7 Biggest Takeaways from Week 3's MLB Action
The third week of the 2016 MLB season is in the books, and it's time for a quick look back at the biggest takeaways from around the league.
Jake Arrieta of the Chicago Cubs provided the big highlight of the week with his second career no-hitter, and in the process he's continued to close the gap on Clayton Kershaw for the title of best pitcher in the game.
Meanwhile, a pair of under-the-radar offseason additions in Drew Pomeranz (San Diego Padres) and Jarrod Saltalamacchia (Detroit Tigers) continue to impress despite their low cost in terms of talent given up in the case of Pomeranz and salary in the case of Saltalamacchia.
The term "low cost" won't be anywhere near Stephen Strasburg if he continues to dominate in his contract year, as he could be the next $200 million man in a thin free-agent class next winter.
That's a quick sampling of what you'll find in the article that follows. Take a look at all seven of the biggest takeaways from Week 3 of MLB action.
Ben Revere Is Missed in Toronto
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Looking to upgrade a weak bullpen, the Toronto Blue Jays dealt outfielder Ben Revere to the Washington Nationals in exchange for former closer Drew Storen during the offseason.
With Michael Saunders back healthy, Revere was an expendable piece of sorts, and Storen gave the team a setup option with closer experience if Roberto Osuna ran into problems.
It was a trade that made a lot of sense for both sides, but Toronto has missed Revere.
Revere hit .319 and scored 35 runs in 56 games with the Blue Jays after being acquired from the Phillies last July, giving the team a prototypical leadoff man to set the table.
So far this year, the leadoff spot in the Toronto lineup has produced a mediocre .243/.300/.351 line, with Kevin Pillar hitting there for the first 12 games before being moved down in favor of the aforementioned Saunders.
We have to mention that Revere wouldn't have been much help to this point even if he were still in Toronto, as he suffered a strained oblique on Opening Day and has not played since.
However, the point still stands that the Blue Jays have a weakness at the top of the order, and the offense has suffered as a result.
After averaging 5.50 runs per game last year, the team has plated just 3.89 runs per contest so far in 2016, and that's despite strong starts from Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion.
Toronto recently signed Michael Bourn to a minor league deal, and prospect Dalton Pompey is still an option down on the farm, so it will be interesting to see how the Blue Jays handle this situation if it continues to be an issue.
Drew Pomeranz Is Finally Putting It Together
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The No. 5 pick in the 2010 draft by the Cleveland Indians, left-hander Drew Pomeranz has bounced around quite a bit since beginning his professional career.
Here's a look at his transaction history:
- Aug. 16, 2011: Traded to the Colorado Rockies along with SP Alex White, 1B Matt McBride and SP Joe Gardner in exchange for SP Ubaldo Jimenez.
- Dec. 10, 2013: Traded to the Oakland Athletics with SP Chris Jensen in exchange for SP Brett Anderson and cash.
- Dec. 2, 2015: Traded to the San Diego Padres with OF Jabari Blash and RP Jose Torres in exchange for 1B Yonder Alonso and RP Marc Rzepczynski.
During his time in the minors, he twice ranked among the top 100 prospects in the league, checking in at No. 61 in 2010 and No. 30 in 2011, according to Baseball America.
He began his pro career with a bang, posting a 1.78 ERA and 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings over 101 innings between High-A and Double-A in 2011, but like so many others he struggled in Colorado.
Pomeranz turned things around in Oakland, pitching to a 3.08 ERA, 1.155 WHIP and 8.5 K/9 over 19 starts and 54 relief appearances in his two seasons with the team.
Now, he's back to starting full time, and things finally appear to be clicking for him in San Diego.
He's 2-1 with a 2.04 ERA through three starts after winning the No. 5 starter job in the spring, and last time out he whiffed a career-high 10 batters in 6.2 innings of work against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
"He’s been really impressive, putting the ball where he wants to, getting outs, striking guys out, getting the ground ball," teammate Matt Kemp told Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune. "He’s done everything he’s needed to do to stay in the game, to win ballgames. ... When he was first coming up (in the league), he was a thrower. Now I think he’s pitching. Just getting outs."
Jarrod Saltalamacchia Is the Best Value Signing of the Offseason
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Jarrod Saltalamacchia made the most of a contract year in 2013, and he's doing the same here in 2016.
An .804 OPS with 40 doubles and 14 home runs in his final season with the Red Sox in 2013 earned him a three-year, $21 million deal from the Marlins that offseason.
