The Weekly Windup: MLB Week in Review - June 22nd - June 29th
Recapping the week in baseball, updating rankings, and discussing some notable stats
Each week—published on Sunday evenings—I write a short recap of the past week in baseball, provide updated Elo ratings, team rankings, and pitcher power ratings. I also highlight one or two interesting stats that caught my eye over the course of the week.
Kicking things off with some sad news today. 2025 Hall of Fame inductee Dave Parker passed away Saturday, just weeks before his induction, at the age of 74 following a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. Nicknamed the “The Cobra”, Parker amounted 2,712 career hits with a .290 batting average, 339 home runs and 1,493 RBI from 1973-1991. At his peak, Parker was unstoppable. During a 6-year stretch from 1975-1980, Parker ranked 3rd in MLB with a .317 average, while also racking up 569 RBI and 31.4 fWAR—both of which ranked 7th in all of Baseball. Apart from impressive statistics, Parker was a two-time World Series champ, back-to-back NL batting champ (‘78-’79), 7-time All-Star, 3-time Gold Glove winner, first home run derby champ (1985), and first player to ever earn $1 million per season following a five-year $5 million dollar contract.1 His induction in Cooperstown will surely be a bitter-sweet moment.
On the diamond this past week, neither team involved in the Rafael Devers deal seems to be reaping much benefit so far. The Red Sox are 1-6 in their past 7 games, and have been mediocre at best at the plate, sporting a wRC+ 8% below league average. Meanwhile the Giants—who acquired the star slugger—got swept by the Marlins (yuck) and are hitting just .217 since adding Devers, better than only five other teams. Once seen as a viable rival to the Dodgers in the NL West, the Giants’ FanGraphs playoff odds sunk 17% since last Sunday, putting their odds to make the postseason now below 50%. The Giants dropped four spots in my rankings this week.
The Phillies’ seesaw season continued. After a stretch from June 9th-22nd in which they went 10-3, taking 2-of-3 from the mighty Cubs and Mets, 3-of-4 from the Marlins, and swept the Blue Jays, the their bats went ice cold. The Phills were swept by the Astros 1-0, 2-0, and 2-1, amounting only 15 hits for a batting average of just .160. Luckily, for the Phillies, the Mets haven’t been able to capitalize on their slump, going 3-7 over their past 10 games. Underlying metrics suggest the Mets may be due for some positive regression. As a team they are hitting .217 with runners in scoring position—second worst in MLB—contrary to their league-best .257 average with bases empty. Luck should begin to swing their way at some point, unless they are just that un-clutch.
One of the biggest questions in Baseball right now is who will start the All-Star Game in the American League. Tarik Skubal is likely the frontrunner right now, but Gerrit Crochet has been pitching phenomenal of late. If you remove his terrible start against the Yankees on June 7th in which he gave up five runs in six innings, Crochet sports a 2.05 ERA and 76 strikeouts in ten games. Aside from that blip against the Yankees. He has not given up more than 2 runs since April 24th. Max Fried also deserves to be in the conversation. He has held his own with the likes of Skubal and Crochet all season, and his Manager Aaron Boone, will be the one making the final call as the coach of the American League. The All-Star game will also be a homecoming for Fried, who pitched eight seasons in Atlanta before joining the Yankees in the offseason. Fried currently ranks 7th in my pitcher ratings.
Stat of the Week
101.7: Shohei Ohtani, in just his third start back from Tommy John surgery, reared back and fired the fastest pitch of his MLB career against Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino. Ohtani continues to amaze and solidify himself as one of the most unique and well-rounded players in baseball history. Did I mention this also came from a guy who has 29 home runs on the year and ranks second in both average exit velocity (95.2 mph) and barrel % (13.6%) at the plate?
Team of the Week
Miami Marlins: Once among the worst in the league, the Marlins are currently riding a six-game winning streak, sweeping the Giants in San Francisco and aiming to complete the sweep the D-Backs in Arizona today (the Marlins lead 1-0 in the first as I write this). The Fish are 11-4 in their last 15 games, with MLB’s 3rd-best batting average and 5th-best wOBA in that span.
Player of the Week
Shohei Ohtani: Aside from his resurgence on the mound, Ohtani deserves this just for what he’s been able to do at the plate. Since last Sunday, Ohtani has an MLB-leading 1.557 OPS, thanks to an insane 1.095 slugging percentage. He’s tied for the league-lead with four homers in that span, and hit a barrel in 40% of his plate appearances.2 This man is one of a kind.
>> Gerrit Crochet has been pitching phenomenal of late
Gerrit Crochet, not to be confused with Garrett Cole. :)