The Chicago Cubs are reportedly signing starting pitcher Shota Imanaga, and we have more on the impact he will have and if it’s enough to replace departing free agent Marcus Stroman. We also discuss if the Diamondbacks should consider a trade with the Boston Red Sox for outfielder Masataka Yoshida, MLB Network ranking Zac Gallen as the third best pitcher in baseball, and more!
Join Derek and Jesse on the PHNX D-backs show!
0:00 Intro
1:50 Shota Imanaga signs with Cubs
8:00 Deep dive on Shota
14:05 Does Masataka Yoshida make sense as trade target?
25:00 Top 10 pitchers in baseball list
44:10 Are the Cubs contenders?
46:40 MLB’s heaviest drinking fanbases
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[Applause] [Applause] D you all and welcome in to another edition of the PHX dbag podcast right here on pnx my name is Derek montia of course I am your mayor of phnx this is your vice mayor also known as thunderstick Jesse fredman Jesse Cubs made a big signing yesterday somebody
Who we were quite interested in and of of course anytime a national league team gets better we have to wonder how is that going to impact us what is that going to do to me how is that going to make me feel is this gonna make me feel
Sad um and I think uh that sh managa might end up being one of those guys that we have a little remorse about missing out on I think he’s going to be a special pitcher in this league and kudos to the Cubs for adding him to their roster yeah I mean we’re we’re
Really just here to talk about your feelings Derek about you know how how you’re doing emotionally in light of signing made most days I mean most days I’m not great uh I’m I’m I’m emotionally stable right now is the best that I could say not happy Diamond Backs have
Eduardo Rodriguez so that’s helping I’m still okay with that I’m still riding high on the World Series appearance for sure but uh much like a lot of Diamondbacks fans I’m irrationally uh panicked about adding more to this team even though we made it as far as we did when I see other teams
Adding these players and especially with how slow free agency has moved uh I get I get a little antsy uh I’m still I’m still waiting for the JD Martinez announcement but uh we do know we talked yesterday about if the Diamondbacks would add some more arms and how they
Kind of are in a position right now where they don’t really need to add any more starting pitching but man would have been nice to add someone of you know with these statistics from from 2023 yeah I I’m amazed at the price tag uh which which is not official we
Haven’t gotten any uh any official news on this yet it seems a little bit more speculative right now but John Heyman did say that he has heard that the guarantee here is around2 years and $30 million which feels pretty light I mean in terms of a guarantee uh to a guy I
Mean I think there were reports recently that the that the contract for imanaga could go north of $100 million so yeah if that indeed proves to be the case that the Cubs are only guaranteeing him two years and $30 million uh that feels like a pretty big win for the Cubs and a
Miss by everyone else potentially yeah I apparently it’s very complicated and there’s like cascading player and team options that could bring the total uh the total dollar value up to around 80 million at least that’s what John Heyman mentioned we’ll see what the where those numbers wind up when all is said and
Done but yeah at first glance if those numbers do prove to be true that’s a much lower price tag than than I anticipated for imanaga for sure it’s the type of thing that we thought we would see with some of these International Players because of the uh
Unknown there right the fact that you don’t know how they’re going to acclimate to Major League Baseball and if they’re going to be nearly as effective as they were in either Korea or Japan coming over and pitching here in the United States that actually makes
A lot more sense than some of the other deals like you know obviously we know Yamamoto is a very good player right but again to to give him the contract that he received did seem like they were very confident that he was going to be able
To make that you know to adapt to to the United States and playing for Major League Baseball I just I have a hard time saying that about any player no matter how good they were in the league that they were from that’s the job of a sports franchise though to to decide
When they want to take you know take that leap you know of Faith essentially on a player and and yeah give them money when they haven’t really proven themselves to be worth that dollar amount right uh imanaga based on what he did uh he I I mean I would say that he’s
Confidently worth more than the deal that you just said if he can achieve that those same numbers here in the United States yeah I mean I I don’t think you necessarily project that right coming over from Japan Japan kind of has this reputation as being somewhere
Between Triple A and the majors in terms of competition level but yeah he was really good in Japan this past season a 280 erra a 105 whip uh a strikeout rate of just under 30% a walk rate of 4% uh we talked about this a while back when
We were thinking about imanaga as a potential candidate for the Diamondbacks his strikeout rate was higher than yoshinobu Yamamoto and his walk rate was lower than yoshinobu Yamamoto uh so you know you figure Yamamoto gets $325 million you’re able to get this guy for you know a guarantee of of 30 million
That 10% of it yeah that feels like you’re in a in a pretty good spot but at the same time you know imanaga is 30 years old he’s not 25 yeah he’s much much not much older coming from me I should never say much older when it’s
Five years but yeah he is considerably older than than yam in baseball years five years is a lot thank you for putting it in like dog years terms I appreciate that you’re still young D don’t worry in baseball years you’re old but you’re still young for the rest of
Us I’m gonna CLI that just for me I’m not putting on social that’s just for me uh but yeah it’ll be interesting to see how imanaga game translates the strikeout walk numbers are very good the stuff on paper is very good there’s been a lot of reporting done about this of
Out of every pitcher who pitched in the world World Baseball Classic imanaga had the highest Stuff Plus uh which if you haven’t heard of stuff plus it’s like this number that I think Enos SAS and some other uh baseball nerds came up with that uh is basically just scaled to
100 so 100 is average anything above that um would be above average anything below that would be below average and uh yeah imanaga his stuff really shined in in the World Baseball Classic his fastball has an extreme amount of vertical ride more ride than apparently any foram fastball of any pitcher in
