Alright ladies and gentleman, just a forewarning this will be very brief as I am posting from 35,000 ft above the Pacific Ocean. After a weekend of wedding festivities, I am now on my way to the land of cheese, bread, pasta, and pizza. The beautiful country of Italy. Let’s be honest though, there was no way I’d be able to spend my entire honeymoon without dabbling in Roto Leaders for our lovely Razzball followers. Time change is a little confusing so let’s see if we can find a way to make this happen! Once I’m back home, I’ll be able to go more in depth, Ciao! and Eccoci qui! (Here we go)!
Note: Roto Leaders as of Sunday April 23nd, 2018.
Wins
AL – DET Rick Porcello/NYY Luis Severino /CLE Carlos Carrasco (4)
Favorite in the Group – NYY Luis Severino
Waiting in the Weeds – HOU Lance McCullers
Lance McCullers has been solid this season with a few up and down performances. Dominant in Seattle giving up one hit through seven innings and striking out eleven. His next performance wasn’t as impressive against the White Sox, but still got the job done as Houston had an offensive outburst giving Lance a 7-1 lead.
NL – WSH Max Scherzer/ARI Patrick Corbin (4)
Favorite in the Group – WSH Max Scherzer
Scherzinator can mow down hitters with the best of ’em. He proved to be the superior pitcher in baseball after winning his matchup against Clayton Kershaw. Much like the K’s for Scherzer, the W’s should keep adding up. Next opponent is the San Francisco Giants.
Waiting in the Weeds – LAD Hyun-Jin Ryu
Favorable matchup against the Giants. Just needs to avoid a few of the dangerous righties in their lineup. Ryu has only given up a .235 wOBA to right handed hitters and .230 to left handed hitters. He’s keeping the runners off base.
Saves
AL – SEA Edwin Diaz (8)
Favorite in the Group – N/A
Waiting in the Weeds – NYM Jeurys Familia
NL – COL Wade Davis (9)
Davis is proving he can pick up saves no matter what park he’s in. He has a new streak going as Wade has completed his last five saves in a row. fourteen road games compared to nine home games, I imagine once the home games build up, it may be more difficult to keep the ball in the park.
Favorite in the Group – N/A
Waiting in the Weeds – TOR Roberto Osuna
Osuna is not letting guys on base, with a crazy WHIP of 0.43 and no earned runs.
Strikeouts
AL – HOU Gerrit Cole (49)
Favorite in the Group – N/A
Waiting in the Weeds – BOS Chris Sale
NL – ARI Patrick Corbin (48)
Favorite in the Group – N/A
Waiting in the Weeds – WSH Max Scherzer
ERA
AL – HOU Charlie Morton (0.72)
This Houston pitching staff is solid. It feels like the Astros are struggling because they are not at the top of the majors offensively. Pitching has been another story though. Morton, McCullers and Verlander are a solid trio for the 1st place Astros.
Favorite in the Group – N/A
Waiting in the Weeds – HOU Justin Verlander
NL – SF Johnny Cueto (0.35)
Favorite in the Group – N/A
Waiting in the Weeds – MIA Jarlin Garcia
WHIP
AL – MIN Jose Berrios (0.58)
Favorite in the Group – N/A
Waiting in the Weeds – OAK Sean Manaea
NL – SF Johnny Cueto (0.65)
Favorite in the Group – N/A
Waiting in the Weeds – ARI Patrick Corbin
Runs
AL – BOS Mookie Betts (23)
Favorite in the Group – N/A
Waiting in the Weeds – NYY Brett Gardner
NL – ATL Ozzie Albies (21)
Favorite in the Group – N/A
Waiting in the Weeds – WSH Bryce Harper
Homeruns
AL – LAA Mike Trout (9)
Oh look, Mike Trout still leads in HR’s. .410 OBP, .670 SLG, and .453 wOBA. Need I say more?
Favorite in the Group – N/A
Waiting in the Weeds – BAL Manny Machado
NL – WSH Bryce Harper/COL Charlie Blackmon (8)
Favorite in the Group – WSH Bryce Harper
Waiting in the Weeds – MIL Eric Thames
RBIs
AL – Didi Gregorius (24)
Didi still up on the list because of the eight rbi outburst early in the season. I think he can be a premier shortstop, but I don’t imagine he’ll keep this pace as the season plays out.
Favorite in the Group – N/A
Waiting in the Weeds – OAK Jed Lowrie
Lowrie has been the GOAT for this Athletics squad in 2018. He’s one of the main culprits of the hot start for Oakland’s offense. He has a wRC+ of 183 and making hard contact 47.4% of the time.
NL – CHC Javier Baez (23)
Favorite in the Group – N/A
Waiting in the Weeds – WSH Bryce Harper
Stolen Bases
AL – SEA Dee Gordon (9)
Favorite in the Group – N/A
Waiting in the Weeds – CWS Tim Anderson
NL – WSH Michael A. Taylor/WSH Trea Turner (8)
What is this monstrosity. One of them has to eventually pull away. The Nationals have been somewhat of a disappointment thus far, but it’s still plenty early.
Favorite in the Group – WSH Trea Turner
Waiting in the Weeds – PIT Starling Marte
Batting Average
AL – BOS Mookie Betts (.366)
Already getting the comparisons to Mr. Trout, but let’s hold our horses for just a bit. Mookie’s playing fantastic baseball, MVP level baseball. Trout’s been doing it his whole career, so we should keep our panties in a bunch and let Mookie sustain this for a few more seasons before he joins Trout’s exclusive yacht club.
Favorite in the Group – N/A
Waiting in the Weeds – BAL Manny Machado
NL – NYM Asdrubal Cabrera (.354)
Favorite in the Group – N/A
Waiting in the Weeds – COL Nolan Arenado
