Summer is fast approaching, and we're starting to sort the pretenders from the contenders in Major League Baseball.
The Toronto Blue Jays are finally showing us what they can do offensively, the Texas Rangers have a surprising Cy Young arm carrying them, and the Los Angeles Angels have a hit a rough patch.
We touch on all that and more in this week's MLB Notebook!
MLB Notebook: June 3-5
Click on each item to read the full update.
- Blue Jays' offense awakens
- Texas has an unsung hero
- Angels on a losing skid
- Marlins have two aces
- Featured weekend matchups
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MLB betting news for this weekend
Blue Jays' offense awakens
Before the regular season began, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hyped up the 2022 campaign as the "movie", compared to last year's "trailer", one in which the Jays finished 91-71 and narrowly missed out on the postseason by one game.
Up until the last week, the Jays had been incredibly disappointing offensively. Shortstop Bo Bichette only hit .213 in April with an OPS of .535 and looked poor in the field at times.
Bichette rebounded by hitting .296 in May and has been far better defensively as well. Teoscar Hernandez is also starting to heat up after shaking off the injury rust that kept him out of the lineup for nearly a whole month.
As a result of that and Toronto's impressive pitching, the Jays are in the midst of an eight-game win streak and hold the top Wild Card spot in the American League at 30-20.
The biggest storyline this week in Toronto, however, is how hot Alejandro Kirk has been at the plate. The young Mexican catcher is a phenomenal low-ball hitter who tore it up in May.
ALEJANDRO KIRK
— Dan Shulman (@DShulman_ESPN) June 1, 2022
May
.415/.569/.984 - 6th highest OPS in AL
Only 6 K's in 82 PA.
Season
Contact rate >88%, 7th in the majors (100+ PA).
Highest BB% and lowest K% on team.
23 years old. #NextLevel
The duo of Kirk and Danny Jansen at catcher gives Toronto a bit of a dilemma. With top-ranked prospect Gabriel Moreno raking in AAA, should they consider trading him for a big name at the deadline?
Either way, it won't take a big-name piece to acquire a left-handed bat, which Toronto needs to balance out their right-heavy lineup. The first name that comes to mind is Royals outfielder Andrew Benintendi.
A former World Series champion with the Red Sox in 2018, Benintendi hits for average and would be a nice option at the two-hole between George Springer and Guerrero. Benintendi is having an All-Star level season with the Royals so far, batting .337 through 49 games. This would also allow the free-swinging Bichette to hit cleanup, where he's looked the most comfortable in his career.
Despite their cold start, the Jays' latest win streak currently gives them the sixth-best World Series odds at +1,000. Before the season began, Toronto opened at +1,800 to take home the trophy, something Canada's team hasn't done since 1993.
Texas has an unsung hero
Believe it or not, the best player for the Texas Rangers this year hasn't been either Marcus Semien or Corey Seager, who were both signed to lucrative deals in the offseason.
It's been left-hander Martin Perez, who has the best ERA+ in all of baseball at 272 and has yet to give up a single home run. The southpaw finished the month of May with a sparkling 0.64 ERA and is first in pitcher WAR at 2.8.
A member of the Rangers from 2012 to 2018, Perez rejoined the Rangers in March on a cheap one-year, $4 million deal after stints in Minnesota and Boston over the last three seasons.
Martín Pérez is the first MLB pitcher to allow zero home runs in a month in which he pitched at least 40.0 innings since LAD’s Hyun Jin Ryu in May of 2019 (45.2 IP), and the first A.L. pitcher to do so since BOS’ Clay Buchholz in June of 2015 (40.2 IP).
— Texas Rangers PR (@TXRangersPR) June 1, 2022
In his first go-around with Texas, Perez was really nothing more than an end of the rotation guy, with a combined ERA+ of 97 in those seven seasons (three points below what qualifies as a league-average pitcher).
