10 Biggest Takeaways from Week 13's MLB Action
The 2015 Major League Baseball season is halfway home. It just put its third month in the books, as well as its 13th week.
And as with all the other ones, this week gave us plenty to talk about.
The time has come for us to do our usual thing and dive into the biggest storylines of the week. There are 10 that we need to get to, and they range from a bright young star making his long-awaited return to some nasty pitching to a nasty power dispute in Southern California.
We'll go in order from least interesting to most interesting. Step into the box whenever you're ready.
10. Baseball Is Running out of Top Prospects to Call Up
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In a move that was bound to happen sometime in the realm of "very, very soon," the Minnesota Twins promoted prized third base prospect Miguel Sano to the majors this week.
The move has yet to bear significant fruit for the Twins, as Sano is just 3-for-8 without a home run in the two games he's played with the Twins. As such, we're not looking at a Joey Gallo- or Carlos Correa-like storyline involving a hot-shot prospect bursting onto the scene and making an impression right away.
But we are looking at this storyline, though: Now that Sano is in the majors, there really aren't many elite prospects left to be called up.
Going off Baseball America's list, Sano's promotion means that 14 of baseball's 20 best prospects have played in the majors this year. That's an extraordinarily high percentage. And knowing that Corey Seager should also be promoted in the near future, it hasn't yet peaked.
Aaron Gleeman of Hardball Talk dubbed 2015 "The Year of the Call-Up." Chris Towers of CBS Sports prefers the "Season of Prospects." But whatever we call it, Major League Baseball must be digging it. As we've discussed before, MLB should want as much young talent as it can get its hands on.
That puts the pressure on the minors. Better keep 'em coming.
9. Hide Your Right-Handers Around Mitch Moreland
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You probably don't consider Mitch Moreland to be one of the game's most dangerous hitters. And that's OK, because that's an accurate perception of him.
But as he reminded everyone this week, he can be under the right circumstances.
The Texas Rangers first baseman enjoyed a nice couple of nights in Baltimore earlier this week, launching two home runs in back-to-back games on Monday and Tuesday. When asked to explain himself, he put his tongue in his cheek and chalked it up to his surroundings.
"Maybe you do some assessing on how the ball flies here in Baltimore because, man, when it's hot and humid, it jumps," he said of Oriole Ballpark at Camden Yards, per Connor Smolensky of MLB.com.
Moreland is probably right about that, but here's a simpler explanation for his dinger binge: It was simply him doing his thing against right-handed pitching.
All four of the dingers that Moreland hit came off right-handers, which is par for the course for him. He went into Friday's action with a .972 OPS and 12 of his 14 homers against righties. And in terms of adjusted offense, FanGraphs puts him among MLB's 10 best hitters against right-handed pitching.
His .715 OPS against left-handed pitching goes to show that any manager who understands splits can neutralize him. But when a righty is on the mound, well, watch out.
8. Billy Hamilton Gets to 40 Steals the Hard Way
3 of 10Remember the brutal slump Billy Hamilton fell into in the second half of last year? Well, he still hasn't pulled out of that, as he's hitting just .227 with a .276 on-base percentage.
Even despite that, however, the Cincinnati Reds speedster already has 40 stolen bases. Hamilton got there by going from 36 steals to 40 with a four-steal day against the Minnesota Twins on Monday.
Weird, right? Guys who struggle to get on base aren't supposed to steal that many bases. What he's doing is therefore the kind of thing that makes you pause and think...is this normal?
Answer: Nope. Not at all.
It's very unusual for a guy to be where Hamilton is in the steals department while also having an OBP below .300. Assuming he finishes the first half with such an OBP, Hamilton will join Vince Coleman in 1994 as the only two players to ever do it.
And if Hamilton stays on his current pace, ESPN.com projects he'll finish with 83 stolen bases. He thus has a chance at MLB's first 80-steal season since 1988. It would also, however, be the first-ever 80-steal season that also featured a sub-.300 OBP.
