Baseball is truly a great game. On a nightly basis, we see many things of interest. To say that there are surprises would be an understatement. There’s never a shortage of excitement and things to note, so let’s take a look at some items that caught my attention.
Calling All Angels
Yes, I know that’s a Train song. I also know that this is a highly unoriginal reference, but after seeing what was thought to be impossible happen, why not break into song?
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a true juggernaut. If you believed the chatter prior to the season, then there was no reason to even play the 2025 season. Would the Dodgers even lose another game? Across town, the Los Angeles Angels were clearly heading in a completely opposite direction. Pitching is non-existent for the Angels, and the injury to Mike Trout didn’t help anything.
When the two teams played this past weekend, it wasn’t a fair fight. Why even bother to play the games? Instead, we were reminded that anything can happen on a daily basis in the MLB. Also, the Dodgers simply don’t care about the regular season. However, the results from this weekend made it clear that the Dodgers might not be as strong as previously expected.
At the same point, we still want to give some credit to the Angels for pulling off the sweep. Seeing Zach Neto excel shouldn’t have come as a surprise, but it was also a good sign for Los Angeles to get production from Taylor Ward and the recently promoted Matthew Lugo. With Trout injured, Lugo could see more playing time.
The Sky is the Limit
At this point, things are just getting to be ridiculous for Pete Crow-Armstrong. The Chicago Cubs have now moved Crow-Armstrong to the leadoff spot, and he simply continues to deliver. At the risk of too much hyperbole, it’s becoming clear that the outfielder is going to be a large part of Chicago’s future.
In eight games since moving to the leadoff spot, Crow-Armstrong is hitting .353 with three home runs, 11 RBI, seven runs scored, and two stolen bases. Entering action on Tuesday, the outfielder was hitting .282 with 12 home runs, 38 RBI, 36 runs scored, and 14 stolen bases. We are dealing with a legitimate power/speed thread as he works through a 24.8% strikeout rate.
Crow-Armstrong has a .287 ISO with an elite 14.1% barrel rate. Even some inevitable batting average regression, to around .250/.260, still makes him a top option.
Leiter Flirts With History
Jack Leiter began his professional career in 2022 after a prolific career at Vanderbilt. While he always showed upside, tools, and potential, results were a different story for the right-hander. Those struggles continued last year with an 8.83 ERA over 35.2 innings.
Things have been better so far this year through his first seven starts. However, there’s still more developing Leiter needs to do. Despite taking a no-hitter deep into the game on Sunday, Leiter’s ERA still sits at 4.25 on the season.
If you want to take the good, opposing hitters are hitting just .186 against Leiter. Additionally, he has the fourth-highest average perceived fastball velocity at 97.8 miles per hour. The problem, though, is that it’s translated to just 6.75 strikeouts per nine innings. When combining that with four walks per nine innings, Leiter still has more work to do. Although the upside is still there.
The Orioles Make a Change
Nothing against Charlie Morton, but in what world is the veteran even close to Corbin Burnes? To say that the Baltimore Orioles need help in the rotation would be an understatement. The problem, though, is that the Orioles failed to address their pitching problem. And instead, things have gotten worse.
It doesn’t help that the Orioles are also struggling at the plate. And given the state of things, led by the struggles of Adley Rutschman, might be even worse.
Baltimore isn’t going to magical start, hitting and have pitching reinforcements appear, so instead, they replaced Brandon Hyde with Bud Black. While you can appreciate action, it remains to be seen whether Black can make a difference in Baltimore’s season.
Benson is Back
It’s all too easy to fall for this once again. Will Benson just looks like a future All-Star. The outfielder has tools and upside that you can get lost in. We have been going through this for the past three years with Benson while dealing with inconsistencies.
Despite hitting .187 last year in 128 games, Benson did finish with 14 home runs and 16 stolen bases, which keeps us on the hook. After being promoted this year, Benson has five home runs in 10 games while hitting .353.
There’s legit power here as Benson continues to barrel up the ball with ease. He’s going to strike out a bunch, but there’s no reason not to follow the hot streak and tools.
Flores is a Real Threat
At this point in the season, who expected to see Wilmer Flores leading the National League in RBI? No one is ever going to confuse Flores with being an elite player, but there’s also no reason not to expect him to make the All-Star game this season.
He’s carved out a role as a legitimate player, but Flores has taken a step forward this season. Through action on Wednesday, Flores is up to 42 RBI while hitting 10 home runs and batting .259. Batting in the middle of the order for San Francisco certainly helps.
The problem, though, is that as much as I want to be optimistic, Flores has just a 6.8% barrel rate and 23.5% hard hit rate. While we can’t argue with the results to this point, it’s also hard to expect success at the same level considering those batted ball metrics.
Woo is Holding it Together
Injuries to George Kirby and Logan Gilbert have made it difficult for the Seattle Mariners. Where they would be without Bryan Woo is a question that they don’t want to answer.
Through his first nine starts this season, Woo is striking out about a batter per inning while walking only 1.25 per nine innings. With an average fastball velocity of 95.8 miles per hour, Woo should add a few more strikeouts to his ledger at some point.
To this point, though, the results couldn’t be much better with a 2.65 ERA (2.79 FIP). There is a lot to like with Woo, but unfortunately, he’ll also be a step behind a healthy Kirby and Gilbert.
