Sunday Notes: Tyler Holton Deserved His Down-Ballot MVP Vote

Tyler Holton got a 10th-place vote in American League MVP balloting, and as you might expect, social media reacted like social media is wont to do. Responses to the news leaned negative, with a number of people saying that they had have never even heard of him. Some were disrespectfully profane, offering variations of “Who the [expletive] is Tyler Holton?”

Needless to say, not everyone who posts on social media platforms is an especially-knowledgeable baseball fan. Which is perfectly fine. There are many different levels of fandom, so if you mostly just know the big names — the Judges, the Sotos, the Witts — all well and good. Follow the game as you see fit.

Those things said, it is high time that more people become familiar with Holton. Much for that reason, Toronto Star columnist Mike Wilner doesn’t deserve the brickbats he’s received for his down-ballot nod to the 28-year-old Detroit Tigers southpaw. What he deserves is applause. And not just because he was willing to go outside the box. Holton has quietly been one of MLB’s most effective pitchers.

The numbers tell part of the story.

Since the start of last season, Holton not only has the lowest ERA (2.15) among pitchers to throw at least 160 innings: he also has the highest WPA (5.94). Over the two-year span, he has fanned 151 batters while allowing just 113 hits and 35 walks over 179-and-two-thirds frames.

As for this season’s performance, Holton boasted a 2.19 ERA and a 3.71 WPA to go with a 7-2 record, eight saves, and 14 holds. Moreover, he had a 1.06 ERA and five of his saves over the final two months of the campaign, helping spur the surprising surge that captured the Tigers an unexpected playoff berth.

The distribution of his 94-and-a-third innings over 66 appearances is notable. A Swiss Army Knife on A.J. Hinch’s pitching staff, Holton was deployed in a variety of roles, including starting nine games as an opener. As fans who followed the team are well aware, his contributions to the team’s success went beyond just the raw numbers.

Which brings us an often-asked question: Just what does “Most Valuable” mean? It would be folly to suggest that Holton provided anything close to the value Aaron Judge and his 11.2 WAR provided to the New York Yankees, or Bobby Witt and his 10.4 WAR to the Kansas City Royals. That said, while over 100 American League players outpaced Holton in the WAR category (he had just 1.4), how many of them were actually more valuable to their teams? It very well might have been more than nine, but not by a substantial amount… unless WAR is your be-all and end-all in determining value. While that’s not a wholly unreasonable stance, I’m inclined to think otherwise.

Again, kudos to Wilner for not only recognizing Holton’s value, but also for rewarding him with a down-ballot vote (which in the grand scheme isn’t really all that important; the votes near the top are what truly matter). As the Toronto-based scribe put it in his explanatory column, “Holton was the everyman for a patchwork pitching staff and, in my mind, deserved that tip of the cap.” No argument here. The vote — hat-tip if you will — was far more reasonable than what keyboard warriors on social media want to believe — especially the ones who don’t even know who the [expletive] Tyler Holton is.

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RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS

Harry Heilmann went 13 for 18 against Hank Johnson.

Todd Benzinger went 11 for 16 against Derek Lilliquist.

Bo Bichette is 9 for 16 against Nestor Cortes.

Byron Buxton is 9 for 12 against Chris Flexen.

Kevin Bass went 8 for 11 against Goose Gossage.

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Mo Vaughn had a monster season when he was named AL MVP in 1995. The Boston Red Sox slugger slashed .300/.388/.575 with 39 home runs, 126 RBIs, a 139 wRC+, and 5.1 WAR. As for whether he should have won the honor, many will be quick to point out that Cleveland’s Albert Belle slashed .317/.401/.690 with 50 home runs, 126 RBIs, a 173 wRC+, and 7.2 WAR. From a statistical standpoint, Belle was clearly the more deserving of the two.

Rarely brought up in conversations about that year’s AL MVP voting is the player who led the junior circuit with 8.3 WAR. That would be Vaughn’s Red Sox teammate, John Valentin, who slashed .298/.399/.533 with 27 home runs, 102 RBIs, and a 138 wRC+. Despite those stellar numbers, the shortstop finished a distant ninth in the voting.

And then there was that year’s NL winner. Cincinnati Reds shortstop Barry Larkin was voted MVP in the senior circuit after slashing .319/.394/.492 with 15 home runs, 66 RBIs, a 136 wRC+, and 5.3 WAR. Five other players who received votes had more WAR, including Barry Bonds (7.7), who logged 33 home runs. 104 RBIs, and a 163 wRC+.

Larkin likely wouldn’t have captured MVP honors had he played in Valentin’s league, but what about the inverse? Might Valentin have been named NL MVP had be been playing in Larkin’s league? His numbers were better, and if team success were to be factored in, their respective clubs won their divisions by similar margins. Something to ponder.

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A quiz:

Ernie Banks was named to the NL All-Star team in 11 different seasons, the most in Chicago Cubs franchise history. Which Cub had the second-most All-Star berths?

The answer can be found below.

