The Cycle, Issue 132: By Hook or By Rook

Catching up with this year's rookie class & the early ROY favorites, plus the Pirates win without a hit, the Astros & Nate Eovaldi tie a home-run record, a viewer's guide to Week 7 & much more . . .

In this issue of The Cycle . . .

• Did You See That? Pirates win without a hit, Fenway Park surrenders all of the home runs, and the Blue Jays’ minor-leaguers strikeout almost everyone.

• On Deck: A viewer’s guide to Week 7

• The Big Leap: Checking in with this year’s rookies and near-ready prospects and identifying the early Rookie of the Year leaders

• Feedback

• Closing Credits

Did You See That?

We’ve reached the time of the season when teams have started to run out of patience with some of their young hitters. In the last week, the Mariners optioned Jarred Kelenic to Triple-A, the Blue Jays optioned Cavan Biggio, and the Rangers optioned Nick Solak, that coming hot on the heels of the Cardinals optioning Paul DeJong last week, and the Rays’ Josh Lowe and the Rangers’ Willie Calhoun getting sent down when rosters contracted on May 2.

One rookie who has remained despite his struggles is Reds fireballer Hunter Greene, who took a hard-luck loss of historic proportions in Pittsburgh on Sunday. In that game, Greene took a no-hitter into the eighth inning. Greene got the first batter of the inning to ground out, but then issued full-count walks to the Pirates’ rookie shortstop Rodolfo Castro and catcher Michael Perez.

Greene was up to 118 pitches at that point, and the game was still scoreless (rejuvenated Pirates starter José Quintana also had a great game), so Reds manager David Bell pulled Greene in favor of reliever Art Warren. Warren issued a four-pitch walk to Ben Gamel, but then got Ke’Bryan Hayes and Bryan Reynolds out to end the inning.

The catch is that Hayes grounded to short, driving in Castro, and Pirates closer David Bednar set the Reds down in order in the top of the ninth. So the Pirates won without a single hit, and Greene, who had put Castro on base, was charged with the run and the loss.

That game marked just the sixth time that a team won a game without hitting safely and the first such game since the Dodgers beat Jered Weaver and the Angels 1–0 on two errors, a stolen base, and a sacrifice fly on June 28, 2008.

Neither that game nor Sunday’s counted as no-hitters because the hitless winning team was at home and thus came to bat in only eight innings. Only two of the previous five hitless wins were proper no-hitters, but the first ever was one of them. That came back on April 23, 1964, when the Reds (the victorious team on this occasion) visited the Colt .45s in Houston. Colts starter Ken Johnson held the Reds hitless for all nine innings in that one, but, in the top of the ninth, Pete Rose reached second base on an error by Johnson, moved up on a groundout, and scored on another error, by veteran second baseman and future Hall of Famer Nellie Fox, for a 1–0 Cincinnati victory.

Three years later, the Tigers overcame a 1–0 deficit to beat the Orioles 2–1 without the benefit of a hit. In that game, which saw a total of three runs score on a total of just two hits, O’s starter Steve Barber took a no-hitter into the ninth, but walked the first two batters in that inning and, after a sacrifice bunt moved them up and a pop-out held them, threw a wild pitch that tied the game. After another walk loaded the bases, Orioles manager Hank Bauer pulled Barber, but Mark Belanger botched a would-be inning-ending fielder’s choice at second base, and what would prove to be the winning run scored. Reliever Stu Miller then completed the no-hitter by getting Al Kaline to ground out, and the Orioles went in order in the bottom of the ninth.

In April 1992, Cleveland beat the Red Sox 2–1 without the benefit of a hit and scored their two runs in two different innings. In the first, Kenny Lofton led off with a walk, stole second and third, then scored on an error by shortstop Luis Rivera. In the third, Boston Starter Matt Young walked the first two batters, and the leadoff man scored on a pair of groundouts. Rivera made up for his error with an RBI single in the fourth, but that was all the Sox got, and Young, taking the loss on the road, didn’t get to pitch in the ninth, and thus isn’t credited with a no-hitter.

Perhaps the most famous no-hit win, however, came in old Comiskey Park on July 1, 1990. That was a Sunday afternoon, and I had the game on Channel 11 on an old black and white television in my bedroom in my stepmother’s house. I had the TV set up on one of the twin beds in that room, and I passed out on the other one. When I woke up to see Andy Hawkins sulk off the mound in the bottom of the eighth and hear Phil Rizzuto say, “it’s a no-hitter but four big runs score,” I was deeply confused.

What I missed was that the game went scoreless into the bottom of the eighth. Hawkins got the first two White Sox to pop up to extend his no-hitter to 7 2/3 innings, but the third man, a 21-year-old Sammy Sosa, reached on an error by third baseman Mike Blowers. Sosa stole second. Hawkins then walked Ozzie Guillen and Lance Johnson to load the bases, and left fielder Jim Leyritz botched a fly ball by Robin Ventura allowing all three runners to score and Ventura to reach second. Right fielder Jesse Barfield then lost another fly ball in the sun, allowing Ventura to score, and the Yankees went into the ninth down 4–0 despite Hawkins still not having allowed a hit.

In the top of the ninth, Steve Balboni reached on a one-out error by Ventura, but Barfield hit into a game-ending double play, leaving New York with no runs on four hits, and the White Sox with four runs on no hits. Perhaps the most painful part of watching the recap below today is seeing the Yankees console Hawkins by congratulating him on the no-hitter after the final out. Before the next season was over, MLB would alter its rules so that no-hit games of fewer than nine innings would no longer count as official no-hitters, a change prompted in large part by the incongruity of Hawkins’ 4–0 no-hit loss and thus erasing Hawkins’ notorious no-no.

