If you’re still waking up, the Orioles just gave some pretty bad news from their bullpen. Zach Britton landed on the 10-day disabled list with a left forearm strain.

Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez also landed on the disabled list Friday for the first time in his 14-year career. Cody Bellinger took over responsibilities and went 3-for-5 with two home runs and four RBI in the win over the Padres.

He hit two bombs last week and Manager Dave Roberts went on record to say that wouldn’t impact his decision to send Bellinger back to Triple-A. Things are a little different now, obviously. So we get to witness the excellence of Bellinger. Read the rest of this entry »

I haven’t seen any of you since April. Either way, this is one of my favorite times of the season.

Major League Baseball put out the All-Star voting two months prior to the game because that makes sense, our favorite prospects are getting called up, and the disabled list possesses some of the best players in baseball. What a time.

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Cody Bellinger hit his first major-league home run Saturday night against the Phillies. He then followed that with his second major-league home run.

The thing that I like the most about Bellinger is the fact that he’s so athletic for a first baseman. He has a lot of power and when he was pitching in high school that power paralleled to his arm. He also evens himself out defensively and obviously shows he can play anywhere. Read the rest of this entry »

Sometimes we aren’t lucky and we jinx people. I wrote in the Riteup Friday, I was obsessed with Adam Eaton. I still am, but Friday night, he left the game with a leg injury in the ninth inning. It looked pretty scary. He collapsed once he reached first and was carried off the field. It looked like it was his left ankle that was in distress and he will undergo an MRI Saturday so we will keep you updated with that.

Still, it doesn’t look good, so anticipate your team being M.I.A without him for a while. Read the rest of this entry »

Sonny Gray made his Triple-A rehab outing Thursday night and he did fairly well. He was on a 75-pitch assignment with the Nashville Sounds and tossed six shutout innings and issued seven strikeouts with no walks and two hits.

He’s on his way to joining the team as early as Tuesday when they take on the Minnesota Twins. The word on this particular injury has to do with the fact that there could be more underlying issues in his shoulder. So proceed with caution. Read the rest of this entry »

Rich Hill as a reliever?

via GIPHY

Dave Roberts said a bullpen role could happen for Rich Hill. The blister magnet once again landed on the D.L. with that middle finger-recurring issue. He will begin a rehab assignment soon.

This changes up the starting rotation should this occur with Julio Urias being put in the starting rotation. So that could be fun.

The 20-year-old is kind of serving as a placeholder at the moment and after a solid 1.93 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 14 innings with Triple-A Omaha, he could get the start against the Giants Wednesday. Read the rest of this entry »

Well, it’s about time Jose Bautista. I’ve been wanting to mention your name on the Roto Riteup for a while now. Heading into Saturday night’s matchup against the Angels, Joey Bats was hitting just .109 and was on a 15-game homerun-less hitting streak.

He hit a three-run home run in the top of the 13th inning to take over the game. Still, it’s a risky play to think about his upside this season. If it’s a five-outfielder scenario, sure. But other than that, he’s a buy low option. Read the rest of this entry »

Eric Thames continues to show off his power. He now has a league-leading eight home runs to and raised his ISO to .566.

Nick Stellini wrote about Thames highlighting his mashing capabilities and reminds you that Thames’ power has always been there, it’s just been shown off in another country.

“We get to see if a man who couldn’t cut it in his first try can succeed after dominating a foreign circuit. So far, he’s doing quite well.”

Yes, yes he is.

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Jose Ramirez continues to dazzle with a strong performance against the Tigers Saturday when he finished 4-for-4 with two bombs in the 13-6 win.

He’s on fire right now, in his last 22 plate appearances he’s slashing a .316/.368/.732 line. His walk and strikeout rate are parallel at 9.5% this season with an increase in flyball rate and hard contact percentage. Read the rest of this entry »

Do you think Archie Bradley’s beard arrives a few minutes before he does? Not entirely sure, but that thing is epic. I caught a glimpse of it in the bullpen when the Diamondbacks were taking on the Dodgers.

He’s also been impressive on the mound and wants to solidify himself this time around heading into his third big league season and he’s doing everything right so far. The 24-year-old has increased his velocity summing a few miles per hour to his fastball and slider. He’s also showing significant increases in his changeup’s consistency this season which just adds to his value.

He’s currently sitting at a 38.5% strikeout rate facing 26 batters over the season with a 46.2% groundball rate. I wouldn’t say he’s a “brand new” pitcher, just the pitcher he was always supposed to be. Read the rest of this entry »