As each MLB season get underway, there are players that particularly spark Baseball Roundtable’s interest: young prospects or veteran players hoping to deliver on expectations; players who are particularly crucial to their team’s prospects for the season; players who offer The Roundtable’s favored combination of Leather and Lumber; retiring players making a last go-round; or players making adjustments to new positions, new roles or new teams. You get the idea. In this post, Baseball Roundtable will present its team-by-team National League Watch List for 2023, one (or two) players from each NL team that The Roundtable will pay particular attention to over the coming months. For the AL Watch List, click here.
Arizona Diamondbacks … OF Corbin Carroll
Diamondbacks’ OF Corbin Carroll made his MLB debut last August 29, just eight days after his 22nd birthday. In the course of the season, he had made his way up through Rookie Ball, Double-A and Triple-A – hitting a combined .307-24-62, with 36 steals in 36 attempts – while also providing elite outfield defense. In 32 games for the Diamondbacks, the former first-round (2019) MLB Draft pick went .260-4-14, with two steals. He followed up by hitting .370 in 2023 Spring Training. The Diamondbacks expect big things of the 5’10” 165-pounder – and the Roundtable is looking forward to seeing him in “The Show” for a full season. Extra credit here for the fact that Carroll has shown notable power for a player his size. Nice to see an average-sized guy delivering above average power.
Atlanta Braves … Michael Harris II and Spencer Strider
Atlanta’s CF Michael Harris II and RHP Spencer Strider finished 1 & 2 in the 2022 NL Rookie of the Year voting (far outdistancing the competition). Harris had 22 first-place votes and 134 total points, Strider had eight-first place votes and 103 points. Third place went to the Cardinals’ Brendan Donovan with just 22 points. Harris, who made his MLB debut on May 28, went .297-19-64, with twenty steals (22 attempts) in just 114 games; while Strider, who worked out of the bullpen until May 20, went 11-5, 2.67 overall and 10-4, 2.77 as a starter. On the season, Strider fanned 13.8 batters per nine innings (202 whiffs in 131 2/3 frames).
A Nice Round Number
Spencer Strider reached 200 career strikeouts after 130 innings pitched, becoming the quickest ever in AL/NL history (in terms of career innings) to 200 whiffs. He broke Hall of Famer Randy Johnson’s mark of 130 2/3 innings.
Harris entered the 2023 season as a 22 year-year-old, while Striker was 24. Baseball Roundtable is anxious to see how this pair develops and delivers on 2022’s promise.
Chicago Cubs – Seiya Suzuki
In March of 2022, the Cubs signed Japanese star outfielder Seiya Suzuki to a five-year contract reportedly worth in the neighborhood of $85 million (exact terms were not released). Playing for the Hiroshima Carp, Suzuki had been a five-time Japanese All Star, five-time Gold Glover and two-time batting champ. In 2021, he went he went .317-38-88 in 132 games for Hiroshima. In nine seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball, Suzuki hit .315, with 189 home runs and 621 RBI in 902 games. That record (and contract) has resulted in high expectations.
In his first season with the Cubs, somewhat hampered by a hand injury, Suzuki hit .262-14-46 with nine steals. The 28-year-old started the 2023 season on the injured list (oblique), but is expected to return sometime in April.
The Roundtable is will be watching to see what a fully healthy Suzuki can deliver for the Cubbies.
Cincinnati Reds – Hunter Greene
No doubt, Reds’ righty Hunter Greene is a potential “ace” (once he masters his command). Greene, the second overall pick in the 2017 MLB draft – out of Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California – has brought triple-digit heat wherever he’s pitched. In four minor-league seasons, he whiffed 249 batters in 186 innings. He’s been doing it with a four-seamer that averages 99 MPH and a solid (high-80’s) slider. Still, some command issues, injury issues (a 2002 stint on the IL – shoulder) and the need for a third effective pitch have kept him from delivering on what seems to be his true potential. A stronger squad behind him would also help. Keep in mind, he’s just 23-years-old.
In 2022, Greene was 5-13, 4.44 in 24 starts, with 164 strikeouts in 125 2/3 innings pitched for the Reds. There were some positive signs. In his last eight starts of 2022, Greene went 2-3, but put up a 1.75 ERA and fanned 66 batters in 46 1/3 innings.
Baseball Roundtable will be watching Greene’s development – as well as those triple-digit numbers he keeps putting up on the board.
Reds-Hot Heat
On April 16, 2022, the Reds’ 22-year-old rookie Hunter Greene threw 39 pitches of 100 MPH or more – setting a new MLB single game record (in the pitch tracking era) for bringing the heat. And, he did it in just 5 1/3 innings versus a powerful, veteran Dodgers’ squad. That record stood until September 17, when Greene launched 47 missiles of 100 MPH or more in six innings against the NL Central-leading Cardinals.
