The Weekly Windup: MLB Week in Review - May 25th-June 1st
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.
The calendar had turned to June, and while many parts of the country are still waiting for it to feel like summer, we’re inching towards the heat of the baseball season. Speaking of heat, arguably no team has been hotter than the Brewers over the past week. The Brew Crew completed their sweep of the Phillies today, winning 5-2 for their 7th win in as many games. The Brewers rose 54 points in our Elo ratings, jumping 6 spots. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Rockies’ free-fall continues. The league’s worst team dropped it’s 50th of the season on Sunday—before even hitting the 10-win mark—losing 5-3 to the Mets, who are suddenly on a bit of a roll.
Tarik Skubal continues to dominate the AL and remains comfortably atop our pitcher power ratings. In the NL, Phillies headline offseason addition Jesus Luzardo surrendered 15 earned runs in two starts against the A’s and Brewers, the latter of which tagged him for 12 ER’s on Saturday. Luzardo’s ERA shot up 1.65 points to 3.58, up from a 1.95 mark a week ago.
Stat of the Week
17: The Phillies surrendered 17 runs in their 17-7 loss to the Brewers on May 31st, while the Yankees got trounced by the Dodgers 18-2 that same evening. It is the first time since July 2nd, 2016 that two teams with a winning record allowed 17 or more runs on the same day.1 On that the the Red Sox (43-37) lost 22-2 at home to the Angels, while the Rangers (52-30) fell to the Twins 17-5 in Minneapolis.
Team of the Week
Milwaukee Brewers: As mentioned, the Brewers lit up Jesus Luzardo, who had actually been having an excellent start to his season, and dropped 17 runs on the NL-leading Phillies on Saturday. The Brewers were 7-0 this past week and have increased their FanGraphs playoff odds to 25.7%, up from 10.8% last Sunday (May 25th).
Player of the Week
Tarik Skubal: The Tigers’ ace and reigning AL Cy Young award winner posted a league leading 1.0 WAR since last Sunday in two starts, posting a 0.00 ERA and 0.77 FIP while striking out 20 batters and surrendering just 4 hits.2 Hist start last Sunday against the Guardians earned him a “Maddux”—a complete-game shutout on fewer than 100 pitches. The Maddux distinction is named after Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux, who tossed a record 13 complete-game shutouts in fewer than 100 pitches.3
A record since pitch-count data started being tracked in 1988.