Trout Continues to Mash
After being held without a home run and to just two extra-base hits through the first six games of the 2019 season, Mike Trout has slaughtered the Texas Rangers’ pitching staff over the last three days.
On Thursday, Trout belted his first home run of the season -- a 422 foot shot off of Edinson Volquez. He also singled and walked in that contest, finishing the day 2-for-3. On Friday, Trout crushed a pair of solo home runs, leading the Angels to a 3-1 victory.
Saturday, Trout extended his personal home run streak to three games, demolishing a Drew Smyly offering in the fourth inning for a 458-foot grand slam that provided the bulk of the Angels’ offense in another victory. It was his fourth home run of the season (and of the past three days) and the fifth grand slam of Trout’s career.
The 458-foot blast was the third longest home run that Trout has hit since Statcast was introduced in 2015. It was also the third longest in all of baseball this season.
Astoundingly, it’s already the seventh time in his career that Trout has homered in three consecutive games. He has only homered in four straight one time, when he feasted on Tigers and White Sox pitching during May of 2017. He’ll attempt to accomplish that feat again on Sunday when he squares off against Shelby Miller. Trout is 2-for-3 in his career, though he has yet to homer against the Rangers’ right-hander.
Angels manager Brad Ausmus discussed Trout’s importance to his club’s offense after the game, admitting “Trout’s been the bulk of our offense these last couple games where we’ve won… I’d like to see more contribution up and down the lineup. But there are times when Mike Trout is going to be the bulk of our offense.”
The 27-year-old superstar and two-time American League MVP is off to another outstanding start to the 2019 season, slashing .385/.553/.923 with four long balls, 10 RBI and one stolen base. As long as he remains healthy, he’ll once again be squarely in the discussion for MVP honors at season’s end. [[ad:athena]]
Alex Reyes Demoted
In 2016, Alex Reyes burst onto the scene at the big-league level, compiling a 1.57 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 52/23 K/BB ratio across 46 innings as a 21-year-old. The can’t-miss pitching prospect was on the fast-track to becoming one of the most dominant starting pitchers in all of baseball.
Fast forward three years, that injuries have derailed the highly-touted prospect. After undergoing Tommy John surgery, as well as a lat surgery, Reyes threw a total of just 27 innings over the last two seasons.
Still, he entered the 2019 season healthy and was expected to be a major weapon for the Cardinals, even if he started the season in the bullpen. He struggled with his command during Grapefruit League play, and those struggles have continued into the regular season. In his first four appearances, Reyes owns a miserable 15.00 ERA, 2.67 WHIP and 1/6 K/BB ratio over his three innings of work.
On Saturday, the Cardinals made the decision to option the struggling right-hander to Triple-A Memphis
Speaking to reporters, Cardinals’ manager Mike Shildt explained Saturday, “It’s a tough spot to have a guy get the work he needs to get at this level… There’s a fine line. You want to stay patient and have confidence in guys, and then you want to obviously put guys in the right spot. We don’t want to overreact, but we don’t want to under react either.”
With Memphis, Reyes will get to pitch on a consistent schedule and hopefully rediscover the form that made him a truly elite pitching prospect prior to the injuries.
What this means from a fantasy perspective, is that Reyes can safely be dropped in redraft leagues, as it doesn’t appear as if he’s going to make a major impact in 2019. Those in keeper and dynasty leagues should hold the faith though, as the 24-year-old hurler is still extremely talented and should be a major asset down the road.
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Bronx Bombers
The Yankees offense has gotten off to a very slow start to the season, due in large part to several of their key offensive cogs landing on the injured list.
On Saturday, one of their main contributors finally started to get things going. Aaron Judge clobbered his first home run of the season off of Dylan Bundy in the first inning. He then carried that good feeling over to his next at-bat, where he pulverized another Bundy offering for a two-run shot to give the Bombers a 3-1 lead.
While he hadn’t been providing the power that was expected through the first week of the season, Judge is still off to a nice start overall, slashing .290/.415/.516 with a pair of homers, six RBI and a stolen base.
Even with Judge’s power display, the Yankees found themselves facing a 4-3 deficit against the Orioles in the eighth inning on Saturday. That’s when an unlikely contributor stepped up in a big way.
Clint Frazier, who was recalled from Triple-A with the injury to Giancarlo Stanton, crushed a two-out, three-run homer off of Miguel Castro in the eighth inning to power the Yankees to victory.
If the 24-year-old former top prospect continues to deliver big hits like that, he’s going to become a fixture in the Yankees’ outfield and could start to merit fantasy consideration in mixed leagues.
Have a Day Heyward
To say that Jason Heyward has failed to live up to his eight-year, $184 million deal with the Cubs would be a massive understatement. That isn’t to say he’s without some impressive moments though.
Heyward had one of those days in Saturday’s blowout victory over the Brewers. His memorable afternoon began in the second inning, where he crushed a Corbin Burnes offering for a two-run shot to give the Cubs a 2-1 lead. He then reached on an infield single to lead off the fifth inning, swiped second base and rode home on a two-run blast by Victor Caratini.
