Minimization

 

The Baldelli Twins, much like the Cam Newton-era Panthers, can't seem to be good [or bad] for more than one year in a row. First, then last, then mediocre, then 1st, then fourth again. Just zigzagging back and forth, even multiple points in a given year. Last year they looked playoff-bound and then the bottom fell out. Well...this year, unless they plan on catching fire a little later on, it may be back to consistent mediocrity. Pablo Lopez was the one truly great player on this team, and now he's already hurt. Joe Ryan had a really good start the other day, but now the trainers have to make sure they don't lose him too. 

A team with Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton, Harrison Bader and Matt Wallner shouldn't be cumulatively hitting .200. Buxton and Correa are both hitting under .200 at the moment. Correa's 2024 season was so good [and his return was so...rushed] that it almost feels like he tempted fate a little, and now this is what's left. Matt Wallner's doing the best of anybody at the plate so far, but even that just means a .268 average and barely any RBIs. And you do have Harrison Bader doing his usual thing, hitting for power and playing excellent left field, but...there's still dimensions missing. He can't hit for average, and you know he's gonna cold at some point and worry people. 

I think this team underestimated how much stability they lost with Carlos Santana and Max Kepler heading out. Like at the very least they're gonna get Royce Lewis back, and he'll add some pop, but...it's becoming infuriatingly clear that the man just isn't meant for full seasons. If he was able to stay healthy, even at all, he'd be on a HOF track, but that clearly can't happen. Buxton is close to this honestly. So many of his seasons would have been MVP caliber had he not picked the worst time to get hurt. And now he's just sort of stuck here, trying to do something impressive, still hitting like .150. 

It just feels like there's a lot of lesser options who've taken over major roles without really having the seasons to warrant them. Simeon Woods-Richardson and Jose Miranda had decent enough years last year, but now they're being given big roles and aren't doing much to explain why at the moment. Larnach and Jeffers haven't really done much yet this year either. It's just sort of depressing.

Either everything is going to click when we're not looking or this is gonna be this awful all season. And the thing with the Baldelli era is that either could happen. It's sort of fitting that so many people who can't reach potential and can't stay healthy are playing for Rocco Baldelli, who made his whole Rays career off of that.

Forgive the saltiness. I really do want the Twins to succeed this year. By all accounts they should be. But if they really want to, playing like this is not the way to do so. Writing about the Twins shouldn't feel like a slog. They're supposed to be fun.

Coming Tonight: He may not be the most important name in his rotation this week, but he's had an excellent start that's perhaps making his old team regret trading him.

Capital K

 

When the Padres picked MacKenzie Gore with the 3rd overall pick in 2017, they knew the amount of strikeouts that'd be coming their way. This was a period of Padres baseball without many trusted starting options, and getting a guy like that in the mix would make them competitive in no-time, especially considering that Fernando Tatis Jr. would make his way into the equation shortly. However, unlike your Rhett Lowders and Paul Skeneses, Gore's development lasted through the 2019 season, and still had further to climb before the pandemic ensured his 2020 season wouldn't be the breakout one he was hoping for. Then in 2021 he struggles with injuries, and by the time he was ready for the show in 2022, the Padres were....good.

Like, they were now working with a rotation of Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Blake Snell, Sean Manaea and Mike Clevinger. They didn't need MacKenzie Gore as badly as they did in 2017. So while Gore got some starts filling in for Clevinger midyear, he was officially expendable, due to so many things that were outside his control.

What I'm saying is that the Soto deal was the best thing that could have happened to him. He goes to a rebuilding team with plenty of rotation spots and an emphasis on letting young players prosper. Already in Washington we have seen C.J. Abrams and James Wood, two other dispatches from the Soto deal, become excellent players. Wood's been looking great so far this year. Robert Hassell's maybe another year or so away [ironically there might not be outfield room for HIM now] but he's also looking fantastic. And Gore, in that package, was the most MLB ready guy there.

...apart from Luke Voit, but...y'know..

MacKenzie Gore's 2024 was pretty good admittedly, as he pitched in all 32 games, struck out 182 and had a 3.90 ERA. But, as the team wasn't good yet, it wasn't the most helpful season. Now the team is...only marginally better, but Gore is now fully comfortable in the majors, and striking out 13 Phillies on Opening Day certainly makes that clear. He currently leads the league in strikeouts with 25, something that shouldn't have shocked the Padres scouts 8 years ago. He's keeping his ERA, not allowing many runs, and has been one of the best players on the Nationals. That's what the Padres needed, and now that they don't need him anymore he's exactly what the Nationals need.

The Nats themselves are doing basically what people thought they would. Winning the occasional tough matchup, but not outlasting the division's big guns. The biggest disappointment of the year so far has been Dylan Crews, who's only hitting .128 with 5 hits in 39 at-bats. Meanwhile James Wood has 10 RBIs and 4 homers, so it's not all bad. Nathaniel Lowe, even for an interim piece, fits this team really well, and is much less overshadowed than he was in Texas. The core of Ruiz, Abrams, Garcia and Wood seems to be in place [I kinda figured Jacob Young would be right there with him but he'll be along eventually I guess], and Parker, Gore and Finnegan are off to excellent starts. 

The Nats know how difficult it will be to outlast the Mets and Phils this year, and I think their goal involves waiting til the point where their peak outweighs the competition. It might not be this year but it could be soon.

Coming Tomorrow- The guy's gotta be sick of losing his job to Juan Soto. Nevertheless, he's doing well enough for himself. 

Revenge of the Monster

 

The longest the Red Sox have gone this century without winning a World Series is six years. All this talk for 80 odd years about beating the curse, the Sox have routinely been competitive, have more rings than anybody since the start of the 21st century, and haven't lost a World Series since 1986. If the Sox don't win this year, it'll be their longest drought since before 2004. Which is a little funny. Yankee fans have been bagged on for their W.S. drought since 2009, well now we're both getting a taste of it. 

And the Red Sox, since the ring basically, have hung back and faced some tough years. Many were lost due to pitching injuries, or pitching inexperience. Some were lost because of the long wait for the team that's succeeding now to develop. In that period things only clicked once, in 2021, which a lot of people forget [I always remember the Rays being the ones to advance that year], but the Astros outlasted them in the ALCS. And then back to pitching woes and dilapidated play. 

Well...from the looks of things, 2025 will be the year the Red Sox come roaring back. Look at this damn offense. Yanks-Sox is gonna be bloodthirsty this year.

This lineup clicking is the result of A.) the contracts finally lining up and producing, as Alex Bregman and Trevor Story are both playing like they were signed to do, B.) the last wave of prospects inheriting the team, as Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Raffaela have been great so far, and C.) the current wave of prospects taking over handily, as Kristian Campbell is already a sure thing weeks into his MLB career. Campbell is hitting .341, but ABREU is hitting .378, with 14 hits, 12 RBIs and 3 homers. The man has been hot as hell lately, and is picking up where he strong-but-injury-shortened 2024 left off. This team is reliant on the big guns obviously, but if a middle of the pack guy like Abreu can be the hero for this team, that'll be even better. Even Romy Gonzalez, after losing his job to Campbell, has been hitting like crazy off the bench. Maybe he'll get more opportunities eventually but he's definitely still a vital guy.

It's all the more important because of what has been missing so far, like Masataka Yoshida, Connor Wong, and...Rafael Devers' average. Guy struck out a ton to start the season, and while he's slowing recovering with 9 RBIs and a homer, it's not the start people were hoping for. There was a whole thing about whether or not Devers was really okay with losing 3rd to Bregman, he says he's fine, but there's still the slightest tinge of tension present. He could be fine, but I don't think Boston should have risked alienating their longest tenured star, especially considering that he could very clearly link up with a competitor and make them regret it.

The pitching is a little wobblier, especially without Bello and Crawford. Buehler's gotten lit up a lot, hopefully he's not completely cooked. Richard Fitts, for all his rotation readiness, is 0-2. Hunter Dobbins is great but clearly still learning the ropes. Crochet looks good at least. The lineup is the real takeaway right now though, and it's making me really concerned about the division, especially as the Yankees cool off.

Obviously there's a lot more games to play [the O's in last? With THIS lineup?] but it's at least affirming that the vibes this team was giving me preseason are accurate. They are for real this year. It's just a matter of how far they'll go.

