The Weekly Rundown: 4/9/23 - 4/15/23
A week of streaks in MLB.
Good morning!
That’s two full weeks of regular-season baseball in the books. What do you think about the new rules? Any other early takeaways? You can let me know in the comment section at the bottom of the page.
Quick note that there will be no rundown for the next two Sundays. I’ll be honeymooning in Moorea and Bora Bora those weeks, so it’s fair to say there won’t be much baseball in my life during that time. I’m sure you get it.
For now though, we’ve got a lot to get to. There were a number of significant injuries, a bunch of highlight-reel plays, some major milestones, and big-time performances. over the last week.
You know the drill. Grab your coffee and let’s jump in.
Jordan Walker goes streaking
The St. Louis Cardinals may have something special in top prospect Jordan Walker. The 20-year-old rookie made his presence felt in The Show by starting his big-league career with a 12-game hitting streak.
That ties the record for the longest hitting streak to start a career by a player 20 or younger. Eddie Murphy — not the Dr. Doolittle guy — accomplished the feat with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1912.
David Dahl (Colorado Rockies, 2016) and Chuck Aleno (Cincinnati Reds, 1941) share the record with hits in 17 straight games to begin their respective careers.
Walker is slashing .273/.310/.418 with two homers and eight RBI through 15 games. His streak came to an end Thursday vs. Pittsburgh.
Benches clear after Cruz injury
We had some drama in Pittsburgh last Sunday. Pirates up-and-coming shortstop Oneil Cruz suffered a fractured ankle during an awkward slide and collision with White Sox catcher Seby Zavala.
Pirates players — specifically Carlos Santana — appeared to blame Zavala for some reason and caused the benches to clear.
Hate to say it, but that one’s 100 percent on Cruz. It was a terrible slide. I get having your teammate’s back, but no one with a brain can really blame the catcher for that injury.
Cruz underwent surgery and is expected to miss about four months with the injury.
Rays tie record with strong start
The Tampa Bay Rays started their season with 13 consecutive victories. They swept the Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, Oakland A’s, and Boston Red Sox. Not exactly murderers’ row, but wins are wins. And the Rays’ win streak tied a modern baseball record for the longest win streak to start the season.
They came up just short of setting the record as they fell to the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday. Still, the strong start was a firm statement that this is a Rays club that should be in the mix for an AL East title. Their pitching rotation has been arguably the best in baseball, though it’ll sting to not have Jeffrey Springs in the mix for a while. The left-hander was on fire to begin the campaign. Fortunately for them, Tyler Glasnow should be back in the next month or so.
Along with a league-best 2.23 team ERA, the Rays entered Sunday leading the majors with 104 runs scored. The Los Angeles Dodgers have the next-highest total with 81. While I still think the Blue Jays will win the division, the Rays are a legitimate threat. Don’t let their pitiful attendance and disaster of a ballpark fool you. The streak had to come to an end at some point, but they aren’t going anywhere.
Luis Arraez gets the cycle
Will we ever see a player hit .400 again? Probably not. But if we do, Luis Arraez probably has the best shot of any active player.
The man is a hitting machine. He was last year’s AL batting champ and is hitting .511 (24-for-47) through 14 games this season. The only player to win a batting title in both leagues is D.J. LeMahieu, who accomplished the feat with the Rockies in 2016 and the Yankees during the shortened 2020 season.
On Wednesday, Arraez made history by becoming the first Marlins player ever to hit for the cycle. Miami was the last MLB club without one.
The IL
Adam Duvall, OF, Boston Red Sox
Duvall was the hottest hitter in baseball before fracturing his wrist Sunday on an attempted sliding catch. He was placed on the 10-day injured list but the good news is he did not require surgery, so that should shorten his return timetable.
Joe Kelly, RHP, Chicago White Sox
Kelly was placed on the IL with a groin strain that he suffered while running to the benches-clearing altercation with the Pirates.
Tim Anderson, SS, Chicago White Sox
Anderson was placed on the 10-day IL with a knee strain sustained in a collision near third base on Monday. He is expected to miss 2-4 weeks.
Zach Eflin, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays
Eflin is on the 15-day IL with knee soreness. His three-year, $40 million contract signed during the offseason is the largest the Rays have ever given in free agency.
Joey Gallo, OF, Minnesota Twins
Gallo hit the 10-day IL retroactive to April 8 with a right intercostal strain. The 29-year-old, who signed a one-year deal worth $11 million with Minnesota during the offseason, was hitting .278 with three homers through seven games before the injury.
Corey Seager, SS, Texas Rangers
The Rangers’ star shortstop was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain and is expected to miss at least four weeks.
German Marquez, RHP, Colorado Rockies
Marquez is on the 15-day IL due to a right forearm strain. An MRI ruled out any structural damage.
Brandon Woodruff, RHP, Milwaukee Brewers
Woodruff was placed on the 15-day IL with right shoulder inflammation.
Orlando Arcia, SS, Atlanta Braves
Arcia landed on the 10-day IL with a microfracture in his left wrist. Vaughn Grissom, who Arcia beat in spring training for the starting shortstop job, was called up from Triple-A to replace him. Arcia signed a three-year, $7.3 million contract extension at the start of the season.
Jeffrey Springs, LHP, Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays expect to be without Springs for at least two months due to ulnar neuritis in his throwing arm. Springs was 2-0 with an 0.56 ERA and 0.50 WHIP through his first three starts (16 innings) this season.
Yoan Moncada, 3B, Chicago White Sox
Moncada was placed on the 10-day IL with lower-back soreness.
