by Evan Joseph ‘23

Breakout Player of The Year

The MLB breakout player of the year could only be one person and that is Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani, a 27-year-old player originally from Japan, is doing things as a Los Angeles Angel that haven’t been done since the great Babe Ruth by both hitting and pitching at very high levels in the league. The thing is though, Ohtani is doing it better. The 6’4 Ohtani has posted a 3.28 ERA through 22 games started and has a crazy 146 strikeouts which have him among the league leaders. Ohtani’s prowess comes even more from the plate as he has posted a .945 On-Base Plus Slugging (OPS) and has hit a ridiculous 45 home runs. These numbers obviously put him as one of the front runners for MVP this year. Ohtani is performing at a two-way level like no one in baseball ever has before and in the eyes of many might be the most talented player to ever touch the field.

Breakout Team of The Year

At the start of the season, no one was looking at the San Francisco Giants to be one of the best, if not the best, team in baseball. Not only are the San Francisco Giants the breakout team of this year but they have a league-leading 97 wins up to this point as they look to be the first team this year to go over 100. The team’s success is because they are getting the most from just about everyone on the roster. Guys like Buster Posey (Catcher), Brandon Crawford (Shortstop), Brandon Belt (First baseman), and Evan Longoria (Third baseman) are having great seasons very late in their careers. They are also getting breakout seasons from a number of players, including pitchers Logan Webb and Kevin Gausman, and outfielders Mike Yastrzemski and Lamont Wade Jr. With all this being said, the Giants are one of the World Series favorites, and rightfully so as we approach the playoffs.

Sticky Stuff

On June 21 the MLB turned many heads with its decision to ban the use of foreign substances by pitchers, who had been using a variety of techniques in order to get a better grip of the ball and to increase their spin rate. Spin rate is the rate at one’s pitch spins and has a great effect on the movement of the baseball. A very high spin rate could be the difference between a pitch being unhittable versus a meatball even if they are the same speed. One of these players who have seen a massive hit in performance on the mound is former all-star Padres pitcher Yu Darvish; his ERA through his first 16 starts before the sticky stuff ban was a 2.44 placing him amongst the MLB’s elite and where he’s been for the most of his career. But, since the ban, his ERA has been a terrible 6.79. On the other hand Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, an infamous sticky stuff user, has found a way to stay productive and get over the adjustment phase. Cole in his first 16 starts had a 2.66 ERA as opposed to his 3.54 ERA since but this number is deceiving as he has a 2.47 FIP which is ERA if fielding wasn’t taken into account. Overall, the ban has affected some while others adjusted and could change the careers of many pitchers.