Looks Max-ing

 

[This title is one of the serious downsides of there still being a relatively young person in the blogosphere. Also, no, I couldn't tell you what it means either.]

The Marlins are usually deeply weird, but this year is a new breed of abject strangeness. This Marlins team is one where Otto Lopez is highly likely to make an All-Star team and has a batting title, Liam Hicks is vying for an RBI title, all but three active batters have a WAR of less than 0.5, two of the best power hitters with MLB experience are sitting in Jacksonville waiting for Joe Mack or Connor Norby to have a stroke, three necessary starters are hurt [one of which immediately after making his MLB debut] and another is pitching so poorly that HE'S sitting in Jacksonville, and the bullpen may be one of the Top 5 in all of baseball. Essentially hollow at the plate, above average on the mound despite the swiss cheese.

Just once I want to write about a normal Marlins team that just wins a division and has stars and isn't a barrel of nonsense. Just one time.

In all of the pitching uncertainty, Max Meyer has emerged as a relatively strong ace. It's been a rocky road for Meyer, missing a few years with injuries, coming back last year and struggling some more before eventually finding his footing. This year he's been terrific, going 6-0 with a 2.81 ERA and 81 Ks in 13 starts. It's upsetting it took him until 27 to reach this point, but he's here now, and his work, plus occasional greatness from Sandy Alcantara [he does have a CGSHO under his belt this year], are aiding this team tremendously. Beyond that, they're stretching out Tyler Phillips as a starter again, and while it didn't go well in Philly it's worked fine so far. I'm not sure what the heck their plan is beyond that, but I would guess Bradley Blalock would get a go, and possibly Braxton Garrett again if he behaves this time. 

The lineup, beyond Lopez, Hicks, Edwards and Sanoja, really isn't doing much. Owen Caissie's a great outfield bat on paper but he strikes out too much and he has poor defense. Connor Norby's fine but counterproductive. Stowers and Marsee are both way down from last year. This team has Deyvison de los Santos, Agustin Ramirez and now Rece Hinds all stuck in the minors while people like Leo Jimenez, Joe Mack and Chris Morel eat precious roster space. I know that the runs can score with these types of guys, but it's not a working model, and you can't build that much from it. If guys like Marsee, Caissie and Norby did what they were supposed to, we'd be in better shape, but they're wasting this year.

The Marlins are now fighting to keep from being lapped by the Mets, who, while having a bigger payroll and more working factions, are still the Mets. So that'll be interesting for sure.

Coming Tonight: His infield defense may not be terrific, but his burst of offense has been keeping his team from being the total failure many people figured it would be.

High Sugar Intake

 

The limitations of modern arm strength point towards a frustrating factor about modern pitching. There are some people pitching right now who, if they didn't overwork themselves and miss time in between amazing seasons, would be Hall of Famers. Back then you only had the occasional case, a Sam McDowell here, a J.R. Richard there, but even then it was an outside circumstance that led to the decline. Even Madison Bumgarner, the ATVing ruined his arm more than overthrowing did. But now, throwing the best season of your life means not being that good again for another 2 or 3 years, and considering that people are already coming up at 25 anyway, it's reducing people's prime.

If this was 1979, Shane McClanahan would have been up at 22, have a Cy Young by 25 and would be in the midst of a Dodgers contract by now. But no, the Rays didn't have room for him til the 2020 playoffs, he flirted with greatness but went down mid-2023, missed two seasons and is now 29 and working on a 'comeback' year. Throwing hard isn't what it used to be, man.

I think the Rays are still very thankful that McClanahan's still a mighty centerpiece of their rotation, and that he's back to 2022 form this year, working on a 6-2 record with a 2.45 ERA through 11 starts. He's still a big game guy who can take a strong workload and hold the line against great teams. I think he's still being a little careful with speeds and control but he's still very much THE guy for this team, and he, Rasmussen and Martinez have been very good at keeping runs down this year. I just feel like if the Rays had more of a sample size from him they'd have been better off. They got a ton of strong, healthy seasons out of Blake Snell, and McClanahan's very much seen in the same kind of light as Snell was, but with less to show for himself. It definitely speaks to how good McClanahan's been when he's been active, as his highest season ERA to this point is still a 3.43 from his rookie year. 

The Rays in general, by the way, are still a strong AL competitor despite the bottom beginning to drop out a bit in the past week. Today the Tigers smacked around Nick Martinez and friends behind 8 innings of Troy Melton, marking their 7th loss since the rainout that could have ended the 'Yanks can't win a series against a .500 team' argument once and for all. The team is still hitting, and still surging behind the usual suspects of Caminero, Diaz and Aranda, but the depth isn't completely there [barring Ryan Vilade maybe] and the bullpen's still in shambles. This is still a good team, and they're still capable of a lot of strong run production, but the uncontested upswing they had in May might have come to an end. 