Major League Baseball uh and he also throws from a really low arm slot he’s he’s a short pitcher uh so I guess I should say his release point is very low as a result of that uh which tends to make that that upward ride a little bit
More effective so there are some some things to like about this Arsenal and to believe that it really could translate to the majors in eight career Seasons he has a sub three er so in his career has a 2.96 erra um and again these aren’t these aren’t terrible numbers like like
Like you said there is some adjustment right like you’re he’s not going to probably not going to put up the same numbers here in Major League Baseball as he did in in the mpb but right I still feel like if you get if you get a 3.5 ra
Out of him like that’s a win if you’re paying that would be a huge win you know I mean that if you’re paying him $30 million over two seasons then that’s that right there you know obviously makes it um you know a no-brainer for any team and I I guess I’m a little
Jealous again seeing that that deal and thinking like I know the Diamondbacks have options I know they didn’t need to go out and get another starting picture but if there was a guy to take a chance on this seemed like the type of player that you would take a chance of yeah I
Mean it it’s really interesting it seems like there’s a it seems like imanaga is kind of a polarizing player uh there’s there’s this this big stuff uh element where people are looking at the fastball metrics they’re looking at you know the movement on the splitter and the slider
And they’re like man this guy has three plus pitches not that many major leag pitchers of three plus pitches and yet there’s also this narrative which I think has been the predominant narrative uh which is that imanaga is a number four five starter he is a backend guy uh
And so it’s hard it’s a little hard for me to reconcile those two viewpoints because they don’t really line up there aren’t a whole lot of number five starters floating around you know who have more vertical ride on their fastball than anyone else in baseball
And have like a plus splitter and a plus like it’s hard for me to square those things the the big downside freem managa the thing that he struggled with the most in Japan was giving up home runs yeah uh he gave up 17 home runs in 148
Innings uh this past season which is not a ton uh by Major League Baseball standards but it’s a lot per npb standards right standards yeah not as it’s more of a contact oriented League not as many guys hit homers Yamamoto for reference gave up two home runs all
Season uh which you’re not holding him that to that standard but 17 by by Japanese stand is a lot and I think there’s this sense that coming over to the big leagues uh you know he might strike out a lot of guys he might walk
Not that many guys but he might give up enough homers that you know pushes him from being a number two three starter to to more of a more of a backend guy uh if you could scroll back there Damon I think it was Castle uh Freeland there said imanaga will put up impressive
Strikeout and walk numbers but when he gets hit he gets hit hard um yeah I definitely see that in the numbers to that up and again that’s still obviously something that’s interesting how it adapts how his stuff and how that that good stuff that he has adapts to Major
League Baseball and if that’s going to result in him getting hit equally as hard here or yeah if it plays differently there’s also the idea that it feels like the World Baseball Classic had a huge impact here on these International Players being able to be seen especially on a team like Japan
That was such a good baseball team collectively they had some success they won the they W the whole damn thing right and then you look at the players on that team and it just allows you it’s it’s again it’s the importance of all of these exhibitions and anything where
Players who might not normally be seen by Major League front offices and Scouts and things like that get a chance to be seen obviously Scouts look everywhere but sometimes it’s just about being on a stage like the World Baseball Classic to get some of those players you know and
And and their stuff in front of everybody’s eyes I think uh kentay stands out to me as an interesting comp here um I I don’t think that imaga will have the durability issues that MAA has had I certainly hope not MAA has been through it over the years had a hard time
Staying healthy uh but we talked about MAA as a potential Target for the Diamondbacks way back when before he signed with the Tigers and his strikeout in walk numbers really impressive he had a 27.3% strikeout rate a 6.5% walk rate this past season those are both really
Really good numbers but at the same time MAA is not a number one or number two starter right maa’s more of a back-end guy and for him a big reason for that is that he does give up a lot of home runs might it was like 1.7 home runs per nine
Or something like that this past year so I think something like a kaya who is more durable and gives you more Innings I think that’s a reasonable expectation but yeah I’m I’m still intrigued here I don’t know if I fully buy into the the number four uh starter expectation that
That a lot of people seem to have it seems like there’s some potential for more than that and given these contract numbers I mean that would be a huge win as we said earlier for the Cubs well there is still some more free agents out there on the market not sure if you’re
Aware of that but things are still moving slowly the New York Yankees have emerged as yet another front runner for another uh top free agent in Marcus strowman but we gotta ask if like are the Yankees gonna close the deal I mean I know they got Wan sto and I know
They’ve made a couple of moves but it it seems right now like the Yankees are the opposite of the Dodgers the Yankees are connected to what is that mean they’re like they’re they’re the big franchise that’s like connected to every free agent player and they’re getting none of
Them I mean well that’s what the Dodgers have kind of been in the past right like the Dodgers are always connected quietly in the shadows and then it’s like oh yeah the Dodgers are also in on this guy and then yeah it’s like the Dodgers signed him you know that’s what this
Free agency period has felt like for sure uh we know the Dodgers are looming over everybody but the Yankees really um I I don’t know like uh there were reports that strowman wanted to go to the Yankees the Yankees didn’t want him I guess now is not the case anymore I I
Don’t know I don’t know what to make I mean when when do you start when when do you start putting how players dress and and what they do and how big their sideburns are impact you know the amount of you know talent that you put on your
Team I just have to ask that about the Yankees stop making everybody shave their faces and maybe you’ll get some quality players I don’t know what to tell you but I wouldn’t sign with them I’m not shaving well I don’t know I look pretty good with the mustache I might I