After a mediocre first season in Miami, he got off to a dreadful 2-for-29 start last year, and the Marlins opted to release him in favor of rookie J.T. Realmuto.
The 30-year-old landed in Arizona a few days later, where he went on to post an .805 OPS with 14 doubles and eight home runs in 194 plate appearances serving as the backup to Welington Castillo.
Despite those solid numbers, he didn't garner much interest on the free-agent market, and he wound up joining the Detroit Tigers on a one-year deal for the league minimum of $507,500.
That proved to be a great choice for the veteran, as a right ankle sprain to starter James McCann has opened the door for Saltalamacchia to receive regular playing time, and he's made the most of it.
"The regular at-bats help power numbers or solid contact numbers in the long run," Saltalamacchia told Katie Strang of ESPN.com. "You have more at-bats, you see more pitches, you don't miss as many pitches. When you're not playing every day, it feels like one pitch an at-bat."
He's hitting .278/.366/.778 with three doubles, five home runs and 14 RBI in 41 plate appearances so far, and his 0.9 WAR is tops among all catchers.
The 25-year-old McCann is still the future at the position for the Tigers, so Saltalamacchia will return to a part-time role once he's healthy.
Regardless of his role, it looks like the Tigers may have found the best bargain-bin steal of the winter, and at the very least, Saltalamacchia has played his way into a slightly more significant role going forward.
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Stephen Strasburg Is Going to Make an Awful Lot of Money
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To call Stephen Strasburg a disappointment is extreme, considering he pitched to a 3.04 ERA, 1.087 WHIP and 10.4 K/9 over the first six seasons of his MLB career.
However, he has fallen short of the sky-high expectations that came with being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 draft and one of the most dominant college pitchers of all time.
Injuries limited him early in his career as he underwent Tommy John surgery, and while he's put together some strong seasons since, he's never truly broken out as a bona fide ace.
Last year, he struggled to a 5.16 ERA through his first 13 starts before landing on the disabled list in early July with a strained oblique.
He would miss roughly a month to that injury but returned a different pitcher in August, going 6-2 with a 1.90 ERA, 0.754 WHIP and 12.5 K/9 in his final 10 starts.
"He’s coming into his own. It's incredible," teammate Bryce Harper told Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post. "You see what he did in college, he had so much pressure going through the minors, coming up and everything, got hurt, trying to get back into it with his ankle and things like that. Then the second half last year was absolutely ridiculous."
That "absolutely ridiculous" finish to last year has seemingly carried over into 2016, as the 27-year-old is 3-0 with a 1.25 ERA and 0.923 WHIP through his first three starts.
If everything is in fact falling into place for Strasburg, it couldn't have come at a better time, since he's staring down free agency next winter.
Strasburg is far and away the best starting pitcher of the upcoming free-agent class, with Andrew Cashner checking in as a distant No. 2, so for anyone looking to add an ace, he's really the only option.
His injury history makes him a risky long-term commitment, but if he puts together a career year, he could be the latest to join the $200 million club with agent Scott Boras on his side.
Manny Machado Is a Top-Tier Superstar
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Mike Trout versus Bryce Harper.
It's become the popular debate in baseball circles as the two young superstars battle for the title of best player on the planet.
On the periphery of that conversation is Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado, but he's quickly making a case to be a central part of the debate as well.
"What I am saying is that when you look at what Manny Machado has become offensively and combine it with what he has always been defensively, there’s no way you can exclude him from The Conversation," wrote Eddie Matz of ESPN.com.
Still just 23 years old, Machado exploded offensively last season to post an .861 OPS with 30 doubles, 35 home runs, 86 RBI, 102 runs scored and 20 stolen bases.
That significant jump in offensive production, coupled with his usual stellar defense at the hot corner that netted him his second Gold Glove award, added up to a 7.1 WAR.
That was good for ninth among all position players, with Harper (9.9) and Trout (9.4) leading the way in their respective leagues, but Machado has continued to close that gap with a red-hot start in 2016.
Through his first 15 games, the O's star is leading the AL in batting average (.397), slugging percentage (.794), OPS (1.243), hits (25), home runs (six) and total bases (50) over 69 plate appearances.
To his credit, he's been able to put the hot start in perspective.
"I just feel good," Machado told Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun. "I'm just playing baseball, man. I'm just going out there, doing what I can do. You can't control things. We're going to go in a slump. I'm going to go 0-for-30 eventually. That's just part of it."
