Hogs in the Bigs, Week 10 Review

Wild card week starts tomorrow, and you’re gonna be seeing some Razorbacks out there! Four Pro Hogs on the Marlins and White Sox will be fighting for a shot at a World Championship. Here’s how they did this past week.

Brian Anderson (Miami Marlins) – .255 BA, 11 HR, 27 R, 38 RBI

Brian may have had his best year, if we adjust for the limited amount of games this year. He ended the regular season with a WAR (Wins Above Replacement) of 1.7, highest amongst the Marlins. Aside from leading the team in home runs and RBIs, this guy makes ridiculous defensive plays from third base. He’s a fun one to watch.

Brian and the Fish are traveling to Chicago to take on the Cubbies this week in the Wild Card Series. I’ll be happy seeing him launch a few in Wrigley.

Previous Week: Heyyy. Brian Anderson went and did a thing Friday night.

Hang on. Being told Brian Anderson kept doing a thing Friday night.

Wait a minute, I’m hearing that the thing that Brian Anderson did has been stamped permanently onto the Nationals.

Jalen Beeks (Tampa Bay Rays) – 1-1, 3.26 ERA, 26 K, 1 Save

Bad news struck Jalen pretty hard, when he tore his ulnar collateral ligament. He’s done for the year and will undergo Tommy John surgery. So he’s done for 2021, too. May he keep his head up, get after recovery, and come back stronger than ever.

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

They made it official: Benny’s done for the year. This was shaping up to be a lost year for Benintendi, at any rate, before he went on the Injured List. The goal now is to get ready to completely own 2021.

Logan Forsythe (Miami Marlins) – .118 BA, 1 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI; 0-0, 9.00 ERA

Forsythe went down with an oblique strain and was placed on the 60-day IL. He’s done for the year.

Dallas Keuchel (Chicago White Sox) – 6-2, 1.99 ERA, 42 K

The White Sox couldn’t hold on to the AL Central title, but they’ll be rolling into the playoffs with a big-time pitching staff, led by the veteran lefty Hog. Keuchel pitched once this week, allowing one run to the Indians over six innings. He didn’t get the decision, as the Sox couldn’t take advantage of his brilliant start. Every pitcher is looking up at Shane Bieber’s season this year, but Dallas’s sub-2.00 ERA is going to get him some Cy Young votes.

Previous Week: Keuchel did fantastically in his first start back from the IL. He shut out the Reds and struck out seven in four innings of work. Clearly, he could have gone deeper, but he was on a pitch count. No need to reaggravate a bad back when your team’s already clinched the postseason. He’ll have one more start against Cleveland before the playoffs begin for the Sox.

James McCann (Chicago White Sox) – .289 BA, 7 HR, 20 R, 15 RBI

It may just be me, but, for me, I would start the guy who is fifth on the team in WAR, despite starting in less than half of the White Sox’ games this year. Good things happen when James McCann is in the game.

Put him in.

Previous Week: James had another big night against the Twins on Tuesday, smoking one out to left field. A few innings before that, he notched a double that scored a run and gave the White Sox a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Keep an eye on Chicago in the playoffs, because I expect McCann is going to go off.

Drew Smyly (San Francisco Giants) – 0-1, 3.42 ERA, 42 K

Smyly and the Giants juuuuust missed the playoffs, losing out in a tiebreaker due to the Brewers’ better intradivisional record. If Drew hadn’t missed so much time on the Injured List, we may have seen him pitch in October. He took a tough loss on Sunday, losing to the Padres, despite dropping ten strikeouts in five innings. I’m excited to see him pitch in 2021.

Previous Week: Smyly didn’t quite have the night he’d envisioned in his first start (and second appearance) after coming off the Injured List, exiting the game in the fourth inning. His eight strikeouts in a short night is absurd, and we can only imagine what he’d done if he hadn’t run into trouble so quickly. He’s got another chance coming up Tuesday, against the Rockies.

Ryne Stanek (Miami Marlins) – 0-0, 7.20 ERA, 11 K

Stanek’s week was up-and-down, shutting the Braves down over two innings on Monday, then giving up three runs to the Yanks in a blowout loss. Despite that, he’ll be an important piece of the Marlins’ pen in Chicago this week.

Previous Week: Stanek sandwiched giving up a two-run dinger in a blow-out win between two solid scoreless efforts last week. Ryne and the Marlins have a huge opportunity starting today, challenging the Braves in a four-game set for the division crown.

This tweet has me geeked completely out.

The White Sox will begin play against the Athletics in Oakland on Tuesday at 2pm (and Keuchel will get his start Wednesday at 2pm on ESPN). The Marlins will take on the Cubs on Wednesday at 1pm.

Can not wait.

Thanks for reading. Go ahead and follow @ArkansasFight on Twitter. For Hog reactions and tips on growing and maintaining Keuchel-level facial hair, follow @lukecdavis.