Coming Tomorrow- He began the season by striking out 13 Phillies. That's certainly a statement. 

Complicating the West

 

Two weeks into the season, the Los Angeles Dodgers are in third place. While still having a better record than four other division leaders. So for those of you thinking this would be a very inevitable, cut and dry season, fear not. The Giants and Padres are gonna make this a bit more interesting.

The Padres being competitive is less of a shocker. We all saw how good they were last year, and they had a ton of great offseason moves, like locking down Jackson Merrill, signing Nick Pivetta and bringing in Gavin Sheets and Yuli Gurriel. They only perfected a team that was already on the cusp of greatness. But...the Giants are ahead of the Dodgers as well. And it's happened because a lot of things that had been developing and gestating for some time are finally paying off.

First of all, this is Heliot Ramos's first season where he's been given the trust he deserves. It took him a while to make the bigs, he finally stuck around for good last year and became a hard-hitting all-star outfielder. Now he finally get to keep left field, which much be a relief for all the people fearing the position would continue to be a revolving door. Ramos is already having a great season, hitting .279 with 12 hits, 9 RBIs and 3 homers. He's still an above-average outfielder with some insane offensive pop, and with no disrespect to people like Mike Yastrzemski, Patrick Bailey and Wilmer Flores, they really needed a guy like that. 

Then there's Jung Hoo Lee, who's been outstanding to start the year. Last year there was only a small taste of Lee's offensive prowess before an injury ended his season. This season, however, you're getting a full picture of why everybody was so excited about him last year. He's hitting .333 with 10 hits, 6 doubles and 3 steals. This guy is fun as hell, and the Giants fans already love him, in a way not seen since Pence and Sandoval were still here. Obviously the idea was to have Chapman and Adames, as the biggest stars, lead the team, and Chapman's been phenomenal so far, but this is an effort led by the guys everyone counted out. Lee, Ramos, Yaz, Robbie Ray. 

It just feels more genuine than the Dodgers, because yes, this team has some contracts, and have used them to compete, but there's more of an idea of human error than the Dodgers' contracts. There was the chance that JV could be cooked, and so far...he kinda is. There was the risk factor signing Jordan Hicks to start, and he's on the good side at the moment. So much of this team has risk built in, but so did the 2010s teams. Posey knows that. And he knows that it can ebb and flow in a way that can ensure really strong stretches. This, after years of just missing, may be it. 

The idea is figuring out a way to keep the Dodgers on the ropes all year, which will not be easy, and continuing the trend of incredible close victories, which will also not be easy. We'll see how much of this is sustainable, but if this lasts the whole year there might be a new league superpower in the mix.

Coming Tonight: One of MANY Red Sox kicking the crap out of the ball right now.

Logan Lucky

 

So, just to give you an idea, the Philadelphia Phillies have been trying to rearrange their outfield situation lately because, as is, it's not terrific. As I'm writing this, Johan Rojas, who was supposed to be an offensive upgrade, is dropping routine fly balls. We already knew, with Casty, Kepler and Marsh, it'd be an average defensive outfield but it just hasn't been ideal. At this point we're even starting Edmundo Sosa in LF, basically just to keep him in the lineup. Marsh is above average defensively but has struggled both in center and at the plate so far this year. As fun as Marsh can be when he's on, we've also just learned of the limitations he has, which is its own obstacle.

And when you do a 1-for-1 trade like that, it always has the chance of backfiring. Not every one of those can be as balanced as Zac Gallen for Jazz Chisholm. And I still think Brandon Marsh is a valuable, integral member of these Phillies teams. But we gave him up for Logan O'Hoppe. And I'm not saying I wish we had him back, because we have JT and he's still excellent. But right now, as the Angels work on a surprisingly decent April, Logan O'Hoppe is one of the definite standouts of the team. More Angels games this year are gonna come down to O'Hoppe than Phillies games coming down to Marsh, at least in my opinion.

Logan O'Hoppe has never felt uncomfortable in the majors as an Angel. In his 2023 come up he was incredible til his injury. Last year he was one of the highlights of their dire second half. O'Hoppe is very good behind the plate but even better as a hitter, with both contact ability and power perks. So far this season he has a .349 average, with 5 homers, 9 RBIs and a 1.229 OPS. The man knows how to get on base, and he knows how to keep infielders on their toes. The Angels have needed more guys like that for a while, especially post-Ohtani. Mike Trout can only do so much, and so far we're not 100% certain this will even be a peak year from him. 

And having O'Hoppe, Nolan Schanuel, Jose Soriano, Ben Joyce and Karen Paris on this team, and surging, does make me a little more optimistic about the team's future outlook. There's still a lot of replacement level guys haunting the roster, like Yoan Moncada and Tim Anderson, and hopefully long term solutions will pop up soon enough [or, more likely, Neto and Rengifo will return from the IL]. It's really just the Trout factor worrying me. He's been fine thus far, but...Mike Trout isn't usually 'fine'. He made a whole thing out of being back from the injury and ready to go and...this is a little anticlimactic. Hopefully something's coming.

The Angels have a hold on 2nd at the moment, meaning Wash-ball finally seems to be working in Anaheim. My personal hope is they keep the others at bay, but you can't exactly count out the Astros or Mariners. The Angels always get stuck whenever they have to be a long term success rather than a flash in the pan, and it'd be nice if they got past that this year with these guys.

Coming Tomorrow- After years of being a top prospect, he finally broke out last year, and has bigger plans for 2025.

Much Ado About Nutting

 

There was a lot of smoke this offseason about John Fisher, about how he was the worst owner because he didn't want to build a new stadium, or how Ross Atkins was the worst GM because he kept striking out at all the big free agents by not offering enough. Both men redeemed themselves. Fisher spent a lot of money on the A's this year, and locked up Rooker and Butler going forward. He's got an early rookie of the year candidate in Jacob Wilson as well. Butler just shut up the haters by signing Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to a mega-deal, and Bo Bichette may be next.

Fisher and Atkins may not be great at what they do, but at least they remember to spend money on the team every so often. They listen. They hear the fans going on about how much they suck, and they listen. Meanwhile, you could literally spit in Bob Nutting's face and he could still look in the mirror that night and go 'I'm doing everything correctly.'

There was literally a clip from the other day, the opener, of Bob Nutting traversing the PNC Park concourse, and constantly having fans come up to him and going 'hi Bob, sell the team'. One by one by one. And he's just standing there, like a republican on MSNBC, just putting his full shit-eating grin on, like this doesn't affect him in any way. And when you make enough money, it doesn't. 

Now...I'm not a business expert. I went into the arts solely to avoid having to be the one to make business decisions. But the whole thing with buying and owning a baseball team is that you need to put money in every so often to keep the quality of product up, or else the product will deplete and you'll be forced to sell at a loss. Maybe it is an intentional thing, to make the team bad on purpose and get even more money for it. And I know this is a period of American history that rewards that sort of blatant skullduggery rather than pointing out how bad it is. But...you're doing this at the expense of Pittsburgh sports fans. I say this as someone who has a lot of friends and colleagues who are Steelers fans...that is a group of people you do not want to mess with. They're already angry that the team hasn't won a playoff game since Big Ben left, and they're getting so desperate that they're actually considering that Aaron Rodgers could be an upgrade from Russell Wilson. But one thing they will not take is a lack of effort.

And that's how the Pirates look right now. Like there was no effort put in. This team has one of the best pitchers in baseball, the great Paul Skenes, and will get another great season out of him. But the rest of the team looks...AWFUL. Nobody's hitting. Even Bryan Reynolds isn't hitting, and he ALWAYS hits well to start the season. The only great contact piece right now is Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and he's already made some errors in the infield. David Bednar spontaneously combusted. Both Jared Triolo and Nick Gonzales are hurt, joining Spencer Horwitz in the pile of injured outfielders. I feel like if you combined those three you'd make a good infielder but apart they're just a great defender, a great contact guy and a decent utility/bench bat. Andrew Heaney's off to a great start but who knows where he'll end the year. You saw some signs of life yesterday in Oneil Cruz, Ke'Bryan Hayes and Joey Bart, but it's gonna take more than that.

