MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread

[Doctorduck10]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread

Just got pass the trade deadline in my Red Sox franchise. Currently sitting at 64-46, 2.5 games ahead of the rival Yankees. However July was a rough month despite the record. We lost Jackie Bradley, Christian Vazquez, and Colin McHugh to injury. All three should be back in September. Kevin Pillar and Alex Verdugo will split center field and right field duties depending on the field. With Fenway's right field, Verdugo will stay in right at hoke but play center on the road. Bradley was hitting .214/.290/.332, not the year he wanted heading i to free agency.

McHugh had a even 4.00 ERA in 99 IP over 18 starts and 2 relief appearances. Jason Vargas, who was signed to a minors deal and was performing well at AAA, has taken his spot but has been knocked around in 2 starts. Vazquez was the major loss, hitting .306/.363/.412 with great defense. Kevin Plawecki will get most of the starts but will share time with new catcher, Matt Wieters, who we got from St. Louis.

Speaking of trades, the Red Sox didn't make a major trade but did make 2 trades to hopefully help out. The first was for Catcher Matt Wieters after Vazquez got hurt. He will be the primary back up. The second trade was for left handed pitcher Andrew Chafin from the Diamondbacks. Chafin comes with 34 strikeouts and a 1.35 ERA in 25 innings this season.

Traded away were SS Tzu-Wei Lin to the Cardinals and SS Bert Wells to the Diamondbacks. The most high profile trade around the league was from the struggling Astros. Houston sat at 49-60 and 10 games back of the division. They decided to move SP Zack Greinke to the Mets for first baseman Dominic Smith. The Mets are 2nd in the NL East and competing for a wild card spot. It looks like Smith will become Houston's full time first basemen.

[countryboy]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread

Cardinals claim Abraham Almonte off waivers from Dodgers

The Cardinals have claimed 35 year old outfielder Abraham Almonte off waivers from the Dodgers. Almonte was activated from the IL where he spent about a month for a wrist injury, was going to be sent to Oklahoma City upon activation, but the Cardinals were able to claim him off waivers.

Almonte was hitting .287 with 2 homeruns and 17 RBI's before he went on the IL at the end of May.

The switch hitting Almonte will join the 26 man roster as the Cardinals have designated OF Jose Adolis Garcia for assignment. Don't expect Garcia to be outrighted to Memphis or released as its expected the Cardinals and Red Sox are finalizing a trade that will send Garcia to Boston.

[ECUoak]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread

The Dodgers (41-17) split the first 4 game series of their road trip with the Rockies (22-35) losing the first 2 by scores of 1-3 and 3-5, before rebounding with 3-0 and 1-0 wins.

25 May 20- The lone Dodgers run came off of a solo Mookie Betts homer in the 3rd. Rockies starter German Marquez accounted for 12 of the 17 Ks against Dodgers hitters

26 May 20- Julio Urias only managed 4.2 innings in the start, allowing all 5 of the Rockies runs on 5 hits.

27 May 20- The Dodgers rebound and earn the win, scoring all 3 runs in the 5th off of Cody Bellinger and Joc Pederson homeruns. David Price pitched a complete shutout game allowing 4 hits while fanning 8.

28 May 20- The only run of the game came in the the 3rd inning off of a Justin Turner RBI single.

29 May 20- The Dodgers travel to New York to close out the month against the Mets (25-34), taking game 1 of the 3 game series. The Dodgers bats finally caught up with them on the trip as Bellinger, Turner and Max Muncy all homered in the contest.

30 May 20- It took 14 innings and a solo Muncy homer to win it for the Dodgers 4-3. Pedro Baez blew the 3-1 lead in the 8th allowing 2 runs off 3 hits.

Injury Report: Tulsa Drillers starting pitcher Ben Holmes strained his pectoral muscle in a 3-1 loss to the Corpus Christi Hooks. Holmes we expected to miss 2 weeks.

31 May 20- 7 1/3 no hit innings by Julio Urias completed the Dodgers sweep of the Mets to close out May. The Dodgers allowed only 2 hits in the 6-0 win.

The Dodgers wrap up the month of May posting a record of 17-11 and maintaining a 8 game lead over the Rockies in NL West. With only 2 days until the 2020 MLB Draft, the Dodgers return home to start June with a 3 game series against the NL East leading Atlanta Braves.

