We are approaching the end of the first third of the season, and there is an upswing in the performance of international free agents. The five main guys that first might come to mind:
1. Masahiro Tanaka: This guy has been better than expected; I would put him #1 in terms of AL Cy Young. He leads the league in WHIP, is a sparkling 6-0, and has outstanding numbers across the board. The most staggering statistic I found: in 58 IP, he has 66 K's, but only 7 walks.
2. Jose Abreu: He is the reason I can tough through Hawk's awful commentary. I thought his swing wouldn't translate well, being that it is long, but the numbers speak for themselves; leads the AL with 15 homers, XBHs, RBIs, Slugging, and surprisingly enough, Range Factor/game as 1B (Bbref).
3. Yasiel Puig: A lighting rod for sure, and whether you like him or not he is a dangerous player who plays the game at 110%. He could fight for the batting title, and definitely helped spark the Dodgers after he came up (do you remember his 1st month? I've never seen anything like it!) Not to mention one if the best arms in the game.
4. Aroldis Chapman: He threw the fastest pitch ever recorded in the majors, and struck out nearly two batters an inning last year. Arguably the best lefty reliever in the game>
5. Yu Darvish: Lead the league in strikeouts last year, and one of the best right handed pitchers in the game. If you have the time, there is a .gif of him pitching and ever time he has the exact same release point, on completely different pitches.
With those guys in mind, we also have to remember the guys who are not expected to make an impact right away, such as Soler for my cubbies, but the elite guys have proven to be elite no matter where the are playing.
Now on to the question: What will happen to the elite crop of International Free Agents? We have seen the up-scaling of contract values, especially with Tanaka and Abreu last year, but pundits may argue they should have been paid more.
Will contracts for the guys stay at what they have been generally speaking (i.e., less money for the IFA than a domestic FA)?
Will they be paid as much as they would be if the were a domestic FA?
Or will it fall in between?
1. Masahiro Tanaka: This guy has been better than expected; I would put him #1 in terms of AL Cy Young. He leads the league in WHIP, is a sparkling 6-0, and has outstanding numbers across the board. The most staggering statistic I found: in 58 IP, he has 66 K's, but only 7 walks.
2. Jose Abreu: He is the reason I can tough through Hawk's awful commentary. I thought his swing wouldn't translate well, being that it is long, but the numbers speak for themselves; leads the AL with 15 homers, XBHs, RBIs, Slugging, and surprisingly enough, Range Factor/game as 1B (Bbref).
3. Yasiel Puig: A lighting rod for sure, and whether you like him or not he is a dangerous player who plays the game at 110%. He could fight for the batting title, and definitely helped spark the Dodgers after he came up (do you remember his 1st month? I've never seen anything like it!) Not to mention one if the best arms in the game.
4. Aroldis Chapman: He threw the fastest pitch ever recorded in the majors, and struck out nearly two batters an inning last year. Arguably the best lefty reliever in the game>
5. Yu Darvish: Lead the league in strikeouts last year, and one of the best right handed pitchers in the game. If you have the time, there is a .gif of him pitching and ever time he has the exact same release point, on completely different pitches.
With those guys in mind, we also have to remember the guys who are not expected to make an impact right away, such as Soler for my cubbies, but the elite guys have proven to be elite no matter where the are playing.
Now on to the question: What will happen to the elite crop of International Free Agents? We have seen the up-scaling of contract values, especially with Tanaka and Abreu last year, but pundits may argue they should have been paid more.
Will contracts for the guys stay at what they have been generally speaking (i.e., less money for the IFA than a domestic FA)?
Will they be paid as much as they would be if the were a domestic FA?
Or will it fall in between?
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