Many readers have expressed regret that Jewish Baseball News is no longer producing weekly MLB summaries. We hope someday to resume that level of activity. For now, however, the best we can do is produce occasional updates — such as the one below — and encourage you to follow our posts on social media.
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In the meantime, thank you for asking us to do more. We take that as a compliment.
Now, onto the update.
Season overview
- Simply and crudely put, Jewish pitchers are kicking ass in 2022. Through June 17, they were a combined 11-8 with a 4.83 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a 3.05 ERA, substantially below the MLB average of 3.90.
- Jewish batters are hitting a combined .245 so far this season, modestly better than the MLB average of .241. They also are hitting HRs at a far faster clip than the Majors as a whole — one for every 19.1 at-bats, versus one in 32.2 ABs.
Stats to share
- Through games played June 17, OF Joc Pederson (Giants) had hit one home run for every 11.4 ABs, ranking him #1 among N.L. players with at least 150 ABs. Meanwhile, Pederson’s career average of 16.9 ABs per home run ranks #5 among all active MLB players.
- Among active MLB pitchers with at least 50 career decisions, Max Fried (Braves) ranks #2 in win-loss percentage, at .702 (47-20).
- Despite technically still being a rookie, sophomore pitcher Scott Effross (Cubs) has been a workhorse. His 31 appearances rank #1 among N.L. hurlers this season.
At the plate
- Despite serving in a backup role, C Garrett Stubbs (Phillies) is winning fans in his new home town of Philadelphia. After three years in Houston, where he hit just .182 (14-for-77) with 0 HRs and 6 RBIs, the 29-year-old has upped his game, hitting .317 (13-for-41) with 3 HRs, 7 extra-base hits, a .404 OBP, and a 1.036 OPS (on-base plus slugging). Perhaps the greatest moment of Stubbs’ career came on June 15, when he hit a 3-run, walk-off HR against the Marlins, sparking a debate as to whether Stubbs’ post-HR celebration was the best of the year. (Click here to see him discuss the HR and receive a Gatorade bath.) On June 12, Stubbs took the mound for an inning, yielding a solo HR in a 13-1 loss to Arizona.
- LF Joc Pederson (Giants), who has earned two World Series rings in a row (Dodgers in 2020, Braves in 2021), is hitting a career-best .269 (43-for-160) with 14 HRs, 34 RBIs, a .343 OBP, and a career-best .905 OPS. Three of his HRs came on May 24, a night he went 4-for-6 with 8 RBIs. San Francisco would appear to be getting a bargain with Pederson, who has a one-year, $6-million contract.
- CF Kevin Pillar (Dodgers) has had an excellent season in Triple-A but played just four games in the Majors, hitting. 083 (1-for-12) with a double and a walk. He did make a remarkable catch on May 29, however, one that Statcast said had only a 20% probability of success.
- 1B Rowdy Tellez (Brewers) is hitting .252 (55-for-218) with 10 HRs, a team-high 38 RBIs, a .314 OBP, and a .768 OPS. Tellez was named N.L. Player of the Week in early May after hitting .500 (12-for-24) with an MLB-best 1.580 OPS — not bad for a 6-foot-4, 255-pound man. The highlight was a historic performance on May 4, when Tellez went 4-for-6 with 2 HRs (including a grand slam), a double that was just a few feet short of a second grand slam, and a team-record 8 RBIs. Click here to see a recent interview with the 27-year-old California native.
- After beginning the season with a bang — he won the first A.L. Player of the Week award in 2022 — Alex Bregman (Astros) is hitting a career-low .216 (47-for-218) with 7 HRs, 30 RBIs, a .336 OBP, and a .712 OPS.
On the mound
- Max Fried (Braves) lost his first two starts of the season but has gone 7-0 since then, leaving him with a 7-2 record, a 2.90 ERA (#10 in the N.L.), a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 5.769 (#3), and 1.054 walks/hits per inning (#10).
- As a rookie starter in 2021, Eli Morgan (Indians) struggled, going 5-7 with a 5.34 ERA — which makes his 2022 reincarnation as a middle reliever that much more astonishing. And don’t let his 2-2 record fool you. Among all N.L. pitchers with at least 30 innings under their belt this season, the 26-year-old right hander ranks #1 in opponent batting average (.114), #1 in walks/hits per innings (0.54), #3 in strikeout-to-walk ratio (7.80), #4 in ERA (1.71), #8 in walks per 9 innings (1.42), and #8 in strikeouts per 9 innings (11.08).
- Scott Effross (Cubs) is 1-2 with a 3.10 ERA (#2 among all Chicago pitchers), 37 strikeouts and just 7 walks across 29 innings, and a WHIP (walks/hit per inning) of 1.172.
- An injury kept Dean Kremer (Orioles) out of the lineup until early June, but the Israeli-American has gotten better in each of his three starts, culminating with a shutout of the Rays on June 17. For the season, Kremer is 1-1 with a 2.35 ERA, 10 strikeouts and 4 walks across 15.1 innings, and a 1.175 WHIP.
- Richard Bleier (Marlins) is enduring the toughest trial of his 7-year career. Despite entering the season with a career record of 12-4 and a 2.96 ERA, the 6-for-3-inch southpaw is 0-1 in 2022, with a 4.76 ERA and a 1.647 WHIP.
- Kenny Rosenberg (Angels) made his MLB debut in 2022 — click here to see his first strikeout — but he hasn’t had much chance to develop his stuff. Rosenberg tossed one inning on April 18 and 5 innings on May 31, and both times he was demoted the following day. For the season, the 26-year-old is 0-0 with a 7.50 ERA, 7 strikeouts and 3 walks across 6 innings, and a 1.667 WHIP.
On the mend
- P Ryan Sherriff (Phillies), recovering from a left shoulder strain, began a series of minor-league rehab assignments on June 9. In 4 appearances across three leagues, Sherriff is 1-0 with 2 holds, a 1.00 WHIP, and 7 strikeouts over 4 combined innings.
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