MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread

[cnelly4]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread

Garver’s Walkoff HR Helps Twins Complete Sweep
Slugging Catcher goes 4-for-5 on the day

April 26, 2020
Minneapolis--- For the past four days, Mitch Garver has been sitting on Minnesota’s bench with an ailing right shoulder. Today, it appeared that his shoulder was fully healed as he capped a four-for-five night with a two-run walkoff homer as the Twins edged the Boston Red Sox 7-5 on Sunday afternoon, completing the three-game sweep over the American League East leaders.

In a game that provided a lot of offense early, it was pretty quiet until the heroics in the ninth. The Red Sox plated two in the first, only to be matched with two runs in the bottom of the first by Minnesota. The Red Sox added one in the second and one more in the third, while Minnesota plated two more in the second.

The game remained tied at 4-4, until Nelson Cruz hit a solo in the bottom of the fifth to give the Twins the 5-4 lead. It was Cruz’s eighth homerun of the year.

Xander Bogaerts finally knocked Homer Bailey out of the game with a solo shot with one out in the eighth, tying the game at 5-5.

Bailey was shaky throughout, but was helped by four double plays turned behind him. Overall, he worked seven and one-third innings, allowing five runs on eleven hits. He walked none and only recorded one strikeout.

Taylor Rogers (1-0) got an inning ending double play, the fifth of the night for the Red Sox, to end a threat in the top of the ninth, earning the victory.

The Minnesota Twins get a much needed day off on Monday, as they travel out west to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers for a mini two-game series. Jhoulys Chacin (2-2, 4.65) will start for Minnesota and the Dodgers are expected to counter with left hander Alex Wood (3-1, 3.16) for game one of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 PM.

[DJ]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread

The Toronto Blue Jays split the 2020 season-opening 4-game series with the Boston Red Sox. After limiting the visitors to 2 runs in the season opener, Toronto allowed 12, 5 and 11 runs in the next three games (guess which two they lost).

Offensively, the Blue Jays have scored 22 runs and no fewer than 4 in a single game thus far, demonstrating that the young lineup has plenty of pop and possibilities for exciting crowds.

[MightyMaxxx13]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread

A Trip Around the League - MightyMaxxx13’s COVID-free MLB 2020 Season Simulation

March 28, 2020

Orioles 2, Yankees 1
Alex Cobb, Richard Bleier, and Mychal Givens combined to 3-hit the Yanks at Camden Yards, and Crush Davis went deep off Masahiro Tanaka.

Rays 8, Pirates 7
Blake Snell was shaky as the Pirates put up 15 hits in total, but it wasn’t enough as the Rays hung on for the W. Nick Anderson struck out the side in the 9th for the save.

Blue Jays 7, Red Sox 6
Red Sox bullpen blew two saves in this one, as the Jays refused to quit and scored runs in the bottom of the 7th, 8th, and 9th. Bo Bichette homered twice.

White Sox 2, Royals 0
Dallas Keuchel went the distance for the CGSO, striking out 5. Edwin Encarnacion provided the offense with a 2-run dinger off of Brad Keller, who was otherwise solid in the losing effort.

Indians 6, Tigers 2
Aaron Civale went 7 innings with 7 K’s. Phil Maton stuck around for a 4-out save after the Tribe scored 3 in the bottom of the 8th.

Athletics 9, Twins 3
A’s went deep 6 times, including 2 each from Mark Canha and Sheldon Neuse. The unassuming Neuse was presumably tested for PED’s after the game, as he has 4 homers already through the first 3 games of the season.

Rangers 3, Mariners 2
Rangers only needed 4 hits to win this one, as Lance Lynn went 7 innings and Jose Leclerc notched his 3rd save in 3 games.

Astros 9, Angels 5
Yuli Gurriel homered twice and drove in 5. Albert Pujols homered (career #657) in the loss. He is 3 away from Willie Mays for #5 all-time.

