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.