Projected pitching matchups against the Braves are:
Alex Wood (8-3, 2.26) v Mike Soroka (5-6, 3.36)
David Price (6-4, 2.88) v Mike Foltynewicz (5-3, 3.30)
Clayton Kershaw (8-2, 1.97) v Max Fried (2-4, 4.01)

The Dodgers May schedule

3 v Atlanta
4 v Colorado
3 @ Cincinnati
3 @ Atlanta
4 v Arizona
3 v Detroit
3 @ Arizona
3 @ San Francisco
2 @ Cincinnati (final 2 games of series scheduled for July 1st and 2nd)

Dodgers Lineup:
2B Gavin Lux, .262, 6 HR, 25 RBI
SS Corey Seager, .324, 5 HR, 21 RBI
RF Mookie Betts, .250, 14 HR, 29 RBI
CF Cody Bellinger, .340, 22 HR, 47 RBI
1B Max Muncy, .328, 20 HR, 55 RBI
LF AJ Pollock, .261, 8 HR, 26 RBI
3B Justin Turner, .277, 4 HR, 15 RBI
C Will Smith, .214, 3 HR, 12 RBI

Bench:
2B Kike Hernandez, .330, 9 HR, 11 RBI
1B Tyler White, .115, 1 HR, 4 RBI
LF Joc Pederson, .301, 6 HR, 21 RBI
C Austin Barnes, .279, 0 HR, 3 RBI
OF Chris Taylor, .181, 1 HR, 11 RBI

Starters:
Clayton Kershaw, 8-2, 1.97 , 94 k
Walker Buehler, 5-1, 1.52, 72 k
Julio Urias, 6-2, 3.26, 73 k
David Price, 6-4, 2.88, 60 k
Alex Wood, 7-3, 2.26, 59 k

Bullpen:
Jimmy Nelson, 4-1, 5.28, 23 k, 29 IP
Dylan Floro, 1-2, 5.03, 19 k, 19.2 IP
Scott Alexander, 1-2, 2.63, 24 k, 24 IP
Blake Treinan, 0-0, 4.62, 27 k, 25.1 IP
Ross Stripling, 1-0, 3.15, 28 k, 20 IP
Pedro Baez, 2-0, 1.93, 38 k, 18.2 IP
Joe Kelly, 0-0, 0.00, 17 k, 15.1 IP
Kenley Jansen, 0-0, 15 saves, 1.02, 20 k, 17.2 IP



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[countryboy]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread

Cardinals trade Jose Adolis Garcia to Royals

As expected the Cardinals have traded 30 year old outfielder Jose Adolis Garcia. What was unexpected is that they traded him to the Royals instead of the Red Sox, as had been the thought all along.

The Cardinals and Red Sox were in talks for a week or so discussing various trade scenarios and the Cardinals wanted a starting pitcher in return that was closer to being major league ready than not, and the Red Sox kept touting former Cardinal Andrew Morales who is 32 years of age and the Cardinals weren't interested in just him as a return, nor did they want the prospect outfielders the Red Sox wanted to include as the Cardinals are packed at that position.

Apparently during this time of negotiation the Royals, who are looking for a left fielder, called the Cardinals front office, offered up 27 year old Brady Singer and the Cardinals jumped all over the deal. Singer is a 27 year old RHP who has all the tools to be a big league pitcher, but was at the Double A level for the Royals as they slowly were bringing him along. Singer is 6-8 with a 3.31 ERA. He posesses a great fastball/slider/changeup combination.

The Cardinals will assign Singer to Double A Springfield for the time being but its expected they may quickly move him to Memphis once they get through more expected roster moves over the next few weeks (Steven Matz has been made available and has suitors)

This is a good deal for both teams, but especially the Cardinals as they look to rebuild some depth the starting pitching area has lost due to trades or guys not developing as expected.

Don't expect the Cardinals to be done. They still want to address their major league roster for the run at the postseason, but this trade popped up rather unexpectedly as the Cardinals claimed Abraham Almonte off waivers and really didn't have a spot for Garcia as they didn't want him taking a roster spot from prospects at the minor league level.

[sawyer02]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread

I've decided to take in the tortuous rebuild of the Baltimore Orioles. This is a AAA team at best and their pitching staff from top to bottom is pathetic. The first part of my schedule was BRUTAL playing 7 against the Yankees, 3 against Boston, and 3 against St. Louis. Currently 1-13. Made trades for Casey Mize and Wander Franco but both are in the minors and not ready to come up. Also not sure if I want to expose them to this team in it's current form and ruin their confidence and potential. Also Chris Davis still has 3 years on his contract and getting paid 23 million a year. Clearly gonna have to bottom out for a few years. However that will give me a ton of practice with the Armor and Swords sliders.