I don't think Bob Nutting sees this as an issue. The necessary tools to compete are here and they still don't have the team. This week he even had the Clemente family at his throat for taking down a monument to Roberto on a stadium wall. Needless to say, he's in hot water right now, and if this continues it could turn to a boil. The Orioles giving out an extension will probably be the last straw, cause if THEY can keep players intact, then the Pirates fans might riot.

Coming Tonight: The Phillies traded him for Brandon Marsh. They got their sturdy outfield favorite. The Angels...may still win the trade somehow. 

The Impossible Dream

 

The 2020s, so far, have rewarded a lot of players who've spent their entire careers performing to the best of the league's ability without much to show for it. In 2020, 30somethings Jose Abreu and Freddie Freeman received their first MVP awards, in 2022 Paul Goldschmidt received his right at the end of his peak period, and in 2024 Chris Sale, after an astonishing comeback year, finally got a Cy Young. Dusty Baker, Shohei Ohtani, Clayton Kershaw and Ronald Acuna finally got rings. Just this year, Dick Allen finally got inducted into the Hall of Fame.

It was time for all of those long-suffering greats. So when will Jose Ramirez, rightfully, be rewarded for being one of the best hitters in baseball for the past ten years?

Ramirez has finished in the Top 3 of MVP voting 3 times, and in the top 5 of MVP voting 5 times. He has a career 52.2 WAR, and has finished with a 6.5 or higher four times, including last year. He was inches away from a World Series in his fourth year in the bigs. The closest thing to a down year this man has had since coming up has been 2019, with a measly 3.0 WAR and a .255 average. Everything else has been way above the standard. And already this year, J-Ram has had a 3-homer game. You know, one of those.

The single best thing about J-Ram's continued dominance is that no matter how much the Guardians have changed from 2016, now emphasizing contact over power and bullpen over starters, the fans still absolutely adore him. Again, you look at 2016 and Brantley, Lindor and Kluber are king, and now J-Ram is the Joey Votto type figure. Always hits like hell, always hustles, what's not to love? And you can tell he absolutely loves playing in Cleveland, and he loves that he gets to be the captain of these teams. Even somebody like Votto or Gwynn, the team wouldn't always be competitive, there'd be lulls. The Guardians have pretty much always been in the thick of it, no matter of people leave or not. And now that Vogt is powering this team to a new contact horizon, even without Naylor or Gimenez, stock is still very high on Cleveland baseball, and it's still very much because of J-Ram. 

There are worries, like whatever's been going on with Emmanuel Clase, or the lack of proven options in the rotation, or where Jones and Thomas's production is, but with Ramirez, Kwan and the new, improved, contact/defense favoring Carlos Santana all off to great starts, the Guardians still have a lot going for them, and could still accomplish a lot this year. 

As for whether or not this is J-Ram's MVP year? Well...Aaron Judge still exists, and Bobby Witt Jr. still exists, and Alex Bregman is looking pretty hot in Boston. The AL's always gonna be a crapshoot for the MVP race, and Ramirez could power his way there if enough things go his way. Still, Tony Gwynn never got an MVP, Derek Jeter never got an MVP and Nolan Ryan never got a Cy Young. But that didn't stop them.

Coming Tomorrow- Two years ago he was the only man in New York who wasn't hitting. Now he's the only man in Pittsburgh who is. 

OutSpencered

 

Here's how the Braves' season is going so far: the star outfielder is still hurt, the ace is injured for another few weeks, the biggest offseason signing is out with a PED suspension, a rookie hitting .150 is starting at catcher, two of the biggest marquee hitters aren't hitting either, there's starting depth issues [which wouldn't have happened if they hadn't have traded Ian Anderson for a bag of peanuts a week before the season to a team that won't start him either], and the only win so far, denoted by Michael Harris showboating on social media, has been followed by a shutout loss by Cal Quantrill and a rainout. 

The Braves are currently, without a doubt, the worst team in baseball. The only other team kept at 1 win just won their second yesterday against the A's. The Braves, after being one of the true alphas of the game for a solid 5 years, are now firmly at the bottom. It is ultimately better to hit the bottom in April than it is to hit the bottom in September, but...this still isn't great. 

It's not like there was a mass exodus. The guys that made the playoff teams worthwhile are still here. They're just not doing well. Chris Sale's ERA is around 5. Austin Riley has 14 strikeouts, and Marcell Ozuna has 11, and the only reason Ozuna is still hitting for average is that everyone keeps walking him. They're hitting .193 as a team. Nobody has more than 5 RBIs or 1 home run. It is...bleak. And all this while the Phillies continue to surge, the Mets build back their fanbase, and the Marlins somehow figure things out. 

The one bright spot of this year so far? Spencer Schwellenbach. The second-year came very close to no-hitting the Marlins the other night, and he already has 14 strikeouts while allowing no runs. His spring starts were looking nice, and he's carried that over to some MLB dominance to start things off. The Braves need that right now, because their other Spencer, Spencer Strider, was delayed in getting back to the majors, and their other big innings-eater, Reynaldo Lopez, is out for a bit. If Schwellenbach can be a full season presence for this team, it'll take some of the sting out of the depleted, waterlogged feel of this roster. 

Maybe things will be better when Acuna and Strider come back. Maybe adding Kimbrel back into the fold could inject excitement. Maybe this needs time to even out. But the possibility that none of those things could work and this could be a down, depressing year for the Braves is scaring the fans. We'll see if this coming week is any better, but a lot of people are gonna need to spring to life fairly soon. 

Coming Tonight: Tony Gwynn hit like hell for his whole career, made a ton of All Star teams, never won an MVP or a ring, and everybody regards him as one of the best. The closest we have to this might be a guy who had a 3-homer day recently. 

Damn the Torpedoes!

 

The Yankees are already the talk of the MLB, and I...think it's for a good thing?

The team's been off to a phenomenal start, loss against the Pirates notwithstanding. Beating the Brewers began the year with an exclamation point, but moving on to notch big wins against the Diamondbacks and Pirates, along with very close games for the losses, proved the energy was real. Everyone was hitting, the Cole-less rotation was getting by, Judge was still putting up monster numbers and Williams was acclimating well to New York.

But...the first series, and the amount of balls that went out, sparked immediate attention, especially considering the number of 'torpedo bats' being used by the perpetrators. And while many people sought to find a loophole to say this wasn't allowed, simply shifting the leverage of the bat so that the ball hits a different point isn't cheating. Even Manfred agrees, and...while that may not say much, as he wouldn't know a cheater if it bit him in Joey Gallo's ass, it does imply that the torpedo people have a relatively airtight case. And sure enough, others around the league, including Elly de la Cruz, have taken the company up on their availability and have repeated the success.

I think the guy this has benefitted the most has been Anthony Volpe, whose swing has been connecting more and more since getting the new bat. Right now he's hitting .297 with 11 hits, 12 RBIs and 4 homers. Those are some numbers that could persist if he keeps it up, and this could FINALLY be the season where his plate presence matches up with his defensive stuff. You've also seen more from both Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza, as both fight for custody of 3rd. You're getting a monster season from Trent Grisham, FINALLY coming into his own in the Bronx. You're getting the most confident material from Ben Rice we've ever seen, already with 2 home runs. 

And you're seeing an incredible start from Jazz Chisholm Jr., who's already got 9 hits, 9 RBIs and 4 homers. This spike in offensive prowess has been coupled with a return to his usual position of 2nd base, and thus he's leading the team in WAR [despite Aaron Judge also being here]. I knew Chisholm would be great for us when we traded for him, and hopefully he has a terrific year for us.

You're seeing more flaws come through over time, especially in some of the newer veterans like Goldschmidt and Bellinger, and some of the depth starters like Warren and Stroman. But...Carlos Carrasco can go out there for 5 innings and get the win. That's not something I expected going into this year. There are some very cool depth options, and very cool unsung guys already helping out. I'd love to see how this team progresses, and I'd love if it continues to feel as exciting as this.

Coming Tomorrow- A guy named Spencer for the Braves who strikes out everybody? Likely story. 

Paid in Jacksons

 

So just to recap, Jackson Chourio got his payday before he'd played a game, and Jackson Merrill got his payday a year into his career. All I'm saying is Jackson Holliday has got to be thankful his dad made a little money back in the day or else he'd be getting some serious FOMO.

