Seattle Mariners captain J.P. Crawford helped lead the team to their first playoff appearance in 21 years. It ended a streak of futility which was the longest in major North American pro sports.
Now, after setting a new standard in the Emerald City, Crawford will look to elevate the franchise to true contender in 2023. With the additions of young stars like 2022 Rookie of the Year Julio Rodriguez, the missing piece to a championship run is an offensive elevation by their web master.
During their last series of the season, Crawford was officially given the captain role after the retirement of longtime Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager.
Seattle Mariners Finish Strong
The Mariners got off to a slow start in the win column, but Crawford was one of a few players who helped keep a new roster above water until they gelled. He was among the Major League leaders in batting average, on base percentage, runs, OPS and WAR along with his teammate Ty France. Crawford was playing so well it felt almost certain he would get to participate in his first ever All-Star Game in his hometown of Los Angeles.
However, one Sunday afternoon in late June put a halt to those plans.
J.P. Crawford Involved In Wild Brawl
The game took place in Anaheim between the Mariners and the team that ultimately defeated them in that final series of 2021, the Angels. Throughout recent years — and even this season — multiple players, including former first round pick Justin Upton were hit with pitches; his, a fastball to the head a little under two weeks before hand.
With tensions already high, the Angels decided to use an “Opener” to hit a Mariners batter in the back to begin an inning.
Back-and-forth talk between outfielder Jesse Winker and the Angels bench began, which led to Winker charging towards their dugout. A fight ensued as the benches cleared and fists were being thrown until Crawford came into the scuffle to throw an overhand right in defense of his teammate.
“I always tell them, I got their back,” Crawford told reporters the next day. “Just know that I have got your back. When stuff hits the fan, I am going to be the first one out there every time. I am going to do that 10 times out of 10. I have always got my boys back.”
It was one of the biggest brawls in recent Major League Baseball history as a total of eight people were suspended including Crawford who was sentenced to five games.
Although that seemed to end the 2020 Gold Glove winning shortstops All-Star bid, it also lit a fire under the entire clubhouse and sparked the team. Seattle ended up winning 90 games to clinch a wildcard spot and end their 21-year playoff drought.
In the playoffs, the Mariners swept the powerhouse Blue Jays and set themselves up in a matchup against their division rivals in Dusty Baker and the Astros. In Game one, the Mariners pummeled Astros starter Justin Verlander and Crawford had a major blow with a huge home run off the former Cy Young winner.
The Astros would end up winning the game and taking the series 3-0, but Crawford along with his group of young superstars showed the bright lights of October will not bother them.
Crawford ended the season batting .243 with six home runs, a .339 OBP and 24 doubles. In all it was a successful 2022 for J.P. Crawford. Elevation is the key to success.
Despite Houston Astros Jeremy Pena’s strong rookie campaign in which the baby bomber won a World Series and a Gold Glove, we still consider J.P. to be the best defensive shortstop in the Majors. Crawford will, however, have to raise his average and on base percentage if he wants his name solidified as an all-around elite player at his position, especially in a stacked American League.
MLBbro webmaster extraordinaire Mookie Betts won the Rawlings National League Gold Glove Award in right field for the sixth time in his illustrious career. This is Betts’ second Gold Glove award in his three seasons with the Dodgers, becoming the fourth outfielder in franchise history to win multiple Gold Gloves, joining Willie Davis (3), Raul Mondesi (2) and Matt Kemp (2).
Mookie See, Mookie Do
After an injury-riddled 2021 broke Betts’ streak of consecutive Gold Glove Awards at five, the former MVP returned with an athletic vengeance in 2022. Betts committed just two errors over 1,154 1/3 innings in right field.
Per Baseball Savant, Betts led all NL right fielders with five Outs Above Average. Per FanGraphs, Betts also graded out as the best right fielder, leading the Majors with 15 Defensive Runs Saved.
This accomplishment is par for the course for a player of Mookie’s stature and he’s sure to have a bunch more before he’s done. Betts’ glove is so versatile that he could win a Gold Glove on the infield. He’s already displayed his prowess at second base in 2021, when he was nursing injuries.
Trent Grisham’s Glove Keeps His Butt..Er…Bat On The Field
Trent Grisham has already won his second Gold Glove in four MLB season. His first came in the COVID-shortened 2020 season. The Gold Glove is determined by combining a vote of coaches and managers and metrics developed by the Society for American Baseball Research called the SABR Defensive Index.
