Benson with the Reds is striking out 31% of the time. Hard to say he is a gem.

not a gem. won't be a gem. but does some useful stuff too.

What makes a good pitching mound? MLB pitchers dish on their favorites
WASHINGTON, DC - July 08: The baseball sits on the mound for the start of the Texas Rangers versus the Washington Nationals on July 8, 2023 at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
By Eno Sarris
Jul 24, 2023

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It’s preposterous really, the whole idea. There’s no other thing like it in sports. You mean a professional athlete climbs a little hill made of dirt and then does his job from there? And this mound of dirt has to be precisely the same in every major-league ballpark? Ridiculous.

Watch a game of baseball, and the mound probably isn’t one of the things you’ll think about. We’ve gotten over how unique it is because it’s just there, every game. And that might be a shame, because each mound has its own character. No mound is exactly the same, not if you ask the pitchers that use them. The mound deserves some consideration.

We spoke to twelve veteran pitchers — four from the National League and eight from the American League — and asked them for their three favorite mounds around the game. That request sparked conversations about the definition of a good mound, which provided a fascinating look into the delicate interaction between a pitcher, his confidence level, and his physical space on the field.

“One thing that people don’t really realize … is about mound heights around the league,” Blue Jays starter Chris Bassitt said this spring. “Tampa? It’s an absolute mountain.”

Tampa’s mound got a lot of love from the panel of pitchers we spoke to. And it’s not just pitchers. Former Rays third baseman Evan Longoria — now with the Diamondbacks — mentioned the mound back in 2021 when we spoke about what makes that park so pitcher-friendly. It’s also the park that augments strikeouts the most according to Baseball Savant’s park factors, which matches players in and out of the park to see how the park affects different statistics. It’s not the only park that was favored by our panel that also boosts strikeouts.
Rays

9

1
Athletics

8

21
Yankees

5

5
Mariners

5

4
Mets

3

9
Padres

3

8

So why is the mound in Tampa so awesome?

“It’s definitely taller,” said Oakland starter Paul Blackburn.

“Taller is definitely a thing,” agreed Padres lefty Blake Snell. “The way it holds up throughout the game is the best. The mud holds up, and it doesn’t come out, so then there’s a hole and then your foot is dragging.”

As he spoke, Snell was tending to the outer toes on his left foot, inserting a spacer between toes and changing a bandage.

“That’s why I’m all jacked up!” he exclaimed as he spoke about holes in the mound in one of his recent starts. “Now my feet are all messed up.”

When mound holes become too much of an issue, pitchers can call the grounds crew out to fix it. You can see from this video of a Zack Greinke start that the mound isn’t made up of infield dirt. It’s more of a clay.

“Some mounds just have different clay, it feels like,” said Blackburn. “Some clay, San Francisco and New York particularly, it’s hard for holes to be created. Your spikes just sink in it.”

“I’m big on the way my foot feels when I push off,” said Giants ace Logan Webb, who voted the Yankees’ mound in his top three. “In a really good mound, I feel like I can stay in it as long as I need, and some mounds are slippy.”

According to Mets reliever Adam Ottavino, the Yankees’ mound is the winner: “Best clay/dirt in the league by far and also a good visual.”

That last point was an interesting theme that emerged among players. Not only is a good mound one that stays hole-free, but it’s one that has a noticeable “mound feel.” The visual that mound provides changes the way the pitcher feels on top of it.

“The appearance when you step on it — what is the aesthetic look like?” said Justin Verlander. “Does the plate look close or far away? Do you feel like you’re right on top of the hitter?”

But for this aspect of a good mound, there are interactions between the rest of the stadium and the mound itself that make it feel tall. It’s not just the properties of the mound itself.

“Target Field, there’s that backstop all the way around makes you feel like you’re in a hole, makes the whole park feel small,” said Oakland’s Trevor May, a sentiment that was echoed by Snell. “You feel close there,” he said.
Target Field. (Creative Commons / Robaato)

Minneapolis wasn’t the only place where pitchers felt close to their battery mates.

“In Seattle, I feel closer to the plate. It feels like the catcher is just there,” said Blackburn.

And that closeness breeds comfort.

“There’s some places where the plate feels like it’s really close and you have a lot of confidence when that happens,” said Angels pitcher Patrick Sandoval while speaking about Tampa. “I don’t know what it is.”

