bobrob2004

Bobrob’s 2022 Preseason Prediction #12 – Matthew George Manning If it weren’t for several injuries, Matt Manning likely wouldn’t have pitched much at the Major League level last year. He was called up in mid-June and stayed in the rotation for the rest of the season, although his innings were limited in September. He showed signs of brilliance (in his last start he pitched 5 innings, allowing 2 hits and 7 strikeouts). However, he was wildly inconsistent, ending with an ERA of 5.80. There are signs that Matty’s (Manny? Georgy? Ziggy? Let’s give him a good nickname) ERA was unfortunately high. His FIP was only 4.62. Also, his left-on base percentage was a very low 61.9 percent, while the league average was at 72.1 percent. Typically, pitchers are not that far away from the league average, so given a bigger sample it is likely that this stat would even out, which will result in a lower ERA. Manning’s shinning stat in 2021 is his low 1.1 HR/9 rate. His walk rate (3.5 BB/9) is higher than he showed in AAA (2.8 BB/9) and AA (2.6 BB/9), so an improvement is very likely. His 6.0 K/9 was a bit disappointing considering that it was at 10 K/9 in both AAA and AA and 11 K/9 overall in the Minor Leagues. It may not go over 9.0, but I would expect this stat to increase in 2022 as he gains experience. Manning throws several pitches, including a 4-seam fastball, sinker, slider, changeup, and curveball. The slider was his poorest pitch in 2021, throwing it 15.2 percent of the time and allowing an opponent’s batting average of .371 and a slugging of .468. His changeup could also use an improvement, throwing it 12.7 percent of the time and allowing an opponent’s batting average of .293 and slugging of .488. It’ll be interesting to see what adjustments he makes in 2022. Going into 2022, the Tigers could go with a 6-man rotation of Rodriguez, Mize, Skubal, Pineda, Manning, and Peralta, with Alexander making some starts. The Tigers have a deeper rotation than they have in the last few years and could afford to send Manning down to AAA for more seasoning if he struggles early on (provided everyone avoids major injuries). On the flip side, I can easily see Manning improving so much that he outperforms Mize and Skubal. It’s really a coin flip at this point. Experts’ Predictions/Projections: Steamer – 123 IP | 7-9 W/L | 4.88 ERA | 1.43 WHIP | 93 K | 44 BB ZiPS – 121 2/3 IP | 7-8 W/L | 4.59 ERA | 1.41 WHIP | 94 K | 42 BB THE BAT – 121 IP | 7-11 W/L | 5.06 ERA | 1.42 WHIP | 87 K | 41 BB ATC – 121 IP | 6-8 W/L | 4.76 ERA | 1.38 WHIP | 93 K | 42 BB FGDC – 114 IP | 6-8 W/L | 4.75 ERA | 1.42 WHIP | 87 K | 40 BB RotoChamp – 119 IP | 6-9 W/L | 4.76 ERA | 1.40 WHIP | 90 K | 41 BB CBS Sports – N/A ESPN – 134 IP | 6 Wins | 4.57 ERA | 1.41 WHIP | 101 K | 46 BB My Prediction: 2021 Prediction – N/A 2021 Actual – 85 1/3 IP | 4-7 W/L | 5.80 ERA | 1.51 WHIP | 57 K | 33 BB 2022 Prediction – 131 2/3 IP | 7-9 W/L | 4.65 ERA | 1.352 WHIP | 111 K | 43 BB

Now compare Miggy's current contract to his previous one.

That's awesome that you don't need a subscription to watch the games. Are these replacing the YouTube games or will they still have those as well?

Neither of them are on the 40-man roster...yet.

