MLB Team of the Week: Vincent Velasquez, Mark Trumbo and Yadier Molina Star
We're two weeks into the 2016 MLB season, which means—well, who knows?
The Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers are in first place in their respective divisions, which sounds about right. On the other hand, the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox are also in first, which fewer would have predicted.
The point is, it's way early.
Here's something we do know: Some players stuffed the stat sheet over the past week, and for that, they deserve to be recognized.
Enter Bleacher Report's Team of the Week.
For those who are new to the party, these are the guys (one per position plus a designated hitter) who busted box scores between April 9 and April 15.
To qualify, a player needs at least two starts at the position in question or at least one start in the case of pitchers. Speaking of which, we're only considering starting hurlers—sorry, relievers.
And while this is chiefly about individual output, we awarded bonus points if a strong performance led to a notch in the win column.
Catcher: Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals
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This spring, the biggest story surrounding Yadier Molina was his recovery from a pair of offseason thumb surgeries.
Now, the St. Louis Cardinals catcher and franchise backbone is making headlines with his bat.
Molina went 11-for-26 this week with four doubles and five RBI this week. And the Cards, not coincidentally, went 5-1.
"Yadi is significantly stronger this year," manager Mike Matheny said of his veteran backstop, per Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “He’s in a good place health-wise. And you’re always trying to find days to get him a day off, and then you look up there in the eighth and the ninth, and you’re thinking: I’m glad he was in there."
Honorable Mention: Wilson Ramos (WSH): 9-for-19, 2 2B, HR, 4 RBI
First Base: Brandon Belt, San Francisco Giants
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On April 8, Brandon Belt signed a six-year, $75 million extension with the San Francisco Giants. Then, the lanky 27-year-old spent the week showing why the Giants might have gotten a serious bargain.
Belt went 7-for-22 with three home runs—his first three of the young season—and six RBI while posting a robust 1.102 OPS.
Looking much further down the road, the Giants have their homegrown infield corps of Belt, second baseman Joe Panik, shortstop Brandon Crawford, third baseman Matt Duffy and catcher Buster Posey locked up at least through 2020.
That means many more good weeks should be in the offing.
Honorable Mention: Brandon Moss (STL): 4-for-13, 1 2B, 3 HR, 8 RBI
Second Base: Jose Altuve, Houston Astros
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It's trite at this point to reference Jose Altuve's small stature (5'6", 165 lbs). But it's still striking how much talent can ooze from such a compact package.
Altuve did big things this week, going 10-for-28 with three doubles, three home runs, five RBI, eight runs scored and four stolen bases.
The Astros went 3-4 in that stretch and were held to two runs or fewer five times. More of the same from their scrappy second baseman will help reverse that trend.
Honorable Mention: Daniel Murphy (WSH): 9-for-17, 2 2B, HR, 2 RBI
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Shortstop: Marcus Semien, Oakland A's
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Marcus Semien flexed his muscles this week, pacing all shortstops with four home runs and a 1.356 OPS to go along with five RBI.
After a shaky season last year with the leather, Semien is trying to emulate the Giants' Crawford, his cross-Bay counterpart and a 2015 Gold Glove winner, per John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle.
His power, though, is what stands out.
"I just want to keep consistent with barreling up the baseball, not necessarily trying to hit home runs," Semien said, per MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez and Jane Lee. "But if it happens, it happens."
Honorable Mention: Aledmys Diaz (STL): 9-for-23, 5 2B, 1 3B, HR, 7 RBI
Third Base: Manny Machado, Baltimore Orioles
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Recently, yours truly made the case that Manny Machado belongs squarely in the American League MVP conversation alongside the likes of Mike Trout and Josh Donaldson.
The Orioles third baseman strengthened his case this week by going 12-for-25 with four doubles and a home run.
Yes, the O's suffered their first two losses of the season. Overall, though, Baltimore went 4-2 to maintain its early, surprising perch atop the AL East.
Honorable Mention: Nolan Arenado (COL): 9-for-26, 2 2B, 3 HR, 11 RBI
Left Field: Enrique Hernandez, Los Angeles Dodgers
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Enrique Hernandez went 9-for-17 with three doubles, two home runs and six RBI this week. That's impressive.
Even more impressive? After clubbing a pair of home runs off Madison Bumgarner on Friday, Hernandez is now hitting a cool .538 against the Giants ace. Of Hernandez's 12 career dingers, three have come against Bumgarner.
"There's no secret," Hernandez said, per Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times. "I've gotten lucky."
Sometimes, as they say, it's better to be lucky than good.
Honorable Mention: Colby Rasmus (HOU): 8-for-22, 1 2B, 3 HR, 8 RBI
Center Field: Randal Grichuk, St. Louis Cardinals
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Randal Grichuk stumbled a bit out of the gate and even lost a few starts to rookie Jeremy Hazelbaker.
But the Cards' young power hitter (24) got his mojo working this week, clubbing home runs in back-to-back games Thursday and Friday and driving in six runs overall.
He also smacked two doubles and posted a 1.505 OPS, which is much more like the middle-of-the-order bat that St. Louis is counting on him to be.
Honorable Mention: Lorenzo Cain (KC): 7-for-27, 2 HR, 5 RBI
Right Field: Mark Trumbo, Baltimore Orioles
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Have an inning, Mark Trumbo. And have a week while you're at it.
On Friday, Trumbo became the first player in Orioles history to launch two dingers in the same inning when he accomplished the feat in a nine-run seventh against the Texas Rangers.
Overall, he collected nine hits in 25 at-bats for the week, including five home runs, and tallied 11 RBI.
We all knew these O's were a potentially powerful bunch coming out of the spring, with bashers like Trumbo and reigning MLB home run leader Chris Davis littered throughout the lineup.
Now, they're putting that potential into action.
"There's no doubt," Trumbo said after Friday's outburst, per Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun. "This is where the fun is."
Honorable Mention: Carlos Gonzalez (COL): 11-for-25, 2 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 6 RBI
Pitcher: Vincent Velasquez, Philadelphia Phillies
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On April 9, Vincent Velasquez struck out nine in six scoreless innings against the New York Mets. Nice debut for your new team, kid.
Then, for an encore, the 23-year-old right-hander fanned 16 in nine scoreless frames on Thursday. Yes, it was against the hapless San Diego Padres, who might get shut out more often than a mud-spattered Labrador with a skunk in its mouth.
Still, impressive is impressive.
"It's not like Velasquez has come out of nowhere or anything, since he was the key to the Ken Giles trade, but he’s been something of a wild card," FanGraphs' Jeff Sullivan noted. "Velasquez arrived with a lot of uncertainty, just another powerful arm with question marks."
Two starts into his Phillies career, consider some of those questions answered.
Honorable Mention: Jaime Garcia (STL): 9 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 13 SO
Designated Hitter: David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox
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Two weeks in, David Ortiz's farewell tour is going swimmingly.
Yes, the Red Sox had an uneven week, going 3-3 and barely keeping their heads above .500.
Big Papi, on the other hand, kept swilling from the fountain of youth, going 5-for-17 with three doubles, a home run, five RBI and a 1.076 OPS. Heck, he even swiped his first base since 2013, because why not?
Sure, he's 40. But is this guy really going to hang 'em up?
Honorable Mention: Kendrys Morales (KC): 8-for-27, 2 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI
All statistics current as of April 15 and courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.
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