5-April-2025 @ Twins that Yordan Alvarez interference (batter's box) call is going to become a talking point for MLB later in the season... watch.
Early season observations for Rodgers. His Launch angle was the problem, here in the early going it's a currently at 11.1 after being consistently just under 5 the last 3 seasons. He also has an extremely good chase rate. This is obviously still very early in the season, so data can change a lot very quickly (not even sure if its updated for yesterday), but they're very encouraging signs from him. If he can maintain these ratios some extra base power absolutely will come.
Rangers jumping out to a 3.5 game lead over the Astros isn’t ideal, especially since they’re done it with half their lineup sucking. Hopefully their luck normalizes soon. Houston sitting at 4-5 despite early bad numbers from Alvarez, Walker, and Diaz actually isn’t that bad. If Smith doesn’t get hot in the next 4-5 weeks then he needs to be sent down and McCormick be the everyday RF. I really like how Okert and King have looked and I think they will supplement Abreu and Hader nicely. It would not surprise me if Scott struggled this season. I have concerns about Arrighetti. Houston may be shopping for a rental #3 SP again at the deadline.
I give Dezenzo a chance before McCormick. And I would give him 2-3 more weeks (approx 50-65 PAs). If he continues to look over matched. The sooner you send him down, the longer you can have him up at the end of the season for a playoff push and still keep his rookie status intact. I think that draft pick carrot is important and he's not looking like a ROY candidate so far.
What is this based on? This is the OPS+ for Altuve the last 4 years..... 127, 161, 151, 127. Right now he has an OPS+ of 155. Last year his OPS+ dipped some in the second half, but that was probably because he played 153 games. As long as he hits around .300 with extra base power, he will be good.... based on what I have seen of him running this year, he is still quick at 35 years old. I don't know - you could be right and he is terrible this season going forward, but I don't think the numbers support it.
The Rangers have gotten off to a fast start - but more interested in how the Astros get out of the gate. The Twins series was very important, winning two or three puts the Astros in a position to have a solid first month of the season and not in an early hole. The Rangers are going to go as far as their starting pitching takes them. They have Eavoldi and DeGroom, Leiter and Kumar. If they stay healthy and their young pitchers are good, they will win 100 games and the division. If they have injuries or no rotational depth, then they will come down to earth.
Ryan O'Hearn, first baseman, Baltimore Orioles: (Orioles assistant GM and former NASA engineer) Sig Mejdal deserves credit (for the torpedo bat). Sig has been on the torpedo bat for a long time. He's been trying to get guys to experiment with it, use it. He'll send them out, send us everybody. He sent some in the offseason. He sent me the traditional torpedo bat and then he sent me a special model that, based off of my batted ball data, would fit better. He's been all over it. I think I first heard about it in maybe the end of '23 from Sig. And then he made them available. I took BP with it. I was unsure because it does feel a little different. Not in a bad way, just different. I feel like I was hitting balls and kind of feeling the vibrations on the end, which I didn't really like.
If anyone is trying to figure out what Jose will do this season they are embarking on a fool's errand. He is by definition an anomaly in every sense. And has always been such. Dude got punched out 5 times in one game the other day, starts next day with a leadoff HR. Go figure.
Does OPS+ reflect his ability to defend a position? Some days I just can not remember anymore. It makes me, sad. My age is catching up with me. Anyway it is my opinion he is in LF because he was no longer a very effective defender at 2nd base. The same is true of LF but less glaringly so. He is an old man for a professional athlete. Reaction times get longer, muscles do not respond to situations instantaneously and must be told what to do. It is all part of the natural process of aging. It becomes more apparent with each passing day. Going from the great player that Altuve has been to an old man who can no longer recall what OPS+ is does not happen overnight. Nonetheless it occurs with certainty without fail.
Altuve would be moved to first if he wasn't a midget and moved to DH if Alvarez wasn't one of the best hitters in baseball and a risk to hurt himself in LF. I think Altuve will get better in LF. He just needs more reps.
Is it too early to get excited about Rodgers? It looks like he is adjusted to hitting at sea level. His current showing is pretty much what he did at coors for his career. His career numbers at Coors field are .304 BA and .820 OPS. They were even higher last season.