Bobrob’s 2022 Preseason Prediction #11 – Tucker Jackson Barnhart Wilson Ramos was supposed to be the starting catcher in 2021. They needed an offensive upgrade and called up Eric Haase, who hit .231/.286/.459 with 22 home runs in 381 AB. He caught in 64 games (while also playing some outfield and DH). Jack Rogers was the primary backup, catching 36 games (Grayson Greiner and Dustin Garneau also caught some games). However, Haase and Rogers ranked rather poorly in pitch framing; Hasse was at -6 runs and Rogers was at -3 runs. This ranked 56th and 49th out of 59 qualified catchers. Enter Tucker Barnhart, who ranked 7th at 5 runs saved. Barney isn’t going to wow anyone on offense. His wRC+ has always been below average, around 78-88 over the last few years. As he is now on the other side of 30, there’s some concern of a decline. His walk rate has always been above average until 2021. It went from 12.1 percent in 2019 to 7.5 percent in 2021. His power also took a bit of a dive, going from .149 ISO in 2019 to .121 ISO in 2021. I can see an increase in doubles and triples, but I wouldn’t expect to see double digits in home runs. His batting average was at .247 in 2021, but even that he may not be able to repeat. His BABIP was at .324, the highest of his career. It was at .278 in 2019 and his career mark is .295. Finally, his strikeout rate continues to go up at a rather alarming rate, going from 16.1 percent in 2017 to 18.4 percent in 2018 to 22.8 percent in 2020 to 25.8 percent in 2022. Fortunately, the Tigers got Barnhart for his defense. Along with his elite pitch framing, he had a 28 percent caught stealing rate, which ranked 5th among catchers with at least 800 innings last year (behind Salvador Perez, 44 percent, Yadier Molina, 41 percent, Martin Maldonado, 40 percent, and Buster Posey, 31 percent). I would expect a decrease in most of his offensive numbers for 2022, but as a trade-off, the Tigers pitching should be greatly improved. Experts’ Predictions/Projections: Steamer – 305 AB | .229/.307/.350 | 7 HR | 32 RBI | 1 SB | 31 BB | 80 K ZiPS – 340 AB | .229/.303/.335 | 6 HR | 35 RBI | 0 SB | 33 BB | 87 K THE BAT – 346 AB | .220/.298/.339 | 8 HR | 37 RBI | 0 SB | 36 BB | 95 K ATC – 350 AB | .226/.301/.348 | 8 HR | 39 RBI | 0 SB | 34 BB | 93 K FGDC – 330 AB | .229/.305/.343 | 7 HR | 35 RBI | 1 SB | 33 BB | 86 K RotoChamp – 340 AB | .226/.304/.350 | 8 HR | 38 RBI | 1 SB | 34 BB | 91 K CBS Sports – 425 AB | .242/.305/.372 | 11 HR | 55 RBI | 0 SB | 36 BB | 127 K ESPN – 349 AB | .218/.300/.327 | 7 HR | 40 RBI | 0 SB | 37 BB | 92 K1 My Prediction: 2021 Prediction – N/A 2021 Actual – 348 AB | .247/.317/.368 | 7 HR | 48 RBI | 0 SB | 29 BB | 100 K 2022 Prediction – 321 AB | .227/.301/.352 | 6 HR | 38 RBI | 0 SB | 31 BB | 95 K

I wouldn't be surprised if Joe Jimenez doesn't make the team.