Confidence and performance often are tough to disentangle. If you look back at that table above, you could see it two ways. Either certain mounds are physically superior in these places — they are taller and steeper and their clay is better — and that’s leading to more strikeouts, or maybe the park is generally more pitcher-friendly and that leads to the confidence to throw in the zone and get strikeouts. Take it the second way, Yankee Stadium stands out as strange, because it’s generally a tough park to pitch in, but it augments strikeouts somehow. Look at it the first way, and Oakland stands out because it’s a great place to pitch, but not for strikeouts.

“(In) Oakland, it doesn’t feel like you’re throwing as hard, maybe the gun is a little slow here — it’s ‘The Humbler,'” said May of the radar gun in Oakland. “But you also have confidence to throw it in there with that big field behind you.”

That seems to suggest an interaction between things as disparate as the radar gun, the foul ground, the closeness to the backstop, the clay in the mound and the height of the mound. It’s almost impossible to define a great mound because everyone has a different definition.

Talk to groundskeepers, and they generally disagree with the idea that there are big differences from park to park. One head groundskeeper pointed out that at the beginning of every homestand, MLB generally checks the dimensions to make sure they are the same. A mound, though, seems a little bit more complicated than a baseline.

“There are dimensions, and heights, of course, but with a slope, it seems like it might be hard to get that exactly the same in each park,” said Yankees pitcher Clay Holmes.

And so we should have some sympathy for the groundskeepers as they try to keep the game mound in tip-top shape. Boston’s new closer Kenley Jansen remembered a situation in Atlanta where a few pitchers complained about the mound, and the crew went to work and fixed it. It’s not super likely that a groundskeeping team would risk rebuke from MLB (or their own pitching staff) by intentionally having the mound be different.

But to say every mound is exactly the same is also definitively not true. One groundskeeper in San Francisco pointed out that there are actually differences in raw height, but not in relative height. Confused? He said it’s a matter of millimeters, but the mound in San Francisco is actually a little higher than the rest of the field — for drainage reasons. Oracle Park in San Francisco is at sea level, and any little bit helps the water wick away. So what did they do to keep the relative heights the same? They raised the home plate area the same amount, as another groundskeeper in the crew confirmed. Again, millimeters, but pitchers swear they can feel these things.

“Oh, it’s so ingrained,” said Boston’s James Paxton. “But we can tell. That’s why you see us when we grab a baseball, if it doesn’t feel right we’ll toss it away because we’re so dialed in. We know exactly what a normal ball feels like.” The mound is the same.

Still, we trick ourselves all the time. Consider Boston. Three pitchers mentioned it as being flat. Paxton had a little more to say on that subject.

“Coming to Boston … I always felt that this mound was a little bit flat, but now that I’ve thrown off it a number of times, I don’t feel any difference between it and somewhere else,” the lefty said. “I think our bodies are just so fine-tuned that we notice just the tiniest little differences, and once you do it a few times, you kind of lose that feel for how different it is.”

Or the entire park is different, and the mound feels different, and then when the park feels familiar, so does the mound.

“I want to feel on top,” said Jansen, who rated Boston as one of the top mounds (though he was alone in that). “When it’s steep, you feel like you’re on top. I hate mounds that are flat. You want to feel the slope. That’s when you’re much more in control. Command and everything is good.”

The mound could serve as a microcosm of how each human constructs their own reality. Do the mounds feel good because the people on them feel good? Or do the people feel good on the mounds because the mounds are good?

“If you think it’s a problem, it’s a problem,” said Paxton of flat mounds. “But if you don’t think it’s a problem, it’s not a problem.”

Ah, nevertheless. From here, without the benefit of precise measurements, it’s impossible to nail it down. On the other hand, it does feel like folly to ignore something that so many are completely sure is a real thing.

Said Bassitt of how tall the mound in Tampa is compared to the rest: “It’s not even close.”

Brewers top prospect Jackson Chourio is on an unconscious tear at the plate

Curt Hogg
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

ATLANTA – The hottest hitter in all of the minor leagues is named Jackson Chourio.

The Milwaukee Brewers top prospect, after a first half featuring his share of ups and downs as the youngest player at Class AA, is scorching hot for the Biloxi Shuckers.

On July 4 – less than a month ago – Chourio sported a .247 average, .303 on-base percentage and .396 slugging percentage, good for an OPS of .699.

Since then, it’s been nothing but fireworks off his bat.

