Tuma's Take: Gerrit Cole and the Cy Young, Gleyber Torres and the ROY, Max Scherzer and the HOF

—If the season ended today (thank goodness it doesn’t and we still have 5+ more months of baseball) then there’s no question Gerrit Cole would be the American League Cy Young favorite. Even if he pitched in the NL he would win the award, which is another way of saying he’s been the best pitcher in baseball this year. Through seven starts he has thrown 50 2/3 innings and struck out 77, good for a 13.7 K/9 rate!! He also has a 1.42 ERA that is supported by a league leading 1.54 FIP. Those numbers are eye popping. Last year he had an ERA over 4 and struck out less than a batter per inning. Cole has been so jaw dropping unbelievable that Trevor Bauer thinks the Astros are cheating. Houston looked like they won the Cole trade back in January when they gave up nearly nothing to acquire him, but now the best team in baseball getting so much better just seems downright unfair. 

—Speaking of being the best pitcher in baseball, it’s now becoming fair to wonder whether or not Clayton Kershaw still is. It’s been a small debate at times over the past couple of years, but this feels different. I highly recommend reading this Ringer article as to why, but I’ll do my best to summarize it. What’s most striking in the piece is the fact that Kershaw has yet to throw a fastball at least 94 mph this year. Before 2018 he had managed to throw at least 96 in every season. His overall numbers right now look fine (2.86 ERA, 9.8 K/9), and Kershaw can still be very good if not great, but his FIP is the highest it has been since his rookie year. After giving up a career high 23 homers last year, he's already allowed seven through seven starts. Yesterday he went on the DL with a biceps issue. It isn't expected to be anything too serious, but it marks the third straight year Kershaw has been placed on the DL. The Dodgers are currently 15-19 and in fourth place in the NL West. It's time to start worrying a bit. 

—The other star pitcher in LA, Shohei Ohtani, took the mound on Sunday for the first time since April 24th. The 23-year-old two way phenom rebounded from a couple of subpar outings to throw six innings of two-run ball while striking out six. While his 4.10 ERA on the season doesn’t scream ALL-STAR, Ohtani has now thrown three quality starts across five appearances. He’s also showing an elite ability to miss bats with nearly 11 K/9. Oh, and he’s been awesome at the plate as well. In 64 plate appearances he is batting .339 with a 1.018 OPS and four home runs. He'll DH some more this week before his next start on Saturday versus the Twins.

—Ohtani’s main competition for the American League Rookie of the Year award, Gleyber Torres, also has himself a day on Sunday. The 21-year-old became the youngest Yankee to ever hit a walk-off homer when his three-run shot in the ninth helped NYY sweep the Indians. Incredibly, it was the team’s 15th win over their past 16 contests. The Bombers now have the second best record in all of baseball, just one game behind the rival Red Sox. What’s scary about this team is Giancarlo Stanton hasn’t even been GIANCARLO STANTON yet. The lineup is ruthless. The bullpen is absurd. And the organization has so much young talent they can trade for an ace starter come July. Madison Bumgarner anyone?

—Yet despite what Ohtani and Torres did, it was Max Scherzer who made the biggest headline on Sunday. The three time Cy Young winner recorded 19 outs against the Phillies, 15 of which were strikeouts, an MLB record. It was his fifth 15+ strikeout game of his career. He now leads baseball in wins, strikeouts, and is fifth in ERA. With Kershaw’s “best pitcher alive” status currently up in the air, it’s Scherzer who has the best claim to the throne at the moment. I’ve talked before about how he’s already on the HOF track (3 Cy Youngs, two no-hitters, and could end up with 200 wins, 3K strikeouts, 60+ WAR). But if he wins a FOURTH Cy Young this year we might have to start talking more seriously about him as an all time great.

The Baby Braves Are In First Place

The Atlanta (Baby) Braves are in first place in the National League East. While Freddie Freeman is once again putting up his usual elite numbers, the story in Atlanta so far this year has been the babies. The Braves currently have the three youngest players in baseball, and they’re all really good. That’s pretty cool.

