Baseball is a big team sport and relies on multiple factors to achieve a winning ball club. Without every moving part coming together it is hard to consistently get wins. In baseball among other sports everyone has a specific role that they contribute to their club. If that means being a star leadoff hitter your role is to simply get on base and start the rally, if it means being the cleanup hitter your role is to clear up the bases, if you’re a lockdown closer it means your role is to get three clean outs as fast as you can. Everyone has a job and if you’re not doing your job winning becomes harder. Star players like Ronald Acuna Jr, Mike Trout, Spencer Strider, Shane Bieber, Jeff McNeil are all suppose to be big contributors to their team with their specific role, but when these guys go down it is hard to put a winning team down.

However, if your team is built to succeed, there will always be a replacement player ready to step up and bring success, even if it doesn’t seem possible at first. Even when the absence of star players is keenly felt, it comes down to the “next man up” mentality to fill the void and provide crucial support for the team. This group of five players are all-star caliber, boasting accolades such as 4 MVPs, 2 Rookies of the Year, 1 Cy Young, 1 Triple Crown, and a batting title among them. Unfortunately, 2024 has not been kind to these five all-stars. But thankfully, there is no cause for concern as the “next man up” mentality becomes more evident, especially with the impressive strides these replacement players are making.

Ronald Acuna: Lets start with the most oblivious loss, the reigning NL MVP of the Atlanta Braves; Ronald Acuna Jr who recently went down for the season with a torn ACL in his left knee. It is the second time the young Venezuela went down with an ACL tear for the season, the last time this happened was 3 years back in 2021 the same year the Braves won it all in the World Series. Ronald Acuna came off a historic MVP season where he became the first member of the elite 70SB/40HR club. With the addition of larger bases in 2023 it marked a spike in stolen base attempts for baseball. 2023 reached an all-time best 80.2 percent in 2023 vs. 75.4 percent in 2022 and Acuna was a large part of that amassing 73 stolen bases in 159 games played. Last season Acuna had an insane stat line of .337/.416/.596/1.012 for an OPS+ 69% better than league average (169+), with 217 hits, 149 runs, 106 RBIS to match with 41 Homeruns it was seriously one of the best MVP seasons in recent history as Acuna amassed 8.2 WAR. Well with Acuna seemingly out for the season its a giant void that needed to be filled either internally or externally. Nonetheless the most surprising candidate to fill Acuna’s hefty shoes has already been with the club since 2020.

Replacement Player: Marcell Ozuna (2.3 WAR): Fear not, for the absence of Acuna is mitigated by the stellar production of Marcell Ozuna in the 2024 season. Ozuna is on track to deliver another MVP-worthy performance for Atlanta. At the 60-game mark, Ozuna has already amassed impressive statistics: 69 hits, 55 RBIs, and 18 home runs (leading the league in both categories). His batting line of .312/.389/.611 (leading the league in slugging) and 1.000 OPS (leading the NL) have earned him the highest OPS+ among qualified NL hitters (180+). Ozuna’s outstanding performance has positioned him as a top contender for another All-Star selection, this time as the NL designated hitter, outperforming Shohei Ohtani in nearly every offensive category. After crushing 40 home runs in the 2023 slugger fest with the Braves, Ozuna is poised to surpass those numbers in the 2024 campaign. He is currently on pace to rack up an impressive 151 RBIs and 49 home runs, which would undoubtedly earn him significant MVP consideration.

Mike Trout: Mike Trout is a no doubt hall of famer, already amassing 86 WAR and solidifying himself as a top ten CF in baseball history with just 14 years of service time. Sadly since Trout’s 3rd MVP award in 2019 he has not been the same electric player as injuries and age have caught up to him. He’s dealt with a plethora of injuries from a fractured left hamate, a back injury, a strained left calf in 2021, and just recently had issues with his left knee requiring him to receive surgery and be out for the remainder of the Angels 2024 season. All these injuries have been a serious struggle for Trout to stay healthy for at least 130 games since 2019. Well the most improbable player stepped up big time to fill the void for the Angels of another loss of Trout.