Call it a hunch, but here's thinking Hamilton is not going to do it. And yet, here's hoping he does. Baseball is best when it's weird.
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7. Mike Montgomery: Shutout Machine
4 of 10In these days of pitch counts and relief specialists, shutouts are hard to come by for starting pitchers. Case in point, we're halfway through the season, and only five pitchers have as many as two.
For Mike Montgomery, however, shutouts seem to come naturally.
With his one-hitter on Tuesday against the San Diego Padres, the Seattle Mariners rookie left-hander made it two shutouts in a row. Greg Johns of MLB.com noted that he's only the 12th rookie since 1980 to toss back-to-back shutouts, a fact made all the more impressive by the reality that he has only made six starts.
Impressive, yes, but maybe not shocking. It was just a couple of years ago that the 26-year-old Montgomery was considered one of the best prospects in baseball. And though he doesn't throw hard, Mariners catcher Mike Zunino sees a guy who just plain knows how to pitch.
"He goes out and pitches," Zunino told Johns. "He's not scared to pitch to guys and attack. And that's helped him a lot. He's got good stuff. He's throwing all four pitches for strikes and attacking guys. And that's a good recipe for success."
Evidently, it's a good recipe for shutouts too.
6. Nobody Can Score Against Yovani Gallardo
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When the Rangers acquired Yovani Gallardo in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers, they seemed to be acquiring an innings-eater and little more. His best days were clearly behind him.
Or, maybe they're actually going on right now?
It sure seems like it. Gallardo hasn't allowed a run in four straight starts and is working on an overall scoreless streak of 29.1 innings. With this, he's lowered his ERA for the season to 2.56.
When asked to explain, Connor Smolensky of MLB.com reports that Gallardo credited his defense and his ability to work on both sides of the plate. The first point definitely holds water, as Baseball Prospectus rates the Rangers as baseball's eighth-most efficient defensive team. As for the second point, that could explain what looks like the key reason for his success.
With just 6.4 strikeouts per nine innings to his name, Gallardo isn't overpowering hitters these days. But he did enter Thursday ranked in the top 16 among qualified starters in hard-hit rate, which helps explain how he's been able to hold hitters to a .256 BABIP.
Or in straight English: Gallardo is just plain bamboozling hitters this year.
5. The Astros Mean Business, Folks
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Along their rise from the basement of the AL West to the top of the American League this season, the Houston Astros have passed many tests. Arguably the biggest, however, finally came this week.
And yeah, I guess we shouldn't be surprised that the Astros passed this one too.
They had their work cut out for them in a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals at Minute Maid Park this week, as it meant going up against both the reigning AL champs and the team with the AL's best record. The meeting had all the makings of a good contest.
Instead, it was no contest.
The Astros earned a clean sweep of the Royals, riding the arms of Lance McCullers Jr. and Dallas Keuchel in the first two games and the bat of Jose Altuve in a comeback win in the third game. When the deed was done, the top record in the American League was all theirs.
Sadly, it wasn't all happiness and sunshine for the Astros. Star outfielder George Springer broke his right wrist in the third game, an injury that will sideline him for as long as six weeks. That'll make it tougher for the Astros to press the advantage.
But really, it's just another test. And by now, we have a good idea for how the Astros handle those.
4. The Rays Have Stopped Hitting, Stopped Winning
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At no point this season have the Tampa Bay Rays had a particularly good offense. But when they were sitting pretty at 40-30 and atop the AL East a couple of weeks ago, that didn't appear to be a problem.
Now, however...
Things have gone south for the Rays, and hard. Their 7-5 loss to the New York Yankees in extra innings on Friday night was their sixth in a row and their 10th in their last 12 games. They haven't fallen out of the AL East race, but they're fading fast.
And for this, they have their bats to blame. Before Friday night's five-run explosion (/sarcastic font), the Rays had averaged just 2.5 runs and, per Baseball Savant, hit just .209 with a .315 slugging percentage as a team in their previous 11 games.
