It’s barely May and we have already seen several anticipated rookie pitchers make their MLB debuts. If memory serves me correctly, it was actually Robert Stephenson who got the first call back on April 7th. After an unimpressive first outing in which he got the win, he was optioned back to Triple A. Yep, his outing was so mediocre that he was sent to fix flat tires in the greater Cincinnati area. Ok, so maybe that’s not exactly what happened. Two weeks later, however, Stephenson was recalled for another spot start. This performance was much more impressive. He got another win and was again sent back down.
Then we saw Aaron Blah, I mean Blair. Blake Snell was called up by the Rays on April 23rd for a start against the Yankees before returning to Durham where he has remained since. And now that Jose Berrios and Sean Manaea are with their respective big league clubs, it’s time for the Pittsburgh Pirates to step up to the plate.
Tyler Glasnow currently leads all AAA pitchers in strikeouts. Over 26 innings he has fanned 37 batters. That’s 12.8 strikeouts per nine innings. It looks like he has picked up right where he left off in 2015 when he averaged about 11.2 punchouts per nine innings across three levels in the minors. It’s time to get this kid a one way ticket from Indianapolis to Pittsburgh. Tell him to bring Jameson Taillon while he’s at it.
Colby Rasmus is ugly. How’s that for a transition. But guess what. Being ugly never hurt anyones fantasy baseball team. At least not directly. Rasmus is currently on pace to hit 41 homers and drive in 119 runs. Say what??! If that’s what ugly does, then I’m gonna have to start looking at players’ profile pictures before draft day.
Let’s take this opportunity to look at the pace of a few other hitters so far this season.
Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story are both on pace to hit more than 60 home runs. Neil Walker, Giancarlo Stanton, Bryce Harper, Robinson Cano, Anthony Rizzo and Josh Donaldson are on pace to break 50. The only two hitters I can see hitting 50 home runs are Arenado and Stanton. For the rest, except Walker, getting to 40 doesn’t seem like such a far off possibility.
Here are some surprising hitters on pace to hit more than their fair share of ding dongs. Matt Kemp (43). Jose Altuve (44). Marcus Semien (37). Yasmany Tomas (31). Eugenio Suarez (31). Welington Castillo (37).
How about RBIs?
Five hitters are on pace to drive in more than 150 runs. If I said those five players were Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Ryan Howard, Ryan Zimmerman and Troy Tulowitzki you would probably have to double check the date on this post to see if it was 2010 or so. No, those are not the five players you are looking for. In case you couldn’t guess, they are Arenado, Rizzo, Yoenis Cespedes, Harper and Cano. Arenado lead the league last year with 130 and he’s well on his way to a repeat.
Here are some interesting “on pace” run producing hitters. Nick Markakis (125). Brandon Belt (119). Neil Walker (119). Travis Shaw (106). Stephen Piscotty (100).
Any guesses who’s on pace to lead the universe in strikeouts? Rob Deer you say. Close, but not quite. The correct answer, or question, in Jeopardy form is “Who is Trevor Story”. As I previously mentioned, he’s also on pace to hit over 60 home runs and drive in 125 runs. I think most owners will take the 250 K’s if that means they also get the homers and RBIs. But let’s be honest, Trevor is not going to reach any of those milestones. If he did, it be quite the storied season.
Alex Gordon, Mike Napoli, Miguel Sano and Justin Upton are all on pace to strikeout more than 200 times. Alex Gordon? He has never struck out more than 140 times in a season. Upton’s max was 171 back in 2014 with the Braves. I don’t think he reaches 200 either.
While we are pacing out statistics we might as well touch on stolen bases. Jose Altuve is on pace to lead the league with 56 swipes. He is followed by Starling Marte (44), Jonathan Villar (43), Billy Burns (43) and Rajai Davis (43). If I told there was a “Billy” in the top three, how many of you would have though it would be Billy Hamilton. Well that many of you would have been wrong.
Here are some players on pace to hit zero home runs this season. Jason Heyward, Anthony Rendon, Carlos Gomez and Dee Gordon. Of those four players, I’d say Gordon is the only one likely to stay on course. Here are some players that most likely have a home run surge coming at some point. Xander Bogaerts, C.J Cron, Justin Upton, Prince Fielder and Adam Jones. Although I don’t know what Jones’s deal this season. I just haven’t been keeping up with the Joneses. Apparently neither has Adam.
If the impossible were to happen and everyone were to miraculously stay on pace, Jose Altuve would fall short, but give Bryce Harper a run for the most valuable player in fantasy baseball. Harper is on pace for 56 home runs, 150 RBIs, 100 runs scored and 31 stolen bases. His batting average and Nolan Arenado will preclude him from a triple crown, but that’s a hell of a season! Altuve on the other hand is on pace for 44 blasts, 88 RBIs, 132 runs scored and 56 steals. Not too shabby from a guy that’s five foot five!
I’d love to see Altuve pitch an inning. I think it would be pretty funny watching the little guy up on the mound. But I’ll leave the rest of my private thoughts to myself.
Projected “on pace” statistics based on number of plate appearances per game and each player missing five games over the remainder of the season.