As historic as Greene’s no-hit performance was, it was not the best-pitched game of the last week. That distinction goes to the Red Sox’s Nick Pivetta, who turned in the third complete game of the season, holding the Astros to one run on two hits while striking out eight and walking none on Wednesday. That’s an 87 game-score, the fourth-best of the season behind Walker Buehler’s complete game, and no-hit efforts by Clayton Kershaw and Reid Detmers.

Both of the hits Pivetta allowed went for extra-bases, and the one run came on a solo homer by Jose Altuve. Home runs at Fenway Park were the other big on-field performance story of the week. On Tuesday, the Astros tied a major-league record by hitting five home runs in a single inning, hitting all five off Nathan Eovaldi in the second inning of their 13–4 win over the Sox. Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, Jeremy Peña, Michael Brantley, and Yuli Gurriel all took Eovaldi deep in that inning as Houston racked up nine runs in the frame and Gurriel’s two-run shot finally bounced Eovaldi from the game.

The Astros are the eighth team to hit five home runs in an inning, joining the 1939 Giants, 1949 Phillies, 1961 Giants, 1966 Twins, 2006 Brewers, and 2017 Nationals, and 2020 Yankees. Curiously the last three are the only teams to hit all five against one pitcher. The Nationals victimized the Brewers’ Michael Blazek six times on July 27, 2017, including five times in the course of six batters in the third inning of that game. The Yankees, similarly, hit five home runs over the course of six batters against the Blue Jays’ Chase Anderson in the fourth inning on September 17, 2020. It took the Astros 11 plate appearances to rack up their five homers against Eovaldi on Tuesday, with only Tucker and Peña homering in consecutive at-bats.

The Red Sox got a bit of revenge on Thursday when Trevor Story became the third player this season to hit three home runs in a game, joining Anthony Rizzo and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., though those homers came against the Mariners, not the Astros. Story also singled in that game, a 12–6 Red Sox win, thus compiling 13 total bases (three more than a cycle), the second-highest total of the season behind Guerrero’s three-homer game. Story also drove in seven runs, tying Willy Adames for the third most in a game this season.

Finally, on Sunday, three pitchers on the Blue Jays’ A-ball affiliate in Dunedin combined to strike out 24 Tampa Tarpons in a 1–0 win. That’s not a record for an affiliated league. Incredibly, Pirates minor leaguer Ron Necciai got 27 outs via strikeout in a nine-inning no-hitter in Class-D league on May 13, 1952 (Necciai struck out 109 batters in 43 innings in that league that year for a 22.8 K/9, but couldn’t replicated that dominance when called up to the majors). Necciai’s opponents actually put a ball in play in the second inning of that game, grounding out to shortstop, but a dropped third strike on what would have been the final out of the game gave Necciai the opportunity to wrap up his historic performance with a four-strikeout inning and 27 Ks. (Credit to MLB.com’s Matt Monagan for tracking Necciai down for the article and scorecard linked above). Still, the major-league record, for a single pitcher or an entire team, is 20 (set by Roger Clemens in 1986 and tied six times since, three times by a combination of pitchers), so 24, even in A-ball, is worth noting.

On Deck

This Weekend

Series to Watch:

Padres @ Giants: Far and away the best series of the weekend, this is the only series this weekend that features two teams that enter Friday’s action with winning records. Those two teams are division rivals separated by just one game in the loss column, with the Padres currently holding that edge, while the Giants have a 17-run advantage in run differential. This is just the second meeting of the season between these two. The first also took place in San Francisco, and the Giants took two of three in that one, way back in the first full week of the season. The pitching matchups in this one could be more compelling, but we do get Joe Musgrove vs. Carlos Rodón on Saturday, which is the one must-see game of the entire weekend. Sean Manaea and Jakob Junis kick things off on Friday night and Alex Wood will go on Sunday afternoon, likely against Mike Clevinger.

White Sox @ Yankees: This is the only other series of the weekend that doesn’t involve a team with a losing record heading into the weekend. The Chisox are dead even at 19-19, but they have a -27 run differential. The Yankees have the best record in baseball at 28-10 and trail only the Dodgers with their +72 run advantage. The Yankees just took three of four in Chicago last week, and these three games will wrap up the season series between the two. This is bad timing for the White Sox, as the Yankees are just white hot, winning 21 of their last 25. New York is has been feasting against some lesser competition, but they have had five games against the Blue Jays and four against the White Sox in there, contributing to those two pre-season favorites’ woes along the way. In this series, the Yankees will send Nestor Cortes, Luis Severino, and Jameson Taillon against Dallas Keuchel, Johnny Cueto, and, most likely, Dylan Cease. The Sunday contest is the ESPN Sunday night game.

Phillies @ Dodgers: This is the only series this weekend other than Padres-Giants that features two teams with positive run differentials entering Friday’s action. The Dodgers lead the majors at +83. The Phillies are at +16 despite a 18-20 record. If that doesn’t excite you, remember that the Phillies just took three of four from the Dodgers last week in a high scoring series with an aggregate score of 33-25. Like the White Sox and Yankees, the Phils and Dodgers are cranking out their entire seven-game season series in the span of 11 days, so this will be their last meeting this year unless the Phillies can snap their 10-year playoff drought. Their impressive showing in L.A. last week is an indication that they have the talent to do that, and their 2-7 record in one-run games suggests some positive correction is coming. The Phillies will start Ranger Suárez, Aaron Nola, and Zach Eflin in this three-game set against. The Dodgers have Julio Urías and Tony Gonsolin set for the bookend games. The last time through the rotation, the spot in between was filled by rookie Michael Grove, who has since returned to Triple-A.

