MLBbro.com reporter Malik Wright caught up with Texas Rangers MLBbro pitcher and 2022 first-round draft pick Kumar Rocker. Rocker is optimistic for the season. the franchise believes he has star potential and is taking it slow with his development. He’s going to start in High A ball with the Hickory Crawdads.
Every great pitching prospect has an established MLB star that they follow closely.
Hunter Greene, Triston McKenzie and Josiah Gray are Black pitchers ages 25-and-under that will take major strides in 2023. They are also two of the six projected melanated mound marauders listed as starters on MLB rosters.
When Hunter Greene, last year’s Major League “Gas King” toes the rubber on Opening Day at Great American Park for Cincinnati, he will become the first Black pitcher in their franchises history to ever do so.
“Greene Days” are music to Reds fans ears, listening to the sounds of 100 plus miles per hour fastballs popping as they enter the catcher’s mitt.
Entering his second season post Tommy John surgery, Greene is a prime candidate to follow in Triston McKenzie’s footsteps by being gifted a Rolex for finishing with an earned run average under three. MLBbro veteran Marcus Stroman fulfilled his promise of blessing Dr. Sticks with a signature watch when he accomplished the feat in 2022.
The Reds are one of the youngest teams in baseball, but with the N.L. Central division as open as it is, Greene will be the headlining show in their rotation.
Before a late Spring Training injury shelved him for the first 6 to 8 weeks of the 2023 MLB season, Triston McKenzie AKA ‘Dr Sticks’ put his name on the map as a player who could be a sneaky Cy Young award winner following last season where he helped lead Cleveland to the ALCS, finishing the year with a 2.96 ERA and just under 200 strikeouts.
The Guardians lineup got a lot better with the addition of power-hitter Josh Bell and they will look to capture the American League Central pennant for a second straight year.
McKenzie vs. Greene
Record, ERA & K’s
Greene
11-7
3.24 ERA
202 K’s.
McKenzie
17-6
2.48 ERA
230 K’s
Keys To All-Star selections
Greene
Greene broke records last year for throwing the most pitches over 100 mph in Major League history. With the All-Star Game being a display of the game’s greatest talent, the world should be treated to an inning of Greene on the mound in Seattle.
McKenzie
McKenzie needs to start 2023 how he ended his 2022 campaign if he wants to earn the nod as starter for the American League this year. He ended September with a 2.14 ERA, 37 strikeouts and just five walks in 33.2 innings pitched.
Unhittable Pitch
Greene
No pitch is harder to hit than a fastball, and Greene has one of the best in history.
McKenzie
The curveball is the best pitch Triston McKenzie has in his bag. Last season it ranked fourth as the highest putaway strikeout pitch among all pitchers.
MLBbro Legend Comparison
Greene
Hunter Greene reminds us of MLBbro legend JR Richards.
J.R. Richards
McKenzie
Dr. Sticks is long and lanky with a power punch like Dr. K, who also shared a back-breaking curveball to complement his electric stuff.
Dwight Gooden
#HighFive Top Five Melanated Mound Marauders entering 2023
1. Devin Williams
Coming off a solid showing as the only Black pitcher on the Team USA Roster in the World Baseball Classic, Williams’ first year as the Brewers full-time closer should be another All-Star worthy campaign for the “Airbender.”
Fly Tai Walker was a force for a surprise Mexico team in the WBC. Prior to that he earned a bag from the Phillies after two solid years for the Mets. He could be the team’s missing piece after falling short in last year’s World Series.
3. Triston McKenzie
“Dr. Stix” has proved his former top prospect ranking to be true. With his feet fully in the water, the sky’s the limit for where McKenzie’s skill can take him. His two-month rehab for arm pain will hopefully only defer his potential dominance for a short stretch because baseball needs pitchers with his electric stuff.
4. Marcus Stroman
Stroman is one of the most reliably consistent pitchers in baseball following him leading the league in starts with 33 in 2021, last year Stroman posted 25 starts and an ERA of 3.50.
5. Hunter Greene
Greene ended his last 17 games last season with at least six strikeouts in all of them. This season he will be fully let off the leash and his fastball will be seen as one of the most dominant pitches in the sport.
Honorable Mention:
Josiah Gray
The 25-year-old righty is projected as the No. 2 starter in the Washington Nationals rotation. In his first full season as a starter after coming over from the Dodgers via trade in 2021, Gray showed flashed of dominance for a rebuilding Nationals franchise way out of contention.
Over 28 starts, Gray struck out 151 batters in 148 innings, showing his ability to make hitters miss. He also managed to start 28 games and win seven of them for a team that lost 107 games, tying them with the 1911 Boston Rustlers for the 17th-worst winning percentage in baseball’s modern era.
Black Jack Flaherty has ace material and Cy Young potential, but he’s only started 32 games over the past three seasons. In 2021, he got off to an electric 8-1 start and had people talking Black Ace, 20-win possibilities, but Flaherty got injured and finished the season 9-2, with a ton of what ifs.