The Padres had been undefeated before the Cubs came to town, and so much of it had to do with Jackson Merrill and his wild start to the season. So far the OF bat is hitting .375 with 12 hits, 8 RBIs and 2 homers. The realized beauty of seeing Merrill and Tatis, and Machado, surging at the same time has been incredible for Padres fans. Even post-Seidler, Merrill is the kind of sure thing player that has reignited the team's outlook. He's young, he's versatile, he's great defensively, he can hit for power and contact. He's just come along at the exact right time, and it's gotta be exhilarating. 

I do think it's very telling how Merrill factors into this team several years into the Fernando Tatis story. Tatis was also this multi-tool guy, then got caught cheating, struggled with an injury and now is...well-regarded but not as well-regarded as he was. And he's still very good! Dude's hitting .400 so far this season! Not even Luis Arraez is doing that somehow. Tatis is leaning into contact, getting on base and not striking out a lot. At 26, he's still very much in his prime, he's finally got a defensive position he's comfortable in, and can still lead the team like he used to. And I think that if he hadn't gotten into trouble they wouldn't NEED a second guy like Merrill to supplant him. So it's a very complicated case. I think right now there is still room for the both of them to excel in San Diego, but I don't know how much longer that'll be a viable plan. 

The Padres themselves, Cubs series notwithstanding, have remained near the top of the very impressive NL West in a full team effort. The rotation, of Dylan Cease, Michael King, Nick Pivetta, Randy Vazquez and Kyle Hart, has been extremely solid so far. Even if Pivetta gave up runs yesterday he still kept striking people out. Even if Vazquez was credited with a loss his ERA is still 1.69. This is a really nice group of starters, and this is even without Darvish, Musgrove or Waldron. The bullpen has been excellent so far, thanks to dominance from Robert Suarez, Wandy Peralta, Jeremiah Estrada, Yuki Matsui and the unsurprisingly-much-happier-in-2025 Jason Adam. It'll be interesting to see how Adam does in June, but that's a-ways away. 

The Padres, thanks to Jackson Merrill, are back in the thick of things and making the NL West a fun, competitive division this year. The Dodgers and Giants want it just as badly, so from the looks of things this'll be a fun ride all the way through.

Coming Tonight: When we traded for him, I knew he'd do well in New York. I just knew, it was an immediate instinct. And I was right. 

The New Abnormal

 

Year two of the Joe Espada era in Houston and it seems that the lightning just keeps getting out of the bottle.

There are still several key players left from the Championship/competitive teams. Framber Valdez is still a terrific ace, nailing both of his 2025 starts so far. Jose Altuve, platinum sombrero game aside, is hitting well and continuing his high power numbers. Bryan Abreu is still a key relief piece. Yordan Alvarez is still a winning DH choice. But it's shockingly few, honestly. With Tucker, Verlander, Bregman, Pressly, Urquidy and now Singleton all gone, even if this is very much in the same vein as previous Astros teams, the thrill seems to be diminished. Still having Javier, McCullers, Garcia and France out also dilutes the appeal.

To give you an idea, Yordan Alvarez, for the first time basically ever, has gotten off to a poor start. In 24 at-bats he has 3 hits, 4 RBIs...and no home runs. Obviously these things take time, he could be power-hitting again in no time, but it's unusual. The man doesn't go cold. Same with Jeremy Pena, he's only hitting .130, despite 2 home runs. Not only are both corner infield additions, Paredes and Walker, struggling at the plate, but even Cam Smith, the can't-miss 2024 draft pick they got for Tucker, has struggled since his big debut. 

And this is a team that has always found a way to hit...but when you let your best contact hitters, like Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker, George Springer, Carlos Correa and Yuli Gurriel all leave, you're left with...mediocre contact hitters. Jake Meyers can only do so much. He's not Kyle Tucker. Not having a Kyle Tucker obviously hurts this team, because unlike with Pena taking over for Correa, they didn't have anybody close. Their idea of a contact hitting outfielder now is...Jose Altuve. And defensively that could be going a TON better, as literally ANYBODY could have told you. 

The pitching well is also letting up a little, with Blanco, Arrighetti and Wesneski struggling through early starts, and even Josh Hader still not being as perfect as he used to be during this Houston stretch. There are cracks in the armor. Finally. The Astros had a tremendous run, won 2 rings, and were always good. And now they're...fine. They're probably going to compete this year, and may still make the playoffs. But I don't see this as a team who can waltz to the end again like they did in 2022. We already have the Dodgers for that right now. 

The Astros have gotten over rough starts before. But a lot of these Astros haven't. So we'll see if they can figure out what the last 7 or so teams have.

Coming Tomorrow- A terrific young player who got a ton richer this week. 

Tuck and Roll

 You can make the case that it may not be happening if the season hadn't begun with a Cubs-Dodgers series in Japan, but regardless, Kyle Tucker is having one of the most impressive starts to the season of anyone. Right now the former Houston outfielder is hitting .308, with 12 hits, 11 RBIs, 4 homers and a league-leading 5 doubles. He also leads the league in WAR with 0.8 with a week in the season. 

And let's just look at how Jose Altuve's doing and- ooooh, that's an 11-strikeout week with only 1 RBI, that being a solo home run. Yeah, that's...that's not gonna do much.

Kyle Tucker, like many recent Astros, figured going elsewhere was better than staying in Houston. 2024 made it clear the fun's ending, and even with young players still populating the team it's nowhere near the 2017-2022 peak. Bregman left, Verlander left, and thus Tucker got traded as well. I think at this point Houston owed him nothing more. Gave him a ring, gave him stardom and ASG gigs. Now go off and make your money elsewhere. Dansby Swanson had a similar mindset leaving Atlanta, he'd done what he set out to do there and now he wanted to do something else. So having Tucker and Swanson on the same team, and both in their prime and hitting, has to be cool for this Cubs team. Two bonafide stars, two excellent run producers, and they wanna win here. 

The Cubs finally feels like a team of people in the right place at the right time again. Suzuki and Imanaga just reaching their peaks. Happ and Hoerner cashing in after years of hard work. Steele having a moment to be an ace for somebody. Shaw and PCA getting to start at 23, and being rewarded for it. Even Carson Kelly, the backup catcher, is hitting. Justin Turner and Jon Berti are bench options, and even they have good roles to play here. Obviously there are imperfect elements, kinks waiting to be ironed out, but this is the best full team effort the Cubs have displayed since roughly 2019. And, again, it's telling that the stars of those teams are currently being paid to sit on their asses while these guys make the most of the contracts. 

Funnily enough, because the Cubs have played those extra two games, despite having more wins they're still in second behind the Cardinals, who technically have a better record by...losing less games. It'll all get balanced out with off days and scheduling stuff, but the Cubs are doing all this as a second place team. I don't know if they'll be a second place team for long, as honestly they have the easiest route to finishing the season in first, which admittedly is a wild thing to say about a team that's narrowly missed the playoffs 3 years in a row. The Cubs, I think, have the full team energy to withstand the competition. Then again, we'll see how right I am eventually.

Coming Tonight: Meanwhile, back in Houston, in the absence of Verlander, they've still got a pretty great staff ace. 

Anything Was Going to be Better

 

The Chicago White Sox' starters, their first run through the rotation, gave up 2 earned runs. Cumulatively. Sean Burke, Davis Martin, Jonathan Cannon and Martin Perez all went scoreless, allowing no runs. Perez even went the extra mile and struck out 9, a major performance for the guy the Sox essentially took a flyer on. It wasn't until rookie Shane Smith let a comparatively-mammoth TWO runs score that any starter showed any humanity. The record books are lumping in this White Sox starting staff with few others to accomplish the same feat. And to do so right after setting all of the worst kinds of records in 2024...is insane. We knew there'd be time needed to rebuild, but this is...immediate. Only Cannon was in the majors a year ago, and he made the roster as a rookie flyer. Martin, Burke and Smith were called up in the late months of 2024, and/or this month [in Smith's case]. Smith was a rule 5 pick snatched away from Milwaukee as well. All of this was either farmed, signed or traded for. And it's worked.

Now...I have to point out...they're allowing runs NOW. Like, Burke got lit up a little, today Cannon let some runs go by. They're not gonna be machines forever. But they are capable of great starts, and they can go 6 or so without showing much wear. That is very promising, especially after the great Garrett Crochet arm conservation project of August 2024. I'm not sure which ones, if any, show ace potential, and remember that we still have the possibility of both Ky Bush and Drew Thorpe to keep in mind, as well as the eventual arrival of Hagen Smith.