Bobrob’s 2022 Preseason Prediction #10 –Michael Francisco Pineda Paulino Even with the signing of Eduardo Rodriguez, the Tigers still needed starting pitching depth. And they got it by signing Michael Pineda and resigning Wily Peralta. Pineda has a career ERA of 3.98 and last year it was at 3.62. However, he only pitched just over 109 innings in 2021 and hasn’t exactly been healthy throughout his career. He has only started 30+ games once in his career, in 2016. Big Mike missed all of 2018 due to Tommy John surgery but started 26 games in 2019 with pretty good results. He only pitched in 5 games in 2020 while he was serving a suspension after testing positive for a banned substance but bounced back again in 2021 with 22 games pitched, again with pretty good results. In fact, his 2019 and 2021 seasons were similar in a lot of ways. 2019 – 146 IP | 4.01 ERA | 23.3% K% | 4.7% BB% | 13.5% HR/FB | 4.02 FIP 2021 – 109 1/3 IP | 3.62 ERA | 19.2% K% | 4.6% BB% | 13.1% HR/FB | 4.21 FIP The stats imply a bit of good fortune for Pineda in 2021 as his ERA was better than his FIP. The concerning stat is the declining strikeout rate. Pineda is entering his age 33 season and his average fastball velocity was only 90.9 MPH in 2021, down from 92.6 MPH in 2019. Naturally as pitchers age, they lose velocity. Therefore, it’s not at all surprising to see a declining strikeout rate. I wouldn’t expect him to be above 8 K/9 again. Pineda throws a 4-seamer, changeup, and slider. He relied on his fastball 54.2 percent of the time in 2021. This is consistent with previous years as he threw it 51.9 percent in 2019. Despite his loss in velocity, his movement improved, 19 inches of vertical drop in 2021, which was up from 18.5 inches in 2019. His slider vertical movement (37.4 to 40.9) and changeup vertical movement (27.6 to 29.3) also improved from 2019 to 2021. However, this didn’t directly improve any results. Whiff rate went down 25.5 percent in 2019 to 22.1 percent in 2021 and hard hit rate went from 37.4 percent in 2019 to 46.7 percent in 2021 (according to Baseball Savant). Going into 2022, the worst case scenario is another Jordan Zimmermann situation, who also was a few years removed from Tommy John surgery when the Tigers acquired him while also facing a loss in velocity. Luckily for the Tigers, Pineda doesn’t have a huge contract and we have some depth to replace Pineda if he struggles too much or gets injured. It’ll be interesting to see any adjustments he makes this year as I think he needs to change something. Experts’ Predictions/Projections: Steamer – 154 IP | 8-11 W/L | 4.83 ERA | 1.35 WHIP | 117 K | 39 BB ZiPS – 109 IP | 8-7 W/L | 4.29 ERA | 1.24 WHIP | 91 K | 22 BB THE BAT – 136 IP | 7-11 W/L | 4.94 ERA | 1.35 WHIP | 105 K | 37 BB ATC – 136 IP | 9-9 W/L | 4.40 ERA | 1.24 WHIP | 111 K | 31 BB FGDC – 148 IP | 9-10 W/L | 4.57 ERA | 1.30 WHIP | 118 K | 34 BB RotoChamp – 138 IP | 8-9 W/L | 4.57 ERA | 1.29 WHIP | 110 K | 33 BB CBS Sports – N/A ESPN – 127 IP | 7 Wins | 4.25 ERA | 1.23 WHIP | 109 K | 28 BB My Prediction: 2021 Prediction – N/A 2021 Actual – 109 1/3 IP | 9-8 W/L | 3.62 ERA | 1.235 WHIP | 88 K | 21 BB 2022 Prediction – 122 IP | 7-9 W/L | 4.43 ERA | 1.238 WHIP | 96 K | 25 BB

Personally I'd switch Greene and Torkelson. Schoop will likely slide between Candelario and Miggy.

I believe all Spring Training games are free on MLB.com.

