Blog Archives
Is The Toronto Blue Jays’ Slow Start A Preview of What Their Future Could Look Like?
Matt Musico (Featured BBBA Writer/Owner – chinmusicbaseball.com)
Follow @mmusico8 Follow @mlbreports
When it comes to the game of baseball, sure things come few and far between. However, there was one thing just about everyone was sure about heading into 2016: the Toronto Blue Jays would have an incredible offense.
With Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, Josh Donaldson and Russell Martin back in the fold, along with a full season of Troy Tulowitzki, it’d be tough for anyone to stop them. Right?
Not so much.
Surprisingly enough, the greatest disappointment of all is how badly the lineup has performed through the first quarter of 2016. Using the same stats as the ones above, Toronto’s offense is basically average, which won’t help them return to October.
The offense not performing up to expectation has happened largely due to the lack of production from four very important pieces: Tulowitzki, Martin, Bautista and Encarnacion.
READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY
MLB Fantasy Daily (DFS) Picks For DraftKings – 5/16/16
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer/Part Owner)
Follow @stokes_Hunter21 @mlbreports
I am loving the Jays rallying around the Jose Bautista incident on Sunday to absolutely crush Drew Smyly in Tampa Monday Night. I will use a 4 hitter stack of RHB including Edwin Encarnacion. Jose Bautista, Troy Tulowitzki and Josh Donaldson (who is 7 – 14 – with 3 HRS career vs the Rays Southpaw).
By the way here, the Jays are awesome (GVP’s – Great Value Plays) with EE, Joey Bats and TULO at $3700 each, while the reigning AL MVP is listed low at $4300. I suppose a lot of the pricing has to do with possible suspensions, however I fully expect these guys to appeal, which would grant them a stay of execution for tonight.
There is a misconception that Smyly is an elite pitcher. He often yields one homer per start. In his 29 career Innings worth of work versus Toronto, he has given up 6 HRs. I am calling for 2 HRs versus Smyly int his contest from these four gentlemen.
I also will use J.A. Happ to slow down the Rays lineup.
Jon Niese is to be used in the 2nd pitcher slot – because quite frankly, the Braves are 9 – 27, on the year, so Poppa Smurf has a chance to victimize the lineup.
By using the Pirates starter tonight, it affords me to use Giancarlo Stanton, Mookie Betts and Dustin Pedroia. I like the Boston 1 and 2 hitters because they have been swiping bags in addition to helping the Red Sox lineup.
Sully Baseball Daily Podcast – February 25, 2015
MLB.com Rockies writer Thomas Harding sees the glass as half full for the 2015 Colorado squad. Later, we come up with a new slogan for the team:
COLORADO ROCKIES: It is not logical, but it is POSSIBLE!
It is a Mile High episode of The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast.
Follow Thomas Harding on Twitter by clicking HERE
Like Thomas Harding on Facebook by clicking HERE
2014’s Top Home Run Hitters In The MLB: HR Streaks (3 Active): (Donaldson, Cruz, Morse) + EE IS Mashing!

