The Weekly Rundown: 9/17/23 - 9/23/23
Ronald Acuña, Corbin Carroll and Freddie Freeman make history, checking in on MLB award races, and more.
Good morning and Happy Sunday!
We’re down to the final week of the 2023 MLB regular season. Next Sunday, we’ll wrap up the 162-game campaign and look ahead to the playoffs, which begin Oct. 3 with the wild-card round.
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Thanks! Now let’s get into all of the action from the last week.
Acuña, Carroll, and Freeman Make History
Three of the best players in baseball enjoyed historic weeks, starting with likely National League MVP Ronald Acuña Jr.
Acuña tallied his 40th home run of the year to become the first player ever to record 40 homers and 60 stolen bases in a single season. He’s the first player since 2006 to record a 40/40 campaign.
Diamondbacks rookie phenom Corbin Carroll followed suit with a historic feat of his own. The NL Rookie of the Year shoo-in became the first MLB rookie ever to record 25 homers and 50 stolen bases.
And last but certainly not least, Freddie Freeman topped off his amazing season with his 200th hit of the year. Surprisingly, it’s the first time the ex-Atlanta Braves slugger has ever notched 200+ hits in a single season. He is the only first baseman ever to collect 200 hits, 20 homers and 20 stolen bases in one season.
Checking In On Award Races
AL MVP
Despite injuries derailing his season, Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani has to be the MVP in the American League. He hit .304/.412/.654 with 44 homers, 95 RBIs, and 20 stolen bases while also posting a 3.14 ERA with 167 strikeouts in 132 innings pitched (23 starts).
Honorable mentions: Rangers shortstop Corey Seager and Mariners outfielder Julio Rodriguez.
NL MVP
It’s a two-man race between Acuña and Dodgers superstar outfielder Mookie Betts. I’m leaning Acuña here, but you can take a look at the numbers below and be the judge.
Honorable mentions: Braves first baseman Matt Olson, Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman.
AL Cy Young
Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole seems to have pulled away from the rest of the pack as of late. He should finally win his first Cy Young Award as he’s posted a 14-4 record with a 2.75 ERA, 1.015 WHIP, and 217 strikeouts in 200 innings of work (32 starts).
Honorable mentions: Mariners right-hander Luis Castillo, Twins righty Sonny Gray, Blue Jays righty Kevin Gausman.
NL Cy Young
Padres southpaw Blake Snell is the current favorite to win the award with a league-best 2.33 ERA in 174 innings (31 starts). The only thing that may hold him back is his high walk rate (97 BB this season).
Honorable mentions: Cubs lefty Justin Steele, Braves right-hander Spencer Strider, Diamondbacks righty Zac Gallen.
AL Rookie of the Year
Orioles infielder Gunnar Henderson has this award in the bag with a .260/.329/.496 slash line, 27 homers, and 81 RBIs for the first-place Orioles.
Honorable mentions: Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas, Rangers third baseman Josh Jung.
NL Rookie of the Year
It’s Corbin Carroll, then everyone else.
Honorable mention: Mets righty Kodai Senga.
The IL
Harrison Bader, OF, Cincinnati Reds: 10-day injured list, right groin strain.
Tanner Bibee, RHP, Cleveland Guardians: Out for rest of season , right hip inflammation.
Brady Singer, RHP, Kansas City Royals: Out for rest of season, back strain.
Brad Keller, RHP, Kansas City Royals: Out for rest of season, thoracic outlet syndrome.
Carlos Correa, SS, Minnesota Twins: 10-day IL, plantar fasciitis in left foot.
Ryan Mountcastle, 1B, Baltimore Orioles: 10-day IL, shoulder inflammation.
Alex Cobb, RHP, San Francisco Giants: Out for rest of season, left hip impingement.
Keaton Winn, RHP, San Francisco Giants: 15-day IL, Covid-19.
Alec Burleson, OF, St. Louis Cardinals: 10-day IL, fractured thumb.
Nick Madrigal, INF, Chicago Cubs: 10-day IL, hamstring strain.
Brandon Crawford, SS, San Francisco Giants: 10-day IL, hamstring strain.
Willson Contreras, C, St. Louis Cardinals: Out for rest of season, left wrist tendinitis.
Max Fried, LHP, Atlanta Braves: 15-day IL, left index finger blister.
Wandy Peralta, LHP, New York Yankees: 15-day IL, left triceps strain.
Luke Raley, OF/DH, Tampa Bay Rays: 10-day IL, cervical strain.
Royce Lewis, 3B, Minnesota Twins: 10-day IL, left hamstring strain.
