Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Taijuan Walker has wasted no time making an impact on his team since returning from the injured list this season.
Walker’s 2024 season started with him on the IL due to right shoulder soreness and the Phillies wanted to make sure to take the necessary precautions with the 31-year-old.
Since returning from the IL back in April, Walker has won his last three starts, a positive sign for Philadelphia.
In his last outing against the Miami Marlins on May 11, he went 6 1/3 innings, allowing only one run and one walk while striking out four.
Going into the game, Walker carried a 6.39 ERA and after the game, it lowered to 4.82.
“I felt my stuff was good. They were swinging it early and got some quick outs,” Walker said. “Our offense has been rolling one through nine. My job was to go out there and try to put up as many zeros as possible because I knew they were going to put up runs.”
The Phillies are one of the hottest teams in the league and Walker will look to continue to be consistent as a starter and put his team in position to win games.
Despite missing part of the first half of the season, Walker was ready to get back out there on the mound when his number was called.
He made his debut on April 28 against the San Diego Padres. Though he allowed six runs, he picked up the win while striking out four.
“Everything felt good,” Walker said about his debut start. “The splitter wasn’t very good today, but I threw the slider well. Had two walks, and those two walks extended the innings. I got hurt by it. I had good life; ball was coming out well.”
Philadelphia’s manager Rob Thomson liked what he saw out of Walker in his first start of the season.
“I thought he was good,” he said. “I was encouraged by the velocity. Threw strikes. For his first outing of the season, I thought it was fine.”
Walker 18-6 During Philly Stint
Walker has had a lot of success during his time in Philadelphia. Through 34 starts, he has an 18-6 record.
His 15 wins last season are the most in his career.
Though Walker led his teams in wins last season, he did not make a single appearance in the postseason.
This season, the Phillies have a strong chance to make it back to the postseason and Walker could add a lot of value to the starting rotation come postseason time.
But for now, he is going to focus on the regular season and look to remain healthy so he can continue to go out there and put together impressive performances.
The last two seasons, Walker has put together winning records, and he’ll look to keep that streak going.
If Walker can continue to win games and have performances like his recent outing, he may find himself being named to his second all-star team.
A story like this puts former MLBbro Monte Harrison in mind of the “A Dream Deferred” poem written by the legendary poet Langston Hughes…
What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up Like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore– And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over– like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode? — Langston Hughes
Hopefully for Monte Harrison, he gets the same satisfaction of chasing his dreams like Langston Hughes is believed to portray in his poem. Our MLBbro is going back to school to get an education and hopefully play some football as a curricular activity.
After leaving baseball close to two years ago from the Los Angeles Angels, Harrison is gearing up to make the Arkansas Razorbacks football team as a walk-on receiver. It has been ten years since our MLBbro athlete committed to the Nebraska Cornhuskers as a four star recruit.
But our MLBbro decided to sign a rookie deal that included a $1.8 million with the Milwaukee Brewers after being drafted in the second round of the 2014 MLB Draft.
Monte Harrison finally was called to “The Show” in 2020 debuting with the Miami Marlins. He hit .170 with one homer and six stolen bases in 32 games. After playing nine games with the Marlins in 2021 and nine more with the Angels in 2022, Harrison finished his career with the organization he started with the Brewers Triple-A affiliate, the Nashville Sounds.
Career stats:
● In 57 MLB at bats, Harrison had a batting average of .176 (12-68) with two home runs and six RBI.
● In 10 years (adding the minors), Harrison hit .242 while collecting 97 homers and 230 stolen bases.
Monte’s reputation in the minors was centered around his speed and ability to make amazing catches using his range.
Monte Harrison has some strong athletic bloodlines as well. His brother Shaquille spent some time in the NBA. When our MLBbro suited up in 2020, he and Shaquille became only the sixth pair of brothers to play in the two sports leagues at the same time. Another notable brother tandem is MLBbro Trayce Thompson and Klay Thompson.
MLBbro.com congratulates Monte Harrison on his baseball journey and wishes him luck on the gridiron.
Marcus Semien put on a show in his first time back in the Bay Area as a World Series Champion, collecting 10 hits in a three-game span including the hardest hit homer of his career, earning him the Top Spot in our Week 6 #HighFive List.
1. Marcus Semien
Marcus Semien has been the best leadoff hitter in the Majors over the last few seasons. No player in the league has more hits on the first pitch of an at-bat this year than him and he has already driven in 28 runs, which ranks fifth in the American League.
This week his Rangers traveled to the Oakland Coliseum for the second to last time ever: their last trip will be in September and is scheduled as the final game in the venue’s history.
Semien finished the four-game set 10-for-20 with seven runs scored, six RBI and two home runs, bringing his total to seven on the year.
That seventh blast came in the third inning of Wednesday’s double-header and left Semien’s bat at 112 mph, which was his hardest hit in the statcast era (since 2015).
In the second game of the series, Semien became the fourth player in Rangers history with four hits in the first four innings of a game and the first since 2009.
