The Fly Ball Revolution and the Year of the Home Run
It would be tough to argue that there was a bigger story in 2017. After years of lower offense, the Fly Ball Revolution (as well as potentially juiced baseballs) led to the largest single season output of home runs we've ever seen. Players like Daniel Murphy, Justin Turner, Josh Donaldson, and J.D. Martinez were at the forefront of encouraging hitters to increase their launch angles, and for most who followed (such as Yonder Alonso, Chris Taylor, Trea Turner, Ryan Zimmerman, etc.), the results were enormously positive. 2000 may have seen greater overall offensive output (fueled by the Steroid Era), but the real story of 2017 was specifically the home run. Francisco Lindor blasted 33, Rougned Odor hit 30, Chris Taylor hit 21, Marwin Gonzalez hit 23, and 5'5" Jose Altuve hit 24. None of these guys would ever strike you as home run hitters, but this was the Year of the Home Run, and it will likely continue as hitters keep aiming for fly balls rather than ground balls.
The World Series We All Wanted
Sure, it is nice when an underdog breaks through the ranks and makes a surprise run to the World Series, but every once in a while, it's nice to see the two best teams in baseball, the two that dominated their respective leagues, go head to head in a best of seven series. The 104 win Dodgers, led by the best pitcher in baseball, a deep rotation, bullpen, and lineup, and a plethora of breakout stars, matched up against the 101 Astros, led by the best collection of bats we've seen in recent memory. The Series itself lived up to the billing, showcasing back-and-forth game after back-and-forth game as the two equally matched clubs battled it out.
And a Win for Analytics
The Astros and Dodgers are two of the most analytics-heavy teams in the game, and it was a huge win for the nerds as those two met in the World Series. Analytics is growing around baseball, and what we saw this year will only speed that up.
Yankees Get Their Superstar, Prepare For New Dynasty
This may be the most visible effect of the 2017 season. The Yankees have always been a team known for their superstars: from Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig to Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Mickey Mantle, Thurman Munson, Ron Guidry, Don Mattingly, and Bernie Williams, it seems like every era can be defined by Yankees great or greats. Most recently, the Yanks were defined by the "Core Four" of Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, and Andy Pettitte, and you can throw Alex Rodriguez and Mike Mussina in that group as well. However, over the past half-decade or so, the lineup has been devoid of any superstars as the team has attempted to rebuild. That all changed this year, when Aaron Judge exploded onto the scene with 52 home runs, and he could be the AL MVP when all is said and done. One season isn't enough to label somebody the next DiMaggio or Mantle, but the MLB is a different place when the Yankees have a superstar. Combine Judge with up and coming stars like Gary Sanchez and Luis Severino, as well as top prospects Gleyber Torres and Clint Frazier (though Frazier technically is not a prospect), and this could be a new dynasty in the making.
Shift in Pitching Staff Management Continues
On a per batter basis, relievers are better than starters simply because they don't have to pace themselves. Managers are slowly beginning to realize that, and starting pitchers are finding themselves with shorter and shorter leashes. In the playoffs, teams have already almost fully adopted the strategy of yanking starters early and using your "closer" when you need him most (not necessarily in a "save situation"), and we're starting to see that strategy filter into the regular season. Starters are throwing the fewest percentage of their teams' innings in history and the trend is clearly continuing downwards. Hopefully, 2018 will be the year that "closers" start to come in at the most critical situations, not "save situations," at a higher rate. New Red Sox manager Alex Cora has hinted that he may be one to start that trend.
Braves, White Sox Position Themselves as Future Superteams
Many teams are rebuilding, but during the 2017 season, no team built up their farm system better than the Braves and White Sox. They Braves did so more through player development, which is cheaper and more sustainable, while the White Sox did so through trades, but both farm systems are fearsome to say the least. The Braves' system was led by the emergence of super-prospect Ronald Acuna, but other hitters such as Cristian Pache, Kevin Maitan, Cristian Pache, and Drew Waters help round out the offensive core. However, it's the pitching that is really exciting down on the farm, led by Luiz Gohara, Kolby Allard, Mike Soroka, Kyle Wright, Max Fried, Joey Wentz, Ian Anderson, Bryse Wilson, Kyle Muller, Touki Toussaint, and many more. The talent pipeline here is seemingly endless, and they could have an extremely deep MLB roster in the near future. Meanwhile, the White Sox' system is a conglomeration of the former top prospects of other teams, as they have acquired top prospects Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, Eloy Jimenez, Dylan Cease, Blake Rutherford, Dane Dunning, and Ryan Cordell, as well as mid-level guys like Ian Clarkin, Charlie Tilson, Luis Alexander Basabe, and A.J. Puckett. They also have their fair share of homegrown talent, led by recent draft picks Carson Fulmer, Alec Hansen, Zack Collins, Jake Burger, and Zack Burdi, as well as Cuban star Luis Robert.
