Chapter 1: What are the main themes discussed about team performance?
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Hello and welcome to Talking Baseball. We're going around the world today of Major League Baseball. We got a bunch of our John Boy Media creators in here. We're just yucking ball. So let's do it. Troy Melton.
Taking a chance that he was right-handed.
Cleet Boyer. I don't think Cleet Boyer had a side from the plate. I think it was just whatever he felt that day. Hello and welcome to Talkin' Baseball. Presented to you by Fanatics Markets, where fans trade on sports. Fanatics Markets available now on the App Store. My name, Jake Storielli. That is Trevor Plouffe. Rob Scirocco producing. Dalton Feely. Wranglin'.
A lot of John Boy Media creators today as we're going around the horn. We're throwing the pill around. Jimmy, Norp, Swilly, Joe's McFly. Doc Shelf is the good doctor in today? No. Sick. Maybe. But yeah, we got a couple people popping in. We're going to check in on their teams, maybe some other teams or players that they've seen around the league.
And yeah, before we started yucking, there was a lot of Cleet Thomas, or excuse me, Cleet Boyer talk. Cleet Thomas, former teammate of mine. Cleet Thomas, former Tiger. Yeah. Cleet Boyer, two-time World Series champion. Have his autograph at my desk.
Can we explain what the hell happened?
You walk us through it, Trev.
How are you? Fine. Thank you. How are you? I'm doing great. I peruse Baseball Reference on the daily, and on the front page, there's all those pictures, and I like to just research guys. I click on a random guy who seems interesting to me, and I said, hey, what do you know about Cleet Boyer? And we started talking, and you did know him.
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Chapter 2: How do the hosts feel about their teams' chances this season?
Maybe we just stop making that one. That's a creepy shirt you got on there.
It's a little creepy.
You're right. The Tigers, the only team not under .500 in the AL Central right now. I want to talk a little bit about our guy, Spencer Torkelson. And a couple of things. Number one, yeah, he's been performing well this year and going back into last year as well. Is the biggest difference in like offensive approach for him just looking at his spray charges, like pulling the ball in the air more?
Has that been the biggest difference for him? Yeah, I think that's fair to say. I'm glad you brought up Tork. That was one of the guys I actually wanted to talk about today for sure. Yeah, five homers in his last six games. He hit five in a row. The streak ended last night. But, yeah, when he puts the ball in the air to the pole side, I mean, that's where his power's at.
He can definitely shoot right field, don't get me wrong. It's nice to see him do that every now and then, but sometimes I think in the past he's tried to do that too much. He's your first baseman, right? You want that guy to slug a little bit. And I actually think if you look at Tork's numbers, they're not as good as they probably should be this year. I think he's been pretty unlucky.
I think he's hit the ball pretty hard. I've watched that guy fly out to the warning track more than anybody I've seen in baseball in all of 2026. He's a couple feet away from having eight or nine homers this year, and he's got five. Tigers fans that know me know that I've had a love-hate with Tork ever since we've got him.
There's times where I'm like, this guy has a chance to be one of the best first basemen in baseball. And then there's other times where I'm like... When is the first overall pick going to become the first overall pick? I'm giving Tork the benefit of the doubt this year. I think he's been extremely unlucky, and I expect him to continue to stay hot right now.
He's really put together some good at-bats. He's laying off pitches, which is something we don't see him do too much. He's got a lot more walks this year. He's still striking out a little bit too much for my liking, but he's finding different ways to get on base. I love when the numbers back up what I'm seeing because 31.8 pull air percentage last year is some of the best in the big leagues.
Average is 16.7%. And this year he's sitting right at 27%. What about the defense? Because I think he gets knocked big time in his overall value for that. Is it as bad as the numbers say it is? Because sometimes I'm... We, you know, on this show, on this show, we are skeptical of defensive metrics.
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Chapter 3: What specific team challenges are highlighted in the episode?
Kevin McGonigal, who's been great at third base, but, like, that's not his position. Gleyber Torres is not a great defensive second baseman. Kerry Carpenter in right field can be tough to watch at times, for sure. I feel like watching a lot of – Yeah. He hits. Okay, the team. Yeah, he hits. But I feel like when – Whoa.
I feel like when you watch the Tigers, a lot of the times this year I've said they've beat themselves, and the defense has been a big reason. When I watch the Tigers, it seems like what you said about Baez not getting to certain balls, the range isn't there. And I think that does have a lot to do with guys playing out of position.
The initial read off the bat, if you're not accustomed to playing somewhere, it's just going to take a little bit longer. So you're not going to get to those balls. If you're playing out of position, you've played your entire life, the reads come much quicker. The routes are better. And we're kind of seeing that throughout the big leagues. It's not just a Tigers situation.
The teams that perform well with defensive metrics either have just crazy athletes out there or they have guys playing at the positions that they grew up playing. So the Tigers, I understand that because we are seeing that kind of throughout the league where it's, can you hit? And then we kind of...
The roster setup for a lot of teams ends up being we got these guys figure out where to play them, manager. a la the Boston Red Sox. There's more teams that do that. But when I watch the Tigers, it is a range-ish thing for me. And I think that's what it is with Torkelson specifically as well. Because you mentioned he can scoop it. Pete Alonzo used to go through the same thing.
I used to say that. I said, Pete can scoop the ball. Turns out I was right about that. But it's a range and then a positioning thing. That's an organization thing, though. If you can't position your players, that's kind of on you.
Emotional a little bit there Think about that Harris Come on Scott Is being 500 frustrating? I feel like you guys haven't Moved the needle too far In either direction this year
Yeah, it's definitely frustrating. I think coming into the year, I think Tigers fans had a lot of hope that this had a chance to be one of the best teams in the American League, especially if you think about the start that they got off to in 2025. It was crazy hot. They were the best team in the American League for quite some time before blowing it at the end of the season there.
Playing 500 ball, definitely not great. Like I said, though, we're lucky that we're in the American League Central. I still think this team's going to turn it around. There's too much talent. The starting rotation's so good. The bullpen, which I thought was going to be the biggest strength, there's been some guys who have struggled in the back end of that pen.
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Chapter 4: How do injuries affect team dynamics and strategies?
When Kevin McGonigal has played shortstop, it gets you really excited about that eight-year deal that he signed because he's going to be the shortstop for this team for a long time. His arm strength's crazy. He's got great range. He makes all the routine plays, which is all I can ever ask out of my shortstop.
So Kev has been the guy that this team has needed him to be, and we put a lot of pressure on him, right? He's hitting the leadoff spot for this team. He's hitting third a lot of the time for a team that's supposed to contend to win the American League Central, and he's stepped up in a big way. I mean, there's nothing bad you can say about Kevin McGonigal right now.
He's been the perfect player for this team.
Leads the American League in B-War. Same amount of walks as strikeouts. He almost went yard call in Atlanta last night, and it didn't look like he hit it well. I was like, if that gets out, this, I mean, he's already a problem. But at 21 years old, once he gets those, you know. Little man muscles come in. Like me and you. Just wait, yeah. A lot of people see a young me and you. Yes.
Is that right? Is that? Okay. All right. Coach, you got anything else? Rob, I slacked you something, and it would just be, Jimmy, I don't know your connections with the Tigers, but it looks like... It looks like Birch Smith has made it into your guys' bullpen, and he's always looking.
I'll tell you what, I don't think he's got the locks on him anymore.
He doesn't. And, hey, shout out and some love to Birch Smith. One time he came into a Yankees series looking like that, and me and John Bino were not ready. So I don't know. Something to look out for.
It looks like he's thrown a couple good outings for you guys.
The young man Birch.
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Chapter 5: What insights are shared about player performances and stats?
Or are we looking at like an area, a surplus area that we can trade for an area of need? Like, are we, is that even in? like the stratosphere of what could happen?
Well, I'm glad you asked because for me, it's a great spot to be in right now. Everybody covets starting pitching, and the Yankees have it. And I think right now they've got options. Elmer Rodriguez is coming up right now, and I think that's – I don't think it's a showcase, but I think it's more of like – We can go ahead and we can do this here.
They said that Rodan's going to be two more starts. And you know that Rodan and Cole are for sure in the starting rotation. And then you got Freed and Cam Schlittler is like the next coming of... Skeens, right? Hey, you look at the numbers this year, they're very comparable, if not better.
Yankees broadcast was going hard on him and DeGrom comparisons. A, they were facing off, but they were kind of late bloomers. DeGrom was a shortstop. Schlittler went from throwing 90 to throwing 100, which that's been a big change in his game. Yeah.
Yeah. Then you got Warren and whatever else is happening after that. I think what you do is, obviously, Rodriguez, the people with options, you're going to be able to send down. And I think other people can work in the pen better, which the Yankee bullpen is the other part of it that needs help.
Like, they need help because I don't – I currently don't have – actually, I can't really find too much of a Yankee – too many Yankee fans that have a lot of confidence. I mean, just yesterday, they had – They had Jansen the 7th, 8th, and 9th. And if it wasn't for a judge homer, we're probably still playing that game right now. Maybe. Not.
That's probably. The game's probably done. It's probably done. But it might not have gone the Yankees way.
You guys don't know when we're recording this.
Trev, you keep rolling. I mean, I'm lucky to talk Yankees with this guy every day.
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Chapter 6: How do the hosts view the impact of upcoming trades?
But they said his bat just needs to catch up. And he kind of took that to heart. And he said, I'm going to focus on my hitting. And then now he's hitting his line drive rates up. I like all of the peripherals. I don't want to go crazy with numbers. But I love all of the things that I'm seeing from Lombard. He looks super confident at the plate.
But, you know, when you look at a player, he's playing a double-A game or a minor league game, you're like, this kid doesn't belong here. Sure. I kind of – I felt that looking at him. I'm like, I think it's time to move him up a level. I wasn't saying call him up to big leagues because I think that the Yankees still need to – there's something – and I spoke to Jimmy about it.
There's something to – There's more veterans in AAA that you can learn from how to be a big leaguer from. And I feel like teams have kind of been skipping AAA more. Not skipping it, but like shortstop at AAA to bring up to the big leagues. Then I feel like you miss that development that you get, that mental development at AAA. And I think he's going to get that.
Now, Spencer Jones, his stuff is his strikeout rate, right? He's got the power. His defense, he's like a gazelle out there in the center field. So he's got really good defense too. And for how tall he is, great attitude too. But his chase rate, swing and miss rate, it just is not, hasn't been that good and hasn't been improving.
And a lot of people don't feel like it will translate to the big leagues. So hopefully he will continue to make adjustments and then prove them wrong to want to come up here. Because I feel like there's opportunities up here offensively. Like if you rake, I feel like Cashman will find the place for you. Like, Jason Dominguez is up here now. Yeah.
He's been doing really well, and he's been hitting from the right side too, which was – He went from Judge to Otani.
Maybe tell him to try Kevin McGonigal for the rest of the season. Just imitate that batting stance.
It's different bodies.
It's a different – it's a way different body.
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Chapter 7: What are the predictions for the teams as the season progresses?
Hey! Who's to say? He's doing everything that benefits them.
You are outsmarting Craig Bresler right now who went to Yale. They didn't even go after Max Freed, which is weird.
more teams should have gone after Max Fried because that guy we don't even so let's don't even get into that right now we don't have enough time to talk about Max Fried Soto goes to the Mets the Yankees get Fried Bellinger yeah Kind of nice. Joe's McFly, where do the people see you next? What do you got going on?
Oh, well, I'm going to be starting a new kind of like around baseball series where I'm going to be looking around just different Latin players around baseball and just focusing on them and like some of the better Latin players and all of that. So I'm kind of gathering info and there'll be a video coming out for that on my channel, Joe's McFly. And I'm doing streams, too.
I'll do watch-alongs and gaming and all that. So, I'll be there. Don't forget about the Twins Latin players, okay? Oh, no, I won't. Yeah. I won't. I won't.
You won't. I won't. Thank you, Joe's McFly. This episode is sponsored by SeatGeek. The MLB season is here, not to mention the NBA and NHL playoffs, even the World Cup coming up this summer. A lot of talk about that, which is why we want to give our sponsor of today's video, SeatGeek, a huge shout out. 35 milli downloads. Yeah.
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Honored to be here.
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Chapter 8: How do the hosts engage with listener questions and feedback?
What the hell happened? End of 24, he was like, okay, wow, we might have something here. And then last year, he was unhittable. He was great. I think he just filled out. I mean, they signed him at 16 years old. He's a big dude now. He's 25, 26. 27. 27. Oh, my God. I mean, he's averaging 99 with his sinker this year. Prior to that, it was like a 97, which is, I mean, he's still throwing hard.
But just to add that type of velocity, when he came in, I was like, I mean, we know the bullpen's legit. But Mason Miller, what he's done, clearly is... Best I've ever seen. It's something that we've rarely ever seen in the sport in general. And if you're the other team, like, okay, Mason Miller's off today? Sweet. But then you got this guy coming in throwing BBs. It just shows, like...
If the Padres have a lead, I say this all the time on the show, if the Padres have a lead or a tide going into the 6th, 7th, 8th night, they're probably going to win the game. And that's a great feeling to have as a ball club. There have been two instances this season where the starting pitcher left with a lead and the Padres didn't win the game. One of them was in Mexico City.
That game's on the moon. They lost. Weird game. The other one was the second game of the year. Bunch of walks from the bullpen late. Other than that, if the starter leaves with a lead, the Padres win the game that night. It's really nice. Not a lot of teams have that.
How are the overall vibes? This team's been going back to 23. That was a big question mark. We've seen some different managers. You've got a new manager. Obviously, winning helps. Winning helps. But I guess, what are your eyes seeing?
The thing I'm most curious about with the organization as a whole is who are these new owners? They just spent a ton of money. It seems like it's going to be less private equity than we originally thought. It seems like it's a human. Feliciano and his wife, Kwanza Jones, are the head of this group. Have you DM'd them yet? Not yet. We'll get there. We'll get there. Give me the offseason.
They get a full season to hang. Texted Preller the other day. Sorry about it. Whoa. Flex on him. I'm curious. Are they going to say, AJ, here's the deadline. Trade whatever you need. Go win this year. Are they going to make a big splash in the offseason? I don't know. That's the overarching question. The vibes in terms of April... Couldn't really be better. I mean, the stars haven't performed.
The rotation isn't particularly good. And they're winning. They just keep winning. So you hope that those top three guys turn it around and start playing like the all-stars we know they're capable of. And all of a sudden, you have a really good lineup. Giolito and Canning come in the next month or so. Maybe you add a starter at the deadline. You have a solid rotation. The bullpen's incredible.
The Padres were pretty slept on before the season. Not you guys. You were all right. But fan graphs, a lot of the projections didn't love San Diego. I'm a little biased. I love San Diego. They've been good. They've been good, and I'm very happy with the start. I always bank on, obviously, the bullpen is a thing that I like in San Diego. How could you not?
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