Most analysts believe that if the St. Louis Cardinals are to be true playoff contenders, Flaherty has to be the ace and not ‘Benjamin Button’ AKA Adam Wainwright, who is still in the game, with all due respect. Flaherty has already been an Opening Day starter in 2020 and 2021. He’s the last melananted mound marauder since Ken Hill in 1995 to open up for the storied franchise.
The melanated mound marauder they called “Smoke” was a four-time 20-game winner, a two-time ALCS MVP, a World Series MVP, and a three-time World Series champion and one of 15 Black Aces in MLB history.
Today, two of our MLBbros will take the mound against each other in a NL battle. The Chicago Cubs take on the Washington Nationals. And that means there will be a bro starting on the mound for each team, as Marcus Stroman and Josiah Gray will square off.
This will be an exciting matchup between the two, even though both teams don’t have the best record. You better believe whenever these two make a start, they’re going to do their best to put their team in a position to win the game.
Both pitchers made their last start against the opposing team.
Stroman pitched on August 9, going five innings, striking out six and giving up four earned runs and Gray threw on the 10th, giving up two earned runs while striking out five.
They both earned a no decision during each game.
Well, today one of these brothers can earn a win and add it to their resume this season. Both of these pitchers have made a name for themselves during their careers, and they have represented well for the MLBbros.
Let’s take a look at how each one has performed this season.
Marcus Stroman, Chicago Cubs
Stroman is in his eighth season and his first one with the Cubs. Numbers wise, the 2022 season has not been one of his best, but Stroman has still had some impressive outings this year.
Back in May, he was lights out against the Milwaukee Brewers. He threw seven innings of shutout baseball, only allowing two hits while striking out five as he picked up the win. Don’t let the 3-5 record fool you, Stroman can still go out there and control the game from the mound.
He’s done that multiple times throughout his career, especially early on when he got to the big leagues.
Stroman will look to pick up his first win during August and let’s see if he can continue his streak of striking out six or more batters. He’s done so in his last two starts.
Gray has not been in the league long, but he’s already showing why he’s a pitcher you need to keep your eyes on.
What’s Poppin’ features a dominant bro.
Josiah Gray has given Nationals fans a reason to be excited with his last few starts. He has the best chance to provide a win against a talented Braves squad tonight.
In his second season, he’s shown tremendous improvement on the mound, and you can see that he’s more comfortable and confident too. The 24-year-old is getting a lot of experience early on in his career and that will only help him as his career progresses.
This year, Gray has owned teams on the mound. Back on July 6 he had one of his best performances of his career against the Philadelphia Phillies. He threw six innings striking out a career-high 11 batters and gave up two runs while he secured the win. Gray could finish the season with double-digit wins, which would be very impressive.
This matchup between Stroman and Gray could be a back-and-forth game as both pitchers could wreak havoc for opposing hitters.
As he did for much of 2021, Mets melanated mound marauder Taijuan Walker has carried a huge load as he’s effectively led the pitching staff in the absence of Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom.
Despite Scherzer just recently returning from nearly seven weeks on the injured list with a strained left oblique and deGrom set to reclaim his spot atop the rotation after a stint on the IL, the Mets have been able to maintain their position atop the NL East behind Walker’s ace pitching.
In fact, Sunday’s start was the first time in 10 starts that Walker failed to complete the sixth inning. He has been a workhorse and should have been named to the All-Star team considering the success of the team and how its No. 3 starter has performed like a true No. 1.
August is here and this bro is showing no signs of slowing down. @tai_walker had a very solid outing against the @Marlins. He threw 5 and 2/3 innings recording his ninth win of the season.
With the exception of a 10-day IL stint in April with bursitis in right shoulder, Walker’s 18 starts are third-most on the team (Carlos Carrasco has 20, Chris Bassitt has 19) and the last time the Mets lost in a game Walker started was back on July 10th, a 2-0 loss to the Miami Marlins in 10 innings. Walker was Black ace bangin’ in that game, going seven innings and allowing 0 runs on three hits.
Sunday’s 5 2/3 innings pitched was the first time since June 2 that Walker didn’t deliver a quality start, but it was enough. He was on his bulldog, throwing 101 pitches in a 9-3 Mets win, while lifting his record to an impressive 9-2.
“I didn’t think I had my best stuff,” Walker said. “The offense did a real good job of scoring runs early. I really wanted to go out and finish the sixth inning…it was alright.”
As Walker continues to provide solid outings and innings for the Mets – and his splitter’s effectiveness continues to rate an all-time level – the standard that he’s judged by also increases.
Max Scherzer’s return definitely alleviates some pressure for Walker. Since coming off the IL Mad Max has a 1.39 ERA in 32.,1 innings pitched with 45 Ks in five starts. deGrom could post even better numbers when he returns. The win was also the NL East-leading Mets’ sixth straight win as they get locked in and fully loaded for the playoff stretch run.
Now do you understand why the Mets will be almost impossible to defeat come playoff time if fully armed?
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