I think Davis Martin, of any of these guys, could be in it for the long haul. Not too flashy, doesn't overexert himself, just dominant. They need a guy like that. Burke is a little flashier, but I also like what I've seen from him so far. He shut down a lineup with Jorge Soler and Mike Trout in it, not everybody can do that, let alone starting Opening Day for your fourth career start. I think this still being a rebuilding squad means Martin, Burke, and the whole gang aren't going 20-0 or anything. But they're better than a lot of the pitchers the Sox had to start last season. None of this Chris Flexen nonsense again. Even Perez, a Flexen-level pick, has a lot left in the tank. 

It does help that the White Sox lineup has a bit more to it this year. Andrew Benintendi has remembered how to hit, he's hitting .320 with 6 RBIs and 2 homers. Brooks Baldwin looks like the closest thing to a young star this team has. Matt Thaiss is clearly covering catcher until Kyle Teel gets here [which looks...soon] but he's no slouch, with some decent offensive production so far. Again, Luis Robert isn't hitting for average but the power numbers are great, and once again he's auditioning for a market where games can actually be won. This isn't...terrific so far, especially after this Tigers series, but there's more going on than last year, it seems.

The 2025 White Sox just needed to be better than the previous year's version, and they're on track to do that. I'm not saying they'll be a completely good team, but...they'll get there. Especially if these pitchers stay on target.

Coming Tomorrow- Meanwhile, on the other side of Chicago, one of the best pure hitters in the game produces a season I can finally enjoy now that he's finally out of Houston. 

All That You Can't Leave Behind

Cedric Mullins still being on the Orioles, and still being valued, is fascinating to me. He dodged three different opportunities to be traded: as a prospect during the 2015-16 competitive runs, as a crucial piece of the team in the dark era from 2018 to early 2020s, and as a player on a team with so many other viable options from 2024 til now. So many players did not survive those specific points. So many players were either sold for parts or a part that was sold for someone big. That Means and Santander made it long enough to leave in free agency is pretty phenomenal too, but Mullins could have left at numerous points, and he's survived long enough to help this team still be great.

Right now, in his age 30 season, Mullins is hitting .300 through a week of play with 11 RBIs and 3 home runs. He could very easily let Rutschman, Westburg and Holliday run things but he's still an active, and important, part of this lineup. The fans still love him, the team still loves him, and even if there's this probability that he'll leave in free agency after the season, I think it's fantastic that he's persisted for long enough that he'll leave when he's no longer desperately needed. Or 'the Nanny McPhee tract', as it's called professionally. 

But at the same time, it's wild that Mullins is such a crucial figure, still, for the Orioles during a period of overflow for the team. There are multiple positions where there's a somewhat long line to get playing time. Coby Mayo is on the 40-man, but is behind both Jorge Mateo and Ramon Urias, as well as Jackson Holliday, on the depth chart. Getting Connor Norby out of the way helped, but now Holliday and Westburg are viable MLB IF options, and Henderson covering SS again will make the O's even less likely to consider bringing him in. It's similar for Heston Kjerstad, who's routinely done well in the minors but barely has any room to play in Baltimore. He's DHed mainly, and it hasn't gone very well for him because you get the sense he's being put into wherever there's room, and he feels he's above that. Dylan Carlson seems to getting more OF time than Kjerstad, and it says a lot when the Orioles have more spots for former Cardinals prospects than their own. 

It's not a problem for pitching prospects though. Rodriguez, Bradish, Wells, Suarez and Rogers are all hurt, Gibby and Poteet aren't ready yet, so you have Cade Povich and Tomoyuki Sugano starting games. It...could be going better for both of them. Honestly, with apologies to Charlie Morton and his 10 strikeouts today, really only Zach Eflin is doing what he's supposed to be doing in that rotation right now. So it's a double edged sword, either you're ready for the opportunity and there's no room, or there is room and it keeps getting exploited that you're not ready yet. 

Getting out, however, has its own plusses and minuses, as Kyle Stowers is finding out. The O's trading Stowers was...nearsighted but inevitable. Of all the prospects in the cards last year, Stowers had the biggest power upsides. But there was never any time to play him in the outfield, and he'd always struggle in the majors. You send him back down he'd hit .300 with 30 homers or whatever. So the Orioles sent him to Miami, which...basically that's a minor league team anyway. His clutch numbers have exploded. So far this season for the Marlins, he's responsible for a game-winning RBI, in addition to 3 others and a homer. With Jesus Sanchez hurt and Jonah Bride struggling, Stowers is the most trusted power hitter in Miami, which has got to be great.

Unfortunately, the downside of getting traded to a market where there are lots of opportunities to play is that...there are lots of opportunities to play. The best guys are elsewhere. You get to play everyday, but the team isn't great. People like Jonah Bride, Derek Hill, Nick Fortes and Dane Myers are playing everyday, because it beats sitting in a good team's triple-A. The hope is that Stowers, and Norby and all the others, can stick around long enough that they can be the stars, a lot like Brent Rooker in Oakland or Anthony Rizzo for the 2010s Cubs. 

And so far...the Marlins could be doing a lot worse. Runs are getting scored. The contact game is excellent, which is what happens when you start Otto Lopez, Dane Myers and Xavier Edwards every day. The pitching is surprisingly decent, even behind Sandy Alcantara, who you knew would be back in a big way. Max Meyer, Conor Gillispie and Valente Bellozo are making the most of their opportunities, and there's a chance Tyler Phillips could graduate back to starter and dethrone somebody like Cal Quantrill. People are gonna start coming back soon, Weathers and Cabrera and that ilk, and if they can make a good impression now and potentially keep a spot, that'll be a great opportunity. 

I don't think the Marlins' strong start will amount to full season greatness, but if enough people starting everyday can grow into something trustworthy it'll be a lot better than whatever the hell last year was. Maybe soon enough they'll be where the Orioles are now. Maybe then they'll pay. 

Coming Tomorrow- SPEAKING OF PLACES WITH LOTS OF PLAYING OPPORTUNITY...this guy lucked into a starting rotation spot, and instead of just taking the time he decided to make MLB history.

Exactly As Good As You'd Expect

 I'm writing this post as the Dodgers are in danger of losing their first game of the season, to the Braves...a team that has yet to win a game this season. The Dodgers starter getting clobbered is Blake Snell, one of their many multimillion dollar signees from this offseason. The Braves starter getting by is Bryce Elder, who struggled mightily last season and wasn't even factored into the team's 2025 rotation. So far he's only given up a Tommy Edman home run. 

This, ultimately, would be the first thing this season for the Dodgers to go wrong. Everything else at least had airbags worked in. Roki Sasaki's first few starts were unspectacular, the pen can still salvage it. Max Muncy isn't hitting, alright, well basically everyone else is. Gonsolin's still hurt- fine, but Dustin May is healthy and surging. And even a loss to the struggling Braves, if it happens, would be buttressed by the preceding success, and the knowledge that more success will follow. 

Because ultimately, this is still the Dodgers. They're still going to win a lot of games this year.

Having Tyler Glasnow back, and healthy, will certainly help this. I found out recently that a friend of mine's dad is an old friend of Glasnow's dad. They're Yankee fans as well, and the remark was 'I always used to hate him cause he killed the Yankees til I found out'. Having him in the NL takes the sting out of it a little. Glasnow's first start of the season went as well as it could possibly go, going 5 innings but striking out 8 of 20 batters and only allowing 2 hits. And considering that Glasnow is FOURTH in this rotation, behind Yamamoto, Snell and Sasaki, and he's that dominant...that's a very good sign. My hope is that he's steadier than ever and can stay consistent and healthy, or perhaps that's wishful thinking for a Dodgers pitcher. 

Right now the Dodgers are getting peak offensive production out of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Will Smith and Tommy Edman, picking up directly where last season left off. They have Yamamoto, Glasnow and May in excellent shape. Tanner Scott is shaky but can close games. Treinen and Yates are excellent bullpen pieces. The Freeman loss is temporary and not a dealbreaker, as Kiké Hernandez has been fine covering first. The eyes, understandably, are on Sasaki to come into his own but even if he doesn't there are other options. This is all looking...very good.

