At Least One Thing Each National League Team Can Be Thankful for During the Holidays
Now that Thanksgiving and the start of holiday season upon us—with many free agents still to be signed—let’s gather ‘round the fireplace with a warm beverage and appreciate at least one thing each National League team has to be thankful for.
Arizona Diamondbacks—Arizona fans had a little taste of young outfielder Corbin Carroll late in the 2022 season and watched him hit .260/.330/.500 in 32 big league games. This came after Carroll had already excelled in AA and AAA. Across all three levels, he hit 27 homers and stole 33 bases in 123 games. He’s the #3 prospect in baseball on the MLB Pipeline Top-100 and should start the season with the Diamondbacks thanks to the new provision in the most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement that awards a team an additional draft pick if one of their top prospects starts the year on the Opening Day roster and wins the Rookie of the Year Award. In his 32 games with Arizona last year, Carroll ranked at the very top of the sprint speed leaderboard at 30.7 feet per second, giving him the unofficial title of “fastest man in baseball.”
Atlanta Hammers—MLB’s Awards Week featured a plethora of players for Atlanta fans to be thankful for, from the top two finishers in the NL Rookie of the Year voting—Michael Harris II and Spencer Strider—to the #2 and #10 finishers in NL Cy Young voting—Max Fried and Kyle Wright—to the #6 finisher in NL MVP voting—Austin Riley—to the #3 finisher in NL Manager of the Year voting—Brian Snitker. As if that wasn’t already enough to be thankful for, I haven’t even mentioned Ronald Acuña Jr. or Ozzie Albies or Matt Olson or William Contreras. This team is loaded with talent. It’s like my grandma’s buffet table on Thanksgiving Day.
Chicago Cubs—It’s not mashed potatoes, it’s simply “Mash” Mervis, a 24-year-old first baseman in the Cubs system who mashed 36 home runs in 137 games across three levels of the minor leagues in 2022. He demolished High-A to begin the year, then crushed AA and AAA before tacking on another six homers in 17 games in the Arizona Fall League. The hype train is running full bore for Mervis coming off his AFL performance, but the prospect lists are much more tempered. MLB Pipeline has him as the #21 prospect . . . in the Cubs system, meaning they have 20 Cubs minor leaguers ranked above him. He may ultimately turn into a rotting pumpkin that’s been left out too long after Halloween (like 2022 Frank Schwindel), but for now he looks like a tasty piece of pumpkin pie with whipped cream on top.
Cincinnati Reds—Coming off a 100-loss season, the Reds have to close the door on the past, open the door to the future, and be thankful for minor leaguers Elly De La Cruz, Noelvi Marte, Edwin Arroyo, Cam Collier, and Matt McLain. These five players are the team’s top five prospects according to MLB Pipeline. Sure, they all play either shortstop or third base, but that can work itself out if they develop as hoped. Elly De La Cruz is the one with the most helium. Going into the 2022 season, he was ranked 77th by MLB Pipeline on their Top-100 prospects list. After hitting a combined .304/.359/.586, with 28 homers and 47 steals in 120 games at High-A and AA, he’s currently ranked 14th by MLB Pipeline.
Colorado Rockies—Daniel Bard’s 2022 season would be a good ending for a wonderful redemption movie that would be perfect for one of those channels that love to show cheesy movies over the holidays. He was originally drafted out of high school by the New York Yankees in 2003, but chose to attend the University of North Carolina, where he won numerous awards. In 2006, he and fellow future major leaguer Andrew Miller led North Carolina to the College World Series, where they lost to Oregon State. He was drafted by the Red Sox with the 28th pick of the 1st round that June, made his way through the minor leagues, and had success in his first three major league seasons, posting a 2.88 ERA and 1.06 WHIP in 192 games as a setup man. The future looked bright for Daniel Bard.
Then came the 2012 season. The Red Sox shifted Bard to the starting rotation and the results were dreadful, as he struggled mightily with his control and was sent back to the minor leagues. He couldn’t figure it out over the rest of that season or the next and was released at the end of the 2013 season. He then spent the next few years bouncing from club to club, pitching in the minor leagues for the Rangers, Cardinals, and Mets. Through it all, he continued to walk too many batters and give up too many runs. It was particularly bad in the fall of 2013 when he pitched for the Criollos de Caguas of the Puerto Rican Winter League. He made three appearances, got one out, walked nine batters, hit three, had four wild pitches, and allowed eight runs. He retired on October 3, 2017.
Three years later, in February of 2020, Bard announced he was making a comeback not long before the world went into lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the pandemic, he signed with the Rockies and had six saves and a 3.64 ERA in 24.7 innings in 2020, then had 20 saves and a 5.21 ERA in 65.7 innings in 2021. Those seasons were just a precursor to his age-37 breakout in 2022, when he saved 34 games with a 1.79 ERA and 0.99 WHIP. The Rockies were impressed enough to sign him to a two-year, $19 million contract that will keep him in the closer’s role in Colorado through the 2024 season. Good for Daniel Bard, may your Thanksgiving feast be bountiful and your holidays be merry.
