INJURED FELLAS

Lorenzo Cain has a wrist issue that shut him down in September. The good news is that he will not require surgery this offseason. Cain is a very talented 30 year old outfielder. He hit .301 with 28 steals in 2014. In 2015 he had the best season of his career with a .307-16-72-101-28 line. I expressed some concern before the 2016 season started with him though, wondering out loud about his ability to stay healthy. Turns out my fears were valid. Cain appeared in just 103 games this season failing to live up to expectations across the board (.287-9-56-56-14). Over the last four seasons Cain has one season of 135 games played while averaging 123 games played. He’s a 4/5 type in my mind, not because he lacks skills but because he simply cannot stay on the field.

Stephen Strasburg will have a “normal” offseason according to his agent Scott Boras after being shut down with a pronator tendon issues in his elbow. Bullcrap. I’m calling shenanigans. I broke down Strasburg in Injuries, Rosters and Qualifying Offers.

THIS AND THAT

Jose Altuve hit .348 with a .942 OPS against righties this season. He “only” hit .306 with a .885 OPS this season against lefties. Do you know what he’s hit against lefties in his career? It’s obnoxious really. Altuve has 890 at-bats against lefties with a .345 batting average. He also owns a .893 OPS.

Chris Davis was a disappointment to many in 2016 as he hit just .221. Don’t know why that would be a shock since he’s a .250 career hitter and that he hit .196 in 2014. What I would focus on are the 38 homers, 84 RBI and 99 runs scored. Remove the down 2014 season and here’s what we’ve got with Davis.

2012: 33 homers, 85 RBI, 75 runs
2013: 53 homers, 138 RBI, 103 runs
2015: 47 homers, 117 RBI, 100 runs
2016: 38 homers, 84 RBI, 99 runs.

That’s an average effort of 43 homers, 106 RBI and 94 runs scored. He’s an elite counting category producer, even though he’s certainly not consistent from week-to-week and given that his batting average is volatile.

Josh Donaldson hit .284 this season, just slightly above his .278 career mark. He had 164 hits in 577 at-bats. In order for him to have reached the .297 batting average he posted in 2015 he would have needed eight more hits (that would actually get him to .298). There are six months in a season. That means 1.33 extra hits a month, or 1.33 hits per 96 at-bats, would have boosted his average up to .298. Think about that the next time you exalt, or bash, a guy cause his average is up or down .020 points.

Call me crazy, many have, but I’m off to my first Halloween party tonight. I know, you wish you were me. Gonna wear a different costume each time out. When you go out to a couple of parties a year, do you wear the same costume or change things up and wear different outfits?

PLAYOFF NOTES

Trevor Bauer will get additional work on his finger to help him to pitch in the World Series. Sounds like extra sutures will be used to tighten up the cut with the hope that it won’t burst open again. Let’s hope they are successful.

Javier Baez had three more hits in his last outing and now has a .371/.395/.571 slash line in the playoffs. I remember soooooo many people who bailed on him after his struggles last season. #PatienceWithYoungTalent

The Cubs are 0-6 in NLCS games when a win would send them to the World Series. The winner of Game 5 in a best of seven series, with the series tied at 2-2, wins 70 percent of the time.

Jon Lester lowered his ERA to 2.50 in the playoffs. Amongst pitchers who have made 10-start in the playoffs, in the Wild Car era, that is third behind Madison Bumgarner (2.11) and Curt Schilling (2.12).

Kenta Maeda lasted 3.2 innings in Game 5. That’s seven in a row of five innings or less.

Danny Salazar could start in the World Series. I’d be surprised if that happened. If active, I’d expect a bullpen role, not starting.

Justin Turner has gotten on base in 15-straight games in the playoffs. That’s the longest for a Dodger since Carl Furillo reached in 14-straight in the 1950’s.

 

Ray Flowers can be heard Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday, 8 PM EDT, Wednesday 7 PM EDT on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 9 PM EDT PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).