As of Aug. 28, the last time the SDI was made public, Grisham ranked second behind Washington’s Victor Robles. Grisham led NL center fielders in outs above average (17) and was second with eight defensive runs saved. The 25-year-old, who batted below the Mendoza line this season, but showed power with 17 homers, has a bright future ahead of him in San Diego. It’s clear that his web work is still ahead of his bat, but Grisham has all the tools and a bit of time to bring it altogether.
J.P. Crawford Robbed Of Third Straight Gold Glove
The American League unfortunately didn’t have any MLBbro Gold Glove winners despite having supreme fielders and worthy candidates such as Michael A Taylor, Byron Buxton, Cedric Mullins and 2020 and 2021 Gold Glove winner JP Crawford. It’s got to be rough on Crawford to win back-to-back Gold Gloves, establish yourself as the premier defensive shortstop in the game and then get your title taken from you by a rookie. In fact, MLB didn’t even make the new jack earn his stripes as Peña becomes the first rookie shortstop in history to win a Gold Glove, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. This selection is even more surprising when you see that Pena had the third most errors in all of baseball. The 25-year-old is good, but we have to stop with the prisoner of the moment hype.
Marcus Semien Jerked On Second Consecutive Gold Glove
An argument can also be made for Marcus Semien at second base. The 2021 AL Gold Glove winner led the AL in assists with 441 this season. Definitely don’t see how anyone in the AL is better than the former shortstop at second base. Winner Brendan Rodgers is definitely a web master and had 10 more double plays turned than Semien, but also had double digit errors (10) good for third-highest among second baseman. Semien had just seven errors in 148 games at second base. He also started 13 games at shortstop, showing his versatility as a fielder.
Myles Straw over 2021 Gold Glove Winner Cedric “CM Storm” Mullins seems like a bit of a stretch as well.
The Houston Astros organization is currently playing in its fourth World Series in the last six seasons. That despite losing key pieces like outfielder George Springer, shortstop Carlos Correa and pitcher Gerrit Cole over the last couple of seasons. But that’s why they’ve become the standard franchise in baseball over that timeframe. They found other pieces to step in and replace those key cogs. That comes from having a great farm system loaded with talent at many different positions.
One player currently developing in the Stros farm system is outfielder Zach Daniels, a talented player chosen in the fourth round of the 2020 five-round MLB Draft. Daniels was able to overcome early struggles in college and then make the cut in a year where the draft was severely shortened. At Tennessee, he sputtered through his first two seasons, only to bounce back in his COVID-19 shortened junior season with splits of .357/.478/.750 in just 17 games played.
Daniels is performing well in the Arizona Fall League, showing that unique blend of speed, raw power and supreme athleticism.
Daniels, the Astros 29th-ranked prospect hit a 481- foot moonshot homerun that registers as the longest dinger hit by an Astros player in 2022. That distinction was previously held by slugger Yordan Alvarez who’s 469-foot shot in May sent shockwaves through the RingCentral Coliseum, home of the Oakland Athletics.
Daniels told reporters this, following his big homer ….
“It’s probably the longest in my career. Probably one of the top exit velos for my home runs, too. So definitely a big home run for me.”
Daniels Has Above Average Raw Power: Struggles With Off-Speed Pitches
Throughout his Tennessee career, Daniels displayed solid power, but he also matured with his approach to the plate. Daniels started to understand how making contact and allowing pitchers to provide the power, rather than swinging for the fences, can actually produce more favorable power results.
“You let him be the power, to be honest. I can’t take credit,” Daniels said. “But, definitely, you have to shorten up and then just let him supply the power. You don’t have to try too hard or hit it as hard.”
The next step in Daniels’ development is to become better at hitting the off-speed pitches. Until then, he’s going to have problems as pitchers will continue to throw him junk they know you can’t hit.
Daniels Needs To Look No Further Than Jeremy Peña For Motivation
Daniels was fortunate to be around Astros rising star Jeremy Peña during the spring. In fact, both were routinely part of the same hitting group. While Peña earned a job from the jump and has blossomed into one of the stars of this Astros World Series run, Daniels has a little more work to do. Seeing Peña win the 2022 ALCS MVP is also good for Daniels, as it allows him a first-hand look at what hard work and dedication to your craft can do. Daniels is now even mimicking Peña’s plate discipline and stance.
“It’s kind of lay back and rotate as I go,” said Daniels explaining Pen’s style. “That allows me to make an in-game adjustment a little bit better and let’s my bat come through the zone a bit cleaner too as well.”
This MLBbro has all the tools, but he’ll need to show consistency to reach the Majors as Peña has already done. If he does, he could provide another power bat and solid glove for the Astros.
Recent Comments