Encarnacion has put together back to back great seasons in the middle of the Jays lineup, bashing out 42 HRs in 2012, and then knocking out another 36 in 2013. At just a contract extension of 3 YRs/$29 MIL for 2014 – 2016, the Jays MGMT can be happy with the sluggers value. EE started off slow in April with just one HR, although he has exploded for 7 in May already, and he has vaulted into the RBI race with 30 knocked in as well. Encarnacion is third in the Majors In HRs since the start of the 2012 season. Last night, he had his 2nd 2 HR game in 8 days. EE also has a 3 game HR streak this month as well.
Edwin Encarnacion had his 2nd Multi HR game of May already, and now after a slow start, has clubbed 8 HRs and added 30 RBI for the year.
Double EE has been one of the most consistent HR hitters in the MLB from the start of the 2012 campaign, as he trails only Miguel Cabrera (94 HRs) and Chris Davis (88 HRs) – with hit total tally of 86 Homers in that time frame.
Encarnacion hit 42 HRs in 2012, and nailed 36 of them last season.
In addition to his 2 Multi HR games, he also had HRs in 3 straight games earlier in this month.
Juan Francisco and he are carrying the club, with teams seemingly pitching around Jose Bautista.
Francisco himself as done yard work 7 times in just 82 AB this year. The new Blue Jays 3B has given them an infusion of offense.
It is kind of weird that the Brewers gave up on him – after this 27 Year Old, (who can play 1B/3B and PH) cracked 13 HRs and 32 RBI in his 240 AB for the 2013 Year.
The Brew Crew opted for Mark Reynolds, who was more expensive, but could potentially draw more walks. Both of them strike out a ton.
Anyways, Francisco had hit 20 HRs and added 50 RBI in his last 322 AB in the big leagues. This will suit the Canadian franchise just fine, even if his whiff rate his high.
It is funny how names continue to pop out within this organization. There was Juan Encarnacion, then Edwin Encarnacion.
Then you have Frank Francisco, Ben Francisco – and now Juan Francisco, which is a mix for Ben Francisco and Juan Encarnacion.
Of course they already have two Jose’s in Bautista and Reyes, and they also had Perez’s last year.
And I digress. Read the rest of this entry
2014’s Top HR Hitters In The MLB: HR Streaks (3 Active): (Ortiz, Solarte, Donaldson) + Abreu’s Monster Start In 2014

For the 2nd straight game David Ortiz clubbed 2 HRs against his former team the Twins. The big Red Sox DH now is tied for 2nd in the AL with 11 HRs (with Nelson Cruz). The 38 Year Old Designated Hitter is pulverizing the ball of late, and has shown no signs of slowing down. This bodes well for Boston, who can use the automatic advantage Ortiz gives them at a position that is struggling to find players that thrive in. The LHB has sipped champagne after winning 3 World Series with Boston, and with the way he is slugging of late, the Beantowners will be back atop the AL East Division rather shortly
David Ortiz not only hit jacks in 2 consecutive games, the ALL – Time DH HR leader hit 2 of them, in both Tuesday and Wednesday’s game.
For his efforts, he has tied for 2nd in AL HRs. The man keeps on ticking even at the age of 38.
Nelson Cruz blasted a shot that almost brought the O’s back in a game they trailed the Tigers 6 – 0. The O’s may have lost 7 – 5, but they continue to receive great play from this man.
Cruz was a bargain basement deal at 1 YR/$8 MIL, for a guy who is currently on pace to smash over 40 HRs, and drive in well over 120 RBI.
These are the kind of numbers the 33 Year Old was posting for the Rangers in 2013, before being placed on 50 game suspension for his part in the Biogenesis PED mess. Read the rest of this entry
2014’s Top Home Run Hitters In The MLB: AL/NL, HR Streaks (1 Active) + Multi HRs Games

