Welcome to Ronnie’s 3 Ups & 3 Downs! This column looks at some fascinating matchups and facts that might pique the interest of the reader as that day’s games are reviewed. This is my attempt at creating compelling thought on any given day.
Ups
Yasmani Grandal
In the last 7 days Grandal has an amazing 86.7% HC. During that time amassed 22 plate appearances hitting .529/.636/1.118 with an 18.2% walk rate and a .588 ISO. Today he matches up against Dakota Hudson. The Cardinals righty is allowing 46.9% HC over 9.2 innings on the season.
Corey Seager
Seager is on a tear over the last week, in 27 PA he has a .483 wOBA and a 203 wRC+. In that span he is making 47.1% HC with a MLB leading 52.9% LD. The amazing thing is that he is actually going the other way quite a lot with a 47.1% Oppo.
Seager hits today against the Reds Luis Castillo. Against right handed pitching on the season Seager has a 170 wRC+ ad a .278 ISO.
Matt Shoemaker
Off to a blistering start this season, Shoemaker is sligging it for his new team. The Toronto righty has an excellent 54.3% GB and an amazing 0.92 ERA. Obviously that ERA is over inflated, but his 3.58 SIERA still suggest a good deal of success. His opposition has just a 10.9% LD against him on the season.
On the other side of the diamond today will be the Minnesota Twins. The Twinkies have a 20.7% K% and just a 6.7% BB% over their last 6 games. During that time the Twins rank 23rd in the Majors with 34.3% HC and 30th with 14.3% LD.
Downs
Jose Ramirez
2018 was a monster season for the Cleveland Infielder, but 2019 has not been kind to the former MVP candidate. He’s hitting fly balls at a 50.0% rate with a 0.0% HR/FB, he’s also making 31.4% SC. He’s making contact at a 84.3% clips, well above the 75.5% league average, but his quality of contact is too poor. Don’t take a flier on Jose until (if) he settles in.
Joey Gallo
Gallo got 2019 off to a hot start, through his first 38 PA he hit four home runs and slashed .250/.447/.714. He was worth 199 wRC+ in those first nine games on the strength of a .464 ISO. Since then, however, things have changed drastically. In his last 13 PA he has reached base zero times while striking out in 8 of those PA.
Aaron Nola
Nola has certainly not lived up to expectations thus far in 2019. Through 3 starts on the year Nola has thrown 15.1 innings with a thus far career high 4.7 BB/9 and a career low 7.6 K/9. He has a fantastic 54.5% GB but the problem is that when hitters elevate the ball they crush it. Nola has a 33.3 HR/FB and an awful 2.93 HR/9. All this has lead to a 5.00 SIERA.