On Tuesday the team called up 20-year-old pitching prospect Mike Soroka to start against the division rival Mets. Not only did he pitch well (6 innings, 1 run, 6 hits, 0 walks, 5 strikeout), but Soroka actually outperformed Noah Syndergaard. Soroka entered 2018 as MLB Pipeline's 30th ranked prospect. He's one of many more babies on their way to Atlanta. Back in February Atlanta had 7 of the top 65 Baseball America ranked prospects.

Soroka's performance came just days after the team began hitting fellow babies Ozzie Albies and Ronald Acuña 1-2 in the order. On Sunday the two combined for a home run, 3 doubles, 3 walks, 4 RBIs, 3 runs scored, and 2 stolen bases. It was the continuation of a dominant start to the year for Albies, who entering Thursday leads baseball in extra base hits. He also ranks second in runs and doubles to go along with 9 homers, 3 steals, and a .927 OPS.

As for Acuña, Sunday was the exclamation mark on his coming out party. The 20-year-old top rated prospect in all of baseball is currently hitting .345 with a 1.027 OPS through his first week in the majors. He's also an advanced base runner who is able to make game changing plays on defense. Even with a late start to the year he is the favorite to win the National League Rookie of the Year award this season.

Add it all up and the Braves find themselves in first place on May 3rd. Not bad for a rebuilding team to see this level of success so soon. Not bad at all. And while Atlanta is probably due for some regression, their +46 run differential (tops in the NL) says this could be somewhat legit. We saw just last year how an up and coming team like the Yankees can wind up a bit ahead of schedule when their young guys truly break out.

On Thursday afternoon Atlanta will go for the sweep of the Mets. If they succeed it'll be an awesome early season storyline. If not, well the Baby Braves are still coming. The future is extremely bright.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Is Absolutely Raking In Double-A Right Now

There has never been any doubt that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. could hit. Back in February MLB pipeline gave the kid their first ever 80-grade hit tool, an honor Mike Trout or Bryce Harper never received. We’ve been excited about VJ for a while now, and he just keeps getting better.

In 6 games this past week Guerrero hit an unholy .550 with 10 RBIs hahaha. It was the continuation of a dominant first showing at the Double-A level by him. Through his first 19 games in the Eastern League Vladdy Jr. is batting .373 with two homers, 25 RBIs, and more walks than strikeouts. Oh yeah, and he also has more extra base hits than strikeouts as well. 

With Ronald Acuña and Gleyber Torres recently called up to the majors, VJ is now considered the best prospect in the sport. He just turned 19, so the Blue Jays absolutely will take their time with his development. Guerrero is so good I’m giving it an outside chance he forces their hand and plays in Toronto this season, but it’s a long shot. For now we’ll have to settle for him destroying minor league pitching. 

Tuma's Take: Didi Gregorius, Ronald Acuna, Manny Machado, Etc.

--The Yankees enter Sunday Night Baseball having won 8 in a row led by a white hot lineup. Aaron Judge is somehow playing better than last year and Miguel Andujar is making a ROY case, but the best bat on the team thus far belongs to Didi Gregorius. MLB Network analyst Brian Kenny has been taking a ton of heat for his shortstop rankings from over the off-season, and it feels as if every night on baseball Twitter people are hammering for Didi one way or the other. It’s been a lot of fun. It’s a pretty interesting debate. Kenny was low on Gregorius and Yankee fans aren’t letting him forget it. I thought Didi was awesome last year (25 HR, .796 OPS), but I also thought it would be a career year. Entering Sunday, however, the 28-year-old led all of baseball in WAR, home runs, RBIs, and OPS. I keep waiting for him to cool down, but he just keeps getting better. I’d have to admit he’s a top five SS in the league right now, even if every single one of his career homers are to right field. 