Braves @ Marlins: Yes, the both have losing records, but they’re division rivals a half-game apart in the standings, one is the defending World Series champion, and the other has a +19 run differential, so this isn’t nothing. Plus, the pitching matchups have potential: Charlie Morton vs. sophomore southpaw Trevor Rogers on Friday night, Kyle Wright vs. Elieser Hernandez on Saturday night, and sophomore Ian Anderson against Sandy Alcantara in Sunday afternoon’s finale.

Friday, May 20

Pitching Matchup of the Day

• Dallas Keuchel vs. Nestor Cortes, White Sox @ Yankees, 7:05 pm ET

Wait, doesn’t Keuchel have a 5.54 ERA this year and an 81 ERA+ since the start of last season? Yes, but the former number is inflated by a disaster outing on April 20 in which the White Sox made four errors behind him in less than two innings of work. In his other five starts this season, Keuchel has a 3.24 ERA, and he has allowed just two runs in 11 innings in his last two starts, one of which saw him throw five scoreless against the Yankees. Cortes meanwhile, has been one of the breakout stars of the young season, posting a 1.35 ERA through seven starts and allowing just one run in 15 1/3 innings while striking out 18 over his last two starts (one of them an eight-inning outing against the White Sox). Cortes, a 27-year-old on this third tenure with the Yankees already, is a lot of fun to watch as he varies his delivery and arm angle significantly from pitch to pitch. It’s just too bad he doesn’t line up opposite Johnny Cueto in this series.

Game of the Day

• Dodgers @ Phillies, Julio Urías vs. Ranger Suárez, 7:05 pm ET

It’s two-for-one lefty day on Friday, will all four starters in these two featured games throwing with the wrong hand. Suárez’s best two starts of the season were his last two, the last of which saw him hold the Dodgers to three runs over seven innings. Urías was the opposing pitcher in that game, as well, and was lit up for eight runs in the first four innings, all of them coming on home runs (by Jean Segura, Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and Rhys Hoskins). Urías had a 2.10 ERA on the season before that game, and he'll surely be determined to right that wrong in this one.

Saturday, May 21

Pitching Matchup and Game of the Weekend

• Joe Musgrove vs. Carlos Rodón, Padres @ Giants, 4:05 pm ET

Rodón entered his last start with a 1.80 ERA and a 39.3 strikeout percentage on the season and proceeded to give up eight runs to the Cardinals while striking out just three. That was just strange. It was Rodón’s worst start since April 26, 2019, when he was one start away from requiring Tommy John surgery, but Rodón was struggling with his velocity in April 2019. No so in his last start this season, when he was still averaging better than 98 miles per hour with his fastball. Here’s hoping it was just a fluke and that he can snap back into his previous form and give us a classic pitchers’ duel with Padres ace Joe Musgrove in this one. Musgrove enters this game with a 2.20 ERA and an NL-best 7.83 strikeout-to-walk ratio having turned in a quality start every time out thus far this season, albeit entirely against teams with below-average offenses to this point in the season. The Giants enter the weekend ranked second in the majors in runs scored per game (5.1, behind only the Dodgers’ next-level 5.5) This game will thus be a significant test for both pitchers.

Sunday, May 22

Next Week

Series to Watch:

Brewers @ Padres: The Brewers and Padres, who have two of the four best records in the NL heading into the weekend, will play their entire season series in the next two weeks starting with three games in San Diego next week. There’s an aesthetic appeal to this matchup of 1969 expansion teams that recently introduced new uniforms throwing back to their classic, mid-70s looks, but the real selling point is the quality of the two teams. Also, if things line up right, we could get a Corbin Burnes vs. Yu Darvish matchup on Tuesday night.

Mets @ Giants: These two teams have two of the top five records in the NL heading into the weekend, and a historical connection of their own, with the Mets replacing the Giants as New York’s NL entry in 1962 and swiping their interlocking NY. This will wrap the season series between these two. The Mets took three of four in Queens a month ago, but they’re reeling a bit due to injuries to Max Scherzer, who is expected to miss six to eight weeks with an internal oblique strain, and Tylor Megill, who is out for what the Mets hope will only be a couple of weeks with a biceps strain. Scherzer would have lined up for the first game of this series had he not gotten hurt. That start might go to David Peterson instead. Again, Tuesday projects to have the best matchup, with Chris Bassitt on turn to face Logan Webb.

Blue Jays @ Cardinals: I see both blue jays and cardinals on my walks with the dog all the time. They’re both beautiful birds, but blue jays are big bullies with irritating shrieks (someone heard that noise as “jaaay,” and that’s how they got their name). Cardinals are much smaller, much more gentle, and have delightful whistles and songs, some of which I can imitate, getting the birds to respond (that or I’m just filling a gap they would have left between whistles anyway, but it’s nice to pretend).

