AL East: Toro emerging in Boston

Boston Red Sox 

While it seemed that Kristian Campbell was nearing his first-ever appearance at first base, the team has now pulled the plug on the experiment. The decision not to give Campbell any time at first base could have been influenced by several factors, including the team wanting Campbell’s focus to be on turning around his own offensive fortunes at the time of the decision and the fact that the injury to Alex Bregman allowed Marcelo Mayer to receive a call-up to fill in at third base.

The performance of Abraham Toro also likely weighed into Boston’s decision to discontinue the experiment of Campbell at first base. Toro, who signed with Boston on a minor league deal in the offseason, has been a strong offensive performer since being called up in early May (.333/.352/.563 in 91 PA). In Boston’s new infield arrangement after Bregman’s injury, Mayer’s call-up, and Romy González’s return from the IL, Toro has been an everyday player. The utilityman is starting at first base against right-handed starters (with Mayer starting at third base) and starting at third base against left-handed starters (with González starting at first base).

Toro’s strong performance has also allowed him to reach a prominent spot in Boston’s lineup. Upon his promotion, most of Toro’s starts came hitting seventh in Boston’s lineup. In recent games, however, he has moved up to either third, fourth, fifth, or sixth. Notably, Toro’s first start as the third hitter in the lineup came on Monday, which was the first game following the placement of Wilyer Abreu on the IL and the subsequent promotion of Roman Anthony.

With Bregman’s return not expected until July, the expectation is that the three-man corner infield weave of Toro, González, and Mayer will continue for the foreseeable future. Thus far, Boston has severely limited Mayer’s opportunities against lefties, instead preferring to play the hot-hitting Toro and lefty-mashing González (.353/.421/.529 in 38 PA vs. LHP).

Toro’s performance has seemingly bought him significant leeway in holding onto a regular role, and he may have less competition within Boston’s organization after Ryan Noda, who was brought in as first base depth, was designated for assignment to make room for Anthony on the 40-man roster on Monday. After a dismal start to the season in Triple-A while with the Angels organization (.148/.364/.270 in 115 PA), Noda was traded to the Red Sox for cash and sent to AAA-Worcester. Since making his debut for Worcester on May 24, Noda turned his performance around, hitting .400/.520/.743 in 50 PA. Given Noda’s success in Worcester, Boston will likely try to keep him in the organization, but he may get claimed for an opportunity elsewhere.

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Baltimore Orioles

A recent strong stretch (10 wins in 14 games) has turned Baltimore’s disappointing season around a bit, but the team’s weekend series, in which they lost two of three games to the Athletics, illustrated a season-long trend—the team’s weakness against left-handed pitching. Both of Baltimore’s losses came against left-handed starters, and on the season, they are now hitting .204/.279/.281 against left-handed pitching.

Much of Baltimore’s potential improvement against left-handed pitchers could depend on three players whom the team targeted in the offseason for their performance against lefties: Ramón Laureano, Tyler O'Neill, and Gary Sánchez. Laureano returned to Baltimore’s lineup over the weekend, and both O'Neill and Sánchez are rehabbing with AAA-Norfolk and could soon join him.

While all three players have historically hit well against lefties, Laureano (.220/.261/.342 in 46 PA), O'Neill (.087/.160/.087 in 25 PA), and Sánchez (.000/.105/.000 in 19 PA) have all struggled against left-handed pitching this season. 

Despite these struggles, all three players could be fixtures in the team’s lineup against left-handed starters. Laureano and O'Neill figure to slot in regularly in the outfield against lefties, which could shift Cedric Mullins, who also returned this week, to a strong-side platoon role. Sánchez, meanwhile, is less likely to start every game against lefties but could either spell Adley Rutschman or serve as the designated hitter in some lefty matchups.

As Baltimore’s roster continues to get back to full health over the coming weeks, several situations in its lineup against left-handed starters will also bear monitoring. 

After being platooned earlier in the season, Jackson Holliday has gotten chances against lefties of late and started both games against left-handed starters this weekend. Holliday’s shift in usage came after interim manager Tony Mansolino stated to reporters that, upon taking the role as manager, he told Holliday he would be playing every day, against both right-handed and left-handed pitching.

