Holy guacamole, what a blockbuster! On Tuesday, the Padres acquired superstar Juan Soto to bolster a middling offense that has been without Fernando Tatis Jr. all season. Let’s consult the park factors to find out how the park switch may affect Soto’s performance.
On Monday, Tommy Pham was traded to the Red Sox as the Reds continue to dismantle and build for the future. The 34-year-old has endured a weak offensive season and his xwOBA sits at the lowest of his career. Let’s see if the park switch provides any hope of a rebound.
Let’s post one more new regular faces article as we return from the all-star break. This should also help you get through next week without me, as I’ll be North of the U.S. border on vacation!
Yesterday, I asked you to vote on which group of pitchers you expect to post a better ERA over the rest of the season. One group was composed of the 10 biggest SIERA overperformers, while the other comprised the underperformers. For just the second year, I’m going to take the same polling idea and use it for hitters. So let’s follow the same concept and compare two groups of hitters based on xwOBA overperformance and underperformance. We know that xwOBA isn’t perfect. Neither is SIERA. In fact, no estimated/expected/forecasted equation is going to be perfect, because there will always be players that do something we have a difficult time quantifying. Furthermore, there will always be players each year that fall into either end of the extremes for no other reason than complete randomness. So let’s keep that in mind when reviewing these two groups.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before; Aaron Judge hits the ball hard.
On June 6th, 2022 Dylan Bundy left a changeup right over the heart of the plate for none other than current 2022 MVP candidate Aaron Judge. If you’ve never seen Aaron Judge before, he’s big. He’s not the type of guy you want to leave one over the heart of the plate for. Can you guess what happened? It was smoked. The ball was scorched 116 MPH to left field and while it doesn’t look like much of an issue for the left fielder in the video below, I can guarantee that if it were me (and probably you too) in left field, there would be more avoidance of the ball than intentionally getting in front of it.
Let’s take a look:
Let’s keep it going with the rookie hitters, as there are several more that have made impacts, both in fantasy and real baseball.
Let’s review another trio of rookie hitters. Since I have finished updating my reviews on the hitters I first reviewed earlier in the year, I won’t be comparing performance splits from before I posted my review with after. Instead, I’ll focus on the full season performance. Today’s trio represent another handful of top prospects. Let’s see how they have performed.
Let’s continue reviewing the rookie hitters. Today, let’s discuss the three hitters I initially reviewed in mid-May. Like in my rookie review last week, I won’t be formatting this update as a good news/bad news list, but compare their performance through the time I posted my first review with what they have done since.
Angels
• Jonathan Villar (.225/.273/.320, 2 HR, 7 SB) has started four straight games while leading off and playing third base.
• Luis Rengifo (.241/.283/.388, 5 HR, 2 SB) has moved up to hitting fifth.
• Brandon Marsh (vs RHP) and Monte Harrison (vs LHP) are in a left-field platoon.
Astros
• Besides various injuries, the lineup is extremely stable.
• Jake Meyers (.302/.311/.465, 1 HR) has started 12 straight games since coming off the IL. He’s hit as high as fifth in the lineup
Athletics
• Nick Allen (.222/.300/.319, 1 HR, 1 SB) has started 13 straight games at second base and is now leading off against lefties.
• Skye Bolt (.211 OPS) has started six of seven games in center field.
• Vimael Machín (vs RHP) and Sheldon Neuse (vs LHP) are in a third base platoon.
Blue Jays
• Cavan Biggio (.749 OPS in 2022, .290/.413/.474 over the past 2 weeks) started in seven of the last eight games while leading off twice.
Guardians
• Besides dealing with injuries, steady.
Mariners
• Carlos Santana (.693 OPS, 4 HR) continues to bat fourth.
• Cal Raleigh (.244/.326/.526 with 4 HR over the last month) has moved up to batting fifth or sixth.
• Ty France (.862 OPS, 10 HR) just came off the IL and is batting second.
Orioles
• Ramón Urías (.678 OPS, 6 HR) has started two of three games at third base since coming off the IL.
• Cedric Mullins (.769 OPS vs RHP, .637 OP vs LHP) has sat against three of the last four lefties.