Male and female blue jays look very similar, but cardinals have a striking sexual dimorphism, and, while I’m always thrilled to see a bright red male cardinal, one could argue that the muted tones of the females are even more beautiful. That’s certainly true for some of the lady cardinals I’ve seen around here. Cardinals are often seen in mating pairs, as they form long-term relationships, often remaining with a mate year round and mating in successive years. All of which is to say that, while blue jays are beautiful birds, I much prefer cardinals.

None of that has anything to do with the baseball teams that use them as mascots (though it is worth noting that the beaks on St. Louis’s birds on the bat should be red, and I second the suggestion that the team should put female cardinals on the bat for Mothers’ Day). Both of these teams are 20-18 heading into the weekend, but the Cardinals’ run differential is 40 runs better (Toronto is at -12), and they play in a less competitive division, so their 20-18 feels better than the Jays’. This series will only be two games, but the Cardinals appear to be on turn to send ex-Jay Steven Matz to the mound against José Berríos on Monday.

Phillies @ Braves: I continue to believe that the middle three teams I the National League East, and series involving the defending champion Braves, are compelling. I might be wrong, but this is the first matchup of the year between these two division rivals, and it’s a four-game set in Atlanta that is sure to feature some quality pitching and talent on both sides of the ball on both teams. Given the lack of compelling intra-division matchups elsewhere next week, keep this one on your radar.

The Big Leap

Checking in with this year’s rookie class

The Astros’ rookie shortstop, Jeremy Peña (Eric Christian Smith/AP)

This Sunday will mark one month since I first checked in on this year’s rookie class in Issue 128. In that issue, I presented a quick statistical snapshot of 27 notable rookies on major-league rosters, 18 of whom had appeared on top-100 prospect lists prior to the start of the season, and nine of whom hadn’t but had impressed to one degree or another in the season’s early weeks. This week, I want to check back in with those rookies, as well as five other top-100 prospects who have since been called up, five others who made brief appearances in the majors this season, and four top-10 prospects who haven’t appeared in the majors this year but still seem likely to do so eventually.

That’s more than 40 rookies, so let’s break them up into a few groups. First up, the six rookies who were on active major-league rosters a month ago, but aren’t as I type this. Throughout, prospect rankings aggregated from Basebal America, Baseball Prospectus, MLB Pipeline, and FanGraphs are provided in parentheses.

Not on an Active Major-League Roster

C.J. Abrams, SS, Padres (#10)

Thanks to Fernando Tatis Jr.’s injury, Abrams opened the season as the strong-side of a shortstop platoon with Ha-Seong Kim, but he hit just .182/.270/.273 (63 OPS+) in 65 plate appearances while Kim found his stroke and took over the bulk of the playing time at the position. On May 10, the Padres demoted Abrams to Triple-A, a level the 21-year-old skipped over to make the Opening Day roster, and Abrams hit three home runs in his first two games at the level.

Nick Lodolo, LHP, Reds (#36)

The Reds’ fifth starter to open the season, though he wasn’t called up until his turn came around on April 13, Lodolo had a rough outing against the Guardians in his major-league debut, but improved in each of his next two turns only to land on the injured list with back pain. The Reds are hoping to get the 24-year-old back before the end of the month.

Josh Lowe, OF, Rays (#56)

The Rays’ Opening Day designated hitter, Lowe bounced between DH and the outfield corners in April, but hit just .188/.257/.344 (84 OPS+) in 71 plate appearances and was optioned to Triple-A when rosters were reduced to 26 players on May 2. The 24-year-old has slugged .582 with five doubles and four home runs in 61 plate appearance since his demotion.

Matt Brash, RHP, Mariners (#93)

Brash opened the season in the Mariners rotation and impressed in his major-league debut against the White Sox (5 1/3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 6 K), but each of his next three starts was worse than the last and he was farmed out in early May, just before his 24th birthday, in favor of righty George Kirby (#20). Brash has struck out 15 batters in eight innings of relief at Triple-A, but between Triple-A and the majors has walked a worrisome 23 men in 28 innings on the season. Brash turned 23 last week.

Seth Beer, DH, Diamondbacks (NR)

Beer hit a walkoff home run on Opening Day, but batted a mere .195/.292/.234 without another homer over his next 89 plate appearances. The 25-year-old was sent down to Triple-A this past Sunday.

Jake Burger, 3B, White Sox (NR)

The 11th overall pick in 2017, the 26-year-old Burger effectively lost his early twenties to a pair of Achilles tears and the pandemic. He didn’t playing a regular-season game between 2017 and 2021, but he made a strong return in Triple-A last year, as well as his major-league debut, and opened this year as the White Sox’s third baseman while Yoán Moncada was on the injured list with an oblique strain. Burger hit .239/.276/.352 (85 OPS+) in that opportunity, then was farmed out to Triple-A when Moncada returned two weeks ago.

Bryce Elder, RHP, Braves (NR)

Like Brash, Elder opened the season in the big-league rotation and impressed in his major-league debut, but walks became a problem thereafter, as he passed 14 batters in 13 1/3 innings over his next three starts and was one of the Braves’ cuts when rosters returned to 26 players on May 2. Elder, who turned 23 on Thursday, has since made three starts at Triple-A: a bad one sandwiched between two very good ones.

Cameo Appearances

Luis Campusano, C, Padres (#39)

The Padres called up Campusano to extend their bench on April 24, but returned the 23-year-old to Triple-A when rosters were reduced. He went 1-for-12 in four games.

