Hope in Beantown

[OmahaBaseball]

The Red Sox just cannot get a winning streak going, as they drop below .500 after the Chicago Cubs (18-10) topped the Boston Red Sox (14-15) by a 7 to 3 score.

Cubs starter Javier Assad (3-3) pitched a respectable game in which he allowed 3 earned runs on 6 hits and 1 walk while striking out 7 in the 113-pitch complete game victory; Game Score 69. Brayan Bello (3-3) was tagged with the loss after serving up 6 runs (3 earned) on 7 hits, 1 walk, and 1 wild pitch in 5 2/3 innings of play; Game Score 40. Isiah Campbell permitted 1 earned run on 3 hits in 2 innings of work before turning the ball over to Joely Rodriguez who tossed 1 1/3 innings of scoreless ball.

There were several fine hitting performances in today's game, with Ian Happ (3 for 3, Double, Homerun, 2 Runs, 2 RBIs, Walk), Peter Crow-Armstrong (2 for 4, Double, Run, 2 RBIs), and Nico Hoerner (2 for 5, Double, Run, Stolen Base) leading the Cubs, while Tyler O'Neill (3 for 4, Double, Homerun, Run, 3 RBIs) and Ceddanne Rafaela (1 for 3, Double) played well in the loss.

Player of the Game: Ian Happ

AL East Standings: 4 GB, 3rd Place

[OmahaBaseball]

Another week has gone by and another leader at the top of MLB Power Rankings list. The new powerhouse team is the Los Angeles Dodgers (132.1 points) followed by the Pittsburgh Pirates (124.8 points) and the Chicago Cubs (122.7 points). The Boston Red Sox (85.9 points) fell to the 17th spot, while the Oakland Athletics (34.8 points) now occupy the final spot. The biggest jump on the week came from the Pirates who moved up from 18th place to 2nd place.

Previous week's rankings:https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...0&postcount=69

[OmahaBaseball]

New York Yankees rookie phenom Jasson Dominguez had an amazing week in which he smashed the ball to the tune of a .448 batting average (13 for 29) with 3 Doubles, 4 Homeruns, 8 Runs, 14 RBIs, 2 Walks, and 1 Stolen Base for a slashline of .448/.485/.966 that generated 0.9 WAR. This is his 1st American League Player of the Week award.

[OmahaBaseball]

While it may not last too much longer, the ride thus far has been amazing. In picking up his 3rd National League Player of the Week award of the season, Philadelphia Phillies 3B Alec Bohm crushed the ball for a .542 batting average (13 for 24) with 2 Doubles, 4 Homeruns, 7 Runs, 6 RBIs, 3 Walks, and 2 Stolen Bases for a slashline of .542/.593/1.125 that generated 1.0 WAR.

Commentary Note ~ I have no idea what is going on with Bohm, but the dude is crushing the ball! His under-the-hood ratings don't look out of place, so this must be a case of sample size. As the month is coming to a close, Bohm leads MLB in:

Batting Average (.379)
Homeruns (15)
RBIs (36)
Slugging % (.836)
OPS (1.257)
WAR (2.5)
Hits (44)
Total Bases (97)
Extra Base Hits (22)
Isolated Power (.457)
OPS Plus (235)
Win Probability Added (2.50)
Weighted OBA (.510)

[OmahaBaseball]

What an interesting minor league game between the Reno Aces and the Salt Lake Bees. While the Bees picked up the win by a football-like 16 to 14 score, the real story here is the Reno Aces power display of Deyvision De Los Santos (4 for 5, 3 Homeruns, 3 Runs, 5 RBIs) and Ivan Melendez (3 for 5, 3 Homeruns, 3 Runs, 5 RBIs).

[OmahaBaseball]

Tampa Bay Rays rookie Junior Caminero is off to a fine start on the season and put together a great performance in his team's 10 to 9 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. On the day, Caminero went 3 for 4 with 3 Homeruns, 3 Runs, and 5 RBIs. As the currently ranked #3 overall MLB prospect, great things lay ahead for Caminero.

