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Prospectus Hit List for August 14



by Matt Sussman

Hit List for August 12 Hit List for August 17
Teams are ordered based on Adjusted Hit List Factor, a computer generated number, and the author isn't responsible for the order of the teams.

I think this is it. (It's a Hit List.)

RkTmWLW1W2W3HLFAHLF Win Div%Win WC%Playoff%1-Day7-Day
1

68

46

64.6

61.2

61.7

.560

.580

99.2%

0.3%

99.6%

-0.0%

1.1%

"Cain is Abel!" UPDATE: No, he's not his own Biblical brother. He simply is very good at baseball. Sorry for the confusion, I should have just said that in the first place.
2

73

41

71.8

65.5

65.3

.604

.585

85.5%

14.3%

99.9%

-0.1%

0.2%

So many feel-good stories in the baseball. For each feel-good story, the Cardinals euthanize an additional unicorn to add to their October strength.
3

63

52

61.4

61.6

61.7

.538

.518

82.5%

1.4%

84.0%

5.8%

16.9%

When David Wright gets back from injury he's not going to recognize this team, full of smiles and optimism.
4

64

51

63.6

70.5

68.7

.580

.560

81.4%

4.1%

85.5%

-5.2%

-8.5%

A bullpen? Did Sandy Koufax need a bullpen to win 20 games a year? No way. So this Dodgers team can't use that as an excuse, especially since many of those pitchers in Koufax's bullpen are still with the team today.
5

62

53

66.3

67.5

67.8

.573

.592

65.8%

17.5%

83.3%

-2.3%

-8.2%

If the Astros played in the National League Central, their record wouldn't be good enough to make the playoffs yet. Which is what I've said all along: the AL West needs the Astros in the worst way.
6

64

52

72.0

67.9

67.5

.585

.604

55.7%

38.0%

93.7%

1.3%

22.6%

Like the old adage says, if you want to win 11 in a row, sometimes Ryan Goins has to hit a 3-run homer.
7

62

51

62.8

64.3

63.8

.560

.579

39.0%

47.4%

86.3%

3.1%

-8.0%

The bad news for Greg Bird is he went 0-for-5 in his major league debut. The good news for Bird is Randy Johnson retired a while ago.
8

60

54

61.0

58.0

58.5

.521

.541

29.5%

25.9%

55.4%

3.6%

-8.0%

In August, Johnny Giavotella leads the team in hits, Kole Calhoun leads in homers, Albert Pujols is tied for the lead in stolen bases and Mike Trout leads in strikeouts.
9

58

56

59.5

60.8

59.9

.522

.502

17.5%

4.6%

22.0%

-9.1%

-26.4%

There are exactly forty players with more at-bats than Bryce Harper in the Nationals/Expos history. And even more astounding, Bryce Harper is younger than all of them!
10

61

53

63.0

62.8

61.8

.545

.525

17.2%

10.6%

27.8%

3.1%

-16.7%

You could build a case for Buster Posey being the MVP solely on RBIs. You might not win the argument, but at least you'll build life experience.
11

66

46

62.8

60.7

59.6

.556

.536

8.0%

80.8%

88.8%

3.2%

11.1%

Jung-ho Kang has been hit 15 times this season, a professional high for him. (In Korea, the baseballs are smaller and more polite, with a tendency to say "excuse me" to the batter.) (In Korean, of course.)
12

65

48

60.0

63.1

62.8

.555

.535

6.4%

83.4%

89.8%

2.4%

23.1%

Remember when the Cubs had a postponement because they couldn't lay the tarp down? Well now that Anthony Rizzo is making great defensive plays on them, just leave the tarp on the ground always. Boom. No more rain delays.
13

56

57

52.2

50.5

51.3

.465

.485

3.8%

7.1%

10.9%

2.5%

-5.6%

Mitch Moreland is out-slugging Prince Fielder by 20 points, but his slides are not at all funny, so it's clear who the more valuable player is.
14

