The news and images and videos on this latest round of wildfires in California are pretty scary. All you can do is hope the winds die down and people stay safe.
It’s definitely not worth beefing about a vanity list like this, especially one where Shōta Imanaga shows up at number 4 and Michael Busch is number 17, but I could definitely make an argument that they missed a name:The top 25 rookies of 2024! According to MLB Network: ?⬇️ pic.twitter.com/YxMx2dSjCH
The top rookies of 2024 according to @MLBNetwork: Nos. 10-6! pic.twitter.com/PU0swmkreF
— MLB (@MLB) January 5, 2025 The top five, in reverse order, were Jackson Chourio, Shōta Imanaga, Luis Gil, Jackson Merrill, and Paul Skenes. The guy who doesn’t show up on that list of 25 who stood out to me? Pete Crow-Armstrong. Despite his early struggles at the plate, Pete Crow-Armstrong wound up being worth 2.7 WAR in 2024 (in just 123 games) thanks to his extremely strong defense, extremely strong baserunning, and extremely strong offensive turn after late-July. That WAR was tied for 14th among all rookies – hitting or pitching – and should probably have had him on a list like that. Why does PCA not get the love he deserves for what wound up being a very strong 2024 season? I think it’s a combination of a lot of things: (1) an EXTREMELY loaded rookie class in 2024 made it hard for anyone to stand out, (2) as a very hyped prospect it can be very easy for the narrative to turn on a guy like PCA, (3) so much of PCA’s value came from defense and baserunning, which don’t jazz people up as much, and (4) the ultra-slow start to his offensive ascent held down his overall offensive numbers. Similarly, if we’re talking about guys who actually play full-time center field, PCA is once again an absurd omission here:Let the @MLBNetwork #Top10RightNow lists begin! We start off with the top center fielders in the game. pic.twitter.com/OsEOfEbsMK
— MLB (@MLB) January 8, 2025 It’s fine, in the end. Either PCA – who is still 22, by the way – breaks out in 2025 or he doesn’t. Whether people see it in advance doesn’t really matter. I have high hopes, though. The Giants’ Justin Verlander signing is worth $15 million, per Jesse Rogers, which sounds about right. Hard to say for sure if that takes them out on any other starting pitchers, or whether it has any impact on the broader market, given the somewhat unique situation. I tend to think we’re just not going to see a lot of additional starting pitcher movement until Roki Sasaki’s decision is more widely known (behind the scenes, at a minimum). The Rays have pulled off another rehab-and-then-extend, this time with Drew Rasmussen, who gets an $8.5 million guarantee for his final two arbitration years, plus an $8 million club option for 2027 and a whole lot of incentives and escalators. Rasmussen, 29, is a three-time elbow surgery recipient (two Tommy John’s and an internal brace (which, for our purposes, is pretty much another Tommy John), so you can’t blame him for taking even a modest guarantee at this point in his career. It could all go away very quickly. For the Rays, though, this is a guy who has been dominant when he’s been able to take the mound (2.80 ERA from 2021-2024, albeit in just 295.1 IP), so guaranteeing a little money now in exchange for that club option is a great move. The deal also potentially makes Rasmussen more attractive on the trade market in a year (during which the Rays will have paid him only $2 million), which is something they always have to be thinking ahead about. Speaking of the Rays and planning ahead, the team is playing the 2025 season at the Yankees’ Spring Training home, but their future beyond that remains in limbo thanks to the ongoing negotiations about who is going to pay to fix the roof at the Trop, and about whether the planned new stadium development in St. Petersburg is actually going to happen. It’s a mess. The latest has the Rays pushing to get the roof work completed in time for them to just return to the Trop in 2026, but not mentioning a timeline for getting the new stadium work underway, even though the city and county have finally approved the bonds to fund about half of that project (which was supposed to open for the 2028 season). So are the Rays about to start rattling sabers once again about a move? After a decade of trying to get a new stadium deal approved in the area and finally getting it?ELSEWHERE AT BN: Check Out BN Fantasy | Subscribe to The BN Newsletter
Zach LaVine has kinda been awesome. Tab has a very strong belief in who should be the Blackhawks’ new head coach. Ah. OK:Pete Carroll to Interview For Chicago Bears Head Coach Job This Week t.co/tPAM102fCX pic.twitter.com/1ADToFi67F
— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) January 8, 2025 Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Keep On Underrating PCA, Verlander, Rasmussen, Rays, and Other Cubs Bullets )
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