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Today’s Headlines
Hey, Abbott!
Listen, we both know that Corbin Carroll is the NL Rookie Of The Year, but I’m just going to say that Andrew Abbott is also doing a pretty bang-up job.
8 innings of sheer dominance from @andrewabbott33‼️ pic.twitter.com/N0jtixvwOy
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) July 20, 2023
That lowers his season ERA to 2.10, and I think he’s such an interesting case:
He throws that fastball roughly 50% of the time to very good results thus far even though it doesn’t grade out particularly well by PLV or Stuff+, but he definitely has a plus slider and curveball, and he’s making it work for sure. He’s got a FIP of 4.08 of but an xERA of only 3.62, so I guess as long as you believe xStats more than FIP he figures to regress to a still above-average arm.
Oh, and lest you think we were going to get through a Reds highlight moment without Elly De La Cruz showing up? You know better than that.
99.8 MPH on that relay throw from @ellylacocoa18… pic.twitter.com/qmTEUCF5Yd
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) July 20, 2023
sOle Possession
Ok so I wrote about how the O’s were in first place in the AL East last night but that was only a tie for first place. Now it’s like, really first place after a 4-3 victory over the Rays. Like, alone in first place type of first place stuff.
chaO’s pic.twitter.com/mTnuXvGt74
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) July 21, 2023
It may be worth noting that the O’s still have six players in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospects list who aren’t with the big league team, so they could be in for some big trades to get even better before the summer’s out. Bird Bath attendees are gonna be soaked.
Unbelievably heads up play from Gunnar Henderson turning this into a triple! pic.twitter.com/OnY3yzQqQv
— Alex Fast (@AlexFast8) July 20, 2023
Best Moments From Yesterday
Double Triple
Yan Gomes has 24th percentile sprint speed.
Yan Gomes becomes the first Cub since 2018 to hit two triples in one game!@Yan_AGomes pic.twitter.com/KrYuW8K64J
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) July 21, 2023
It’s actually the fifth two-triple game of the 2023 season as a whole, but Gomes is the first Cub to do it since…Willson Contreras? What are they putting in the catchers’ water over there?
Also, prior to Thursday, Gomes had a total of eight triples in his entire career. Pretty cool to add 20% of your new career total of something in a single night.
Mr. 1500
Originally I was going to title this one “MD for XB” but I don’t think anybody calls Xander Bogaerts “XB” and I feel like there’s a vanishingly small number of people who know what “1500” is in Roman numerals.
Well anyway, X got his 1500th career hit yesterday up in Toronto:
Congratulations to Xander Bogaerts on reaching 1,500 career hits!#BringTheGold pic.twitter.com/QEFmruVm7s
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 20, 2023
Mr. 100
Bogaerts’ bat wasn’t enough to get the Padres a dub, however, as the Blue Jays shut them out 4-0, netting manager John Schneider a century of wins.
Congrats to John Schneider on his 100th career victory 👏👏👏
He ties Cito Gaston as the fastest in franchise history to reach the century mark! pic.twitter.com/IDBDcU9feI
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) July 20, 2023
May I Have This Dance?
And with that win, it also meant that Jays rookie Jordan Luplow got to put on his dancing shoes under the tutelage of Kevin Kiermaier.
Count on Kevin to teach the new guy 😂 #NextLevel pic.twitter.com/uU8FGve8qf
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) July 20, 2023
But Luplow wasn’t the only rookie who got to cut a rug out in the OF for the first time, as Seattle took down the Twins 5-0 and Cade Marlowe got to get low
.@CadeMarlowe's first dance 🥺 pic.twitter.com/ZmrWyh2oCA
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) July 20, 2023
The Known Unknowns
[THIS CONTENT CUT FOR BUDGETARY PURPOSES]
Think the A’s cut costs with the graphics person pic.twitter.com/b2sE5XXC6P
— Razzball (@Razzball) July 21, 2023
Injuries
Ryan Noda is looking at a 3-week timeline for his broken jaw. Not sure if that’s 3 weeks to be back in games, or until he can start baseball activities again, though.
Tommy Pham felt his groin “tighten up” on him Thursday and may end up on the IL.
Starling Marte is on the IL (retroactive to July 17) with migraine issues.
Jarred Kelenic broke his foot kicking a cooler following a strikeout on Wednesday night. Not sure of the timeline currently.
Articles You Should Read
Logan Allen Is Back in the Majors, And I’m A Little Freaked Out – Mike Baumann, FanGraphs
Fantasy Baseball Coverage
Reliever Ranks (Closers) (Holds)
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)