However, now that everyone knows, rightfully, that the Dodgers are the ones to beat, it's going to be a much tougher road repeating. The tape will be studied, the weaknesses could be exploited, and everyone's gonna try to get the leverage in October if given the opportunity. The Padres got so close last time, and now that they're similarly running an undefeated first week [and succeeding!], they may look to get their revenge, much like in 2022. The Dodgers must be ready for that, because if not the hubris will eat them alive, like everyone was expecting it to last year. 

UPDATE: They didn't lose the game. They came back, by the strength of Muncy, Conforto, and, inevitably, Shohei Ohtani. They're still undefeated, as are the Padres. This is gonna be one hell of a season.

Coming Tonight: He emerged after one of the last 2014-6 Orioles left the team as a future star in the making. Now he's the elder statesman of a team destined for greatness. 

Hello Nasty

 

Ten years it's been since the 'Nasty Nate' season in New York, where, in a rotation featuring C.C. Sabathia, Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda and eventually Luis Severino, arguably the most consistent, dominant guy there was Nathan Eovaldi, who led the team in wins despite a 4.20 ERA and a 1.450 WHIP. 2015 had a lot of guys rack up plenty of wins without having the dominance behind them, that's what happened with Drew Hutchison in Toronto as well. But Eovaldi put everything on the line in 2015, which led to an injury-shortened 2016 and a completely missed 2017. 

What I'm saying is that given that novelty, and that response, it's very impressive that Eo's 30s have been so dominant, and so consistent. His Red Sox and Rangers numbers have been excellent, resulting in 2 World Series rings and 2 ASG nods. The issue has ultimately been sustained health, but the idea is he maybe misses a month or so and still manages to make an impact. Last season he missed maybe 4 starts and still was one of the best starters in Texas, with a 3.80 ERA and 168 Ks, his second highest career total. In 2023 he missed even more time but made it back for the postseason, and...went 5-0 with a 2.95 ERA and 41 Ks in 6 starts. Eovaldi's strong performance helps them get the ring, and ensures they can keep building 2 years later. 

So given that Eo is 35, and one of many Rangers starters that have struggled with injuries recently, it was definitely promising that Eovaldi's second start was a complete game shutout against the Cincinnati Reds. In an era where the CGSO is less and less prevalent [due to people burning out their arms by inning 5], Eovaldi feels like he comes from the grand tradition of the long-game hurler who can still be reliable by pitch 100. The Rangers have seen a few of those. Kevin Brown, Nolan Ryan, Charlie Hough. But Eo, even surrounded by Jacob deGrom, Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker, may be the most reliable one they have.

Something really interesting, by the way, is the fact that both yesterday's win over the Reds and today's, led by a terrific Jack Leiter start, were 1-0 victories. Today you can at least acknowledge that they had to face Hunter Greene, on pace for another career year, and that's hard to get runs off of. But yesterday that had Carson Spiers, a career depth option for the Reds. Only Wyatt Langford was able to score a run off him, and none could do any off the bullpen. 

Not sure if you remember this, but way back in 2023, the Rangers were the '10 runs or more' team for the first half of the season. This team isn't that different power-wise than that one. If anything, it's better refined. Now Joc Pederson, Kyle Higashioka, Jake Burger and Kevin Pillar are a part of this offense, and...they're winning games by one run. That is the flaw so far, that as well stocked as this team is, there are still a few people who are taking longer to truly wake up. Seager's not there yet, Pederson's not there yet, Semien's not there but to be fair it regularly takes him a month or two to heat him up anyway. Adolis Garcia and Wyatt Langford have been doing well, and Josh Smith had the RBI today, but it's not going much deeper than that. All the while deGrom, Eo and Leiter have all been fantastic.

If the Rangers want to finally dethrone the Astros and shift the balance of the AL West, they need everybody to sync up and stay hot. Having the pitching lead the way is a nice start, but 1-0 victories don't win World Series's, at least not in August. 

Coming Tomorrow- He missed the playoffs but got the ring. Knowing him, the work's far from over. 

Pinpointing the Mirage

 

After three games against the Twins, the St. Louis Cardinals were undefeated. After two games against the Angels they're closer to .500. I'm trying to figure out how this makes sense.

So. Alright, we've established the Twins aren't very good this year. They're not hitting, they're not doing anything. They just won a game last night by attacking the White Sox's bullpen but Carlos Correa hasn't gotten a hit yet. So the Cardinals, in that three game sweep, matched up well against them. Both catchers had great series's, Gray and Fedde had great starts, Arenado's going off on a tear purely out of revenge. So from that, you can make the argument, oh, okay, the Cardinals are back. They'll be a factor this year.

...and so the 'dropping two to the Angels' thing is where I'm having trouble following.

The Angels, regardless of what their current record might tell you, aren't very good this year either. The offensive production they're getting this year is in spite of droughts from Mike Trout and Jorge Soler. All of their starters have given up some runs [save for the impenetrable Jose Soriano]. Their bullpen, however, might be the real deal. Jansen's been excellent in the ninth, Detmers and Anderson have no trouble in relief jobs, and there's guys like Brock Burke, Ben Joyce and Ryan 'never played a day in the minors' Johnson, who's snagged a save and a win already despite some run leakage. 

But all their wins have been close, and led by clutch hitting and contact work. Kyren Paris is the team's best hitter. The wins, as close as they are, are deserved, because the right people are coming through at the right time.

So...where does that leave the Cardinals? They're better than a bad team, but worse than an okay team with good parts? Are they...still in the bottom half of the standings?

If anything, the Cardinals should be proud that the things they were struggling to activate last year are working now. Jordan Walker, Victor Scott and Lars Nootbaar are all hitting. For Walker it's a welcome development after years of just not hitting at MLB levels. He's hitting .429 with 6 hits, 2 RBIs and a homer. Scott, meanwhile, is hitting .350 with 5 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. And even if Winn and Contreras haven't done anything yet, there's enough in this lineup that has me convinced they're gonna be better this year. I still think Matthew Liberatore getting a rotation spot over Steven Matz isn't a great idea, but perhaps this is finally the year Liberatore clicks as well. 

Like a lot of records in the first week, the Cardinals' decent record will be tested by their next series against a proven, good team. And ultimately that might be coming very soon, with the Sox coming to town. It'll be interesting to see how they do there, and if the trends continue.

Coming Tonight: The first complete game shutout of the season was thanks to this guy. 

A Cycle?? In March???

 

So many wild circumstances came together for the first Cubs cycle in over 30 years. The background of the rise of torpedo bats, which now more and more hitters are beginning to use for their own baseball-mashing purposes. The beginning of the A's hopefully-not-permanent residence in Sacramento, already scorned by longtime A's fans. The emerging power from everyone on the Cubs roster except for the one guy I have on my fantasy team. And the theme of 'is anyone going to be able to stop the A's starting pitching'.

Well...it appears so. Joey Estes gave up 6 runs against the Cubs, and the bullpen didn't do much better. And the star of the game was the Cubs' backup catcher, former Diamondbacks, Cardinals and Tigers favorite Carson Kelly. Keep in mind, this team has Seiya Suzuki, Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner, an overwhelmingly great Kyle Tucker start, and Pete Crow Armstrong on it. And Carson Kelly, the guy who fell under the category of 'it'll be nice to have him around', is the one who hits for the cycle.

The coolest moment was when Kelly was down to needing a triple, hit one that got him to second, and you could hear the very excited announcers yelling 'GO! GO FOR IT!' as he made it, safely, into third. Guy's played three games with the Cubs and already the announcers are cheering 'im on. I also love how pumped he was when he got the triple. Soaking it all in. 

I think it's genuinely awesome that nobody has ever hit a cycle in march before, and that means Carson Kelly's got a place in the records books now. You hit for the cycle, there you go. But hitting one in March, in the first week of the season, that's extra special. Not everyone can do that. And even if Kelly hasn't had THE most memorable career, he was still able to do this, in Sacramento, against a team with pretty strong pitching. 

The Cubs have already tracked a ton of highlights. Who knows what'll come next?

Brush It Off, Kid

 

It takes a certain kind of person to get a ball thrown at upwards of 90 mph to the face, then get back up the next day and go right back into the line of fire. You have to be tough, resilient, determined and, ultimately, you have to have a sense of humor about yourself. Jonathan India was on the 2020 Reds, so we certainly can tell he can have a laugh at himself, but he's also extremely tough. So him going 3 for 5 with 2 RBIs against the Brewers a day after getting decked by an Emmanuel Clase pitch shouldn't shock you. This might be only the beginning. 

