Week 6 has started off with a bang so far with the call up and start of Noah Syndergaard. When it comes to this weeks Rookie Round Up, I hope to capture some of that explosiveness. This past week, as I was helping at my in-laws garage sale, I was talking with a little boy in a Little League uniform. He had finished the game and they won, but the big news was he got to pitch for the first time. His excitement at getting to do this, and even striking out another little fella was remarkable. It also reminded me of my own excitement way back in the day.
I always wanted to be a pitcher, and played every position but catcher and pitcher. However, I did get my opportunity in one game. Our team only lost one game that season, and this game was the one. We had cycled through everyone who was able to pitch and my coach asked if I wanted to try.
I was nervous, but said yes. I struck out my first batter! I then proceeded to throw a wild pitch, and hit the next batter. My next pitch? Another hit batter. The reason I remember this is because the boys I beaned were twin brothers. Just like that my pitching opportunity was over.
This trip down memory lane was brought on by the boy in the garage sale, but also with the recent call-ups of two of the top pitching prospects in the game. Major League players ability to handle big pressure situations, and nerves is truly astonishing and something many who knock the game of baseball overlook. At the snap of a finger a pitcher can lose his composure and put a six run inning on the board. I will also say this, my strikeout pitch was a pitch in the dirt that didn’t reach the plate. Yep. I was awful.
The big news is Noah Syndergaard getting called up to start for the Mets. The youngster pitched five-plus innings with six strikeouts giving up six hits, a home run and three runs. He wasn’t awful, but he wasn’t dominant in his major-league debut.
Kris Bryant found his power this past week in a big way, and the league should be careful from here on out. Bryant smashed three home runs over the past seven days and is now hitting .276 on the year with 19 RBIs. All three of his home runs came in the past four days.
Joc Pederson didn’t hit as well this past week, but still managed to hit two home runs to raise his season total to nine. He walked seven times while slashing .238/.429/.524 over the past week. If this a cool Pederson, I will take it.
Carlos Rodon seemed to be at ease in his first start of the season hurling six innings with eight strikeouts and catching the win.
Jorge Soler continues to make noise in the sea of rookies in Chicago hitting .333 with a home run and three RBIs over his last seven.
Trevor May got shelled for his first terrible outing of the young season. He had been pitching well up until his last start. We will see if he can turn things around this week in his next start.
Week 5 Hitters
| PLAYER | TEAM | PA | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | R | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Addison Russell | Cubs | 26 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0.231 |
| Alex Guererro | Dodgers | 15 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0.400 |
| Austin Hedges | Padres | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.250 |
| Billy Burns | Athletics | 23 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0.217 |
| Blake Swihart | Red Sox | 20 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0.150 |
| Dalton Pompey (AAA) | Blue Jays | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 |
| Devon Travis | Blue Jays | 19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0.105 |
| Eddie Rosario | Twins | 19 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0.263 |
| Francisco Lindor | Indians | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 |
| Jake Lamb (Injured) | Diamondbacks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 |
| James McCann | Tigers | 21 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.286 |
| Joc Pederson | Dodgers | 21 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 0.238 |
| Jorge Soler | Cubs | 27 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0.333 |
| Jung Ho Kang | Pirates | 21 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0.381 |
| Kevin Plawecki | Mets | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.200 |
| Kris Bryant | Cubs | 27 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0.296 |
| Steven Souza | Rays | 19 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0.210 |
| Yasmany Tomas | Diamondbacks | 22 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0.273 |
Week 5 Pitching Statistics
| PLAYER | TEAM | GS | IP | W | L | SO | ERA | WHIP | SV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Sanchez | Blue Jays | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1.00 | |
| Adam Ottavino (Injured) | Rockie | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 |
| Alex Meyer | Twins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | |
| Brandon Finnegan | Royals | 0 | 2.7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3.38 | 1.50 | |
| Carlos Rodon | White Sox | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 1.33 | |
| Daniel Norris | Blue Jays | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | |
| Dylan Bundy | Orioles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | |
| Kendall Graveman (AAA) | Athletics | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | |
| Kyle Lobstein | Tigers | 1 | 7.7 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.91 | |
| Marco Gonzales | Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | |
| Michael Lorenzen | Reds | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1.8 | 2.20 | |
| Noah Syndergaard | Mets | 1 | 5.3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5.06 | 1.88 | |
| Rafael Montero | Mets | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | |
| Tim Cooney | Cardinals | 1 | 2.3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 11.57 | 3.43 | |
| Trevor May | Twins | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 13.50 | 3.00 |
He is a die-hard Minnesota sports fan, and equally as extreme when it comes to Fantasy Sports. When Chris isn't participating in Fantasy Sports, he is writing about them at SoCalledFantasyExperts.com, FakePigskin.com and FakeTeams.com. He also enjoys reading, spending time with his family and music -- but is commonly known as a music snob. He has a degree in Child Development, but is not working in the field, but in Supply Chain currently.
- Daily Fantasy Baseball: Picks for Saturday, May 14th - May 14, 2016
- Daily Fantasy Baseball: Picks for May 12th, 2016 - May 12, 2016
- Daily Fantasy Baseball: Picks for Saturday, May 7th - May 7, 2016
