Raptors draft: 3 Big Ten players to select in 2023 NBA Draft

Raptors draft: 3 Big Ten players to select in 2023 NBA Draft

The Toronto Raptors own the No. 13 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, which puts them in a position to turn that pick into a star player that can reverse this team’s fortunes. Toronto is in need of shooters, ball-handlers, and (ideally) one player who can help in both of those areas. The Raptors have […]
Raptors draft: 3 Big Ten players to select in 2023 NBA Draft – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

The 2023 Blue Jays, Position by Position: A deep dive into how the team’s outfield has improved defensively

The off-season is all but done, which means that it’s time to look at the Blue Jays, position by position, once again.

Four months ago, I took a look at the bullpen, the starting rotation, the catching situation, the infield, and the outfield situation (which we’ll look at today). What has changed? Who occupies each role? That’s what the redux of the series will look to answer.
The outfield changes:
The Blue Jays outfield is the position that has seen the most significant change. The original series came out at the end of October, so at the time, here’s what it looked like for the Jays.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. – Left field
George Springer – Centre field
Teoscar Hernández – Right field
Raimel Tapia – Fourth outfielder
Jackie Bradley Jr./Bradley Zimmer – Defensive replacement outfielder
Only one player remains from this group, George Springer. Here’s the outfield heading into the 2023 season.
Daulton Varsho – Left field
Kevin Kiermaier – Centre field
George Springer – Right field
Otto López/Whit Merrifield/Cavan Biggio/Nathan Lukes – Fourth outfield
Let’s compare players in the old outfield to their replacements. It’s worth noting that it won’t be a direct replacement. Varsho was not brought in to replace Gurriel, despite playing the same position.
Teoscar Hernández out, Daulton Varsho in:
In 2022, Hernández slashed .267/.316/.491 with 25 homers in 535 plate appearances. Moreover, he had a 6.4 BB% and a 28.4 K%, leading to a 129 wRC+ and a 2.4 Fangraphs WAR (fWAR). Defensively he struggled, as he posted a -3 Defensive Runs Saved and a -5 Outs Above Average in 966.2 innings in right field.
The 2023 s …

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Author: Brennan Delaney / Blue Jays Nation

There is no shortage of personal milestones to be hit by Leafs players this season

It’s training camp time, which means we are spending the next three weeks anticipating a season that is essentially an eight month long transaction to get us to the hockey that we really care about, the playoffs. I think we should be reasonably comfortable with the idea the Leafs are a playoff team, and even if the biggest pessimists will grant the Leafs the bare minimum of a wild card spot in the playoffs, while we’re waiting for that hockey we need something to keep us interested and to some degree that will include players hitting personal milestones.
That is partially why I spent some time putting together a list of what the Leafs’ individual players could achieve.
Who
Milestone
How far away
Joey Anderson
1st Leafs goal
1 goal
Joey Anderson
1st Leafs point
1 point
Joey Anderson
100 games played
42 games
Nic Aube-Kubel
100 games played
31 games
Jordie Benn
600 games played
5 games
TJ Brodie
800 games played
28 games
Michael Bunting
100 games as a Leaf
21 games
Michael Bunting
100 points as a Leaf
37 points
Michael Bunting
100 points
23 points
Kyle Clifford
800 games played
49 games
Carl Dahlstrom
100 games played
33 games
Pierre Engvall
200 games played
32 games
Pierre Engvall
100 points
38 points
Adam Gaudette
100 points
30 points
Mark Giordano
100 games as a Leaf
80 games
Mark Giordano
1100 games
76 games
Mark Giordano
600 points
56 points
Mark Giordano
400 assists
7 assists
Justin Holl
100 points
36 points
Calle Jarnkrok
600 games played
26 games
David Kampf
100 games as a Leaf
18 games
David Kampf
100 career points
16 points
Alex Kerfoot
400 games played
40 games
Alex Kerfoot
200 points
13 points
Timothy Liljegren
100 games played
26 games
Denis Malgin
200 games played
8 games
Denis Malgin
100 points
40 points
Denis Malgin
1st Leafs goal
1 goal
Denis Malgin
1st Leafs point
1 point
Mitch Marner
500 games played
73 games
Mitch Marner
500 points
45 points
Mitch Marner
400 assists
83 assists
Mitch Marner
9th on the Leafs alltime assists list (321 tied with Doug Gilmour)
4 assists
Mitch Marner
8th on the Leafs alltime assists list (330 tied with Ted Kennedy)
13 assists
Mitch Marner
7th on the Leafs alltime assists list (349 tied with Tim Horton)
32 assists
Mitch Marner
10th on the Leafs alltime points list (537 tied with Rick Vaive)
82 points
Auston Matthews
300 goals
41 goals
Auston Matthews
200 assists
2 assists
Auston Matthews
500 points
43 points
Auston Matthews
8th on the Leafs alltime goals list (260 with Wendel Clark)
1 goal
Auston Matthews
6th on the Leafs alltime goals list (296 tied with Mahovlich and Armstrong)
37 goals
Auston Matthews
5th on the Leafs alltime goals list (299, tied with Vaive)
40 goals
Auston Matthews
10th on the Leafs alltime points list (537 tied with Rick Vaive)
80 points
Matt Murray
300 games played
54 games
Matt Murray
150 wins
18 wins
Matt Murray
20 shutouts
9 shutouts
Jake Muzzin
700 games played
21 games
Jake Muzzin
200 games as a Leaf
17 games
Jake Muzzin
100 points as a Leaf
20 points
Jake Muzzin
300 points
7 points
William Nylander
500 games played
61 games
William Nylander
400 points
57 points
Morgan Rielly
700 games played
46 games
Morgan Rielly
400 points
27 points
Morgan Rielly
4th all time in Leafs defensive points (414 tied with Ian Turnbull)
41 points
Morgan Rielly
5th all time in Leafs defensive games played (717 tied with Jim Thomson)
63 games
Ilya Samsonov
100 games played
11 games
Ilya Samsonov
10th shutout
4 shutouts
Rasmus Sandin
100 games played
49 games
Alex Steeves
1st NHL goal
1 goal
John Tavares
1000 games played
51 ga …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

Raptors 2022-23 season preview: PF Juancho Hernangomez

Raptors 2022-23 season preview: PF Juancho Hernangomez

The Toronto Raptors are still trying to figure out which of their non-guaranteed contracts are going to serve as the back end of the bench in the regular season. Several players included in that group are former first-round picks looking for a new home, Juancho Hernangomez being the most prominent of them all. Hernangomez, who […]
Raptors 2022-23 season preview: PF Juancho Hernangomez – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