Bud Black Establishes Rockies' First Effective Starting Rotation
You may not have noticed it, but first year Rockies manager did something amazing with the Colorado rotation. The team has difficulty attracting top-flight starting pitchers to ruin their career numbers in Coors Field, and young pitchers can often have their confidence dashed when they get blown up in the extremely hitter-friendly conditions. Because of this, the Rockies have never had a starting rotation worth bragging about until a staff full of rookies went out and shoved. 25 year old Jon Gray, in his second full season, went out and led the rotation by going 10-4 with a 3.67 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP, with his 73 ERA- (ballpark adjusted, lower is better, 100 is average) being better than that of Carlos Carrasco (73), Justin Verlander (76), Rich Hill (80), Madison Bumgarner (80), Jake Arrieta (81), Lance Lynn (81), and Yu Darvish (86), just to name a few. However, he was far from the only Rockies' pitcher to break out. 24 year old rookie Kyle Freeland went 11-11 with a 4.10 ERA (82 ERA-) and a 1.49 WHIP, 22 year old rookie German Marquez was 11-7 with a 4.39 ERA (87 ERA-) and a 1.38 WHIP, and fellow 22 year old rookie Antonio Senzatela was 10-5 with a 4.68 ERA (93 ERA-) and a 1.30 WHIP. That's four pitchers 25 and under, three of which had never thrown an MLB pitch prior to 2017, who went out and pitched better than league average in the toughest of situations. While the offense struggled outside of Charlie Blackmon and Nolan Arenado, these four were fun to watch, and could be the anchors of a great Rockies rotation for years to come.
Mike Trout, Clayton Kershaw Continue to Build Resumes As All Time Greats
Though both missed time to injury this year, Trout and Kershaw are looking more and more like they could will end up among the all time greats at their positions. In 114 games, Trout slashed .306/.442/.629 with 33 home runs and 22 stolen bases, marking his sixth straight season with at least 6.9 fWAR and a 167 wRC+. Through 925 games and at age 26, he has accumulated 54.4 fWAR, which puts him 156th all time and ahead of greats like Vladimir Guerrero (54.3), George Sisler (51.9), Jim Rice (50.8), David Ortiz (50.7), and Fred Lynn (49.2). With another seven win season (his career low is 6.9), he could jump to 110th all time. Meanwhile, Clayton Kershaw made only 27 starts, but he still went 18-4 with a 2.31 ERA, a 0.95 WHIP, and a 202/30 strikeout to walk ratio in 175 innings. In terms of ERA as well as WHIP, that was actually his worst season since 2012, when his 2.53 ERA and 1.02 WHIP were best in the National League. Yes, you read that correctly; by two good metrics, his worst season in the past six seasons was still best in the National League. For his career, he is now 144-64 with a 2.36 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP, giving him the lowest ERA by a starter in the history of the Live Ball Era (post 1919, minimum 1500 innings), way ahead of second place Whitey Ford (2.75). In terms of ERA- (see above paragraph), his 62 mark is the lowest of all time.
New Wave of Stars Continues to Emerge
Though it was a great year for rookies Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger, many young players who have already established their names are working their way from star-level to superstar-level. Jose Altuve, after a few years of above average production, has now put up back to back seasons of 6.8 fWAR and 7.5 fWAR, proving 2016 was no fluke and establishing himself as one of the top players in the game. Meanwhile, the Indians built up a pair of homegrown offensive stars, with Francisco Lindor posting fWAR's of 6.2 and 5.9 over the past two seasons and Jose Ramirez quietly turning himself into an elite third baseman. We all know about Lindor's great defense and dynamic offensive style, but Ramirez goes criminally un-talked about. He was very good in 2016 (.312/.363/.462, 11 HR, 46 2B, 4.7 fWAR), but he really burst out in 2017, slashing .318/.374/.583 with 29 home runs, 56 doubles, six triples, and 6.6 fWAR. Together, he and Giancarlo Stanton not only tied for the MLB lead with 91 extra base hits, but also posted the most in a season since Chris Davis' 96 in 2013. Another big season from Ramirez and we should start to hear is name a lot more in the national baseball media. Furthermore, Corey Seager nearly matched his huge rookie campaign, working to join Trout and Kershaw as the faces of West Coast Baseball. After posting a ridiculous 7.4 fWAR as a 22 year old rookie in 2016, he was able to rack up 5.7 in 2016 despite only playing in 145 games. There is also Kris Bryant, who nearly matched his MVP 2016 season with a 6.7 fWAR campaign (after 8.3 in 2016). On the mound, Noah Syndergaard may not have been able to further his name, but one Indians pitcher is quietly out-pitching tons of big names. Carlos Carrasco just posted his third season in the past four years with an ERA of 3.32 or lower, with 2017 actually being his best yet. Over 32 starts, the 30 year old went 18-6 with a 3.29 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP, striking out 226 and walking 46 in 200 innings. He's not a traditional rising star given his age, but he is a late bloomer who has not received enough attention from national baseball media. Luis Severino had everything to prove after a disastrous 2016, and he proved it all by going 14-6 with a 2.98 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP, striking out 230 in 193.1 innings. Other young pitchers to insert themselves into the national discussion or otherwise enhance their names include Robbie Ray (15-5, 2.89 ERA, 1.15 WHIP), Marcus Stroman (13-9, 3.09 ERA, 1.31 WHIP), and Drew Pomeranz (17-6, 3.32 ERA, 1.35 WHIP). Relievers Corey Knebel (1.78 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 126/40 K/BB), Brad Hand (2.16 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 104/20 K/BB), Felipe Rivero (1.67 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 88/20 K/BB), and Chris Devenski (2.68 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 100/26 K/BB) also did great work to join the Kenley Jansens, Craig Kimbrels, and Aroldis Chapmans at the top of the reliever hierarchy.
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