Freaks of the Week

FOTW 9/8-9/14


Blake Snell, San Diego Padres

Snell looks to have just put the bow on his Cy Young campaign. Coming into the week, Snell had the toughest week a pitcher could have. He had two starts against two of baseball's top offenses, the Astros and Dodgers. Snell was nothing but spectacular, he went 6 innings and struck out 8 batters in both starts and only gave up a combined 2 earned runs on the week. Barring any unforeseen changes, Blake Snell is the NL CY Young in 2023. While Padres fans have to be disappointed by the team failing to make the postseason, Snell taking home this major hardware to San Diego will help fans cope with the pains of this disappointing season.

Corey Seager, Texas Rangers

Corey Seager has to at least be slightly frustrated that he coexists with the Shohei Ohtani era because he would be a serious MVP candidate in most years. Seager is hitting a ridiculous .344 and slugging the ball too hitting 40 doubles and 31 homers. Seager continued his MVP form this week, finishing the week with 11 hits over his last 5 games while also smashing the ball with 5 doubles and 3 homers on the week. Seager has shown he is worth every penny the Rangers gave him in 2022. Once the Rangers pitching gets healthy next year, Seager and this potent Rangers offense will be one of baseball's best teams.

Pablo Lopez, Minnesota Twins

Pablo Lopez continues to be a boom or bust pitcher as he has a bunch of games where he pitches 7+ innings and a bunch where he gets hit around for 3+ ERs. This week was a boom week for Lopez as he was in full control over the Mets on Sunday. Lopez went 8 innings without allowing a single run and he was able to strikeout Met hitters at will compiling 14 on the day. The addition of Pablo Lopez has been a boon for the Twins so hopefully this solid first year with the team is only the beginning of good things to come.

Ronald Acuna, Atlanta Braves

After a buzz spread around the MLB that Mookie Betts has passed Acuna in the MVP race, he played with anger over the last week. Acuna dominated any pitcher he faced, reaching base 18 times over the week and scoring at least once in every game. Acuna's elite combo of speed and power was on full display as he hit three bombs and swiped an additional three bags. Mookie Betts is having a strong year, but Acuna is my choice for NL MVP.

Brandon Woodruff, Milwaukee Brewers

Woody's return from the injured list has been a godsend for the Brewers. Over the past month, Woodruff has established himself as the team's ace and has consistently displayed nearly unhittable stuff. Woodruff's latest installment of utter dominance came against the Marlins. From the very first pitch, you could tell Woodruff was ready to shut down the Marlins and go the distance. Woodruff did just that pitching his first complete game shutout of the season while striking out 7. The Marlins are not schlubs so if Woodruff can completely shut down an offense like them, teams need to take notice of the challenges a playoff series against the Brewers presents.

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