American League notes
Baltimore: Colton Cowser, the fifth overall pick in the 2021 draft, has banged his way into an everyday role, with an early line – .373, a .411 on-base percentage, a 1.195 OPS – that has all the caveats of mid-April attached yet comes with underlying statistics that portend another superstar budding in Baltimore. “What does he profile as?” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde wondered last week. “Someone who can do a little bit of everything – give you a good at-bat every time, have a chance to go deep, to take a walk, to run the bases well and play three spots in the outfield.” In short? “That’s a really good major league player.”
Boston: The biggest surprise this season has been the Red Sox starting rotation. The starters’ 1.72 ERA is the franchise’s lowest through 21 games since 1920 and the second lowest by any team since 2000, according to Elias Sports Bureau . ... Coolest call-up of the week: Red Sox 31-year-old LHP Cam Booser, who made his major league debut April 19. Booser, who quit baseball in 2017 and became a carpenter, returned to baseball in 2020 and pitched for the independent Chicago Dogs in 2021. He pitched last season for Class AAA Worcester (Mass.). ... Dave McCarty, a first baseman and outfielder on the Red Sox 2004 team that won the World Series, died April 19 in Oakland, California. He was 54. The Red Sox announced his death and said it was caused by a “cardiac event.” In his career, McCarty played in 630 games, compiling a .242 average with 36 home runs and 175 RBI. He worked as a analyst for NESN from July 2005 through the 2008 season.
Chicago: The White Sox knew it would be a rough season, but they never envisioned this nightmare. They have been shut out seven times this season, the most by any team in the first 19 games since at least 1900.
Cleveland: The Guardians (16-6), owners of the best record in the American League entering the week, completed the sweep of the Oakland Athletics on April 21 at Progressive Field. 1B Josh Naylor has been among the hottest hitters in baseball to start the season. After the April 21 win over the A’s, in which Naylor cleared the bases with a three-run double, his 187 wRC+ (an offensive metric focused on overall value to a lineup, with 100 being average) was seventh in the game. He was hitting .325/.393/.623 and had 20 RBI in 21 games in which he’s played. By far and away, Naylor has been the best hitter in a lineup that includes Jose Ramirez.
Detroit: RHP Casey Mize competed his way to completing a scoreless start of at least six innings for the first time in more than 1,100 days, and when the Tigers finished last Sunday’s 6-1 win over the Twins, he recorded his first win in nearly 1,000 days. Mize, who turns 27 on May 1, missed all of last season while rehabbing from elbow and back surgeries, but this season he is finally back as a competitor on the mound. In four starts Mize has a 2.95 ERA with six walks and 16 strikeouts across 211⁄3 innings. Mize previously described his back surgery – which occurred after Tommy John surgery to reconstruct the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow – as a lifechanging procedure. Back surgery led to new mechanics. New mechanics created more fastball velocity with more ride. Mize added 20 pounds – mostly muscle – in the long rehab process. “I had to convince my brain, ‘It’s OK, it doesn’t hurt, you can move this way,’ ” he said. “We did months and months of work on that.”
Houston: So, just what did Astros Cy Young winner Justin Verlander say to his teammates after they lost 14 of their first 20 games? “Pretty much, get our heads out of our asses,” utility man Mauricio Dubon told reporters. Verlander took care of matters on his own when he made his season debut April 19 with six strong innings, leading the Astros to a 5-3 victory in Washington . ... The Astros had already used a major league-leading 22 pitchers at press time. They employed 22 pitchers the entire 2022 season when they won the World Series.
Kansas City: The Royals were shut out for the first time this year April 21 by the Orioles and dropped four of six in the season series. They have not won a series from the Orioles since Aug. 30Sept. 1, 2019, having lost six and split two series . ... OF MJ Melendez homered and drove in four runs in a 9-4 Royals win April 19. Melendez snapped a 0-for-23 skid with a two-out RBI single to ignite a five-run sixth inning.
Los Angeles: Now that Angels reliever Robert Stephenson is out for the year, the team will have a $2.5 million club option on Stephenson in 2027. The Angels made sure to protect themselves with Stephenson’s three-year, $33 million contract in case he missed most of a season. It was similar to the five-year, $82.5 million deal that John Lackey signed with the Boston Red Sox in 2009 that added a year at the league minimum if he missed a season because of an arm injury . ... Certainly, it’s much easier to steal bases these days with the new rules than in the past, but still it’s hard to believe
Mike Trout stole five bases in 17 days after stealing five bases in the previous 1,325 days.
Minnesota: The Twins dropped two of three games to Detroit during a home series last week, including a 6-1 loss on April 21. Austin Martin’s first career home run, in the ninth inning, prevented a shutout. Minnesota had lost six of its last seven contests entering the week. Only the downtrodden White Sox have prevented the reigning American League Central champions from occupying the cellar. “We’ve got some guys who took their shirts off and their jerseys off and they’re in (the cage) hitting right now,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “That kind of tells you the way things are going at the moment. They’re not going the way we want.”
New York: Former Yankees OF Bernie Williams spent several weeks at their spring training camp and believed there was no way this team would be sitting home in October for a second consecutive season. “I could sense something really special about this team with the camaraderie they have,” Williams says. “They seem to be very committed to erasing the bad taste from their mouth after not making the playoffs last year.” And, just like everyone else in New York, he’s certainly going to miss beloved Yankee announcer John Sterling, who had his retirement ceremony last weekend. “He was the voice of our team, our generation,” Williams said. “He had a great understanding of the culture of the team and the camaraderie between the players. He was tough, but he was fair. And he was part of so many iconic calls.” Yep, just like his first signature home run call, “Bernie goes boom! Bern Baby Bern.” Says Williams: “I still hear that all of the time. ‘It is high! It is far! It is gone! Bernie goes boom!’ ”
Oakland: Three straight losses to the Guardians – who outscored Oakland 22-7 – ended a rare burst of momentum for the Athletics, who entered a 10-game road trip with seven wins in 11 games after a 1-7 start. The A’s were scheduled to close the road trip about against the Yankees and Orioles. “This is a tough test going into New York and Baltimore,” Oakland right-hander Ross Stripling said. “We’re not going to back down.”
Tampa Bay: Amed Rosario extended his hitting streak to 14 games in an April 22 game against the Tigers. “It does seem like every time we’re doing something good offensively that Rosie’s right in the thick of all of it,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said.
Seattle: The Mariners host a threegame series this weekend against the Diamondbacks, who have not been to Seattle since 2021. The series will hold extra significance for Arizona OF Corbin Carroll. Carroll grew up in Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood and attended Lakeside School, where he became a nationally known prospect as a high schooler. Carroll returned to his hometown for last year’s All-Star Game, in which he started for the National League, but he has not played a regular-season game at the Mariners’ T-Mobile Park.
Texas: The Rangers privately believe that three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer, who has been recovering from herniated disk surgery, could be back by mid-May, a month ahead of schedule.
Toronto: The Blue Jays have ridden Daulton Varsho’s power in winning six of their past eight games at press time. Varsho had accounted for 10 of Toronto’s 35 runs in that span. “I’m having a better understanding of where my swing’s at and not missing my pitch when it’s there, and having a better plan,” Varsho says. “It’s about being able to slow it down and square it up.” Varsho had five homers and 11 RBI in his past nine games. “His swing is in a really good spot,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. “He is really playing at a high level.”