Rangers
• Josh H. Smith (.235/.385/.255, 0 HR, 2 SB) leads off against righties and sits against lefties.
• Four outfielders, Kole Calhoun (.698 OPS), Brad Miller (.608 OPS), Leody Taveras (.743 OPS), and Steven Duggar (.546 OPS), are splitting time at two spots.
Rays
• SNAFU
• Isaac Paredes (.254/.313/.590, 13 HR) and Harold Ramirez (.314/.361/.430, 4 HR, 3 SB) have started in 11 of the last 12 games.
• While still playing most of the time, Randy Arozarena (.735 OPS) has been slowly moving down the lineup.
Red Sox
• Franchy Cordero (.303/.395/.409, 0 HR, 3 SB over the past month) has started nine straight.
• Bobby Dalbec (vs LHP) and Jackie Bradley Jr. (vs RHP) are in a platoon.
Royals
• Michael A. Taylor (.733 OPS), Edward Olivares (.796 OPS), and Kyle Isbel (.596 OPS) are sharing two outfield spots.
• Emmanuel Rivera (vs LHP) and Nicky Lopez (vs RHP) are in a third base platoon.
• Vinnie Pasquantino (.549 OPS, 1 HR) has hit either fourth or fifth.
Tigers
• They have a ton of replacement-level players cycling through several positions.
• Robbie Grossman (.225/.315/.363, 2 HR, 1 SB since coming off the IL) has hit third or fourth in the last four games.
• Jonathan Schoop (.448/.444/.893 with 4 SB in the past week) has moved up to hitting fifth or sixth.
• Jeimer Candelario (.556 OPS) has started in just seven of the last 10 games.
Twins
• Byron Buxton (.218/.293/.552, 22) has been able to start in seven of the last eight games.
• Moving between first and third, Jose Miranda (.706 OPS) has started in nine of the last 10 games.
White Sox
• The whole gang was back together on Wednesday but there are still issues limiting the lineup’s upside.
• One of Josh Harrison (.683 OPS) and Leury García (.495 OPS) must be at second base.
• The team has four DHs, Andrew Vaughn (.800 OPS), José Abreu (.836 OPS), Eloy Jiménez (.628 OPS), and Gavin Sheets (.658 OPS), so in order to get them all in the lineup, three will end up being a defensive liability.
Yankees
• If anyone is getting the shaft in the Yankees hitter rotation, it’s Joey Gallo (.621 OPS) and Aaron Hicks (.689 OPS). Both have only started in seven of the last 10 games.
Braves
• Steady with a couple of possible hiccups.
• Phil Gosselin (.553 OPS) has started in two of the last four games at second base with Orlando Arcia hitting .059/.158/.059 with 0 HR and 0 SB over the last two weeks.
• There is only one game to go off of, but Eddie Rosario (vs RHP) and Adam Duvall (vs LHP) might be in a left-field platoon.
Brewers
• Mike Brosseau (vs LHP) and Kolten Wong (vs RHP) are in a platoon.
• Jonathan Davis (.507 OPS, 3 SB) has started six straight in center field with Tyrone Taylor on the IL.
• Jace Peterson (.756 OPS, 7 HR, 10 SB) has just started in seven of the last ten while hitting at the back of the lineup.
Cardinals
• In the last two games against righties, Tommy Edman (.234/.274/.327, 2 HR, 5 SB over the last 28 days) has sat or moved to the end of the lineup with Juan Yepez (.814 OPS, 11 HR) moving up.
• Conner Capel (.271/.361/.466, 9 HR, 16 SB in AAA, 16 MLB PA) has started in four of the last five games.
• Nolan Gorman (.787 OPS) continues to sit against lefties.
Cubs
• There is a ton of moving parts here.
• Rafael Ortega (.765 OPS vs RHP, .551 vs LHP) only starts against righties but does leadoff against them.
• Alfonso Rivas (.736 OPS vs RHP, .173 vs LHP) starts against righties.
• Christopher Morel (.896 OPS vs RHP, .684 vs LHP) gets buried in the lineup against righties but I’m not sure why.
