Introduction: Welcome back, as I hope you all are doing well! For the 2023 MLB season I have decided to start a weekly series where I give my reactions and observations for that week of baseball action. Whether it be reacting to how a player performed, to someone making their debut, or just giving my thoughts on the week, I thought this would be a great idea to get all of my aforementioned thoughts out on paper. Also I will do my best to give a few of my predictions and questions that I may have for the week ahead!
Below you will find my 2023 Opening Week Recap (March 30th-April 7th) along with a few of my aforementioned predictions for Week 2. So with all of this out of the way, I hope you all enjoy reading my article!
Majority of Aces Struggle in First Outing: This should be the obvious point that I hit on first. Whether it was Jacob deGrom, Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Chris Sale, Alek Manoah, Logan Webb, or Miles Mikolas, these "aces" had their struggles in their first start of '23. Corbin Burnes and Sandy Alcantara were not that great either, giving up a combined 7 runs across 10.2 IP.
This seems to be typical in the first few starts of the season, as the worst thing any of us could do is overreact. Patience would be the word I would use here, as they all will find their form soon enough and get on a roll. At the end of the day it is only one or two starts out of a potential 30 or more on the season. Although not aces, solid starters such as Blake Snell and Chris Bassitt should turn it around soon enough as well!
Update: Having written the paragraph above a few days before these arms took their second turn in the rotation, I have provided updates for a few of them below.
Alcantara tossed a complete game shutout against the Twins in his second start, deGrom fanned 11 Orioles over six magnificent frames, while Alek Manoah looked fantastic in Kansas City.
Meanwhile, Corbin Burnes served up two bombs to Polar Bear Pete Alonso this past Wednesday, as his ERA sits at 9.64 through two turns. My gut instinct is telling me that the aforementioned ERA will soon level out as Burnes next start comes on Tuesday, April 11th against the Diamondbacks in Arizona.
Corbin's velocity is down about 1.7 MPH, making his signature cutter a less effective pitch, which is a bit worrisome, but it is still once again, very early. For a guy who has been consistent for three straight seasons, two starts is not going to sway me from someone who has proven that he can be a top pitcher in the league.
Miles Mikolas struggled against the Braves on Wednesday afternoon, April 5th. Allowing five runs over six innings of work, a Matt Olson Atlanta led offense pretty much was the theme of his outing. Looking ahead, Miles draws the Rockies at hitter-friendly Coors Field next week.
Blake Snell was not at his best this past Thursday, as the Braves seem to be a tough opponent for anyone this year. Giving up four runs over 3.2 IP is not the best result.
A tough road matchup against the New York Mets in Flushing awaits Snell in Week 2.
Chris Bassitt bounced back in a big way during his second outing as a Blue Jay on Friday evening, April 7th. A quality start was much needed for the veteran right-hander as he faced the Angels in their home opener in Los Angeles.
Putting together a 6 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 5 SO, 5 BB pitching line while also earning his first win of the season was very encouraging to see. The only damage done against him was a Mike Trout two-run home run in the first inning, which is completely understandable.
Although the number of walks was a bit higher than I would have liked, I am going to keep my mouth shut and not complain considering Bassitt's first start of the season was awful in St. Louis. On the bright side, his velocity seemed to be back up, topping out at around 93-94 consistently on his sinker and 4-seam fastball.
Bassitt's next outing comes at home on Thursday in Toronto against the Detroit Tigers. He will look to carry his newly-found momentum into his third start of the year.
Starters Shine in First Outing: On the opposite end of things, there were starting pitchers who were in complete command during their first outing of the 2023 campaign.
Gerrit Cole decided to strike out 11 over six scoreless frames against the Giants, Dylan Cease retired 19 batters in a row after allowing a leadoff single to Jeremy Pena in Houston, Shane McClanahan and Jeffrey Springs rolled over the Tigers, Spencer Strider was dominant in D.C., Pablo Lopez struck out eight over 5.1 scoreless innings against the Royals, Kevin Gausman allowed zero earned runs against the Cardinals, and Luis Castillo and Logan Gilbert shoved in Seattle against the Guardians.
Of course we are dealing with a very small sample size of innings, but I expect all of these studs to keep it rolling as we get into the middle of baseball's first full month.
Update: Cole looked fantastic in his second start against Philadelphia in the Bronx on Wednesday, Lopez was again dominant against his old team in Miami, Gausman and Castillo respectively put together scoreless outings, Strider racked up seven strikeouts, while the only blemish on his stat line was a three-run home run by Matt Carpenter this past Thursday night.
