Brandon Shrider, Author at Baseball Essential

Cleveland Indians: Who is Jose Ramirez?

Apr 22, 2016

Since Jose Ramirez debuted with the team in 2013 the Cleveland Indians have pieced together three consecutive seasons better than any other year since their 96-win season in 2007. In that time he has only playe...

Cleveland Indians — Five things We’ve Learned Through Five Games

Brandon Shrider

Apr 13, 2016

Cleveland Indians, Features

Francisco Lindor continues to make case for the "best shortstop in baseball" tag Lindor is leading the Cleveland Indians with a smooth .368 AVG, including the most hits and runs. His raw power might not matc...

Who Should Be the New York Mets’ Ace? Not Matt Harvey.

Brandon Shrider

Apr 5, 2016

New York Mets, Opinions & Predictions

Jim McIsaac/Getty Images Matt Harvey is very good at what he does. The former No. 7 overall pick in the 2010 draft quickly silenced rumblings of a potential move to the bullpen by striking out 156 batters a...

2016 Atlanta Braves: New Story, Better Ending

Brandon Shrider

Mar 9, 2016

Atlanta Braves, Features, Spring Training

The 2015 edition of the Atlanta Braves was like Home Alone without Macaulay Culkin. Law & Order: SVU without Christopher Meloni. That '70s Show without Topher Grace. Or Star Wars, just Star Wars. Unwatch...

Cincinnati Reds: 2016 Offseason Report Card

Brandon Shrider

Feb 9, 2016

Cincinnati Reds, Features, Headlines, Major League Baseball, Offseason, Opinions & Predictions

Cincinnati is not just coming off a seasonally bad year in 2015. The city's beloved Redlegs had a historically bad year last season. Sporting a dismal 64-98 record, the Reds finished with the second-worst recor...

Indians have the pitching, but are they wasting it?

Brandon Shrider

Feb 3, 2016

Cleveland Indians, Features, Major League Baseball, Offseason, Opinions & Predictions

Cleveland sports leave fans shaking their heads in disgust plenty more often than waving their arms in jubilation. Financial limitations often force sporadic success, and routine letdowns have become the city's...

Cincinnati Reds Top 20 Prospects

Brandon Shrider

Jan 15, 2016

Cincinnati Reds, Features, Headlines, Major League Baseball, Minor League Baseball, Prospect Reports

Source: Elsa/Getty Images North America Three years ago the Reds were winning the National League Central with 97 wins and prospects appeared to be merely trade-bait for the next crucial piece to put them o...

Five Tough Questions for the Cleveland Indians in 2016

Brandon Shrider

Jan 13, 2016

Cleveland Indians, Features, Headlines, Major League Baseball, Offseason, Opinions & Predictions

Source: Jason Miller / Getty Images North America The Cleveland Indians are coming off their third consecutive .500-or-better season, but have seen its win total dip from 92 in 2013, to 85 in 2014 to then 8...

Five Burning Questions for the Cincinnati Reds in 2016

Brandon Shrider

Jan 12, 2016

Cincinnati Reds, Features, Headlines, Major League Baseball, Offseason, Opinions & Predictions

Source: Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images North America Barring some herculean performances from myriad unheralded players, the Reds and their fans know their place in 2016: Near and maybe at the bottom. Now see...

Pittsburgh Pirates Top 20 Prospects

Brandon Shrider

Jan 8, 2016

Features, Headlines, Minor League Baseball, Pittsburgh Pirates, Prospect Reports

Credit: MLB.com Until three years ago the Pittsburgh Pirates had underwhelmed for quite some time. OK, let's actually call it what it was. The Pirates were terrible, the laughing stock of the league rather,...

Author Brandon Shrider