Phillies 6, Marlins 4
Phils scored 3 in the 8th for their second consecutive come-from-behind winner. JT Realmuto had 3 hits and Bryce Harper homered.

Nationals 5, Mets 2
Stephen Strasburg went 8 and Sean Doolittle bounced back from an Opening Day blown save to slam the door.

Cardinals 4, Reds 3
Dexter Fowler and Yadi Molina each had 3 hits, and the Cards sustained a late Reds rally in the 8th to hang on for the win.

Cubs 6, Brewers 4
Orlando Arcia was 3-4 with a triple and all 4 RBI’s in the loss. Craig Kimbrel walked 2 in the 9th but held on for the save.

Diamondbacks 5, Braves 3
Merrill Kelly pitched 7 innings, and Carson Kelly hit a bases clearing double off Max Fried for the win. Archie Bradley allowed a hit and walked 2 in the 9th, but also struck out the side.

Giants 5, Dodgers 3
5 separate Giants had RBI’s to chase new Dodger David Price in the 5th inning. Kevin Gausman struck out 9 over 6 innings and Tony Watson notched his second save.

Rockies 14, Padres 10
Another barnburner at PETCO. The Padres put up 20 hits and still lost, and both teams combined for 36 in total. 5 separate Padres had 3 hits apiece, Arenado had 4, and Daniel Murphy went yard twice. Kyle Freeland picked up the win despite allowing 11 hits and 5 runs over 5 innings. Joey Lucchesi allowed 8 earned in 2.2 for the loss.

[ECUoak]

MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread

The Dodgers (52-19) take 2 of 3 in Atlanta (41-31) to end the mid month road trip.

12 June 20- Dodgers take game 1 by a score of 9-6, posting 4 runs in both the 2nd and 5th innings.

13 June 20- Bellinger, going 3-4 for with a walk, ended the game a home run shy of cycle in the Dodgers 8-5 win.

14 June 20- The Dodgers only runs came off of 2 solo homers by Joc Pederson as the Dodgers fall 2-6 in the series finale.

There is plenty of frustration in the Dodgers front office with Mookie Betts, the teams big offseason addition, is struggling at the plate. Betts is posting a .226/.301/.444 stat line which is the worst on the lineup. You know it’s getting bad when discussions are moving towards giving either AJ Pollock or Pederson more time in right with both outperforming Betts.

Dodgers will head home to host the Diamondbacks for (38-33) for 4 and the Tigers (31-40) for 3. Projected pitching matchups are:
Walker Buehler (7-1, 1.50) v Zac Gallen (2-3, 1.88)
Julio Urias (8-2, 3.25) v Robbie Ray (7-2, 5.17)
David Price (9-4, 3.08) v Luke Weaver (1-6, 5.40)
Alex Wood (8-4, 3.28) v Alex Young (2-6, 7.23


Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

[decga]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread

Completed a .500 home stand

Game 1: I found out team wants to win! K.C. and starter Bailey came to play. Bailey(6-4) over 5 ERA vs. Fried a 13 game winner and holding. Great pitcher's duel for 6 innings. Only 1 ER each thru 6.0IP. I tried to stretched out Fried for 7.0IP, but he gave up the lead off a 2R HR blast by C S. Perez. We lost 4-3!

Game 2: My offense returns! I scored 2 runs in the 1st and then batted around in the 2nd scoring 6 runs. I ran their SP Duffy out by 2nd. He gave up 8 ER. Our SP Teheran worked his way in & out of trouble. He went 5.0IP,4R,3ER,3BB on 100 pitches. His first 3 innings pitched, 26,32 & 29. Yikes! Freeman finally got his 200th HR, plus 1 more. We won 11-6!

We finally won our 60th game of the year. Finished the homestand 3-3. My record is 60-44,1.5GB of the Mets for 1st in the NL East. We are leading the WC by 0.5 game.