Royce Lewis, SS, Twins (#78)

When Carlos Correa was hit on the right hand by a pitch, the Twins called up former top overall pick Lewis to make his major-league debut and take over at shortstop. Lewis hit .308/.325/.564 (162 OPS+) in his first 11 games in the majors, but with Correa returning from the IL on Wednesday, Lewis, who will turn 23 next month, was shipped back to Triple-A.

Jarren Duran, CF, Red Sox (#101)

Kiké Hernández spent one day on the COVID-19 injured list earlier this month. Duran was called up as his replacement, went 1-for-4 with a double and a hit-by-pitch in a loss to the White Sox, and was returned to Triple-A, where the 25-year-old has hit .330/.402/.540 this season and stolen 10 bases in 11 attempts.

Kyle Muller, LHP, Braves (#105)

Muller posted a 108 ERA+ in eight starts and one relief appearance last year, but threw just 36 2/3 innings and retained his rookie status. Thus far this year, the 24-year-old southpaw has made just one spot-start in the majors and was lit up by the Rangers in that outing (2 2/3 IP, 7 R, 6 BB). He has been just fine in Triple-A, however, posting a 3.69 ERA and 4.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio in six starts.

On the Shuttle

Bryson Stott, 3B/SS, Phillies (#54)

Stott made his major-league debut as the Phillies Opening Day third baseman, but shifted to second base to fill in for an aching Jean Segura, and made just one more start at third base before being demoted on April 25 with a .133/.161/.167 batting line in just 31 plate appearances. The 24-year-old infielder was recalled on May 8 to take over at shortstop for the injured Didi Gregorius and has hit .148/.233/.148 in 30 PA since.

Ryan Pepiot, RHP, Dodgers (#145)

Pepiot, who ranked 99th in Baseball America’s top 100 in January but didn’t make the other three prospects lists, made his major-league debut with three effective-but-inefficient innings in a spot start against the Pirates on May 11. The 24-year-old returned for a less effective but similarly inefficient spot-start in a double-header against the Diamondbacks on Tuesday.

Clarke Schmidt, RHP, Yankees (NR)

Schmidt had a strong spring and opened the season in the Yankee bullpen as a long reliever. He pitched well in three outings totaling 7 1/3 innings, but the last (and best) saw him go 3 1/3 frames and 54 pitches, leading to a long layoff that extended to a week and a half, at which point he was demoted when rosters were cut back. The 26-year-old righty was called back up a week ago and has picked up where he left off, with 3 2/3 scoreless frames over two relief outings.

New Blood

George Kirby, RHP, Mariners (#20)

The 20th pick in the 2019 draft, Kirby was called up to take Matt Brash’s rotation spot early this month and wowed in his debut, holding the Rays scoreless on four hits over six innings, striking out seven without walking a batter. The 24-year-old’s two subsequent starts have been progressively worse, however, and he allowed five in five innings against the Red Sox on Thursday, four of those runs coming on Trevor Story’s first two home runs.

Alek Thomas, CF, Diamondbacks (#24)

When catcher Carson Kelly hit the injured list with an oblique strain on May 8, the Diamondbacks shifted centerfielder Dalton Varsho behind the plate and called up Thomas to take over in center. The 22-year-old has since hit .316/.333/.653 (153 OPS+) in 12 games.

MJ Melendez, C/DH, Royals (#32)

When backup catcher Cam Gallagher hit the injured list with a hamstring strain on May 2, the Royals called up Melendez. The 23-year-old has largely split time behind the plate with Salvador Perez since, with Perez getting more starts at designated hitter, but Perez hit the injured list himself on Wednesday with a left thumb sprain, so Melendez will get a chance to show what he can do as the team’s primary catcher, at least for the next week. To this point, he has hit .263/.333/.447 (127 OPS+) in 42 major-league plate appearances and is 5-for-15 with a pair of home runs in his last four games.

Vidal Bruján, 2B/UT, Rays (#73)

Bruján was up for a single game in April while Yandy Díaz was on the COVID-19 IL, but he was recalled last week and is now shifting into a starting role in the wake of a back injury that will sideline incumbent second baseman Brandon Lowe for at least a next month. The 24-year-old Bruján is just 3-for-27 thus far this season, but that could improve with regular playing time.

Jose Miranda, 1B/3B, Twins (#102)

Miranda, who will turn 24 at the end of June, was called up when Miguel Sanó’s left knee sent him to the IL on May 2. The Twins gave Miranda a brief opportunity to claim the first-base job, but he has struggled significantly and fallen back into a part-time roll on the infield corners with Luis Arraez taking the bulk of the work at first base. Thus far, Miranda is hitting just .094/.143/.189 in 56 major-league plate appearances, which means he may be headed back to Triple-A before long.

Still Waiting

Adley Rutschman, C, Orioles (#1)

An early spring triceps strain ended thoughts of Rutschman starting for the Orioles on Opening Day. He began a rehab assignment on April 26 and reached Triple-A on May 6, but hasn’t hit much at the top level thus far. The new rule granting a full year of service time to the top two Rookie of the Year finishers in each league is likely to work against the 24-year-old former top overall pick at his point, as the Orioles have no incentive to bring him up at a time when he might still have a chance of getting a full year of service time for less than five months in the majors.

Grayson Rodriguez, RHP, Orioles (#5)

Rodriguez topped out at Double-A last year and thus wasn’t really in the mix to break camp with the Orioles this spring, but the 22-year-old has been sharp through his first eight Triple-A starts (2.65 ERA, 4.38 K/BB, 38.5 K%) and could follow Rutschman to the majors later this year.

