But I do agree, Sakura would have been a good answer. But there are plenty of uh fun players and pitchers we’re looking forward to. We’re going to of course be interviewing a bunch of these guys when we’re down there. So, uh yeah, give give it a watch. Again, I know it’s at a weird time on Saturday afternoon, but it should be very fun. All right, let’s get back to the mainstream. Jake Mintz, the home run derby. Oh, baby, this field is rounding out quite nicely as we got some news since uh we last recorded. O’Neal Cruz and Byron Buckton joining the crowd that already includes Ronald Cooney Jr. and Cal Raleigh and James Wood. I mean, honestly, I’m already amped. Like, I don’t like whoever else. Sure. You want to put Ryan O’Harn in, you want to put in some other guys that maybe aren’t going to get people jumping out of their seats, that’s fine because where we’re at right now with these first five, I expect to be thoroughly thoroughly entertained. We also have some bad news which is that Ronald Akunia Jr. was scratched from the Braves game yesterday before they got Molly Wafted by the A’s in Sacramento. Uh back issue. Now normally I’d be like guy with a back issue the week before doing the home run derby. Probably shouldn’t do the home run derby. I think there’s a decent chance that Akunia doesn’t care and is like, “We suck and I want to do the home run derby in Atlanta and I’m gonna do it.” Um, and I think it will probably end up happening. Akuna, maybe by the time you’re listening, they’re like, “unia can’t touch his toes and he’s not doing the derby, but I’ll take the other side of that.” Akuna, Raleigh, Wood, Buckton Cruz, a couple more spots available. Jazz has been has said yesterday via Chris Kersner, Yankees reporter for The Athletic, Jazz said that he would do it if asked. MLB, who are you asking? Like I I am at that point now too where asking around some of the guys where it’s like, how have they not been asked yet? And so like again said he hasn’t been asked on the team. We know he’s on the team, right? Guys who are all stars which we assume those would be the first picks from the league. I am a little perplexed by that as well. So um said he’s out. Alonzo said he’s out. Vlad Jr. said he’s out. So it’s like I’m fascinated who they’re going to ask now. I think Junior Camro would be a good pick. someone who was just added to the all-star rosters as a replacement. I think he would do it if asked. It’s like who you ask? Like I don’t know, not J. Now let’s uh let’s just finish with a focus on these two additions, right? So Buckton is an amazing one because we I think mentioned him in passing, you know, last week and it was like, well, he’s not I mean Byron Bucks, he’s trying to stay healthy and I love that. Not I mean, he deserves it. He’s an all-star. He’s having an awesome season. He can he can still hit the ball really hard and really far. So, he’s a great candidate. And I do love that. I think Buckston kind of earned it and the Twins were just like, “We we’re done with the bubble wrap, dude. Like, just go for it. He’s Flynn playing outfield this year. Like, you’re in your home state. Like, go for it, man. Like, you and and I love that for him.” And he would be an awesome story because this is one that I just didn’t think I would ever see. And so, the fact that it’s worked out that way has been great. And and then O’Neal Cruz is also interesting because he is certainly the most qualified from a hitting the ball hard and far standpoint, but uh he ain’t an all-star and so we have these every once in a while, but yeah, not just not an allar, but he’s not playing very well for a while. He’s been he’s been straight ass for like a month now. And if if you sort by WRC plus since the 1st of June qualified hitters, O’Neal Cruz has been the 10th worst hitter in the sport. 47% worse than league average. You know what? I’m not a Pirates fan. I don’t care about that. I want to watch the big guy hit balls 122 miles an hour while children jump out of the way. I say this seriously, okay? MLB, if you’re listening, we need face masks. We need an age limit for the children. We need to have tryyouts. Maybe full catchers gear. Just put full catchers gear on. Maybe like a chain mail, night armor, like Kevlar even. Let’s be proactive. O’Neal Cruz hits the ball harder than anybody else in the world has ever hit a baseball. We cannot have kids out there running around. We’re just we’re just dodging danger. I do think that MLB has done a better job recently with how they organize the kids running around the outfield. It does feel like they have added an age limit because I don’t feel like we’ve seen as many like six and seven year olds waddling around out there. That said, I totally agree. Uh and as for O’Neal getting invited. Like whatever. It’s it’s like the the line from the Simpsons, right? Do you want to know the terrifying truth that O’Neal Cruz isn’t very good or do you want to see me sock a few mph dingers over the chop house? Like I’d rather watch that. Sounds pretty good to me. So that is that is an example of the league understanding what people want to watch. And so I’m glad they’ve invited him. But to your point, I have no idea who else they’re going for because all these other guys that are like, “Yeah, I do it.” They sound pretty good to me. and the field is so good right now that yeah, jazz is a is kind of a shocking one. So, um we’ll see. We’ll see uh we’ll see what happens. Um but, uh these these five certainly have me rather excited. Uh otherwise, we you know, we have also we’re getting these these all-star substitutions. We mentioned Junior Camo, Andrew Abbott gets added for Yamamoto, Robert Suarez gets added for Chris Sail. We’re going to have a bunch more of these especially on the mound. Um, so yeah, it seems like a lot of these all-star pitchers are pitching this weekend, which is going to take them off uh for starting. So, we could really see a a lot of starting pitchers added uh at the last minute. So, it’ll be interesting to see how far down the list they they go here. And by the way, they it does seem like these replacements are still based on the player ballots to some degree. It’s a little unclear exactly how far down they go and how many players they’re including and when MLB is just stepping in and deciding, but that is just something to uh to keep in mind when you do see these replacements. I think the player ballots are still a part of it. The league is not going to replace a pitcher who can’t throw with a pitcher who can’t throw just because they were next on the ballot. You know what I mean? Like I think Right. Right. That’s true. We saw that with Andrew Abbott getting in for Yamamoto. Yamamoto slated to throw on Sunday. Abbott throws today, he’ll be good to go on Tuesday for the All-Star game. The one unfortunate thing is the number of pitchers who are slated to throw on Saturday is kind of all the good pitchers. Crochet freed Grom Skins Wheeler Scooble. Those are the good pitchers. Hey, we’re we’re it sounds like we’re getting Mizowski or I guess he would maybe is Yeah. Is he going to pitch on Sunday? I don’t know. Let’s Let’s do Let’s do it, man. Let’s get the Miz start in the All-Star game for the NL. Why not? We’re last year when they Why not? Last year when they had Ski start the All-Star game and people were like, “He hasn’t earned it.” Can you imagine if they do Miz, people would explode. Yeah. Hey, need it. I don’t know. MLB just have DAngelo Sancha throw left-handed for the American League at the start of the All-Star game. All right, that’s it. That’s our show. Uh, we are flying to Atlanta tomorrow. So, that’s exciting. We will be IRL in a studio in Atlanta near Truis Park for our show on Friday and on Monday. We have so much work to do, which I can’t wait for. We get there earlier than most because we do a lot of futures game stuff ahead of time. So, keep an eye out for that. Um, but until then, thank you to TJ Brassel and Andrew Hartz for producing. You can email us at [email protected]. Jake, final words before this here allstar uh trip. Um, at the beginning of the pod, I said, “Let Rob Manford, the commissioner, do the home run derby.” And during the pod, I got curious and thought, “Have we ever seen Rob Manfred swing or throw a ball? The man who runs the sport? Like, have has he played cash on camera? And as far as I can tell, I found a highlight from 2017 where he’s throwing batting practice to a bunch of kids at what was then Safego in Seattle. And Jordan, what is my number one pet peeve? You used to throw me batting practice sometimes. You would give me front flips in the cage. What was my biggest pet peeve about what you did? Uh, going too quickly. Going too quickly. You would not let me get set back in my stance. Like when you throw a pitch to a kid, you need to the you’re doing like a full exercise. You swing as hard as you can. You need to wait a beat for the person to get set. This is meant for just bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang. It’s so good. And I can’t wait to send it to you. Yeah. And that was before the pitch clock. All right, that’s it. We will talk to you all on Friday. See you.