--He’s here! He’s finally here! Braves 20-year-old phenom Ronald Acuna is finally on the big league team and it’s glorious. Through five games the top outfield prospect is hitting .421 to go along with a 1.289 OPS. He’s shown power (one HR), speed (one SB), and the ability to get on base (three walks) so far in his young career. On Sunday the Braves even moved him up in the lineup, batting him second behind 21-year-old second baseman Ozzie Albies. The two future stars are the two youngest players in baseball. The future is very bright for the Baby Braves at the moment. 

--Another former top prospect who is beginning to put it all together at the big league level is Yoan Moncada. The 22-year-old second baseman strikes out a lot. That’s no secret. But as WhiteSoxDave points out in this Barstool blog, it’s easier to teach a young hitter to swing more often than less often. What that means is Moncada has already developed one of the hardest skills for a young hitter to acquire - patience. Through Sunday Moncada is hitting “just” .267, but that is with a .353 OBP, six home runs, and four stolen bases. (It’s almost as if batting average isn’t the most important hitting stat). The skill it takes to draw a walk in the majors, along with elite base running and good defense, gives Moncada a very high floor as a baseball player. If he dips into the power potential we all know is there then he’s going to become a perennial all-star.

--Sticking with the theme of former top prospects breaking out, let’s talk about Blake Snell. The 25-year-old southpaw has always had the stuff, and so far in 2018 he is following up last year’s second half strides. Through six starts this season Snell is 4-1 with a 2.52 ERA, a 0.95 WHIP, and 41 strikeouts in 35 2/3 innings. It shouldn’t be a surprise then that Snell is striking batters out at the highest rate of his career, as well as walking the fewest per nine he ever has. The Rays are contributing Snell’s success to increased maturity. It’s a reminder that we sometimes forget how young these kids are. Tampa Bay entered 2018 with a presumed ace in Chris Archer, but perhaps Snell will finish the year as their number one starter.

--All this prospect talk has me thinking about one of the most successful rebuilds of all time, Theo Epstein’s Chicago Cubs. Back in 2012 Epstein took on sport’s longest title drought with a five year plan, and he won the World Series five years later. He’s the best GM of all time and should almost never be questioned. HOWEVER, after the 2016 championship it felt as if the Cubs were set to become a dynasty, but it just never came together last year. And this year? They’re 15-10 and riding a four game win streak, but all of a sudden their window to win with this core seems like it’s getting tighter. Im looking at Gleyber Torres in New York (Chapman trade) and Eloy Jimenez is getting close to the bigs with the White Sox (Quintana trade), and I can’t help but wonder if the Cubs would've been better off having kept their top prospects. That being said Chicago is one of the best teams in baseball for a reason, and without Chapman they wouldn’t have won when they did. Still, if Torres and Jimenez become studs it’s an interesting “what if”. 

--So much of the conversations we’ll be having this summer will be about where Bryce Harper and Manny Machado are going to go in free agency. The 2018 class is stacked, and while Harper is set up to become the highest paid athlete in sports history, Machado could very well become the second highest. Through this weekend the 25-year-old leads baseball with a .361 batting average and ranks third with a 1.124 OPS. His nine long balls rank fourth. He’s picking the right time to have a career season, and the fact that he’s playing shortstop while doing it will only increase his value.

Is Madison Bumgarner Going To Be Available This Summer?

A lot of people picked the Yankees to win the pennant this year. Personally I thought they were getting a bit ahead of themselves, but I of course wasn’t going to be surprised if the Bronx Bombers played well. Now, just four weeks into the season they appear to be heating up. Last night they won their fourth in a row. Aaron Judge homered. Did “top 5 SS in baseball” Gregorius homered. Gary Sanchez homered twice. Giancarlo Stanton went 4-for-4 the other night. So did Miguel Andujar. Gleyber Torres is up now. Good lord that’s a lot of potential offense.

However, the one move we all know the Yankees have up their sleeves this year is the ability to trade for starting pitching come July. They just have soooo many prospects. Clint Frazier isn’t even on the big league roster right now! And while the bullpen has been shaky it’s still the rotation where the biggest upgrade is needed. For a while it’s been unclear as to who the starter New York will trade for will be, but that isn’t a huge concern. This time last season we had no idea Justin Verlander would be available. 

