Snake Bytes 5/16: Ejected...

Diamondbacks News

[SI] Diamondbacks Prospects Three Up, Three Down: May 8th-14th

LHP Blake Walston (No. 7)

Walston bookended the Tacoma series with wins for the Reno Aces. In two starts, he was 2-0 with a 2.77 ERA and a 14/3 strikeout to walk ratio in 13 innings. After struggling with walks in his earlier starts, he was very effective pitching near sea level in Tacoma. It’s difficult to evaluate a player pitching in the Pacific Coast League, with high elevation parks in Reno (4500), Albuquerque (5300), El Paso (3700), and Salt Lake (4200) along with the desert climate of Las Vegas inflating offense. The high elevation takes inches off a pitch’s movement, which may be causing Walston’s strikeout and walk rates to significantly drop this season.

3B/1B Deyvison De Los Santos (No. 12)

De Los Santos hit .150 with a .592 OPS despite playing at Hodgetown this week. The strikeout to walk ratio was better at 5/3, but it’s also worth noting he has struck out much more frequently on the road than at home. De Los Santos is nearly a full year younger than Lawlar, and has shown an improvement in strikeout and walk rates compared to last season. But his .189 batting average with just three home runs on the year is disappointing nonetheless.

[AZCentral] Merrill Kelly dominates A’s then gets ejected as D-Backs win again

“I didn’t think I was being too vulgar — until after he threw me out,” Kelly said. Evidently, Bailou disagreed. Given Kelly had already been removed from the game, his ejection held little tangible meaning. It did provide him an opportunity to sound off on the original check swing ruling.

Baseball News

[fangraphs] Alek Manoah is Falling Apart at the Seams

But what we’re seeing from Manoah this year is about more than just regression to the mean. His BABIP, LOB%, and HR/FB are much closer to league average than they were last season, but his performance has been far worse than we’d expect from just those simple regressions. Even the most pessimistic among us could not have foreseen a 4.83 ERA and 5.76 FIP from the young All-Star.

[MLB] On pace for what?! How more milestones could be met in ‘23

Ronald Acuña Jr.: Homers and heists

This 2023 season has reminded us what Acuña plays like with two healthy and properly prepared legs.

It’s beautiful.

With eight homers and 17 steals through 40 team games, Acuña is on pace to be the first player ever with 30 homers and 60 steals. The closest anybody has come to that was Eric Davis with 37 homers and 50 steals for the 1987 Reds and Barry Bonds with 33 homers and 52 steals for the 1990 Pirates.

Acuña is also on pace for 365 total bases. The only players in history with at least 350 total bases and 50 steals were Hall of Famer Ty Cobb with the 1911 Tigers and Hanley Ramirez with the 2007 Marlins.

[MLB] Ohtani puts together another incredible night only he can pull off

It was part of a huge night at the plate for the superstar, as Ohtani went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and three RBIs, finishing a double shy of the cycle, which would have been the first hit by a player who began the game as his team’s starting pitcher. This was the second time this season Ohtani nearly pulled off this incredible feat, as he finished a homer shy of a cycle back on April 27.

[MLBTR] Ian Kennedy Elects Free Agency

Reliever Ian Kennedy elected minor league free agency after going unclaimed on outright waivers, according to the transaction tracker at MLB.com. The Rangers had designated the right-hander for assignment last week.