Bobrob’s 2022 Preseason Prediction #9 – Jonathan Rufino Schoop After his breakout year in 2017, Jonathan Schoop has only been below average once, in 2018 (80 wRC+). For 2021, Schoop hit .278/.320/.435, good enough for a 105 wRC+. Aside from the power numbers, he had almost exactly the same batting line in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, .278/.324/.475. However, it took him a while to get going as he only hit .198/.230/.284 in 24 games in March/April. He would then hit .340/.379/.698 in 26 games in the month of June, so his numbers eventually evened out. Here are his splits from before and after the All-Star break: First Half – 368 PA | .277/.321/.466 | 16 HR Second Half – 306 PA | .278/.320/.398 | 6 HR The one stat that immediately stands out is the declining power. Mamba’s ISO has consistently been around .185-.210 for most of his career, but it was only .157 in 2021. His home run to fly ball ratio was only 10.7 percent last year, the lowest it has ever been. His overall home run rate was 3.3 percent, down from 5 percent in 2019 and 4.5 percent in 2020 and the lowest it’s been since his rookie season. As Schoop is entering his age 30 season, this could be the first sign of exiting his prime years. The more encouraging stats are his walk (5.5 percent) and strikeout rates (19.7 percent), both of which are the best they’ve ever been in his career. While his walk rate is still way below league average, the only other time it was above five percent was in 2017. And his strikeout rate has never been below 20 percent before 2021. The other encouraging stat is the number of games played, 156. The last time he healthy enough to play this many games in a full season was in 2017 with 160 games played. Schoop was forced to play first base for the first time in his career last year, and he was average at best (learning a new position may have affected his batting, which explains his slow start). He ranked 15th out of 21 qualified first basemen in UZR at -1.4 and 14th in range with a .774 RZR. Hopefully Spencer Torkelson is ready to play first base this year and Schoop can go back to his natural position at second base. If not, he may need to play first base at the start of the season while Willi Castro or Cody Clemens plays second. He’s at an age where his defense will likely not improve, but the first base experience will likely not affect his batting. At the same time, he’s at an age where his power numbers could go either way. His second half of last year could just be a fluke, or the start of his decline. Experts’ Predictions/Projections: Steamer – 574 AB | .264/.311/.441 | 23 HR | 77 RBI | 2 SB | 32 BB | 127 K ZiPS – 569 AB | .265/.307/.436 | 22 HR | 74 RBI | 2 SB | 28 BB | 121 K THE BAT – 549 AB | .264/.315/.440 | 22 HR | 74 RBI | 1 SB | 34 BB | 120 K ATC – 551 AB | .263/.309/.437 | 22 HR | 74 RBI | 2 SB | 31 BB | 123 K FGDC – 565 AB | .264/.309/.438 | 22 HR | 75 RBI | 2 SB | 30 BB | 123 K RotoChamp – 559 AB | .265/.308/.438 | 22 HR | 74 RBI | 2 SB | 31 BB | 123 K CBS Sports – 526 AB | .279/.326/.443 | 19 HR | 68 RBI | 2 SB | 30 BB | 112 K ESPN – 593 AB | .263/.306/.432 | 23 HR | 77 RBI | 2 SB | 31 BB | 134 K My Prediction: 2021 Prediction – 425 AB | .240/.281/.409 | 19 HR | 61 RBI | 1 SB | 20 BB | 109 K 2021 Actual – 623 AB | .278/.320/.435 | 22 HR | 84 RBI | 2 SB | 37 BB | 133 K 2022 Prediction – 578 AB | .268/.308/.424 | 21 HR | 75 RBI | 1 SB | 31 BB | 130 K