Yesterday Buster Olney wrote about who that starter might be (Red Sox fans brace yourselves). Madison Bumgarner....one of the three most clutch playoff performers of my lifetime (Tom Brady, David Ortiz). As much as I hate to admit it the logic makes sense. The Yankees need an impact starter. Bumgarner is just that. In 17 starts last year he posted a 3.32 ERA. Before that his ERA hadn't been above 3 since 2012, while making over 30 starts each year.

But the Yankees aren’t acquiring him as much for the regular season as they are the post-season. That’s where MadBum shines. Come October Bum has a career 2.11 ERA. The Giants are 13-3 in the playoffs when he pitches. In 2014 he had an all time playoff run, throwing a ridiculous 52 2/3 innings to go along with 45 strikeouts and a 1.03 ERA. He threw two complete game shutout and pitched five scoreless innings of relief in Game 7 on the road. He was on just two days rest.

It needs to be noted that Bumgarner is, for the second straight year, currently hurt. I was optimistic about a big season for him in 2018. Then he got drilled by a comebacker in his final spring training start. It’s not ideal, but by the time New York would hypothetically trade for him he will have had time to show he’s fully recovered. Plus getting hit by a comebacker is as fluky as it gets. This isn’t a chronic shoulder or elbow injury we’re talking about.

The loss of Bumgarner has basically torpedoed San Francisco’s season. It was going to be a struggle even with him to claw their way into a wild car spot, but without Bum they’ve begun the year just 11-12. I guess they don’t HAVE TO trade him this year, considering hen't a free agent until after 2019. But as Olney notes in his column the Giants are approaching a fate similar to what happened to the Phillies years ago with Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and co. Nobody is going to want Andrew McCutchen or Evan Longoria. At least they won't give up much for them. San Fran doesn't have a great farm system. Bumgarner is their one trade chip who could accelerate the rebuilding process. The Yankees have tons of prospects and need a starter. I'm gonna throw up.

Sunday's Blog, Tuma's Take Week 3

-One of my favorite questions to ask baseballs fans is who would be the top 5 picks if the entire league held a re-draft. There’s so much good young talent right now that the answer changes weekly it seems. Mike Trout is of course first, and personally I would go Bryce Harper second (though that’s up for debate). After that there are a ton of good answers, but the current flavor of the week is Markus Lynn Betts of the Boston Red Sox. Aided by this three-homer performance earlier this week Mookie leads all of MLB in OPS and runs scored right now. He’s slashing an unholy .366/.459/.732 with six long balls and a 218 OPS+. There’s no doubt he’s a great offensive player, and depending how much you buy into advanced metrics there’s good evidence saying he’s an elite defender and base runner as well. We could be witnessing the start of an MVP season from the 25-year-old. 

-Part of Mookie’s recent surge came at the expense of Japan’s Babe Ruth this week. Betts homered on the first at bat of the game, which led to a disappointing start for the 23-year-old. Shohei Ohtani's night came to an end after having pitched just two innings, surrendering three runs on four hits while walking two and striking out one. The two frames took him an insane 66 pitches to get through. We have to acknowledge that there was a report that he was dealing with a blister on his pitching hand. While Ohtani was still able to reach 99mph on his fastball he didn’t have his usual command. Many baseball fans are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt here, mainly because he’s been so damn exciting. The Angels say the blister isn’t an issue. We’ll see. His next start comes on Tuesday versus the Astros.

-Good for Mickey Callaway for transitioning Matt Harvey to the bullpen. That’s not an easy move to make for a rookie manager when you consider Harvey once stared the All-Star game in his own stadium, and just this week firmly said he considers himself a starter. But the numbers don't lie. Since Game 5 of the 2015 World Series Harvey is 9-19 with a 5.80 ERA. Through four starts this season he has a 6.00 ERA and has allowed 26 hits in 21 innings. As crazy as it sounds I don't even think this should be seen purely as a demotion. I think Harvey could be useful out of the pen as an Andrew Miller, multi-inning reliever type. He won't have to face a lineup more than once and maybe he can add a couple mph to his fastball while throwing less pitches. He might also just be washed up though. As an impending free agent his next contract depends greatly on how he handles this change.