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NEWS NOTES

The Los Angeles Dodgers have hired Chris Woodward as their new first base coach. The 48-year-old former big-league infielder and Texas Rangers manager has spent the last two years as a senior advisor in player development with the Dodgers.

The Miami Marlins have hired Joe Migliaccio as Director of Hitting and Bill Hezel as Director of Pitching. The 33-year-old Joe Migliaccio has spent the last six seasons in the New York Yankees organization, most recently as Minor League Hitting Coordinator. Hezel, a 38-year-old former Driveline employee, has spent the last two seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, most recently as Pitching Integration Strategist.

The Cleveland Guardians are reportedly hiring Alyssa Nakken to serve in a player development role. The 34-year-old Sacramento State University (BA) and University of San Francisco (MA) graduate has been with the San Francisco Giants organization since 2014 and has served as a coach at the big-league level.

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The answer to the quiz is Ryne Sandberg, who represented the Cubs in the All-Star Game 10 times. If you guessed Ron Santo, he had nine All-Star seasons as a Cub.

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The Minnesota Twins collapsed this past season. Seventeen games over .500 and with a 92.4% probability of making the postseason on August 17, they proceeded to lose 26 of their final 38 contests and finish just 82-80. Amid understandable consternation from a loyal fanbase, they were eliminated with a handful of days remaining in the campaign.

In the opinion of Derek Falvey, a lack of effort wasn’t among the reasons behind the precipitous plummet. Nor was it a lack of preparation. The team’s President of Baseball Operations made those feelings clear when speaking to a small group of reporters at the GM Meetings in San Antonio.

“It always gets written about how consistent they were and how they showed up every day,” Falvey said of successful teams. “They didn’t panic. They found a way to stay steady and never show that level of fear, weakness, or concern. On the other side, if you’re doing poorly and don’t make massive shifts during that time it’s, ‘Were you too complacent? Did you not do enough?’ We always try to strike that balance around being consistent, focusing on the things we can control every day, the work we’re doing to get them prepared for the games. And then the games happen. When they don’t go as well, it’s frustrating.”

Falvey went on to say that both the players and staff showed up every day with the same intent to win, that there was never a question about commitment. But while he didn’t state it outright, he did suggest that subconscious fear and concern were factors in the team’s inability to right the ship.

“That pressure, that tension… it manifested,” said Falvey, referring to some of the tough losses down the stretch. “The mental errors and the mistakes. It wasn’t about caring. It was about playing tight. We didn’t find a way to play loose enough to give ourselves some breathing room in games.”

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FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Japan has won 27 consecutive games in major international tournaments following yesterday’s 9-5 win over Chinese Taipei, in Tokyo. The two teams will meet again today in the Premier 12 championship game with Arizona Diamondbacks prospect Yu-Min Lin on the mound for Chinese Taipei.

Chieh-Hsien Chen has gone 12-for-19 with a home run for Chinese Taipei in the Premier 12. The 30-year-old outfielder has slashed .343/.419/.488 over parts of nine seasons with the Chinese Professional Baseball League’s Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions.

Steven Moya led the CPBL with 30 home runs this season. The 33-year-old former Detroit Tigers outfielder was in his first year in Taiwan, playing for the TSG Hawks.

Arturo Disla is 12-for-28 with four home runs for the Australian Baseball League’s Melbourne Aces. The 24-year-old first baseman in the Texas Rangers system slashed .274/.349/.458 with 19 home runs and a 135 wRC+ between Low-A Down East and High-A Hickory.

Konsta Kurikka is pitching for the Australian Baseball League’s Adelaide Giants. The first native of Finland to compete in the ABL, the 23-year-old right-hander played pesäpallo prior to switching to baseball three years ago.

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Earlier this month, I put together a piece titled General Managers Address the Highs and Lows of Starter Innings, with five MLB executives weighing in on the subject relative to their respective team’s 2024 seasons, as well as their philosophies and preferences going forward. With one exception, the execs led teams who finished in either the top or bottom two in starter innings this past season.

Not included in the piece was a perspective I received from the President of Baseball Operations of the club that had MLB’s fourth-highest number of starter innings.

“I’d still like to take my chances of having good starting pitching,” Philadelphia’s Dave Dombrowski told me at the GM Meetings. “I still believe in it. We’ll see if what’s been happening will continue, year in year out. There are different ways you can build your ball club. For instance, only having two [conventional] starting pitchers over the course of the season. Is that something that gets you to the postseason?

“I don’t know if that will be something we see on a consistent basis,” added the longtime, and likely future Hall of Fame, executive. “We’ll see if that trend — if it is a trend — continues to work. The more bullpen guys you use in a game… that means that more of them need to pitch well. There is always a chance that at least one of them will pitch poorly.”

The Detroit Tigers and Milwaukee Brewers are examples of teams that consistently got strong performances from relievers — many of whom are anything but household names — this past season. My mentioning that elicited both perspective and praise.