Riley Greene, OF, Tigers (#6)

Greene appeared likely to break camp with the Tigers this spring, but fractured his right foot late in Spring Training and has been on the minor-league IL ever since. He was cleared to resume baseball activities last Thursday, but he’ll have to play himself back into shape, by which point the Tigers, who have the worst record and second-worst run differential in the American League, won’t have to work that hard to keep the 21-year-old down at least until they’re confident he won’t be Super Two eligible, so my guess is that he’ll be a late-season call-up at best.

Shane Baz, RHP, Rays (#7)

Baz had arthroscopic surgery on his pitching elbow in March. It was a relatively minor procedure, but the timing has sidelined Baz thus far this season. He started a rehab assignment Thursday night, but will have to effectively have a second spring training in the minors and is thus unlikely to return to the Tampa Bay rotation before early June, not far removed from his 23rd birthday.

The Part Timers

Geraldo Perdomo, SS, Diamondbacks (#98)

Perdomo has been the Diamondbacks primary shortstop thus far this season, but that’s mostly because Nick Ahmed has struggled to stay healthy. Ahmed opened the season on the IL with right shoulder inflammation, returned on April 22, then landed on the COVID-19 IL last Monday. Perdomo hasn’t done much with the opportunity, hitting .202/.343/.250 (77 OPS+) in 103 plate appearances. Still, that on-base percentage and Perdomo’s fine play in the field might be just enough for the team to consider trading the 32-year-old Ahmed, who is clearly past his prime and more than 9 1/2 years older than Perdomo.

Josh Winder, RHP, Twins (#118)

Winder, a seventh-round pick in 2018, posted a 2.63 ERA and 6.15 K/BB in 14 starts split between Double- and Triple-A last year, but was shut down in late June with a shoulder impingement. He made the Twins out of camp as a long reliever and got a rotation opportunity at the end of April when Bailey Ober went down with a groin strain. Winder allowed just one unearned run in 12 innings across his first two starts while striking out 15 in those games, but his third start didn’t go well and the 25-year-old righty is now back in the bullpen, in deference to Devin Smeltzer, and struggled again in his last relief appearance.

Jose Siri, CF, Astros (NR)

Siri opened the season as the short side of a center-field platoon with Chas McCormick, but the Astros saw four lefties in their first seven games and Siri took advantage, going 6-for-14 (.429) in those starts with a homer, a double and a pair of walks and has since been in more of an even job share with McCormick in center. Both have performed similarly at the plate thus far, and Siri is only three months younger (he’ll turn 27 in July), but Siri has a more exciting skill set and is far better in the field. He’ll have to do better than a .230 average and .296 on-base percentage to become a full-time player, however.

Diego Castillo, 2B, Pirates (NR)

Castillo looked like he was going to get a chance to claim the second base job in Pittsburgh when the season opened, but he only give five starts there. He then got an opportunity at shortstop, but the Pirates recently called up Rodolfo Castro to take over at that position and Castillo has made just one start in the last week . . . in right field. Moving a rookie around the diamond like that can make it more difficult for him to settle in on either side of the ball, and Castillo hasn’t hit much (.233/.263/.322, 71 OPS+). The 24-year-old’s next stop may be back in Triple-A.

Starting but Struggling

Joey Bart, C, Giants (#56)

Joey Bart has a 98 OPS+ on the season in a season in which catchers as a whole have an 81 OPS+. So why do I list him here? Because that 98 OPS+ is on a .174/.321/.362 line, and he has struck out in a staggering 44.1 percent of his plate appearances. To put that last in context, Chris Davis’s 37.2 percent in 2017 is (best I can tell) the all-time high for a qualified batter. That strikeout rate makes it difficult to argue that Bart’s .174 average is a fluke (he has a respectable .286 batting average on those rare balls in play), and thus suggest that positive correction is not likely to come until the 25-year-old can figure out how to make more contact.

Reid Detmers, LHP, Angels (#33)

Wait, didn’t Detmers just throw a no hitter? Yes, with just two strikeouts, and, in his next turn, he didn’t make it out of the fourth inning. On the season, even with his no-hitter in the mix, he has a 91 ERA+, 4.62 FIP, 2.40 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and has struck out just 6.2 men per nine innings. His .172 opponents average on balls in play is doing some heavy lifting, and that’s unlikely to last even to his 23rd birthday in early July.

Spencer Torkelson, 1B, Tigers (#4)

Torkelson has hit .173/.289/.308 (80 OPS+) thus far, including .159/.266/.244 in 94 plate appearances since April 16. There’s a bit more hope for a batting average correction here than with Bart, but Tork’s strikeout rate isn’t encouraging, either. Some have suggested that, with Greene nursing his broken foot, the rotation riddled with injuries, and the team dead last in the AL at 13-25 (.342), the Tigers should send the 22-year-old Torkelson down and shift their focus to 2023. Then again, Torkelson went 2-for-3 with a homer and a double on Wednesday and did not strike out, his best single-game performance in the majors thus far. So maybe the Tigers shouldn’t cut bait just yet.

Hunter Greene, RHP, Reds (#25)

Three starts ago, Greene gave up eight runs on five homers in less than three innings. In his last turn, he held the Pirates hitless for 7 1/3 frames, but still walked five. On the season, he leads the majors in home runs allowed. Even if you erase that disastrous five-homer outing, he has allowed six homers in his other six starts at a rate of 1.8 per nine innings at a time when the major-league average is south of 1.0 per nine. The 22-year-old’s stuff and strikeouts are there, but his walks and homers are worrisome. His FIP is even higher than his 6.21 ERA, and his 5.61 deserved run average isn’t all that much more encouraging.