Brandon Moss has unleashed some serious power in the Bay Area since becoming a member of the A’s. He has clubbed 59 HRs and added 172 RBI in just 844 AB. This means he is averaging a big fly for every 14.3 AB, and about an RBI every 4.90 AB. This is outstanding production. In 550 AB, he would club about 38 HRs and add about 112 RBI. Oakland has him under team control for 2015 and 2016 in Arbitration before he can hit Free Agency in 2017. Moss has 8 HRs (2 last night) and knocked in 33 this season – while carrying a 3 Slash of .286/.364/.526 – which is close to his .894 Lifetime OPS with the A’s,
Brandon Moss continued to raise his stock in the realms of the power hitting players pantheon Tuesday by doing yard work twice.
David Ortiz did all he could to help Boston win with a 2 HR effort. There you go, looking at his year numbers for 2014, as they bare resemblance to his career 3 Slash.
The only active MLB’er to carry HRs in consecutive games this day is Mets OF Curtis Granderson.
This fine gentlemen showed the New York fans what they are missing, as he has clubbed shots over the wall in back to back games.
Granderson had back to back 40+ HR campaigns with the Bronx Bombers, and will always be compared to Carlos Beltran in the next 3 years. They both have 5 HRs – and Granderson has 4 more RBI, while Beltran has better averages.
Beltran is also hurt now with a bone spur. The Yankes felt his postseason pedigree was the deciding factor of signing him over Granderson.
Both Ortiz and Victor Martinez climbed into the top 5 in HRs last evening.
All 5 HR streaks ended for the guys who had walked into the night from previous games – including C.J. Cron losing his consecutive games bid via pinch hitting against the Phillies. Read the rest of this entry
2014’s Top Home Run Hitters: AL/NL, HR Streaks (5 Active) + Multi HRs Games
There were a lot of HRs hit for how few games there were on a shortened Monday schedule last evening. Yasiel Puig hit a mammoth HR to erase a 2 run deficit into a lead.
The 2nd Year Dodger is on fire right now, and has hit back to back HRs in the last few games.
After a slower start, the 23 Year Old is now resembling the player he was last year, featuring a .318/.408/.551 3 Slash Line for the campaign – with 7 HRs and 29 RBI.
These totals put him on pace for about 33 HRs and 120 RBI for the year if he keeps it up. He will quickly be reengaged into the NL MVP Voting if his is the case. Read the rest of this entry
2014’s Top Home Run Hitters: AL/NL, HR Streaks (3 Active) + Multi HRs Games

For the 3rd straight weekend, Mark Teixeira has hit HRs in back to back games. He has begun his 2014 season with power we haven’t seen from him in a few years. Tex has 7 HRs in just 79 AB – with having knocked in 16 RBI. He is on pace to crack about 40 HRs and add about 100 RBI. Don’t think he will maintain that pace, but a 25 – 30 HRs campaign, with 80 RBI is not out of the question.
Yesterday, Derek Norris hit 2 HRs to lift the A’s to a sweep over the Nationals. He also had back to back games of HRs early last month, and is featuring an OPS of nearly 1.100.
John Jaso, he is Catching tandem partner, had back to back games with dingers over the weekend.
Dustin Ackley hit HRs in both Saturday and Sunday games to put himself on our board of HRs. On Sunday, the guy clobbered two balls over the wall to give him 4 on the year.
Joey Votto, Troy Tulowitzki and Mark Teixeira all have been hit big HRs over the last 20 calendar days, all featuring 3 different stints, where they carried HR streak of 2 or more games.
Victor Martinez is also creeping up on the leaderboard with his recent power surge.
Finally, Charlie Blackmon did some yard work giving him 9 HRs and 29 RBI on the young season. He is tied for 5th in NL HRs. Read the rest of this entry
2014 Top Home Run Hitters: AL/NL, HR Streaks (5 Active) + Multi HRs: The Heavy Hitters Are Finally Awake

The 2012 and 2013 AL MVP finally is putting it all together. Miguel Cabrera has helped bash Detroit to an 8 game wining streak, and has finally hit HRs in back to back games.After hitting for a decent average for a few weeks, the 31 Year Old 1B has been racking up RBI, and is adding power back to his repertoire. Miggy now has 25 RBI in 29 Games Played despite just cranking 4 HRs. But this writer feels a hot HRs streak coming from the RHB. Cabrera is coming off back to back 44 HR campaigns.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
I picked him to lead the AL and Giancarlo Stanton to lead tie him for the most in the MLB with 49 each. I think the guy could still do it. He blasted 44 HRs last year, when he couldn’t even hit for power during the last 6 weeks of 2013.
Also effectively off the snide is Adrian Beltre, who clubbed a Round Tripper in the last 2 games the Rockies have obliterated the Rangers. It may come as little solace to the now 17 – 17 Texas team, but your Silver Slugger 3B is starting to mash.
Now only if you could have the real Prince Fielder stand up and do the same! Read the rest of this entry
2014 Top Home Run Hitters: AL/NL, HR Streaks (3 Active) + Multi HRs: Myers + Stanton W/Big Days