“They have done a good job of identifying specific type guys,” said Dombrowski. “I think that’s one of the interesting things about bullpens. With all of the information that we have in today’s game, you can sometimes identify guys who aren’t as well known to the outside world, or maybe even people on the inside. Identifying something that you think can help a particular pitcher is something we can do much better in today’s world. Those organizations have done a very good job at that.”

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FARM NOTES

Hector Rodriguez is 13-for-36 and has gone deep once for Leones del Escogido in the Dominican Winter League. A native of Santo Domingo, the 20-year-old outfield prospect in the Cincinnati Reds system had a dozen home runs, the same number of steals, and a 106 wRC+ over 541 plate appearances this year for the High-A Dayton Dragons.

Luis Suisbel is 16-for-54 and has gone deep three times for Navegantes del Magallanes in the Venezuelan Winter League. A native of Valencia, the 21-year-old switch-hitting infield prospect in the Seattle Mariners system swatted 15 home runs and had a 108 wRC+ over 552 plate appearances for the Low-A Modesto Nuts.

The Bowie Baysox have rebranded and will now be known as the Chesapeake Baysox. The Bowie, Maryland-based team is the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles.

The Carolina Mudcats, the single-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, will relocate within the state of North Carolina following the 2025 season and be known as the Wilson Warbirds.

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A random obscure former player snapshot:

Guido Knudson fanned the first batter he faced in the majors — this for the Detroit Tigers in 2015 — but it was all downhill from there. The right-hander’s strikeout of Elvis Andrus not only was followed by a Rougned Odor home run, it was a harbinger of things to come. Knudson’s career comprised four relief appearances and he was taken deep at least once in all of them. All told, he surrendered five home runs, as well as 13 hits and 10 runs, in five innings. Making the big leagues is an enviable accomplishment, but not all of those accomplishments are enviable. At least not statistically.

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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE

The Liverpool Echo’s Chris Beesley wrote about three Everton FC players’ taking part in a virtual-reality home run derby at iconic Goodison Park, and how the Chicago White Sox and New York Giants played an exhibition game there in October 1924.

Lewie Pollis’s newsletter addressed how the 2024 playoffs could change modern pitching philosophy.

Purple Row’s Skyler Timmins looked at Troy Tulowitzki’s Hall of Fame case.

Illinois Senator Dick Durbin plans to introduce the Fair Ball Act, a bill that would further protect minor league baseball players from previous legislation that exempted them from wage and hour laws. Jeff Passan has the story at ESPN.

MLB’s free agent class expanded on Friday at the non-tender deadline. MassLive’s Christopher Smith looked at some of the notable players who will now be available to the Red Sox, and to other teams.

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RANDOM FACTS AND STATS

Jonathan India has slashed .423/.531/.692 over 32 career plate appearances against the Kansas City Royals. Brady Singer has allowed one run over 12 innings in two career starts against the Cincinnati Reds.

The MLB record for most career starts without a complete game is held by Jake Odorizzi, with 237. Hall of Famer Addie Joss, who pitched for Cleveland from 1902-1910, had 260 starts and 234 complete games.

Ichiro Suzuki had 3,089 hits, 3,994 total bases, and 1,420 runs scored.
Rod Carew had 3,053 hits, 3,998 total bases, and 1,424 runs scored.

Giancarlo Stanton has 6,896 plate appearances, 745 extra-base hits, and 3,165 totals bases. J.D. Martinez has 6,865 plate appearances, 745 extra-base hits, and 3,172 totals bases.

Jim Thome slashed .237/.314/.296 with no home runs over 213 plate appearances in his first professional season.

On today’s date in 2005, the Florida Marlins traded Carlos Delgado, whom they had signed as a free agent the previous winter, to the New York Mets in exchange for Mike Jacobs, Yusmeiro Petit, and Grant Psomas. Delgado had 33 home runs, 115 RBIs, and a 152 wRC+ in his lone season in Miami.

Ken Boyer was named NL MVP on today’s date in 1964. One of eight players on the 2025 Classic Baseball Era Committee ballot, Boyer had a 130 wRC+ and a senior circuit-best 119 RBIs for the St. Louis Cardinals that year.

Players born on today’s date include Bob Malloy, whose MLB career comprised two games with the Texas Rangers in 1987 and one game with the Montreal Expos in 1990. A right-hander from Arlington, Virginia, Malloy was taken deep six times while surrendering 11 runs over 13 innings.

Also born on today’s date was Jim Northrup, a Breckenridge, Michigan native who played primarily for the Detroit Tigers in a career that spanned the 1964-1975 seasons. An outfielder who went deep 153 times, Northrup hit four grand slams in 1968, one of them in Game 6 of the World Series. He then had a two-run triple off of Bob Gibson that broke a seventh-inning scoreless tie in Game 7, helping to lift Detroit to a 4-1 win.

Teams in the 1906 Northern-Copper Country League included the Calumet Aristocrats, Grand Forks Forkers, Hancock Infants, and Lake Linden Sandy Cities. Jack Lelivelt, a native of the Netherlands who went on to play six MLB seasons, logged the first 105 of his 3,018 professional hits with the Sandy Cities.

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