...of course they don't play a .500+ team again til mid-month in LA, but apparently it's only okay to bring that up if you spend money on the team.

Coming Tomorrow- A guy who plays for one of the teams the Rays have to play next. And he got his start out of the way today, so they won't have to face him. 

There's No 'F' in Utility

 

2026 has already been a great year for lifetime utility guys making a name for themselves when thrust into a starting role. From the jump, Mauricio Dubon's been excellent at shortstop, to the point where Ha-Seong Kim is practically a backup right now. Ezequiel Duran's been wonderful filling in for Corey Seager, and his clutch and contact abilities are helping out the Rangers quite a bit. Oswald Peraza and Jorbit Vivas essentially have starting jobs right now, Jose Caballero made quite the impact covering for Anthony Volpe, Tristans Peters and Gray are finding everyday jobs, the list goes on. But right at the top of that list is Ildemaro Vargas, because it's simultaneously true that nobody could have seen his rise coming...and yet his rise was honestly bound to happen.

Since 2017, Ildemaro Vargas has bounced around as one of those likable infield role-player guys who's never a star but always does what he's supposed to. He was with the Diamondbacks for years, played for a bunch of midwest teams in the early 2020s, found a niche as a utility guy with the Nats then returned to Arizona. Last year he was really impressive in a swing role, hitting .270 in 38 games, while continuing to be an above-average upgrade in the infield. Heading into the 2026 season, the D-Backs found themselves without their Opening Day 1B options [Pavin Smith and Carlos Santana both got hurt], so the majority of the reps there went to Vargas. 

So far, Vargas has become an everyday, reliable guy for this D-Backs team this year. He's hitting .291 with 7 homers, 37 RBIs, 59 hits [tied for most on the team with Marte and Carroll, whoever they are] and a 1.5 WAR. His 7 homers are already more than he's ever hit in a season. This is probably not a long term answer, as they kind of want Jose Fernandez to be that, but it's working right now. It's also just a nice perk that Vargas as working in an area that wasn't expected to be a big source of consistent production from this team. Like they banked on Corbin Carroll having a great year, Ketel Marte having a great year, Perdomo and Moreno to do their thing. I don't know if they banked on a bounce-back from Nolan Arenado either, but there he goes, hitting .270 with 8 homers and 28 RBIs [one more homer than Carroll]. 

I think if Gallen and Kelly weren't having buffer years, they'd have a chance to take out San Diego for 2nd. Zac Gallen has a 5.16 ERA, and is once again looking worn down. Same with Kelly, who's got a 5.08 ERA after missing a few weeks. It's a good thing that Eduardo Rodriguez and Mike Soroka are having excellent years, but, again, it falls into the issue with pitching right now where everyone throws so hard that nobody's good every year anymore. The D-Backs are balancing Rodriguez and Soroka's on years with Gallen and Kelly's off-years, plus a rehab year from Corbin Burnes. Forty years ago you just kept going ahead without having to plan for this kind of stuff. 

I still think the D-Backs are a nice under the radar threat in the NL this year. I don't know if they're a playoff team yet, cause the last few D-Backs teams have arguably been playoff caliber but just haven't made it. But they have a lot right now that's getting me excited, and the random resurgence of Ildemaro Vargas is honestly one of them.

Coming Tonight: He got hurt. Missed a season. Came back last spring training, got hurt, missed another season. And now he's back and pitching beautifully. 

Have It Your Way

 

The way the bungee is working out, the Rangers have righted themselves back to a 2nd place team, which is around where they were aiming for to begin with. They had a great weekend, the A's had to play the Yankees, the wins piled up, therefore the Rangers lapped them. And while it's a reach to say they're a first place team right now, it's nice to see the Rangers making the most of a fairly scattered product. Three big pieces are injured and a lot of the auxiliary guys are picking up the work, but the team has felt more itself in the last few weeks.

Immediately, you can tell that this is the most human Nate Eovaldi and Jacob deGrom have looked in a while. They're not playing badly per se, but some early starts have led to steeper ERAs than usual. deGrom is 4-4 with a 3.48 ERA, which for him is the equivalent of a 5 ERA. He's still got his WHIP around 1, and he's still got 78 Ks, but the big game dominance he had in New York isn't completely there. Granted he is, after all, 38, and may finally be past his peak. I think he's still reliable enough, but this isn't as bang-on as he was last year. Evo's finally got his ERA below 4, but in the process he's gone 5-6 with a league-leading 13 homers allowed [tied, concerningly, with deGrom]. He's definitely improved in his May starts, but I think coming back from the second-half injury left him a little waterlogged to begin the season. The important thing is they're both healthy and making all their starts. Leiter, Gore and Rocker are following in behind them but are similarly carrying around low-3/high-4 ERAs. They're honestly just inconsistent, which figures.