2013 Matt Harvey was sooooo good 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/YISDSX3auM

— Too Much Tuma (@toomuchtuma) March 23, 2018

-And what do you know, the first top prospect called up to the majors this year isn’t Ronald Acuna or Nick Senzel. It was Gleyber Torres of the New York Yankees. The 21-year-old infielder was slashing .370/.415/.543 at Triple-A before the promotion and will probably produce right away. The Yankees are obviously off to a bit of a “slow start” right now and Torres could be the jolt the team needs. He’ll play mostly second base initially, though he can also fill in at short and third. Acquiring Torres was one of Brian Cashman’s finest moves of this rebuild. Torres was the center piece of the Aroldis Chapman trade to the Cubs, who Cashman re-signed just months later anyway. Torres will immediately become Ohtani’s biggest challenger to the AL Rookie of the Year award this season.

-The Baby Braves are growing up before our very eyes. While Acuna is still waiting for his time to shine, 21-year-old second baseman Ozzie Albies has been tearing up the league thus far. The diminutive infielder has surprising pop, and currently leads all of baseball in both doubles and extra base hits (he’s also second in runs scored and total bases). Albies is slashing an impressive .302/.348/.640 with six homers, including one off Noah Syndergaard earlier this week. Atlanta is getting strong performances from several other key players, including Freddie Freeman and Dansby Swanson, but Albies has been the story of their surprising 12-8 start entering Sunday. 

-The Astros have the best rotation 1-5 in baseball right now, and it is being led by future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander, who is having another great year. Since Houston acquired Verlander last season he is an outrageous 8-0 with a 1.08 ERA and 82 strikeouts in 66 2/3 innings. I wrote last October about his HOF candidacy, which continues to get better with every start he makes. It's crazy because at one point a few years ago it looked like his all-star days were over. For his career Verlander has 191 wins with a 3.43 ERA. Those number don't stack up great against names like Walter Johnson, Bob Gibson, or Pedro Martinez. But this is a different era. Verlander has thrown two no-hitters, won a Cy Young (should've been 2), won a MVP, and a pitching triple crown. His 59 career bWAR ranks 65th all time for pitchers, and he has excellent post-season numbers capped off by leading Houston to their first ever World Series in 2017. With starters not throwing as many innings these days as they used to we are going to have to evaluate them differently for HOF purposes. It shouldn't be a difficult decision for voters to make with Verlander, however. 

Brewers Relief Ace Josh Hader Is Becoming Andrew Miller But Better

I’m in love with relief aces. In today’s day and age, particularly once you get to the playoffs, they’re invaluable. Starting pitchers are going less and less deep into games, so unless you have a top-20 SP there’s an argument to be made that a relief ace in the playoffs is nearly as valuable as a good (not great) starter. 

We know the story of how we got to this point. The Royals (what a random, insanely good two-year run they had) were the first to master bullpen usage in the playoffs. Then Terry Francona and Andrew Miller happened. Then last year a bunch of starting pitchers started coming out of the pen in October. 

But we’re here to talk about the regular season. Mainly the 2018 regular season, and thus far there hasn’t been a better reliever in baseball than 24-year-old Josh Hader of the Milwaukee Brewers. His stats are good. Through six appearances (9 2/3 innings) he has a 1.86 ERA with 22 strikeouts, which is good for 20.5 K/9. Wait what? *polishes glasses, squints a bit* I apologize for saying his stats are good. Those numbers are fucking phenomenal. 20.5 K/9!!!

