Here Today...

You blow up a team, and somebody has to take the place of the departed. In the case of the Cubs, that would be first baseman Frank Schwindel where there used to be Anthony Rizzo. Right now, Schwindel is having a grand old time as a 29-year old rookie, batting .343 with eleven homeruns and 33 RBIs in just 143 at-bats. Holy Nicky Delmonico. Delmonico broke onto the scene with the White Sox in 2017, hitting a quick six homers and batting .307 in his first—and best—month in the majors. Then he sprained his wrist, and nothing was ever the same. The Reds released him in June. And then there were Daniel Palka and Matt Davidson, two of my favorite players during the rebuild. Both of them are having great season, albeit in the minors. Triple-A must agree with their batting eye. Believe it or not, Daniel and Matt are both hitting .283. Palka also has sixteen homers and 51 RBIs for Rochester vs. 22 homers and 61 RBIs for Davidson with Oklahoma City. Maybe next year, guys. The same goes for Yolmer Sanchez, though Yolmer isn’t have a Palka-esque season with Gwinnett, hitting .221 with nine homers and 31 RBIs. The guy wins a Gold Glove in 2019, and, suddenly, he’s toxic. The front office didn’t want to go through arbitration, and so now we have Cesar Hernandez, who actually looks like he’d rather be in Gwinnett. Go figure. Some people are comparing Schwindel to long-ago Bryan LaHair, but that’s what cynics do. Every once in a blue moon a relatively old guy establishes himself, and I’ll say this for Schwindel: Check his minor league stats. He hit for power and average from early on. Why the Royals, the team that drafted him, weren’t interested after they blew up their World Series team is beyond me. If Schwindel, maybe Palka and Davidson and Yolmer….