Stars Start off Hot with the Lumber: Yordan Alvarez and his hand seem to be alright, as he sent a ball 442 feet into orbit on Opening Night against the White Sox, Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani hit back-to-back bombs in Oakland during the opening weekend, Matt Olson hit two home runs on Saturday, April 1st against the Nationals, and Xander Bogaerts is so far working out well in San Diego.
To sum it up, I could go on and on talking about how the best of the best have gotten off to great starts, but I will save us all time and move on with the article.
Adam's Interesting Stat Line of the Week: Jack Flaherty vs. TOR: 5 IP, 7 BB, 4 SO, 0 H, 0 ER
Currently, I am typing this paragraph on Monday, April 3rd, nearly one week before publishing the post. With that said, I highly doubt I will come across a more interesting stat line for the opening week. So I decided to go with a combination of my gut instinct and Flaherty's odd, but rather effective pitching line.
The right-hander issued seven walks while allowing no hits to Toronto during the opening weekend. Never have I seen such a weird stat line before, as the Blue Jays were unable to plate any runs, even though they were given countless opportunities to do so.
Although Jack had trouble commanding his pitches he was able to get out of jams when he needed to, somehow escaping Toronto's threat of scoring.
Jack will be one to watch over his next several outings, as his walk rate I assume will decline quite a bit. At the end of the day, it may have been a few jitters to begin the year, but overall his command needs improvement, as he has the upside to return to ace form for the Cardinals in '23.
Update: Flaherty issued six walks in his second outing in Milwaukee on Friday, April 7th. Although this was a much more normal stat line in which he gave up two runs and a handful of hits, Flaherty's command still needs improvement. Walking 13 batters across two combined starts is not what you want to see, resulting in an inflated 1.70 WHIP.
Jack's next start will not be an easy one, as he travels to hitter-friendly Coors Field in a Wednesday night matchup.
Adam's Quick Observations From Week 1:
The Atlanta Braves have the best offensive lineup in baseball.
The Toronto Blue Jays ace is Kevin Gausman, not Alek Manoah.
The Baltimore Orioles are a force to be reckoned with.
The Texas Rangers offense may be better than expected.
The Philadelphia Phillies need to get on a roll sooner rather than later.
Freddy Peralta looks poised for a great season, health permitting of course.
Jeffrey Springs is an early AL Cy Young Candidate.
Brendan Donovan will have a career year.
Jhony Brito pitched extremely well in his debut with the Yankees.
James Outman has made a great first impression with the Dodgers.
Garrett Mitchell is here to stay in Milwaukee.
Dustin May looks amazing!!!
Eloy Jimenez finds himself yet again on the IL and it has only been a week.
Jason Vosler can hit a baseball very far.
Orlando Arcia is no fluke.
Watching Max Scherzer struggle in his first two outings is tough to watch.
Adam's Player of the Week for Week 1: Bryan Reynolds: Pittsburgh Pirates
Reynolds has socked five home runs through April 7th, while sporting a .448 average. Bryan feasted on Red Sox pitching early in the week at Fenway Park, as his hot streak has continued through Friday against Lucas Giolito and the White Sox, tallying six RBI's in the contest. As a result, Reynolds is my player of the week for Week 1.
Adam's Weekly Bullpen Report:
FanGraphs sparked this idea, as I am an avid reader of the online baseball site. Personally I think it is the best of the best when it comes to up-to-date baseball information and an overall very helpful resource. So if you have never heard of the site before, go check it out, I promise you, it will be worth it!
Although a similar headline the site uses, my version will be a bit different. Instead of telling you all who is available to come into relief for the current day, my version will simply be recapping what has gone down in the 'pen across the league over the last week.
Evan Phillips looks to solidify himself as the Dodgers closer, as he has looked the best among the other closing candidates (Graterol and Vesia) for Los Angeles.
Pierce Johnson looks to be the closer for now in Colorado, as Daniel Bard is on the IL due to anxiety.
Aroldis Chapman has looked awesome as a setup man to Scott Barlow in Kansas City. Although not having yet recorded a hold, he looks much more comfortable in two appearances than he did all of last season in New York with the Yankees.
The closing situation for the White Sox is a bit fuzzy at the moment. Reynaldo Lopez looked fantastic on Opening Night in Houston, nailing down the save chance while only allowing one run. He has since gone a little crazy as other high-leverage arms such as Aaron Bummer have looked better.
Although I do not think it will last, A.J. Minter has been stellar as the Braves closer. With Raisel Iglesias on the IL, through three appearances Minter has been lights-out, allowing no runs.