So who is Hader? He is a former 19th round draft pick who bounced around a couple organizations before landing in Milwaukee. He was a starter with control problems, so when the Brew Crew were surprise contenders last season they brought him up to bolster the pen. Magically he found control of his pitches and has been great ever since. His 12.8 K/9 from a season ago helped put him on the map, but his start to 2018 cements him in the conversation of “best reliever in baseball”.

I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself. Until fully proven otherwise Kenley Jansen is still the best reliever in baseball. Craig Kimbrel is right there too. So are Roberto Osuna, Edwin Diaz, Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller, Chad Green, and Chris Devenski. The point is Hader now belongs in that tier. Maybe not the top tier, but certainly the next group. This is a multi-inning weapon who strikes batters out like Chapman but can be used like Miller. 

It sucks he’s going unrecognized right now but it makes sense when you figure he isn’t a closer and he plays in Milwaukee. The Brewers are smart to keep him in a multi inning role even with Corey Knebel sidelined though. Relief aces are that valuable these days, and Josh Hader is the latest name to become one. 

Tuma's Take: Week 2 Thoughts From Around The League

--It’s impossible to begin this blog with anything other than Japan's Babe Ruth. Actually, pretty soon we will be referring to Babe Ruth as America’s Shohei Ohtani. The 23-year-old starting pitcher/designated hitter has more than lived up to the hype. As of Sunday morning he was averaging the third fastest fastball velocity among starters. However, he was also averaging the fourth highest average exit velocity as a hitter. That’s what defines a two-way star. The bat somehow continues to produce, and the arm has been as advertised. Ohtani’s next start will come on Tuesday night versus David Price and the Red Sox. I’m considering that matchup must watch.

--Led by Ohtani (and some other guy named Mike Trout) the Angels have jumped out to a 13-3 record, which is good for the third best in all of baseball. As Buster Olney notes it’s setting up to be a good division race with the World Champion Astros. We knew Houston was gonna be good, particularly their lineup, but I just continue to be amazed by their rotation. It’s ridiculous. Their number five starter Charlie Morton struck out 12 in six innings this weekend. In three starts he now has a 1.00 ERA with 25 K's in 18 innings. Again, this is their fifth starter. The ‘Stros also have Justin Verlander, Dallas Keuchel, Gerrit Cole, and Lance McCullers. You may have heard of them. I think there’s a real case to be made that Houston has both the best lineup in baseball as well as the best rotation. 

--Before the season started I wrote a piece titled “The Bryce Harper Contract Year We’ve Been Waiting For”. After years of speculating over Bryce’s free agency we’ve finally arrived at his walk year. Players often perform better in contract years and Bryce seems like the type to ball out as he awaits a potential $400 million deal. So far so good. Harper leads baseball with seven home runs to go along with a .300/.479/.740 triple slash line. His combination of power, ability to hit for average, and ability to get on base continue to give him a case for the best offensive player in the game. The Nats are off to a slow start (7-9), but Bryce certainly can’t be blamed for it.

--Unless you root for a team in their division everyone should be thumbs up for the New York Mets these days. Their fans have been through enough recently, and they finally have a team that’s healthy. This includes their most important player, Noah Syndergaard. On Sunday afternoon Thor struck out eight straight at one point, falling just two short of the Mets record. The Mets are so healthy right now they actually have too many starters. Similar to the Astros (Brad Peacock, Colin McHugh) what they’ve done is taken some of these starters (Robert Gsellman, Seth Lugo) and turned them into valuable bullpen pieces. So far the Mets have one of the best bullpens in baseball. Gsellman and Lugo have combined for 21 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings to go along with just two earned runs. As long as everyone stays relatively healthy it’s going to be a fun summer in Queens.

--The Red Sox are doing something very smart right now. In 2017 Chris Sale’s first four starts resulted in pitch counts of 104, 108, 111, and 102. So far in 2018? 92, 93, 87, and 93. It’s a cliche but it’s true that Boston needs him in September and October more than they do in April. The low pitch counts haven’t affected his results either. Through four starts he has a 1.23 ERA with 31 strikeouts in 22 innings. Pulling Sale before he reaches 100 pitches is certainly made easier for manager Alex Cora now that the Sox have jumped out to such a great start. It’ll be interesting to see how long this trend continues for. 

