Morning Mound Visit: sabermetrics news - 8/23/19

FanGraphs | Jay Jaffe: Like many other rookies this year, Bo Bichette is making a splash for the Blue Jays. He has seven home runs over his first 21 games, which is still only the sixth-best this year alone. With great command of the strike zone and a noisy swing, he could be a central piece on the Jays for a decade... or more.

Baseball Prospectus | Matthew Trueblood ($): Ketel Marte is going to likely achieve something remarkable: he will be the first player to hit 25 home runs while playing 75 games up-the-middle and 75 in any other position. This easily cements him as one of the best super-utility players in the league since... Ben Zobrist?

ESPN Insider | Bradford Doolittle ($): Speaking of rookies, could this be one of the better years for debuts in baseball history? Not 100%, but it’s up there, ranking sixth all-time in Win Shares, matched in recent years by 2015. Yet you still have to marvel at Bichette, Pete Alonso, and Fernando Tatis Jr. no matter their ranking.