Chris Archer has been one of the best pitchers in baseball to start the season
Last week, we witnessed the continued dominance of “The Archer,” while the Major League body count just kept climbing. Plus, A-Rod is finally reached Willie, but what in the world is going on with Corey Kluber?
This is The Week That Was.
Tampa Bay’s Best Archer
I don’t know how acquainted he is with archery, but with the control Chris Archer has on his pitches, I’m sure he’d do just fine. Quite honestly, he looks like the best pitcher in the A.L., and is already making history at just 26 years old. He’s the first A.L. pitcher since 2009 to shutout teams in four-straight starts. More impressively, he’s the lone hurler since 1914 to have three starts in which he pitched for at least seven innings without allowing a run or more than three hits in his team’s first 20 games of the year.
Feats like that are why the Rays were first place in the A.L. East after Archer’s fantastic fifth start on April 26. In his last four outings, Archer has logged 26.2 innings, allowing 12 hits, walking five and striking out 32. Yes, Archer has a K/BB of 6.4. Please consider that a K/BB of 3.0 is seen as being good, and then wait as your mind proceeds to be blown.
What’s most important during Archer’s streak of greatness is that the Rays went 3-1, and that loss had nothing to do with the starter’s performance. That 1-0 loss to Boston was due to a run scored because of an error.
On the real though, no true baseball fan should have been surprised by Archer’s sudden elite status. Over a span of 55 starts that encompasses two years of work, Archer has a stellar 3.28 ERA. You know what else he’s rockin’? Sahara Desert-like heat.
-This GIF can be found on BusinessInsider.com
Oh…and let’s not forget this slick little slider.
-This GIF can be found on BusinessInsider.com
It’s crazy that just last year Archer was the fourth-best man in the rotation behind the likes of Matt Moore, David Price and Alex Cobb. Now with Price in Detroit, and while both Cobb and Moore deal with injuries, there’s no better time than now for Archer to take charge. Out of all the famous archers, including Hawkeye, Legolas, Green Arrow, Cupid, Robin Hood and Katniss Everdeen, I think Chris takes the cake.
Let the Bodies Hit the Floor
HOU@SD: Rasmus singles in run, Lowrie hurt on slide https://t.co/IHX2cQRp0F via @YouTube
— Jonathan Ebanks (@hogz4lyfe) May 3, 2015
-This video was uploaded to YouTube by the MLB
A slew of big names hit the disabled list this week in what was apparently the most dangerous seven days of baseball in a long time. The list is so long that I’ll break it down in bullet points just so I don’t lose you.
- Yasiel Puig – Sent to the DL on April 26 after aggravating his left hamstring injury. However, the move was retroactive to April 27, and he should only miss the minimum of 15 days.
- Brandon McCarthy – Landed on the DL on April 27 with a torn UCL that will knock him out until midseason 2016.
- Homer Bailey – Put on the DL April 27 with a right elbow sprain. He’s likely looking at Tommy John surgery down the road. Mind you, he started the season on the DL after tearing the flexor mass tendon near his right elbow last September.
- Adam Wainwright – Transferred to the 60-day DL on April 30 after season-ending Achilles surgery. He should be back in 10-12 months.
- Jed Lowrie – Injured his right thumb during a slide into home plate on April 27 and was sent to the 15-day DL on April 28. It turned out he tore a ligament in his thumb, requiring surgery on Friday to repair. He will be out past the All-Star break.
- Masahiro Tanaka – After being diagnosed with mild tendinitis in his right wrist and a small muscle strain in his right forearm on April 28, he was placed on the 15-day DL on April 29. He’s expected to miss a month. He still has that partially-torn UCL from last July that he’s been avoiding surgery on.
- Alcides Escobar – Placed on the 7-day concussion DL retroactive to April 29. He had the dubious honor of being the 20th Royal to be hit by a pitch this season. The ball struck him in the cheek and forced him to leave the game with a contusion. On a side note, what’s more shocking than 20 guys from the same team being hit by a baseball in less than a month is the fact that Yordano Ventura didn’t try to avenge Escobar. Ventura was pitching that day, but he managed to keep his cool for once. He finally finished his first start without being ejected or pulled for medical reasons.
If that wasn’t enough for you, then let me also remind you that both Albert Pujols and Denard Span missed a couple games this week due to injuries. Pujols’ left hammy tightened up on him on April 29, whereas Span felt soreness in his core on April 30. Perhaps we should start calling the baseball field the “blood diamond.”