58

56

56.5

59.6

59.8

.513

.533

3.5%

28.0%

31.4%

-0.3%

14.5%

A no-hitter was thrown Wednesday and the Rays weren't even in the same state. They were completely focused on not getting no-hit in their own game.
15

57

56

62.0

57.5

57.4

.518

.538

1.8%

15.2%

17.0%

-0.1%

-6.0%

The Orioles may have been no-hit, but they had more walks than the other team. Doesn't seem fair.
16

56

57

59.3

59.2

58.6

.516

.496

1.1%

0.8%

1.9%

-0.1%

0.7%

"How about that Cliff Pennington trade," you say wandering the desert, equally likely to find someone with an opinion on it than if you were in a habitable location.
17

54

61

51.2

55.8

57.1

.474

.494

0.8%

2.4%

3.2%

-0.5%

0.7%

We're all rightly fawning over Hisashi Iwakuma's no-hitter, but he's also allowed as many home runs as walks, although I don't know how to properly celebrate or address this.
18

53

60

54.2

62.8

64.0

.518

.537

0.2%

5.6%

5.9%

-2.8%

1.9%

Jeff Manship pitching in Cleveland is sort of a homecoming, as his great-great-grandfather Jefferson Manship helped build Cleveland (this city) on rock and roll.
19

55

59

52.0

54.2

54.5

.473

.493

0.2%

4.0%

4.3%

0.2%

-3.8%

Miguel Cabrera is back starting tonight, and everything will be okay with the team so long as he learned how to pitch the seventh inning.
20

54

61

51.0

49.1

49.7

.443

.424

0.2%

0.0%

0.3%

-0.0%

-0.4%

If AJ Preller still believes this team can make the playoffs, then maybe they found a secret trap door to the playoffs, conveniently stowed away in fourth place. There's a lot of baseball left, folks.
21

54

58

48.9

48.8

49.7

.450

.470

0.2%

3.4%

3.6%

-0.5%

0.3%

Other than Trayce Thompson hitting .500 in 12 major-league at-bats, so much about him is comparable to Jayson and Laynce Nix that he might be secretly related.
22

57

57

54.3

48.0

47.9

.454

.474

0.1%

4.7%

4.8%

-3.7%

-1.2%

You know that weird guy who shows up in the Price is Right contestants row, keeps winning through dumb luck, then bows out at the end? Me neither.
23

51

65

60.7

62.6

63.4

.513

.532

0.1%

0.4%

0.5%

-0.2%

0.1%

You'd think the A's lineup would be hotter than this, because the top of the order just Burns to a Crisp.
24

51

63

48.7

46.2

45.9

.421

.401

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

-0.0%

-0.0%

Here are the list of 25-and-over pitchers that have started games on the mound for Atlanta: Eric Stults, Trevor Cahill. Neither are with the team.
25

46

69

42.4

40.1

40.1

.366

.348

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

Chase Utley trade talks are just tearing this fanbase apart. Half of them don't want him to go, and the other half didn't know he was still on the team.
26

47

66

48.0

46.5

45.7

.414

.395

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

They've never talked about getting a new ballpark after Coors Field, but Nolan Arenado's B-Ref page slug is "arenano," so it's not going to happen through public funding for quite some time.
27

50

64

49.3

50.5

50.5

.439

.459

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

-0.0%

-0.3%

Through two starts, Henry Owens hasn't allowed a home run yet. But don't worry, the rest of the rotation will teach him how to do that eventually.
28

46

68

51.3

54.3

53.9

.451

.431

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

Kyle Barraclough hasn't allowed any runs in 2 2/3 major league innings. So hopefully Barraclough can keep putting donuts on the scoreboard.
29

51

62

52.1

56.6

56.0

.477

.457

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

-0.0%

It would appear that Anthony DeSclafani will wind up leading the team in innings, and he has a career 1.60 ERA against the NL Central. As long as he can grow dreads, the team be fine.
30

48

68

50.6

49.0

49.6

.425

.406

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

Remember former MVP candidate Jonathan Lucroy? He was terrific last year, and nobody knows why they traded him away for his doppelganger. Perhaps that's why Doug Melvin stepped down.