Giancarlo Stanton is healthy, motivated and when he is on, no ballparks can hold his behemoth blasts. Of his 10 HRs, 9 of them have traveled further than 400 Feet. In the young season, Stanton leads the NL with HRs (10), the Majors with RBI (36) and Total Bases (NL – 74). The 24 Year Old from Panorama, CA has Slashed .285/.362/.603 – and is a major reason why the Marlins are just a game and a half behind the NL Division Leading Braves.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
It was quite the day yesterday for the Tater Trots in the MLB. Giancarlo Stanton hit 2 big thunderous HRs – to take sole possession of the NL HR lead, in carrying his team to a series win versus the Dodgers, and the Marlins are now 14 – 5 at New Marlins Ball Park this year.
George Kottaras came off the scrap heap to paste 2 shots over the fence. These HRs represented the only two big flies of the year for the Catcher.
Brandon Crawford hit 2 HRs in the GIants sweep of the Atlanta Braves. Where Pablo Sandoval has failed for power so far, the INF tandem of “Team Brandon, Belt, Hicks and Crawford” have combined for 16 HRs in 277 AB from the 1B/2B and 3B.
When you throw in Buster Posey‘s totals, then it is 23 HRs in 382 AB. “Kung Fu” 3B needs to get off the snide in his contract year.
Wil Myers continues his ownership of the Yankees, with an Inside The Park 3 run HR, and adding an RBI Double – keying a 5 -1 win over the Bronx Bombers and CC Sabathia, clinching the series 2/3.
It was the 2nd straight game in which Myers did some yard work, and he also had a 2 HR game against the Pinstripers on Apr.19.. Read a Captioned picture at the end of this article to see his prowess over the Yanks thus far in his short career.
Jonathan Villar of the Houston Astros hit a HR for the 2nd straight contest.
Jose Abreu added to his MLB lead in HRs with his 12th Roundtripper. Read the rest of this entry
The Top 5 Home Run Hitters AL/NL in 2014, HR Streaks (6 Active) + Multi HR Games

Desmond Jennings was counted on to fill the void left by B.J. Upton when he took over the CF position in 2013. It wasn’t a banner year – although he still stole 20 bags and scored 82 Runs – with a .748 OPs.. With him hitting a HR for the 2nd straight game in a 10 – 5 14 Inning marathon tilt versus the Yankees, it vaulted the Rays to a 3 game winning Streak. 2014 has been a kinder campaign to the 27 Year Old originally from Birmingham, AL – as he has slashed .277/.378/.463 – with 16 Walks, 6 SB and 16 Runs Scored in his 28 Games Played. That is great production for the 5 year Veteran.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Last night we had a nice complement of big flies – so that we have 6 streaks active going into today’s play.
There is one Carlos Gonzalez who is still active on his HR streak, but is out of the Rox lineup.
We have not had a multiple HR game since last Sunday when Jhonny Peralta went yard twice. That Cards SS went deep last night, joining Mike Morse, and a bevy of other NL hitters tied for 5th place with 7 HRs.
Other movers were Nelson Cruz grabbed a share of third place by smacking his 8th HR – and Jose Abreu clubbed his 11th HR to open up a 2 Tater lead on Albert Pujols. Read the rest of this entry
The Top 5 Home Run Hitters AL/NL in 2014, HR Streaks (3 Active) + Multi HR Games: Markakis Smacks 2 + Miami On Fire

