1st-time HR Derby sluggers we want to see
There are certain sluggers we can’t get enough of in the T-Mobile Home Run Derby, which is set for July 18 at Dodger Stadium. Take two-time defending champion Pete Alonso of the Mets, who has proven beyond a doubt that he is built for this particular competition.
Yet it’s always...
The rookie with an old-school power fastball
Fastballs aren't so trendy these days, but Spencer Strider doesn't seem to mind.
Fewer than half the pitches in MLB are fastballs for the first time in the 15 years of the pitch-tracking era. Fewer than one in three pitches are a four-seamer for the first time since 2010. Meanwhile,...
Spencer Strider
Why Witt could be the next 5-tool star
Bobby Witt Jr. is really starting to put his tools on display -- all five of them.
The Royals' 22-year-old rookie phenom is up to 11 home runs, 12 stolen bases and a Major League-leading five triples; he's making defensive gems; and he has a great arm whether he's at...
Bobby Witt Jr.
To the moon! Ohtani rockets HR 118 mph, 462 feet
ANAHEIM -- Breaking records is something Shohei Ohtani does with some regularity. Sometimes, those records happen to be his own.
That was the case in the Angels’ 5-3 loss to the Mariners on Saturday at Angel Stadium. Facing the Mariners’ Logan Gilbert in the bottom of the third, Ohtani crushed...
Shohei Ohtani
Can Soto shake off another slow (for him) start?
Juan Soto’s start to the 2022 season hasn’t been exactly reflective of the “best hitter in baseball” moniker he’s earned over the last few years. His .215 batting average and .434 slugging percentage are not in the echelon we’ve come to expect of him. Of course, for a player like...
Juan Soto
Every team's hardest-hit home run
Baseball has always been a simple game. You throw the ball hard. You hit the ball hard. And sometimes, the ball is hit with such force that you can’t help but ask yourself, “Just how hard was that thing hit?!”
Thanks to Statcast, we now know the exit velocity of...
These 3 trade candidates are better than you think
Jorge Soler turned out to be one of the best acquisitions any team made last summer, but in the weeks leading up to the Trade Deadline, he was hardly anyone’s idea of a marquee trade target.
Soler had a .658 OPS when the Braves acquired him from the Royals on...
Tyler Mahle
Christian Walker
Joe Jimenez
Padres' offense celebrates Melvin's return
SAN DIEGO -- While he spent 10 days at home in COVID-19 protocols, Padres manager Bob Melvin didn't spend all that much time speaking directly with his players.
He texted and called sporadically, perhaps to explain a lineup decision, perhaps to check on an injury. But for the most part,...
Jorge Alfaro
Jose Azocar
Jurickson Profar
Mike Clevinger
This budding star is hitting like peak Ichiro
One base at a time, Luis Arraez is putting together a remarkable season that has little precedent in MLB history.
The Twins infielder owns a 160 OPS+ while slashing .361/.443/.439 this year, which means he’s been 60% better than the average hitter (adjusting for park factors).
Arraez leads the Majors...
Luis Arraez
Cron rips MLB's 2nd-longest HR of the year
DENVER -- It had been a long time since the Rockies’ C.J. Cron hit a ball a long way, but he hit one Friday night that made the Coors Field long-ball history list.
Cron’s two-run first-inning homer -- his first to the opposite field in right this season -- ended...
C.J. Cron