Chourio is batting .439/.500/.818 in his last 15 games entering play Sunday. He has an OPS of 1.318 and, no, that isn't a typo. He has five homers, two triples and six doubles as one-fifth of his at-bats have led to an extra-base hit.

Also of importance from this stretch: Chourio has struck out just seven times.

“At that age, we knew the league would be a challenge for him and he’d held his own,” said Brewers vice president of player operations and baseball administration Tom Flanagan. “Then suddenly, now he’s just kind of kicked it into another gear coming out of the break.”

This month has served as a blaring reminder from Chourio to anyone paying attention that he is still one of, if not the best prospects in baseball. Chourio has been lasering balls to all fields during this stretch while also utilizing his plus speed to make things happen when he doesn’t square it up.


“His exit velocities, he hits the ball extremely hard,” Flanagan said. “The key for him – when he makes contact, it’s gonna go – it starts with swinging at strikes. He’s so athletic he can get to a lot of balls. He’s not really restricted to just pull power or yanking everything. He’ll go to all fields.”

Chourio’s 15 home runs are the second-most by any teenager at Double-A since 2006, only one round tripper back of Giancarlo Stanton’s mark of 16. His 65 runs batted in are tied with Elvis Andrus for the most and his .457 slugging percentage is the fourth-highest of any teenager with at least 300 plate appearances at the level behind only Justin Upton, Mike Trout and Fernando Tatis Jr.

The difference for Chourio, as the Brewers see it, is improved swing decisions of late.

“With young players, I think you’re always looking at it always comes back to plate discipline and swinging at strikes,” Flanagan said. “That’s any player. Jackson’s no different. I think that’s something that stood out where he was doing a decent job in that area and has picked it up. I think it’s been improved.”

Chourio’s streak also coincides with the league the Shuckers play in, the Southern League, switching back from an enhanced-grip baseball it used in the first half to a regular ball. The tacked ball created a challenge for evaluators who could never be quite sure just how much the increased spin and movement impacted performance.

While the inverse is also true – it’s tough to tell how much the switch back to the mudded ball has mattered – it sure seems clear Chourio is thriving off pitches that are moving in a more typical manner.

“It’s hard to quantify, exactly, but I think the pre-tacked ball did have some movement characteristics that were different that our guys weren’t used to seeing,” Flanagan said. “So now that they’re back to the traditional, mudded baseball I think you’re seeing guys having a little more success. I wonder what (Chourio’s) numbers might have been with a traditional ball.”

The Brewers have not been shy about challenging Chourio by presenting him with advanced competition for his age throughout his time in the organization, but they also want to make sure they aren’t unnecessarily rushing him.

While that means it’s unlikely Chourio makes an appearance in a Brewers uniform in 2023, the current trajectory indicates that some point early in 2024 isn’t all that unrealistic.

“It’s one of those things where it’s that old adage of, ‘Hey, the players tell you when they’re ready to move up,’” Flanagan said. “And that’s not saying he’s imminent to go to Triple-A or not, but just to go on a tear like this, I don’t think anybody in the office is surprised at all. You’re happy for him and have to enjoy it when they go on a hot streak like this and tap into something. It’s something that certainly he can build on.”

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Brother Jaison Chourio isn't doing too badly in the Arizona Complex League:

AB 106
R 31
H 39
HR 1
RBI 18
SB 10
AVG .368
OBP .496
OPS 1.015

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He'll probably move right up into our top 5 prospects

Bell homers from both sides of plate, De La Cruz's HR in 9th helps Marlins rally past Reds 5-4

AP August 9, 2023

CINCINNATI (AP) —

Josh Bell homered twice — once left-handed and once right-handed — and drove in four runs,

Trailing 4-1, Bell became the first Miami player to homer from both sides of the plate in a game when he hit a game-tying three-run shot in the eighth inning.

Bell gave the Marlins a 1-0 lead with a second-inning solo shot.

“It was huge," said the switch-hitting Bell, who homered from both sides of the plate in the same game for the first time since he was 11 years old. "I wasn’t sure it was going to go. I hit one to the warning track the last time up. It felt good.”

Bell, a trade deadline pickup from Cleveland, went opposite field with a 353-foot drive into the left field seats down the line for a 1-0 Miami lead in the fourth inning.

“Josh has been awesome, and not just with the home runs, but with his attention to detail," Miami manager Skip Schumaker said. "He’s super-engaged in the dugout. He’s been a vocal leader. He’s been the perfect fit for us.”