With Holliday seemingly locked into regular at-bats against left-handed pitchers and Jordan Westburg returning from the IL, Ramón Urías’ playing time against left-handed pitchers may depend on the team’s first base and designated hitter usage. 

Ryan O'Hearn and Coby Mayo have split first base and designated hitter duties since Ryan Mountcastle’s injury; however, Mayo being optioned for one of Baltimore’s returning players is possible, which would open up playing time. It also remains to be seen how often O’Hearn will slot in against lefties moving forward. Over the weekend, O’Hearn started one of two games against lefties, a sign that, while he may not start against all lefties, he could also not be in a strict platoon as he has been in the past.

 

New York Yankees

Ryan Yarbrough has been a revelation for the Yankees this season, starting the year in the team’s bullpen before moving to the rotation after Carlos Carrasco pitched his way out of a starting job. Entering Saturday’s start against Boston, Yarbrough had a pristine 2.83 ERA in 41.1 IP and had allowed just 6 ER in 26 IP since joining the rotation. However, Yarbrough had a disastrous outing on Saturday, allowing 8 ER in 4 IP, which caused his ERA to inflate to 4.17 on the season. While Yarbrough should stay in the rotation for now, a continuation of Saturday’s struggles could put his job in jeopardy.

Will Warren, who has been in the Yankees’ rotation since the beginning of the year, has had mixed results this season. Warren has shown strong skills (3.57 xERA, 18.4 K-BB%), but the results have yet to align with them. He allowed a combined 11 ER in his two most recent outings, causing his ERA to rise from 4.09 to 5.34.

Allan Winans, who was considered the other candidate for the rotation role that went to Yarbrough, has continued to dominate Triple-A hitters. Winans currently has a 0.23 ERA in 39 IP for AAA-Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. However, Winans' skills (21.9 K-BB%) have not been as dominant as his results would suggest.

New York also has several starters recovering from injuries who could soon make their way into the team’s rotation depth picture.

Marcus Stroman, who has been sidelined since April 12 due to left knee inflammation, has been making positive steps in his return to health. He threw 40 pitches in a live batting practice on June 5, a positive step in progressing towards a rehab assignment. While Stroman is being built up as a starter, he may not be guaranteed a rotation spot upon his return, especially given his performance before the injury (9.1 IP, 11.57 ERA, 6.31 xERA).

Luis Gil, who suffered a lat strain in late March, is also progressing in his injury recovery and is likely to slot into New York’s rotation when healthy. Gil threw from a bullpen mound in Yankee Stadium on June 7 but still has to complete “a handful of” side sessions before advancing to live batting practice. This likely puts his return more towards July rather than June.

JT Brubaker started a rehab assignment on May 18. While his first three starts (one with A-Hudson Valley and two with AA-Somerset) went well (9.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 6 K, 3 BB), he struggled in his first rehab start with AAA-Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (3 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 2 K, 2 BB). Brubaker is out of minor league options, so New York will need to decide whether to keep him on the active roster or designate him for assignment upon the conclusion of his rehab assignment.

 

Toronto Blue Jays

Toronto’s outfield has been in a state of flux due to the injuries to both Anthony Santander and Daulton Varsho. Both players’ return timelines are currently up in the air. Varsho’s hamstring strain was grade 1, suggesting a relatively short timeline, and he has already resumed baseball activities. Santander, meanwhile, is dealing with inflammation in his throwing shoulder and is targeting a late-June return.

In the meantime, Toronto is heavily mixing and matching in its outfield, especially with George Springer spending most of his time at designated hitter. Nathan Lukes has maintained the strong side platoon role that he has held since early May, while Addison Barger has seen increased outfield time, allowing Ernie Clement to maintain a regular role despite the return of Andrés Giménez. 

In the eight games since Varsho joined Santander on the IL, several other outfielders have also mixed in. Jonatan Clase (six starts) has seen the most time of these players. Thus far, Clase’s major league results (.226/.294/.323 in 69 PA) have been a far cry from his minor league production (.315/.419/.371 in 106 PA), though his game-tying home run in the ninth inning of Monday’s win against St. Louis could help build momentum for more playing moving forward. Besides Clase, Myles Straw (four starts), Davis Schneider (two outfield starts, two starts at second base), and Alan Roden (two starts) have also mixed in. 