[Gocanes44]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread

I've decided to take in the tortuous rebuild of the Baltimore Orioles. This is a AAA team at best and their pitching staff from top to bottom is pathetic. The first part of my schedule was BRUTAL playing 7 against the Yankees, 3 against Boston, and 3 against St. Louis. Currently 1-13. Made trades for Casey Mize and Wander Franco but both are in the minors and not ready to come up. Also not sure if I want to expose them to this team in it's current form and ruin their confidence and potential. Also Chris Davis still has 3 years on his contract and getting paid 23 million a year. Clearly gonna have to bottom out for a few years. However that will give me a ton of practice with the Armor and Swords sliders.

I too decided to suffer through this. Im 43-67 year 1. Had to pair Mancini in order to trade Chris Davis crazy contract. Traded for Garret Cooper, Adam Frazier. Signed Yasiel Puig and R. Martin to trying atleast compete. Its not working. The pitching is BAD.

[ECUoak]

MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread

The Dodgers (43-18) win 2 of 3 against the Atlanta Braves (37-26) to get June off to a good start.

1 June 20- Ronald Acura Jr drove in all 4 Braves runs with 2 2 run HRs, but it was not enough as the Dodgers win game one 8-4.

2 June 20- The Dodgers manage 5 runs in the 4th inning but still manage to fall to the Braves 5-12. Alex Wood (7-4, 2.96) gave up 7 runs in 5 1/3 innings before being pulled.

3 June 20- Clayton Kershaw (9-2, 1.78) struck out 11 on his way to a complete game shutout and an 5-0 win to close out the series.

Heading into the 2020 MLB Draft the Dodgers have depth issues in pitching and left field from AAA on down. With there being few outfield prospects that interest the front office the draft day strategy is to load up on pitching and hope someone sticks.
2020 MLB Draft Results:

1st Round Pick #29: Starting Pitcher Caleb Griffith from North Carolina. Throws left. Bats left. 87 potential 74 overall. The 21 year old Griffith will enter the Dodgers system already the #6 overall rated starting pitcher to include pitchers on the big league club. Griffith has a 5 pitch repertoire consisting of 4 seam and 2 seam fastballs, sweeping curve, changeup and slider.

2nd Round Pick #23: Starting Pitcher Austin Burnette from Illinois. Bats right. Throws right. 82 potential. 54 overall. The 22 year old Burnette throws a 4 seam, changeup, slider and cutter.

3rd Round Pick #29: 21 year old Closing Pitcher Antonio Vega out of Venezuela. Bats left and throws right. 88 potential. 55 overall. Throws a 4 seam, curveball and slider.

4th Round Pick #29: 21 year old Starting Pitcher Phillip Kojima from North Dakota. Switch hitter that throws right. 72 potential. 69 overall. Has a slider, 4 seam, curveball and cutter.

Round 5 Pick #29: 19 year old Canadian Starting Pitcher Matthew Tseng. Switch hitter that throws lefty. 87 potential. 61 overall. Cutter, changeup, 12-6 curveball and slider make up his repertoire.

Round 6 Pick #29: 20 year old Canadian Starting Pitcher Fernando Melendez. Right handed switch hitter. 84 potential. 64 overall. Throws a 4 seam, changeup, curveball and splitter.

The Dodgers now welcome the Colorado Rockies (34-27) who sit 9 games back in 2nd place of the NL West to LA for 4 games. Projected pitching matchups are:
Walker Buehler (5-1, 1.52) v Jon Gray (4-6, 4.25)
Julio Urias (6-2, 3.26) v Yency Almonte (5-2, 4.61)
David Price (7-4, 3.09) v Antonio Senzatela (3-5, 4.02)
Wood v Kyle Freeland (7-3, 3.38)



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[sawyer02]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread

I too decided to suffer through this. Im 43-67 year 1. Had to pair Mancini in order to trade Chris Davis crazy contract. Traded for Garret Cooper, Adam Frazier. Signed Yasiel Puig and R. Martin to trying atleast compete. Its not working. The pitching is BAD.

Oh bad doesn't even do it justice. Like wow. I didn't think the pitching would be this horrible. I also signed Puig but had to trade Adley Rutschman to get Franco. Decided on switch hitting shortstop over switch hitting catcher. I am micro managing all my scouting. Gotta hit on the next few drafts.