Might that um but be an ideal I kind of would they’re GNA look at those pictures sign him sign him oh yeah uh well the Arizon what’s that you and Austin walls yeah well hey pal you too watch it do you remember the the good old days when Shawn in the summer would
Be screaming out here on the recliners I miss Sean so much just so mad about Austin Wells mustach I miss Sean screaming is what I should say I just missed sea being in this building and yelling about cheese shops and talking about the atrocities of you know
Banss I guess I don’t know uh but the Arizona Diamondbacks of course again I’m I’m jealous I want more players to sign or I want them to at least make some moves some trades uh to continue improving this team and I don’t even know if they need to I’m just I’m just
Now I’m I I I I just want to add more the more the Dodgers add the more some of these other teams add I want the Diamondbacks to do the same uh Jesse had actually a pretty good idea of someone who maybe they should trade for yeah
This is my idea I it on P it on me uh well according to reports the Boston Red Sox have been looking uh to move a player they have received trade interest in uh ma masataka Yoshida and seem open to reworking their Outfield and potentially trading him so we basically
Wanted to explore if that would be a good option for the Diamondbacks we know he’s a very good player offensively however defensively not so much not so much yeah yeah and I I don’t know if I would frame it as the Red Sox are looking to trade
Yoshida as much as just like people have called on yeah they’ve gotten some interest and the Red Sox are in kind of a bizarre place as a franchise right now where nobody nobody really knows uh exactly what their what their long-term plan is there’s a lot of questions there
Moving forward but yeah if we look at masak Yoshida his numbers from the 2023 season as you said offensively uh there’s a lot to like here right a 289 average a 335 on base 445 slugging percentage uh 15 homers 72 RBI 0.6 uh wins above replacement um and he
Only struck out 14% of the time yoshita makes a ton of contact uh the bat to ball skill is is absolutely there that’s something that people you know expected to translate when he came over to the majors last year and it certainly did um but yeah as you said the there are some
Real defensive limitations here he played 87 games in left field in 2023 and he had minus four defensive run saved minus8 OAA and if you’re wondering how a guy can put up this good of offensive numbers and have uh 0.6 wins above replacement on Fang graphs that’s
Why it’s it’s using those stat cast uh defensive metrics which were extremely poor for Yoshida in 2023 so what would be the option here just more of a DH as far as actually having him play The Outfield yeah you don’t I mean maybe he get a few reps in
The Diamondbacks Outfield uh but yeah he would be a he would be in my mind a a potential DH option for them uh someone who can hit hit both righties and lefties there are there is a decent split there but he still hit 273 347 398 against lefties as a left-handed hitter
So he can certainly hold his own against both uh the big hurdle here is his contract uh he signed a fiveyear 90 million contract last year with the Red Sox uh there’s now four years and $72 million remaining on that deal it’s a million per season you know JD Martinez
Would probably about 18 million per season I I guess maybe there’s some world where the Diamondbacks could spend that kind of money uh but Yoshida is not worth that frankly uh given the defensive limitations that he showed in 2023 uh the Red Sox would have to eat
Money in order to get any kind of value in return for Yoshida at this point um so yeah maybe if this maybe if the Red Sox brought it down to like 10 million a year that the Diamondbacks would ow you know that would maybe work financially for the Dbacks um whether the Dbacks
Would want yoshid for Four Seasons I guess is another question here I’m not sure you want to Lo in a DH that many years down the road we had this conversation about katel Marte just just the other day you know do you want a shorter term DH so that you have the
Opportunity to move him over there if you if you see the need um so yeah there there’s a lot more going against this than going for it if I’m if I’m being totally honest but uh there’s at least some some elements that would make sense it doesn’t match the time either
Timeline really because I feel like what you’re looking for in is is a younger guy not somebody that’s 30 years old and that is going to be a part of the core essentially with Gabby Marino with Corbin Carroll with Alec Thomas those guys that are going to be here then you
Have the shorter time frame which is essentially like the starting pitcher clock you know the the Zack gallon Merl Kelly years that we have left and I feel like right now the main thing you really want to address is that period of time with shorter term deal two years you
Know at the most with a player just because after those guys potentially are no longer part of the team there there not might not be a rebuild that is needed but you don’t want to necessarily commit to Parts like long term like that that that might still be around I mean I
I don’t know the direction they’re going to go I don’t know what’s GNA happen with Zack gon and I know we’re going to talk about uh the MLB Network ranking him very highly which definitely does not help our case to bring him back but
I do I do feel very much like you want to do everything you can to kind of have especially players that you’re acquiring right now match up with you know with the timeline a little bit better like Eduardo Rodriguez sure uh that’s fine I I think and that at least you’d like to
Have one starting pitcher locked in Beyond 202 2025 you know what I mean like it would just not everything has to end in 2025 but yeah I agree with you uh the timeline here with Yoshida the four years I I don’t think that makes a ton
Of sense for the Dbacks uh Conor Mormon said in the chat for 18 million per year give me JD for two years plus no assets given up absolutely um I I do think kind of like I said earlier if this trade did happen which I don’t expect it to but if
It did it would be the Red Sox eating probably a decent chunk of money here the debu there there’s no scenario where they would trade for Yoshida and pay all that contract it would be you know nine or 10 million dollar a year maybe and even then I don’t think you’re giving up
Huge assets because again youra was were 0.6 War this past season uh you know if you’re paying in N9 or10 million a year you’re probably not you probably shouldn’t be giving up really much more than that in a trade um but the projections for Yoshida moving forward
