Triston McKenzie gets the top spot on the 20th edition of the 2022 #HighFive list after racking up a career high 14 strikeouts in his win last Friday against the Chicago White Sox.
1. Triston “Dr Sticks” McKenzie
Triston McKenzie’s rise from top prospect to bonafide Ace has put the rest of the Majors on notice.
Last Friday he struck out a career high 14 batters and walked none through seven innings allowing just two earned runs on six hits in the Guardians 5-2 win over the White Sox.
It was the 14th time this season McKenzie struck out at least six batters and the third consecutive quality start he has had.
This reign of dominance can be traced back to July where he posted a 1.34 ERA and allowed a batting average against of 1.65; that number for August is now at 1.98.
2. Cedric “CM Storm” Mullins
From being optioned down to Triple A and having to change his entire offensive philosophy, to winning his first career Silver Slugger award while becoming the first ever Baltimore Oriole to go 30/30, these last few years have been a whirlwind for Cedric Mullins, but it culminates with him being named to the Team USA Roster for the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Mullins will be following in the footsteps of former Oriole MLBbro outfielder Adam Jones who started for the team in center field in 2017 and made the play of the tournament when he robbed his teammate Manny Machado of a home run in the semifinal game.
Mullins who is batting .321 with a .607 slugging percentage, .406 on base percentage, seven runs and a stolen base over his last seven games will be joined in the USA outfield by former MVP’s Mike Trout and Mookie Betts.
3. Aaron Judge
Aaron Judge went yard twice this week giving him 48 homers, 14 away from passing Roger Maris for the most home runs in a single season by a New York Yankee.
Every week Judge adds another accolade for his case of having the greatest regular season in Yankee history.
He became the first American League player to hit 45 homers while scoring and driving in 100 runs through a player’s first 120 games since Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle both did it in 1961.
Judge’s next chance to close in on the record will be in Oakland during a four-game series against the A’s.
4. Vaughn Grissom
Not too long ago “King” Vaughn Grissom was taking classes in high school, now the 21-year old is batting .346 over his last seven games and is a catalyst in the efforts for last years World Series winners to become the first team to repeat as champions since the Yankees won three in a row from 1998-2000.
Grissom also earned the honor of being the first player to be named as Rob Parker’s Home Boi Highlights for two consecutive weeks. Through his first 15 career games he is batting .382 with three home runs, two steals and 10 RBI. He also registered a first-to-home speed of 9.58 seconds when scoring on a Michael Harris II base hit, which places him in the top 20 for times recorded this year.
This weekend Grissom and his Braves take on the St. Louis Cardinals with the series final game airing as this week’s edition of ESPN Sunday Night Baseball.
5. David Price
Black Ace David Price is the best Black starter of our generation and even with his role changing over the last few seasons he still knows how to get the job done.
During the month of August, Price has a 0.84 ERA and did not allow a hit through his first eight appearances.
That and another streak of 12 games without allowing a run since the All-Star Break was snapped this past Sunday when a fellow Vanderbilt alum took Price deep for his first career homer.
It’s no secret that the Los Angeles Dodgers have been consistently dominating the majors with the best record in baseball. While taking residency as the cream of the crop may have some fans happy, this has been nothing new for the Dodgers in recent years. Usually, the team dominates the regular season only to run out of gas in the postseason.
Outside of the COVID-19 season in 2020, the Dodgers have fallen short of championship glory on many occasions.
Outside of the 2020 season, the bugaboo for LA has been the inability to put together a complete series of consistent pitching and offense at the same time. Sometimes the pitching can be dominant with minimal offense and at other times the pitching, most notably the closers have failed to come up with the crucial out to close out games.
If a World Series championship is in the cards, the pitching dilemma that comes with the season-ending injuries to Dodgers ace Walker Buehler has to be addressed. Despite the fact his numbers weren’t as gaudy as his 2021 campaign with a 16-4 record and 2.47 era that led him to a fourth-place finish in the Cy Young Award voting, the team was preparing to bring him back in September for the playoffs.
Even though Buehler wouldn’t be the go-to pitcher in a starting scenario, he could have been an option coming out of the bullpen in a pinch. Most likely this would be in a close-out situation where the Dodgers needed an out with runners on base. His injury has the team reshuffling the deck of all of their pitching staff from top to bottom.
Here’s where our Black Ace David Price can make an impact and close out his career on the highest level. MLBbro.com’s Senior writer, Kevin Moore shared his steady climb up the all-time and active player strikeout list earlier this season.
