Mike Johrendt Articles - Page 23

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 […]

Ever since Derek Jeter was a part of the group that purchased the Miami Marlins from then-owner Jeffrey Loria in 2017, the team has absolutely tanked and gone downhill, much to the dismay of Marlins fans (if there are any). Being installed as the team CEO was an interesting way to push his way into […]

Coming into the 2019 season, MLB teams tried their best to address any open holes they had with patchwork before they got their true solution. With teams not having used Spring Training to develop their solutions, now begins the long process of turning to other teams that may have their solutions and striking up a […]

Even only being one full month into the MLB season, there are teams that are already hitting the eject button on the 2019 season and looking forward to 2020. Teams that have a longer-term plan for how to bring their franchise back from many seasons of missing their goals still do not see 2019 as […]

In all of the offseason predictions, one thing seemed to ring throughout all conversations: that the National League Central would boast one of the best spreads of teams in the entire league for the 2019 season. While backed up by strong facts and solid opinions in the offseason, those NL Central facts are far from […]

One of the more enigmatic players in the entire MLB, Yasiel Puig has made a career out of his quirky mannerisms, cocky playing style and the flair for drama and performing excellently in the clutch. While these events all occurred while in the bright lights and drama of Los Angeles while with the Dodgers, he […]

Similar to the situation involving Lebron James on what seemed like every single Cleveland Cavaliers team, the Milwaukee Brewers have become a bit of a one-dimensional squad riding on the back of a superstar, expecting that player to carry the entire franchise to paydirt. While Christian Yelich has proven that it is quite a possibility […]

Short answer, no. But what if? What if the Pittsburgh Pirates, who have become all too familiar with the basement that is located in the National League Central, finally broke out and made it back to the playoffs for the first time since 2013? What if relying on a cast of non-superstars, supported by solid […]

Most known for their big spending and large payrolls, the franchises that make up the American League in the MLB also have solidified really good pipelines for youthful prospects that will eventually take over the game. Even the New York Yankees, who are commonly known for shipping out top prospects in order to acquire yet […]

Young superstars are dominating both the American and National Leagues in the MLB, helping increase the popularity of the sport in a time that they need it the most. Being able to relate to the younger generation is a very useful tactic for the sport of baseball, and marketing this sport to its strengths can […]

The American League is reminiscent of an MLB video game arcade mode, in such that any plethora of players on the top of their game can be chosen on any given night and it shows simply how dominant they truly can be. Pitchers and position players alike, the AL seems to be the best conference […]

Even with the penchant for being a hitter’s conference, the American League boasts some of the best pitchers in the game of baseball too, which makes it a bit unfair when facing up against National League foes. The AL has always been seen as the top conference due to their willingness to throw out copious […]

Every team in the MLB has at least one solid starting pitcher that they can build their rotation around. Some teams have paid their way to have two to three ace-caliber arms (Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Washington Nationals) and some teams have built their way to having two to three ace-caliber […]

In a world where dreams do come true and anything goes, a picture-perfect roster comprised of major league baseball players from the National League could be brought together to make for an absolutely unstoppable franchise. Formidable to all other MLB teams, this team is exactly what an All-Star game roster would look like, without favoritism […]

Recently signed to a super club-friendly deal that covers the next five seasons for only $50 million, Blake Snell and the Tampa Bay Rays are built for each other. Effervescently invested and adapted to MLB play, both Snell and the Rays are a match that will excite baseball fans for many years to come. For […]

The current standings for the American League East have a surprising team leading the charge: the Tampa Bay Rays. A surprise to most, but not necessarily a shock to those on the team or directly involved with the rebuilding franchise. Last season, the Rays put up a staggering amount of victories in the AL with […]

With the onslaught of offensive outputs and high-scoring games dominating the league last season, the MLB is hoping that pitching staffs can overcome their obvious disadvantage and bring the game back down to a feasible level that sees more teams having to be more tactical and technical in their game management. While sending players up […]

Normally, this conversation is not dominated by one name, but the race for the American League Rookie of the Year award in 2019 seems to be that way. The Toronto Blue Jays, sporting one of the league’s best farm systems due to high-level talent in Triple-A, are looking to bring that award north of the […]