Transactions were made:
Brewers offered me (L) RP Claudio for SP Tristan Beck with "B" potential. Claudio has an ERA under 1.90,62.2IP,36K. I accepted it! He will fit nicely in at MRP slot. Brewers are 13.5GB from 1st in the NL Central and 9.5GB in the WC.

Re-signed OF Ortega 2yr/1.88M. He has good speed(79), Arm Str(78), Fldg(65) and bats (L).
Re-signed RP Clouse 2yr/1.25M. I called up this lefty and discovered that he would be my SU for next year. 2.19ERA,12.1IP,13K.
Re-signed LRP Biddle 3yr/2.78M. I brought out his arbitration yrs. Nasty curve and slider! 2.29ERA,35.1IP,48K & WHIP under 1.
Re-signed RP Reyes 2yr/1.77M. I got him from the Cards via trade earlier in the season. Although he has struggled for the year, ERA 7.25, 49.2IP,49K. The potential is there.

Up next 6 game road trip vs. the Phillies & Nats. The "city of brothery love" up first.

[blackthrone]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread

Rockies lost 2 of 3 in LA and finished their opening road trip 2-5. Some bats are starting to heat up, though. Good to see Nolan start to figure it out a bit at the plate. Story has a 6 game hit streak heading into the Home Opener against the Padres. The problem so far has been pitching..shocker..both the bullpen and rotation have been inconsistent through the first 7 games. The hometown kid, Kyle Freeland, will get the ball for the Opener on Friday in Denver.

You can follow all of the Rockies games on Twitter

[HozAndMoose]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread

End of MLB Season- 2021

The season is over and it could not have came any faster. The team was complete garbage over the last 54 games. Especially in August going 7-20 over the month with a stretch of 14 straight losses. We finished the season with a record of 60-102. 3rd worst in the MLB with the Pirates at 56-106 and Tigers at 49-113.

Standings

Spoiler

Hitting Stats

Spoiler

Ryan O'Hearn was the best player on the team from start to finish leading the team in Hits, AVG, OBP, SLG, and WAR. Even did decently in the field splitting time between 1B and the OF with a .990 Fielding %.

Jorge Soler lead the team in HR for the 3rd straight year with 39. Not quite as many as the last couple seasons but still had a solid season with an .825 OPS and put up the lowest Strikeout percentage of his career at 24.8%.

Hunter Dozier definitely wasn't as good as we were hoping. He did improve as the season went on but just couldn't get back to his level of play from the previous 2 seasons.

Adalberto Mondesi was solid when he was on the field but after putting up a full season last year the injury bug returned forcing him to miss over 2 months with a Fractured Wrist.

Salvador Perez has more than likely played his last game in a Royals uniform. He was much better over the 2nd half of the season once Meibrys Viloria got hurt. But finishing with a .224 AVG and a .642 OPS shows just how bad it was over the first half.

Ryan McBroom deserved more playing time. Got plenty as the season winded down but playing just 72 game while hitting putting up a .823 OPS was a bad decision.

Pitching Stats

Spoiler

Brad Keller is starting to run out of time to prove he can help this team win. Was good to start the season. Struggled for a long time over the summer. And then played decently out of the pen over the last month.

Eric Skoglund was the most consistent starter all season and got no help from the offense. Though it didnt help that he would only make it through about 5 innings per start.

Daniel Lynch just couldn't replicate his rookie season at all. Was really excited after the September he put up last year but this season just needs to be thrown away and forgotten.

Brady Singer will be the one in 2022 with high hopes after a solid year. The injury forced him to miss about 2 months. But he came back and picked up right where he left off. Didnt pitch too far into games just over 5 per start but hopefully he can get his whip down a bit and last a little longer next season.

Keone Kela was a disaster over the last 4 months. From not allowing a run in his first 20 something innings to giving up 30 over his last 35 ish. He is locked in for the next 4 years so hopefully he doesnt let it happen again.