• A Nelson Velázquez (1.094 OPS in AAA, .704 OPS in AAA, .755 OPS in the majors) is starting more and more (four of the last five). He is a power-speed threat with a combined 16 HR and 13 SB this season.
Diamondbacks
• Josh Rojas (vs RHP) and Jake Hager (vs LHP) are in a platoon.
• Cooper Hummel (.977 OPS in AAA, .612 OPS in the majors) has started five of six games since being promoted … again.
• Buddy Kennedy (.583 OPS, 1 HR, 0 SB) has started 11 straight while hitting in the middle of the lineup.
• Alek Thomas (.799 OPS vs RHP, .538 OPS vs LHP) has sat against two of the last three lefty starters.
Dodgers
• Steady.
• With Chris Taylor on the IL, one of Jake Lamb (.837 OPS) or Trayce Thompson (.770 OPS) has filled in for him. They might be in a platoon with Lamb facing righties and Thompson lefties.
Giants
• There is not a single regular hitter on the team. Almost everyone is in some form of a timeshare. Maybe Brandon Crawford isn’t in one. I just don’t know if any one on the team is rosterable.
• David Villar (.284/.409/.633, 21 HR, 0 SB in AAA, 14 MLB PA) has started four straight.
Marlins
• For a few days, the lineup was a complete mess but the last two lineups against righties were identical except for the catcher.
• Joey Wendle (.761 OPS, 2 HR, 5 SB) has started three straight while hitting at the top of the lineup.
• Jacob Stallings (.504 OPS, 2 HR, 0 SB) is starting about two-thirds of the time at catcher with Nick Fortes (.876 OPS, 3 HR, 2 SB) seeing a playing-time reduction.
Mets
• Steady.
• J.D. Davis (vs LHP) and Dominic Smith (vs RHP) are in a DH platoon.
• Mark Canha (vs LHP) and Luis Guillorme (vs RHP) are in a pseudo-platoon. Both play more than just the platoon because they are the replacements when anyone needs a day off.
• Over the last eight games, James McCann (.549 OPS) and Tomás Nido (.491 OPS) have evenly split time as the catcher.
Nationals
• Lane Thomas (.650 OPS) and Yadiel Hernandez (.731 OPS) don’t have full-time jobs but are starting 70% of the time.
• Victor Robles (.600 OPS, 8 SB) has started nine straight in center field while batting ninth.
Padres
• Nomar Mazara (vs RHP) is still in a platoon with José Azocar (vs LHP). Maraza (.754 OPS, 2 HR) is slowly moving up the lineup.
• Trent Grisham (.621 OPS, 8 HR) is hitting either eighth or ninth.
Phillies
• Darick Hall (.290/.290/.742) has started in seven of eight games but did sit against the only lefty.
• Alec Bohm (.660 OPS, .841 OPS over the last two weeks) has been sitting recently (started four of six) and moving down the lineup.
Pirates
• Ben Gamel (.734 OPS, 3 HR, 3 SB) has started four straight since coming off the IL. My gut says he plays a ton to build up his trade value.
• Jack Suwinski (.215/.300/.463, 14 HR) has started 14 of 15 games.
• Yoshi Tsutsugo (.539 OPS) has started three of four games since coming off the IL.
Reds
• I don’t know what is going on with the last few spots. Every day, it’s new players in the last three or four spots.
• Tyler Naquin (.778 OPS, 6 HR, 3 SB) has started three of four since coming off the IL. The one time he sat was against the only lefty (.850 vs LHP, .537 OPS vs RHP).
Rockies
• Randal Grichuk (.608 OPS vs RHP, .861 OPS vs LHP) sits against about half the righty starters.
• Kris Bryant (.283/.342/.374, 1 HR, 0 SB) has hit second over the last three games.
• Yonathan Daza (.713 OPS, a .483 OPS over the last two weeks) has gone from hitting at the top of the lineup to the bottom third.
Back in mid-May, I started reviewing some of the top rookie hitters. Back then, a little less than a month and a half were in the books, so we were still in small sample territory. Let’s now review those same three rookies and find out how they have performed since.