Are are pretty good yeah steamer and Zips both like the direction and they both have him around two wins above replacement at 1.9 yeah uh now is that a reflection of him playing less defense or is that a reflection of potentially his defense being better than the
Atrocious that’s a good question year we had yeah I I imagine it’s probably a a combination of both I haven’t seen their um their their depth charts breakdown and kind of what positions they’re having in play but Zips has them hitting nearly 300 next season and that’s just
296 356 457 from zip seamer 291 361 460 um there there could be there could be potential for yosida to get better moving forward even though he’s 30 years old uh you know this past year was his rookie season in the majors and maybe
He’s able to uh you know draw a few more walks as the years go on you know make a little bit more hard contact um so I I think he’s also a case of what we were talking about earlier though right like the Red Sox gave him five
Years 90 million and it’s not like you said like they’re not trying to move him they’re not actively trying to get rid of him they’re not shopping him or anything yeah they are open to listening to offers on him but they’re not necessarily gonna move him but I mean I
Feel like if you’re paying that much for a player that you know has a0 six fan graphs wins above replacement like what what are you doing here right and that’s yeah I mean the contract is not look good the red so well and that’s the problem is like he’s a great hitter
Right and I mean he his defense in Japan was probably better than this and it’s more of playing defense in in the United States sometimes when a player you know hasn’t played in a league you have no idea what is going to translate well and what isn’t right they could still be a
Great hitter but again if they can’t uh if they can’t be out there as a Defender and offer you that other side of the ball then they’re instantly not worth nearly the amount of money that you thought that they were going to be and I think sometimes defense is vastly
Underrated right when it comes to things like having a minus four defensive run saved in a minus eight outs above average it really shows that you are like pretty significantly behind as far as a defender or or worse than than the league average right so sure I I don’t
Know man I just think that uh for the most part I I agree with you I don’t think it’s a good move it’s a good trade I think Connor was right about the dollar amount plus giving up assets if you’re going to spend that much go get
Solair go get JD Martinez and and don’t give up the assets that you’re going to have to get by all means if the Dbacks have 167 million to spend on a DH this offseason yeah don’t don’t spend it on masataka Yoshida um this would be if the Diamondbacks don’t have 167 million to
Spend and they go to the Red Sox and they’re like hey can you eat half of this for us six can you eat seven yeah and then and then maybe that brings it down in the debox price range and they get themselves a DH who at least projects moving forward to be better
Than you know Tommy fam to be better than some of those lower tier DH targets out there um but yeah the four years thing having four years remaining regardless of what the the aav is that the Dbacks would have to cover that’s a that’s a lot of years it’s probably more
Years than the Diamondbacks would want well thank you guys for being here in the phnx sports YouTube channel if you have not subscribed already make sure to do so sign up for notifications that way you don’t miss when any of our wonderful shows go live uh leave us a thumbs up of
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Those five star reviews uh and make sure you’re subscribed as well uh a great place by the way that that uh I a huge fan of huge fan of lately Jesse is some Burrows and uh that’s because some burrow is now in my neighborhood uh and they are incredible they’re tor are
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Corner uh our friend Karen sent us a picture of a shirt that makes me very much Miss baseball season much like her but once it’s here you know you know where to go you know to go to game time to get your tickets you get get your
Last minute tickets uh at game time because it’s the last it’s the place for last minute ticket deals I assure you I can read and I’m not broken I just sometimes you need to unplug Derek uh wait 15 seconds and plug him back in uh but game time is the fastest grow
Growing ticketing app in the country for a reason of course it’s very aesthetically pleasing very easy to use and of course you can get the best deals on tickets for concert shows uh and of course sporting events snag the tickets without the stress with Game Time download the app create an account use
Code phnx for $20 off your first purchase terms to apply again create an account and redeem code pH H NX for $20 off download game time today last minute tickets lowest price guaranteed we touched on it a little earlier but Zack Gallen was ranked third by MLB Network
On their list of the top 10 pitchers in Major League Baseball which uh was a little surprising I was taken back by it Jesse were you surprised by seeing up that high I was I was I mean we’re we’re kind of used to Zach gallon flying under
The radar a little bit and if anything people underselling how good of a starting pitcher he really is and I I don’t necessarily think that third you know is way too high or anything I I can see how they draw how they drew this conclusion um but it’s certainly not
Like too low right I mean it’s it’s that’s a pretty that’s a pretty good spot for Zach gallon to wind up in you’re not g to get the same energy as the Gabriel Moreno uh ranking yesterday that we discussed but uh this was very surprising I I I have to in taking a
Look at it uh I have to wonder is this more of a reflection of what they feel like they’re going to be in 2024 is this a reflection of just the 2023 season I don’t really know because there’s a lot of Misses here and uh and honestly uh it’s there there there’s
Some people that probably deserve to be on this list that aren’t and again Zack gallon we love gallon I don’t know if Zack gallon deserves to be up that high I definitely don’t think Justin Verlander deserv to be up that high no um but that then that’s what what makes
Me wonder what makes this list they say top 10 right now starting pitchers the list goes for you audio listeners garri Cole Corbin Burns Zack Gallen at third Justin Verlander at Fourth Blake Snell Sai Young winner at fifth Zack Wheeler at sixth Spencer Strider seventh Logan Webb eighth Max freed ninth and then
Sunny gray rounds thing off at at 10th there uh and again uh there’s some some notable emissions Justin steel was very good last year he is not on this list uh there’s uh there’s a lot of guys Kev Gosman yeah Kevin gsman has to be on the