The HR contraption that is the CF wall in MIA. Could the club be relaying signals from opposing catchers by having the fish illuminate during play at New Marlins Ball Park. “Oh Bull Durham” on that. The huge device goes spiraling around once a Marlins jacks a ball that goes over the wall for a Homer. While the 1st 2 years the device never saw much action, it is being worn out by Miami this year. This has teams like Atlanta speculating on some “TomFoolery.”
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
The Braves had themselves a weird 3 game set in Miami, where they lost 3 games, gave up 23 runs, and have accused the Marlins of stealing signs for pitches.
It is a weird phenomenon how devastating the Miami squad has bashed at New Marlins Ballpark, but for young guys on their team to figure out cadences and relays from the Braves backstoppers is a little bit too far fetched,
I love how the Home Run monstrosity in CF may be the culprit of sending the secret codes out to the hitters.
Miami has added several (3TO guys this year like Garrett Jones and Jarrod Saltalamacchia.) 3TO stands for 3 True Outs, either via a BB/SO or you round the Bases without having the ball touch the field inside the playing surface.
Also, Florida has been one of the only places not to be plagued by weather in the MLB. Bash on Miami, you are an entertaining team to watch – and have joined your 4 other teams in the NL East at .500 or better – at least for one day. Read the rest of this entry
Home Run Leaders In 2014, HR Streaks (3 Active) + Multi HR Games: Tulo Keeps On Fire – Stanton Ties For NL Lead!

Giancarlo Stanton tied the NL For the lead with 8 HRs yesterday, when he went deep in the Marlins 9 – 0 romp of the Atlanta Braves. Stanton also leads the NL in RBI with 32. He is one of each a HR and an RBI behind Jose Abreu for the MLB lead. Is this the year Stanton finally reaches projections? The MLB Reports picked him to lead the MLB in HRs all the way back in FEB of this year.
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Troy Tulowitzki is on fire. He homered for the 2nd consecutive game, and is now just 1 Roundtrip behind Giancarlo Stanton and Adrian Gonzalez for the NL Lead.
TULO is also tied with teammate Justin Morneau, for third in RBI this season at 22.
His efforts help the Rockies win last night in Arizona, and the club is now 16 – 12 on the young season, just 0.5 Games behind the Giants.
Mark Teixeira hit a HR for the second straight contest, and has now clubbed 3 HRs in the week he has been back from injury.
While the rest of the teams pitching is struggling or be hurt outside of Masahiro Tanaka, having the 1B hitting like this bodes well for the lineup.
Carlos Santana must be giving fantasy players a collective sigh of relief after putting forth another HR and 3 RBI effort for the 2nd time in as many games in Los Angeles, too bad they were both losses to the Angels. Read the rest of this entry
2014′s Top 5 Home Runs AL + NL, HR Streaks (2 Active) + Multi HR Games:

Heading into play last Thursday night, fantasy players and everyone surrounding the Mariners was wondering what had happened to 3B Kyle Seager? He has since nailed 5 HRs in his last 4 games, and is now hitting for a .798 OPS – with 13 RBI in 79 AB on the young season. The last 2 years, Seager has hit 20 and 22 HRs respectively – and been the only player on the squad to have decent RBI totals.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
With only 6 games being played last night, there were not too many HRs hit for the contests.
This has left the MLB with 2 current players with HR streaks.
Those players both have clubbed HRs in back to back games, and they are Giants SS Brandon Hicks and Seattle Mariners 3B Kyle Seager, who hit 3 HRs over the Saturday and Sunday games – and has 5 Tater-Trots in the last 4 games.
Seager had exactly zero Home Runs, before squaring 2 baseballs up last Thursday at home versus the Houston Astros, He was blanked by the Rangers on Friday, before doing yard work on Saturday.
Sunday saw the man have his 2n 2 HR game out of 4 contests. Read the rest of this entry
2014′s Top 5 HRs AL + NL, HR Streaks (4 Active) + Multi HR Games: Adrian Gonzalez Streaking Again

