Josiah “Sway” Gray reigns supreme atop the #HighFive List for consecutive weeks after shutting down one of the Nationals League’s best teams on the way to his second win of the year.
He ended the month of April with the 10th lowest ERA in the National League and put an exclamation point on things during his final start against the Pirates this past Sunday.
Gray got the win after pitching six innings of one run ball while striking out six and giving up only three hits. Gray went five plus innings in each of his six starts this month and he gave up one or less runs in four of them.
He also has given up only one home run in five games, which is a sign in the right direction after he led the Majors in long balls given up last year. Gray’s next start will come Friday night in Arizona against the D-Backs.
2. Lamonte Wade Jr.
“Late Night” Lamonte Wade joined the home run fiesta over the weekend when his Giants took on the Padres in Major League Baseball’s Mexico City Series.
Wade had homers in both games and has his average sitting at .348 in his last seven games. He also has a .500 on base percentage and an OPS of 1.000. Wade Jr. sees most of his playing time against righties and is slowly becoming one of the more underrated players in baseball.
Through the first month of the season, he walked just as much as he struck out (19 times) while also hitting six home runs. His Giants return to The Bay this weekend for a three-game set against the Brewers.
3. Mookie Betts
“Wherever you put this brother on the field, he will get the job done.”
MLBbro.com’s Kevin Moore said it best about Betts, who showed once again there is nothing on a baseball diamond he can’t do.
Betts started at shortstop for the Dodgers Monday night and had his best game this season. He played solid defense and finished 3-for-5 with a home run, double and three RBI in what ended up as a 13-4 win for L.A. Betts is hitting .357 with eight RBI, a .438 on base percentage and five runs scored in his last seven games.
Betts will have the honor of wearing the on-field mic during the Sunday Night Baseball broadcast.
4. Marcus “Stro Show” Stroman
Marcus Stroman celebrated his 32nd birthday in style by bouncing back from his worst start of the year and throwing two gems in one week.
He combined to throw 12.1 innings and gave up a total of three runs while striking out eight. Stroman now has the 11th lowest ERA in the Majors among starters and he leads all of baseball with six quality starts this season. He will get to enjoy another weekend of celebrating 32 years of life before taking on the struggling Cardinals at Wrigley Field on Monday.
A visit from MLBbro.com has a resurgent Willie Calhoun playing out of his mind over the last week.
“There is no doubt in my mind Willie Calhoun can bang,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters during a recent road trip to Dallas to take on his former Rangers team.
With MVP Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton currently on the Injured List, Calhoun has stepped up big time, especially over his last seven games where he is batting .318 with two homers, both of which coming in back-to-back days against the Guardians.
We told y'all #MLBbro Willie Calhoun had a new attitude and was ready to contribute with Bro Bombers Aaron Judge & Giancarlo Stanton sidelined.
Marcus “Stro-Show” Stroman’s National League leading 0.75 ERA through his first four starts this year earns him the top spot in Week 3 of our #HighFive List.
1. Marcus Stroman
Marcus Stroman has been every bit of an Ace for a Cubs team that finds themselves just a game out of first place in the National League Central. While dominating on the mound, he also finds time to pursue his passions and share life lessons of encouragement, inspiring the next generation of baseball players and fans.
This past Tuesday Stroman went six shutout innings against the Oakland A’s, striking out five and only allowing two hits. That was the fourth straight quality start for Stroman who has given up zero runs in all but one game and never more than two. The stretch of success for Stroman can be traced back to last July when he returned from injury.
Since then, Stroman has 13 quality starts, a 2.18 ERA and a WHIP of 1.07. His next start will come this Sunday when Mookie Betts and the Los Angeles Dodgers roll into Wrigley Field.
2. Marcus Semien
Marcus Semien is swinging the hottest bat in the Majors, racking up a .407 average, 11 RBI, 10 runs and three home runs in three straight games over the span of his last seven.
That is night and day from last April when he hit .157 for the entire month and did not have three home runs until June 5th. The Rangers are looking to return to the glory days of 2010 and 2011, when Atlanta Braves coach Ron Washington was the manager of the franchise and took them to two straight tough World Series losses.
With an injury to his All-Star double-play mate, Semien’s hot streak has come right in time for the Rangers who will take on his hometown and former team the Oakland A’s in Arlington over the weekend.
3. Andrew McCutchen
Andrew McCutchen turned back the clock to his MVP days since returning to the Pittsburgh black and yellow.
This season “Cutch” is hitting .310 with a 1.003 OPS, nine RBI and four home runs, three coming in his last seven games including a 442ft bomb in Colorado.
