Al Daily Analysis - September 2, 2021

David Regan

Sep 1, 2021

Leodys Taveras (OF-TEX)

- Don't look now, but Taveras is playing every day and he's hitting the ball. Taveras was 2-for-5 with two RBI, a double, and his seventh stolen base on Wednesday. He's still hitting just an anemic .118/.183/.224 in 83 PA with a 39.8% K%. That said, in his last 3 games, Taveras is 5-for-11 with two walks, two doubles, and two home runs and three stolen bases. Taveras amazingly is still just 22 and his .818 OPS in Triple-A this year was his best mark at any minor league level. He should continue to play CF every day as the team looks to see what their 2022 roster will look like.

Adam Ottavino (RP-BOS)

- Ottavino recorded his 11th save on Wednesday, holding the Rays to a 1-0-0-0-2 line to put himself in the mix to around for a hit and ultimately a save Thursday against the Rays. The Rays should be fine going forward, though Ottavino has been shaky this year, especially lately. With Matt Barnes on the COVID IL and having posted a 17.36 ERA over his last eight appearances, Ottavino could lead the team in saves the rest of the way.

Adalbeto Mondesi (SS-KC)

- Mondesi can't seem to stay on the field, but when he does, the results speak for themselves. WednOttOtt with just one walk. Mondesi looks to be a very flawed player, batting .254/.287/.428 in 1,214 PA prior to this year, but he has shown decent power with 37 homers, and the 114 steals are off the charts. Bobby Witt Jr. will be up soon, potentially pushing Mondesi to another position, or perhaps a bench role this year.

Paul Sewald (RP-SEA)

- Sewald isn't among the league's elite closer, but he seems to have locked down the role in Seattle. Sewald recorded his 8th save Wednesday, fanning three in 1.1 innings but allowing two hits to keep his ERA at 2.45 in 47.2 innings with an elite 14.7 K/9 that makes us want to overlook the fact that he is 31 years old. Sewald entered Wednesday with a 1.83 FIP and his velocity has ticked up, though he doesn't profile as a reliever who is going to rack out a ton of K's. For now though, the opportunity is there.

Harold Castro (INF-DET)

- Castro came up big on Wednesday, going 3-for-4 with a double, HR, 2 runs, and 2 RBI against the A's to lift him to .281/.313/.337. Castro hit just .225 with a 2.7 BB% in August, so temper any enthusiasm. That said, there may be some hope. In 129 games and 569 career PA at the AAA level, Castro has hit .305/.364/.466 with 12 homers and 20 stolen bases. The 24-year-old has a 26.5% K% for his career, but he's still shown enough recently to provide some optimism.