Here are three things for MLBTR readers to keep an eye out for today:
1. Lopez going under the knife:
Last week, Braves manager Brian Snitker told reporters (including Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) that right-hander Reynaldo Lopez’s arthroscopic shoulder surgery is scheduled for today. As noted by David O’Brien of The Athletic, the extent of repair necessary won’t be known until surgery begins. A simple cleanup could have Lopez back on the mound this year, whereas a more significant issue would threaten the remainder of his 2025 campaign. Some sort of timetable for Lopez’s return seems likely to be made available once the procedure is complete. In the meantime, the Braves are relying on AJ Smith-Shawver, Grant Holmes, and Bryce Elder in the rotation behind Chris Sale and Spencer Schwellenbach.
2. Robles, Marte await MRI results:
Mariners outfielder Victor Robles and Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte were placed on the injured list over the weekend due to a shoulder injury and hamstring strain, respectively. Both were serious enough issues that neither Seattle nor Arizona felt the need to wait for testing before making an IL stint official, and both players were scheduled to undergo MRIs yesterday, per Adam Jude of The Seattle Times and Alex Weiner of AZSports. When those results become available, fans should have a better idea of how long the Mariners will be without their leadoff man and how long the D-backs will be without their superstar hitter. Seattle called up outfielder Dominic Canzone while Robles is out of commission, though many Robles’ right field reps could go to Luke Raley, with Rowdy Tellez slotting in at first base and several players cycling through the DH spot in the lineup. Rookie Tim Tawa has filled in at second for Marte, and utilityman Garrett Hampson could see time there as well.
3. MLBTR Chat Today:
Each MLB team is now around ten games into the season, and some expected contenders like those in Atlanta and Arizona have struggled while more surprising teams like the Giants and Angels have done quite well for themselves. There’s still plenty of baseball left to go, however, and if you have questions about which starts to believe in or are already looking towards July’s trade deadline then MLBTR’s Steve Adams has you covered in a live chat scheduled for 1pm CT today. You can click here to ask a question in advance, join in live once the chat begins, or read the transcript once the chat is complete.
Random post: I see Alexander (the Great) Canario is 0-11 with negative WAR to start the season.
I still don’t understand how James Wood can be simultaneously leading the league in ground ball percentage (GB%) at 77.8% and striking out at an alarming 41.7% rate, despite having a single-digit swinging strike rate (SwStk%).
GB% is just the percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground, not the percentage of at bats that end in a ground ball.
Strike out rate is the percentage of at bats that do result in a strikeout.
A guy can have a high strikeout rate and a low swinging strike rate. It just means he watches strike 3 go by for a called strike quite a lot.
@Canuckleball
I get that GB% is just about balls in play and K% is about strikeouts, but your “watching strike 3” idea doesn’t add up. A low swinging strike rate means Wood’s great at making contact when he swings, so a 41.7% strikeout rate is crazy high for that. And then, when he does hit it, it’s almost always a grounder—77.8%! That’s weird. If he’s so good at contact, why’s he striking out so much and hitting weak grounders? It’s not just passivity—something’s off, like maybe pitchers are throwing him stuff he can’t lift, or his swing’s broken. My head’s still spinning, and your answer doesn’t solve it.
Yes my answer does solve it.
Cavan Biggio, formerly of the Jays, did this all the time in the early part of his career. He had a great eye and took a lot of walks, but he struck out twice a game, almost always looking because he thought everything was a ball.
When Woods swings, he makes contact. He simply lets strike 3 go by a lot.
Also, if we’re talking about stats from this season, we’re talking absurdly small sample size. Lots of fluky stats can emerge this early.
Ugly injury for robles. Dislocated his shoulder. He seemed rly emotional. Heal up man
That catch was amazing though. He sure has been a nice addition. Told my son great job the Ms did, trade for exactly the same player
we have a bunch of. He has been a great surprise.
He was a great surprise last year in a partial season. He’s looked more like his usual self this season (in a small sample). It was a fun go last year, but he’s likely already turned back into a pumpkin.
Not really sure how anyone can expect Lopez surgery to be a clean up when it’s been an issue since he was with the Sox. They’re just lucky the Sox Dr’s aren’t doing it because his career would probably be over. But just the same hoping for the best, Expecting the worst though. Like the kid.