Meanwhile, in a lineup without Corey Seager or Wyatt Langford, things are moving ahead skillfully with a slightly altered approach. It's a good thing Jake Burger's more consistent than he was last year around this time, his power numbers have been pretty nice, with 10 homers and 37 RBIs. Like always, he's good for cheesy power and little else, but he's slightly more well-rounded this year. Can't really say the same for Joc Pederson, as he's all on the power stuff, but at least he's got a .794 OPS and 9 long balls. Took him forever to truly get going in Arlington, but he's got a bit more of a niche now, especially considering they DFA'd his only other competition for starting DH. Jung, Nimmo and Duran have been very helpful revitalizing that portion of the lineup, and Carter is still a very versatile player that just hasn't really started hitting yet. These guys are hitting, even if it's not a fully well rounded offensive output. But for right now, it doesn't need to be much more than flashy. 

They're an unassuming, relatively young, relatively simple team that can just outhit you even if they make it close. Heck, somehow Jacob Latz is really working as a primary closing option, even though he was a perfectly fine starting choice last year. Things are kind of coming together, and while I don't know how sustainable it is, it's certainly a better Rangers team than I thought, and better than they looked a month ago.

Coming Tomorrow- He's 34 years old, he's never played more than 95 games in a season, and he's already topped his season home run mark in two months. Why not, right?

Without Elly

 

So. The day the Reds land, solely, in last place, also happens to be the day that Elly de la Cruz lands on the IL. And now the Reds are without Elly, Hunter Greene, Rhett Lowder, Graham Ashcraft, Emilio Pagan, Jose Trevino and Ke'Bryan Hayes. And while, yes, they are still over .500, and still technically a good team...you take away the tentpole and you see the flaws.

Okay, so who's their best hitter now that Elly's hurt? Well you'd think from his April that Sal Stewart would fit that bill, but he's quieted down a great deal since then, and despite some prime stats [.261 average, 12 homers, 37 RBIs], his May was way less eventful. Actually, their best hitter right now is J.J. Bleday, the A's outfield castoff whose offense tried to make up for his lackluster defense. He's rolled into an everyday role and is hitting .303 with 9 homers and 26 RBIs in 30 games. His May was pretty incredible, and he's already been named one of the players of the month. So even if the Reds were struggling, and considering how many people on this team aren't even hitting .200 it's no wonder, Bleday was an excellent jolt forward. Power from Nathaniel Lowe and a surprising bounce back from Spencer Steer have also helped. 

But yeah, when Stephenson, McLain, Friedl, Benson and Hayes are all hitting under .200, you have to take a step back and regroup. This team has been trying to put a workable formula together for so long, and you'd think that all of these guys would be able to put together good seasons. But McLain once again is struggling to hit substantially, even with more productivity in the last few weeks than he had in April. That Stephenson and Friedl are replacement-level this year are especially heartbreaking.

Thankfully the rotation has solidified a bit, and the Reds haven't needed to do as much starter juggling as usual. Chris Paddack has settled into that 5th spot, and while it's not terrific it's better than his Miami stuff. Singer's struggling but he's eating innings. Lodolo's still got a 5 ERA but he usually figures out how to get it down. Abbott's more hittable than he's ever been but even he's managed to get his ERA under 4. And then Chase Burns is just having an incredible year all around, with a 1.96 ERA, 7 wins and 72 Ks already. I do worry about the bullpen now that Johnson's hurt, but they've got enough workable options at the moment that it's not terribly worrying.

Hopefully by the time Elly gets back there's still stuff that can be salvaged. Cause if not, we may have an NL Central team dip below .500. We wouldn't want that, right?

Coming Tonight: Another guy on a team that probably thought it'd have a better lineup this year. 

DET On Arrival

 

I'm gonna say this very plainly. At the very end of April, the Tigers were 16-16. At .500, in 2nd, still contending. And then the rotation got hurt. And so in May, in total, the Detroit Tigers won...six games. And lost 22. And now they're in last in a division where being over .500 seems like a feat. 

