Things That Make You Go “Hmmmm…”
Juan Soto led off for the Nationals yesterday versus the Orioles. He went 1-for-4 with an RBI, which lowered his average to a robust .375. He was hitting lead off even with both Bryce Harper and Trea Turner in the lineup, so this looks like it could easily stick. Soto would obviously benefit dramatically if he led off for one of the best offenses in the game.
According to manager Jim Riggleman, Jesse Winker is the “odd man out” of the Reds outfield rotation. The experiment of rotating Winker with Billy Hamilton , Adam Duvall , and Scott Schebler appears to be over in Cincy. Winker never had a sexy fantasy profile and was highly overrated. He can be dropped in virtually all mixed league formats.
Ervin Santana was pulled from his minor league rehab assignment after experiencing discomfort in his injured finger. Santana is recovering from surgery on the digit and really struggled through his first two rehab starts. He is expected to see a doctor to have the injury reevaluated.
That Happened?!?
Álex Reyes pitched four scoreless innings versus the Brewers on Wednesday. He threw 73 pitches, striking out two and there was a velocity drop, which led to his early exit but it appears to be nothing more than fatigue. His next start is against the Marlins next Tuesday.
Jorge Soler went 4-for-5 with a homer versus the Twins on Wednesday. He is now hitting .278/.372/.481 with eight home runs on the season. Soler was highly regarded for a while in fantasy, but has finally broken out in Kansas City right as everyone had quit on him. The power has always been there, but now Soler has an improved approach. He is striking out 7.5% less this season and making more contact within the zone. The average will likely come down a bit as he is sporting a .349 BABIP, but the hard contact is up, which would support some BABIP jump. He should hit around .250 with another 15+ homers rest of the way.
Fernando Romero was rocked for eight earned runs in just 1.2 innings versus the Royals on Wednesday. He only issued one walk, to the lead off hitter, but then proceeded to give up nine hits including two home runs. This was a disaster outing, but hopefully just a blip on the radar.
Joe Musgrove threw seven innings, only allowing one run on seven hits and four walks while striking out five versus the Cubs. It wasn’t a dominating outing for the righty, but he was effective in limiting damage when he allowed base runners, which was important on a day when he didn’t have his best stuff.
Nathan Eovaldi pitched six no-hit innings versus the Athletics on Wednesday. He was sitting at 96-98 with the fastball and the splitter and slider looked decent as well. Eovaldi was coming off the DL to make his season debut for the Rays and should garner plenty of attention on the waiver wire. He is likely just a streaming option in 10 to 12-team mixed leagues, but should be added for sure in deeper formats.
What We’ll Be Watching Today
How good is Andrew Heaney ? He has been great in his return from Tommy John Surgery and gets a poor Tigers team in Detroit.
Is Daniel Mengden legit? Spoiler Alert: He’s not, but he has been hot and will be a common streaming option versus the Rays tomorrow. The regression monster may rear his ugly head here. The Rays sport the second best average and fourth best OBP versus right handed pitching.
Can José Quintana rebound? Quintana has struggled as of late, but gets the hapless Mets.
Aaron Nola vs Clayton Kershaw . *Swoon*. Kershaw makes his return from the DL, but will he be on a pitch count and will it matter versus a Phillies team minus Rhys Hoskins ? Hoskins has been placed on the DL with a broken jaw. Originally it was reported that Hoskins was only dealing with a lacerated lip after fouling a ball off into his own face, but it appears the incident did much more damage than initially thought. The timetable largely depends on whether or not Hoskins gets surgery or not, so more shall be revealed in the next couple of days. If Kershaw can’t go deep, the Dodgers may have to turn to prospect Dennis Santana who was recalled from AAA to replace Kenta Maeda on the Dodgers roster. He could replace Maeda in the rotation, after Maeda was placed on the DL with a hip strain, if Santana is not needed out of the bullpen over the next couple of days.
Shane Bieber will make his Major League debut on Thursday. Bieber has been great in the minors this year. Since being called up to AAA at the beginning of May, he has had a 1.05 ERA in 34.1 innings with an over eight K/9. He has always had great walk and home run rates throughout the minor leagues and it appears like he could translate very well to the Majors with a good fastball and a plus curve. He sports plus command and a usable slider and change. He gets a bad Twins team for his debut at Target Field.
Baseball. Lots of baseball.