Introduction: Welcome back, as I hope you all are doing well! Below, you will find the second edition of my weekly recaps for the 2023 baseball season (April 9th-15th). Anything from my reactions to how relievers fared across the league will be included. The headlines should remain the same each week, as I love to be consistent. With that being said, I hope you all enjoy reading my article!
Hunter Brown Twirls Gem in Twin Cities: Hunter Brown has quickly become one of my favorite young pitchers in the game. As mentioned in previous posts I really like the right-hander, as he has all the makings of being an ace for the Houston Astros in the coming years.
This past Easter Sunday Brown was straight dealing against the Twins in Minnesota, as his final stat line looked like this: 7 IP, 2 H 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K.
After a rather rough outing to begin the year against Detroit in which he gave up four runs in less than five innings of work, this was a nice rebound performance against a tougher Twins lineup. As you would imagine, I was overjoyed with his outing. Only two starts into the season and I can already tell I am going to love this kid for the foreseeable future.
One of my must-watch pitchers headed into the season, Brown will next toe the rubber on Saturday, April 15th against the Rangers in a home start. Of course I am always excited when it is his turn to pitch in the ultra-talented Houston rotation.
Update: Hunter Brown pitched yet another seven innings of scoreless baseball against the Rangers on Saturday, as he continues to show what he can do for Dusty Baker's club. Next is a tough road start against Atlanta, but at this rate it seems Brown should be started in all fantasy formats until further notice.
Adam's Interesting Stat of the Week: Ryan Mountcastle: Nine RBI on Monday vs. OAK
This stat came as a surprise to me earlier this week. Out of all the baseball players on the planet, Ryan Mountcastle really drove in nine runs in one game. Although when I think about it, it came against a team who honestly has no starting pitching, which can result in opposing offenses scoring more than they usually do. Still, this was quite an accomplishment, as Mountcastle set the Orioles franchise record for RBI in one game.
Adam's Quick Headlines and Reactions From Week 2:
Nick Lodolo is a true strikeout artist.
Andrew Heaney struck out nine Royals in a row in the big state known as Texas.
Wow, Luis Arraez hit for the cycle in Philadelphia.
The Phillies are Sandy Alcantara's kryptonite.
Corbin Burnes tossed eight scoreless innings in Arizona, as he bounced-back in a major way.
Jordan Walker keeps hitting despite Cardinals slow start.
Gerrit Cole has yet to give up a home run in three starts this season.
Kyle Freeland impressed once again in a tough no-decision on Tuesday evening.
David Bednar is the top closer in the National League.
The Tampa Bay Rays pitching staff is unstoppable.
Taj Bradley put together a solid debut outing in Tampa against Boston, striking out seven.
Drey Jameson looked dominant over four frames against Brewers, just needs pitch count built up to really make more of an impact.
Just call Franchy Cordero, "the Frenchman", as he has been hot to start the year.
Nolan Arenado loves hitting at Coors... I wonder why?
George Springer had his first walk-off hit as a Blue Jay on Wednesday.
Taylor Rogers really threw his glove away.
Max Muncy owns the Giants.
Brad Keller may actually not be that bad.
The Rays finally lost their first game of the season on Friday to the Blue Jays.
Austin Hays and Mauricio Dubon have to be two of the most underrated hitters currently.
Adam's Weekly Bullpen Report:
One of my favorite topics to write on each week are specific bullpen arms across the Majors. Below, you will find my notes on relievers from Week 2. Hopefully you will enjoy reading about them, as much as I did typing about them!
Ron Marinaccio: New York Yankees: Aside from the Yankees closer, Clay Holmes, personally I feel Marinaccio is one of the top non-closers in the game through two weeks. The right-hander does his job extremely well in high-leverage situations for Aaron Boone's club, as it is almost a given that he will end up with a hold, if given the opportunity. Being apart of the Yankees, his chances will come often.
James Karinchak: Cleveland Guardians: Karinchak was able to get out of a huge 8th inning jam against the Yankees this past Monday. In the process he was still able to preserve Shane Bieber's eventual win, while Karnichak himself received a much deserved hold for his efforts. Although he has struggled for the most part in the early stages of the campaign, this was one of the highlights so far for the right-handed reliever.
Jose Alvarado looks nearly untouchable as one of the high-leverage relievers who comes out of the Phillies bullpen. Consistently hitting 100 MPH, he looks to be "the man" for saves in Philadelphia at the moment and deservingly so. The other two candidates (Kimbrel and Dominguez) have for the most part
The Floro/Puk Debacle: Personally, I still have no idea what is going on in the Miami Marlins bullpen. Literally I wake up every morning and think to myself the following question: Who is it going to be today for a potential save chance, Dylan Floro or A.J. Puk?
