Freaks of the Week

 FOTW 7/14-7/20

By: Spent Brockman


Corbin Burnes, Milwaukee Brewers

Corbin must have gone into the All Star Break dejected. He had an ERA near 4 which is horrific by his standards. He had a below average 2.62 walk to strikeout out ratio. And most importantly he lost his name. He was no longer the Corbin of baseball with NL Rookie of the Year Corbin Carroll blasting into the spotlight and becoming the most recognizable Corbin in baseball. Well Burnes is not just going to rollover and take it as he came out of the break on absolute fire. He is back to looking like his old Cy Young self. First was a start against the Reds a team he has dominated the year but he took that domination to a new level striking out 13 reds over six scoreless innings and to top himself he shut down the Phillies over 8 more scoreless innings while again piling up the strikeouts with 10. With this strong start to the second half Burnes now has an K9 over 9 and an ERA under 3.50. Brewers have to hope this success continues because the ace's second half will be one of the most important factors in deciding the NL Central.


Josh Naylor, Cleveland Guardians

Following recent injuries to their top two pitchers, Shane Bieber and Triston McKenzie, the Guardians are a sinking ship and the Cleveland fanbase was spiraling. Enter Josh Naylor. In a season where big names like Jose Ramirez and Andres Gimenez have been largely disappointing, Naylor has had to step up in order to keep Guardians from completely sinking. Naylor did just that this week. Besides a brief pinch hit appearance on Wednesday, Naylor has hit safely in every game since the All Star Break. Even with all those hits it has not been his bat on ball skills that have been in the spotlight, it is his power. The big man mashed the ball this week launching 3 doubles and 4 homers. Those were not the only tools on display as the guy even stole a base. Even though the team is under .500 they are no were close to being out of the playoff race in a very weak AL Central so keep hit big man you are gonna need it.


Devin Williams, Milwaukee Brewers

Don't worry he did not have a good enough week to where he got hyped enough to celebrate by punching another wall. Let's hope those days are behind us. In his first full season as the Brewers full time closer, Williams continues to display how he has the best changeup in baseball. The big righty is carrying a stellar 1.69 ERA and a sub 1.00 WHIP. While his season strikeout rate is below incredible career average he is still carrying an impressive 12.5 K9. This week has to be near the peak of his season though as he was able to rack up 4 saves to go along with his 7 strikeouts. Like Burnes earlier, Devin Williams will play a crucial rolein the Brewers ability to secure the division crown.


CJ Abrams, Washington Nationals

One of the center pieces of the Juan Soto trade from a year ago, Abrams was always heralded as a future MLB starter with sneaky superstar potential. Well he is definitely starting to show he is more than just a starter. While in the first half Abrams carried a pedestrian .245 average, he still showed power and speed hitting 26 XBHs and stole 14 bases. Well as the second half has rolled into action, the shortstop has wanted to put all his tools on display as he has reached base safely in every game so far while hitting .360. And do not worry he has not lost his power or speed either compiling 3 XBHs and 4 more steals. This uptick in production correlated with a recent move into the leadoff spot of the lineup and the move has looked to work out perfectly. If this truly is the player that Abrams is, the Nationals' future may not be a dismal and it looks.


Nick Pivetta, Boston Red Sox

If you were someone who paid attention to the Red Sox over the first half of the season, this is the last name you would have expected to see on this list. Pivetta began the year in the rotation but as Paxton and company worked their way back into the rotation Pivetta was the odd man out. The fiery righty did not take the move in stride adding to a little bit of static around Boston. Coming out of the All Star Break it is looking like Pivetta might have finally embraced his role. While he is no longer starting for the team, Pivetta has become a bulk reliever and he has looked really good his past couple times out. In a 6 inning appearance against the As Pivetta earned the win while striking out 13 without surrendering a single run. Now I would not expect this to be the norm for the pitcher as this was his second start against the lowly As in a 10 day period, if he shows up ready to play on daily basis he should have decent rest of the way to help the Red Sox try to make a run in the ultra competitive AL East.

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