[canes21]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread

Atlanta Sweeps Phillies, Clinches NL East

The Atlanta Braves completed a 3-game sweep over their NL East rivals this weekend. They pushed their record to 100-55 and clinched the NL East. The Phillies fell to a measly 58-97 as this is a season everyone hopes to forget as soon as it is over.

The sweep came at a cost, though, as in game 1 Mike Foltynewicz threw 4.1 innings allowing 3 hits, striking out 2, and walking 1 before he took a line drive off of the head. His night was ended and he headed to the IL with concussion-like symptoms. Sean Newcomb came in from the bullpen and pitched the last 4.2 innings allowing 8 hits, 3 earned runs, while striking out 3. The Braves had another strong first inning, scoring 3 off of Zack Wheeler. Ronald Acuna Jr. had yet another leadoff HR on the 3rd pitch of the game. That was his 33rd of the year and his 100th of his career. The Braves would go on to win 5-3 after Philadelphia pushed across 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th on a tired Newcomb. Some started to second guess if the Braves were keeping Newcomb in too long trying to preserve the other arms in the pen, but he was able to hold onto the lead and secure the victory.

Saturday night saw Felix Hernandez pick up win number 13 on the year as he tossed 6 innings of 5-hit, 1-run ball. The Braves fell behind 1-0 in the 2nd inning, but quickly responded going up 2-1 in the 3rd. They added 1 run in the 6th, 7th, and 8th innings to make it 5-1 which was the final.

Sunday treated the fans to some free baseball as the game went 12 innings before Atlanta came away with the win and the sweep. The Phillies were in control for most of the game, taking a 3-0 lead after a 2-run 4th inning. They held that 3-0 lead until the 8th inning when the Braves tied it up at 3 a piece. That score would hold up until the 12th inning. The Braves offense would take advantage of a Didi Gregorious error that would have ended the inning by scoring 1 run on the play, then adding 3 before Dominguez could record the final out. The Philadelphia offense went down rather quickly in the bottom half of the 12th and the Braves walked away with a 7-3 win, a series sweep, and more importantly another division title.

Up next is a 7-game home stand to end the season. The Braves face Washington in a 4-game set starting Monday night, then they welcome the Astros in for a 3-game weekend series to end the year. This 4-game series that is upcoming had the makings to be a very important series, but the Nationals went 3-5 over their lat 8 games including getting swept by Miami in their most recent series. Miami played spoiler over that span taking 2 of 3 against the Nats, then the Nats won both games in a short series against Baltimore, before returning home and getting swept by Miami in a 3-game series. However, the Nats did clinch a wildcard spot, so they are once again heading to the postseason in hopes of repeating as World Series champions this year.

The Clubs clinched the NL Central. The Dodgers clinched the NL West and the best record in the NL. The Brewers have a 3.5 game lead over Miami heading into the final 7 days of the season for the last wildcard spot. The Red Sox clinched the AL East. The Indians clinched the Central. The Astros clinched the West. The Yankees hold the top wildcard spot and are .5 games in front of the Twins. The Twins are 4.0 games up on the Athletics and 5.0 on the Angles for the 2nd wildcard spot heading into the final week.


Game 1 and the critical moment for game 3

Spoiler

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[canes21]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread

Braves Use Bookend Walkoffs to Secure Series Win

The Braves once again win another series, their 8th straight, their 11th straight 3 or 4-game series win, taking 3 of 4 against Nationals. The Braves walked off both games 1 and 4 while splitting games 2 and 3. Game 1 saw Mike Soroka pitch 8 innings of 2 run ball, striking out 9 along the way, but Will Smith blew the save, his 4th blown save of the year. Ozzie Albies had given Atlanta a 2 run lead after a 2 run homer in the 8th, but that Nationals didn't go down without a fight. They strung together 4 singles to score 4 runs off of Smith in the 9th. The game went into the bottom of the 11th inning before Freddie Freeman hit a walkoff homer, his 2nd homer of the game.

On Tuesday the Nats took game 2 of the series in a 2-3 final. Scherzer allowed 2 runs in 6.2 innings and actually saw his ERA go up on the year to 1.66. His season has been incredible as the win put him at 19-3. He may be pitching the best season baseball has ever seen.