Really encourage by Durbin Feltman's progress over the season. Knew he might struggle as a rule 5 pick and he definitely did at the start. But he figured things out as the season went on and finished with respectable numbers. Might not start next season in the majors but he has a future on this team for sure.

Tyler Zuber also surprised me a bit after coming up midseason. Took over as the closer for at the end of the season but wasn't given many oppourtunites to earn saves.

League Leaders

Spoiler

Award Winners

Spoiler

Postseason

Spoiler

Salvy is our only free agent. I don't see us bringing him back at all. We need to see what Meibrys Viloria can offer with a full season of starting and maybe get a look at MJ Melendez as well. We will probably look to bring in a ver in free agency to be the backup. I feel good about the pen and we are pretty set in the infield. Khalil Lee and Brandon Marsh both had a promising season with some struggles near the end. A free-agent outfielder isn't out of the question but it depends on who is available. We have money but we aren't going to go spend without knowing how close we are. A starter is the most likely option if we were going to throw money around.

[cnelly4]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread

Chacin Immaculate in Loss
Dodgers plate four in the seventh

April 28, 2002
Los Angeles--- Jhoulys Chacin became the 98th pitcher (101st overall) in major league baseball history to record an immaculate inning, but it was the only bright spot for Minnesota as the Twins dropped the game 8-4 to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night.

Chacin’s historic feat happened in the fifth innings, as he marched through the heart of the Dodgers order. He struck out Mookie Betts looking on a fastball, and then got both Cody Bellinger and Max Muncy chasing pitches out of the zone.

“While I am happy to be a part of the record books, I still need to pitch better overall,” commented Chacin with mixed emotions. “While baseball is a game built on stats and records, the only record I am concerned about is our team’s win-loss record.”

Chacin lasted five and one-third innings, allowing four runs on six hits. He walked three with six strikeouts, and did not figure in the decision.

Devin Smeltzer (1-1) was roughed up. He came into a 4-4 game, allowing four runs in his inning of work, thus taking the loss.

The Twins will try to avoid the mini two-game sweep tomorrow evening. Jose Berrios (0-3, 3.06) will get the task of slowing down this Dodger offense, while righty Jimmy Nelson (5-0, 1.36) goes for win number six on the year.

[MightyMaxxx13]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread

A Trip Around the League - MighttMaxxx13’s COVID-free MLB 2020 Season Simulation

March 29, 2020

Yankees 15, Orioles 2
Gio Urshela homered twice, and Tauchman, Stanton, and Gary Sanchez each went deep as well. Every Yankee had at least 1 hit in the route. JA Happ picked up the easy win.

Rays 1, Pirates 0
Rays scored one in the bottom of the first and made it hold up in a pitchers duel between Joe Musgrove and Ryan Yarbrough. Yarbrough was an out away from locking down the shutout but Nick Anderson finished it off for the Rays sweep of the series.

Blue Jays 4, Red Sox 2
Japanese import Shun Yamaguchi picked up his first MLB win in relief of Chase Anderson. Marcus Walden was the loser for the Sox after winning a job in the thin Boston rotation.

White Sox 5, Royals 0
Gio Gonzalez dominated the Royals with smoke and mirrors. He struck out just 2 en route to the second consecutive complete game shutout of the Royals. Luis Robert homered.

Indians 4, Tigers 2
Ivan Nova allowed 4 hits and 3 runs to the first 4 batters of the game and the Tribe made it stand up. Brad Hand put the tying run on base in the 9th with no outs but escaped with the save.

Twins 9, Athletics 3
Luis Arraez and Alex Avila homered for the Twinkies, and Homer Bailey whiffed 10 in 8 innings of work for the win.

Rangers 12, Mariners 7
Elvis Andrus hit 3 doubles and tallied 4 RBI’s. Nick Solak added 3 hits of his own including a homer. They each stole 2 bases as well. Mariners scored 5 runs in the 8th and 9th but still fell short of the comeback. Kyle Gibson got the win but exited in the 7th with lat muscle tightness and could miss a start.