Cristian Pache, CF, A’s (#84)

The A’s and their fans have quickly fallen in love with Pache’s play in the field, but dude is hitting just .155/.197/.233 (30 OPS+) as an everyday player. That can’t last, and with Ramón Laureano back from his performance-enhancing-drug suspension, the A’s could be a healthy Stephen Piscotty away from shipping the 23-year-old Pache back to Triple-A.

The Contenders

National League

1. MacKenzie Gore, LHP, Padres (#132)

2.17 ERA (172 ERA+), 3.56 K/BB, 27.1 K%, 2.37 FIP, 3.60 DRA, 29 IP, 6 G, 5 GS

Prior to the 2021 season Gore, the third overall pick in 2017, was a consensus top-10 prospect in the game. His 2021 season, however, was a disaster and saw him fall off of the top-100 lists compiled by Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, and FanGraphs. He looked sharp this spring, however, and got the call to join the Padres rotation when Blake Snell went down with a groin strain in mid-April. Gore seized the opportunity and ran off a 2.42 ERA in his first five major-league starts. He was bumped to the bullpen this week by Snell’s return, but that’s also a workload management thing, as he has never thrown more than 101 innings in a season at any level or combination thereof. It remains to be seen how San Diego will used the 23-year-old the rest of the way. The Padres likely want to both stretch out and limit his innings, but in the early going the only Padres starter to out-pitch Gore, who has allowed just one home run in the majors, has been Joe Musgrove.

2. Spencer Strider, RHP, Braves (#130)

2.61 ERA (165 ERA+), 3.56 K/BB, 40.0 K%, 1.30 FIP, 3.12 DRA, 20 2/3 IP, 9 G

A fourth-round pick in 2020, the 23-year-old Strider was a starter in the minors last year but has worked as a long man out of the Atlanta bullpen thus far this year, with outings ranging from one near-immaculate inning to a full four frames. In nine appearances, he has had just one ugly outing. Leaning heavily on a fastball that can hit triple digits, Strider has struck out 40 percent of the batters he has faced and not allowed a home run in 20 2/3 innings. Strider topped out at 94 innings last year, so as with the Padres and Gore, the Braves will want to limit his innings, but he could get a rotation opportunity later in the year should one arise.

3. Seiya Suzuki, RF, Cubs (NR)

.248/.350/.453 (130 OPS+), 4 HR, 18 BB, 137 PA

Suzuki hit .333/.458/.632 through his first 18 games, but has hit just .179/.246/.304 in 16 games since and hasn’t homered since April 17. His season line is still strong, and that hot start earned him the benefit of the doubt, but he needs to make some counter-adjustments to avoid going from boom to bust.

American League

1. Jeremy Peña, SS, Astros (#51)

.276/.338/.517 (150 OPS+), 7 HR, 10 BB, 31 K, 131 PA

In his second major-league game, Jeremy Peña went 3-for-5 with a double and a home run, hitting the latter while his parents (including his father and former major-leaguer Gerónimo Peña) were being interviewed live on Apple TV+’s first night broadcasting Major League Baseball. Peña had two more three-hit games among his first eight in the majors, but slumped in the second half of April. May, however, brought a 10-game hitting streak and a .364/.396/.614 line thus far in 64 plate appearances on the month. The 24-year-old looks like the real deal. He’s outstanding in the field, outstanding on the bases, his walk and strikeout rates are pretty close to league average, and he has shown an ability to hit for both average and power. Peña is only three years younger than Carlos Correa, but he has outperformed the last Astros shortstop by a considerable distance thus far this season and has been, to my eye, the best rookie in the majors thus far this year.

2. Joe Ryan, RHP, Twins (#121)

2.39 ERA (153 ERA+), 3.00 K/BB, 24.2 K%, 3.42 FIP, 4.57 DRA, 37 2/3 IP, 7 GS

The scouts, the stuff, and the underlying stats all say that Joe Ryan is a mid-rotation starter who can maybe play up a bit from time to time. Ryan says that time is now. The Twins’ Opening Day starter posted a 1.17 ERA in four starts in April (three quality, his Opening Day outing fell short due to pitch limits following the short Spring Training). His first two starts in May were less impressive, but he got right back on the beam against the Guardians on Sunday (6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K). Ryan will turn 26 on June 5 (a birthday he shares with teammate Royce Lewis, and that they both share with Kelsie Whitmore and me), which is further evidence that he’s not an elite prospect, but it’s still staggering to think that the Rays gave this guy up for a 41-year-old Nelson Cruz less than a year ago.

3. Steven Kwan, LF, Guardians (#94)

.265/.374/.373 (123 OPS+), 1 HR, 17 BB, 10 K, 123 PA

Kwan opened his major-league career with a five-game hitting streak, including a 5-for-5 performance in which he reached base six times in a single game (adding a hit-by-pitch), and he was hitting .309/.402/.444 as late as May 9, despite a five-game time out in late April due to a tight hamstring. He has slumped since, however, going 2-for-21 over his last six games, but has still managed five walks against just one strikeout over that span. Kwan’s continued control of the strike zone suggests this slump is only temporary, so look for the 24-year-old California native to remain in the mix here.

