11 HRs (!) and 16 ABS challenges (!). Plus: Uptick in catchers’ … groin-area injuries
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You wanted life in Las Vegas? This is what you get, A’s. Plus: finding All-Stars for the Yankees and Mariners, a check-in on early-season surprises and catchers sure are getting hit in the groin a lot more than they used to. I’m Levi Weaver — welcome to The Windup!
While You Were Sleeping: A’s get sneak peek of life in Vegas
The A’s won’t be in Nevada full-time until 2028, but this week they’re playing six games at Las Vegas Ballpark, currently the home of their Triple-A affiliate.
There are, of course, peccadilloes in any minor-league park. The hard infield dirt led to two misplays by Brewers shortstop Joey Ortiz in the third inning of yesterday’s game, which helped the A’s to a six-run inning. As noted by the Brewers broadcast, a second-inning double by A’s shortstop Alika Williams might have gone foul if not for the extremely arid Las Vegas air.
And then there were the home runs. Eleven of them.
Shea Langeliers hit a 483-foot home run to lead off the game. That’s the longest in MLB this year, giving him the two longest home runs in baseball this year (the previous high was 467 on April 15 against the Rangers). According to the broadcast, that was also the longest home run allowed by the Brewers in the Statcast era (2015-present).
Of all the home runs hit last night, the funniest came in the 10th inning, when William Contreras hit a home run and then fell right on his backside.
The final result, after 12 innings, was a 15-14 Brewers win. Adding to the chaos: The two teams set a new record with 16 ABS challenges.
I’m sure it’s not the wildest ride the city of Las Vegas has seen, but I suspect those new park factors are going to be pretty bonkers in coming years.
Middle Relief: Finding All-Stars in Power Rankings
In this week’s Power Rankings, we made a case for one All-Star per team. Here are the sections for our Nos. 4 and 5 teams, the 39-26 Yankees and 35-32 Mariners, respectively.
Yankees last Power Ranking: 3
The case for: LF Cody Bellinger
Aaron Judge is hurt, and so you might assume the Yankees lost their best hope to place an outfielder in the American League starting lineup. But, no, Bellinger has the highest fWAR among all AL outfielders. This should be his first All-Star selection since 2019. And we’re singling out Bellinger in part because we assume that everyone already knows that Ben Rice and Cam Schlittler belong on the AL roster. In fact, those two probably should be the starters at first base and on the mound. Max Fried is also in the mix for a roster spot, and don’t sleep on Jazz Chisholm Jr. making it. Chisholm hasn’t been great this year, but the second-base field is pretty weak in the AL, and Chisholm is top-two in fWAR at the position there. — Chad Jennings
Mariners last Power Ranking: 6
The case for: SP Emerson Hancock
It wasn’t that long ago that the Mariners were in the pitching-development business, making smart trades for young pitchers and getting All-Star value out of the draft, from the first round to the sixth. And while this was going on, the pitcher with the highest pedigree — Hancock, the sixth pick in 2020 — was looking like a Quad-A starting pitcher or a future middle reliever. He just couldn’t get over the hump.
Here he is on the other side, and goodness, is it much sunnier over here. The Mariners have several candidates, but Hancock is pitching like the first-round talent he always was. He could still end up having the best career out of any of the Mariners’ starting pitchers. — Grant Brisbee
For our full Power Rankings, head here.
Trend Check: What’s real in June?
Now that it’s mid(ish)-June, I thought it was worth checking in to see which early-season surprises have stuck, and which haven’t.
Still sticking:
- Central upstarts still winning: You could make a case for at least four White Sox to be All-Stars this year: Colson Montgomery, Miguel Vargas, Munetaka Murakami and Davis Martin. After three straight 100-loss seasons, the South Siders are now one of just five AL teams with a winning record, and are sitting in the second wild-card spot. Meanwhile, the Cardinals are 35-28, the Pirates are 34-32 and the Guardians offense hasn’t been nearly as anemic as it looked on paper on Opening Day.And the Brewers have yet again found a way to keep winning despite having traded away another star (Freddy Peralta to the Mets), thanks largely to co-aces Jacob Misiorowski and Kyle Harrison. Milwaukee leads the NL Central by 5.5 games, at 41-23.