Angels 6, Astros 2
Shohei Ohtani got the win in his first start since 2018, going 7 innings and striking out 3 and walking 5. Ty Buttrey got a 6 out save after the Halos scored an insurance run in the 9th.

Phillies 11, Marlins 6
27 hits total in this battle of mediocre pitching. Adam Haseley was 4-5 with two doubles for the Phils and Miguel Rojas homered twice for the fish.

Mets 9, Nationals 4
Mets scored 6 in the bottom of the 7th off of Ryne Harper and Daniel Hudson to put this one out of reach. Steven Matz was solid in a winning effort, with 7 K’s over 6 IP.

Reds 6, Cardinals 5
Reds walked it off in the 9th on an RBI single by Jesse Winker off Giovanny Gallegos. Cody Reed earned the win in relief.

Brewers 5, Cubs 4
Brewers scored 5 off Jon Lester then held on for a close win after allowing 3 runs in the 8th. Yelich had 3 hits including a double and Freddy Peralta picked up the win.

Braves 6, Diamondbacks 2
Zac Gallen pitched 7 shutout innings with 10 K’s for Arizona before the pen coughed up 6 runs in the 8th and 9th. Sean Newcomb only lasted 4 innings for the Braves but 6 relievers would follow him to secure the W and the series split. Acuna homered and drove in 3.

Padres 9, Rockies 4
Eric Hosmer powered the Friars with a homer and 5 RBI’s, and Tommy Pham added 3 hits including a double and triple. Drew Pomeranz drew the start and picked up his first win as a Padre.

LEAGUE TRANSACTIONS
Pirates have claimed RHP Yency Almonte off waivers from Colorado and signed RHP Andrew Cashner to a minor league contract.

Astros have released RHP Francis Martes. The one-time top prospect was suspended for 162 games earlier this month after his second positive drug test.

Astros have purchased the contract of 39-year old OF Rajai Davis from the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League. Davis will report to AAA Round Rock.

Astros also acquired minor league utilityman Grenny Cumana from Philadelphia for cash considerations.

2B Joe Panik has refused a minor league assignment with the Blue Jays and has elected free agency.

[cnelly4]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread

No Lux for Minnesota
Rookie Lux sparks Dodgers to sweep

April 29, 2020
Los Angeles--- Dodger second baseman Gavin Lux has been considered a top prospect in all of baseball for a few years now, and the Minnesota Twins got to see first hand what all of the hype was about, as Los Angeles edged the Twins 5-2 on Wednesday night. The victory completed a mini two-game sweep of Minnesota.

After each team plated a run in the first inning, Lux drove a Jose Berrios fastball 446 feet to dead center with a runner on base, giving the Dodgers an early 3-1 lead.

It was more than enough for Jimmy Nelson (6-0) as he cruised to his sixth win of the year, working seven innings with ten strikeouts and three walks.

Jose Berrios (0-4) was a tough luck loser again despite having another quality start. The staff ace worked six innings, allowing just four hits but three runs. He walked two and struck out six Dodgers.

Offensively, Minnesota got two hits from Max Kepler, but they struck out a combined fifteen times in the game, with Josh Donaldson, Eddie Rosario and Miguel Sano each carrying the strikeout hattrick.

After a disappointing sweep, the Twins will end the month of April with a 17-14 record. An off day tomorrow will lead into a three-game series in Anaheim against the Los Angeles Angels. Kenta Maeda (4-2, 2.88) will look to get Minnesota back on track, and Shohei Ohtani (2-1, 2.61) will take the ball for the AL West leading Angels. First pitch is scheduled for 7:07 PM.

