Be reborn
After a week off, I'm glad to be back so we can talk a little baseball. I still have a stack of score sheets from the playoffs of the last 63rd Cuban National Series, stacked on my work table, and another stack of notes that I wrote daily during coverage. My collection of ErichKrause pens has practically come to an end, but I still have a small reserve for what's next.
The second half of the season is underway in the Majors and there is several interesting news in the pipeline. Yes, we will see how the movements that the trade deadline left us work out. I was watching some Randy Arozarena at-bats last week and boy, has his start with the Mariners been exciting. A worthy start for Randy's show, hitting the ball hard, reaching bases, scoring runs and crossing his arms with the joy he used to do for the Rays.
It feels good to see Randy's .889 OPS and, although it is in a small sample of just eight games, it has reminded me of two interesting points: first, the .889 OPS is just .100 average points above the Randy Arozarena posted a .789 OPS last year when he posted career highs in home runs (23), runs scored (95) and on-base percentage (.364). And, second: Well, certainly, it's only been eight games, but that same span is pretty similar to games in a postseason series. And, when it comes to the playoffs, you know, Randy Arozarena has been one of the most timely hitters on the game's biggest stage.
Why acquiring Randy Arozarena could be a key move for the Seattle Mariners?
Additionally, Randy has 16 home runs and 16 stolen bases this year, so he is on pace for another 20-20 season. Although he is hitting just .211, a batting average that has seen a slowdown since last July 1, Baseball-Reference has Randy Arozarena rated at 0.4 WAR.
FanGraphs has Randy at 1.1 WAR, 98th among qualified hitters. Sounds interesting. The 112 wRC+ has probably been the most appreciated value by FanGraphs' WAR on Randy Arozarena's potential as a hitter this year. We could go deeper here. But the truth is that, even though it still seems to be Randy's worst season of his career, the WAR brings another turning point to the table to analyze.