Adam's Injury Report:
Every so often I will provide injury updates on a few players. Below is the first edition of Adam's Injury Report for the 2023 season.
Padres starting pitcher Joe Musgrove is scheduled to make his 2023 debut soon, as he tossed 4.1 IP of two-run ball on 85 pitches in Triple-A this past Thursday evening. Striking out six, while only walking one, he may need one final minor league tune-up, but he should be ready to roll very soon. With that said, I would not be surprised if he was in San Diego this upcoming week.
Braves ace, Max Fried, looks to return within the coming weeks, as he is dealing with a hamstring strain.
Rays ace Tyler Glasnow is targeting a May return, as he is recovering from a left oblique strain. No official timetable has been announced, but a return in a month seems likely.
Lance McCullers Jr. is ahead of schedule according to his last update. Once fully healthy, he projects to take either Jose Urquidy or Hunter Brown's spot in the rotation sometime in May. As a Hunter Brown believer, I am hoping Urquidy will find himself in the bullpen.
Robbie Ray will be on the shelf for about five or so weeks, as he is dealing with a left flexor strain.
Justin Verlander and Triston McKenzie have similar shoulder injuries that will keep them out for at least all of April, if not longer.
Adam's Player of the Week: Bryan Reynolds: Pittsburgh Pirates
Reynolds has socked five home runs through April 7th, while sporting a .448 batting average. The Pittsburgh outfielder feasted on Red Sox pitching early in the week at Fenway Park, as his hot streak has continued through Friday back at home against Lucas Giolito and the White Sox. Reynolds tallied six RBI's in the contest and as a result, he is my Player of the Week for the Opening Week of the 2023 season.
Adam's Headlines and Questions for Week 2:
As we head into Week 2 of the baseball season I have provided some things that I will be looking for. Whether that be a bounce-back performance, my fantasy baseball thoughts, or even a few questions I may have. Basically it is just my jumbled up baseball thoughts as I do my best to make sense of them in an orderly fashion.
Can Corbin Burnes bounce-back on the west coast in a two-start week?
-My full attention will be on Burnes in Week 2, as he is scheduled for two starts, both on the west coast. A favorable matchup against Arizona as mentioned previously on Tuesday and a tougher start against the Padres over the weekend is on tap.
Favorable is a word that I do not like using. One, because Burnes is struggling, and two because everybody in the MLB is a professional baseball player. That said, I am keeping my expectations rather low on the right-hander until he gives us a good start. Fingers crossed, as he should figure it out soon.
Will Kyle Freeland continue his dominant start to the season?
- After back-to-back scoreless outings to begin the '23 campaign, Freeland will toe the rubber against the Cardinals on Tuesday at Coors Field.
Fantasy Baseball managers may want to sit him here or even drop him to the waiver wire, as he turned out to be a wonderful streaming option against the Nationals this past Thursday afternoon.
With this in mind, now we will truly get to see what he is made of against one of the top offenses in the National League.
Francisco Alvarez projects to make his New York Mets debut this week after being promoted from Triple-A due to the left calf injury of Omar Narvaez.
Mike Clevinger's next few outings will be worth watching, as he could return to form this season.
Adam's Two-Start Pitcher for Week 2:
Streaming starting pitchers is something that I think is both a challenge in that you have to plan ahead and can also be fun at the same time. Specifically in daily fantasy leagues, targeting matchups against favorable opponents is key. Each week I will give my two-start pitcher selection for the next seven days, as one-start streamers can be a bit easier to decide on.
Adam's Two-Start Pitcher for Week 2: Kenta Maeda: vs. CWS, @NYY
Maeda draws the White Sox on Monday and the Yankees in the Bronx over the weekend. Although a tough slate, Kenta looked good against Miami last time out, tossing five innings while only allowing one run. Having started him in one of my leagues, Maeda has been one of my top waiver wire adds thus far.
Another Two-Start Arm to Consider: Kyle Gibson: vs. OAK, @CWS
Adam's Hitters to Target:
Similar to above, I will suggest a team that has favorable hitting matchups for the upcoming week. Combining both opposing pitchers and where the team plays at are the main two factors I always look at and take into consideration.
St. Louis Cardinals: @COL, @PIT
The Cardinals have favorable hitting matchups next week, as firing up players such as Nolan Gorman and Brendan Donovan in fantasy lineups would be wise.
Final Thoughts: We have come to the end of my Opening Week Recap. With that said, I hope to get on a more consistent publishing schedule as we settle into the season. As always if you think I missed anything or did not cover something that should have been, please let me know!
Now, just sit back and relax, because Week 2 should be a fun one!
See you at the Ballpark!!!
Adam
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