List in my mind uh I mean Kevin Gosman the last three seasons uh 551 and two thirs innings which is up there with pretty much all of these guys and he’s been pretty darn good has a 132 ER Plus uh over these past three years so I
Think Goin has to be here somewhere uh Verlander I agree with you uh what a tremendous career he has had Absolut Still Still Still Still Doing it at 40 years old and still kind yeah like it my at first glance I was like okay it is outrageous for Justin Verlander to be
Number four on this list and the more I looked at the numbers I was like okay I still don’t agree with it but I can understand why they did it over the past three years Justin Verlander has a70 ER Plus which is way better than anyone else on this list it basically
Makes him the best pitcher on this list yeah but granted uh Justin Verlander is now 40 years old and his most recent season is not as good as two years ago not as good as three years ago there is a decline happening here and he was
Still very good in 2023 he missed some starts uh but he still had a low three erra um but yeah I cannot project Justin Verlander moving forward to be the fourth best starter in baseball despite how how incredibly well he has aged over the last few years Zack gallon is one of
The youngest pitchers on this list right but there’s still some other guys Logan Webb Spencer Strider younger than Zack gallon um but what’s interesting is you’re you talk about a three-year average gallon is arguably one of the worst pitchers on this list if you do if
You pull you get that dang 2021 season in there and it kind of messes with all the numbers similar to Blake Snell Blake Snell this threeyear average isn’t great but it’s only because one season really kind of messes things up there for him and then one season was phenomenal you
Know but uh gallon again I I I feel like you know this list and and Elise says this list has a lot of Scott Boris clients near the top a little thinking Moi and she’s not wrong about that I that thought did cross my mind yeah especially especially Blake Snell
Being as high as he is um Blake Snell being fifth on this list look I know he just rattled off like the best 23 start Span in MLB history to end the 2023 season there’s a reason he went from being like mediocre mid- rotation Padres
Uh like aging guy to the sa young winner I mean he was remarkably good down the stretch but yeah still just looking at the full body of work for Blake Snell over the last few years as great as he was in 2023 like I would rather have
Kevin Gosman at the top of my rotation than Blake Snell yeah I know that gosman’s a couple years older but he’s been just way more consistent on a year-year basis and from a volume standpoint Gosman has thrown you know 551 and 23 Innings over the last three
Years compared to to snell being down in the in the low mid 400s so uh yeah Snell should be lower Gosman should be on the list potentially near the top of the list in my view framber Valdez isn’t on this list framber Valdez is pretty good
He wasn’t quite as good in 2023 but he’s 534 Innings over the last three years with a 130 ER Plus I mean that’s that’s right up there with with a lot of the guys on this list he should he should probably be on here as well I mean uh
Snakes on the diamond says I feel like the people who put that list together ignored gon’s second half you’re not wrong about that and maybe even didn’t watch the playoffs that closely uh Justin steel another notable Omission he’s been very good over his last two
Seasons Ki SGA SGA was very good in his rookie season yeah it’s just one year so maybe maybe people are hesitant to like go too crazy with that um but what are we doing like when we go crazy with these lists we should go crazy with
These lists and I mean again in this case Cas we’re almost advocating on the fact that you maybe went to high withs that gallon but if you want to get people excited about lists like this and about Major League Baseball maybe feature a guy that’s a rookie that had a
Sensational rookie season that made him a candidate for Rookie of the Year even on a year where Corbin Carroll did the things he did kod senga was still you know in the mix for that right you’ve also factor in you know I don’t know like yeah I guess I guess that’s the
Case and again Justin Verlander pulling the last threee stats that’s I mean that it it validates him being on this list but at this point do we really want to say that Justin Verlander is going to be one of the top 10 pitchers in 2024 when the season starts I don’t think so
That’s how I think you have to view it is like going into 2024 like who do you want on your team based on recent performance and and yeah Verlander is just not that guy I think uh Sunny gray for as great as he was in in
2023 I I don’t see sunny I I don’t think Sunny gray uh would make this list for me we mentioned a few guys who probably should be on this list like I would probably put both Gosman and framber Valdez on here over Sunny gray at this
Point uh Luis Castillo has a pretty I mean like Castillo is just a solid number one starter year-to year um he does pitch in a very pitcher friendly environment and so I think people might think that he’s a little better than he is in some ways uh but he’s still very
Durable on a year-to-year basis and and has been you know tremendous ever since he he joined the Seattle Mariners um but it’s tough It’s like this year right now in baseball I feel like there are fewer like number one starting pitchers that have like no warts than there have been
In the past yeah right it’s like Garrick Cole stands above everyone else on this list as someone who doesn’t have any kind of like even Corbin Burns at number two he is steadily declined every year for the past three seasons and then Zach gallon with the second half that he had
And Verlander being 40 and Blake Snell leading the league in walks and you know Zack Wheeler being solid but like is he really the second best starter in baseball like I could go through every starting pitcher who’s on this list or even some of the guys off this list and
Point out like some flaws in their game or or some signs of decline well let me ask you this though is that a reflection of how baseball has changed as a game with time because that didn’t really used to be the case when I watched it
When I was a kid right that didn’t used to be the case when you had guys like Greg Maddox out there and when you had some of the elite pitchers in Major League Baseball in during a certain period of time it felt like those guys were Untouchable and yeah now we’re to a
Point where we’re like I don’t know I’d pay a hundred million for a guy with a 3.25 ER right like it’s just not really the same as far as like how good the best pitchers in baseball are and how the you know the gap between the elite pitchers and then the good pitchers