Bobrob’s 2022 Preseason Prediction #8 –Tarik Daniel Skubal Just like Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal stepped up in his first Major League season and put up pretty good numbers with a 4.34 ERA, 8 wins, and 164 strikeouts in 149 1/3 innings. Most impressive is the strikeouts with a 9.9 K/9, showing that his 10.4 K/9 in 32 innings in 2020 was not a fluke. Only Matt Boyd was able to have a K/9 of over 9 on the Tigers over the past 4 years (2019, 2020). Also like Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal doesn’t have a nick-name and his major flaw is the home run ball. Skubal allowed 35 home runs last year, 3rd most in all of baseball. That is a lot considering he pitched less than 150 innings and didn’t pitch enough to show up on the qualified list. Therefore, his FIP was almost a full run higher than his ERA at 5.09. His xFIP, which uses league average home run rate, is more respectful at 4.06. If Skubal can decrease his home run rate, he should be able to duplicate his ERA from 2021. If not, there’s a good chance that his luck will run out. However, there are a few examples of pitchers who consistently out-performs their FIP, so we’ll have to wait and see after a bigger sample. I think Skubal might be relying too much on his 4-seam fastball. He throws it almost 43 percent of the time and hitters have a .291 AVG/.611 SLG against it. He also throws a changeup, almost exclusively to right-handed batters, and they only hit .176 AVG/.294 against it, with a 40 percent strikeout rate. Yet, he only threw it 12 percent of the time. Overall, right-handed batters had a .808 OPS against Skubal. Being a southpaw, he was naturally better against left-handed batters with a .675 OPS against. Going into 2022, it is clear that Skubal needs to make some adjustments. According to Baseball Savant, aside from the 4-seam fastball and changeup, he also throws a slider (23 percent), sinker (13 percent), curveball (7 percent) and split-finger (2 percent). This may be too much of a variety, especially considering that he throws his 4-seamer over 40 percent of the time. Only entering his age 25 season, he’s likely still experimenting and tinkering with his arsenal. He may need to sacrifice some strikeouts if it means less home runs. Hopefully he has learned what works and what doesn’t and has more confidence in his off-speed stuff going forward. Experts’ Predictions/Projections: Steamer – 158 IP | 10-10 W/L | 4.14 ERA | 1.25 WHIP | 170 K | 53 BB ZiPS – 148 1/3 IP | 10-10 W/L | 4.25 ERA | 1.27 WHP | 160 K | 49 BB THE BAT – 163 IP | 9-12 W/L | 4.63 ERA | 1.31 WHIP | 170 K | 56 BB ATC – 159 IP | 9-10 W/L | 4.10 ERA | 1.24 WHIP | 175 K | 53 BB FGDC – 153 IP | 10-10 W/L | 4.19 ERA | 1.26 WHIP | 164 K | 51 BB RotoChamp – 155 IP | 9-11 W/L | 4.41 ERA | 1.26 WHIP | 167 K | 51 BB CBS Sports – 147 IP | 8-11 W/L | 3.98 ERA | 1.24 WHIP | 138 K | 41 BB ESPN – 162 IP | 9 Wins | 4.11 ERA | 1.23 WHIP | 184 K | 53 BB My Prediction: 2021 Prediction – 32 IP | 1-4 W/L | 5.63 ERA | 1.219 WHIP | 37 K | 11 BB 2021 Actual – 149 1/3 IP | 8-12 W/L | 4.34 ERA | 1.259 WHIP | 164 K | 47 BB 2022 Prediction – 161 IP | 10-10 W/L | 4.08 ERA | 1.205 WHIP | 178 K | 50 BB

Just like Hollywood claims that every movie doesn't make a profit to avoid paying taxes.

Is there any way to watch these internet games on tv?

This is exactly how Chris Ilitch operates. All of Chris Ilitch's businesses are consolidated into Ilitch Holdings, which includes the Tigers, Red Wings, Little Caesar's, and Olympia Entertainment.

Chris Illitch doesn't need to make a profit. None of the owners need to make a profit. Baseball isn't any of the owners main source of revenue, it's mainly just a hobby. As long as they can absorb the losses into their other businesses, they are fine. The fact that fans are so worried about owners making a profit is mind-boggling to me. Every single owner can afford to operate baseball at a loss.

Not anymore.

