Elly De La Cruz

Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about Ben’s voice, the arrival of Elly De La Cruz, the similarities between the up-and-coming Reds and Pirates, whether we need a “super-error,” Aaron Judge’s ball- and wall-smashing abilities, the plights of Alek Manoah and Stephen Strasburg, the wonder of Luis Arraez, whether this year’s trade deadline will be dead, follow-ups on the Angels’ catchers, Ben Joyce’s fastball, and Albert Pujols’s employment, how the pitch clock could affect players’ stamina in the second half, and more, plus a Past Blast from 2016 (1:34:00) and a few updates (1:38:25), including thoughts on Jacob deGrom’s diagnosis. Audio intro: Harold Walker, “Effectively Wild Theme” Audio outro: Alex Eichler, “Wild Shift” Link to MLBTR on Elly Link to Rosenthal/Judge interview Link to Red Sox/Rays play Link to Sox errors montage Link to FARTSLAM post Link to Knoblauch FARTSLAM Link to Stark on Judge Link to story on Judge and the wall Link to McCray catch video Link to Judge dachshund video Link to Judge/Rizzo doxie article Link to Judge/Rizzo doxie shirt tweet Link to Judge/Rizzo doxie shirt photo Link to Manoah gamer Link to MLBTR on Manoah Link to Dan S. on Manoah Link to Halladay’s rebuild Link to Strasburg article Link to Baumann on Arraez Link to B-Ref baserunning page Link to xWOBA overperformers Link to xBA overperformers Link to Arraez’s 2019-22 BA-xBA Link to Arraez fun fact 1 Link to Arraez fun fact 2 Link to Arraez fun fact 3 Link to Arraez fun fact 4 Link to Young on the deadline Link to MLB.com on the deadline Link to team catcher offense Link to highest-FA% pitchers Link to BP on Joyce Link to MLBTR on Pujols Link to Blum on Pujols Link to 2016 Past Blast source Link to MLB committee report Link to early-2016 Ben article Link to mid-2016 Ben article Link to baseball drag values Link to De La Cruz gamer Link to Clemens on HFA Link to Judge fence article Link to MLBTR on deGrom Link to deGrom interview video  Sponsor Us on Patreon  Facebook Group  Twitter Account  EW Subreddit  Effectively Wild Wiki  iTunes Feed (Please rate and review us!)  Get Our Merch!  Email Us: podcast@fangraphs.com Source

Elly De La Cruz, with 30 steals in 44 games, is the highlight. Clarke Schmidt's breakout potential is discussed. Speculation on James Wood's call-up. Rookies like Jared Jones and Jackson Merrill are checked in. Analysis on buying Justin Steele and selling Cristian Javier. Week 9 schedule, two-start pitchers, and top sleeper hitters are covered. The podcast wraps up with bullpen discussions and streamer recommendations.