Hunter Greene went Beast Mode in his last start against the Miami Marlins allowing no runs and only one hit on the way to earning his fourth win of the season.
For that, the Reds rookie flamethrower takes the top spot in Week 17 of our #HighFive list.
1. Hunter Greene
Hunter Greene became the first pitcher in baseball’s modern era to have three games in a season where he went six plus innings with eight plus strikeouts and only one hit when he did it Monday night in South Beach.
He went six innings, striking out eight and not allowing a single walk or earned run.
Three times this season Greene has thrown at least 38 pitches over 100 MPH in a single game, which is good for the highest three totals in that category since 2008. The next closest pitcher to Greene is Mets Cy Young winner Jacob DeGrom who only hit the century mark 33 times.
It was his fifth time striking out at least eight batters as he currently sits in the top 10 for the National League with 127 K’s.
Greene’s next start will be Sunday afternoon in Milwaukee.
2. Nick Gordon
Nick Gordon quietly accumulated an average of .471 and an on base percentage of .500 during his last seven games to give him the second spot on our #HighFive list.
Gordon has seen his role grow larger and larger each month this season and after going from utility bench player to now full-time starter and part-time center fielder.
Before this week he had been hitless in his previous seven games, but after July 27th he went on a five-game hitting streak in addition to a few game winning sac flies before it was snapped.
On the season Gordon is hitting .271 with a .730 OPS, 17 RBI and four homers.
3. Aaron Judge
The biggest and baddest slugger in baseball resides in the Bronx (for now) and he added another credential to his historic 2022 season by winning the American League Player of the Month award for July.
In 25 games Judge slashed .333/.446/.806 while leading the Majors in home runs and RBI.
His 32 RBI for the month matched a career high from September of 2017, and his 13 home runs are just under the 15 he had in that same season which ended with him winning the American League Rookie of the Year award.
Last weekend Judge hit the 200th home run of his career and he now leads the Majors by a wide margin with 43, only trailing Barry Bonds 2001, Mark McGwires 1998 and Babe Ruth’s 1921 for the most through a player’s first 106 games.
Judge brings his Yankees into St. Louis for a three game series this weekend.
4. Tim Anderson
The American League All-Star starting shortstop has been appealing a three-game suspension this week after an argument with an umpire after a strike call led to him being ejected.
However Anderson’s beef was justified, as the pitch does not appear to hit the zone at all, but I am sure the fact his White Sox were trailing the last place Oakland A’s played a factor as well.
Despite that Anderson is 11-for-30 for a .367 average in his last seven games with hits in nine straight games and in 20 of 22 games.
Anderson currently ranks second in the National League and fifth in the entire Majors with a .313 batting average. A decision on his suspension should come sometime this weekend during their series against Marcus Semien and the Texas Rangers.
5. Byron Buxton
The man who hit the game-winning home run for the American League in this year’s All-Star Game is still mashing a few weeks later as he sent three to the seats in his last seven games.
He has been dealing with a knee injury this year that has required him to not play the field as much as he would like.
THIS SWING WAS A THING OF BEAUTY ‼️ 438 FT BOMB FOR BYRON BUXTON#MNTwins
pic.twitter.com/uFATH0f8zB— Twins Talk (@LetsTalk_Twins) July 30, 2022
Despite not always getting to show off his best tool, his defense, Buxton still leads the team in WAR and is on track to finish with one of the highest OPS+ ratings for a center fielder in Twins history.
He is currently fourth in the American League with a career-high 26 home runs but will need to continue to raise his batting average which is at just .221 through these final two months of the season.
Recent Comments