Right uh I I don’t know I feel like analytics has made offensive more potent and has made pitching a little bit more difficult because there’s so much information available out there and and I feel like players batters are understanding the game better now than than they ever have so it makes it
Harder for pitchers to achieve a level of of being great and then staying there because the pitcher the players adapt to you and then if you don’t continue to adapt as a pitcher yeah you’re not going to continue to be at the top of your
Game right and I don’t feel that was the case I feel like back back in the good old 80s and 90s you could just have one pitch that you threw the [ __ ] out of and like they just you know it’s coming you still can’t catch up to it now they know
What angle it’s coming how many you know what the revolutions per minute is you know how where it’s gonna break how it’s gonna do this I don’t even like sometimes looking at Randy Johnson striking people out with his slider you’re like why did you swing at that my
God it was like three feet low and almost hit your ankle and you still saw it coming in at you as a pitch that was going to hit in the strike zone and you swung at it like that’s wild I I don’t know what explains that because I don’t
Feel like pitchers are deceiving batters in the same manner that they used to at one point yeah that’s interesting um yeah I haven’t I haven’t thought about that all that much but I guess I I imagine the data Revolution across the game right now and and what you’re
Saying about players just hitters in particular just having access to so much data about what is going to be coming at them yeah may I mean maybe it does make it harder for for starting pitchers to be consistent on on a year-to-year basis uh we do know for sure that the the
Start I guess is as uh Michael said in the chat the 200 inning starter is going extinct in the next five years that’s a narrative that we do know for sure is that starting pitchers are not not throwing as many innings right uh and Major League Baseball is is considering
Measures to try to prevent the extinction of you know the six Innings seven innings starting pitcher that’s something that they view as being good for the game and and you can certainly understand why like starting pitching matchups are are really important part of baseball and and a big reason why
People Target like certain games is like oh I want to go to that game or I want to watch that game for sure um so yeah I hope for the betterment of the game I hope that uh Major League Baseball is is able to reverse that well and I mean
Yeah like even even though those two men never actually face off against each other having those big starting pitcher Marquee match up are fun right and I mean I I don’t know I I do think that the game is changing I think that even when it comes to the
Success the Diamondbacks found this year with Bullpen games and things like that right like a lot of that is because it’s it’s actually really hard to create generate offense against the bullpen game if if the guys are on point they’re going out there doing their job for an
Inning and then you have to figure out a whole other you know batter the next or another pitcher the next inning right um but I mean I I don’t know there’s still like again there Merl Kelly he was a guy that a big a a big goal of his was to
Hit 200 Innings he was successful at doing that didn’t do that last year due to some of the injuries but Merl Kelly might be considered potentially to be on this list I mean his last two seasons have been very good as well so I mean Elise said it best these kind of lists
Are so subjective that it’s hard to really take it seriously and that’s what it comes down to they’re put on the they’re here for us to argue about they’re here for us to get mad about this is exactly what they wanted once again like just like the mlbd yesterday
We played right into their hands we’re just playing right into their hands and we’re going to do it again with beer sales here in a minute yeah right one one question I do have um which is something we really can’t answer right now but like is Yamamoto on this list
Next year at this time um you know I I I could see a world in which he is I wouldn’t necessarily expect him to be but yeah I mean giv he’s not can we hope he’s not is that okay am I hater if I say I hope he’s not is very fair that’s
What I want in my life I want him to not um am I going to bet against it probably not because he’s a very good pitcher and like Jesse said there there is obviously something to be lost when you come over to Major League Baseball when you have
The incredible stats Yamamoto put up in Japan but hopefully the loss is more significant hopefully we’re seeing like a four er in his future and not being a part of any list like this but I will tell you that you can head over to the
BET MGM app right now and put down some future bets right now if you’re if you’re feeling saucy if you miss basb enough that you want to try to predict the future make sure to do so on bmgm can download the Sportsbook app now on iOS or Android or visit betmgm.com and
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Visit B mgm.com for terms and conditions us promotional offers not available in DC New York or Ontario sucking Ontario Oh I sorry I I saw espo and he got me piped to say that okay that’s their thing I know yeah it is it is he has this beef with Ontario and he likes
To rub it in their face that they can’t use the app there meanwhile we sing Angelic Praises normally about Ontario I feel like we need we need like a pH andx dbx road trip to Ontario we do we do there’s also Ontario California that’s much closer we could just go there I
Know that’s not what they mean in the disclaimer but I mean I’m just saying it’s a nice airport if you’re if you’re picking a SoCal airport to fly into Ontario is not a bad choice I don’t know if I’d want a vacation there the Burbank Airport also very good if you’re flying
In avoid LAX at all the Burbank airport is like it’s it’s like from the 7s it’s like stuck in the 70s the the baggage claim is outside that couldn’t happen in Arizona we know that it’s very strange it is strange but uh I will tell you our
Friends from OG’s has launched two new products with li rosin and Rick Simpson Oil uh that you can get right now that will make uh anything you do in life better uh their OG’s Naturals and the big ogs are now available OG’s Naturals are vegan gummies made with li rosin and
Available in a sweet Clementine flavor meanwhile the big ogs which OG’s made specifically for me is a mega version of pegs raspberry orange RSO which is Rick Simpson Oil uh one of the company’s most popular products it’s prefered into 10 slices so that you can share those
