The Cleveland Guardians are one of the best teams in Major League Baseball. sitting atop the American League Central with a 40-21 record.
They are several games ahead of the other teams in a surprisingly competitive American League Central division. While the team has benefited from a balanced lineup, steady and consistent pitching has once again been a focal point for the team.
One pitcher, MLBbro Triston McKenzie has been having an up and down season but still seems to benefit the club when taking the mound.
McKenzie has started 12 games for the Guardians this season and has a pedestrian 2-3 record. However, the Guardians are 6-1 in his last seven starts. Not a single one of these starts resulted in a win for the MLBbro pitcher. He has been giving up lots of walks and home runs in each of his past four starts as well.
He’s given up two or more home runs in each of his last three starts and he’s walked 15 batters in his last five starts.
These numbers could be concerning for the team but there are many positives to take away from this as well. The MLBbro has been able to consume a lot of innings, which bodes well for a team with the best bullpen in all of baseball.
Dr. Sticks hasn’t been his potentially-dominating self this season, but he is a workhorse. By consuming innings, he constantly gives the club an opportunity to utilize their strengths. His strikeout numbers are still impressive, but the walks are still too high for him to reach another level. The Guardians are already amongst baseball’s elite.
If their MLBbro can take another leap, they can be bonafide contenders come this fall. Cemented as a part of the rotation, there is no pressure that the MLBbro is going to be removed, so he has time to work on his craft and become an integral part of the team’ success.
On Monday as the first full month of the 2024 season nears closing, MLB.com released another rendition of its weekly power rankings. Naturally, the rankings are opinionated and will change throughout the year based on the source, but it’s always fun to take a deep dive into these things.
5. New York Yankees
Over their last seven games, Yankees captain Aaron Judge has finally given the Bronx faithful a glimpse of what they hope will be a fruitful partnership with outfielder Juan Soto. J
Judge has begun to heat up at the plate, slashing .294/.424/.667 with three home runs, seven RBI and five walks for New York.
Marcus Stroman has continued to be strong for the Yankees, posting a 2-1 record with a 3.69 ERA and an impressive 58.4 percent ground ball rate.
4. Cleveland Guardians
Josh Naylor and the Guardians have been one of the best teams in the American League thus far, and young Josh Naylor has been a major contributor to their success on offense. A mainstay at the heart of their lineup, the lefty has provided power for the Guardians’ cleanup spot while also sporting an impressive K percentage of 11.4 percent.
3. Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers have never been a stranger to headlines, and despite causing a different type of hysteria the on-court product has been as advertised. The Dodgers have built the largest early lead of any division leader, and Mookie Betts has been so good at the plate it sometimes slips your mind that he is playing a new position full-time.
Betts currently has an OPS+ of 162 and looks like an early front-runner for National League MVP.
2. Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore came into this season with tremendous expectations, and while they’re still waiting for their star prospect to shine, Cedric Mullins and the big-league club have continued to show why they are one of the most exciting young teams in all of baseball.
Mullins is still looking to find his groove at the plate, but has already turned in an early contender for Catch of the Year. Perhaps this is the year Mullins can finally snag his first Gold Glove Award.
1. Atlanta Braves
Atlanta has come back from a disappointing divisional round loss last season to once again position themselves as frontrunners for the National League Pennant. The Braves’ offseason additions to the pitching staff have come in handy with the loss of their ace Spenser Strider for the season, but once again it’s their offense that is making the most noise.
Michael Harris II and the Braves offense once again lead all of MLB in run differential, and Harris himself is slashing .315/.351/.823 headed into Monday night, a complete 180 from the slow start he had last season.
Jordan Hicks’ made a statement loud and clear that he is here to compete and dominate in his first season as a full-time starter. Just three starts into his career, one of baseball’s best flamethrowers takes the top spot in Week 2 of our #HighFive List.
1.Jordan Hicks
Over the off-season, Houston, Texas native Jordan Hicks was one of the more sought after pitchers on the market.
He ultimately ended up signing a four-year $44 million deal with San Francisco, but it came as a surprise when the Giants announced they acquired him to be a part of their starting rotation.
In his third start of the season Wednesday, Hicks got the win over the Nationals, throwing six innings of one run baseball and giving up just four hits with two hits and two strikeouts.
Through his first three starts, his record stands at 2-0 with an ERA of 1.00 and 13 strikeouts through 18 innings.
Hicks, who spent last season with both the Blue Jays and Cardinals is known for his electric fastball out of the bullpen, one of which tied a Major League record for fastest pitch ever recorded in 2018 at 105 MPH.
Hicks’ level of play to begin the season should send worries through the National League West as the Giants now have three pitchers at the top of their rotation that can dominate on a nightly basis.
After receiving his World Series Ring last week, Semien added more hardware to his trophy case after being awarded his second ever Silver Slugger award.
Over his last seven games Semien is slashing .333/.419/.519 with a home run, five RBI, seven runs scored and a stolen base.
Last Friday Semien had one of the best games I have seen him play in a Ranger uniform.
He finished 3-for-3 with a home run, two walks, three RBI and scored two runs against their rival Astros.
Semien will look to continue his success against those same Astros, who he has an average over .460, five home runs and 15 RBI against since 2023 this weekend.
“I could feel the energy from the crowd and the guys in here,” McKenzie told reporters post game. “We had a long road trip so getting out there and putting up zeros was nice.”
This was the first time since September of 2022 that McKenzie had thrown more than five innings in a game. Last season was disappointing, and injury filled for Cleveland’s young right hander. He finished 2022 with a 2.96 ERA that earned him a Rolex watch from Marcus Stroman and is looking to find that form again this time around.
The next time McKenzie takes the mound, the Brooklyn native will face his hometown Yankees on Saturday.
4. Giancarlo Stanton
After hitting a blast to the Yankees short porch in right field Wednesday night against Miami, Stanton became the 15th active player to hit a home run versus all 30 Major League teams, earning him the fourth spot on our #HighFive List.
When Stanton is on the type of tear like he is now, it can be special to watch, and it makes the Yankees one of the most dangerous offenses in the league. Over his last five games, Stanton is hitting .421 with three home runs and seven RBI. The team’s record stands at 4-1 over that span.
Stanton and the Yankees will travel to Cleveland this weekend where on Saturday, he faces fellow #HighFive member Triston McKenzie.
5. C.J. Abrams
The Washington Nationals are the only team with an all-black left side of the infield and after Trey “Tha Truth” Lipscomb made his #HighFive debut last week, C.J. Abrams gets the nod this time around.
Abrams has played at a superstar level since All-Star Break and looks poised to take the leap into superstardom this season.
Abrams is hitting .306 with a .970 OPS, eight RBI and three home runs, one of which he launched deep into the San Francisco sky in what ended up being a 5-3 Nats win.
Washington will travel to the city of Oakland for the final time this weekend to face fellow Georgia native Lawerence Butler and the A’s.
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