Welcome to Ronnie’s 3 Ups and 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
Trevor Story
Over the last 10 days Story is making 44.0% HC. He also has a very impressive 32.0% LD in that time. The Rockies are at home against the Washington Nationals today. Washington will trot out righty Anibal Sanchez for todays start. Sanchez has the second highest SIERA (5.38) of any pitcher in the National League. His 4.5 BB/9 are a big culprit in the inflated SIERA.
Franmil Reyes
Reyes is on fire right now, since April 14 he’s making 70.6% HC and just 4.3% SC. He has a 41.2% FB which isn’t remarkable on it’s own but he also has a 42.9% HR/FB. That has lead to a .346 ISO over his last 28 plate appearances.
Mike Soroka
This is a great sleeper pick in today’s matchups. Soroka has only made one start on the year and just 6 for his career, but he looked good in his lone outing this season. He went 5 innings walking 2 and striking out 6 batters in a 1 run performance. Soroka has the benefit today of pitching against the Reds today. Cincinnati is struggling lately with a 59 team wRC+ in the last 10 days. They have just a .167 ISO as team over that span which should come as no surprise given that they have the worst LD in the game at 15.0%.
Downs
Kolten Wong
Wong is having a very good start to his season. Through 92 plate appearances he’s hitting .289/.424/.514 with a 151 OPS+. Wong is not making good contact recents, over his last 37 plate appearances he’s making 33.3% SC. That poor contact has lead to a 90 wRC+ and a .307 wOBA. The St Louis second baseman is definitely one to avoid until he starts making better contact.
Joey Votto
Votto has been one of the best hitters in the National League since 2009 but has taken quite a bit of criticism for his ability to drive in runs. That’s an arguable judgement on the Reds first baseman, but what’s not arguable is that he’s not doing well over his last 29 PA. In those PA he’s striking out an an unusually high 35.7% with a low .167 ISO. He has just a 14.3% LD in that time and is popping the ball up quite a bit with a 20.0% IFFB. Best to not play Votto right now.
Kohl Stewart
Stewart is having a fine year so far, in 36.2 innings the Minnesota Twin rookie has a very nice 3.68 ERA. Unfortunately his peripherals don’t look as good. He’s walking 4.4/9 and striking out just 5.9/9, he also has a very poor 4.92 SIERA. He faces one of the hottest offenses in the Majors right now in the Houston Astros. Over the last 10 days the Astros are making the best HC in the AL at 45.3%. They are also walking at a 10.6% clip with a .234 team ISO.