And you can't really go 'what happened?', because it's fairly obvious. The Tigers have some hitting assets but are helped along by strong pitching. When Skubal, Mize, Verlander, Olson and Jobe are all hurt, plus Kenley Jansen and Brant Hurter, you're left with this lineup having to fend for itself, and at its current incarnation they can't outhit most teams. Dillon Dingler, the catcher, has the most home runs on the team with 11. He's the only one with over 10. Riley Greene, as good as he's hitting, only has 5. And the people you'd otherwise rely upon, like Spencer Torkelson, Colt Keith and Kerry Carpenter, aren't hitting whatsoever. Carpenter has power but isn't balancing it out. Plus, with both Gleyber Torres and Javier Baez hurt, the Tigers are resorting to a down Zach McKinstry year covering 2nd everyday, and that doesn't work anymore. Especially with a breakout Kevin McGonigle year next to him.

And it's not as if Dingler's a bad player, but the team was built so that he wouldn't have to do this much. I don't think he was expected to be the Cal Raleigh type this year, at least not completely. But it seems like, somehow, the lineup depth has dissipated, and barring Greene, Dingler and McGonigle, this lineup doesn't really offer much.

I'm intrigued by some of the ways the Tigers are filling the rotation vacancies though. They're going with Troy Melton in Skubal's spot essentially, and that's working, he's got a 1.42 ERA through his first two starts. They also tried out Ty Madden in Mize's spot tonight, and that didn't go quite as well. Otherwise, the Tigers are going with Jack Flaherty, who's worn out from a few consecutive full seasons, Framber Valdez, who also seems a bit wrung out and not his usual, dominant self, and Keider Montero who's been pretty good. But without Skubal, they've been equalized, and nearly every team in the AL Central's been taking advantage. Even with a huge offensive swell over the Rays tonight, it's not gonna be a shutout thanks to the Tigers' pitching.

The way through this awful stretch is a rebound of full-squad health, and I don't know if they'll get that til July at this rate. For now, they need an offensive upswing, and to get the heck out of last. Games like tonight's will help, but only if they can keep runs down in addition.

Coming Tomorrow- The Marlins dealt him. The A's cut him. And the Reds are watching him deliver a surprise smash of a month for them. 

Behind the Wheels

 

One of the reasons why many pundits worried that the Phillies' regime would die out after this year was the sustainability of the once-strong rotation. With Suarez and Elfin gone, Walker on the way out and more emphasis on Painter and Luzardo, the idea was that either Nola and Wheeler hunker down for the long run or trail off. And in the middle of all this was Cristopher Sanchez, who, if you'll recall, was a 50/50 for the last rotation spot out of camp a few years ago. Sanchie was a serviceable fifth man in 2023, put on more of a role for an 11-win full season in 2024, then had an incredible season deserving of both an ASG nod [but nobody wanted to go pretty much] and a Cy Young [but, y'know, Skenes]. 

And now...Cristopher Sanchez is the best pitcher in baseball. He's only allowed one run since May began, has a 1.47 ERA on the season, has struck out 95, and has a 4.3 WAR. The level of dominance Sanchie has been capable of this month does not come around often. Misiorowski is doing this as well, but...before that it had never happened to 2 guys in the same month. And what's fantastic is that Sanchez worked his way into this position, and now he's essentially the #1 guy.

Getting Wheeler back has been really nice, because Wheels is still very much in his prime, and similarly unhittable. He's got a 2.27 ERA, 40 Ks and 4 wins through 7 starts. Zack Wheeler, kinda like Gerrit Cole, is quieting the injury concerns and is pitching like he was before. Having Sanchez and Wheeler at the top of the rotation is a luxury a lot of teams simply don't have. Two untouchable, formidable guys at the top of their game, firing on all cylinders. 

Now...the trouble is getting running support behind them. As we're seeing with this Dodgers series, they pick their select moments to show up. Edmundo Sosa has been clutch for this team, but if it wasn't for him, they'd have been swept. Schwarber can show up and hit a home run, or Marsh and Harper can have big nights, but the bulk of the team is still limping along. Bohm WAS improving but that seems to have subsided. I think Turner's trying to catch fire, he's still not where he usually is around this time of year. And now J.T. might be out for some more time, meaning unless we really wanna go with the Rafael Marchan show again, this team needs to seriously think about the next generation behind the plate. I dunno who we have that's ready, though. We can't even get Otto Kemp time in the majors, let alone anyone who'd need to be there. 

So the flaws are still evident, even as this team approaches .500 and looks better than they had before Mattingly took over. People are convinced a midseason trade would save the team, a Trout or Robert trade, the likes of which we've been hearing rumors about since like 2023. I dunno if these'll actually happen this time. We just have to see how the Phils progress as we get further to July, and if the lineup can actually turn a corner. 

Coming Tonight: Speaking of teams that aren't hitting, an unlikely everyday catcher hoping to once again jumpstart some forward momentum at the plate.