Wednesday night saw Atlanta jump back into the win column as they blanked the Nats in a 3-0 win. Acuna Jr notched another HR, Swanson drove in the other 2 runs on a 5th inning double. Newcomb pitched 6 innings, striking out 6, but walking 4. It was his first start since moving into the rotation because of the injury to Foltynewicz. Smith notched his 43rd save of the season.

Thursday night the fans were treated to a nice pitchers duel and then saw a pair of unlikely heroes propel the Braves to victory. Charlie Culberson doubled, his second of the game, to start off the 9th inning. He advanced to 3rd after Langeliers grounded out. Then, pinch hitting, Camargo came in and hit a sac fly to give Atlanta another walkoff win and secured the series win. Culberson scored both of Atlanta's runs in the 2-1 victory and was 2 for 4 with two doubles. He earned player of the game honors.

Felix Hernandez pitched 5 scoreless innings to drive his ERA down to 3.29 in a season that has seen him perform way beyond expectations. He has become a key piece to a rotation that has surprisingly been one of the best in the NL and all of baseball.

Atlanta looks to take on the Astros in a 3-game weekend series and then head into the postseason. The series win didn't come without bad news, however, as catcher Travis d'Arnaud dislocated his shoulder and is expected to potentially miss the entire postseason. This now leaves Atlanta without either of their top two catchers as Flowers is still recovering from his fractured wrist. Flowers does look like he may be able to come back and make an appearance in the postseason should Atlanta finally break their streak of series losses in the postseason. Alex Jackson was called up to replace d'Arnaud and is expected to mostly play the role of a backup catcher and not platoon like the other 3 catchers had done all year.

The Brewers clinched the final wildcard spot in the National League pitting them up against the Nationals. The Braves currently hold a 2-game lead over the Cubs for the 2 seed in the NL as well.

The Twins and Yankees are now tied in the AL wildcard race. The Athletics are the 3rd remaining team not eliminated in the race and find themselves 2 games back. The Asstros find themselves 1 game ahead of the Indians for the 2 seed in the AL. They are also 2 games back of the Red Sox for the 1 seed.

The Yankees host Tamba Bay in a 3-game set to end their year. The Twins travel to Kansas City to end their year. The Athletics end their season on the road as well, teeing off against the Angles. They have won 3 straight, but have to hope for some serious fortune to find themselves obtaining a wildcard spot.

Game 1 and the critical moments

Spoiler

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[cnelly4]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread

Twins Drop Game, Series to Tigers
Boyd outduels Maeda

April 19, 2020
Minneapolis--- Matthew Boyd was a trade target of many this offseason, including the Minnesota Twins. The Detroit Tigers front office held strong with their asking price, and Boyd remains a Tiger, for now. Boyd looked like ace material as the Tigers beat the Twins 8-2 on Sunday afternoon, also taking the three-game series at Target Field.

Boyd (1-1) went six strong innings scattering six hits to go with six strikeouts. He walked one and gave up two runs in the sixth inning.

“This is why we wanted this guy,” said Twins pitching coach Wes Johnson. “He is a quality pitcher. He throws strikes. He has good “stuff.”

Byron Buxton and Eddie Rosario both had multi-hit games for the Twins with Buxton having two doubles off of Boyd.

“Boyd is a very quality lefty with 3 tough pitches,” commented Buxton after the game. “I was fortunate to get a couple hanging breaking balls and I put good swings on them.”

Buxton is now hitting .424 on the season, after starting the year on the injured list still recovering from shoulder surgery.

The Tigers offense made it a rough night for Twins starter Kenta Maeda (3-2). Niko Goodrum blasted a two-out, two-strike breaking ball into the right field porch with two runners on base to make it a 3-0 game in the second inning. From there, Maeda seemed to pitch timidly. He went five innings, allowing four runs on eight hits. He walked two and struck out seven.

Tyler Duffey was roughed up again, allowing three runs in no official innings, raising his ERA to 12.15 on the young season.

The Seattle Mariners are coming into town for a four-game series starting Monday evening. Jake Odorizzi (1-2, 2.63) will start game one for Minnesota. Seattle will counter with Yusei Kikuchi (1-1, 4.21). First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 PM.

[cnelly4]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread

Buxton is Hero in 2-1 Twins’ Win
8th inning homer is the difference

April 20, 2020
Minneapolis--- Has Byron Buxton finally reached star status? For one night, anyways, he was the hero as he blasted a 2-1 fastball off the facing of the second-deck in left field to put the Twins on top 2-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning on Monday night. Taylor Rogers shut the door in the ninth as the Twins edged the Mariners.