Meanwhile, manager Buck Showalter doesn't seem to be the least bit surprised by what his superstar has done to this point.
"He's just so engaged in the preparation for the game, for the competition," Showalter told Meoli. "He's just so driven. I can see it in some of my conversations with him in the spring. It's all about winning, but it's also about being ready to contribute for his team and his teammates. He's been so mature about the whole thing. It's been fun to watch."
Jake Arrieta Is Quickly Closing the Gap on Clayton Kershaw
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Despite a historic second-half performance from Jake Arrieta last season that ended in NL Cy Young honors, Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw is still widely regarded as the best pitcher in baseball.
Kershaw was forced to settle for third in Cy Young voting last season, but it's not as though he had a down year by any means, as he went 16-7 with a 2.13 ERA and became the first pitcher since 2002 to record at least 300 strikeouts.
Since winning his first Cy Young back in 2011, Kershaw has gone 88-33 with a 2.11 ERA, 0.933 WHIP and 1,249 strikeouts in 1,128 innings.
Over that five-year span, he's won four ERA titles, three strikeouts titles, three NL Cy Young Awards and one NL MVP.
Despite that run of brilliance, his days as the unquestioned best pitcher in baseball may be drawing to a close.
You see, that Arrieta character who swooped in and won the NL Cy Young last year is not showing any signs of slowing down.
"With this guy, it’s not about one night anymore. It’s about many nights. It’s not about one game of ridiculous domination. It’s about all the domination he’s now strung together, game after game after game," wrote Jayson Stark of ESPN.com.
From there, Stark offered up a whirlwind of statistical nuggets about the Cubs ace. Here is just a small sampling:
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- Since Aug. 30, Arrieta has almost as many no-hitters (two) as regular-season starts in which he actually gave up a run (three).
- Since Aug. 20, this man has made 13 starts and allowed a total of five earned runs. We found 322 starters who had allowed that many runs in ONE start since then.
- Let’s go back to the start of August. Arrieta has made 16 regular-season starts since then, pitched 119 1/3 innings and allowed seven earned runs.
- Here’s Arrieta since June 21: He’s ripped off 24 consecutive quality starts, gone 20-1 with a 0.86 ERA and that’s not even the best part. He’s given up a mere 17 earned runs in those 24 starts. That’s 53 fewer than Chris Archer, who almost won the AL Cy Young last year. That’s 60 fewer than Jeff Samardzija, who was once considered the ace of Arrieta’s own team. Among pitchers who have thrown at least 140 innings, only two are even within 20 earned runs of this dude -- Kershaw (26 ER) and Zack Greinke (36 ER).
With his second career no-hitter on Thursday, Arrieta has at least given the masses reason for pause when asked who the best pitcher in baseball is.
By the end of 2016, that pause may be replaced by a quick response of "Jake Arrieta."
The Chicago Cubs Are Really, Really Good
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Pick a stat any stat and there's a good chance the 2016 Chicago Cubs rank among the best in baseball.
- Believe in the idea that pitching wins championships?
The Cubs lead the majors in team ERA (2.08), team WHIP (0.92) and starter's ERA (2.13), while the relief corps ranks third in ERA (1.91).
- Prefer a high-powered offense?
After piling up 24 runs the past two games against the Cincinnati Reds, the Cubs now lead the majors in runs scored (105) and runs per game (6.56). That's despite the fact that Anthony Rizzo, Addison Russell, Jorge Soler and Jason Heyward are all hitting .203 or lower and Kyle Schwarber is watching from the sidelines.
- Fancy yourself a defensive-minded fan?
The Cubs have committed the seventh-fewest errors in the league with eight, and four of those came in one sketchy game against the Colorado Rockies.
Digging deeper into the advanced stats, they also rank second as a team in defensive runs saved (14) and fourth in UZR/150 (14.8).
- Think run differential is the best judge of how a team is going to perform going forward?
The Cubs carry a plus-67 run differential into play Saturday, a full 36 runs better than the Washington Nationals' plus-31 mark that sits second in the majors.
A whopping 17 teams have yet to score 67 total runs in 2016, yet the Cubs have managed to outscore their opponents by 67 runs.
To put it simply, the 2016 Chicago Cubs are just really, really good.
All standard stats and WAR totals courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com, while advanced stats come via FanGraphs.
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