Los Angeles Dodgers—The 2022 Dodgers set a franchise record with 111 wins in the regular season. This broke the previous mark of 106 wins by both the 2021 and 2019 Dodgers. Oh, and the 2020 Dodgers had a higher winner percentage than any of these teams, but it came in the shortened 2020 season. Overall, they’ve gone 366-180 since the start of the 2019 season, which is a .670 winning percentage, or the equivalent of nearly 109 wins in a 162-game season. That’s amazing. Unfortunately, because they’ve only won the World Series one time during this stretch of ten straight postseason appearances, they feel very much like the 1995-2005 Atlanta Braves (11 straight postseason appearances, three World Series, one championship).
Changes are afoot, though. The Dodgers DFA’d Cody Bellinger, who was the NL MVP in 2019, but hit just .193/.256/.355 (69 wRC+) over the last two seasons. The Turners, Justin and Trea, are no longer under team control. Tyler Anderson has signed with the Angels. Andrew Heaney is a free agent, along with Craig Kimbrel. With all the changes in the offing, it’s an exciting time to be a Dodgers fan. So, as you eat your dinner on Thanksgiving Day, you can look forward to the presents that will come your way over the next few months. Will you get an Aaron Judge or a Xander Bogaerts for Christmas? Maybe a Carlos Rodon by New Year’s? Or perhaps Jacob deGrom will be wearing Dodger Blue amid the pink and red of Valentine’s Day?
Miami Marlins—The only time the Marlins have finished above .500 in the last 13 seasons was the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season, which was also their first postseason appearance since 2003. Despite their ongoing struggles, there is talent here that Marlins fans can be thankful for, starting with NL Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara, who looked like a throw-back to a different time with his 228 2/3 innings in 2022. The next-closest pitcher in innings pitched was Aaron Nola, at 205. Alcantara had more complete games by himself, six, than any other team’s entire pitching staff (Red Sox pitchers had five; thirteen teams didn’t have any). Also showing flashes of brilliance was Jazz Chisholm, Jr., who hit .254/.325/.535 (139 wRC+), with 14 homers and 12 steals in 60 bases. If he can stay healthy for a full season, he could be a 25-HR/25-SB guy.
Milwaukee Brewers—According to TasteofHome.com, the most popular Thanksgiving side dish in Wisconsin is mashed potatoes, which is weird because it seems like mac-and-cheese would be more likely for “America’s Dairyland.” Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich used to be a tasty heaping of mac-and-cheese, but he’s morphed into an uninspiring plop of mashed potatoes over the last few seasons, as his ability to hit for power has reduced him from a 35-45 homer guy in 2018-2019 to a 15-ish homer guy now. He can still get on base at an above-average clip, which is nice, but it would be even nicer if he could put the ball in the air with authority more often. That being said, if there’s one player on this team for Brewers fans to be most thankful for it would have to be starting pitcher Corbin Burnes, who followed up his NL Cy Young Award-winning season by pitching more innings and striking out more batters, a league-leading 243. That’s the second-most strikeouts ever by a Milwaukee Brewers pitcher, behind only Ben Sheets and his 264 strikeouts in 2004.
New York Mets—While the 2022 season was easily the most disappointing 100-win season in New York Mets history, it was still a 100-win season. The Mets don’t have many of those in their past, so their fans should be thankful when they get one. Since joining the NL in 1962, the franchise has just four 100-win seasons (with six 100-loss seasons). They won the World Series in two of those four, 1969 and 1986. In the other, 1988, they lost in the NLCS. Last year’s 101-win team lost in the wild card round, which is why it’s the most disappointing of the bunch. Nevertheless, there are plenty of good things to keep in mind when you gnosh on your stuffing and cranberry sauce on Thursday, Mets fans: Buck Showalter brought stability to the clubhouse, no rat versus possum dispute between their middle infielders this year. Max Scherzer continued on his journey towards the Baseball Hall of Fame. Francisco Lindor returned to peak form, with a 6.8-WAR season, the second best of his career. Edwin Diaz and his trumpet-accompanied entrance into the game was the coolest thing on social media for a hot second. Finally, Pete Alonso hit another 40 dingers, which gives him 146 in his career. Only Ralph Kiner (168), Albert Pujols (160), and Eddie Mathews (153) hit more in their first four seasons.
Philadelphia Phillies—The Phillies had a magical run through the playoffs as the final seed in the National League, making it all the way to the World Series for only the eighth time in franchise history. This is a franchise that goes back to 1883, when they were the Philadelphia Quakers (not to be confused with the NHL’s Philadelphia Quakers, who went 4-36-4 in 1931, their lone season in the NHL). The Phillies have not been a very successful franchise. Their 11,174 losses are the most in baseball history and their .473 winning percentage is better than just three teams, the Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padres, and Miami Marlins. They have just 15 postseason appearances in 140 years, or about one every decade. So when the Phillies made the playoffs, beat St. Louis in the NLWC, Atlanta in the NLDS, and San Diego in the NLCS, they were playing with house money in the World Series. After keeping it close through the first four games, the Phillies lost Games 5 and 6 and their magical season was done. Still, it was a great year and their fans should be as happy as Philadelphia fans allow themselves to be. If they’re looking for even more reasons to be thankful, they have the Eagles sitting on top of the NFC East with a 9-1 record, the best in the NFL.
