Freaks of the Week

 FOTW 6/23-6/29

By: Spent Brockman

Domingo German, New York Yankees

Man the Spider Tack sure does work wonders huh? I kid, I kid. But it has finally happened, not only did we get our first no hitter of the season but the first perfect game in over a decade. Normally an accomplishment like this is heralded across the league and viewed as a boon for baseball as a whole but enter Domingo German. The Dominican pitcher's career has been marred by controversy, most seriously a domestic violence incident. Now I am not here to invalidate his accomplishments on the basis of his questionable character nor am I here to complain about those who do; but I would be remiss if were not to at least mention the mixed opinions attached to this highlight as it is important context in understanding why this accomplishment might be pushed under the rug by a significant portion of the baseball community. Now that I have gotten my enlightened centrist take out of the way, let's actually get to the baseball at hand. This performance seemingly came out of nowhere as the Yankee pitcher got shelled in his last two outings as he gave up 15 earned runs over 5.1 innings, but the best remedy to that type of inconsistency is a trip to Oakland. German attacked the strike zone early and often challenged As hitters to make solid contact with his pitches, a strategy that turned out to be a successful one. His persistent attacking of the strike zone led to a 73% strike rate and allowed him to keep his pitch count in check and go the distance with a miraculous 99 total pitches. German definitely benefited from facing the As in their spacious stadium so it is a longshot to expect the Yankee to put another performance like this together.

Ronald Acuña Jr, Atlanta Braves

When the Braves go 5-1 over the week, you know Ronnie had a big part in that success. In a season where Acuña has already climbed his way to the pinnacle of the baseball world, Ronnie continues to one up himself. 4 homer, 4 steals, need I say more? Not to mention he has now extended his hitting streak to 10 games. If Ronnie was hitting a little lower in the lineup, he would not only be in contention for the triple crown but maybe the first ever quadruple crown as with how often he has been getting on base of late he is also racking up the steals. Before Acuña ever reached the majors everyone knew this type of player was not just a possibility for him but an inevitability; and I and baseball fans as a whole should be glad that a player like this exists because he only brings more eyes to baseball and more eyes lead to a better baseball product.

Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels

That's right we got both of the MVPs on this list. (Please don't let me look back at this as a jinx on the two) Ohtani did everything you could want and more this past week. Where to start? Let's go with the pitching. In his Tuesday start against the White Sox the Japanese prodigy was on top of his game. The right handed pitcher mystified Sox hitters striking out 10 while only giving up a single run in the 7th when he had already been pulled from the game so is it really his fault? Now on to the main Sho, his hitting. Ohtani is red hot at the plate putting up 14 hits, 2 of which were triples and 5 left the park. Sho's success at the plate is not coming out of nowhere as since the calendars turned to June a new Ohtani was born as the star left handed hitter has nearly doubled his season home run count hitting an Angel record 14 homers in the month of June. It is crazy to think there was a period over the offseason where there were multiple credible rumors that Ohtani would not be wearing an Angel Jersey this year, but with hindsight being 20/20 it safe to say the Angels made the right decision in keeping him as no package they could have received would have come close to the value they are getting out of Ohtani.

Jesus Luzardo, Miami Marlins

The Lizard King may finally be ready to grace the throne. The former top prospect was expected to ascend to acehood at some point or another as the southpaw featured a strong high velo fastball that he pairs with a devastating slider, a combination that translates to long term success especially when implemented with a pitch like a changeup to keep hitters off balance. While most scouts expected this strong repertoire to translate to immediate big league success, this was not the case. When Jesus first came up to the majors he struggled to consistently find the strikezone as he continually had a BB9 around or north of 4 and allowing free passes is never a recipe for success. The constant traffic on the bases was the crux of Luzardo's game at the time as he was never able to find a rhythm and work deep into games. Last year was the beginning of Luzardo taking the next step but it was not until this year have we seen Jesus's true potential showing through with his BB9 now barely over 2. Luzardo's development into a legitimate big league pitcher was on full display this past week, the electric lefty had starts against the Pirates and Red Sox which he absolutely dominated not allowing a single run over 13.1 innings while striking out 18 batters. Given the struggles of Sandy Alcantara, the Marlins could not be more relieved that Luzardo has begun to ascend to reach the potential many etched out for him years ago.

Kirby Yates, Atlanta Braves

The one time All Star and saves leaders had declined to a relative afterthought over the past 5 years. Thanks to struggles by AJ Minter, the Braves were in need of a reliever to step into high leverage situations and plug the holes left by Minter's early season implosion. It looks like they have found their guy. Yates's ability to succeed no matter the situation was shown throughout this past week with the 36 year old able to record a win, hold, and save this week giving Brian Snitker confidence that no matter when he calls on Yates's number the wily veteran will be up to the task. Yates's resurgence into a high leverage pitcher has been on the back of his ability to miss bats as over the past week he was able to pile up 9 Ks over just 4 appearances while only allowing two opposing hitters to reach base. If Yates can keep this kind of production up over the rest of the season he will form a formidable late inning duo with Raisel Iglesias making the already deadly Braves even deadlier.