The one probable Achilles heel the Los Angeles Dodgers have on a team that seems nearly unbeatable these days is a reliable closer who can come in and shut down a rally when needed. With the Dodgers owning several huge winning streaks this season, it is clear that the team does what they have to do and beat the inferior teams while putting them away early. Plus the starting pitching has been out of sight.
For years, the closer for the Dodgers has been Kenley Jansen, whose career the last few seasons had mirrored the championship success of the team. Even though he was collecting saves at a high rate in the regular season, he would struggle in the postseason to the point that he lost his confidence and job as the closer in his last season. Eventually, he moved on to the Atlanta Braves.
David Price will be known as the “other” player who came over in the Mookie Betts trade a couple of years ago. MLBbro.com has been very consistent in highlighting one of the top MLBbros in the game in Betts as he helped Los Angeles to a World Series title.
The last MLBbro pitcher to top the 20-game winning plateau could carve a very important niche as the Dodgers closer after being a full-time reliever this season. He found himself picking up a save over the weekend as LA swept the Marlins.
As the season closes, it is looking more and more that Price will be calling it a career after completing his huge seven-year, $217 million contract that he signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox back in 2015. Over the July 4 holiday, he discussed his retirement plans to spend more time with his family via Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.
“My (two) kids love it so much. That’s the only thing that makes me even think about playing any longer,” Price said. “I always told myself I’d ask my son, “Do you want daddy to play baseball or do you want daddy to be home all the time?’ I asked him before this year and he said, ‘I want you to be home.’ I said, Are you sure?’ He said, ‘Yeah’. Now when I ask him, he says, ‘No, I want you to keep playing.”
If this is his last season, David Price has built himself quite a legacy. In his 14 years, he has collected a Cy Young Award (2012), five All-Star appearances and a World Series title back in 2018 in Boston. Not a bad career for the Tampa Bay Rays’ number one pick of the 2007 draft.
Price was a member of the Dodgers’ championship roster, but he pulled himself out of action because of COVID-19 concerns leaving him out of the World Series run. Now things are very different. Price could become the second former Red Sox to cement his chapter in recent Dodgers championship lore by stepping on the mound during the playoffs to save a crucial game to win the NLCS or World Series in situations that have gone the other way for Los Angeles.
If he does, our MLBbro can walk off into the sunset with another World Series ring, a storybook ending and a hero’s sendoff.
David Price is in his second season with the Los Angeles Dodgers and is looking to win his first World Series title as a member of the Dodgers and his second overall title. Price has had a lot of success throughout his career and the 36-year-old is not ready to walk away from the game just yet.
The former Cy Young Award winner now finds himself in a full-time reliever role with the Dodgers. And for the most part, he has settled in well. Sometimes it’s not easy transitioning to a different role, but Price is a team player and he’s willing to do whatever to put the team in the best position to be successful.
If that means going to the bullpen, then that’s what he’s going to do. Last year he transitioned to the bullpen, but he did make 11 starts out of 39 appearances. In 26 appearances this season, he’s pitched in 26.1 innings and has a 3.08 ERA with a save.
Yes, this is the least amount of innings Price has pitched in his career, but he understands his role and is always ready to get out there when his name is called upon.
“I like these young guys getting their starts,” Price said in an article from The Orange County Register. “I like them being able to get their numbers up so they can go to arbitration, and they can get their money. I got mine.”
And Price did hint that this could be his last season, so going out on top would be a wonderful feeling for the veteran. But a big reason why he’s still playing is because of his kids.
“My (two) kids love it so much. That’s the only thing that makes me even think about playing any longer,” Price said. “I always told myself I’d ask my son, ’Do you want daddy to play baseball or do you want daddy to be home all the time?’ I asked him before this year and he said, ‘I want you to be home.’ I said, ’Are you sure?’ He said, ’Yeah.’ Now when I ask him, he says, ’No, I want you to keep playing.”
For those who have followed Price’s career, know how dominant he was in the league for multiple years. He’s 78th on the all-time strikeout list with 2,068. To be in the top 100 of the list is an accomplishment of itself. Price is in his 14th season and has dealt with numerous injuries the past few seasons and it’s apparent that he isn’t who he was back in 2010 and 2012, but the brother can still go out there and get the job done.
If this is in fact his last season, how great would it be for him to go out as a World Series champion. This is one MLBbro who definitely deserves his flowers. He’s shown why he’s one of the best to ever do it.
Melanated Mound Marauder David Price is filling the gaps for the LA Dodgers pitching staff. Leadership, experience and talent. MLBbro reporter Dante Miles checks in with the last Black pitcher to win 20 games (2012).
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