Colorado Rockies – Ezequiel Tovar
SS Ezequiel Tovar was signed by the Rockies (out of Venezuela) as a 16-year-old in 2017. The Reds saw solid potential in him then – and that perceived potential has grown as Tovar has matured. In 2021, at 19-years-old, Tovar hit .287-15-72, with 24 steals in 104 games at Low- and High-A. He followed up with a solid season at Double-A and Triple-A in 2022, hitting .319-14-49 with 17 steals and showing solid defensive skills. He had a brief call up in September (.212 in nine games), and became the youngest position player ever to debut for the Rockies. Tovar appears to have won the Rockies’ shortstop job for 2023. Rockies fans should enjoy watching his continued growth. So will Baseball Roundtable.
Los Angeles Dodgers … JD Martinez
Lots of star power to watch here – like former MVPs Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and Clayton Kershaw. Baseball Roundtable is eager to see what impact newcomer free-agent J.D. Martinez will have on the Dodger lineup and what impact having more protection in the lineup will have on Martinez. Last season, Martinez was .274-16-62 in 139 games for the Red Sox, but he has six seasons of 25+ home runs and a .288 career average on his resume.
I’ll also be keeping an eye on the Dodgers’ shortstop “hole.” With the departure of All Star Trea Turner, Gavin Lux was expected to fill the spot. Lux went down with a season-ending injury, so now the Dodgers have to look to Miguel Rojas, Chris Taylor (or others). I’ll be watching to watch to see who ends up there.
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BONUS TRIVIA TIDBIT
With all the rule changes taking effect this season – pitch clocks, limits on pickoff attempts, shift restrictions – Baseball Roundtable decided to look back at a major rule change that took place in the American League in 1973.
On this date, April 6, 1973, the first-ever designated hitter appeared in an MLB lineup. A few bits of trivia.
- The first DH to come to the plate was the Yankees Ron Blomberg; the pitcher who faced him was the Red Sox’ Luis Tiant.
- The first-ever MLB DH (Blomberg, batting sixth ) came to the plate with two out the bases loaded (Graig Nettles on first, Bobby Murcer on second, Matty Alou on third).
- The first-ever DH (Blomberg) drew a bases-loaded walk.
- Ron Blomberg was also the first MLB DH to get a base hit – a single off Tiant in the third inning.
- Later that Day, Twins DH Tony Oliva became the first DH to hit a home run – a first-inning, two-run homer off Catfish Hunter (in Oakland).
- Here’s your list of players appearing at DH on April 6, 1973: Ron Blomberg, Yankees; Orlando Cepeda, Red Sox; Tony Oliva, Twins; Bill North, Athletics; Ed Kirkpatrick, Royals; Tom McGraw, Angels; Ollie Brown, Brewers; Terry Crowley, Orioles. (On the following day, these players became the first DH’s for their teams: John Ellis, Indians; Gates Brown, Tigers; Mike Andrews, White Sox; Rico Carty, Rangers).
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Miami Marlins – Sandy Alcantara
Photo: Ryan Casey Aguinaldo, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
No contest on who to watch here – 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara (14-9, 2.28). The 27-year-old righty’s arsenal includes a 98-MPH four-seam fastball, a 98-MPH sinker and a 91-MPH change. And, of all his offering have good movement. He’s also a bit old school, leading MLB with six complete games and 228 2/3 innings pitched in 2022. His 2022 record could (should?) have been better – in 32 starts, Alcantara gave up two or fewer runs 24 times. Looking to see more of the same in 2023. Want to see and old-fashioned complete game? Keep an eye on Alcantara.
Talk about Old School
In just his second outing of the 2023 season, Sandy Alcantara threw a three-hit, 100-pitch, complete game shutout – topping the Twins in Miami) 1-0 in a game that took just 1 hour and 57 minutes.
Milwaukee Brewers – Brice Turang
Brewers’ 23-year-old second baseman Brice Turang – a first-round pick in the 2018 MLB Draft – looks ready for the big leagues. In 2022, with the Triple-A Nashville Sounds, Turang hit .286-13-78, with 34 steals in 131 games. He came north with the Brewers after a .289-1-4 Spring Training (17 games). A natural shortstop (in the minors, Turang made 326 starts at SS, 44 at 2B, 13 in the OF and eight at 3B), Turang is making the transition to full-time at the keystone sack. I’m anxious to see how he fares in the regular season.