On the bright side, the return of Matt Moore and the imminent return of Jake Odorizzi mean the Rays could be worse off in the pitching department. Further, the return of James Loney helps their defense. And as third baseman Evan Longoria reminded Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, pitching and defense have "always been the recipe for our success."
But though the Rays could be in worse shape with their run prevention, their slumping offense makes them look suspiciously like the New York Mets. And as the Mets can vouch, run prevention can only get you so far.
3. Jose Fernandez Returned, and It Was Good
8 of 10The Fourth of July is nice and all, but it may not be able to measure up to this week's other holiday.
Jose Day.
Miami Marlins ace right-hander Jose Fernandez, who was one of the game's most exciting stars before going in for Tommy John surgery last May, made his long-awaited return to the mound Thursday afternoon against the San Francisco Giants. And all told, it was glorious.
In leading the Marlins to a 5-4 victory, Fernandez starred both on the mound and at the plate. He allowed three runs in six innings with no walks and six strikeouts, and he also hit a home run that ignited a four-run rally that ultimately won the game for the Marlins.
"A big day, obviously," were the words that Marlins skipper Dan Jennings chose to mark the occasion, according to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. And it was indeed. With a hard fastball and electric curveball, Fernandez looked a lot like the guy who won the National League Rookie of the Year in 2013. He also pitched with his trademark swagger, which could be seen in his home run pose as well.
Baseball just hadn't been the same without all of this. It's good to have it, and him, back.
2. Just a Reminder: The Indians Have a Nasty Rotation
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If you're getting the sense that this was a good week for pitching, well, you're not wrong. But we're only just now getting to the really good stuff.
The Cleveland Indians swept a four-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays this week, and they did that mainly because their starting rotation went all Hulk-on-Loki on Rays hitters. Cody Anderson and Danny Salazar flirted with perfect games in the first two contests. Carlos Carrasco came within one out of a no-hitter in the third game. And in the fourth, Corey Kluber struck out 14.
All told, here's the damage imparted by the four Indians starters: 32.1 innings, 12 hits, 31 strikeouts and five walks.
That's...uh...a lot of damage. But it was also typical.
Sure, Tribe starters only have a 4.30 ERA. But the 9.46 strikeouts per nine innings owned by Indians starters is easily the best in MLB, and they also lead in average fastball velocity and swinging-strike rate.
Cleveland's rotation may not be the best in the business, but the nastiest? Believe it, friend.
1. A Power Struggle in Anaheim Ended Predictably
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There's something rotten in Anaheim. And this week, we got a good whiff of it.
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported early in the week that Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto and manager Mike Scioscia had rekindled their blood feud, with the trigger apparently being Dipoto's annoyance at Scioscia's unwillingness to use data provided by the front office.
When the Angels barely made an effort to quell the situation, it was clear that somebody was going to go. That somebody ended up being Dipoto, because of course it was.
As Bleacher Report's Scott Miller highlighted, the Angels are a team that has no need for a GM with actual ideas. Such a creature just can't possibly work with Scioscia and team owner Arte Moreno. The latter has a bad habit of acting on impulse, and the former has been on a power trip for years.
And by now, Scioscia's power trip no longer feels deserved. It's been years since anybody considered him an innovative manager. It's also apparent that the power he wields has gone to his head.
As one National League executive put it to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick:
"He had a lot of success early, and he hasn't had a lot of success since. I think guys find out that Los Angeles is a hard place to play, because if [Scioscia's] not signing off on you, you're not playing there. He has a lot of control. And when you've got that much control and you're not a playoff team and you're spending that kind of money, the bloom comes off the rose.
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That doesn't sound like the kind of guy the Angels should want to be committed to. But too late. Thanks to Moreno's impulsiveness, Scioscia is under contract through 2018.
So, good luck to any GMs the Angels hire between now and then. They're going to need it.
Note: Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted/linked.
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