FanPost

Bold Second Half

Go big or go home, right? Maybe these things happen as I say they will. Maybe not. I suppose we'll find out. Leave your thoughts in the comments if you'd like!

Trades

1. Detroit Tigers trade Jose Ureña and Daniel Norris to Cleveland Indians for MiLB 1B Jhonkensy Noel (30 on MLB.com's Top-30 list). A righty slugger with no speed, no defensive home, plus power and a moderate hit tool, Noel is probably never going to sniff the Majors. This is purely a salary dump for Detroit, as they get a long shot lottery ticket for a nigh-useless MLB starter. Desperate for innings due to injuries to Bieber, Plesac and Civale, plus McKenzie and Quantrail not getting it done, Cleveland gets a high-octane innings eater with huge Seam Shifted Wake potential. A few weeks in the Cleveland Pitching Machine might finally harness Ureña's stuff. Norris has the prospect pedigree and quality stuff to be a long reliever, but has been burned for too-frequent blow ups. This deal counts on Cleveland expecting they can upgrade two struggling pitchers.

Likelihood: 2/10, the number of unearned runs Ureña has given up since his injury.

Stats and Figures

1. Micheal Fulmer goes 14/14 in save opportunities in the second half. A fierce competitor, the Fulminator is going to put his best foot forward. With a bit more caution in his deployment, Fulmer could easily pump 99 MPH fastballs and rip some 91 MPH sliders to a perfect save record. Except that "easily" and "perfect" don't belong in the same category.

Likelihood: 1/10, the number of pitchers who have a perfect save record and more than 10 saves as of the All Star Break.

2. Miguel Cabrera's 500th Home Run is his 3,000th career Hit. His overall season pace is to get his 3,000th Hit in 81 games but his 500th Home Run in only 57 games. However, his rapid uptick in batting average in June suggests those numbers could close as the singles and doubles start to drop.

Likelihood: 1/10, because I'm not putting anything past the Big Fella, but this seems like too much.

Awards

1. Akil Baddoo is the runner up in AL Rookie of the Year. A lack of home run power - the flashiest offensive stat for awards - and limited playing time against lefties probably keeps Baddoo off the top of the podium.

Likelihood: 5/10, the number of Home Runs Baddoo has at the moment. This will only go up as he gets more!

2. Casey Mize finishes 4th in AL Rookie of the Year but 7th in AL Cy Young. A lack of strikeouts - the flashiest pitching staff for awards - and limited innings total probably keeps Mize off the top of the podium. However, his overall body of work - low ERA, solid W-L total, high number of Quality Starts - nets him down ballot Cy love.

Likelihood: 3/10, the number of innings he's supposed to pitch while on a management program.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of the <em>Bless You Boys</em> writing staff.