Edited:

That's just part of the story.
Both homers were opposite field homers.
He's been hitting the ball hard. One of the double was hit off the wall. Very easily could have been 5 homers.
Safe to say that kind of production would have helped this past week (arm chair quarterbacking)

Josh is 11-35, .314 AVG, .385 OBP, .714 SLG, 1.099 OPS, 2 R, 2 doubles, 4 homers, 8 RBI, 4 W, 11K

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Of all the players to trade, Bell should not have been one of them. Power hitters are hard to come by in Cleveland these days. His numbers here didn't justify being traded. I haven't seen a whole lot of games, but the ones I did see, Bell's outs were hard hit. They just weren't falling. This trade, at least for this year, will come back and bite us. Bell is just one of three players able to put the ball in the bleachers. Ramirez and Naylor being the others. Why would you make that deal? Now we only have Ramirez and Naylor left to depend on.

Josh Bell Makes Marlin History Homering From Both Sides Of The Plate

https://www.mlb.com/marlins/news/josh-b ... n-in-cincy

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Just doing a MLB Ranking comparison between Josh Bell, Josh Naylor, and J-Ram:

Rankings consist of the Top 140 hitters in baseball.

Stats Consist of 581 Players that are on record for 2023 season

Doubles: 15 JRam, 32 Naylor, 69 Bell
Homers: 48 JRam, 80 Naylor, 80 Bell
AVG: 6 Naylor, 22 JRam, 109 Bell
OBP: 29 JRam, 42 Naylor, 86 Bell
SLG: 20 Naylor, 28 JRam, 92 Bell
OPS: 19 Naylor, 23 JRam, 96 Bell

Josh was still the 3rd best power hitter on the team. I still don't get the urgency of trading him when the season is still in doubt and most likely to go down to the wire.

The Twins don't seem to be taking advantage of the Guardians Woes.

So why not go down to the wire?

As we get closer to the end of the season, I think trading Bell this year was a big mistake. We needed at least a third power hitting threat in the lineup.

Who would you depend on down by 1 run, with 2 outs, and a runner on first, in the bottom of the 9th inning to come up with the big hit other than players name Josh Naylor or Jose Ramirez?

I seriously doubt that they will find another power hitter who would have to clear revocable trade waivers to fill this vacancy.

Josh Bell is still a good hitter. Top 20 percentile in all the power hitting categories if my math is correct. I guess that's not good enough.

I'm on record as saying that this was a baaaaad trade.

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Josh Bell was a contract dump.

Point made Joe.

Major League Baseball has officially launched an investigation into social media posts involving Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco, and he has been placed on the restricted list, according to a statement from the team on Monday. Franco will miss the duration of the Rays' West Coast road trip.

Players are not paid while they're on the restricted list.

On Sunday, posts went viral alleging that Franco, 22, had engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a minor.

Franco did not play in Sunday's loss to the Cleveland Guardians and began the game in the Rays' dugout, then left it in the fifth inning, fueling further speculation on social media.

After Sunday's game, the Rays released a statement confirming that MLB was looking into the matter: "We were made aware of the social media posts that are circulating regarding Wander Franco. We take the situation seriously and are in close contact with Major League Baseball as it conducts its due diligence."

[ Just in time in inflict serious hurt on the Guards with that walkoff homer. Go Figure! Murphy's Law. ]

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JOSH BELL



Back-to-back-to-back! Marlins homer thrice in 8th to beat Astros


MIAMI -- Jorge Soler (29), Luis Arraez (5) and Josh Bell (16) hit three consecutive home runs in the eighth inning of the Marlins’ 5-1 victory over the reigning World Series champion Astros on Monday night at loanDepot park.

Soler, who had missed the past two games with a stomach bug, started the power surge with a two-out solo homer to left field off southpaw Framber Valdez. Arraez followed with a tater to right that chased Valdez out of the game. Bell, who was celebrating his 31st birthday, took right-hander Hector Neris deep to right.

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maybe Josh can only hit well for one team a year? Last year he stunk after this trade; this year before the trade.

Anthony Castrovince
@castrovince
·
Aug 14
Josh Bell, who turns 31 today, has reached base safely in all 11 games he has played for the Marlins, slashing .310/.396/.643 with 2 doubles, 4 HR, 9 RBI and 9 runs in that span.