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Stats of the week: Huge HRs, stellar starts & of course, Ohtani
Here’s our weekly look at 10 mind-blowing notes from the last week in baseball (May 11-17)....
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How MLB's most dominant reliever right now came out of nowhere
If it seems like each season there’s an absolutely out-of-nowhere reliever who pops up to dominate, there almost always is. But even that realization won't prepare you for how far off the radar this year's entry was, because he A) had an 11.50 career ERA entering the season; B) didn’t...
Yennier Cano
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How this one-time MVP found new life in Chicago
Cody Bellinger had been something like the weakest regular hitter in the game from 2021-22, so when he signed a one-year deal with the Cubs last winter, it was well understood by both sides to be a low-cost gamble that would, at the very least, help Chicago improve some of...
Cody Bellinger
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New name stands atop Hitter Power Rankings
It’s not easy to keep your place atop the Hitter Power Rankings. To do so, you need good health, good fortune and consistently superb production.
And so it is that for the second straight installment, we have a new No. 1 on the scene.
A trip to the injured list...
Ronald Acuna Jr.
Matt Chapman
Sean Murphy
Randy Arozarena
Luis Arraez
Paul Goldschmidt
Yordan Alvarez
Yandy Diaz
Bo Bichette
Wander Franco
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Acuña isn't the Braves' only top MVP candidate
Ronald Acuña Jr. may be the early National League MVP Award frontrunner, but he’s not the Braves’ only top MVP candidate.
As of Friday morning, Atlanta employs the NL leader in wins above replacement (per FanGraphs) among position players and the MLB leader in expected wOBA (based on quality of...
Sean Murphy
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Rookies showing out, vets making history highlight stats of the week
Here’s our weekly look at 10 mind-blowing notes from the last week in baseball (May 4-10).
Another week, another Rays stat: The Rays went 22-0 when scoring first before losing in such fashion on Saturday. That’s tied with the 1884 St. Louis Maroons for the longest streak of wins when...
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How Kenley turned back the clock to dominate again
Is Kenley Jansen “back?” It might depend entirely on if you think he was ever gone. But yes: Early on, it sure looks like he’s back.
From a saves point of view, you’re probably wondering what we’re even talking about, because just last year, Jansen’s 41 saves led the National...
Kenley Jansen
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Acuña wowing Braves with prodigious power
ATLANTA -- Ronald Acuña Jr. smiled when asked if he was aware of where he now ranks on the list of the most 470+ ft homers hit since 2018, the year he made his MLB debut and began wowing the league with his tremendous power.
“Yeah, you notice it,” Acuña...
Ronald Acuna Jr.
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How the Rays turned their offense into MLB’s best
The Rays are off to a historic start in 2023.
They’ve gone 29-9 through their first 38 games, becoming only the fourth team in the 21st century to start this well.
It’s been a thoroughly dominant display of baseball excellence that few teams have ever shown for this long of...
Yandy Diaz
Randy Arozarena
Christian Bethancourt
Josh Lowe
Taylor Walls
Luke Raley
Harold Ramirez
Brandon Lowe
Wander Franco
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Is Yoshida for real? Here's what the advanced stats say
After the Red Sox signed Masataka Yoshida to a five-year, $90 million contract this offseason -- representing the largest contract ever awarded to a position player coming from Japan to MLB -- opinion about the transaction outside of Boston was mixed at best. After all, Yoshida was small (5-foot-8, 176...
Masataka Yoshida