Mike Johrendt Articles - Page 22

Just around two weeks until the 2019 MLB trade deadline is upon us, and things seem to be strangely quiet for this time of year. While there have been some smaller moves made that have started a trend towards a busier trade season, nothing huge has happened just quite yet. The Boston Red Sox have […]

Being a first-round draft pick in the sport of baseball puts a ton of pressure on a kid, sometimes one that is just coming out of high school and completely skipping the route of going to college, making it tough for that important step of development to occur. But for Gerrit Cole, going first overall […]

By showing its strength again by winning yet another All-Star game, the American League is gearing up for the second half of the 2019 MLB season, looking to make it three in a row for World Series championships. As it currently sits, there are eight teams that have an above .500 record, which is shaping […]

As the All-Star Break is closing up shop and the second half of the MLB season has already begun, teams across both the American and National leagues are gearing up for their run at making it into the postseason. While five teams from each league will ultimately earn a spot in the playoffs, not every […]

In the past, MLB fans have been privy to seeing front offices make deals during the All-Star break, catching players who may have even been playing in the game off guard. Rumors were running ablaze during last season’s All-Star game, which were mainly focused on which team was going to acquire All-Star Manny Machado from […]

The stage was bright, included some of the league’s best rookies and had everyone smashing juiced-up baseballs out of Progressive Field in Cleveland for the 2019 MLB Home Run Derby. Even with last year’s National League MVP, Christian Yelich of the Milwaukee Brewers, having bowed out at the last minute due to an ailing back, […]

Unlike the National League, the American League seems to be more set it stone in regards to how the standings have worked themselves out. For the New York Yankees, Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins, the first half of their MLB seasons have all been very successful, to the point where they are leading their respective […]

With the ebb and flow of a 162 game MLB season having just crossed its halfway mark, both the National and American Leagues are sorting out their standings in an attempt to decipher who will be falling into the group of buyers and who will be selling off their talent before the trade deadline hits. […]

Every year, the MLB deals with missing out on players who deserve All-Star nominations, regardless of if they make the roster to be a starter or even a bench piece. Both leagues go through that process every single season, and the 2019 season is no different. The mid-summer classic is played in Cleveland, Ohio this […]

The beginning of July brought sadness to fans of the MLB everywhere, as Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs passed away at the age of 27 on July 1st. A starter for the Angels who pitched as recently as two days ago, Skaggs would have turned 28 years old on July 13. Skaggs made his […]

Undergoing a pretty disappointing season, the Boston Red Sox currently sit 11 games back (that is not a misprint) of the first-place New York Yankees and 7 back of the second-place Tampa Bay Rays. Coming off of a very successful season that culminated in the BoSox winning the 2018 World Series over the Los Angeles […]

The good news is that before any gameplay on June 28th, the Chicago Cubs are sitting in first place in the National League Central division, having looked the part of a divisional winner so far as the last few days of June come to a close. The bad news? They only sit one game ahead […]

Currently positioned at the third-best team in the National League Central division as the end of June grows closer and closer, the St. Louis Cardinals are keeping their postseason chances close enough to still see for now – but not close enough to actually grasp. Having just found out that their fireballer closer Jordan Hicks […]

Needing the rest of the 2019 season, plus both of the 2020 and 2021 seasons, to be completed before his contract is up, Zack Greinke seems to be pretty locked in as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the foreseeable future. Having signed a monster six-year, $206.5 million deal in December of 2015, the […]

A common topic of trade talk for what feels like the past few seasons, right-handed starting pitcher Marcus Stroman is seemingly on the trade block again, as the Toronto Blue Jays are still in a rut of trying to compete but not having the necessary pieces to do so. In a crowded American League East […]

Leaving the hopes and dreams of a professional baseball team to make the playoffs up to one player is somewhat normal, especially if that one player (Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, etc.) means that much to that franchise. But for a team’s hopes to rest on the shoulders of two players, who are at vastly different […]

Struggling to find their way again, the Milwaukee Brewers have been absolutely taking hit after hit in terms of their postseason goals. While having an other world performance by Christian Yelich yet again this season, combined with Mike Moustakas looking to make the All-Star team for the first time as a member of the National […]

Currently, the American League is situated with three divisional leaders that most pegged to be holding down the top spots at this point in the season. With the Yankees holding a slim advantage in the East, the Minnesota Twins being a big surprise by running away with the Central and with the Houston Astros on […]

Every year, there are teams from both the National League and the American League who exceed expectations and make much more noise than everyone figured they would. While not always making the playoffs at season end, their names are at least in the running all the way up to the end, so at least they […]

As per usual, the American League in the MLB is looking like the more impressive league out of the two, spoiled with talent and youngsters that are making waves through the sport of baseball. While the powerhouses, like the New York Yankees and Houston Astros, are mowing down their competition, the likes of the newcomer […]

Even with as much success as these teams have experienced so far in 2019, there are always instances in which players need to move on, regardless of how good the situation is. For the likes of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies and the tied Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers, each of these National League […]

Entering MLB play on June 10th, the Milwaukee Brewers boasted the highest amount of home runs hit in the National League with 114, which puts them in first in the NL, ahead by 12 over their divisional counterparts, the Chicago Cubs. 114 leaves them in third place in all of the MLB, slotting in behind […]

After the long-standing wait for All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel and starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel to finally choose their new MLB teams ended with the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves, respectively, getting his services, there are teams who were in on both players that now have to figure out what Plan B-Z looks like. The likes […]

September 8, 2017, was a very unfortunate and early end to the Milwaukee Brewers playoff hopes. September 8, 2017, also marked the early end to the season for starting pitcher Jimmy Nelson due to a serious injury while sliding back into first base. Well on his way to putting together his best season in his […]

The likes of Clayton Kershaw, Rich Hill, Walker Buehler, Kenta Maeda, and Cy Young candidate Hyun-Jin Ryu have been sparkling for the Los Angeles Dodgers, helping push the California franchise into first place in the National League West division. Sporting a healthy 9.5 game lead over the second-place Colorado Rockies, not even having lost 19 […]

Being on top of the National League Central division after a hard-fought start to their 2019 season, the Milwaukee Brewers are looking to keep up their recent stretch of dominant play, having won four of their last six games. Having had Keston Hiura fill in at second base was an added bonus for this team, […]

As has been a defacto result the past few seasons, the sport of baseball has been run by the American League, winners of the past two World Series and 10 since 2000. While the National League has presented some formidable competition to battle, both in interleague play and the World Series, the AL still reigns […]

Having dealt with some interesting parity to open up the 2019 MLB season, the sport of baseball is in full swing as the month of May closes to an end. The National League divisional leaders, Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East, Chicago Cubs in the Central and Los Angeles Dodgers in the West, all have […]

For the Milwaukee Brewers, big-time farm prospects seem to come up every 5+ years, and for a small market franchise, sometimes that gap in between hurts their chances at making the playoffs. Players like Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, and Jonathan Lucroy, among others, have all been drafted and developed talent that has risen through the […]

Currently leading the National League Central division by only 1.5 games as the end of May draws closer and closer, the Chicago Cubs have a bit of an issue that needs fixing. Their positional player depth, while a strong suit for the franchise this season, is making it a bit tough to juggle for manager […]

Having to deal with the loss of production from a certain superstar that will not be named, the Washington Nationals came into the 2019 MLB season with hopes of competing in a National League East division race that kept growing more competitive by the day. Re-arming themselves with pitching through free agency, the Nats decided […]

Normally, third place in the division standings is nothing to write home about, especially in the sport of baseball. However, if you are the Boston Red Sox, third place in the American League East looks fantastic compared to how they have been playing to open up the 2019 MLB season. Struggling out of the gates […]

Being signed to a mega-deal that takes up 13 years and $330 million worth of a team’s time, it really puts a lot of pressure on the athlete to live up to this kind of once in a lifetime deal and prove that this huge investment was worth it. And as you can tell by […]

Currently sitting at a healthy ten games over .500, the Chicago Cubs came from the ashes early on in their 2019 campaign to sit in first place over the Milwaukee Brewers. Dubbed as one of the most difficult divisions to win this season, the National League Central will truly test the wills of all teams […]

Injuries, injuries, injuries – the big thing holding back the 2019 version of the New York Yankees. An aspect that not even money can avoid, this team’s Injury List resembles something of a shopping list with how many different line items are on it. Striking their team hard to begin the year, 13 different Yankees […]

Built on youthful exuberance, well-placed veteran pieces and a solid starting nine, the Atlanta Braves look to be the cream of the crop once again in the National League East, just with more competition. Every team except for the Miami Marlins made big-time upgrades to their rosters this offseason, signaling that the NL East was […]

Headlined by older players looking to cash in on their final big money deals, the 2019 MLB free agency class is not as strong as 2018 but still is stocked full of veterans who can make big impacts for whomever they end up signing with. A plethora of arms, both as starters and in the […]

Four out of the five teams that are a part of the National League Central are currently over .500 entering play on May 9th (sorry Cincinnati), and all five teams are competitive to open the season too, so the NL Central division is shaping up to be a doozy in 2019. While this was a […]

While only three victories separate first and second place in the American League Central a little over one month into the 2019 season, the team that is leading is not the Cleveland Indians – welcome to the 2019 version of the Minnesota Twins, who are here to stay. This is one of the more toss-up […]