[eric7064]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread

Payroll Heading into 2022: 193M (-7M from 2021)

2022 Lineup

1. CF Adam Eaton/ Henry Browning Vs LHP
2. SS Javier Baez
3. 1B Anthony Rizzo
4. 3B Miguel Sano
5. LF Kyle Schwarber
6. RF Gary Scruggs
7. C Victor Caratini
8. 2B Alan Quick/Doug Paolucci (Rookie) VS LHP

Bench:
1B/OF Gary Scruggs (Platoon)
IF/OF David Bote
C Miguel Amaya (Rookie)
1B/OF Adam Castro (Rookie)
3B/2B Doug Paolucci (ROOKIE)

Rotation:
1. Jose Berrios
2. Julio Urias
3. Dinelson Lamet
4. Kyle Hendricks
5. Brailyn Marquez (Rookie)

Bullpen
RP Brett Martin
RP Tyler Duffey
RP Mychal Givens
RP Clyde Booker
RP Rowan Wick
RP Craig Kimbrel
RP Craig Reese
CP Aroldis Chapman

The 2023 Cubs are ready to get rolling onto a new season, and hopefully return to championship form and hope last year was a fluke.

2023 Season:

April was an up and down month for the Cubs, they started off 7-4 and continued to stay above .500 throughout the month. They did hit a snag late where they lost 4 in a row to the Cards and Giants and that put them right at .500 before they won the last couple games of the month to finish 15-13.

Early bright spots have been Anthony Rizzo who had 7HR in the first month along with a .309AVG. 2nd year pro Henry Browning in his first full time season as a starter hit .292 in the first month with 5hr/14RBI.

Javier Baez has been off to a rough start hitting .179/5HR/9RBI in the 1st month and needs to pull it together if this team wants to go far.

Kyle Hendricks was absolutely lights out, throwing 2 complete games in his first 2 starts, and finished the month 4-1, 1.70ERA, Rookie Brailyn Marquez is 3-1, 2.60ERA/27.2IP/25SO and has proven he belongs in the rotation so far this year.

Chapman has been an absolute beast closing games with 9SV in April and did not give up a single run with 17SO in 10.2IP.

The Cubs are 15-13 and are tied at the top amongst a close NL central race.

[VinceJulien14]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread

After a positive 17-13 spring in which the Jays were top 5 in home runs, runs scored, average and on base %. They headed home to the great white north with high hopes and youthful optimism. Unfortunately for them their bats went as cold as the weather. Dropping all 4 to the Red Sox and being out scored 22-12 in the series. The Jays could only muster 2 homeruns in the series.
Scores of the games were 8-6, 7-1, 3-2, 4-3 respectively.
Ryu and Shoemaker were hit hard in game 1 and 2 but Roark has a solid debut and Thornton (who earned his spot after a strong spring) went six innings allowing only 2 runs but the bullpen couldn’t hold them in it allowing 2 solo shots.
No one swung a colder bat than Bo Bichette who went 0-17 in the series.

On the injury front - Jonathon Davis had an unfortunate end to his spring training when he pulled a calf and will miss the first week or two of the season. He had the potential to crack the opening day roster but that may be in question now.
- Chris Drury is day to day with migraines.

The Jays look to heat things back up as they host the Cincinnati Reds for a 3 game set.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Gagnon39]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread



JUNE 13, 2020 | ST. LOUIS, MO

The Cubs fell behind early and did not record a hit until the fourth inning, but rallied late to top division-rival St. Louis at Busch Stadium in front of a sold out crowd. Kyle Schwarber, Willson Contreras, and Jason Heyward hit back-to-back-to back solo homers in the top of the sixth off of Cardinals starter Daniel Hudson. Javier Baez added another run with a solo homer of his own in the top of the eighth, his 21st of the year.

Yu Darvish was solid through five innings, allowing just a pair of runs on six hits while striking out six. However, due to a high pitch count Darvish was pulled in favor of Alec Mills in the sixth. Darvish improved to 9-3 on the year. The Cubs bullpen, which has been an area of concern all year, performed well. Alec Mills tossed a scoreless sixth, striking out two, Brad Weick struck out two over two frames and Craig Kimbrel sealed the deal in the ninth, recording all three outs by way of strikeout en route to his 18th save of the year.

