Tommy La Stella was 2-for-5 with a HR and 4 RBI. La Stella has been flat out mashing the ball at a pace we've never seen before. Immediately it begs the question: can it continue? It might. The power will likely regress, but the contact rates are elite and he's cut his Ks to just 6.5% of the time, meaning his wOBA is just shy under .400. He's actually been UNLUCKY from a BABIP perspective, as it's down 55 points from last year. La Stella's arrow is pointing way up.
Tommy Pham was 3-for-5 with a HR yesterday, as he replicates last year's fine performance. Looking at his peripherals, Pham potentially has some breakout potential the rest of the way: his BB% is up 4% from last year, and his K% is down 6.6%. With those two factors, you would think he would be head and shoulders above last year, but his GB rate sky rocketed to 58% so his BABIP is down 20 points. If his line drive rate normalizes to last year, Pham will be a fantastic option going forward. I'm buying.
Shane Greene lowered his ERA to 1.29 yesterday as he went 1 inning. That's where the good news ends, as he allowed 5 unearned runs of 2 hits and 2 walks. After a throwing error, Greene struggled to get out of the inning, allowing several hits and an eventual grand slam. This outing notwithstanding, Greene has been more than serviceable, so don't panic too too much, but keep in mind that his ERA over-represents his skill by a large margin.
Rafael Devers was 2-for-5 with a double and 2 RBI, increasing his average to .317. Following a pedantic 2018, Devers has come on strong with a 130 wRC+. He's improved in multiple facets - better LD%, better K%, and better BB%. Overall, all excellent things for a 22-year-old. He's unlikely to be among the game's elite 3B this season, but he remains a very young, very high potential option. His best baseball is still ahead of him as the results in 2019 so far have been real.
Masahiro Tanaka dominated the Orioles yesterday, going 6 IP with 1 ER. His ERA stands at 2.94, but I would caution you that he's received some favorable luck this season, as evidenced by his 80.3% LOB rate. Entering yesterday, his SIERA was a hair under 4. I'd be inclined to sell high on Tanaka, as his K rate is down substantially this season and he's on pace for more innings than he's ever pitched. The results are good so far, but I'm not betting on their sustainability.