I’ll also be keeping an eye on Christian Yelich to see if he can recapture the form that made him the 2018 MVP and the number-two vote-getter for MVP in 2019. (From 2013 trough 2019, Yelich went .301-139-500), from 2020-2022, he went .243-35-130.
New York Mets … Justin Verlander
Justin Verlander missed pretty much all of the 2019 and 2021 seasons (Tommy John surgery), but made a remarkable comeback with the Astros in 2022 – going 18-4, 1.75, while leading the AL in wins and ERA and picking up his third Cy Young Award. He signed as a free agent with the Mets in the off-season and is a key to their pennant chances. Verlander, now 40-years-old, started the 2023 season on the IL (shoulder strain). The Roundtable will be watching to see how the veteran right-hander recovers (he is not expected to be out long) and how he performs in his 18th MLB season.
Can Old Guys Rule (again)?
The Mets are looking to Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander as a 1-2 PUNCH at the top of their 2023 rotation. The pair have a combined six Cy Young Awards. They also have a combined 78 years in age. It will be fun to see if Old Guys can rule.
Philadelphia Phillies – Trea Turner
Signed as a free agent, SS Tea Turner went .298-21-100, with 101 runs scored and 27 steals for the Dodgers in 2022. With Bryce Harper out until the All Star break and Rhys Hoskins out for the season, the Phillies need Turner to repeat those numbers if they are going to compete in the East. His MLB resume says he should. I’ll also be keeping an eye on Kyle Schwarber, who hit a career-high 46 home runs and drove in a career-high 94 tallies (despite a .218 average and a league-leading 200 whiffs). The Philllies also need Schwarber to step up in the absence of Harper and Hoskins.
First Signs of Spring
Trea Turner went .478-2-7 in eight 2023 Spring Training games.
Pittsburgh Pirate – Andrew McCutchen
A sentimental choice here. Andrew McCutchen, in his fifteenth MLB season, is back with the Pirates (free-agent signing), where he began his MLB career, won the NL MVP Award in 2013 and made five All Star teams in nine seasons.
He’s still got some pop in his bat (.237-17-69 for the Brewers last season). It would be nice to see the veteran energized by a return to Pittsburgh – say in the neighborhood .275-25-80.
St. Louis Cardinals – Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado
Baseball Roundtable likes players who flash leather and lumber, so I’ll be watching the Cardinals’ corner infielders (1B Paul Goldschmidt and 3B Nolan Arenado), who (appropriately) finished first and third, respectively, in 2022 NL MVP voting. Goldschmidt went .317-35-115 and showed his usual sterling form on defense (he has four Gold Gloves and seven season of 30+ home runs to his credit). Arenado went .293-30-103 and picked up his tenth Gold Glove. Arenado has won three home run titles, has three seasons of 40+ home runs and three more of 30 or more.
They Call Him the Streak
Nolan Arenado has won the NL Gold Glove at third base in every season since (and including) his rookie campaign of 2013.
The RoundTable will enjoy watching these two veterans ply their trade on the field and at the plate.
San Diego Padres – Fernando Tatis Jr.
Photo: Ryan Casey Aguinaldo, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Fernando Tatis Jr. broke out as a 22-year-old in 2021 (.282-42-97, with 25 steals in 130 games). Since then, he hasn’t played a game – wrist and shoulder surgery and an 80-game PED-related suspension. He comes off suspension on April 20 and will be moving into a new position (moving to the outfield from primary duty as a shortstop as a result of the Padres’ acquisition of Xander Bogaerts). He’s got a lot on his plate coming into the season and will be worth a watch.
San Francisco Giants – Blake Sabol
Picked up from the Reds, 25-year-old Blake Sabol won a roster spot with a .348-3-10 Spring (20 Spring Training games). There seems to be plenty of potential here. In three minor-league seasons, Sabol went .282-34-142 in 246 games. In 2022, at Double- and Triple-A, Sabol hit .284-19-75 and even swiped ten bags. A versatile player Sabol looks to spend some time in the outfield and behind the plate. For The Roundtable, the watch will focus on whether Sabol can claim (and retain) the regular catching duties (over Roberto Perez and Joey Bart).
Washington Nationals – Joey Meneses
Nationals’ 1B Joey Meneses was one of the feel good stories of 2022. Making his MLB debut on August 2 – as a 30-year-old called up in his tenth minor-league season, he had truly paid his dues. Meneses, who also spent time on the field in Mexico, the Caribbean and Japan, was hitting .286-20-64 at Triple-A (96 games) when called up. He quickly collected on all those due she paid, going .324-13-34 in 56 games for the Nationals. The Roundtable will be watching to see if the Cinderella story continues.
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