Freaks of the Week

FOTW 6/16-6/22

By: Spent Brockman

Blake Snell, San Diego Padres

This man may be the next Nostradamus. Back in 2012 on his hit feature "Rising Stars" the then baby faced Snell hit us with the coldest line "so I look through my glasses and what do I see? Your boy B Snell is tearing up this league", a little more than a decade later and that line has never been truer. But in all seriousness, when the Padres traded for Snell two seasons ago giving up a plethora of top prospects this is the version of Snell they were expecting to receive. The Padres' current top pitcher took the mound twice this week and he somehow was able to take his game to an even higher level. First, Snell faced the ever dangerous Rays and completely dominated them only allowing 2 hits and striking out 12. Next, he took on the red hot Giants who were riding an epic 10 game winning streak but Snell quickly ended hopes for the continuation of that streak. The lefty continued his torrid strikeout streak piling up 11 more while contributing 6 more scoreless innings to extend his scoreless streak to 18.2 innings. Although Snell still carries a losing record and an ERA over 3, this hot streak has landed the Padre on the early season shortlist for NL Cy Young consideration.

Justin Turner, Boston Red Sox

A year ago it would have been hard to imagine Turner ever wearing another jersey besides the Dodger uniform. But here we are now with Turner on the exact opposite side of the country and having a little bit of a resurgence in his age 38 season. The Red Sox DH has been able to quickly adapt to his new environment as he is now on pace for career highs in doubles, homers, RBIs, and steals; an impressive feat for a player who had been a cornerstone for a top Dodger lineup for the better part of the past decade. Turner's impressive season continued this week as he put together 4 multi hit games while displaying his power with 3 doubles and 3 homers. For a Red Sox team that is in the strange position of having a winning record but being dead last in their division Turner will need to continue to display his increased hitting ability to try to scratch their way into a playoff spot in the unruly AL East.

Joe Ryan, Minnesota Twins

Coming into the season if you were to ask around the league who fans thought had a top 5 rotation in all of baseball I doubt many would say the Twins even in Minnesota. But here we are with July quickly approaching as the Twins have surely cemented themselves as a top 5 rotation with Sonny Gray, Pablo Lopez, Bailey Ober, and their ace Joe Ryan. The Twins' ace's pitching arsenal was on full display as he went on to pitch a complete game shutout against the Red Sox only allowing 3 hits and striking out 9. The shutout was a great rebound for the righty as he got shelled for 6 runs against the lowly Tiger lineup last time out but any issues that caused that poor outing seem to have been addressed. With an underperforming Twin lineup, they will need more games like this out of Ryan and their stacked rotation if they want to hold their position atop the struggling AL Central.

Eddie Rosario, Atlanta Braves

This is just unfair. With a lineup that already features the like of Sean Murphy, Matt Oslon, Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley, Marcell Ozuna and the MVP favorite Ronald Acuna, to get production like this out of a player like Eddie Rosario goes to show why the team is in the midst of an 8 game winning streak. The longtime Twin came over to the Braves a couple years ago but never reached the hitting prowess he displayed with Minnesota, but early in this season he is starting to find his old swing again. The outfielder's resurgent bat was red hot this past week as aside from an 0 for against Phillies ace Aaron Nola on Thursday, Rosario connected on 8 hits across his four other games while also using some power to poke 4 balls over the fence. After the hot week, Rosario is now at 13 homers on the season which would put him on pace for 28 homers which is a crazy number for a six hole hitter on an already stacked lineup. With the help of Rosario, the Braves are the deepest team in the National League making it look like whoever wants a shot at the pennant will have to go through Atlanta.

Braxton Garrett, Miami Marlins

Garrett is continuing to make the Marlins' talent evaluators look foolish. Following a fairly successful season last year, the Marlins did not see Braxton being a big part of the team's future plans resulting in the lefty being left out of the early season rotation. After Johnny Cueto quickly landed on the IL, the Marlins were forced to turn to Garrett and what a blessing in disguise that turned out to be. Since his implementation into the Marlin rotation, he has proved to be their most consistent and reliable starter. Garrett's consistency was in the spotlight over the past week. First he took on the Nationals, where he put together a quality start only allowing a run while striking out 8 going on to win the game. Braxton finished the week with a bit of a cake walk against the floundering Pirate team who had lost 9 straight. The Pirates were not up to the task as Garrett was in complete control over 7 innings only allowing 1 earned run and striking out a season high 13 batters. While it is unlikely the stars will align for Garrett to get a week against MLB lowlifes like these two again, Garrett is a formidable pitcher regardless of opponent and the Marlins have to be thanking their lucky stars that Cueto went down when he did to open up a spot for the dynamic lefty.