Dominant On The Bump
Corbin Burnes, RHP, Milwaukee Brewers
8.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 8 SO vs. Arizona Diamondbacks
Zac Gallen, RHP, Arizona Diamondbacks
7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 11 SO vs. Milwaukee Brewers
Andrew Heaney, LHP, Texas Rangers
5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 10 SO vs. Kansas City Royals
Heaney struck out nine consecutive batters, tying an American League record.
Joe Ryan, RHP, Minnesota Twins
7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 10 SO vs. New York Yankees
Pablo Lopez, RHP, Minnesota Twins
7.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 10 SO vs. Chicago White Sox
Big Bombs
Byron Buxton notched his 100th career homer.
Jarred Kelenic blasted one 482 feet to deep center for his third homer in as many games.
Ji Hwan Bae walked it off for the Pirates.
Nelson Velazquez hit a go-ahead grand slam in the third inning for the Cubs vs. the Mariners. Chicago came back from down 7-0 to beat Seattle, 14-9.
Ryan Mountcastle’s grand slam highlighted a 9-RBI day.
Adley Rutschman’s first career walk-off homer.
Twins (Michael A. Taylor, Edouard Julien, Carlos Correa) go back-to-back-to-back in a nine-run first inning vs. the Yankees.
Ozzie Albies launched his 100th career homer
Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe collected his first MLB homer Friday against the Twins.
Andrew McCutchen crushed the go-ahead homer in the 10th inning for the Pirates against the Cardinals.
Web Gems
Ji Hwan Bae makes the list for the second straight week with another sweet grab at the wall.
Kevin Kiermaier just continues to shine defensively. He robbed Tigers outfielder Kerry Carpenter of a homer on Wednesday.
Daulton Varsho made a sweet diving grab (the Blue Jays outfield is pretttty good).
Cody Bellinger robbed Jason Heyward of a homer… AT DODGER STADIUM!
Welcome to The Show
Rays No. 1 pitching prospect Taj Bradley took the injured Zach Eflin’s spot in the rotation and made his MLB debut Wednesday vs. the Red Sox. He allowed three runs on five hits and one walk in five innings while striking out eight.
You may remember Edouard Julien from his standout performance with Team Canada at the 2023 World Baseball Classic. The 23-year-old made his big-league debut with the Twins on Wednesday vs. the White Sox, going 0-for-2 with a walk. He collected his first MLB hit and homer in Thursday’s win over the Yankees, going 2-for-5.
This Week’s Takeaways
Chris Sale might be cooked. The Red Sox’ veteran lefty owns an 11.25 ERA through three starts and simply doesn’t appear to have the stuff that once made him one of the most dominant pitchers in the game. The upside is he’s healthy for once, but that doesn’t do Boston much good when its starting rotation already leaves so much to be desired.
Xander Bogaerts is tearing it up (.361/.437/.607, 4 HR, 10 RBI) in San Diego while the Red Sox trot out Kiké Hernandez, Bobby Dalbec, and Yu Chang at shortstop. Hernandez was on an 0-for-27 streak at the plate while Bogaerts was blasting bombs out of Petco Park. Tough look for those who defended the Red Sox not paying Bogaerts what he was worth when they had the chance.
Ronald Acuña is back. He didn’t look like his superstar self upon returning from a torn ACL last year, but he has been on fire through 14 games in the 2023 campaign. He’s hitting .390 with three homers, 11 RBI, and a 1.056 OPS while leading the NL in hits (23). That has helped the Braves roll to an 11-4 start. Just wait ‘til Michael Harris and Max Fried return.
Rays slugging second baseman Brandon Lowe homered five times in six games. Like Acuña, he has been outstanding after struggling in his return from injury in 2022. I’d go as far as to label Lowe one of the game’s most underrated players, though you could say that about several Tampa Bay players.
Has Jarred Kelenic figured it out? The Mariners’ former top prospect homered in four consecutive games, including that 482-foot blast at Wrigley Field mentioned above. If this is what Seattle can expect from him throughout the season, it’ll go a long way toward helping it dethrone the Astros as AL West champs and make a deep postseason run.
Javier Baez robbed the Tigers blind. To say he has been dreadful since signing his six-year, $140M contract last year would be a huge understatement. He was benched on Thursday after losing track of how many outs there were and running into a double play. He’s still good for a flashy tag every now and then, but that’s about it.
The A’s might be even worse than we all anticipated. They’re 3-12 and on Friday, their pitchers walked 17 Mets hitters — one shy of the MLB record — while allowing 17 runs. If any Oakland fans still exist, I feel terrible for them.
The Pirates (9-6) have impressed and while that might not last much longer, they’re pretty fun to watch. Highly recommend.
Rapid Fire
The Cubs signed outfielder Ian Happ to a three-year extension worth $61 million. Happ, 28, was scheduled to become a free agent after the 2023 season.
Logan Webb signed a five-year, $90 million extension with the Giants. The 26-year-old right-hander is 31-22 with a 3.53 ERA and 426 strikeouts in 80 starts since entering the majors with the Giants in 2019.
Bryce Harper is taking reps at first base in an effort to return sooner from Tommy John surgery. He may even skip his minor-league rehab assignment.
Fernando Tatis Jr. appears ready for his return to the big leagues. The Padres star belted three homers in a five-hit game with San Diego’s Triple-A affiliate. He’s scheduled to be back in the Padres lineup on Thursday after serving his 80-game PED suspension
I’ll be back from vacation on May 3, so you can expect the next Weekly Rundown to be delivered to your inbox on Sunday, May 7. In the meantime, it would mean a lot if you subscribed (free!) below. Each subscription goes a long way. Thanks in advance if you do.