Beyond the players on the major league roster, Joey Loperfido is also lurking in Triple-A as a potential outfield option. Loperfido got off to a slow start to the season (.229/.309/.386 in 95 PA through April 30). However, he has turned things around (.312/.405/.450 in 127 PA since May 1), bringing his season line to a more respectable .276/.364/.422 in 222 PA.

Loperfido’s Triple-A teammate, Will Robertson, has also been mashing in Triple-A. Robertson, a 27-year-old 2019 draft pick of Toronto who has yet to appear in the majors, has been among the best hitters in the International League (.288/.410/.582 in 188 PA).

A pair of outfield prospects have recently earned promotions from AA-New Hampshire to AAA-Buffalo and have continued their strong performance at the next level. On June 1, Yohendrick Pinango was promoted to Triple-A after a strong performance in Double-A (.298/.406/.522 in 192 PA). Three days later, RJ Schreck also got the call to Triple-A after a similarly strong performance (.266/.396/.518 in 169 PA).

Since being promoted to Triple-A, both Pinango (.231/.375/.577 in 32 PA) and Schreck (.333/.455/.722 in 22 PA) have continued their strong offensive performances. Despite this, though, both are likely behind Loperfido and Robertson in terms of preference for a call-up.

 

Tampa Bay Rays

Tampa Bay continues to have one of the most consistent starting rotations in baseball. While ace Shane McClanahan has been recovering from a triceps issue suffered right before the start of the season, the quintet of Ryan Pepiot, Drew Rasmussen, Zack Littell, Shane Baz, and Taj Bradley has all stayed healthy, making 65 of the team’s 66 starts this season. Of the five, the weakest links by performance have been Baz (65.1 IP, 4.97 ERA, 1.34 WHIP) and Bradley (74.2 IP, 4.58 ERA, 1.25 WHIP). The skills of both Baz (3.85 xERA, 13.0 K-BB%) and Bradley (3.89 xERA, 11.9 K-BB%), while not elite, are also not those of a pitcher who needs to be dispatched from a job.

While updates on McClanahan’s health have been encouraging, he still seems to be far away from a return to the Rays. President of Baseball Operations Erik Neander recently provided an update on McClanahan on MLB Network Radio, stating that McClanahan threw off the mound at a slightly shortened distance on June 3 and could progress to a rehab assignment as soon as late June. This timeline would likely put McClanahan’s return sometime in the late July to early August range, assuming no setbacks.

Tampa Bay recently added to its rotation depth by signing Kyle Gibson to a minor league deal on May 28. Gibson had a disastrous stint in Baltimore’s rotation (12.1 IP, 16.78 ERA, 6.56 xERA) and will try to find his footing with AAA-Durham for now. Since joining AAA-Durham’s rotation, Gibson has made two starts and has pitched well by both results and skills (7.1 IP, 1.23 ERA, 17.2 K-BB% ).

Gibson’s signing coincided with a concerning development for Joe Boyle, who left his start for AAA-Durham on May 26 due to diminished velocity after two innings. However, Boyle seems to have avoided an IL stint and has made two dominant starts (11 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 17 K, 2 BB) since that outing. These starts have strengthened Boyle’s case for a call-up, and he now has a 1.50 ERA in 54 IP in Triple-A, backed by a 30.5 K% and an 11.1 BB%.

Beyond Gibson and Boyle, Tampa Bay’s rotation depth also includes Ian Seymour. Like Boyle, Seymour has performed well in Triple-A this year (61 IP, 2.95 ERA, 32.7 K%, 5.8 BB%), strengthening his case to get an opportunity at the major league level. On Sunday, Seymour received a call-up to give the team an additional reinforcement for its bullpen. Seymour then made his major league debut in Monday’s game against Boston, earning the win while pitching the 10th and 11th innings (2 IP, 0 H, 1 R (0 ER), 2 K, 2 BB).

 

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