Perez is currently +5,000 in AL Cy Young Odds and wasn't even on the odds board prior to Opening Day. Expect that number to significantly drop if he keeps performing at this kind of level. With Jon Gray struggling massively in his first season with Texas, Perez is the clear ace for the Rangers.
Chris Woodward's team has played much better recently, and if they continue to be competitive, Perez is a great bet to jump on for ending up with the coveted pitching award. A Texas Ranger has never taken home a Cy Young, dating back to its inception in 1956.
Angels on a losing skid
Following a hot start to the season, the Los Angels have fallen into a funk, losers of their last eight. Parlay that with the Houston Astros coming alive over the last few weeks, and the Halos find themselves 6.5 games back of the division lead in the AL West.
Perfect encapsulation of Angels Baseball over the past few weeks. There is zero reason this should happen. pic.twitter.com/RyCqVcUdBS
— Brent Maguire (@bmags94) June 3, 2022
The Angels pitching will always be their weak spot, but Los Angeles will need to improve the depth in the batting order as well. It doesn't get much better than Taylor Ward, Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout, and Jared Walsh at the top, but the talent really drops off after that.
Former Silver Slugger Anthony Rendon is no longer the elite hitter he once was during his run in D.C., so it might be in Joe Maddon's best interest to add another piece. Rendon has also struggled with injuries since signing with the club in 2019 and is currently on the IL with wrist inflammation.
All-Star shortstop Xander Bogaerts of the Boston Red Sox would be a great fit on the Angels to add more depth to their talented lineup. Infielders Tyler Wade and Andrew Velasquez certainly aren't everyday players, and the Angels' bottom of the order is extremely weak because of the two playing so much for a team that wants to be considered a threat in the American League.
The Red Sox have fallen out of playoff contention, and it's about time Los Angeles gets back to the postseason. The last time the Angels played meaningful October ball was in 2014. With the new three-team Wild Card format, it's worth putting a flier on the Angels to still make it through and possibly do damage in the Fall.
Marlins have two aces
Gerrit Cole and Max Scherzer will always get acclaim because of pitcher name recognition, but it's the exact opposite when you're a star on the Miami Marlins.
Right now, Sandy Alcantara and Pablo Lopez are the two of the best pitchers in National League. Alcantara and Lopez currently rank second and third in NL ERA and are behind just Corbin Burnes and Joe Musgrove in the NL Cy Young odds race. Alcantara is currently listed at +600, while Lopez is at +700.
The last time the Marlins put two starting pitchers in the All-Star Game was 1996. Kevin Brown & Al Leiter. Sandy Alcantara & Pablo López could be the next pair to get there.
— Craig Mish (@CraigMish) May 17, 2022
The Marlins rotation has incredible depth, with Trevor Rogers, Edward Cabrera, and Jesus Luzardo pitching behind the two stars. Young right-hander Max Meyer is the 28th best prospect according to MLB.com and should also be called up at some point this season as well.
Miami won't be a factor in the playoff race this season, sitting seven games below .500, already 12 games back of the division leader Mets. Either way, the future is bright in South Beach and it all starts with the studs on the mound.
Featured MLB games for this weekend
Friday, June 3
• Twins at Blue Jays: Sonny Gray vs. Yusei Kikuchi, 7:07 p.m. ET, Bally Sports, Sportsnet
• Padres at Brewers: Joe Musgrove vs. Corbin Burnes, 8:10 p.m. ET, Bally Sports
Saturday, June 4
• Angels at Phillies: Michael Lorenzen vs. Zack Wheelers 7:15 p.m. ET, FOX
• Mets at Dodgers: David Peterson vs. Walker Buehler, 10:10 p.m. ET, SNY, Sportsnet
Sunday, June 5
• Giants at Marlins: Jakob Junis vs. TBD, 1:40 p.m. ET, NBCS-BAY, Bally Sports
• Cardinals at Cubs: Adam Wainwright vs. Justin Steele, 7:08 p.m. ET, ESPN
Check out the full MLB schedule, matchups, odds, and more!