On a team that has desperately be in need of offense – due to early season woes from Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Hanley Ramirez, A – Gon has delivered the goods. Yesterday, he hit a HR for the 3rd straight game, and today he has a chance to match the 4 HR streak he already put up earlier in the Month. The Dodgers 1B is showing signs of his early career power prowess. He is currently 3 Slashing .309/.362/.639 – with 8 HRs and 22 RBI in his 1st 18 Games Played. LA has managed to stick in the NL West race, with a 14 -11 clip thus far, I can’t imagine where they would be with such a hot start from Gonzalez.
Hunter Stokes (Chief Writer): Follow @stokes_hunter21
Follow The MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
Early season power surges are quite common the MLB. I mean everyone remember Chris Shelton jumping out of the box with 9 HRs, and also remember Tuffy Rhodes clubbing 3 HRs on Opening Day one year against Dwight Gooden.
The key is parlaying a fast start into some sustainable durability.
Brandon Belt, Brian Dozier are unlikely HR leaders right now, and a lot of people must wonder if Jose Abreu can keep up this kind of pace.
Bautista, Trumbo, Pujols and Stanton had to be penciled in for a lot of HR leaders by experts, fantasy players and scouts alike.
Josh Donaldson has also turned it an, clubbing 7 HRs in the last 15 calendar days, and is looking more like the player that finished 4th in AL MVP balloting.
I still think we will see Miguel Cabera and Prince Fielder enter this race at some point once their bats heat up. Read the rest of this entry
2014′s Top 5 HRs AL + NL, HR Streaks (4 Active) + Multi HR Games: Breakouts For Colabello + Abreu

Chris Colabello is the most unlikely early RBI leader in the AL, with 26 knocked in during his 1st 20 Games Played this year. While he is leading the AL in Doubles with 9, he has now added HRs in back to back games. The Team Italy player for the last WBC tournament has been hitting in the middle of the lineup for the 10 – 10 Minnesota Twins. The RHB originally from Framington, MA came into the 2013 season with just 160 AB last year (his rookie campaign in the MLB). So far in 2014, he has 3 Slashed .346/.386/.577 – and has played 1B/RF and DH.
By Chuck Booth (Lead Baseball Analyst/Website Owner): Follow @chuckbooth3024
Follow MLB Reports On Twitter Follow @mlbreports
It was a great night for Tater Trot’s yesterday. The Giants had teammates crack 2 HRs each in Morse and Sanchez, while Blackmon extended his consecutive HR games streak to 3, and Tulowitzki clubbed a big fly for the 2nd straight contest.
2 men (McCutchen and Blackmon enter play today with 3 games straight with a HR. The 2013 NL MVP will try to extend his mark versus Tony Cingrani of the Reds in a Thursday afternoon game at PNC Park – while Blackmon will travel to LA – trying to extend his streak versus Josh Beckett tomorrow night.
Kyle Seager, of the Mariners, and Hector Santiago of the Giants, hit their 1st 2 HRs of the year, in Multi HR efforts Wednesday.
Mike Morse and Nelson Cruz continued to pad their early starts towards 2015 Free Agency, also with 2 HR games yesterday. Read the rest of this entry
Colorado Rockies Payroll in 2013 and Contracts Going Forward
Like us on Facebook here
Follow @mlbreportsMonday, August.05, 2013

Troy Tulowitzki is one of the best all-round shortstops in baseball. He plays Gold Glove caliber defense, and is a great offensive player. He is the heart and soul of the Colorado Rockies. They are a better team when he is on the field. Tulo has a .321/.387/.977 triple-slash in 290 at-bats this season. He has 20HRs and 60 RBIs on the season to go along with 18 Doubles and 93 hits overall. He is first in the NL with a Fielding Percentage of .992. The young shortstop can hit righties or lefties. However he does have a higher average against righties with a .330 average facing them. He is also excellent with runners in scoring position, as indicated by his .330 batting average and 40 RBIs in 90 at-bats in this situation.
By Chris Lacey (Lead Baseball Columnist/Minority Website Owner) Follow @aecanada12
The season for the Colorado Rockies may be near its breaking point with the 10 ½ games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West division.
They might want to start thinking about next season and try to salvage what they can from the rest of this season. The biggest issue with the team right now is their pitching, as they are last in the NL with a 4.32 ERA from their pitching and they have allowed 514 runs.
Troy Tulowitzki 2011 Highlights – Parental Guidance Is Advised
You must be logged in to post a comment.