Bobrob’s 2022 Preseason Prediction #7 – Akil Neomon Baddoo Akil Baddoo is probably the most exciting Rule 5 player the Tigers have selected in my lifetime, especially early in the season. By the end of April, Baddoo was leading the team in home runs (4) and OPS (.814). However, his second half wasn’t as impressive as his first half: First Half: 239 PA | .271/.352/.462 | 6 HR | 13 SB Second Half: 222 PA | .246/.306/.409 | 7 HR | 5 SB Yabba Da Baddoo’s BABIP in the first half was .367 and .303 in the second half. Therefore, I’m leading towards the second half the season being more Baddoo’s true talent than the first half. What I find most strange was the amount of stolen bases was cut more than half in the second half. From July 17 – September 28, Baddoo only stole one base in 48 games. Then he stole 4 bases in the last 5 games of the season. Just strange. The most interesting stat for me is the power numbers. Baddo had a .176 ISO in the minor leagues in 2018 and was able to sustain that in the Majors with a .177 ISO in 2021. He only played 29 games in 2019 and missed all of 2020 due to Tommy John surgery, then skipped two levels of the minor leagues and still kept his power numbers. That’s just amazing. Entering his age 23 season, he hasn’t even reached his prime years yet, so he could still increase his power numbers and potentially be a 20/20 or 25/25 guy. For 2022, I could see it going one of two ways. I could see him building up his numbers and have overall better stats, or I could see a sophomore slump. In a lot of ways he reminds me of Austin Jackson, who was an exciting player for his first few seasons and then fizzled out. Hopefully Baddoo has a better career. Experts’ Predictions/Projections: Steamer – 541 AB | .242/.320/.409 | 17 HR | 63 RBI | 20 SB | 60 BB | 150 K ZiPS – 443 AB | .264/.335/.451 | 15 HR | 60 RBI | 20 SB | 49 BB | 124 K THE BAT – 491 AB | .234/.317/.409 | 17 HR | 56 RBI | 17 SB | 58 BB | 149 K ATC – 496 AB | .245/.321/.427 | 18 HR | 61 RBI | 20 SB | 54 BB | 144 K FGDC – 547 AB | .253/.328/.430 | 18 HR | 69 RBI | 23 SB | 60 BB | 152 K RotoChamp – 509 AB | .250/.333/.428 | 17 HR | 63 RBI | 20 SB | 57 BB | 147 K CBS Sports – 503 AB | .264/.331/.455 | 19 HR | 67 RBI | 19 SB | 50 BB | 143 K ESPN – 501 AB | .234/.305/.417 | 18 HR | 59 RBI | 22 SB | 53 BB | 147 K My Prediction: 2021 Prediction – N/A 2021 Actual – 413 AB | .259/.330/.436 | 13 HR | 55 RBI | 18 SB | 45 BB | 122 K 2022 Prediction – 471 AB | .240/.309/.406 | 14 HR | 52 RBI | 24 SB | 48 BB | 147 K

Bobrob’s 2022 Preseason Prediction #6 –Casey Arthur Mize Casey Mize had a very decent first full season with a 3.71 ERA, 7 wins, and a 1.3 fWAR. However, he only averaged 5 innings/start and they limited his innings in the last month as he was adjusting to the longer Major League season. His ERA was 4.58 in his last 10 starts. Looking deeper into No-Nickname's numbers, it’s safe to assume that he was a bit lucky with his ERA. His strikeout rate was only 19.3 percent, and his HR/FB ratio was 16.2 percent (13th lowest and 6th highest, respectively amongst pitchers with at least 150 innings). This led to a 4.71 FIP. He is going to have to work on getting more strikeouts and limiting the home run ball if he wants to get better in 2022. One encouraging stat is his ground ball rate at 48.1 percent (Mize throws both a split finger fastball and a sinker). With the addition of Javier Baez, the infield defense should be improved and limit the amount of base hits from ground balls, even though this was already low at .212. In fact, his overall BABIP of .254 is probably not going to be sustainable and will likely be closer to league average in 2022 (the league average was .290 in 2021). Unless Mize makes some major adjustments, I don’t think he will be as lucky as he was in 2021. He was already struggling down the stretch while only going through the lineup one time per start and the league now has a scouting report on him. It will be interesting to see how he intends on making these adjustments. There’s surprisingly very little news on what Mize intends on working on during Spring Training, such as working on a better sinker. Opponents batted .322 in 152 AB against this pitch in 2021. Or maybe even eliminating that pitch altogether. We just have to wait and see what happens. Experts’ Predictions/Projections: Steamer – 171 IP | 9-12 W/L | 4.57 ERA | 1.35 WHIP | 141 K | 53 BB ZiPS – 148 IP | 8-8 W/L | 4.20 ERA | 1.26 WHIP | 121 K | 44 BB THE BAT – 157 IP | 9-13 W/L | 4.68 ERA | 1.34 WHIP | 125 K | 53 BB ATC – 157 IP | 8-9 W/L | 4.33 ERA | 1.27 WHIP | 125 K | 47 BB FGDC – 161 IP | 9-10 W/L | 4.39 ERA | 1.30 WHIP | 133 K | 49 BB RotoChamp – 156 IP | 8-11 W/L | 4.50 ERA | 1.28 WHIP | 126 K | 48 BB CBS Sports – 154 IP | 7-8 W/L | 3.51 ERA | 1.11 WHP | 114 K | 42 BB ESPN – 161 IP | 8 Wins | 4.19 ERA | 1.25 WHIP | 135 K | 49 BB My Prediction: 2021 Prediction – N/A 2021 Actual – 150 1/3 IP | 7-9 W/L | 3.71 ERA | 1.137 WHIP | 118 K | 41 BB 2022 Prediction – 157 1/3 IP | 8-9 W/L | 4.36 ERA | 1.185 WHIP | 131 K | 41 BB