I initially questioned the Royals' motive in trading for Jonathan India, especially giving up Brady Singer for him. The Royals had a perfectly fine infield, Massey and Witt at the center, Garcia and Pasquantino at the corners. Complicating things with India seemed excessive. But India can also play left field, which he's been doing more and more this season, and to be honest defensively it may be the better place for him. I stand firm in my belief that they shouldn't have given up Singer, and seeing how well he did yesterday I think that goes without saying. But considering that the Royals still had several OF spots up in the air, and filled by passable defenders like M.J. Melendez and Hunter Renfroe, getting a surefire guy like India definitely works, and his offensive production has only vindicated this decision. 

So that already defines the Royals. One of their best hitters right now is a guy who literally refuses to back down, even from injury. They're 2-2, losing two against a tough division rival but absolutely crushing the Brewers, themselves still reeling from being embarrassed by the Yankees. This is a team where Pasquantino, Perez, Witt and even Michael Massey can be responsible for crucial RBIs. Yes, Pasquantino is DHing predominantly at the moment after the injury, and the starts at 1st have been going to Mark Canha and Cavan Biggio, but this is why you have depth guys like that. 

But again...so far the starting pitching is the worrying detail. Seth Lugo and Cole Ragans, two of their horses from last year, gave up 3 runs each, Michael Wacha allowed less runs but still got the loss, and Kris Bubic, the guy who came back from an injury and conserved his innings as a bullpen piece last year, looked incredible, and seems to be the only starter doing so thus far. Which goes to show you, if you want to be a great starter, try to avoid doing really well for 33 games the previous year. It'll even out, especially with starters this talented, but it, again, points towards the idea that maybe trading Singer was a bad call. At least the 'pen looks better.

The Royals have a lot of pros so far, but against some truly great teams they've been mostly passable. I have a feeling this team will eventually break even, and considering the presence of peak Bobby Witt it's really a matter of when, but without Jonathan 'unsinkable' India I don't know if they'd have as many highlights. 

Coming Tonight: Probably a member of the [sigh] first place St. Louis Cardinals. 

Kyle of Plenty

 

Well. Less than a week into the season and Kyle Schwarber already has 3 home runs. Business as usual in Philly.

I've gone on record that the second the Phillies signed Schwarber, I took a good, long look at him and went 'this man is going to hit a billion home runs in a Phillies uniform'. Cause this was the same offseason we signed Nick Castellanos, who I thought was a shaky pick even then, but Schwarber I just saw the upsides. Yes, hurt a lot, yes, occasionally one-dimensional, but look at those homers. And I was right. Thus far, Kyle Schwarber has hit 134 home runs as a member of the Phillies, eclipsing what he did as a Cub in more games. Schwarber had his lowest HR total as a Phillie last year, with 38. That's low for him. It's high for most other people, and before he had his 40+ seasons in 22-23, it was his own career high. 

What has changed, thankfully, since Schwarber's all-homer back-to-back years, has been his well-roundedness. Last year he finally started hitting singles again, and finished the year with 142 hits, a career high. Hitting .248 may not be wholly impressive, but considering that it followed a .219 year and a .197 year, it was welcome. If Schwarber can be relied upon for contact in addition to power, that raises his value, and last season he finished with a 3.5 WAR, tied for a career high with his blistering 2021. Schwarber has also hit 104 RBIs in 2 straight seasons, equally impressive considering he'd never reached 100 RBIs before then.

So what I'm saying is...the extension chatter makes sense. Four years ago if you told me Schwarber would be chasing an extension with this team I'd be surprised. But he's become a more complex, and more versatile, hitter, and even as the Phillies age, Schwarber in the lineup is still a very good thing. Obviously Harper and Wheeler are the true crowdpleasers, but Schwarber seems like the one guy on these Phils teams that it seems impossible to truly hate. Even in his .197 season he was still hitting 47 homers, and 5 more in the playoffs. You can't hate that. 

So far, the Phils are looking extremely good, despite having games against fairly unspectacular teams. The big exclamation point was being dominated by MacKenzie Gore for the majority of the opener and still striking back against the bullpen for the win. Wheeler, Sanchez and Luzardo look good, Nola...homers notwithstanding can strike people out, and hopefully the Taijuan Walker experiment will be short-lived before anybody gets hurt. I worry about Trea Turner's health, and JT's long term health, but enough things about this team, like Max Kepler, Jordan Romano, the degree Edmundo Sosa's murdering the ball so far, and the fact that the bullpen can hold down a lead again...really excite me.

It's early. Of course it's early. But Schwarber's off to a good start, and so are the Phils. Who knows who we'll end up.

Coming Tomorrow- Not everybody can get hit in the face with a pitch and come back from it like it's just a scratch. This guy ain't everybody.

An Even Start

 

The way the schedule works now, with every team playing each other and less weight put on divisional matchups, there's far less that feels deliberate about matchups at certain points, but I found it fascinating that the Rockies and Rays got to play each other in the first series of the year. Two teams that did the least of anybody in their division, with huge battles towards the top of each. The way things are being projected, both of these guys are predicted to finish in last place. And here they are, playing each other to begin the season. Get a firm grip early on, cause you may lose it soon after.

Have we learned much about either team? Nothing foundational. I mean, personally, I learned that Rays home games do look a little more majestic without the ugly dome lighting of the Trop. Getting them in an open air stadium with stands that fans can reasonably fill does wonders for them, it actually feels like a normal MLB experience. I do think some of the jabs at this clearly being a Yankee park are funny, like the retired numbers outside the stadium being for clearly not Rays [wow, they retired B.J. Upton's #2??], but the Rays do feel at home there. It's still Tampa. It's still nice a lot of the time. 

The Rays themselves came off well during the opening season. Junior Caminero finally feels MLB-ready, with 5 hits in 10 at-ats. Kameron Misner looks to factor in well, hitting a walk-off home run in Game 1. Pepiot, Littell and Bradley can all hold down opposing teams and stay sharp, which is a nice feeling in a Rays year without McClanahan, Springs or Glasnow. Three guys that can go 6 and not worry people. Last couple years the rotation's been an issue, seems fine so far. Even with Lowe ailing and Kim and Lowe out, you're seeing definite answers in multiple positions. Danny Jansen works as an everyday catcher. Jonathan Aranda could be an answer at a corner spot. Jonny DeLuca's certainly stealing enough bases to qualify for an everyday job. 

Logically, a team that is simply 'efficient' and 'good' isn't going to do much when compared to the top 3 teams in the division, but the Rays could still surprise people and be ahead of where they were last year.

As for the Rockies...there are answers, but they may not be the ones the Rockies are looking for. Their sole win thus far, they started Antonio Senzatela, who's been out for a year or so. Senza went four and a third, gave up 9 hits, but no runs. Struck out no one. Senza, if his first start is to be believed, is now a conservative, keep-it-in-the-infield type pitcher, who's aided by the team's defense [Tovar, McMahon, Farmer and Doyle help this] but can't really show off as much. Kyle Freeland, meanwhile, can still strike people out and keep runs down but gets let down by the bullpen, even away from home. 

Zac Veen, Adael Amador and Drew Romo, the three biggest foundational position players, did not make the team out of camp. In a surprise move, the Rockies went with Hunter Goodman as starting catcher, a position I literally had no idea he even played. I was thinking Stallings would start, but they apparently have faith in Goodman, and so far he has 4 hits and an RBI. Amador's position is currently being filled by Kyle Farmer, who's actually been responsible for 2 RBIs thus far. And Veen's RF is being filled by Nick Martini, who miraculously has 4 hits and an RBI. So this ploy to control service time worked out for the Rockies after all, just...not really in the wins column. 

The Rox do have Ezequiel Tovar, Ryan McMahon and Brenton Doyle to anchor the lineup, but Doyle is the one who 2025 could make or break. McMahon is a veteran standout, Tovar's for real, and Doyle's coming off a great season. So was Nolan Jones, and now he's back in Cleveland. Doyle so far only has a couple hits and hasn't been responsible for much, but it's early. Something could happen. 