2. Simeon Woods Richardson
The Twins have found a gem in Woods Richardson.
In four starts he has a 1.74 ERA with 21 strikeouts, only four walks and has never surrendered more than two runs.
Monday night’s outing against Seattle was pure domination for Woods. He threw six shutout innings of one-hit baseball and totaled eight strikeouts in a game Minnesota would go on to win.
“I think he was the MVP of the game,” said shortstop Carlos Correa.
“The way he dominated the lineup was pretty special.”
Woods Richardson’s next start will be Saturday against the Toronto Blue Jays.
3. Aaron Judge
Aaron Judge was ejected for the first time in his career last Saturday and that lit a fire under him that burned all week, helping him earn the third spot on our #HighFive List.
As Judge was walking back to the dugout after arguing balls and strikes, the umpire threw him out the game. In response, Judge homered in his first at-bat the next day to help the Yankees complete a sweep over the Detroit Tigers.
He is batting .349 with four home runs, 11 RBI with an OPS of 1.182 through his last twelve games.
It was a slow start to the year for Judge who now is slashing .236/.365/.844 with eight homers this year, but we all know that ultimately the Yankee success this year is dependent on their captain playing like his superstar self.
4. “Late night” LaMonte Wade Jr.
LaMonte Wade Jr. is one of a few bright spots for the San Francisco Giants this year and he has been a machine at the plate over his last seven games where he is slashing .337/.467/.412 with six walks and four RBI.
Lamonte Wade Jr. Is Flying Under The Radar But He’s Playing All-Star Ball For San Francisco Giants pic.twitter.com/mOW2bXzAaM
Wade does not have enough at-bats to qualify on the Major League leaderboard, but he has been one of the more underrated players in baseball dating back to last season.
He has reached base safely in 13 of his last 14 games and will look to continue that streak this weekend when the Cincinnati Reds visit The Bay.
5. Triston McKenzie “Dr Stix”
Triston McKenzie had another solid outing this week to earn his third appearance on the #HighFive this year.
It was the fourth consecutive start for McKenzie where he gave up two or less runs as he went five innings and surrendered just one earned run which came via a leadoff homer to start the game on six strikeouts, three hits and three walks.
Is It Foul Or Fair To Say That Triston McKenzie Is The Key To Cleveland Guardian’s AL Central title? pic.twitter.com/xlNlFWu9ka
When asked how he bounced back from what is the worst way for a pitcher to begin a game, McKenzie told reporters, “It is only one pitch. You have got to get back in the saddle and keep going.”
His next start will come in Chicago Saturday against the White Sox.
WASHINGTON, DC – That brother is getting the hang of it.
Nationals third baseman Trey Lipscomb put together a clutch performance on Tuesday, and he did it against a team he grew up just 45 minutes from.
Lipscomb came into the majors known for his defensive ability — earning 2023 Minor League Defensive Player of the Year honors. Still, he showed he’s a baller with the bat at the end of April — tallying eight hits in the Marlins series.
Seemingly, he’s continuing his offensive uprise, most notably against the surging Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday — tallying an RBI single that increased Washington’s lead to 3-0 and sent ace Corbin Burnes packing.
Born in Fredrick, Maryland, Lipscomb wasn’t a Nationals or Orioles fan, so he remained poised — a trait crucial in young players’ development.
“At the end of the day it’s just another game,” Lipscomb said.
Lipscomb made a quick rise to the majors, as after a career at Tennessee, he was drafted in the third pick of the third round of the 2022 MLB Draft by Washington.
After a successful Spring Training and an injury for third baseman Nick Senzel, Lipscomb was called up and joined the young core that has taken over the Washington rebuild. Through 26 games, the DMV native is batting .241 and has added five RBI to the mix.
Another piece of the Nationals’ young core is star C.J. Abrams, who is 23 like Lipscomb, but has played in 273 games and has seen how his fellow MLBbro has developed.
“We work together,” Abrams said. “We do whatever we can to help the team win. We get better every day. We have fun doing it, too.”
Unlike Lipscomb, Abrams didn’t record a hit in Tuesday’s contest but still boasts a .275 batting average, which helped his team reach over .500 for the first time since 2021.
Like a brother though, when one is struggling, the other steps up. With that, Lipscomb said he kept his approach and knocked an RBI single into right field. Following the single, Lipscomb also stole base and brought his total to six on the season.
Lipscomb’s baserunning ability seemingly helped him adjust to the majors, given the increased chance for bag-stealing in today’s rules.
“That’s kind of the brand of baseball now,” Lipscomb said. “Just get on the bases and cause havoc.”
Lipscomb’s aforementioned even-keeled ness granted him a big at-bat when his team needed it most. To that, Lipscomb’s manager, Dave Martinez, said the young bro is coming together quite well.
“He’s better every day. The confidence has been really good,” Martinez said. “I love him… he’s going to be a good one.”
Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes came into the 2024 season looking to build on his previous season where he hit .271 and a career-high 15 home runs.
It looked as though Hayes was going to take that next step as a hitter after watching his performance last year.
