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The Orioles recall the sport’s No. 1 prospect Jackson Holliday, Tyler Glasnow lives up to expectations, Trevor Story’s season is over after a shoulder injury and the Red Sox had a home opener at moving home. I’m Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal — welcome to The Windup!
Jackson Holliday is on his way
It was a bit of a surprise when Jackson Holliday wasn’t on the Orioles’ Opening Day roster. The consensus No. 1 prospect in the game hit .311/.354/.600 (.954 OPS) with two home runs in 15 spring training games. He also struck out 15 times against just three walks in 48 plate appearances – perhaps that made the difference.
But in 10 Triple-A games since the minor league season began last week, Holliday (still only 20) has hit .333/.482/.595 (1.077). In 55 plate appearances, he has eight strikeouts and 12 walks.
Alright, looks like it’s time. The team officially announced the call-up Wednesday morning.
Holliday is a natural shortstop, but it seems unlikely that Baltimore will supplant reigning Rookie of the Year and Silver Slugger Gunnar Henderson. Instead, it seems logical that Holliday (who hits left-handed) will play second base most of the time, with Jordan Westburg and Ramón Urías (both right-handed hitters) splitting time at third base, with the occasional day off. for Holliday against lefties.
If you think this is the end of the talent pipeline in Baltimore, you haven’t been paying close attention to the Norfolk Tides lineup. Check out these OPS numbers from last night’s 5-2 loss to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (these numbers come from After a game in which Norfolk combined for just five hits).
For Holliday, who was in high school two years ago but no stranger to big league clubs, this is the moment he seems to have been born for.
Please enjoy this absolutely adorable video of 3-year-old Jackson practicing with his dad, Matt Holliday, at Coors Field.
Here is a quality video of a 3 year old Jackson Holliday! I already had a sweet swing. I remember shooting this story! pic.twitter.com/l0qF93ikDl
– Jeff Howe (@sportsdenver) July 18, 2022
Ken’s notebook: Glasnow trade seems underrated
Tyler Glasnow’s former team, the Tampa Bay Rays, saw it coming. His current club, the Los Angeles Dodgers, did too.
Glasnow, 30, is nearly three years removed from reconstructive elbow surgery. He missed the first two months of last season with a left oblique strain, then showed flashes of brilliance when healthy. The Rays’ internal projections for him, according to a team official briefed on club information, were “through the roof.” The Dodgers, working on similar data, viewed him much the same way.
With the season not even 1/10 over, the Dodgers’ trade for Glasnow already appears to be the most underrated move of their $1.4 billion offseason. Glasnow, who signed a five-year extension worth $136.5 million as part of the deal, had one of the best performances of his career Tuesday night, striking out 14 and not walking none over seven scoreless innings in the Dodgers’ 6-3 win over the Dodgers. Minnesota Twins.
The end of the Rays’ deal isn’t looking so bad, either: Right-hander Ryan Pepiot, one of two players they acquired for Glasnow, and outfielder Manuel Margot, pitched six scoreless innings Sunday at Coors Field. Pepiot, earning just above the minimum of $740,000, is much cheaper than Glasnow, whose 2024 earnings will be $25 million. But if Glasnow continues to pitch like a Cy Young contender, it will be a good deal.
In four starts, Glasnow has a 2.25 ERA, 29 strikeouts and seven walks in 24 innings. The trick for the Dodgers will be managing his workload so he can hit the ground running until October. Glasnow’s career-high for innings is the 120 he threw last season.
Glasnow, however, isn’t the only starter the Dodgers need to handle carefully. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is transitioning to the majors. Bobby Miller is in his first full season. James Paxton has a long injury history. Walker Buehler returns from Tommy John surgery, Clayton Kershaw from shoulder surgery.
Some sort of merry-go-round is likely, with the Dodgers continuing to use lesser starters such as Gavin Stone to fill some holes and throwing in occasional bullpen games to fill others. Glasnow, Yamamoto and even Paxton appealed to the Dodgers because of their talent. If these pitchers can’t handle workloads of 30 starts and 200 innings, so be it. As long as they’re ready to go in October.