McCutchen’s Pirates have a 13-7 record and will face the Reds this weekend who will send new Hunter Greene “Machine” to the mound freshly off a 6-year $53 million deal.
4. Josiah Gray
Josiah Gray is building a solid foundation to what could be a huge stepping stone in 2023 despite not getting little run support to begin the year. The Nationals have not scored a single run in his last three outings during which Gray has a 2.37 ERA with 12 strikeouts. In his last start, he gave up a single run through five innings in a 1-0 loss to Baltimore, and before that, in an April 11th matchup against Shohei Ohtani and the Angels, he gave up two runs in 5.2 innings in a 2-0 loss.
There will be better days for the offense when Gray toes the mound, but for now the face of the Nationals pitching staff needs to keep throwing up zeros. His next start will be Tuesday night in Queens against the Mets.
5. J.P. Crawford
J.P. Crawford has been an on base machine for Seattle over his last seven games.
He is getting on by any means necessary posting a .545 on base percentage, seven walks and .333 batting average. Crawford is also proving to still be one of the best all-around defenders in the Majors. The Gold Glover’s defensive WAR is second among infielders, just slightly trailing Francisco Lindor. Crawford’s Mariners will welcome rookie phenom Jordan Walker to Seattle this weekend.
Marcus Stroman delivers in the clutch for the struggling Mets in a 4-1 win against the Nats on Thursday in Game 1 of a doubleheader at Citi Field. Stro Show pitched a shutout into the sixth inning.
There’s no way to sugarcoat it: haters are Marcus Stroman’s motivators.
At 5 feet, 8 inches tall, Stroman is probably the shortest pitcher in the MLB, and he’s fueled by the doubters that believe height is synonymous with talent.
The proof is in his wardrobe. Yes, his wardrobe.
For years the Mets’ pitcher lived by the saying “Height Doesn’t Measure Heart,” or “HDMH.” Initially, Stroman was told that he would be too short to be a starting pitcher at Duke. He proved the doubters wrong. Not only did Stroman play three seasons at Duke, but he also currently holds the sixth-lowest career ERA in Duke history.
After Stroman became the starting pitcher at Duke, the haters changed their tune. He wasn’t too short to pitch at Duke, but he would definitely be too short to get drafted in the first round of the MLB draft.
He proved the doubters wrong again. In 2012, Stroman was the 22nd pick in the MLB draft. However, getting drafted was one thing. With his height, there couldn’t possibly be any way for him to become a starting pitcher.
As it stands today, Stroman has started 148 games since launching his MLB career in 2014. He has a winning record of 54-51. And this season he returned home to the Mets and is sporting a career-low 2.70 ERA as part of a pitching staff that has given up the least earned runs in baseball as of Tuesday (108).
The slogan had inspired him through college and all the way to the MLB. Nowadays, he also wears the acronym on his clothes.
His apparel brand, HDMH, was born of an idea to inspire and encourage others, while also reminding them to block out the outside noise.
According to the HDMH mission statement, the clothing company came to be after Stroman had been motivated by all the talk and opinions from others. He wanted to start a movement to remind others that outside opinions are irrelevant. Now, thanks to Stroman’s clothing site, anyone can wear his mantra with pride.
The Heart Doesn’t Measure Height brand currently has 30,900 followers across its Twitter and Instagram accounts. Stroman also promotes the brand on his personal social media accounts, which have a combined follower count of over 1 million people.
The brand offers clothing options for men, women, children and adults. The overall vibe of the inventory offered is casual and athletic.
The site offers a wide variety of athletic wear including HDMH baseball jerseys, jumpsuits and socks. For baseball players of all ages, the site also sells HDMH gloves, backpacks and hats.
— NPMYAC Raiders Baseball and Softball (@npmyac) April 13, 2021
Hanukkah present that got lost in the mail just showed up. Pure joy. He wants to go throw. pic.twitter.com/GQVhn8MDVN
— Howie Kendrick Lamar Latrell Sprewell (@_BenBecker) January 11, 2021
In a world now dominated by COVID-19, the latest addition to Stroman’s apparel brand is face masks. Fans have taken the time to promote the masks across social media platforms as well.
Stanger in the lobby "I like your mask" Me: "thanks, it's my favourite baseball player's brand @HDMHApparel I'm happy to support him and spread his positivity. @STR0pic.twitter.com/OAo3uThKcs
HDMH’s social media presence has grown along with the hashtag #HDMH. What started as a simple trend to motivate Stroman, has now become a community of people of all ages who are determined to block out the outside noise.
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