But this season it seems as if Hayes is at a standstill and hasn’t quite yet found his groove.
Through 33 games this season, he’s hitting .248 with one home run and 11 RBI. One thing to note is that during this time last season, Hayes also had only had one home run. So we can assume, and the Pirates can hope he is just a slow starter.
Hayes has been known for his exceptional skill set at third base.
The 27-year-old is one of the best defenders in the league and already has a Gold Glove Award to show for.
Ke’Bryan Hayes Ready To Take Next Step As Hitter
One area that Hayes wants to continue to improve on is his performance at the plate. The consistency is something that he wants to add to his game on the offensive side. Hayes started the season real strong at the plate, hitting .325 through his first 10 games. His team’s success reflected his elevated batting as they were in first place for a minute early in the season.
He had a five-game hitting streak and had multi-hit games in the first four games of the seasons. During the month of April, he hit .239 and so far, he’s hitting under .120 during May.
One area Hayes believes he can improve on at the plate is his aggressiveness, and he also alluded to that after one of the team’s performances recently.
“There’s times where we could have been more aggressive,” he said. “But we’re a team, we work the counts pretty well. Just sometimes, we got to be able to figure out when we’re doing that, you got to figure out how to manufacture some runs. So I mean, it’s still early, it’s still April. But with a guy like that, you got to figure out whenever he’s walking guys, making him throw a lot of pitches, got to figure out how to get him out of there.”
It is still very early in the season like Hayes said, which means there will be time for adjustments to be made and for Hayes, hopefully it happens sooner rather than later.
Ke’Bryan Hayes Still Dealing With Nagging Injuries
Hayes also dealt with a minor injury back in April too, so that may have played a factor in his performance at the plate. He was scratched from the lineup on April 16, hours before the game due to lower back tightness. Even though it wasn’t something major, all precautions need to be taken and the Pirates certainly don’t want to have Hayes miss significant time.
“It just kinda locked up on him a little bit,” manager Derek Shelton said. “We tried to work on him and we couldn’t really get it to release. Just out of the abundance of caution, we’re just gonna make sure to keep him down.”
Hayes will look to turn things around at the plate and also look to be more aggressive in the batter’s box as well.
This Memorial Day weekend, Black baseball fans across America will have another reason to visit the Mecca of baseball, Cooperstown, New York.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame Museum will celebrate the opening of its new exhibit ‘The Souls of the Game: Voices of Black Baseball’ by hosting the inaugural Hall of Fame East-West Classic: A Tribute to the Negro League All-Star Game on Saturday, May 25.Replacing the traditional Hall of Fame game, MLB has curated a collection of MLBbros who have made an impact on the game for decades to take part in this event.
President of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Josh Rawitch didn’t hide his excitement when speaking about the event.
“We are thrilled to host many of the game’s biggest stars of the last two decades for the Hall of Fame East-West classic, a tribute to the heroes of Black baseball who showcased their talents for years in the annual Negro Leagues All-Star Game. The incredible enthusiasm from players participating in this legends game – players who faced their own challenges while helping to build on the diversity that has flowed through our National Pastime for more than a century – will make this a must-see event in Cooperstown.”
This modern-day iteration of the historic East/West All-Star Game, which took place from 1933 until 1982, will be coached by Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr. and Ozzie Smith. CC Sabathia, a Black Ace who will grace the HOF ballot for the first time in 2025, is the captain of the West Team, while former outfielder Chris Young will captain the East squad.
Sabathia, who works with Major League Baseball to continue growing its presence in the African American community, knows the importance of events like this to keep the legacy of Negro League legends alive.
“As players, we are indebted to the pioneers who came before us, and recognizing the All-Stars of the Negro Leagues pays tribute not only to their playing ability but also to their courage and devotion to the game.”
The 26 players selected combined for 53 All-Star selections throughout their careers, with some notable names in Black baseball making an appearance.
Ryan Howard
Howard has the most career home runs of any participant, hitting 382 bombs in his 13-year career in Philadelphia. The 2006 NL MVP and 2008 World Series champion finished his career with 1,475 hits, 277 doubles and 1194 RBI. Howard set the Phillies single-season home run record in 2006 when he hit 56 homers and lead the Majors twice.
Dontrelle Willis
Dontrelle “D-Train” Willis burst onto the scene with the Florida Marlins in 2003 when he went 14-6 in 27 starts with a 3.30 ERA and 142 strikeouts. Willis earned an All-Star berth and Rookie of the Year honors en route to the first World Series championship in Marlins’ history.
Dontrelle’s success started early, but his most dominant performance on the mound came in 2005. Willis punched his ticket into the Exclusive “Black Aces” club, going 22-10 with a 2.63 ERA and a league-leading seven complete games.
The three-time All-Star Granderson is one of the best power hitters from the leadoff spot in MLB history. Curtis had 47 leadoff home runs in his career, enroute to 344 in his career. Granderson hit 20 or more homers 10 times in his career and topped 40 twice with the Yankees.
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