Pittsburgh Pirates—Before Oneil Cruz came up from the minor leagues, the 2022 Pittsburgh Pirates were not only bad, they were bad and boring. They were still bad after Cruz arrived, but at least they were less boring. Cruz lives on the extremes. He’s in the 100th percentile in max exit velocity, 98th percentile in sprint speed, 97th percentile in arm strength, and 96th percentile in barrel percentage. Those are all very good things to be good at. On the other hand, Cruz is in the first percentile in strikeout rate and in the 3rd percentile in outs above average. On offense, when he makes contact, he absolutely crushes the ball, but all too often he does not make contact. On defense, he’s crazy fast and has an incredible arm, but it hasn’t translated to good defense. He’s a conundrum wrapped in mystery surrounded by intrigue, but at least he makes the Pirates more interesting to watch.
San Diego Padres—After collapsing down the stretch and missing the playoffs in 2021, the Padres rebounded to snag a wild card spot in 2022. Then they took out the 101-win New York Mets and 111-win Los Angeles Dodgers and the only team between them and the World Series was the 87-win Philadelphia Phillies. Alas, it was not to be. The Phillies beat the Padres and San Diego’s season was done. Still, beating the Mets and Dodgers has to feel good, right? One other thing the Padres’ deep run into the postseason accomplished was shaving off 12 games from Fernando Tatis, Jr.’s PED suspension. If he’s healthy, he’ll be back with the team in late April.
San Francisco Giants—After dropping from 107 wins in 2021 to 81 wins in 2022, the Giants may not seem like they have all that much to be thankful for, but they could make their fans happy with an active offseason. MLB Trade Rumors has the Giants linked to such prominent free agents as Aaron Judge, Carlos Correa, Trea Turner, Justin Verlander, Brandon Nimmo, and Japanese pitching ace Kodai Senga. Basically, the Giants have money to spend, needs to fill, and Black Friday is coming quickly.
St. Louis Cardinals—It was supposed to be a farewell tour, with Albert Pujols playing occasionally but mostly getting acknowledged at every stop on the schedule for being the player he once was but no longer is. For three months, that’s how it played out. Through games on the 4th of July, Pujols was hitting just .189/.282/.320. He was a shadow of his former St. Louisan self. Then he picked up a couple knocks on July 6 and three more hits on July 10, which included his first home run in six weeks. The hits continued and he was an above average hitter by the end of July and a well above average hitter after a scorching August. By season’s end, he had 24 homers in 109 games and a .270/.345/.550 batting line. His 150 wRC+ was his best since 2010, which was his penultimate year in St. Louis the first time he played for the Cardinals. Along the way, he passed Alex Rodriguez in career home runs, then broke the 700-homer mark to finish with 703, behind only Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), and Babe Ruth (714). By the wRC+ metric, Pujols just had the second-best age-42 season on offense in the history of the game for players aged 42 or older with 300 or more plate appearances (only Barry Bonds was better, when he finished his career with a 157 wRC+ at age 42). Thank you, Albert Pujols (and a bonus thank you to Yadier Molina).
Washington Nationals—Thanksgiving in Washington this year will be like when a family comes together from different parts of the country with their spouses and children to celebrate Thanksgiving with the parents, except this year the middle daughter went through a divorce and her ex-husband was everyone’s favorite person and always the life of the party. For the Nationals, that ex-husband is Juan Soto, who was traded to the Padres during the 2022 season. Trading such a great young player so early in his career would be like the Angels trading Mike Trout in 2015 or the Cardinals trading Albert Pujols in 2003 or the Yankees trading Mickey Mantle in 1955. Soto still has two years of team control, meaning he won’t be a free agent until 2025, and yet, the Nationals traded him away. So what do Nationals fans have to be thankful for? Let me introduce you to Joey Meneses, a rookie who has an even higher career wRC+ than Juan Soto (156 to 153, small sample size alert!) and who was much better than Soto after last season’s trade. In 56 games, Meneses hit .324/.367/.563. Because he was playing for the 55-107 Nationals, it went largely unnoticed just how good Meneses was in 2022 as a 30-year-old rookie. Given those parameters—30 or older, rookie season, minimum of 200 plate appearances—only one player ever had a higher wRC+ than the 156 of Meneses. That would be Johnny Schulte, who hit .288/.456/.538, good for a 166 wRC+ with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1927. It should be noted that Schulte then had a 76 wRC+ in the remaining 246 plate appearances in his career, which seems like a bad sign for the future of Meneses. In all likelihood, the reality is that Joey Meneses will not hit anything like Juan Soto in the future, but if you’re a Nationals fan these days, hope is all you’ve got.