--Another week and another string of Major League Baseball games without Ronald Acuna. The 20-year-old top prospect is a major part of the future for my #BabyBraves, but his slow start at Triple-A (.152 average in 8 games) might be delaying his arrival. The date has passed for when Atlanta can call him up and still gain an extra year of service time, so his arrival could happen literally any day now. I’d expect it to happen as soon as he strings together a few good games. He should still be considered the National League Rookie of the Year favorite. 

--44-year-old Bartolo Colon debuted in 1997 and was perfect through 7 innings against the World Champion Houston Astros tonight. Baseball is fun.

--Happy Jackie Robinson day everyone!

In 1947 Jackie Robinson won Rookie of the Year, finished 5th in MVP voting, batted .297, and led the league in steals. He did it all while overcoming more adversity than any baseball player has ever dealt with #Jackie42 pic.twitter.com/XiIscQJRRm

— Too Much Tuma (@toomuchtuma) April 15, 2018

Tuma's Take: Week 1 Thoughts From Around The League

--Let’s start with the champs because it’s stupid how loaded the Astros are. I mean it’s just plain outright dumb. Here I am minding my business on Saturday night and I flip on the Astros game. Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, George Springer are all studs we knew that. They’re also getting a full season out of playoff hero and future HOFer Justin Verlander. We knew that. But now they might get an All-Star season out of Gerrit Cole, who they gave up legit peanuts for this winter. And what has Cole done thus far? How about 14 innings of one-run ball with a 22/3 K/BB ratio. Holy moly. Cole has always had elite breaking pitches and now he’s with an organization that prioritizes throwing breaking pitches. It’s early, but so far the big story in baseball to me is that the right got a lot richer. 

--Sticking in the AL West we should probably talk about Shohei Ohtani right? I mean, I was (thinking) let’s say pessimistic about him to start the year. It wasn’t the spring numbers and it wasn’t what the “anonymous scouts” were saying. It was more the travel and cultural adjustment he was making. And so far I was wrong. We all were. Ohtani has been unbelievable. What's making headlines is the fact that he homered in three straight games this past week. (Fun fact Ohtani has 3 homers in 4 games this season. The Miami Marlins as a team have just 2 homers in 8 games). But Ohtani's first pitching performance shouldn't be overlooked. It was good on paper (3 runs on 3 hits in 6 innings with 6 K's) but all the damage came on one swing of the bat, a Matt Chapman homer. From that point on Japan's Babe Ruth retired 14 of the final 15 batters he faced. It's only been a week but so far Ohtani has been a monster as a legit two-way player.

--I’ve been giving my Yankee fan friends some shit for their fan base booing Giancarlo Stanton twice already. I get it. Yankee fans want to remind Stanton that winning in New York is all that matters. This is a place that once booed Derek Jeter after all. But even outside of Stanton there are some early season concerns for the Yankees. Dellin Betances has been bad, Aaron Boone has been shaky as a manager, and some injuries are starting to pile up. All that being said there’s too much talent on this team for them not to get hot in a hurry. Boone will figure it out. The first big test comes this week with a three game trip to Fenway Park Tuesday-Thursday. Oh yeah Game 1 of that series features Chris Sale versus Luis Severino. Can’t wait for that. 

--The LA Dodgers are 2-6, which is their worst start since beginning the year 1-7 back in 1976. They lost again on Saturday night, via a majestic Andrew McCutchen walk-off homer. Four of the team’s L’s have come from Clayton Kershaw and Kenley Jansen. Corey Seager and Yasiel Puig are hitting a combined .200. Justin Turner is hurt. Not all of that is going to last. It’s not even close to being time to panic about LA, but what is concerning is Kenley Jansen's velocity readings. After pitching around 93 mph in each of the past two years, so far this year his famous cutter has been more 90-91. The best closer in baseball has had a huge workload in recent seasons. It doesn't mean he can't still be effective at a lower velocity, but maybe that workload is catching up to Jansen.