Buxton is off to a hot start since coming off the injured list on April 5th. He is hitting .417 with four homeruns and eight runs batted in. If he can stay healthy for an entire season, we could see a possible all-star bid, which would be his first.

Jake Odorizzi helped keep the Twins in the ballgame with six very strong innings. He allowed just four hits, three walks and the lone run, which came in the first. He also had eight strikeouts.

Trevor May (1-0) worked a very, very quick eighth inning, throwing just three pitches in getting three weak ground balls. Rogers worked out of a jam in the ninth for his second save of the season.

Josh Donaldson added three singles for Minnesota on the offensive side.

These two teams will match up again Tuesday night for the two of the four-game series. Homer Bailey (4-0, 1.63) will go for his league-leading fifth win, while Seattle will send the struggling Wei-Yin Chen (1-3, 9.47) to the bump. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 PM.

[canes21]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread

Braves Drop 2 of 3 to Astros as Refular Season Comes to an End

The Braves welcomed the Astros to town and took game 1 in an exciting 11-8 offensive slugfest, but ultimately lost the series as they dropped the last two games of the season. The Braves finished with 104 wins and took the 2 seed in the NL. They will take on the Cubs and are looking to finally win a postseason series for the first time in nearly two decades.

This season was one where both the offense and pitching outperformed expectations. While the offense was expected to be strong, you could make an argument that it still had a better 2020 campaign than anyone could have predicted. Acuna, Albies, Freeman, Brantley, and Ozuna make the case for being the best 1 through 5 in all of baseball.

Albies led the big leagues in doubles with 45. Acuna led in triples with 12. Freeman had 122 RBIs and was the top man. He also led the league with a 1.024 OPS.

To put that 1 through 5 into perspective, Acuna scored 144 runs and ranked tied for 1st in the MLB in that category. Freeman was 3rd in the NL with 108 runs scored. Albies was 5th at 102. Brantley was 8th with 100 even scored. And Ozuna finished 18th with 87 runs scored.

Freeman finished with a career high 44 home runs. Ozuna had 36, a career high. Acuna and Albies finished with 34 each, that was Albies career high. Brantley finished with 24, also a career high for him. When 4 of your first 5 hit their career highs in homers then your offense is probably going to have a pretty decent year.

Max Scherzer won the NL MVP as well as the Cy Young. He finished with an incredible 300 strikeout season, finishing 19-4 with a 1.66 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP throwing 228.1 innings, a third of an inning shy of a career high.

Bregman was the AL MVP batting .304, knocking 42 balls out of the bark, and driving in 116 runs. Chris Sale was the AL Cy Young winner with an 18-6 record, a 2.86 era, 247 K's, and 230 innings pitched.

Michael Brantley won the NL batting title batting .337. Marcus Semien won the AL one with a .322 average.

Kenley Jansen was the reliever of the year with 54 saves and a 1.63 ERA. Osuna won it in the AL with 51 saves and a 1.01 ERA.

Shogo Akiyama of the Reds was the NL Rookie of the Year. He batted .276, hit 24 long balls, and drove in 62. Yo****omo Tsutsugo was the AL RotY with a .246 average, 17 homers, and 60 runs driven in.

Freddie Freeman and Alex Bregman were the league Hank Aaran Award winners.

Ronald Acuna also won the gold glove, the only other Brave to win an award.

The playoff field sees Milwaukee and Washington fighting for the right to take on the MLB's best record in the LA Dodgers. Atlanta hosts Chicago. The Yankees head to Minnesota to take on the Twins. The winner will face the Red Sox. The Astros play host to the Indians in the other side of the bracket for the AL.

In injury news, Michael Brantley suffered some back pain and his questionable for the Cubs series. Tyler Flowers is still recovering from his fractured wrist and likely sees no action against Chicago. Foltynewicz is also still recovering from his concussion and it's looking unlikely he will be available for the series as well.

The Cubs enter October with zero injuries to their big league squad.

For the NL Wildcard game, the Brewers will be without Brock Holt who has been out with an MCL sprain. Keon Broxton also has a torn rotator cuff and will miss the entire postseason. The Nationals will be without star LF Juan Soto as he broke his shin in August and will mist the playoffs entirely. Eric Thames also is suffering from a broken leg and will miss all of October. He only appeared in 66 games on the season.