Also, the team's only home run so far has come from Mickey Moniak, who was a late roster addition. Yes, they're on the road, but they have Michael Toglia and Kris Bryant. Oh, by the way, Bryant's yet to get a hit. Thrilling.

Both of these teams have a lot to prove, and at the moment one seems more determined to prove it than the other. But it's a long season, and a lot could happen. 

Coming Tonight: He's big, strong, and hits home runs. And that seems to be enough for some fans around here.

Living Like Larry

 

I know people are acting like this isn't strange, but this is strange to me. After years of letting numerous building block players leave in trades and free agency, John Fisher signed Lawrence Butler to a deal that will last until 2031, solely after a breakthrough season of Butler's where he hit 22 home runs and 57 RBIs, most towards the second half of the season. Butler will be a marquee star for the A's over the next several years, which include multiple seasons playing without a stated location in a minor league park in Sacramento, and eventually in a massive dome in Las Vegas, assuming it actually gets made. 

And I'm not disparaging Butler. I'm not. Dude's a great player, could be terrific in a full career. But if you have the opportunity to extend Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, Marcus Semien, Sean Murphy, Sonny Gray, Sean Manaea, Liam Hendriks and Mark Canha...and you don't take it, and then you give an extension to the first guy that does more than 'mediocre' for your club...that's not gonna look great for you. That just means you're trying to learn but you're not actually learning. That's George Steinbrenner seeing Hideo Nomo succeeding in LA and getting Hideki Irabu. That's Aaron Boone hearing the calls for Dominguez and calling up Duke Ellis. That's Ross Atkins losing out on Sasaki and Soto and getting Anthony Santander. Now you're just trying to catch up, but are you really making the best decisions?

What I will not fault Fisher for is his tenacity in signing free agents and trading for big pieces. This offseason, the A's had holes in their rotation, so they signed Luis Severino and traded for Jeffrey Springs. Both starters have been excellent in their opening starts, going 6 innings, giving up 0 runs, 3 hits each and striking out 6 [Sevvy] and 9 [Springs] batters. Even if the A's are starting people like Osvaldo Bido and Joey Estes while their opponents sport better rotations, they have more efficiency than they have in a while. If Springs stays healthy, which is a tall order, that's an All-Star right there. Granted, I suppose he's a little relieved to be out of the bay area given his well-reported stance against frivolity, but he's still a very good guy to have around. We're coming off several seasons where their big standout was J.P. Sears, and now the pressure's off of him a bit.

You're also seeing, in addition to Butler, young guys coming into their own and dominating. Max Muncy was an Opening Day callup, he's already got a home run. Tyler Soderstrom already has 2 homers and 3 RBIs, determined to finally achieve a full MLB campaign. Jacob Wilson's already hitting well. JJ Bleday had a great outfield catch the other day. And there in the corner is Brent Rooker, also the recipient of a very nice extension, still hitting enough to earn it. This team is closer to good than it's been in a while, and they're very close to 'underdog competitor' difference. It won't be clear for 4 months how they match up against Detroit and Cleveland, but they might have something this year, which would be a relief for the fans if Fisher hadn't alienated them all last year. 

Somebody online posted something to the effect of 'imagine if the A's make the playoffs and to accommodate fans they're forced to play home playoff games at the Oakland Coliseum'. I want that to happen. Make Fisher sweat. 

Coming Tonight: 2024 proved he had staying power, but can 2025 prove he's a trusted Rockies battery member going forward?

Empty Nestor

 

That was a good 36 or so hours where the Brewers, between Caleb Durbin's strides in the spring and Devin Williams struggling in the ninth on game one, thought they'd gotten the better end of the deal.

I don't like that all of this happened to Nestor Cortes. He's a great guy that deserves all the best things to happen to him. Every time I've seen him pitch in the Bronx, while it's not exactly a Gerrit Cole start, you never exactly leave his good side. I collect the guy, I want him to succeed wherever he goes. If this had happened to, like...Jose Quintana or D.L. Hall or whoever, my conscience would be clean. But...Nestor Cortes's return to Yankee Stadium resulted in one of the biggest home run games in Yankee history, three of them happening on Nestor's first three pitches of the game. To say the Yanks clobbered him is an understatement: he had two innings of giving up 8 runs, and 5 homers, and that was it. 

There's obviously the worry that something's up with Nestor, even after he got back last year from the injury. Just immediately gives up unfortunate homers. This is the kind of thing where they do some tests and it turns out he has to have surgery or something. OR he just...snaps to it the next start, and Yankee Stadium was the problem. Which is likely. Nestor has every right to be mad at the Yankees, they rushed him, made him try and close a must win game, and let him be the goat. And then they trade him, and immediately have rotation depth issues. Which ironically the Brewers are also having, with Woodruff, Hall, Ashby and Myers all hurt. So Cortes goes 'I'll show them', and...gets lit up. As does the bullpen.

It's undeniable that the Brewers are a great team, and they were able to make Thursday's game close and today's game not a runaway with 9 runs, but...the rotation depth issue is gonna make it difficult for a little while. Even if Cortes doesn't need to miss time, he's capable of innings like these. As are the once-strong bullpen guys. So Chourio, Ortiz, Frelick, Turang and Capra getting off to great starts is very helpful, but they're still, like...giving up 20 runs. Most teams, most good teams, aren't doing that.

I still want the Brewers to succeed this year, and they likely will given the amount of talent, but today's game was a massive ego blow. And Nestor I still feel so bad for. It's nice that he's not a Yankee anymore while getting lit up, but...I hate that I'm saying that. Cause I LIKE Nestor Cortes. He's a great pitcher. But I'm not gonna say I didn't enjoy seeing my team score 20 runs against him and his compatriots. I'd prefer this be the norm for us than the norm for them. 

Coming Tomorrow- He's gonna make a lot of money this year playing in a sweltering minor league stadium. 

Signs of Life in Chicago

 

"Alright, let's try that again, this time good." - David Lynch, on set of Twin Peaks: The Return circa 2016.

There's a couple of possibilities as to what led to the outcome of the White Sox annihilating the Angels 8 to 1 on Opening Day. One possibility is that, after a miserable year last year, the White Sox may in fact have learned something, and are improving slightly. Another possibility is that the Angels are just that terrible. Or, it could be completely incongruent to the rest of the season, a mirage of hope in a desert. 

But here's what was clear from that game: this is a team that has people that can give you an eight run game, people like Andrew Benintendi, Lenyn Sosa, Austin Slater and Miguel Vargas, even if they might not all be 100 RBI guys. This is a team that has young starters that can go six innings without giving up earned runs, even if they have like only a month's MLB service time to their name like Sean Burke. This is a team that, despite being gutted entirely, still has Luis Robert Jr., who's looking to rebound from his upsetting 2024. And this is a team where the bullpen can hold a team down to just 1 run. These are steps forward from last year. I don't think this makes the White Sox a GOOD team, but they're definitely not as awful as before. 

And again, having a more confident, surging season from Luis Robert will help this team even more. He's 27, coming off a spring where he hit 4 homers and 8 RBIs, he's fully healthy and he's fully ready to attack. I'm sensing we get another classic season from this guy. The depressing part of that is, seeing as this is the last year of his contract, it is very likely that he'll be pawned off to the highest bidder in July, but considering that similar trades last year brought them Miguel Vargas, Drew Thorpe and eventually Braden Montgomery and Kyle Teel, there's a high possibility that this would be better for them in the long run. Remember, trading Chris Sale brought them Yoan Moncada, and trading Jose Quintana brought them Dylan Cease and Eloy Jimenez. There's a chance that even if Luis Robert gets dealt it still helps this team. 

As for Robert himself, I think he's firmly in the Randy Arozarena category of 'excellent producer, not the most consistent'. He's good to have on your team, has some amazing months, but he's not as reliable as some of the elite guys. Maybe he turns over a new leaf this year, but there's limits to his excellence. 

The White Sox have a chance to reclaim the narrative slightly and finally come off as a somewhat competent, fairly unspectacular team this year. There will be embarrassing losses, of course, but hopefully there will be far less of them. And Thursday's win was a good start to that.

Coming Tonight[?]: I saw him pitch 3 times at Yankee Stadium last year. Today he's pitching there again, against a guy I also saw pitch there last year. The uniforms are a little different.