The Los Angeles Dodgers went into Tuesday night riding a four-game losing streak, hoping that Clayton Kershaw could get them back into the win column to calm fans’ nerves. However, it was the Milwaukee Brewers’ young buck Jacob Misiorowski who outdueled the future Hall of Famer, handed LA another loss and started to raise some concerns among the Dodger Blue faithful.

Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman discuss why they’re not overly concerned about the Dodgers’ recent play and what big problem does worry them if it’s not fixed by the postseason. They then dive into the extremely impressive 10-game winning streak by the Toronto Blue Jays, leaving them one win shy of tying their franchise record that now sees them alone at the top of the AL East.

Later in this episode of the Baseball Bar-B-Cast, Jake and Jordan are joined by Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott to talk about his time in Philly, taking pride in being a batter who sees a lot of pitches and why it might take a little while for Las Vegas to catch onto baseball. The guys then close the show by discussing the home run race between Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh, before sharing some insights on the 2025 Futures Game and Home Run Derby.

0:00 – Start of the show
1:11 – The Opener: The Miz outduels Kershaw
12:47 – Dodgers’ struggles
22:23 – Blue Jays on a 10-game win streak
29:24 – Bryson Stott joins the show!
42:05 – Around the League: Fallout in D.C.
47:09 – 2025 home run race
51:20 – All-Star Week updates

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