Miami manager Skip Schumaker gives me a headache having to decide which reliever to pickup for fantasy baseball purposes. So I took matters into my own hands and just went ahead and added them both to my roster, because why not? That said, if you are in a saves/holds league I would not think it would hurt to add both until further notice.
Update: As of April 15th, A.J. Puk looks to be the closer for now in Miami. Of course, this could change in the next week. As a result I have a feeling I will be asking myself this question all season long.
Astros closer Ryan Pressly has not looked great, as he blew a save chance in Pittsburgh this past week thanks to Ji-Han Bae. Set-up man Bryan Abreu has looked the best, as his ERA and K rate are tops among Pressly and other set-up man, Rafael Montero. For now, I would think Pressly still has a firm grip on the closer's role, but keep an eye on the Houston bullpen this next week to see if anything were to change.
Adam's Week 2 Player of the Week: Max Muncy: Los Angeles Dodgers
Muncy's performance against the Giants early in the week was enough for me to give him Player of the Week honors for Week 2. Driving in seven on Monday and hitting a few home runs as well, Max seems to be settling in after a cold start to begin the year.
Adam's Week 3 Predictions and Questions:
As we look ahead to Week 3 of the baseball season I have included some fantasy baseball talk, questions I have for the week, and honestly just some random baseball thoughts I have for the week ahead.
Will Sonny Gray continue his hot start to the season?
Much like Kyle Freeland from last week's article, Gray has started off 2023 with a few fantastic starts, resulting in a 0.53 ERA. He enters this week with two starts upcoming. One, a road start against Boston and then a home start against Washington this upcoming weekend. The Twins hurler looked really impressive against the Astros last week, as it seems their lineup was flustered all day long in what ended up being a 13 strikeout performance from the right-hander.
Can Jarred Kelenic keep it up?
Jarred Kelenic was once a top prospect traded from the Mets to the Mariners in the Edwin Diaz deal a few years ago. After a few seasons of struggling, the left-handed bat seems to have finally found his footing. Kelenic blasted a 482 foot home run this week at Wrigley Field on Wednesday afternoon, as he seems to keep mashing baseballs up to this point.
Personally I am very curious to see if he can keep this up, as I think he is playing just as good, if not better than Julio Rodriguez through two weeks. Never in my life did I think I would type the previous statement, but here we are.
Jorge Mateo and Geraldo Perdomo deserve more credit than what they are receiving.
Adam's Two-Start Pitcher for Week 3: Kyle Freeland vs. PIT, @PHI
Freeland was apart of my Opening Week article from a week ago, as he has emerged once again. Having to decide on my Two-Start Pitcher selection for this week, I had to scroll down the slate quite a bit and finally landed on Freeland.
After considering the two matchups and how well the left-hander is performing, he was the arm who stood out to me the most. Of course in this part of the article I try to choose more of a streamer and not someone who you would obviously put into lineups each week, such as deGrom, Ohtani, Burnes, Wheeler, Gausman, etc.
Freeland begins the week at home against Pittsburgh who have not been that bad, taking it to the Cardinals over the weekend, although these are the matchups that we try to target or simply the easiest available. Over the weekend, Freeland squares off against the Phillies who have gotten off to a slow start, leading me to choose Kyle over other guys such as Alex Cobb, Tylor Megill, Drey Jameson, or Hayden Wesneski.
Adam's Hitters to Target for Week 3: Pittsburgh Pirates @ COL, vs. CIN
The Pirates have gotten off to a better start than in years past, as Bryan Reynolds is the best hitter on the team. Always a matchup at a hitter-friendly park, such as Coors Field is one reason to start Pirates this next week.
Given that Pittsburgh for the most part go up against favorable pitching matchups makes this an even more obvious choice to play at least Reynolds for the next week. Heck, even veteran Andrew McCutchen is swinging a hot bat as of late. That said, I know the Pirates do not have that many main fantasy assets, but if you have a few of them, consider playing them this week.
Final Thoughts: I hope you all have enjoyed reading my Weekly Recap for Week 2, as we are still very young into the 2023 campaign. As always, your support is greatly appreciated as it is very humbling that people take the time to read my posts. At the end of the day, I do this just as a hobby, as I love keeping up with baseball on a daily basis. Stay tuned for the next weekly recap, as it should be published sometime next weekend.
See you at the Ballpark!!!
Adam
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