Here is Athleticismby Fabian Ardaya with more information on Glasnow’s big night.
Red Sox platoon shortstops after Trevor Story injury
Last year, as the Red Sox cycled through shortstop, there was some optimism that the carousel was temporary. As soon as Trevor Story returns from surgery with an internal brace, the position should be locked in for the foreseeable future.
Now the waiting has started again.
Story, who was limited to 43 games in 2023 while he rehabbed his surgically repaired elbow, played in just eight games this year before his season ended. He dove to his right to retrieve a ball during Friday’s 8-6 win over the Angels and landed awkwardly on his left shoulder. The injury was initially called a dislocation; it was revealed yesterday that Story had suffered a “fracture to the edge of the glenoid, the socket in which the arm rotates”, and would require surgery.
The normal recovery time for this procedure is around six months, which will end his 2024 campaign.
With Story out, Boston (7-4) will now turn to some of the same in-house options from last year. Jen McCaffrey reports:
“In his absence, the Red Sox will place David Hamilton and Romy Gonzalez at shortstop and Pablo Reyes and Enmanuel Valdez at second base. There is still discussion about using center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela, who appeared in the system as a shortstop, both at second and short, but Breslow has made clear his preference to play Rafaela primarily at center . Vaughn Grissom, who is recovering from a groin strain, will spend most of his time at second base, but has some experience at shortstop.
Additionally, starting pitcher Nick Pivetta, who is 1-1 with a 0.82 ERA, also landed on the IL – he is dealing with a right elbow flexor strain, although there have optimism about his return from his stay on the 15th. -the day IT is over.
Speaking of absences in Boston…
Emotional opening at home in Boston
Believe it or not, the Boston Red Sox hadn’t played a home game this season until yesterday, after starting the season with a 10-game road trip. So we had a bit of a prolonged feeling on Opening Day, and man, did baseball save the most emotional for last.
It was Boston’s first home opener since the deaths of former president and CEO Larry Lucchino, as well as pitcher Tim Wakefield and his wife Stacy, both of whom died from cancer. As the pre-match ceremony honored the 2004 team on the 20th anniversary of their miraculous playoff run, Wakefield’s absence was keenly felt. It got downright goosebumps when the Wakefields’ daughter, Brianna, threw a knuckleball for the ceremonial first pitch.
49 Forever. pic.twitter.com/78RSrp9Tcc
– Red Sox (@RedSox) April 9, 2024
Unfortunately, another absence weighed on the afternoon.
As Chad Jennings, Jen McCaffrey and Stephen Nesbitt teamed up to report, Curt Schilling’s absence was also felt. Schilling, it seems, was persona non grata after revealing the Wakefields’ diagnoses against their will.
“The unspoken name was Curt Schilling, one of the most talented players on that 2004 team and the centerpiece of one of its most iconic playoff moments, including the public revelation of Wakefield’s illness – some just days before Wakefield’s death – severed that enduring bond. Schilling chose not to attend Tuesday. Pitcher Derek Lowe said Schilling’s absence was “the consensus” among the players.
Handshakes and High Fives
Gerrit Cole has been busy during his time on the IL, serving as an “additional pitching coach.” Even though Cole was absent, Carlos Ródon shouldered his share of the responsibility.
A year ago, Marcell Ozuna relaunched his career. He is still alive, says David O’Brien.
Julio Urías was charged with five crimes related to his arrest in September.
The Rates & Barrels team dug a little deeper on throwing injuries, while Andy McCullough examined why it will take time to find a solution.
Sonny Gray’s home debut in St. Louis went swimmingly, as he pitched five shutout innings.
With Framber Valdez hitting the IL, the Astros call up Spencer Arrighetti, their top prospect, presumably to take Valdez’s place in the rotation.
Four days after signing Julio Teheran to bolster their rotation depth, the Mets designated him for assignment. Jose Buttó is probably next in line, but Tim Britton asks: When will it be time to call up one of their pitching prospects?
In college baseball: MLB draft prospect Nick Kurtz of Wake Forest hit six homers in seven at-bats last weekend and now has 13 homers in 26 games.
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(Photo: Kim Klement Neitzel / USA Today)