A-Rod Ties Mays at 660
.@AROD blasts home run No. 660, matching Willie Mays for 4th on the all-time list. https://t.co/WZlwZHCofo
— MLB (@MLB) May 2, 2015
While he didn’t reach 660 homers as quickly as the great Willie Mays did over 40 years ago, Alex Rodriguez still managed to hit the milestone with a shot over the left-field wall in Boston on May 1. Rodriguez, who has more home runs than all other active players, started off the month with a bang and now sits tied with Mays at fourth place on the all-time career home run list. Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth are the only folks left to outdo.
While A-Rod will undoubtedly pass Mays on the home-run list, Rodriguez’s legacy will never surpass Mays’ thanks to a PED scandal that got him suspended all of last season.
Boos reigned down from the fans at Fenway Park when Rodriguez was called to the plate to pinch-hit during a tie game in the eighth inning. The crowd’s disgust towards him grew exponentially when Junichi Tazawa’s 94 mph pitch was smacked over the Green Monster to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead, and eventually the win.
Rodriguez showed some humility afterwards, despite the momentous feat he accomplished. “I don’t know what it means,” he said. “I’m actually very excited just trying to stay in the moment. It’s good to do it in a good team win. I got emotional there.” The manly tears of joy later came out as he stood on the field alone.
I’m not the biggest fan of Rodriguez, but even I find it sad just how eagerly the public took a metaphorical dump on his accomplishment.
A-Rod still 660 points behind Willie Mays on the charisma scale.
— Cubbiephrenia (@BBSheehan) May 2, 2015
Most of the hate directed towards him is tied to his steroid use. I’ve already gone on record saying that I don’t mind steroids in my baseball. Heck, I actually prefer my baseball with it. The added power makes a relatively slow game that much more exciting, and that excitement is what the sport critically needs right now for its survival 30 years down the road. You think I’m crazy for talking about baseball’s “survival?” Think about the fact that approximately half of TV viewers for the 2013 World Series were at least 55 years old. Baseball’s lack of excitement struggles to captivate young audiences, and much of baseball’s fanbase will die in another 20 years or so. That’s a very hard pill to swallow, so surely accepting steroid use to help give the game some much-needed juice to aid its long-term survival should be easier in comparison.
Back on the subject of A-Rod, I know some fans want Rodriguez’s stats to be erased, leaving him with no chance to make the baseball Hall of Fame. However, A-Rod still earned those numbers, PEDs or not. He still needed to maintain proper form during his swings. He still needed to accurately make contact with the ridiculously fast pitches that often came his way. He went out there and belted those home runs himself.
Even Willie Mays decided to congratulate Rodriguez for the achievement. “Congratulations to Alex Rodriguez on his 660th home run,” Mays said. “Milestones in baseball are meant to be broken and I wish him continued success throughout his career.” If Mays can find it in his heart to give props despite his milestone being passed, why can’t you?
What’s Wrong, Kluber?
Toronto Blue Jays vs Cleveland Indians | Highlights | May 2, 2015 | MLB … https://t.co/qCmKMX8uae via @YouTube
— Jonathan Ebanks (@hogz4lyfe) May 3, 2015
-This video was uploaded to YouTube by MLB Game Recap
Kluber certainly passes the eye test as far as his pitches go. He’s done well at mixing it up and he averaged 94.3 mph on his fastballs during Saturday’s 11-4 loss to Toronto, in which he allowed five runs on eight hits in fewer than six innings. So what’s the deal been with the A.L. Cy Young winner in his last three starts?
In the first three games he held opponents to a slash line of .176/.228/.216. But in his last three, opponents have taken him to the woodshed for a line of .397/.440/.590. The most likely explanation is that Kluber’s declining command has lately left him behind in counts. He’ll finally get things going on 2-0, 3-1 and 3-0 counts, but by then hitters become more aggressive and start to anticipate his fastball. This could be the reason why Kluber has allowed 31 hits in his last 17 1/3 innings.
His stuff is still the same, but he’s struggled to dominate the beginning of his at-bats like he did last year. There are likely other problems he’s facing too since the numbers don’t lie and suggest something is terribly wrong with his approach. The 21 2/3 innings he pitched in his first three starts were fantastic, featuring only 13 hits, a whopping 25 strikeouts, four walks, six earned runs and a 2.49 ERA. These last three starts featured 17 1/3 innings of tough baseball, with 31 hits allowed, only 14 strikeouts, five walks, 14 earned runs, and an unsightly 7.27 ERA.
Part of me feels that’s he’s simply been unlucky. I think he’s merely going through a rough patch, and he will eventually work his way through it. I can see why some of his fantasy owners might be concerned, though. Regardless, if you don’t own him, then now would be a good time to try and trade for him.
Jonathan Ebanks is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Jonathan, check out his archive and follow him @hogz4lyfe.
