Hogs in the Bigs, Week 4 Review

Our Pro Hogs, for the most part, are playing on teams with real postseason aspirations. With the postseason expanding to sixteen teams, clubs like the Marlins and White Sox will be easy to root for as they have real shots do some work in October. As long as October happens!

Brian Anderson (Miami Marlins) – .235 BA, 4 HR, 8 R, 14 RBI

Brian was cooking earlier in the week, hitting home runs on back-to-back days. Anderson has gone off since the Marlins’ return to baseball. He’s been a big part of the reason Miami is tied for first in the National League East. If you don’t have a dog in the fight as far as favorite teams, you could do worse than rooting for Miami and its three Hogs.

Previous Week: It didn’t take long for Brian Anderson to get back into the swing of things. Two games into the Marlins’ restart, Anderson got a-hold of one, sending it over right field. The home run was the only score of the Marlins’ 1-0 win at Baltimore. Anderson has gotten a hit in eight of the ten games he’s played. Doin’ good!

He can show out on defense, too!

Jalen Beeks (Tampa Bay Rays) – 1-1, 4.20 ERA, 21 K

Jalen picked up his first win of the season on Thursday, pitching two scoreless innings in relief against the Boston Red Sox. His 21 strikeouts in 15 innings is standing out, making him a valuable cog for the Rays. Here’s an article about how Beeks is getting so many batters to whiff.

Previous Week: Beeks had another up-and-down week. On Wednesday, he pitched a perfect ninth inning, striking out two, against the Red Sox in a losing effort. On Saturday, Beeks pitched fine early but ran into trouble in his second inning, giving up two runs and nearly costing the Rays a victory over the Yankees. When he’s on, Beeks looks the part of a solid middle reliever. He’ll strive for consistency the rest of the way.

Andrew Benintendi (Boston Red Sox) – .103 BA, 4 R, 1 RBI, 1 SB

Benintendi had finally (finally) gotten his first multi-hit game of the season when he took a fall Tuesday, straining his right ribcage. He’s been put on the Injury List, and his manager said he’ll need more than the ten-day IL time to recover. I’m not gonna jinx it by asking how the season could get worse for Benny, but jeez. Get better and come back swinging, bud.

Previous Week: One has to wonder how much longer Benintendi will get steady playing time. This week, he’s gone hitless, and in the last two games, he’s been taken out early for a pinch hitter. He’s too talented not to figure it out, but time and chances are going to run out on him before long. You know the pressure is mounting in his head.

Logan Forsythe (Miami Marlins) – .125 BA, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI

Forsythe struuuuuuggled at the plate in his three games this week, going 0/11 with 6 Ks to his name. As the enormous number of Marlins on the IL return to action, Logan may find himself on the outside looking in.

Previous Week: Welcome back to The Show, Logan Forsythe! The journeyman has gotten starts in four games this week. He had a solid day at the plate on Thursday, going 2/4 with a run, but his highlight came on Saturday, when he sent one deep beyond center field.

Dallas Keuchel (Chicago White Sox) – 3-2, 3.07 ERA, 16 K

After getting almost no help offensively in his start last Monday, Keuchel had some words to say about the effort his teammates were giving him. They responded by winning their next two games, and he responded on Sunday with a good effort, making easy work of the Cardinals through the first five innings.

Previous Week: Keuchel had his best start of the season on Wednesday, going seven innings against the Brewers, striking out eight and allowing only a single run. Unfortunately, the White Sox offense couldn’t back him up, and the 0-1 score gave Keuchel his first loss. He’ll try to keep the momentum going today against the Tigers.

James McCann (Chicago White Sox) – .343 BA, 3 HR, 5 R, 5 RBI

McCann had a pretty productive week in limited opportunities (boy, that’s just gonna be his season, I guess). The highlight of the week was a 2-for-3 day with two walks against the Tigers on Wednesday.

Previous Week: Another start, another rake for James McCann. McCann has had the best production of any pro Hog this season, while still only playing in about half of the White Sox’ games this year. He’s caught all three of Keuchel’s starts so far this year, so let’s see if he does it again today. The Keuchel-McCann connection soothes my soul.

Drew Smyly (San Francisco Giants) – 0-0, 3.24 ERA, 11 K

Smiles hasn’t pitched in a game since the first day of August. A report from Kerry Crowley of the San Jose Mercury News states he is throwing off flat ground and was to be re-evaluated over the weekend. Here’s hoping some good news will follow.

Previous Week: Smyly hasn’t pitched since being put on the 10-Day Injury List on August 2. He isn’t expected to play until late August.

Ryne Stanek (Miami Marlins) – 0-0, 27.00 ERA, 1 K

Ryne’s been on the IL since August 4th for an undisclosed reason. No news has been reported since. So...idk?

Previous Week: Stanek hasn’t had a chance to lower that unsightly ERA, as the Marlins placed him on the 10-Day Injury List on Tuesday. Hopefully, he’ll get his chance soon.

With the shortened season, it doesn’t take much for our boys to make an impact on the season. Seeing guys like Brian Anderson and Dallas Keuchel leading their teams forward makes you proud.

Thanks for reading. Go ahead and follow @ArkansasFight on Twitter. For Hog reactions and puns from the guy who wanted to call this feature “Pigs in the Bigs”, follow @lukecdavis.