Things That Make You Go “Hmmmm…”

Roberto Osuna has had his administrative leave extended another week. He is now eligible to return after May 28th, but with a court date on June 18th, it wouldn’t be surprising to see it get extended until after that is resolved and he could be suspended after that.

Juan Soto announced his presence in the Major Leagues, hitting a monster opposite field home run in his first start for the Nationals.

Unbelievable, Juan Soto!
 

 

 


Soto’s value is now sky high and there is no shame in either holding or trying to see how high you can sell him.

Héctor Neris recorded the save for the Phillies on Monday. The previous opportunity went to Seranthony Dominguez , who has better skills, but pitched in the eighth inning. This is a straight committee, which makes it difficult to bet on who will ultimately get the most saves. Personally, I like to bet on the skills, but managers often go with “the proven guy.”

Matt Carpenter hit his fourth home run of the season on Monday. He has been extremely hot over the last week after starting the season off terribly. There have been serious concerns about his shoulder and while some may look at this as a turn around, shoulder injuries can be very scary.

Rougned Odor hit his first home run of the season on Monday. Odor has come off the DL and finally got off the schneid. He has suffered a ton of bad luck in the BABIP department this year and a massive infield fly ball rate. He is still hitting the ball hard and the skills are similar to last season, so hopefully this is a sign of better days ahead.

Gleyber Torres hit two home runs versus the Rangers. This is his six so far this season and he has a fantastic .321/.389/.571 triple slash. This is another sell high opportunity as he is clearly over-performing, but I may have previously underestimated his ceiling. He is clearly more advanced than I had anticipated.

 

What We’ll Be Watching Today

Is Matthew Boyd legit? He has a 3.19 ERA and is limiting walks and homers, but he can’t be this good all year. He gets a poor Twins team, so there is no reason to think the regression monster strikes today.

Can Tyler O’Neill keep it going? O’Neill hit his third home run of the season. All his production has come in his last three games, but this is not just a hot streak. O’Neill is a former top Mariners prospect and he appears to be delivering on his pedigree. With Dexter Fowler struggling, he could be in for a larger role moving forward and is worth speculating on.

J.A.Happ vs Garrett Richards . Happ has pitched like an elite starter this year and Richards has shown flashes of greatness as well. Both have red flags, but can either sustain their success?

Can Austin Meadows keep it up? He has been great since getting called up, but will need to produce in order to have a chance at staying in the Majors once Starling Marte returns.

Is Luke Weaver going to stay in the rotation? He needs to pitch well in his next two starts as Álex Reyes is close to returning. Weaver gets the Royals today, so it is a good opportunity.

 

Baseball. Lots of baseball.