[OmahaBaseball]

It took extra-innings, but the Red Sox picked up the victory to close out the month with a .500 record. Not too bad considering the horrendous start to the season. In the 7 to 6 win, the Boston Red Sox (15-15) generated 13 hits to the San Francisco Giants (16-14) 9 hits.

Taking the mound for Boston was Jack Flaherty, but was unable to factor into the decision. On the day, Flaherty allowed 6 earned runs on 8 hits, 2 walks, and 1 hit batsman in 5 1/3 innings of play; Game Score 33. Garrett Cleavinger tossed 3 2/3 excellent innings in which he did not allow a baserunner before turning the ball over to Liam Hendriks (1-2) who picked up the victory for his 2 innings of scoreless ball.

Giants starter Blake Snell also did not record a decision but pitched better at times than his counterpart though struggled with control; allowing 3 earned runs on 7 hits, 6 walks, a hit batsman in 7-innings of work; Game Score 52. Taylor Rogers (BS 5) was knocked around for 3 earned runs on 3 hits and 1 walk in 1/3 of an inning of play. Mason Black tossed 1 2/3 innings of scoreless ball before Camilo Doval (1-1) was tagged with the loss for an unearned run on 3 hits in the final 1 2/3 innings of ball.

The Boston offense was powered by Jarren Duran (2 for 4, Double, 2 Runs, 2 Walks, Stolen Base), Rafael Devers (2 for 4, Double, RBI, Walk, Hit-by-Pitch), Masatake Yoshida (3 for 5, Double, Run, Walk), and Ceddanne Rafaela (2 for 6, 2 RBIs, Stolen Base). The Giants received contribution from Thairo Estrada (3 for 5, Double, Homerun, 2 Runs, 4 RBIs) and Marco Luciano (1 for 4, 2 Runs, RBI, Walk).

Player of the Game: Thairo Estrada

AL East Standings: 3 1/2 GB, 3rd Place

[OmahaBaseball]

The Pittsburgh Pirates hot start to the season is due, in large part, to the outstanding play of rookie pitcher Jared Jones. In picking up the National League Rookie of the Month award, Jones posted a 2-0 record (team is 6-0 in his starts) with 50 strikeouts, 1.05 WHIP, and a 3.28 ERA (ERA+ 125) in 46 2/3 innings of play which was good for 0.9 WAR.

[OmahaBaseball]

I'm not going to lie, this one hurts. In order to rid myself of the Trevor Story contract (see here: https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...40&postcount=9), I had to part with Wilyer Abreu. Now while I did pick up starting pitcher Jack Flaherty as part of that deal, parting with a budding talent like Abreu was not something I am proud of. In picking up the American League Player of the Month award, the Detroit Tigers outfielder smashed the ball to the tune of a .313 batting average (31 for 99) with 11 Doubles, 1 Triple, 4 Homeruns, 9 Runs, 17 RBIs, 11 Walks, and 3 Stolen Bases for a slashline of .313/.382/.566 that generated 1.2 WAR.

[OmahaBaseball]

After a challenging couple of starts in March, San Diego Padres pitcher Dylan Cease went back to the basics in hope to turn things around. Well something must have worked, because Cease put together an outstanding April to take home the National League Pitcher of the Month award. For the month, Cease posted a 5-0 record with a 1.29 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 48 2/3 innings of work that led to 1.7 WAR.

[OmahaBaseball]

While rumors continue to swirl that the Cleveland Guardians are actively shopping him as he is poised to become a free agent at the end of the season, Shane Bieber isn't allowing the chatter to distract him from his dominance on the mound. In earning the American League Pitcher of the Month award, Bieber posted a 5-0 record with a 2.40 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 41 1/3 innings of work. His efforts produced 0.7 WAR.