Pieces with other people however uh it’s also just one big old gummy for you to eat by yourself uh don’t let people tell you otherwise uh like freshly squeezed juice Li rosin is created through a pressing process process the highest quality harvested cannabis is frozen and ultimately pressed to extract the
Allnatural live rosin oil it’s fascinating to see in real life Jesse I mean it most people like that don’t know about the like advancements in weed science would be blown away by what these companies do in order to achieve this it’s it’s really fascinating but uh to learn more about OG’s gummies and
Where you can find them head on over to OG’s brands.com now uh and big shout out to all of our phnx die hards if you are not a Die Hard you can join the family over at go phx.com you’ll get a free t-shirt as part of your welcome package
From the phnx locker.com of your choosing as well as all sorts of wonderful benefits including Jesse’s newsletter the access to all of our newsletters all of our content access to our members only Discord Lounge uh discounts with our partners and so much more so sign up today of course the
Discord Lounge alone is worth the price of admission so join the phnx family now uh and get down in 2024 with us says Long Beach is a good airport too long we should we should probably draft Southern California airport yeah that seems like a good off seon we are we going to the
Beach or are we going to Disneyland which oh John Wayne is Orange County John Wayne is Orange County it’s great it’s amazing how many options there are a lot and most people just choose LAX and then they pay more to fly into LAX for a worse experience LAX is the wrong
It’s the wrong choice if you’re flying into LAX you made the wrong choice but Tim Tim said that Ontario Oregon is also a thing maybe we should maybe we do a road trip where we hit all of the on Aros maybe yeah I think I’m I think I’m
Down awesome it’s a massive Road triping the song in each in each Town you’re going to Oregon soon so you’ll be able to scout it out right is you’re going on one of the I’m going to Portland I I don’t think uh it looks like Ontario Oregon is basically Idaho
So I’m not I’m not really gonna be on that side well when I go visit my friend Josh who is a phnx die hard I will make sure to go check out onario Canada is like where Buffalo is yeah that’s not a easy Drive the road trip that we trying
To realistically warn us this is a bad idea like if Jesse and I are about to set out on this Venture tomorrow we’re going to the Pacific Northwest and then going across all of North America can we stop at bamp in Canada I want to go B we
We can make some great all right well uh I guess we never answered the question that we I guess posed to start this show or uh I guess to headline this show but going back to the Chicago Cubs we know that uh they weren’t really a problem for the Arizona Diamondbacks the way
Almost a problem they were almost a problem but we kind of steamrolled them there at the end of the season but right that is true but the Cubs uh are does does this make the Cubs a contender and especially with what we discussed also with potentially them losing Marcus
Strowman it looks like they’re going to lose Marcus strowman probably does the does the initi addition of imanaga make up for the loss of strowman and does that continue to make them a contender in the National League yeah it’s an interesting question uh this is a move
That I think they had to make they had to they had to get a starter to replace strowman if they weren’t bringing strowman back that seems pretty clear I still think they need a bat uh you can’t just let Cody Bellinger have the kind of
Season he had and then lose him in free agency and not replace him he was a really big part of the Cub success in 2023 obviously replacing Cody Bellinger simply could be uh signing Cody Bellinger right that would would be that would be one way to go about that I
Don’t know if that’s on their radar at all but um that’s a pretty good way that’s like how we replace lordis guriel Jr with lordis guriel J yeah it’s a pretty solid way to you know if you’re trying to although it I mean with Bellinger it’s interesting because I I
Don’t really think that if you did bring Bellinger back that I would expect him to do what he did in 2023 so it might not be as as uh even of a replacement as you would think but um yeah it’s interesting the the NL Central is not a good division
Uh very poor division uh you know I think the AL Central is probably worse but the NL Central is is right right up there with it um the St Louis Cardinals I think I see as the best team in the NL Central as as crazy as that might sound
After the season they just had I still look at that roster and I I see a team that I don’t expect them to win 90 95 games necessarily but I do think the Cardinals are are the best team in the central today um but I you know you fool
The Reds and the Brewers are are still in there I you know they both seem like right around 500 teams to me could maybe uh get above that depending on how the rest of the offseason goes and I think the Cubs are kind of in that same place
For me right now if they did bring back Bellinger if they do add a big bat um that that could that would probably at least in my mind make them a better a more formidable team than the Brewers and the Reds I still might prefer the
Cardinals at that point but in the Wild Card race I think the Cubs have chance uh and in the division I think they also have a chance given the lack of talent there but they need to make they need to make another move they need to add at
Least one bat for me to really put them really cement themselves into the postseason conversation well we do kind of come even with the Chicago Cubs when it comes to one important factor Jesse yeah and that is which MLB fans drink the most I don’t think this
Counts for drinking at home home I don’t believe this accounts uh for drinking in the parking lot definitely for sure based on where the Philadelphia Phillies are at but if we could take a look at this graphic what you’ll see here is that according to this graphic Chicago
White fan white socks fans indeed drink the most uh with an average of 4.2 drinks per game spending on average $46 per game on alcohol is that that’s one fan 4.2 drinks per game one fan on average drinking 4.2 drinks per game while at the game that’s a lot that’s a
Little concerning that’s a lot meanwhile the Diamondbacks tie with the Cubs for I don’t know I’m not going to count all the way down there they’re about the middle of the pack probably like 12th or 13th somewhere around there 3.4 uh drinks per game but you know what
These other teams can’t hang with us on even close besides maybe like the twins is the average spent on alcohol because we know the Diamond Backs are are just killing every other team when it comes to Affordable cost of of of drinks here in Arizona so your your 3.4 drinks are
