Freaks of the Week

FOTW 6/30-7/6

By: Spent Brockman


Pablo Lopez, Minnesota Twins

A trade that went relatively under the radar this past offseason looks to have been one of the most mutually beneficial transactions in recent memory. The Twins and Marlins swung a trade with both trading from positions of strength Lopez and Luis Arraez swapped clubs and neither team is complaining. While Arraez is currently leading all of baseball in batting average and hits, Lopez has been anything but a slouch. The former Marlin has been as consistent as they come for starting pitchers as he is top 20 and top 10 in the AL in ERA and WHIP respectively while being second in strikeouts. Lopez's stellar season was highlighted by a strong week. Starting on Friday with a start against the Orioles was his usual strong self; apart from a solo homer given up to Rutschman in the sixth, Lopez went six innings of near perfect ball and struck out six. Even though the righty was good on Friday, that start paled in comparison to the outing he had on Wednesday against the Royals. Lopez had the start of his career against the Royals pitching a complete game shutout while striking out 12. Lopez's strong week has led to an ERA under 4 and a K9 of 11.2 on the season, the Twins starter will look to keep his success going as we roll into the second half of the season.


Logan Gilbert, Seattle Mariners

Lopez was not the only pitcher to have an incredible outing this week as the current/future Mariner ace joined the shutout club. The young righty shutout a hot Giant team on the road, a great way for him and the Seattle fans to celebrate the 4th of July. The outing could not have happened at a better time for the youngster as he had been having an up and down month getting blown up by the likes of the Nationals and Angels. But Tuesday was a different story. Riding the spirit of a Bald Eagle, Gilbert needed just 105 pitches to collect 7 whiffs while only allowing 5 hits. Even though Gilbert has been inconsistent at times this year, he has to be one of the biggest all star snubs but that is mainly due to him living in the shadows of teammates Luis Castillo and George Kirby who are both having career years. Given the prowess of this Mariner rotation, it is a shame their efforts have been wasted on a lackluster offense leading to a record that continues to hover right around 500 at the midpoint of the season.


Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers

Yelich is long past his MVP form as he was one of the most feared hitters in all of baseball, but this season has been a bit of bounce back for the lefty. Yelich has not only just hit safely in all 6 of the games he played in this week but he also had 4 multi hit games while straying balls to all parts of the yard resulting in 4 XBHs while totaling 11 hits over the week. His impact has not only been felt with his bat either as he has been electric on the basepaths adding 3 steals to his season total of 21. For a Brewer team that has failed to deliver on their offensive expectations this year, Yelich hitting .287 to go along with his pop and speed is exactly what the team needs to push the jumpstart Reds for first in a wide open NL Central.


Ryan Pressly, Houston Astros

The Astro closer has not been the usual strikeout monster he has been in the past as his K9 is down almost 2 points from his career norms, but he seems to have traded his nastiness for efficiency. The righty has been great at limiting baserunners and getting out of innings quickly with a 2.58 ERA and .84 WHIP the closer has been nothing but effective. This past week might be the crescendo of his season, across 4 outings the closer did not allow a single baserunner while compiling 5 strikeouts and 4 saves. This week is a continuation of the Astro's strong form as following the 4 scoreless outings he is riding a 9 game scoreless outing streak. For an Astro team looking to make yet another deep playoff push, it is crucial they have the 9th inning locked down and as long as Pressly is happy and healthy the team will be in great shape.


Andres Gimenez, Cleveland Guardians

After Gimenez blasted onto the scene last year when he nearly had a 20/20 season while hitting just under 300, the expectations for the young Venezuelan were sky high. Maybe the pressure of the expectations got to him a little bit as he has struggled to start the season hitting far below his career average and lacking the power speed combo that built up the hype around him in the first place. But July is a new month and it looks like Andres has turned a new page as he hit safely in every game so far this month while also swatting 2 doubles, 2 homers and swiping 6 bags. Hopefully this is the start of a new trend rather than a blip on radar because the AL Central is completely up for grabs and the Guardians need someone besides Ramirez to step up and seize the crown.

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