The Cubs improve to 42-28 on the year while the Cardinals fall to 32-38. The Cubs now have a 5.5 game lead over the second place Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central division and have won five of their last six games.

Jon Lester (7-3, 3.65) will be on the mound Sunday afternoon as the Cubs look to win the series in the quick, two-game set against the Cardinals. Jack Flaherty (6-5, 3.87) will be on the bump for the Cardinals.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
RUMOR MILL
--------------------------------------------------------------------

According to multiple sources, the Cubs continue to shop for possible bullpen help and are deep in talks with the Toronto Blue Jays regarding hard-throwing righty Ken Giles. While specific details of the possible trade have not surfaced, it seems the only hang up at this point might be what exactly the Blue Jays want in return for Giles. President of baseball operations, Theo Epstein, who has been relatively quiet regarding the rumors, spoke briefly to reporters after the win in St. Louis.

"We're always looking to improve our team both now and for in the future," said Epstein. "That never changes... we're exploring all options at the moment but as always have to do what's best for the team in the long-run."

The Blue Jays could take their chances and hang on to Giles for a bit longer, hoping that his stock improves. Giles, who will be a free agent at the end of the year, currently has a 8.18 ERA, by far his highest of his career.

[eric7064]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread

2023 Season:

April was an up and down month for the Cubs, they started off 7-4 and continued to stay above .500 throughout the month. They did hit a snag late where they lost 4 in a row to the Cards and Giants and that put them right at .500 before they won the last couple games of the month to finish 15-13.

Early bright spots have been Anthony Rizzo who had 7HR in the first month along with a .309AVG. 2nd year pro Henry Browning in his first full time season as a starter hit .292 in the first month with 5hr/14RBI.

Javier Baez has been off to a rough start hitting .179/5HR/9RBI in the 1st month and needs to pull it together if this team wants to go far.

Kyle Hendricks was absolutely lights out, throwing 2 complete games in his first 2 starts, and finished the month 4-1, 1.70ERA, Rookie Brailyn Marquez is 3-1, 2.60ERA/27.2IP/25SO and has proven he belongs in the rotation so far this year.

Chapman has been an absolute beast closing games with 9SV in April and did not give up a single run with 17SO in 10.2IP.

The Cubs are 15-13 and are tied at the top amongst a close NL central race.

May was a fantastic month for the Cubs in the standings, but no so much on the injury front. A few days into the month new Cubs Miguel Sano fractured his shin and will be out of play for 2-3 months. Anthony Rizzo followed up just a week later with a fractured arm that will put him out 2-3 months.

Both of these bats are huge, they are the 3-4 in the lineup and the Cubs will need a lot of help from not only the rest of the order, but the pitching in order to stay competitive while they are out. The Cubs did exactly that in May and ended up going 18-9 on the month, and sitting at 33-22 overall, with a 5 game lead in the division.

A couple young bats in the lineup have been the standouts, Rookie 3B Doug Paolucci is hitting .294/8HR/19RBI in Sano’s absence and 2nd year 22 year old CF Henry Browning is hitting .278/10HR/26RBI and along with Kyle Schwarber has been the main components of the offense so far.
What really has propelled the Cubs this year is the rotation and bullpen, as the entire rotation outside of Lamet has under a 3.40 ERA.

The bullpen has been amazing, as Chapman has given up 1 run in 24 innings with 21 saves, RP Brett Martin has also gone 15.1IP without a single run given up. Tyler Duffey has gone 18IP giving up 2 ER and these 3 have kept the Cubs in the win column.

Can the Cubs hold on while 2 of there biggest sluggers are out? They sit at 33-22 through 2 months.

[lwp2004]

Re: MLB The Show 20 Franchise Discussion Thread

How many games a year do you guys play? I’m trying to figure out how much I want to play.