Replacement Player: Kevin Pillar (1.1 WAR): Following a dismal 17-game stint with the White Sox where Kevin Pillar struggled, hitting just .160/.290/.360/.650 with an OPS+ of 85—well below the league average of 100—and managing only 4 hits, 4 RBIs, 1 run, and 1 homer, the veteran’s tenure with the team came to an abrupt end. Even the league’s lowest-performing team couldn’t withstand his disappointments, prompting his release. However, when news broke that Trout was likely out for the remainder of the 2024 season, the Angels took a gamble on Pillar, a move they haven’t regretted since his debut. In his 23 games with the Angels, Pillar has been nothing short of sensational, boasting a remarkable .368/.407/.632/1.039 batting line with an OPS+ of 189+. In this brief period, Pillar has surpassed all expectations, tallying 28 hits, 23 RBIs, 5 homers, and a mere 12 strikeouts. This unexpected surge in production has been a revelation for Pillar, whose career OPS+ of 89 pales in comparison to his outstanding numbers with the Angels this season. Pillar has emerged as a pivotal figure for the Angels, and fans are hopeful that his impressive form will continue to uplift the struggling Anaheim ball club.

Spencer Strider: A young hard throwing righty pitcher who’s amassed almost 500 career strikeouts in just two years of big league starts was shut down at the beginning of the 2024 season. After 2 games and 9 innings of play he was shut down for the rest of the season to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. Its the second time the young ace had undergone a serious arm injury requiring him to get surgery, the last time occurred in 2019 when he was still an undergrad at Clemson University. In two years of starts of the Braves he’s amassed 31 wins in 63 starts and 483 strikeouts. Strider is one of many pitchers sidelined for a good chunk of 2024 after having a stellar 2023 campaign. The damage throwing with that much power and velocity can do to your body is really evident that the younger guys need to worry more about their command issues than on being the most dominant guy on the mound. Its unfortunate that one of MLB’s brightest young stars is out for the season. But luckily the guy stepping up in Strider’s absence shares a similar storyline with the kid.

Replacement player: Chris Sale (1.7 WAR): The resurgence of vintage Chris Sale could not have come at a better time than now with the loss of Strider for the season. After being traded for Vaughn Grissom many fans were reluctant to believe Chris Sale could turn it all around after being a below average player with the Red Sox following the 2018 World Series victory. Nonetheless Chris Sale has found his stride and is putting up his best season to date since 2018. The 35 year old lefty already has an 8-1 record, 3.06 ERA in 68 innings pitched. He’s been pretty much lock down, he’s held batters to a .213 BAA/ WHiP of 0.95 and 82 strikeouts. Though his ERA stands a bit above 3.00 Sale has a league leading FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) at 2.49 which is excelling way above league average. Sale currently is 34% better than league average giving him an ERA+ of 134+, the stellar attributes of vintage Sale have come back to life and it looks like Sale is back to being himself and it could not have come at a better time. With Ronald Acuna Jr and Spencer Strider going down for the 2024 season, two players that defined the success of the 2023 Braves have soon seen their replacements step up big time in Marcell Ozuna and Chris Sale showing their more than capable of dominating the league.

Shane Bieber: It is incredibly unfortunate Shane Bieber will be out for the rest of the 2024 season it comes at an even worse time as this is Bieber’s contract year before he reaches free agency. Shane Bieber was on pace to have an electric season as the beginning of the 2024 season Bieber already had 2 wins in the first 2 of his starts. He went 12 innings through the first 2 games giving up zero earned runs, he was looking like an early cy young candidate but had his season cut short due to having surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. There goes Bieber’s season, Bieber is among over 10 pitchers from 2023 who will have to be sidelined for the season due to surgery. Though the loss of the Guardian’s ace came at a tragic time the Guardians are still 20 games above .500. It would be awesome to have Bieber apart of the squad but luckily the next man up mentality has stayed strong in Cleveland.