Brandon Lowe, 2B, Tampa Bay Rays: Out 4-6 weeks, fractured right kneecap.
Jason Adam, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays: Out for rest of regular season, left oblique strain.
Eury Perez, RHP, Miami Marlins: Out for rest of regular season, left SI joint inflammation.
Brad Boxberger, RHP, Chicago Cubs: Out for rest of regular season, right forearm strain.
Dominant On The Bump
Sonny Gray, Minnesota Twins
7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 6 K, 0 BB vs. Chicago White Sox
Mike Clevinger, Chicago White Sox
9.0 IP (CG), 6 H, 1 ER, 7 K, 0 BB vs. Washington Nationals
Blake Snell, San Diego Padres
7.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 10 K, 4 BB vs. Colorado Rockies
Hunter Greene, Cincinnati Reds
7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 14 K, 1 BB vs. Minnesota Twins
Michael King, New York Yankees
7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 13 K, 0 BB vs. Toronto Blue Jays
Kevin Gausman, Toronto Blue Jays
6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 10 K, 3 BB vs. New York Yankees
Kyle Bradish, Baltimore Orioles
6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 9 K, 2 BB vs. Houston Astros
Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees
8.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 9 K, 0 BB vs. Toronto Blue Jays
Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers
7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 10 K, 1 BB vs. Oakland Athletics
Sean Manaea, San Francisco Giants
7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 K, 0 BB vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
Nick Pivetta, Boston Red Sox
7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 7 K, 1 BB vs. Chicago White Sox
Dylan Cease, Chicago White Sox
7.0 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 11 K, 0 BB vs. Boston Red Sox
John Means, Baltimore Orioles
7.1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 4 K, 1 BB vs. Cleveland Guardians
Big Bombs
The Brewers homered twice in a 12-run inning against the Marlins.
Aaron Judge tallied three homers against the Diamondbacks.
Ronald Acuña collected his 40th homer of the year to join the 40-40 club.
Brewers slugger Carlos Santana hit the 300th homer of his career Saturday vs. the Marlins (5:24 mark below).
Web Gem Of The Week
Twins outfielder Michael A. Taylor robbed Will Benson and the Reds of a three-run homer (1:58 mark of the video below):
Welcome To The Show
Rays top prospect Tristan Gray notched his first career homer Sunday against the Orioles.
Rays top prospect Junior Caminero (No. 6 MLB prospect) got the call to The Show and made his big-league debut Saturday vs. the Blue Jays and notched his first hit, going 1-for-4 with a walk 3:33 mark below).
Quick Takeaways
The Central in both leagues has been decided as the Twins and Brewers both clinched. Maybe the Twins can actually make a run in October this time since they won’t have to face the Yankees for once.
The division races to watch over this final week are in the AL East and West. The Orioles enter Sunday with a 1.5-game lead over the Rays in the East. The Rangers have a 1.5-game lead over the Astros and a two-game lead over the Mariners in the West. Texas and Seattle end the year with a four-game series against one another that very well could decide that division.
The third-place team in the AL West is holding on by a thread in the wild-card race. Right now, that’s the Mariners who are a half-game behind the Astros for the third WC spot. The Blue Jays are one game ahead of Houston. Then in the National League, it remains a total shitshow with three or four teams still vying for that final spot.
The Padres picked a hell of a time to play their best baseball of the season. After underperforming all year long, they’ve been on a roll as of late with eight wins over their last 10 games. They still haven’t been officially eliminated from postseason contention as they’re five games off the wild-card pace, but it seems like too little, too late for San Diego.
Rapid Fire
The Reds released outfielder Hunter Renfroe.
The Twins designated outfielder Jordan Luplow for assignment.
The Marlins claimed left-hander Matt Moore off waivers from the Guardians.
The Diamondbacks discussed a contract extension with executive VP of baseball operations/general manager Mike Hazen, who has been rumored as a potential Chaim Bloom replacement in Boston.
Angels star Shohei Ohtani underwent surgery to address the UCL tear in his right elbow.
Brewers righty J.C. Mejía was suspended for 162 games following a positive PED test. He also tested positive last season and was suspended for 80 games.
The Tigers named Jeff Greenburg as their new general manager.
Left-handed reliever Sean Doolittle announced his retirement after 11 MLB seasons.
Marlins star and reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara has been shut down for the rest of the season after experiencing forearm tightness in his rehab start.
Cardinals veteran righty Adam Wainwright collected the 200th win of his illustrious MLB career on Monday against the Brewers.
Thanks for reading and have a great week!