The following inning Heyward drew a walk and again swiped second base. He greeted Alex Wilson in the eighth inning with a leadoff home run, increasing the Cubs’ lead to 8-5. He also came to the plate again later in the inning, drawing another walk.
All told, Heyward finished the afternoon 3-for-3 with three runs scored, three RBI, two homers, two walks and two stolen bases. He’s the first Cubs’ hitter since 1906 to have multiple home runs and multiple stolen bases in the same ballgame.
Still only 29-years-old, Heyward is off to a tremendous start at the plate, slashing .370/.419/.704 with three homers, eight RBI and two stolen bases. If he’s unowned in any shallow mixed leagues, perhaps it’s time to give him a chance to live up to his pedigree once again.
American League Quick Hits: The Red Sox placed Brock Holt (eye) and Brian Johnson (elbow) on the 10-day injured list. … The Twins cut ties with Tyler Austin, designating the 27-year-old for assignment. He should be scooped up off of waivers relatively quickly. … Matt Moore was forced to leave Saturday’s start against the Royals after three scoreless innings due to a right knee sprain and was subsequently placed on the 10-day injured list. Daniel Norris will take his place in the Tigers’ rotation. … Ronald Guzman was pulled from Saturday’s game with a hamstring injury and will undergo an MRI exam to determine the severity. … Kole Calhoun left Saturday’s game with a right knee contusion, but he’s expected to return to the Angels’ lineup on Sunday. … CC Sabathia will make his first minor league rehab start with High-A Tampa on Sunday… Dellin Betances (shoulder) will face live hitters for the first time on Monday. … Christin Stewart belted a go-ahead grand slam in the seventh inning to lead the Tigers past the Royals. … Tyler Skaggs fanned five over 6 ⅓ innings of one-run baseball in a victory over the Rangers. … George Springer clubbed one of three Astros’ homers in a shutout victory against the Athletics. … Wade Miley fired 5 ⅔ shutout innings for the Astros in that one… Trey Mancini belted his fourth home run in a loss to the Yankees… Carlos Carrasco racked up 12 strikeouts over five innings of two-run baseball in a win over the Blue Jays. … Max Kepler and Willians Astudillo slugged back-to-back home runs as the Twins topped the Phillies. … Jay Bruce blasted a pair of home runs -- his fourth and fifth of the season -- as the Mariners routed the White Sox. … Tim Beckham collected four hits, including his fourth home run, in that lopsided win. … Shane Greene slammed the door on the Royals in the ninth inning on Saturday, picking up his league-leading sixth save.
National League Quick Hits: The Cardinals demoted struggling right-hander Alex Reyes to Triple-A Memphis to work out his issues. … The Mets plan to skip Jason Vargas’ next start in order to keep the rest of their starters on their regular five days of rest. … The Cubs demoted Carl Edwards Jr. to Triple-A Iowa to let him work through his issues. … Mike Montgomery landed on the 10-day injured list with a shoulder issue. … Gregory Polanco (shoulder) is scheduled to begin a minor league rehab assignment with Single-A Bradenton on Sunday. He should be back in a couple of weeks and isn’t a bad stash if you have roster space available. … Franchy Cordero was removed from Saturday’s game due to a sore elbow. He’s considered day-to-day. … Clayton Kershaw (shoulder) will make at least one more minor league rehab start before rejoining the Dodgers’ rotation… Brian McCann was placed on the 10-day injured list after leaving Saturday’s game with a right hamstring strain. … Tyler Flowers was also injured in that game, when he was hit in the hand by a pitch, though X-rays came back negative. Alex Jackson will be recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett and is expected to start for the Braves on Sunday. … Ryan McMahon was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left elbow strain. Mark Reynolds should see additional action at first base in his (and Daniel Murphy’s) absence. … Brandon Belt homered and drove in three runs on Saturday, leading the Giants to victory over the Rays. … Jorge Alfaro went 3-for-4 with a pair of homers and three RBI, leading the Marlins to victory over the Braves. The second homer was a go-ahead two-run blast off of A.J. Minter in the ninth inning. … Ryan Braun homered for the second straight day as the Brewers fell to the Cubs. He’s got three bombs and 12 RBI on the young season. … Carson Kelly delivered a walk-off, RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning to lift the Diamondbacks to a 5-4 win over the Red Sox on Saturday. … Cody Bellinger went 2-for-4 with a double, RBI triple and two runs scored in a victory over the Rockies. He now has a league-leading 17 RBI on the season. … Walker Buehler picked up his first victory, firing five innings of one-run ball at Coors Field. … Kevin Newman delivered a walk-off RBI double to beat the Reds in the 10th inning on Saturday. … J.D. Davis went 3-for-3 and cranked a pair of solo home runs to lead the Mets past the Nationals. … Pete Alonso went 2-for-4 with a homer and a double in that win. … Michael Wacha struck out seven, but walked eight, over 5 ⅓ innings of one-run ball in a no-decision against the Padres. … Manny Machado belted a two-run homer off of Andrew Miller in the eighth inning, powering the Padres to victory over the Cardinals.
