As the 2024 season continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world headed into the weekend:
1. Martinez to debut:
The Mets are expected to activate veteran slugger J.D. Martinez for his club debut today, as manager Carlos Mendoza indicated earlier this week. The club won’t need to make a 40-man move to accommodate Martinez but will need to clear space on the active roster prior to tonight’s game against the Cardinals. Martinez, 36, lingered on the free agent market deep into Spring Training but ultimately landed in Queens on a one-year deal just before Opening Day.
Despite that relatively modest contract, Martinez was among the most fearsome hitters available in free agency this winter. A six-time All-Star and three-time Silver Slugger award winner, the veteran has a .293/.359/.550 slash line since he first joined the Tigers more than a decade ago. The 2023 season saw Martinez revamp his swing to prioritize power over contact, and it resulted in him slugging .572 with 33 homers in just 113 games for the Dodgers last year. That power production should allow Martinez to transform a Mets lineup that offers little in the way of slugging outside of first baseman Pete Alonso.
2. Early season pitchers’ duel in Boston:
The Cubs are set to open a three-game set against the Red Sox in Fenway Park at 7:10pm local time this evening, and two of the league’s best performers to this point in the 2024 campaign are set to face off on the mound. Boston is set start Kutter Crawford, whose 0.66 ERA in 27 1/3 innings of work this season is the lowest among all right-handed starters in the majors (min. 20 innings). Meanwhile, Chicago will counter with offseason addition Shota Imanaga, whose 0.84 ERA in 21 1/3 frames is the lowest among all lefty starters with that same qualifier this season. While each hurler’s start to the 2024 season has been surprisingly dominant, both appear to have mostly earned that strong production to this point in the season; Imanaga’s 2.06 FIP leads all starters, while Crawford’s 2.26 figure is only bested by Tanner Houck among righty starters.
3. Rizzo approaching milestone:
Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo has struggled somewhat early in the 2024 campaign, slashing just .242/.312/.354 in 109 trips to the plate. He’s heated up in recent days, however, slashing .294/.333/.647 with two home runs in his past five games. In addition to bringing his season line closer to league average, Rizzo’s pair of long balls have put a notable milestone in sight. With 298 homers now under his belt, just two more will make him the 161st member of the 300 home run club in MLB history.
With the Yankees headed to Miller Park for a three-game set against the Brewers this weekend, Rizzo could be in prime position to reach the milestone in the coming days. The 34-year-old slugger is plenty familiar with the Brewers’ ballpark from ten seasons with their division-rival Cubs and is a career .243/.319/.482 hitter with 17 homers in 314 trips to the plate in his time hitting in Milwaukee. In addition to his solid track record against the Brewers, Rizzo will benefit from park factors this weekend: Miller Park has the fifth-most homer-friendly ballpark in the majors for left-handed batters in recent years per Statcast, just behind Rizzo’s home ballpark of Yankee Stadium.
I posted yesterday how much I’m looking forward to my man Kutter against my man Shota …. should be a good one! And possibly the shortest game in MLB history!! LOLOL!!
Gonna have to see if I can find this one FPG… hopefully Apple TV… if not looks like reruns of NOVA ..
Olm – It’s not on Apple, the Cards/Mets and Rays/ChiSox are on Apple tonight.
You need to get MLB.TV :O)
Fever: The Sox are on Natio Al TV, and twice in the same week? I wish whoever announces that game good luck finding anything to talk about the White Sox.
avenger – Yeah I know national games are usually scheduled well in advance, but Rays/ChiSox would be boring even if the ChiSox were good.
Damn… looks like the search for Nessie on Nova it is!!!
Olm – You just missed a sensational play at first base by Dalbec!!! Seriously, we need to find a way to merge him and Casas together …. with Casas hitting and Dalbec fielding, combined they would be the best first baseman in the game!
Rooting for a good game, hopefully Shota gets it done against Kutter! Good luck to your Red Sox!
acoss – How come you didn’t tell me Nap was coaching first base for your team? He’s a legend in New England! So good to see him again, another memory from the glory days when winning was important to the Red Sox.
Fever,
Oh yeah, Napoli is a guy alright. He had a great career, he was a grinder. He did some special things for you guys during your 2013 World Series run. He’s a great guy to have!
acoss – Funny I never would have pictured him as a coach, I didn’t think it would be something he’d want to do.
What if Ohtani is on pace to be the 162 to 300. Seems fitting in a way
@Rob66
What does that even mean?
The article states Rizzo is on pace to be the 161st member of the 300 Home Run club so i assume he means that Ohtani could be the next one (or the 162nd) to reach the milestone.
However, Ohtani sitting at 177 is significantly behind many others that should get their ahead of him including Aaron Judge (271), Mookie Betts (258), Salvador Perez (253) and Kyle Schwarber (252)
@Rsox
Thank you for clarifying that.
I have to say the article is a slap in the face to the Brewers. In case MLBTR hadn’t noticed, the Brews are in first place in their division. They didn’t get there by playing in Coors Field (Sorry Rox fans for the slap in the face). I hope Rizzo goes 0-15 or whatever in this weekend’s series.
That 51% hard hit for Shota is concerning and can’t last the whole season unless he gets lucky the whole season. Statcast suggests his xERA is 3.35 and his FRA should be around 4.21.
Plus he has always been an extreme fly ball pitcher. Once things start warming up you watch those warning track flyouts are going over the wall.
Coop – True, but he’s also a strikeout pitcher who struck out 26% of all batters faced for 8 seasons in Japan and led the league in K’s last year.
Fever: Different ball, different league.
coop: You mean the Red Sox took down those ridiculous baskets lining the OF walls? How will the cubs survive?
JD in 19 ABs 314/.802 with a couple of doubles. Small sample but if those numbers carry over, that line up moves from roughly middle of the pack to top 10.
I’m a Mets fan and I wouldn’t go that far.
The bigger factor than the small sample size is that the majority of those games came in A ball
Loved JD when he was with Detroit. But a DH only at 36 is going to have to play the rest of his career on one year prove it deals. If he accepts that fact and is willing to set his guarantee lower and load it with incentives then he can and will be signed much earlier in the off season and be ready to go during spring training.
River doc: I didn’t see JDM play for Detroit but he was my favorite Red Sox during his time with them. Not really a Mets fan (but not a hater, either), but I hope he has a 2024 like he did in 2023.
He could and would have been signed earlier in the off-season if Scott Boras wasn’t his agent. Martinez has signed 3 free agent contracts during his career and only one was signed before February and only because it was with the Dodgers
Rsox – Very true! He signed with the Red Sox on February 26, taking a lot less than what Boras had been looking for.
HI, Fever. Me again. You wonder how long the Boras Five will keep believing his lies about long term mega- deals. So far, Montgomery is the only one who has wised up.
Hi avenger – Always good to talk baseball with you.
Yeah I am expecting at least one or two more of the Boras Five switching agents before their next contract.
FYI: Miller Park was renamed as American Family Field.
But he hit those homers in Miller Park.
Carlos Mendoza moonlights as a 24yr old middle infielder in the Tigers minor league system (according to the link).No wonder the Mets are underperfroming.