Ah, head-to-head record makes more sense. I wish they would explain it more clearly instead of assuming everyone follows along with other sports.

I don't pay attention to NFL. What is an "NFL like tie-breaker system"? Is it like, whoever scored more runs during the season automatically wins?

I knew it would take less than 100 days.

Bobrob’s 2022 Preseason Prediction #5 – Jose Miguel Cabrera Torres Miguel Cabrera became the 28th player to hit 500 home runs last year and is only 13 hits shy of 3000. Only 6 players have hit 500 home runs and 3000 hits – Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Eddie Murray, Rafael Palmeiro, Alex Rodriguez, and Albert Pujols. Miggy is entering his age 39 season and is no longer the hitter that he used to be. 2016 was the last year that he was an all-star, and in the five years since he has hit .264/.335/.401, 97 wRC+, and a -0.1 fWAR. In 2021, he had a 7.6 percent walk rate and a 22.4 percent strikeout rate, the worst percentages since his rookie year. For the fifth consecutive year, his ISO was below .200 at .129, the lowest since 2019 when it was .116. For the third time in the last five years, his wRC+ was below average at 92. Cabrera did have a very slow start in 2021. For the first two months of the year, he hit .184/.263/.279 in 152 plate appearances. Since June 1st, he hit .286/.337/.429 in 374 plate appearances. Cabrera spent some time on the 10-day injury list in April, which could have contributed to his struggles. Cabrera has always dealt with nagging injuries in his career but was always able to play through them and still be better than 90 percent of the league. Now that he’s past his prime, that’s no longer the case. It’s reasonable to believe that he will continue to deal with injuries (mostly biceps) in 2022 and therefore his numbers will suffer during that time. Finally, I think it’s worth mentioning that Cabrera’s ground ball rate was 48.2 percent, the highest it’s ever been (not counting his injury-shortened 2018 year). This explains his decrease in power numbers. This may continue in 2022, or it may just be a fluke. Hey, milestones are fun, right? In addition to getting 3000 hits, Miggy has a good chance of passing 5 people in home runs, 9 people in RBI, and 0 people in stolen bases. His next walk will be his 1200th of his career and he could pass Cal Ripken, Jr. for2nd all time in most grounded into double plays (350), only behind Albert Pujols (413). Experts’ Predictions/Projections: Steamer – 474 AB | .256/.323/.407 | 17 HR | 64 RBI | 1 SB | 44 BB | 121 K ZiPS – 428 AB | .248/.304/.374 | 14 HR | 63 RBI | 0 SB | 34 BB | 106 K THE BAT – 419 AB | .248/.310/.383 | 12 HR | 51 RBI | 0 SB | 36 BB | 100 K ATC – 417 AB | .252/.315/.391 | 13 HR | 57 RBI | 0 SB | 37 BB | 103 K FGDC – 474 AB | .252/.314/.391 | 16 HR | 67 RBI | 0 SB | 41 BB | 119 K RotoChamp – 423 AB | .255/.316/.397 | 14 HR | 59 RBI | 0 SB | 37 BB | 104 K CBS Sports – 439 AB | .255/.318/.403 | 16 HR | 72 RBI | 1 SB | 38 BB | 113 K ESPN – 493 AB | .243/.307/.381 | 17 HR | 67 RBI | 0 SB | 44 BB | 125 K My Prediction: 2021 Prediction – 467 AB | .268/.338/.394 | 14 HR | 67 RBI | 0 SB | 49 BB | 112 K 2021 Actual – 472 AB | .256/.316/.386 | 15 HR | 75 RBI | 0 SB | 40 BB | 118 K 2022 Prediction – 475 AB | .248/.307/.368 | 12 HR | 59 RBI | 0 SB | 38 BB | 126 K

