Here are your MLB highlights for the week of June 14-20, 2021:
Mazel tov
- C Ryan Lavarnway (Indians) was called-up from the minors on June 17. That same night, the veteran — playing for the first time as an Indian — singled in his first at-bat and went 2-for-4.
- OF Kevin Pillar (Mets) gave one of the most extensive interviews of his MLB career in a June 19 Q&A with the New York Post. Pillar touched on multiple topics, including being dubbed “Superman” for his outfield heroics, becoming a fan favorite in his first season in New York, taking a 94.5 mph fastball to the face earlier this season, his love for his teammates, and his concern about rising anti-Semitism.
Stats to share
- LF Joc Pederson’s 2-homer game on June 18 was the 17th of his career. The left fielder has 11 HRs this season, tied for #3 on the Cubs’ roster behind Javier Baez and Kris Bryant.
- CF Kevin Pillar (Mets) has played all three outfield positions this season — 31 games in center field, 15 in left, and 7 in right — and has yet to make a single error.
- P Max Fried (Braves) has struggled against right-handers on the road this season, yielding a .400 average. The southpaw has had much greater luck facing right-handed batters at home, where he has held them to a .209 average.
Weekly overview
- Jewish batters had their worst week of the season, hitting a combined .155 (11-for-71) with 4 HRs, 3 doubles, 10 RBIs, and a .218 on-base percentage. The dismal performance lowered their collective batting average from .254 to .246, versus the Major League average of .238.
- Jewish pitchers went a combined 1-2 with a 4.11 ERA over 24 combined innings last week, fanning 18 batters while walking 11. The performance lowered their collective ERA from 5.14 to 4.95, versus the Major League average of 4.04.
On the mound
- Max Fried (Braves), who has had a very up-and-down season, was decidedly “up” in a 9-1 win over the Cardinals on June 18, yielding one earned run on just 2 hits and 2 walks over 7 innings while striking out 6.
- P Dean Kremer (Orioles), who spent several weeks in the minors following a rough April and May, suffered a loss the very same day he was called-up (June 14) but recovered with a strong performance on June 19, yielding 2 earned runs on 3 hits and 3 walks over 6 innings while striking out 6. The Israeli-American was headed for a win that night until Baltimore’s hapless bullpen gave up 6 runs in the 9th inning to the Blue Jays.
- Richard Bleier (Marlins) went 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA over 2 appearances, yielding 3 hits over a combined 2 innings while striking out one batter.
- P Robert Stock (Cubs) was called-up from the minors on June 16 and made his Cubs debut the same night. Unfortunately, the first start of his Major League career ended in a loss, as Stock gave up 5 earned runs on 4 hits, 6 walks, and a hit batter over 4 innings while striking out 3. Was it the jitters? We won’t know for certain, as the Cubs sent Stock back down to the minors the following day. But the right-hander handled the experience with characteristic humor on Twitter. “Thank you for all the support everyone!! Considering I walked approximately 40 batters, it went about as well as it could have,” he wrote. “I’ll dial it in next time and make it more fun to be a fan of mine.”
At the plate
- LF Joc Pederson (Cubs) hit .217 (5-for-23) with 2 HRs, a double, 3 RBIs, and a .739 OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging).
- CF Kevin Pillar (Mets) hit .211 (4-for-19) but made the most of his 4 hits, stroking 2 HRs and 2 doubles, driving in 5 runs, and mustering a .917 OPS. On June 16, Pillar robbed Joc Pederson (Cubs) of extra bases, much to the chagrin of Cubs starter Robert Stock.
- C Ryan Lavarnway (Indians) hit .286 (2-for-7) with a walk and a .661 OPS.
- P Max Fried (Braves) went 0-for-2 with a bases-loaded walk on June 18. For the season, Fried is hitting .313 (5-for-16) with 2 RBIs and a .764 OPS.
- C Garrett Stubbs (Astros) went 0-for-1 on June 17. It was a busy week for Stubbs, who was optioned to the minors on June 14 and then called-up on June 16, his 4th such call this season.
- P Robert Stock (Cubs) went 0-for-2 on June 16. The at-bats were Stock’s first in 41 MLB games.
- 3B Alex Bregman (Astros) hit .000 (0-for-9) with an RBI and an .091 OPS before straining his left quad on June 16 and being placed on the injured list.
- 1B Rowdy Tellez (Blue Jays) went 0-for-9 with a hit-by-pitch.
Players to watch
- OF Jake Suddleson (Athletics/Double-A/Midland RockHounds), an undrafted prospect out of Harvard University, hit .533 (8-for-15) last week with 3 HRs, a double, 5 RBIs, a stolen base, and a .953 OPS.
- C CJ Stubbs (Astros/High-A/Asheville Tourists), the younger brother of Astros catcher Garrett Stubbs, hit .467 (7-for-15) with a home run, triple, 2 doubles, 2 RBIs, and a 1.663 OPS.
- P Noah Davis (Reds/High-A/Dayton Dragons) tossed a one-hit win on June 16, yielding just one walk over 6 innings while striking out 7.
- P Jared Shuster (Braves/High-A/Rome Braves) pitched 4 innings of one-hit ball in a June 16 start, yielding one walk while striking out 6.
Transactions
- 3B Alex Bregman (Astros) limped onto the injured list on June 17 with a left quad strain.
- C Ryan Lavarnway (Indians) was called-up from the minors on June 17.
- P Robert Stock (Cubs) was called-up from the minors on June 16 and then optioned back to Triple-A on June 17.
- P Dean Kremer (Orioles) was called-up from the minors on June 14.
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