Costing you on average almost $20 less than the Chicago Cubs fans are paying for their 3.4 drinks at rley field yeah I mean at Chase Field it does seem I’m not one to you know go around the ballpark looking for beer especially when I’m working but um it seems like
There is a big distinction between like the value beer and and some of the other beers around the BK not every beer atfield is necessarily super affable uh but yeah on the whole the Diamond Backs make that available the value beer is a big factor value beer I think it’s like
$8 and yes it’s it’s a small guy but sometimes people just want to they just want to sip on a beer they’re not looking for a tall boy they’re not trying to go out there and get smashed um especially you know here uh now the one thing we need to address is the
Phillies being at the bottom of that list they are averaging 2.4 drinks per game and spending $23 on average on alcohol Which is less than your average Diamondbacks fan a clear explanation there’s a clear explanation they’re tailgating out front they’re pregaming and they’re coming into the game’s drunk
And obviously we’ve seen that based on some of the interview videos uh afterwards but I think Jesse can attest to this even on some of his interactions with fans upon entering the game Jesse doesn’t go in five minutes before the game folks Jesse is going in four hours
Five hours before the first pitch is thrown and you’re already out there drunk what is happening where I really experienced the drinking habits of Phillies fans was in the Phoenix Airport after one of the after one of the NLCS games uh this is when the series was
Going back to Philly I think I’ve told this story on the show before but there were several people there were a lot of people on this flight uh who were Philly’s fans who were just coming over from the game there were several other reporters as well it was like we all
Went from Chase Field to the airport um checked out of your hotel already you were going home tonight you just and there were several Phillies fans that were not allowed on the plane because they had a little bit too much fun at the Ballpark as one of the flight
Attendants said on on the plane so that’s delightful granted it’s a postseason game like those fans made the trip all the way to Arizona they were there to have a good time I get it yeah um but yeah there’s probably some tailgating happening for for those Phillies home games that and see that’s
The thing is is that I uh as much as I want to believe that is incorrect that seems to track um so anyway that’s uh that’s you know how things break down but uh definitely make sure that when you go out to the ballpark get yourself
Some beers uh help help increase that I guess I don’t know we want to be number one at everything don’t we is it a good I mean is it good if your team is number one because I view the white socks being number one on that list is like yeah
Well you’re watching the white socks you probably do need a couple more drinks right I don’t know if that’s necessarily A you know a positive thing for your franchise are the white socks like Loki Jesse’s least favorite team he he only ever like he loves to the white he only
Shoots shots at the white so I did make a joke about was there was a report about the white socks moving to Nashville and I was like oh but but Nashville already has a triaa team that’s what I’m saying always it’s always I do throw more shade at the
White so he do he does they’re a pretty easy team to throw shade at let’s let’s uh let’s be real here I would love to know the impact of Edibles on this list as well but that’s a whole other scientific process that we would have to
Figure out of course uh well we thank you guys of course for stopping by uh we will be back tomorrow tomorrow is tomorrow Thursday Jesse I think tomorrow’s Thursday do we do we want to unveil who our special guest is for Thursday since we talk about him so
Often I I don’t know you think we should yeah I mean or what I could do is have I have an AI generat prompt ready to go and I will just go ahead and write in there like uh and create a video of Jesse telling everybody that Dan zorski
From Fang grafts is gonna join us on the show on Thursday at 1 pm yeah yeah uh Dan is the he is the Mind behind the uh the madness that is Zips which we talked about on the show last week it’s still crazy to me to think of having your name
On mlb.com’s glossery of terms as like a zimorski projection system yeah the Z is the part that’s like molded just toind that’s what I aspire to dere I really want some some version some knockoff of my last name being in the mlb.com glossery the fredman system and yeah but
What is it what am I going to do we’ll figure it out I can’t come up with a most important thing we start there and then we’ll go from there you got to get more familiar with AI in order to be on zimorski level that’s for sure but what
If my projection system is just like me just writing down numbers there’s no actual computer models it’s just you give me the name of a player I write down like yeah he’s probably going to hit like 266 109 Ops plus there you go follow this guy who uh on NBA Twitter he
Made up like a fake stat and started just saying that like these players were here was the rankings of this stat and it just sounded like an advanced statistic so did he get it to catch on in real like NBA Twitter people were like using it in their arguments that
See that’s something we can make happen it is unfortunate how easy it is I mean you know I love trouble and you love just stats enough just to be in on that so quantifying things so like if they have any ability to they’ll be like well
He’s sixth in W xba plus and you’re like people just love quantifying things Damon frell that’s it we’re GNA we’re gonna hang that on the wall I love it right next to Max saying of the shoulder is the window to the face I think is
What she said oh yeah yeah we got some good we got some good motivational posters to make for go phx.com anyway we thank you guys for stopping by of course make sure to follow us on Twitter for more of this exciting banter I am at capore ceman with the K this Maniac next
To me is at Jesse n fredman Damon of course is the people’s producer you can find him at Damon dog that’s dawg we are Damon’s dogs bar bark our show is at phnx Dbacks but of course of course all roads do lead to phnx Sports on Twitter
Instagram and Facebook we thank you guys so much for stopping by by we appreciate your time uh we’ll see you tomorrow at 1 pm. with Dan zorski here with us probably not in studio that’s probably a long flight you don’t he on the East Coast we’ll just have him zoom in but of
Course we’ll be back tomorrow one we hope you guys join us in the meantime we thank you for your time today uh and appreciate you remember kids baseball is fun but it’s so much more fun when you don’t lead the league in drinks per person we all sitting like the mayor