4. Julio Rodríguez, CF, Mariners (#3)

.270/.327/.383 (113 OPS+), 3 HR, 11 BB, 48 K, 11 SB (79%), 153 PA

J-Rod hit just .205/.284/.260 in April, without a home run, but has come alive in May with a .338/.375/.515 line in 72 plate appearances and has gone from striking out in 41 percent of his plate appearances in April to just 25 percent in May. Mix in his solid play in center field and a major-league-leading stolen base total (tied with Jorge Mateo and Harrison Bader, both of whom have been more efficient), and the 21-year-old Rodríguez is rapidly ascending this list.

5. Jhoan Duran, RHP, Twins (NR)

3.06 ERA (121 ERA+), 9.00 K/BB, 39.1 K%, 3.84 FIP, 2.88 DRA, 17 2/3 IP, 13 G, 2 SV

The 24-year-old Duran was a starter throughout his minor-league career, but after missing most of 2021 due to an elbow strain, he seems to have found a home as a high-leverage arm and closer-in-waiting in the major leagues. Emilio Pagán is the Twins’ primary closer, but Duran has picked up the save in a pair of one-run games, striking out five over two innings to do so against the A’s on May 7. On the season, he has struck out a whopping 39.1 percent of the batters he has faced while walking just three in 17 2/3 innings. He has gone two full innings in five of his 13 appearances, and he has stranded the only runner he has inherited. Even in relief, Duran is mixing four pitches, and, without having to hold back, his four-seamer sits at 100 mph and pops to 103.

8. Bobby Witt Jr., 3B, Royals (#2)

.225/.267/.406 (94 OPS+), 4 HR, 6 BB, 38 K, 5 SB (71%), 2 3B, 146 PA

Okay, that’s not a great line, the strikeout-to-walk ratio is frightening, and Siri and Winder should probably rank above him to this point (thus the odd numbering). However, Witt has an active eight-game on-base streak during which he has hit .276/.364/.759 with three of those six walks and seven of the 15 extra-base hits he has collected on the season, including three of the four homers. He only has one multi-hit game over that stretch, has still struck out 10 times in 33 plate appearances over that span, and two of those homers came in Colorado, so it remains muted, but there’s reason for optimism here as Witt heads toward his 22nd birthday in mid-June.

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You can also write me at cyclenewsletter[at]substack[dot]com, or @ me on twitter @CliffCorcoran.

Closing Credits

Bobby Brown’s imperial phase was short, but it was glorious. Brown rose to stardom in the Boston-based boy band New Edition and had the lead vocal on the Ray Parker Jr.-penned 1985 hit “Mr. Telephone Man,” but Ralph Tresvant was the quintet’s lead singer, and Brown got himself booted from the group before 1985 was over. It’s worth remembering that Bobby was just 16 in 1985. He put out a solo album in 1986 that flopped, but his second effort, 1988’s Don’t Be Cruel, was a blockbuster.

The album’s signature single was “My Prerogative,” which followed the lead of Janet Jackson’s “Control” as a declaration of independence made in collaboration with one of the hottest producers of the moment. In Brown’s case that was New Jack Swing auteur Teddy Riley. “My Prerogative” wasn’t the lead single from the album, but it was the one that broke things open for Brown and went to number one. “Don’t Be Cruel” was the lead single, preceding the album by a month in mid-May, but it didn’t reach its peak position until after “My Prerogative” came out as a single in October. I remember “My Prerogative” hitting even my largely white suburban middle school like a tidal wave, but my favorite peak Bobby Brown tune is actually “On My Own,” his contribution to the Ghostbusters II soundtrack, which he made in collaboration with the other big New Jack Swing producers of the moment: Babyface and L.A. Reid.

I’m not here to talk about any of those songs, though. I’m here to talk about “Every Little Step,” the stone-cold classic released in the middle of all of those other classics. (You know, like every little step this year’s rookies are making toward having actual major-league careers? The Big Leap/“Every Little Step.” Do I need more of an excuse than that?)

“Don’t Be Cruel” (also a Babyface/Reid jam) was slinky, “My Prerogative” was angry, and “On My Own” was just badass. “Every Little Step,” which went to number three and won the Grammy for best Male R&B Vocal Performance, was light by comparison. Reid reportedly wrote it as a song of devotion to his eventual wife, the singer Pebbles, and, in sharp contrast to Brown’s other signature songs, it is humble and devoted. The lyrics express a joyful gratitude for the love of the song’s subject, and it’s striking to hear the typically braggadocios Brown sing a lyric like, “As a matter of fact, it blows my mind that you would even talk to me.” Of course, he goes on to sing, “no matter what your friends try to tell ya,” which seems like a bit of a red flag, and the rap Brown added in the middle is pretty stupid, and not in the way he claims on the song, but it’s still a distinctly upbeat and positive song.

Despite the modest lyrics, “Every Little Step” is an up-tempo banger that can easily hang with Brown’s other top hits, and the minimalist video, which finds Brown, still a teenager, dancing around the giant letters of the title with a pair of backup dancers, is a classic in its own right. This is the video in which Brown has the hairdo that has had me calling Manhattan’s Citigroup Center “the Bobby Brown building” for the last 30-odd years, and the one that Robin Thede and Wayne Brady loved so much that they recreated it with another late-80s icon, Mike Tyson, for Funny or Die in 2010, with Brown himself popping in to lip synch the rap.

The Cycle will return next Thursday, which is my daughter’s 13th birthday. (Good lord!) In the meantime: