MACK. - IN FOCUS - Bobby Shantz, Pro Strikeout Rate/Antonio Jimenez, Bob Feller, Best Playoff Rotattions, Ranger Suarez

 

‘Boy, what a life’: A visit with Bobby Shantz, MLB’s oldest living MVP, as he nears his 100th birthday

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6571608/2025/08/27/bobby-shantz-mlb-mvp-100-years-old/

They are boldface names with swagger to spare. An October titan with his own candy bar. A high-kicking lefty with his first name on his back. A mustachioed closer who pointed at his victims. Depression-era champions. Steroid-era sluggers. A base-stealing savant who called himself the greatest of all time.

Reggie, Vida, Eck. Grove and Foxx. Canseco, Giambi, Tejada. Rickey. All of them played for the Athletics and won the American League Most Valuable Player award. All of them, and one more.

You will find him in his living-room easy chair in the Philadelphia suburbs, right where he’s lived for seven decades. Bobby Shantz turns 100 years old on Sept. 26. He is trim and tan with a shock of light blond hair, a bad hip, achy knees and a sense of wonder at the heights that a 5-foot-6 dreamer from Pottstown, Pa., could reach.

“Boy, I tell you, I really don’t know,” said Shantz, who was 24-7 with a 2.48 ERA for the Philadelphia A’s in 1952, when he beat out a trio of Yankees — Allie Reynolds, Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra — for the MVP.

CLICK ON THE LINK FOR THE REST OF THE STORY

A Look At Pro Strikeout Rates For 2025 Draftees

carloscollazo@substack.com

One of the numbers I feel most confident looking at when we're still in small sample territory is strikeout rate for hitters.

According to the folks at FanGraphs, hitter strikeout rate is one of the quickest stats to stabilize. They cite a 60 plate appearance threshold, which is by far the quickest of any stabilization rate for a pitcher or a hitter.

That's good to know when we want to check in on the debuts of 2025 draftees and see what's useful to look at. Most of those players don't have a large enough sample of playing time to read too much into.

As of Sunday morning, there are just six hitters who have more than 100 plate appearances. On the pitching side, only five pitchers have thrown 10 or more innings.

At Baseball America last week, I checked in on some of the notable debut performances we have seen so far, but, in this newsletter I wanted to specifically point out strikeout rate for hitters who have crossed that 60 PA threshold. Among hitters drafted in the first five rounds, here are the hitters who have 60 or more plate appearances, sorted in ascending order of strikeout rate:

Kane Kepley, Cubs (56) — 11.2%

Trevor Cohen, Giants (85) — 11.8%

Antonio Jimenez, Mets (102) — 11.8%

Kyle Lodise, White Sox (76) — 18.8%

Marek Houston, Twins (16) — 19.2%

Kaeden Kent, Yankees (103) — 19.5%

Baseball Hall of Famers Who Served During World War II

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/hall-of-famers-wwii.html

Bob Feller – US Navy

Bob Feller was a teenage pitching prodigy who made it to the major leagues when he was just 17 years old, and he was already playing with the Cleveland Indians when he decided to enlist in the Navy. In fact, he was the first professional American athlete to enlist with the US military.

Feller’s beginnings in the Navy didn’t exactly go as planned. He initially intended on being a fighter pilot, but failed the necessary hearing tests. He then wanted to serve on board the USS Iowa (BB-61), but it wasn’t ready to be commissioned. As such, he was assigned to the USS Alabama (BB-60).

After spending time sailing around the British Isles, Feller and the crew of the USS Alabama were sent to the Pacific Theater, where he saw action during Operations Galvanic and Flintlock. He also took part in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, before completing combat duty in January 1945. He spent the remainder of the war serving as an instructor at the Grea t Lakes Naval Training Station.

The Cleveland Indian was awarded six campaign ribbons and eight battle stars during his service, and soon returned to his Hall of Fame career. Later in life, he was also named an honorary Green Beret.

If the MLB playoffs started today, what are the matchups and who has the pitching advantage?

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6599520/2025/09/05/mlb-postseason-rotations-ranking/

9. New York Mets

Perhaps the toughest rank of the group, the Mets rotation “should” come in second-to last, if you use a trio of Sean Manaea, David Peterson and Nolan McLean, and their projected numbers. Two veteran lefties with an ERA around league average and a rookie. Seems like a bottom option.

But wait, that rookie has been a revelation, with the highest-spin curveball in the sport and pitches that bend every which way — not to mention a veteran’s presence on the mound already. And McLean is joined by Tim Lincecum clone Jonah Tong, and now rookie Brandon Sproat is also up. What if Kodai Senga gets right? Tylor Megill has been really good in spots too.

Do you know what the Mets’ playoff rotation is right now?

 

Making the Case for Ranger Suárez as the Top Free Agent Starter

https://www.justbaseball.com/mlb/making-case-ranger-suarez-top-free-agent-starter/

Despite never having reached the 160-inning mark, Suárez is one of just 23 pitchers to throw at least 100 innings in each of the last five seasons. Among those 23, he ranks fourth in ERA (3.22), seventh in FIP (3.42) and ninth in fWAR, despite ranking last in innings pitched.

Did the Phillies Wait Too Long To Extend Ranger Suárez?

Although missed time has been a constant for Suárez, he’s still been able to make a difference in the Phillies’ rotation year in and year out. It would be a lot easier to make this case if it weren’t for the injuries, but it’s still possible because of what he does when he takes the mound.

A Dominant Walk Year

Suárez made his 2025 debut on May 4, and he has since posted a 3.02 ERA and 3.06 FIP in 131 innings. Dating back to the beginning of May, only Tarik Skubal, Cristopher Sánchez and Paul Skenes have a higher fWAR, while Suárez’s 3.6 mark is tied with Garrett Crochet’s.

Those other four pitchers will likely finish first and second in their respective Cy Young races, and Suárez is right there with them.

As for the aforementioned other impending free agents, none has a lower ERA in that span, and only Valdez has a lower FIP (3.00 to Suárez’s 3.06).

Suárez’s success this year is a story of doubling down on the things he was already good at. He may not have the best swing-and-miss stuff, but he is a master of weak contact – this year especially.

        MACK - And… he’s 22 years old