With slightly over two weeks remaining in the MLB regular season, teams are making their final push towards the postseason. While the playoffs are sure to be exciting, there’s always a downside; there will be good teams and players that will miss out.
The playoffs are always better with more MLBbros in it, but all of them cannot make it.
Some MLBbros such as Mookie Betts and Byron Buxton are helping to ensure their teams’ success, but others are faltering in a crucial part of the season. These MLBbros could find themselves missing out on October fun.
Michael Harris II
Atlanta Braves center fielder and MLBbro Michael Harris II experienced his toughest MLB season so far in his young career.
After a hot start, his average has dropped significantly lower than his first two seasons, but he still has delivered Gold Glove defense in the field. But his team needs more production from him to sustain their playoff hopes. The Atlanta Braves sit one game out of the third NL Wild Card slot. It will be a race to the finish.
The MLBbro has been batting slightly better in September which bodes well for Atlanta. If “Money Mike” can return to his from his first two years, it could be enough to spark another playoff berth in Atlanta.
The Seattle Mariners shortstop has not had what one would consider a good year by most standards. Batting .200 on the season with only 23 extra-base hits is far from what the MLBbro is capable of. This is the lowest batting average of his career, and it has come batting predominantly in the leadoff spot.
Despite his struggles, Seattle is four games out of the third Wild Card spot in the AL with 16 games to go. There’s a glimmer of hope. Over the past week Crawford has been better with five hits in seven days. It may be too little too late.
The American League Central race is all but over, with the Milwaukee Brewers firmly in control. The Chicago Cubs have sprinted ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals in September and the Cardinals must rely on their players to right the ship. Young phenom Masyn Winn is a wizard at shortstop and is a very capable hitter.
However, his struggles in the second half of the season have plagued the Cardinals. He has stolen bases at a drastically lower pace, and his average has dropped. In September, the final month of the regular season the MLBbro is batting .114.
As a future cornerstone of the franchise, Winn needs to find a way to regain momentum as the Cardinals are fading out of Wild Card contention, back six games of the third NL spot with just 16 games left.
The Three Amigos, The MLBbro Big Three, The St. Louis Soul Patrol – whatever you want to call them. Masyn Winn, Jordan Walker and Victor Scott II are back in the bigs together, hoping to push St. Louis to a NL Wild Card berth.
Jordan “Sky” Waker Called Up
MLBbro Jordan “Sky” Walker was recently recalled by Da Lou with infielder Matt Carpenter being placed on the 10-day injured list with a lower-back strain.
When Walker began his St. Louis Cardinals career in 2023, he did it emphatically by matching the longest hit streak to begin an MLB career. Walker’s 12-game hitting streak tied a record held by Eddie Murphy, a player who began his career in 1912 with the Philadelphia Athletics.
Walker, just 22 years of age, had an exciting rookie season, batting .276 with 15 homers and 51 RBI, 113 OPS+ in 117 games). The phenom also added seven bases and slugged .445. His numbers would have been more impressive, and he could have given Corbin Carroll some better run for NL rookie of the Year award if the Cardinals didn’t send him down the first time, shortly after his rookie hit streak.
Masyn Winn, Jordan Walker and Victor Scott II Are Back Together In Bigs
The St. Louis Cardinals were a must-see on Opening Day as they started three young and rising MLBbros in Victor Scott, Jordan Walker and shortstop Masyn Winn started in the lineup.
Scott didn’t last long and was sent down to the minors in April. Walker got off to an horrendous start with 9 hits in 58 at-bats (.155) and 0 homers and he was sent down after 20 games.
That was undoubtedly a shocker to most, including his longtime friend Masyn Winn, who looked forward to road trips and sharing the MLB experience with Walker. While Walker had to humble himself and re-tool in the minors, Winn has ascended to one of the rising stars of the game.
The 22-year-old shortstop is batting .279 with 9 homers and 41 RBI and 10 steals. He’s also playing a dynamic shortstop and giving Cardinals fans great hope for the future. He’s living Walker’s 2023 season, without the organizational pressures of a position change and expectations of power.
Jordan Walker Makes Adjustments At The Plate
Walker wasn’t showing the “progression” the Cardinals were looking for so he remained in the minor leagues longer than we all hoped or expected.
According to reports, Walker is now starting out with a more open stance at the plate, a tweak that not only affords better vision and pitch-tracking, at least theoretically, but also forces Walker to “coil” more during his load phase and better tap into his substantial physical strength. While the sample size is quite small, the results coinciding with those changes have been impressive.
Walker is a great talent and his recent assault on minor league pitching in Memphis was enough for the Cardinals – who are 1.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves for a Wild Card slot and in the bottom of the league in homers and RBI –to call Walker up for the stretch run.
Hitting the major leagues at age 21 isn’t easy and Walker looked pretty good at it despite lacking some mechanics that would eliminate his groundballs and increase elevation.
To put it simply, the Cardinals want him to hit more bro bombs and understandably so. He’s 6-foot-5 and has the potential to be a prolific slugger. He’s shown enough of that lately for Cardinals’ brass to bring Jordan “Sky” Walker back home to St. Louis, where he belongs.
