Freaks of the Week 5/19-5/25

Freaks of the Week 5/19-5/25

By: Spent Brockman

Christopher Morel, Chicago Cubs

Mans still hot. While his impressive 13 game hitting streak to start the season came to an end on Thursday against the Mets, it is not the regular base hits that landed Morel on this list; it is the homers. Morel had much of Chicago and the baseball community as a whole on the edge of their seat throughout the week as the young spark plug put together a 5 game home run streak. While he ultimately did not come close to pushing the Kid for the all home run streak, a streak like this is undoubtedly impressive especially for a player who started the season in the minors. As Morel continues to show out he has one element of his game that is still yet to be proven which is his ability to consistently put together quality at bats and avoid the strikeout lows that has plagued his young career.

Michael Kopech, Chicago White Sox

Is it finally happening? The one time highly touted "can't miss" prospect finally might be putting it all together. Acting as the centerpiece in the trade that sent Chris Sale from Chicago to Boston, the start of Kopech's big league career has been anything but ideal. Aside from a brief stint of success as a setup man early in his career, Kopech's career has been marred by a slew of injuries and inconsistency since his debut in 2018. The start of this season was no different as through his first 8 starts Kopech gave up 27 earned runs while only striking out 41 batters. Kopech's struggles to start the year lead many on the south side to feel that Kopech would never be a real viable option in the rotation resulting in growing grumblings that a move to a bullpen may be what is best for everybody. Kopech took these criticisms to heart and a new man has been born. Over a two start week, Kopech has been the best pitcher in baseball with starts against division rivals Guardians and Royals; Kopech compiled 15 scoreless innings while baffling hitters to the tune of 19 strikeouts doing all this while only allowing a TOTAL of 4 opposing batters to reach base across the two starts. Let's hope this is an indication of future success instead of a fluke because baseball is just better when a player like Kopech succeeds.

JD Martinez, Los Angeles Dodgers

After losing longtime franchise cornerstones Justin Turner and Cody Bellinger along with the table setter Trea Turner, Martinez was brought in as a stopgap on a one year deal to help fill out the Dodger lineup following their key departures. Martinez's main draw is his slugging as he is long past the days of hitting over .300 and Martinez has done a good job of filling that role hitting 23 XBHs in just 35 games. The past week was a crucial one for the Dodgers as they took on two of the NL's best offenses in the form of the Cardinals and Braves so the Dodgers were going to need every run they could get. With the pressure of these pivotal series weighing on the Dodgers, Martinez rose up to the occasion as he would register a hit in all six games while hitting .400 across the week and added some pop with 6 clutch XBHs resulting in 6 runs scored and 9 RBIs. While Dodger fans should not expect Martinez to be the driving force behind the team's star studded lineup, anytime the aging veteran can put together a strong week like this good things will happen for the team. 

Bryce Miller, Seattle Mariners

Including a player who went 1-1 over the past week may seem a little brash, but this entry is more a long term endorsement instead of a celebration of short term success. The young 24 year old was promoted on May 2nd touted as the Mariners' top prospect and he has gone on to prove all those who foresaw his big league success correct. The young right hander did suffer his first loss of his career this past week, but it was no fault of his own as he was facing the vaunted Braves lineup and still turned in an impressive start, totaling 6.1 innings giving up only 3 runs running into trouble in the 7th as he would leave the inning with the lead but was removed with two runners on base who would ultimately come around to score and hand Miller the loss. Miller took the loss on the chin as he bounced back with a stellar outing against the lowly As lineup shutting them out over six innings to go along with six strikeouts and a dub. The latter start of the week seems to be more in line with the player that Miller truly is as through his young 5 start career, the youngster has put together 3 scoreless outings to go along with his 1 run big league debut. For a team already burgeoning with a young core of pitching, Miller just makes the rich richer and will make the Mariner rotation a formidable force for years to come.

Kyle Finnegan, Washington Nationals

In what already seems to be a lost season for the last placed team in the stacked NL East, it is important to celebrate the small victories. Finnegan definitely had a week worth celebrating, the 31 year old reliever had a near perfect week. Across 4 outings, Finnegan was the anchor of the National bullpen, locking down two saves while also contributing 2 holds. Finnegan totaled 4.2 innings striking out 6 batters and only allowed two batters to reach base via a walk and a hit. Given the team's lack of true options, Finnegan should be on the shortlist to be the Nationals' lone all star representative but season long success should not be expected out of the middling veteran reliever.