It's been a week since MLB action resumed, so let's get to catching up! Let's start off with the favorite to win the AL Rookie of the Year and maybe MVP: Aaron Judge How can this guy become more interesting after all that he's done this season? Last week he won the Home Run Derby and lived up to the hype and now this week he's back at it again. Remember how Judge holds the longest distance for a home run at 495 ft? Yeah, well, he might have broken that but we have no idea because his latest bomb nearly left Seattle and it broke Statcast, the people who track home runs. I am not kidding about this either because I wanted to know how far it was so I checked hittrackeronline and then Statcast on the MLB app and no sign of his latest home run. I knew it had to be a mistake and then the latest news shared that Judge broke the trackers so I thought it was lost in time but it was updated to 437 ft. I'm not an expert but that looked way further than 437. I mean, it went to one of the top rows in the upper level. Who does that? So, I hope that it gets updated soon because that looked like his longest this year... Judge also leads the American League with 11 at bats per home run; he also leads in Home Runs (31), On-Base Percentage (.435), Slugging Percentage (.651), On-Base Plus Slugging Percentage (1.085), and Walks (68). And all this success has not changed him as a person. On Thursday he was seen playing catch in the outfield, during the middle of the inning, with a young Mariners fan. How often do players acknowledge the opposing fans? Just give him the Rookie of the Year already! Ben Gamel Gamel ranks first in average among AL rookies at .319, but keep in mind that Judge has had 44 more at-bats than him. He also ranks third in hits and runs with 92 and 45. Gamel is doing well against the team that drafted him this ongoing series and hitting .333 with 3 hits, including two doubles, in 9 at-bats. Before the Yankees came in, Gamel hit his fifth home run of the season against the dominant Houston Astros, which ended an almost month long drought for him. Andrew Benintendi Benintendi ranks second in runs and runs batted in with 46 and 53. One of the strangest things that happened to Benintendi after the All-Star break was how he managed to beat the rival Yankees. In his pinch-hit in the ninth, he managed to draw a walk which brought in Dustin Pedroia and won the game. Benintendi needs to continue hitting to make his July a better month than it was for him and raise his average from .269. He probably will be able to figure it out soon and help his team remain in first place over the Yankees. Kyle Freeland The rookie starter for the Rockies has something different and interesting about him and it's not just that he's a left-hander. He was born and raised in Denver, Colorado, so the altitude that normally harms the careers of numerous pitchers is what Freeland grew up with and has acclimated to. Freeland ranks second in ERA and wins with 3.67 and 9 and has logged the most innings at 110.1 out of all NL rookie pitchers. In Freeland's last time on the mound, he pitched three innings in relief and was hitless with 4 strikeouts. His next start will be tomorrow vs. Pittsburgh. Freeland's biggest moment so far was his one-hitter with a career-high 9 strikeouts in 8.1 innings right before the All-Star break. After that big game, Freeland will be hoping to do well in his first start since. Josh Bell Bell has enjoyed July more than any other month with his .317 average in 63 at-bats. Bell also leads all NL batters with 82 hits and 4 triples. Yesterday was a big day for the first baseman as he went 4-for-6 against Colorado. His day included one double, one triple, and four RBIs in Pittsburgh's 13-5 win over Colorado. Cody Bellinger In the Dodgers' long history, spanning from their move to LA back in 1958 to their years in Brooklyn that started in 1883, there has never been a rookie in their franchise to hit for the cycle. That is, until last week when Bellinger changed that narrative and collected all four types of hits against the Miami Marlins (the only team to not have a player do this).
Bellinger hit his 26th home run and could tie Piazza's franchise rookie record of 35 home runs or even beat it before the season is over. That is unless he does not allow himself to cool off, which has been going on for the power hitter. Leave a Reply. |
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