The Dodgers were bit hard by the injury bug. Gavin Lux broke his hand and will potentially miss the entire postseason. Justin Turner, who hit .339 with 28 HR and 73 RBI, will miss the entire postseason with a broken leg. Aj Pollack broke his hand and may be back in time should the Dodgers make the World Series. They'll also be without Keibert Ruiz at catcher as he tore his achilles tendon.

The Yankees will be without Chapman fro the AL Wildcard game and potentially the entire Boston series if they advance. He sprained his neck and could miss up to over a week. They will also be without star outfielders Stanton and Judge as both have torn finger ligaments and will likely miss the entire postseason. Stanton may have a shot at playing, but Jdgue is 100% ruled out for the remainder of 2020.

Jose Berrios is suffering from forearm tightness and will not be available for the wildcard game. Fernando Romero is also suffering from a strain to his lat and will likely be unavailable for the wildcard game. Catchers Mitch Garver and Alex Avila will miss the entire postseason with injuries. Garver fractured his shin and Avila dislocated his ankle. The Twins will also miss relief pitcher Taylor Rogers all postseason as he tore his labrum earlier in the year.

The Astros will face the Indians as a completely healthy squad. The Indians, however, will be without Tyler Naquin for the entirety of October as he broke his shin.

As for Boston, Jose Peraza will potentially miss the entire postseason while he still recovers from a broken arm. Eduado Rodriguez dislocated his shoulder and will likely miss the entire postseason as well. Mitch Moreland is also recovering from a broken arm and likely misses the entire postseason as well.

[canes21]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread

Washington Has Their Sights on Repeating, Yankees-Sox Look to Add Another Chapter to Historic Rivalry

The Washington Nationals walked off the Milwaukee Brewers in an 8-7 affair to keep their season alive as they aim to defend their world series title. Facing elimination in the wildcard game is nothing new for the Nats as they had to face the same challenge last year before earning the franchise's first title. The game was a tale of two struggling starting pitchers as Brandon Woodruff went only 4.2 inninings allowing 3 earned runs. Stephen Strasburg did make it 5 innings, but he allowed 5 earned runs, however, the Nats were able to tie it up after a monstrous 4-run 7th inning. They then walked it off in the bottom of the 10th inning. They will now travel to Los Angeles and hope to have the same fate as last year when the two teams matched up.

The Yankees-Twins game saw less action offensively, but it was just as tight of a game. The Yankees jumped out to 2-run lead in the top of the 1st inning after Torres hit a 2-run homer. The Twins were able to add 1 run back in the 4th, when Arraez hit an RBI double, but that would be all the offense the game would see as the Yankees won 2-1. The Yankees only mustered 5 hits to the Twins 8, but the 2-run shot in the 1st inning was all they needed as Gerrit Cole tossed 6 innings of 1-run baseball and then the Yankees pen used 4 pitchers to get through the remaining 3 innings without allowing a run. Chapman did make a surprise appearance coming in to relieve Cole. He pitched 0.2 innings, allowed 1 hit, walked another man, and struck out 2. The Yankees now travel to Boston for another postseason match-up against their heated rival.

[canes21]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread

Soroka Only Goes 3, Braves Strike Out 15 Times

Mike Soroka could only go 3 innings in game 1 against the Cubs in the NLDS. He allowed 4 runs in the 2nd inning after allowing two 2-run home runs. He allowed 8 hits, walked 1, and struck out 1 in 3 innings. Kyle Hendricks had a much better outing, going 6 innings, allowing only 3 hits, 1 run, and striking out 9.

The Braves offense failed to show up as they only scored 2 runs on 4 hits. The Cubs offense was neutralized once Soroka was taken out of the game as they only got on base 2 times in the final 6 innings.

Anthony Rizzo and Ian Happ were the two Cubs that hit the 2-run homers. Freddie Freeman also had a HR of his own with a solo shot in the 7th. He finished 1 for 4. The Braves were struck out 15 times, including 4 from Acuna and 3 from Ozuna as they could never seem to get their bats to find the ball even when their timing seemed to be on.

The Cubs take an early 1-0 lead in the series. The two teams will play once again before having a day off to travel back to Chicago for two games. Cole Hamels and Yu Darvish are the expected starters for game 2. This game was not what the Atlanta fans were looking for to start the postseason off. A franchise that is trying to win a postseason series for the first time in nearly 20 years cannot afford another poor outing by a starter in game 2 or their streak may extend yet another year.

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