[OmahaBaseball]

No surprise here, as Alec Bohm was the clear selection for the National League Batter of the Month award. For the month of April, Bohm had a .357 AVG (40 for 112) with 7 Doubles, 13 Homeruns, 20 Runs, 34 RBIs, 9 Walks, and 3 Stolen Bases for a slashline of .357/.402/.768 that generated 2.0 WAR and a 213 OPS+.

[OmahaBaseball]

Picking right up from his 2023 Rookie of the Year award, Baltimore Orioles SS Gunnar Henderson posted an outstanding opening month to take home the American League Batter of the Month award. For the month, Henderson went 35 for 103 (.340 AVG) with 5 Doubles, 2 Triples, 13 Homeruns, 26 Runs, 34 RBIs, 8 Walks, and 3 Stolen Bases for a slashline of .340/.374/.806 that generated 2.1 WAR.

[OmahaBaseball]

With the month now wrapped up, a look at the American League standings. The Texas Rangers not only enjoy the biggest lead at 3 1/2 games in the AL West, they have own the AL's best overall record at 19-11. On the other end of the spectrum are the Oakland Athletics who are in the midst of a 13-game losing streak and have the worst record in baseball at 9-22.

[OmahaBaseball]

While the best record in the NL belongs to the Los Angeles Dodgers at 22-10, the most interesting early season race is in the NL Central between the Chicago Cubs (20-10) and the red-hot Pittsburgh Pirates (20-11). The Washington Nationals appear to still be in rebuild mode with a league worst 9-20 record.

[OmahaBaseball]

The Arizona Diamondbacks announced today that they had reached a 3-year contract extension with 1B Christian Walker that totals $60,000,000 to keep the 2-time Gold Glove winner in the Valley of the Sun. The contract terms were straight forward, with Walker earning $20M for each extension year and represents a nice bump in salary from his current $10.9M wage.

[OmahaBaseball]

A snapshot of Boston's record in various scenarios. After a rough start to March (0-4), it was really nice to pull together an April record of 15-11. It is interesting to see how well the team has done against left-handed starting pitching thus far (8-1 record).

[OmahaBaseball]

Nothing too exciting here. Middle of the road for both hitting stats, though it is clear there is not a lot of power being generated by the team. Looks like good plate discipline thus far and running on the bases but with a cost.

[OmahaBaseball]

Pretty decent bullpen, middle of the road(ish) rotation, and atrocious defense.

[OmahaBaseball]

Disappointing to have the lead slip away and end with another loss following a win. Would love to see the team string together a win streak! On the day, the San Francisco Giants (17-14) came from behind to beat the Boston Red Sox (15-16) by a 5 to 4 score.

San Francisco starter Logan Webb (4-3) pitched well enough to pick up the victory, as he allowed 4 earned runs on 8 hits while striking out 6 in 8-innings of work; Game Score 56. Camilo Doval (SV 4) had a shutdown 9th inning to pick up the save.

The Red Sox turned to Tanner Houck (3-2) in hopes of securing the win, but the game did not go as planned and he served up 5 earned runs on 9 hits and 1 hit batsman while striking out 8 in 6 2/3 innings of play; Game Score 44. Garrett Cleavinger pitched well in his 1 2/3 innings of relief before turning the ball over to Nick Pivetta who did not permit any damage in his 2/3 innings.

The Giants were led at the plate by Jung Hoo Lee (3 for 5, 2 Doubles, 3 Runs, RBI), Lamont Wade Jr. (3 for 4, 3 RBIs, Stolen Base), and Marco Luciano (1 for 4, Homerun, Run, RBI). Boston's offense was generated by Jarren Duran (1 for 4, Double, Run), Masataka Yoshida (1 for 4, Double, 2 RBIs), and Ceddanne Rafaela (1 for 3, Run, RBI).

Player of the Game: Jung Hoo Lee

AL East Standings: 4 1/2 GB, 3rd Place