--It’s silly to react too much to Week 1 obviously, but I’m loving what I see out of the New York Mets this far. Similar to Alex Cora in Boston it looks as if Mickey Calloway is making a real difference as a first year manager. Plus you have clubhouse favorite Todd Frazier starting the whole salt and pepper thing and it’s been a fun start to the season for Mets fans, who enter Sunday with their team 6-1. Most importantly, however, is that Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom both look fully healthy. Whenever you have two of the top 10 starters in baseball firing on all cylinders you’re going to have success.

--Welcome to the David Price revenge your everybody! Price has had an eventful first couple of years with the Red Sox, and he finally seems to be in a good place mentally. By that I mean he has stopped caring what Boston fans think. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s pitching his ass off. Ever since he returned from injury late last season Price has pitched in 9 games (playoffs included). During those appearances he has thrown 29 1/3 SCORELESS innings with a 29/8 K/BB ratio. Right now he and deGrom look like the two best number two starters in baseball. Between the Sox and Yanks it looks like the AL East will be the best division race to follow this year.

Get To Know The Baby Braves Part 1: Ozzie Albies

I don’t blame teams for tanking. It’s what I would do as a GM. The thought process, trying to become really bad for a bit so that you can maximize the amount of assets necessary to become a contender, is smart. And it's becoming trendy. Sports are copycat leagues after all, so when the Cubs and Astros both tank and then both win the World Series, other teams will follow suit. There are still teams out there like the Baltimore Orioles, trying to get just a little better by signing Alex Cobb. Overall though tanking became a real problem this winter when teams just straight up weren't signing free agents.

Regardless of what you think about tanking, one thing we can all agree on is that the Braves are loaded with young talent. This is an organization that has been more or less tanking for a few years now, and luckily for Atlanta fans their time is coming. Both Baseball America and ESPN ranked the Braves as having the best farm system in the sport this year. In addition to Ozzie Albies (discussed below) Atlanta has 7 of the top 65 prospects according to Baseball America. 

Because of all this young talent I’ve been hyping the Braves this year. The Baby Braves as I call them. The one reason for caution I will mention is that a lot of these guys are pitchers, and you just never know how it's going to go with pitching prospects. 

There are two Baby Braves that I’m particularly fond of however, and it's Albies and Ronald Acuna. Each is excellent and each deserves their own blog. Unfortunately for Baseball fans the Braves are using the service time loophole and keeping Acuna in the minors for now in order to get an extra year of club control. So I’ll save his appreciation blog for when he gets called up.

So let’s focus on Albies, who isn't considered a prospect anymore. The 21-year-old stud/future star already spent time in the bigs last year, and he impressed. In 57 games Albies hit .286/.354/.456 to go along with 8 homers and 6 stolen bases. Pretty, pretty good. He has also shown real growth and development during his time in pro ball. Similar to the power development of Mookie Betts, this is a kid who has blossomed "late". When he was in Single-A three years ago he didn't hit a single homer. Last season he hit 15.

As Albies matures it's reasonable to expect more power on the way. He's still only 21! He has a unique swing for someone his size. It features a leg kick where he's really trying to hit the ball hard. I think Jose Ramirez is a good comparison here. Another little guy who has sneaky power. The good news is anything Albies provides from a power standpoint is a bonus. His best traits are his speed and his ability to hit for average. There is certainly potential for Ozzie to one day hit .300 with 15 homers and 30 stolen bases. Those numbers don't scream MVP candidate, but they scream All-Star when you combine them with his defense. 

This should be exciting as hell for Braves fans, and Albies is just the start. Acuna is on his way soon and he will be followed by all those pitchers. Giddy up, Atlanta. 

Ozzie Albies has insane speed he hit a triple on a hit that barely reached the outfield #BabyBraves pic.twitter.com/x7OTyJFohV

— Too Much Tuma (@toomuchtuma) April 1, 2018