Replacement player: Ben Lively (1.2 WAR): For someone who is not Shane Bieber is really stepping up to become Shane Bieber. It is Ben Lively’s first year in Cleveland after spending the previous season with Cincinnati. Lively’s stellar breakout could not have come at a better time and in his short sample size he is making the most of being a Guardian. In 9 games started and 51 innings pitched Lively is pitching to a 2.84 ERA with a 5-2 record. He’s only given up 16 runs doing so and has struck out almost a quarter of the batters faced (47 strikeouts) A FiP under 4.00 and a WHiP a little over 1.00 Lively is looking like a capable major league arm and is looking to maintain his ERA+ of 136+ for the rest of the season.

Jeff McNeil: This one is a bit different since this player is not injured and is just playing poorly. If it wasn’t for two struggling offensive seasons Jeff McNeil would be a career. .300 hitter. Unfortunately Jeff has not been the same hitter since he won the NL batting title in 2022. Jeff has trouble pulling the ball and hitting it where he wants it. He’s a pretty unlucky hitter, every time McNeil would be up to bat it would result in a shallow pop-out and an easy out. If Jeff McNeil pulls the ball more his success would go up tremendously. Let’s start off with some numbers from Baseball-Reference. For his career, B-R has McNeil with the following numbers: 662 – Pulled (31.2%) – 1.072 OPS, 1,086 – Up the Middle (51.1%) — .764 OPS, and 77 – Opposite Field (17.8%) — .677 OPS. It is clear Jeff McNeil has lost his mojo and for that needs to figure things out on the bench while someone else takes over 2nd base.

Replacement player: Jose Iglesias (0.1 WAR) This is an incredibly short sample size of only 5 games but in those 5 games the Mets have been playing terrifically and you cannot disregard Iglesias as not being a contributor of the Mets new found success. Since Igelsias was called up to be the 2nd baseman during McNeil’s struggles the Mets are 4-0 and look to expand upon that with a sweep of the Phillies in London. In 5 games Igelsias has 7 hits two of those have been serious clutch performances that without those insurance runs the Mets may have lost those games. He’s batting .389/.421/.444 for an OPS of .865 and an OPS+ of 156+. The other notable replacement player to be recognized is Mark Vents filling in for Brett Baty after he was sent down to the minors. In 20 games Vientos has 22 hits, 12 RBIs, 4 homers for a batting average of .333 and OPS of 1.013 and OPS+ 194. He is second in WAR (1.2 WAR) only to Francisco Lindor with 1.3. Nonetheless both Vientos specifically Igelsias have done a lot for the Mets offensive woes. Iglesias clearing the clog of McNeil at 2nd base was the best solution for a short term problem. If McNeil cannot find his footing then there is no point on keeping him on the team and wasting a 40 man roster spot. His time is imminent, if he does not figure it out soon he may be shipped off to Seattle real soon.

Ultimately, baseball’s essence lies in its highs and lows, necessitating the assembly of the most capable team across all facets to endure the rigors of a 162-game season and beyond. Today’s team construction differs from the past; pitchers no longer consistently throw seven shutout innings every fifth game. Rather, there’s a prevalent focus on boosting fastball velocity over refining pitch repertoire and command. In earlier times, pitchers were content with velocities in the 80-85 mph range, showing little interest in adding extra speed. However, contemporary baseball leans toward flashier displays, with players feeling compelled to enhance their abilities, sometimes at the risk of serious injury. Despite the inevitability of injuries, maintaining a steadfast “next man up” mentality remains crucial. This ethos fosters greater accountability among players, allowing them to grow and learn from past trials. These five players exemplify the core attributes of a true baseball player: understanding that teamwork prevails, even in the absence of a star player. Success hinges on collective effort, with each player contributing to the team’s shared goal.