- Red Sox, Mets, Giants, Tigers still flailing: None of these teams are closer than nine games (Tigers) out of a division lead. All four could have made an Opening Day case for being playoff teams, and three of the four (sorry, Giants) had legitimate division-winner dreams. The Giants have looked better lately, but they’re still eight games out of a wild-card spot.I stopped just short of adding the Astros here, for a couple of reasons. One, they’re two games over .500 since May 1. Yeah, they’re still six under .500, but in the AL West, that’s not a death sentence. They’re only 4.5 games behind Seattle. Not great, but there’s a sliver of hope.
Lost stickiness:
- Phillies, Mariners have righted the ship. After starting 16-19, the Mariners have battled back to the top of the AL West. They’re still just 35-32, but in the AL, that’s good enough to put their flag near the top of the pole. Meanwhile, after a disastrous start that cost manager Rob Thomson his job, the Fightin’ Don Mattinglys have gone 27-11. That’s the best record in baseball over that timeframe.Of note: The Phillies were 10.5 games behind the Braves in the NL East when they fired Thompson. Now they’re … nine games back. The Braves are really good.
- The Marlins, Rockies and Reds seem doomed again: It feels a little unfair to put the Reds here. They made the playoffs last year! But their hot start has fizzled, and they now find themselves in the cellar of the NL Central. Meanwhile, despite some early fits and starts of competence, the Marlins and Rockies are, yet again, quite bad.
Hazards: Catchers, protect your, um …
Back in 2023, I teamed up with C. Trent Rosecrans to write a story about how the Rangers and Reds sure did seem to have a lot of tall catchers. (In our defense, it was spring training, and not even close to the dumbest thing I’ve written from Surprise, Ariz.)
As part of that story, we touched on the still-relatively-new trend of catchers dropping to one knee to receive pitches:
“‘Longevity-wise and keeping your body healthy, it can help big-time,’ (Jonah) Heim said. ‘Especially if you have some knee or lower-back issues. I know for me, it helped out my lower back a lot.’
“The one-knee stance also has an added benefit: the ability to frame pitches by starting below the ball and working the glove upward to catch the pitch, making it look more like a strike to the umpire.”
One other byproduct nobody saw coming at the time: catchers getting hit in the nether regions a whole lot more than they used to.
Today, Zack Meisel has an exploration of that new danger, with quotes from a handful of catchers around the league who acknowledge that the foul balls have seemed a bit more like cup-seeking missiles in recent years.
“‘It (used to have to be) pretty much a perfect shot,’ said Tigers catcher Jake Rogers. ‘Now, you’re pretty much throwing it out there.’
“What’s worse is that just as catchers were becoming more exposed, they were also becoming more frequent targets. The spike in pitcher velocity and stuff over the past 15 to 20 years has brought with it an increase in foul tips, as hitters find it more difficult to square up a 102-mph heater or a 93-mph sweeper with 20 inches of horizontal break. They’re fighting off pitches to stay alive in at-bats, and catchers are collateral damage — foul tips have nearly doubled since 2008.”
Woof.
Handshakes and High Fives
After yesterday’s diatribe about acknowledging your mistakes, I should have expected an opportunity to practice what I preach, so … 🤦 … CORRECTION: While Max Kepler most recently played in Philadelphia, he has actually signed with the Diamondbacks.
Fans do not get a seat at the CBA negotiation table, but here’s your chance to weigh in on the labor fight.
Eno Sarris digs in on six pitchers who appear to have made big in-season changes. Will they translate to better results?
Kevin Alcántara is probably going to be a very good big leaguer. But for now, the 23-year-old is being sent down to Triple A in the wake of a brutal base-running error.
The last time Trey Mancini, 34, played in a big-league game, it was 2023 and he was a member of the Cubs. Last night, he made his Angels debut.
CJ Abrams and James Wood are the Gen Z leaders of the Nationals.
Most-clicked in our last Windup: Josh Naylor throwing his sliding mitt ahead of him before sliding into home plate.
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