⚾️ MLB 7/2: SM Daily Notes 🏟️
A daily report of everything you need to know for today's MLB slate
Happy Hump Day! We had a few rainouts yesterday evening resulting in some of our players to watch not playing. Some of the write-ups will still be applicable to today’s games which you can find here. Freddy Peralta and Christian Yelich both get their matchups today vs. the Mets and so do the Tiger’s Riley Green and Padre’s Nick Pivetta.
There is a full slate of games today and we will run through some players that you should focus on if you are playing fantasy, placing bets, or watching along.
Enjoy the action!
Pitchers
Mitch Spence (vs. TBR)
Spence comes into this road start with a 3.07 ERA over his last seven appearances. The Rays have struck out the most at home this season compared to any other team (413). Spence dominated the Rays last year with a 2.90 ERA and 14 SO in 12.1 IP. The right-hander has been dominant outside of Sacramento this season, with a 2.31 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP in 13 appearances.
MacKenzie Gore (vs. DET)
Gore is one of the top candidates for NL Cy Young as he is 2nd in SOs and has dominated at home with a 2.27 ERA. The Tigers strike out at a 23.3% clip on the road. Gore ranks in the top 10% of the league in whiff % (33), K % (31.9) and breaking-ball run value (7). He has been even more dominant in his last seven games, with an ERA of 2.32 and 45 SO in 42.2 IP.
Jacob Misiorowski (vs. NYM)
Misiorowski has had a blockbuster start to his major league career as he has only allowed three hits in his first 16 innings. He is also 3-0 with 19 SOs and a WHIP of 0.63. “The Mis” already ranks in the top 1% of the league with elite marks in fastball velocity (99.6) and extension (7.6). The Mets have the second-lowest BA in the NL over the last two weeks (.230) and have the league’s third-highest SO % (24.1).
Will Warren (vs. TOR)
Warren will face-off against these division rivals for the first time in his young career. He has taken some time to adjust to the major leagues, but in June he has settled in to a 2.86 ERA and 34 SO in 28.1 IP. His fastball has an xBA of .200 and has a pitching run value of 9 this season. He strikes out batters at 29.6% clip and has 43 punch outs in his last 33.2 IP.
Noah Cameron (vs. SEA)
The rookie Noah Cameron will get his first start in Seattle at a park that has ranked the best to pitch in according to Statcast Park Factors (91). This is evident by the Mariners having the 2nd-highest K% at home in the AL this season (24.2%). Cameron’s season-long numbers still look great, with a 2.79 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. Those numbers are even lower on the road, a 1.11 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. Cameron’s breaking pitches rank in the top 3% of the league in run value (9).
Batters
Kyle Stowers (vs. MIN)
Stowers hit a home run last night and continues to be one of the hottest bats in the league. He has hit three home runs in his last seven games and is slashing .318/.434/.750 over his last two weeks. He ranks in the top 6% of the league in xSLG (.549) and barrel % (19.5) on the season. His OPS vs. right-handed pitching this year is at .891.
Cody Bellinger (vs. TOR)
Bellinger is currently on a seven-game hit streak with three multi-hit performances sprinkled in. He is slugging .677 over the last week with an OBP of .406. June was his second-straight month of hitting over .300 and had an OPS of .853 for the month. Bellinger has a home run and an OPS of 1.917 vs. Jose Berrios.
Adolis Garcia (vs. BAL)
Is Garcia coming around? He has back-to-back multi-hit performances including a home run and seven RBIs in those two games. Garcia is still hitting the ball as hard as ever, with an average exit velocity of 93.3 MPH. Sugano gave up seven runs in his last start and has an ERA over 5 in his last seven appearances.
Randy Arozarena (vs. KCR)
If there was a one batter in the lineup for Seattle tonight to get to Cameron it would be Arozarena. Randy is slashing .357/.408/.714 in his last seven games and has hit three home runs in his last two games vs. KC. He had a .854 OPS in the month of June and has raised his xwOBA from .284 on June 27th to .410 today. Arozarena is slashing .299/.340/.471 vs. LHP this term.
Willy Adames (vs. ARI)
Adames had a dreadful start to his Giants’ career but has quietly been doing better at the plate. His xwOBA has now been above .325 for his last 50 PA and has a career OPS of 1.073 with two home runs vs. Merrill Kelly. Adames had a home run last night and has hits in back-to-back games. Look for him to stay hot in Chase Field where he has an OPS over 1.000 the last two seasons.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (vs. SFG)
After a pretty cold June, Gurriel is starting to show some life at the plate recently. He has a three-game hit streak and has hit home runs in back-to-back games. Lourdes ranks in the top 9% of the league in K % (13.4) and has a hit vs. Roupp and a 2.000 OPS in his career. In his 26 games vs. San Francisco, Gurriel is slashing .350/.387/.570 with four home runs.