Now the real fun can begin.
Victor Scott Showing A Liver Bat This Time Around
VS2 was recently called back up and he’s not wasting his opportunity, hitting his first career homer – a game-tying, two-run shot – and in another game, drilling a line-drive double down the right field line that gave the Cardinals a 6-5 lead in the 8th inning of a huge game against Kansas City.
As the Cardinals try to steal a Wild Card slot from the Braves and NY Mets, St. Louis’ MLBbro Big Three is back together again and might turn lemons to lemonade together in 2024. Who would of thunk it?
MLB Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr. was joined by Masyn Winn and Kyle Gibson from the St. Louis Cardinals and Jordan Hicks from the San Francisco Giants, along with a host of other MLB Legends, as they unveiled the MLB Together Legacy of a new Freight Farms hydroponic farm for the kids to grow vegetables that will be used at the A.G. Gaston Boys & Girls Club as well as donated to the local community in need.
The event took place on June 20th as part of the celebration of the Negro Leagues at Rickwood Field game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Francisco Giants. Also, as part of the celebration of the life of MLBbro legend Willie Mays who passed away on June 18th.
Who Was In Attendance?
Commissioner of Baseball Robert D. Manfred, Jr.
April Brown – Senior Vice President, Social Responsibility, Major League Baseball
Larry Baer – President & Chief Executive Officer, San Francisco Giants
Stacy Blackmon – Vice President of Metro Services, Director of Organizational Development, Boys & Girls Clubs of America
Michael Hall – Vice President, Community Relations, St. Louis Cardinals; Executive Director, Cardinals Care
Jordan Hicks – San Francisco Giants pitcher
Masyn Winn – St. Louis Cardinals shortstop
Kyle Gibson – St. Louis Cardinals pitcher
Oli Marmol – St. Louis Cardinals manager
Randy Winn & Jeffrey Leonard – Giants Alumni
Xavier Scruggs – Cardinals alumnus
CC Sabathia – Special Assistant to the Commissioner; Six-time MLB All-Star; A.L. Cy Young Award Winner; World Series Champion; Bay Area native
Albert Pujols – Special Assistant to the Commissioner; 11-time MLB All-Star; N.L. Rookie of the Year; Three-time N.L. MVP; Two-time World Series Champion
Ryan Howard – Commissioner’s Ambassador Program; Three-time MLB All-Star; N.L. Rookie of the Year; N.L. MVP; World Series Champion; St. Louis native
Jimmy Rollins – Commissioner’s Ambassador Program; Three-time MLB All-Star; N.L. MVP; World Series Champion; Bay Area native
Dexter Fowler – Commissioner’s Ambassador Program; 2016 MLB All-Star World Series Champion; Cardinals outfielder (2017-2020)
Adam Jones – Commissioner’s Ambassador Program; Five-time MLB All-Star
St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn has wasted no time making a name for himself. The young superstar has quickly become an impact player on this Cardinals team and the future looks very bright with Winn in the picture.
Through 69 games, he’s hitting .299 with four home runs, 27 RBIs and eight stolen bases. He also has a five-game hitting streak.
This past weekend, Winn had an opportunity to play in a special game honoring the legacy of the Negro Leagues and one of the baseball greats and MLBbro legend Willie Mays.
The Cardinals took on the San Francisco Giants on June 20 in a game played at historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama.
At the plate, Winn has been one of the team’s top hitters. During April and May, he hit .300 or better and he’s on pace to do the same this month.
Representing the Black community, Winn was full of excitement playing in this game and knew it would be an experience he would never forget.
“It means the world to me, and to my stepdad, who came into my life early on and taught me about the history of Black baseball players and their significance in our community,” he said. “He told me about what it means to represent the African-American community. So playing in this game, it’s going to be amazing.”
We can’t get enough of @Cardinals SS @MasynWinn. He is honoring MLBbro Willie Mays tonight and representing the position for the wizard, MLBbro Ozzie Smith, in St. Louis. pic.twitter.com/JocQPVUjYf
Winn wants to continue to grow the game in Black communities. And he’s the perfect player to do so.
The 22-year-old can relate to the younger generation and tell them about his experience growing up playing the game. And he’s had conversations with fellow MLBbro and teammate Jordan Walker about impacting the younger generation.
“Jordan [Walker] and I have talked about that a lot. Especially in the St. Louis community, where there’s such a big Black population, we feel we can have a big impact,” Winn said. “In the Black community, usually it’s more about basketball and football, but we’ve got to get more African-American kids playing baseball. It would be super cool to be an inspiration to others. Being able to look up to so many people while I was growing up, I want to show these other Black kids that it’s fun playing baseball.”
Winn has a promising future ahead of him and he can certainly make a positive impact not only on the field, but in the Black communities as well.
The community in St. Louis has a strong Black presence and as long as Winn is playing for the Cardinals, he will do what it takes to make sure the youth are informed about the game of baseball.
Winn has already established himself as one of the top young players in the game, and the sky’s the limit for our MLBbro.
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