Bobrob’s 2022 Preseason Prediction #4 –Robert Edward Grossman In many ways, Robbie Grossman had the best year of his career in 2020, with a 127 wRC+, .241 ISO, and 4.2 percent of his plate appearances resulting in a home run – all career highs. In 2021, he took a step back in each of these categories (114 wRC+, .176 ISO, and 3.4 percent home run rate). However, he did this in 671 plate appearances (a career high) as opposed to the COVID shortened season of 192 plate appearances. This resulted in a 2.7 fWAR in 2021, a career best. There is evidence that RG changed his approach in 2021. For the first time in his career, he had more fly balls than ground balls (a 0.64 GB/FB ratio). His fly ball rate was at 46.2 percent. This explains his sudden increase in home runs. Grossman was also much more aggressive on the basepaths, stealing double digits (20) for the first time in his career (although he would have stolen 28 bases at the same rate in 2020 given the same amount of playing time in 2021). This is a huge increase from 0 stolen bases in 465 plate appearances in 2018 and 9 stolen bases in 482 plate appearances in 2019. As far as walks (14.6 percent) and strikeouts (23.1 percent), they seem to be consistent with his career averages (13 percent walk rate, 21.3 percent strikeout rate). I would expect this to be about the same in 2022. Grossman also had a career high in RBI, 67. This is most likely due to 37 percent of his time batting third in the order, which is probably not going to happen in 2022. Robbie Grossman is entering his age 32 season, which is a tricky age to predict. This is the age where some players start to decline, while other players can keep their peak numbers for a couple of years longer. Given his adjustments, and park factors, I am optimistic that he can keep up his 2021 numbers for at least one more year. But at the same time, I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts to decline. Experts’ Predictions/Projections: Steamer – 524 AB | .239/.346/.396 | 17 HR | 62 RBI | 15 SB | 81 BB | 134 K ZiPS – 485 AB | .243/.349/.408 | 17 HR | 56 RBI | 14 SB | 75 BB | 127 K THE BAT – 487 AB | .243/.350/.404 | 17 HR | 58 RBI | 14 SB | 76 BB | 123 K ATC – 489 AB | .241/.347/.401 | 17 HR | 57 RBI | 16 SB | 75 BB | 123 K FGDC – 510 AB | .241/.348/.402 | 17 HR | 60 RBI | 15 SB | 79 BB | 132 K RotoChamp – 510 AB | .241/.348/.406 | 18 HR | 60 RBI | 16 SB | 79 BB | 131 K CBS Sports – 424 AB | .250/.354/.441 | 18 HR | 52 RBI | 15 SB | 62 BB | 115 K ESPN – 492 AB | .240/.349/.400 | 17 HR | 54 RBI | 18 SB | 79 BB | 124 K My Prediction: 2021 Prediction – 474 AB | .247/.342/.439 | 17 HR | 56 RBI | 15 SB | 66 BB | 110 K 2021 Actual – 557 AB | .239/.357/.415 | 23 HR | 67 RBI | 20 SB | 98 BB | 155 K 2022 Prediction – 548 AB | .243/.357/.416 | 20 HR | 58 RBI | 20 SB | 92 BB | 141 K

So it would be similar to lowering the mound in 1969?

Fair point. A pitcher's strategy could change after 2 strikes, the bunt is eliminated, going for a strikeout instead of a groundball, etc. It would be interested if any studies show how much time could be saved with no shifts. Also, how would it be enforced? Would it be a strict area where the players can't roam out of or more of a suggestion like the coaching boxes? What would be the penalty if a player goes out of their zone?