Probably too early to start a 2024 thread, but is anyone else here getting irrationally excited about next year? Bello is a stud in the making, and Whitlock/Houck have made huge steps forward. Casas/Duran/Wong look like league-average players at worst, which is all you need alongside Yoshida, Verdugo, Devers, Turner, Story. Rafaela potentially up as a rookie with Jansen/Martin still your high-leverage guys and Winck/Crawford (and Pivetta?) as long men. If Chris Sale is healthy this team could be a juggernaut.
I don't know if it's irrational. I also don't see "juggernaut". But I see a team that we can definitely be excited about.
Wong currently is tied for #6 in MLB in bWAR for catchers (1.7 bWAR). He's tied with Rutschman, of all people, and Wong has that number in just 58 games, while Rutschman has played 73. So same bWAR in 15 fewer games. We have every reason to be excited about Wong.
Casas, meanwhile...
- First 26 games (through May 1): 96 pa, 3 hr, 8 rbi, .128/.281/.282/.563
- Last 43 games (since May 1): 163 pa, 6 hr, 19 rbi, .268/.356/.465/.821
Look at his ops for the last 43 games. Currently, if you look at all MLB rankings for first basemen, an .821 ops would rank #9. So since May 1, he's been hitting at a level that would rank ninth in all of MLB among 1b. That's much better than average. And he's just a rookie.
Bello's performance and development need no further description. Dude has been fantastic. Houck hasn't been as good as people may think, but he's showing himself to be a viable MLB starter. Whitlock...same thing. Not as good as it feels like he is. He's been very up and down. But on the whole, definitely encouraging.
Now, Jarren Duran. Interesting. We all know how overmatched he looked prior to this year (53 ops+ in 2021, 77 ops+ in 2022), but he came out strong this year and after a down turn, has rebounded once again. Currently has a .791 ops, 111 ops+, and is playing much better defense than he ever has before. Plus, he's an absolute menace on the base paths, with 14 steals vs. just one caught stealing. And he takes a lot of extra bases besides steals. He's become...good. Who knows if this is the "real" Jarren Duran, but right now he looks like an actually good major league player. In just 59 games, he's at 1.0 bWAR. He's "on pace" to accumulate about 2.5 bWAR, which isn't all-star material of course, but it's not bad at all. He currently sits #21 in all MLB in bWAR for CF.
The question is: is it better to move Duran right now when it looks like he's finally figuring it all out? The physical tools are tantalizing, obviously. He might be able to get Boston quite a haul on the trade market. Young, cost-controlled, with tons of physical talent that plays well in the new modern game. He could be worth quite a bit, I would think.
If they move him, they're basically saying that Rafaela is their future CF. Kiké can handle it for now (it's his best defensive position anyway) and then they move Rafaela there in 2024 or most likely 2025. Or they keep Duran but then they gotta figure out the CF situation for the future.
Anyway...it's a good problem to have, when too much talent is making its way to the majors that there isn't room for everyone.