The Giants’ starting rotation has been the best in the Majors this year, and the staff could receive another boost when it welcomes another electric arm back into the fold in the near future.
Right-hander Tyler Beede, who is on the road back from Tommy John surgery, has made three
Zach Reks is percolating in Triple-A, and because he’s on the 40-man roster he’s just a phone call away from reaching the majors. That’s the focus for now, but on the back burner is an idea he has already put in motion: he’s starting a non-profit coffee company.
He’s not sure yet of the name, or who might join him, or what the final scope of the organization will be. But the germ of the idea was to help minor league players.
“The original aim of the whole project is to help struggling minor league players,” Reks said last week. “I know a lot of minor league players don’t get paid a huge signing bonus, and a lot of people that come from Latin countries don’t have a lot to their name right now. The offseasons can be a real big struggle.”
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Scouts can sense when a Draft might be special, and they had that inkling about the 2011 crop early on. They viewed it as the best class since 2005, which sent 26 of its 30 first-rounders to the big leagues and featured stars such as Ryan Braun, Andrew McCutchen and Troy Tulowitzki.
Looking back 10 years later, scouts were correct about the 2011 group. The first 29 players selected and 30 of 33 first-rounders have played in the Majors, including Gerrit Cole, Francisco Lindor, Anthony Rendon and George Springer. The two biggest gems didn t even go in the first round fifth-rounder Mookie Betts and supplemental first-rounder Trevor Story and by the time all is said and done, 2011 could rank among the five best Draft years ever.
Mike Yastrzemski active; Alex Dickerson to IL mlb.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from mlb.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Through four weeks, the National League West hasn’t exactly unfolded as planned. The division feels much tighter this month than it looked on paper before the season. The world-beating offenses in Los Angeles and San Diego haven t quite lived up to their billing.
Sure, there’s a long way to go. But it s made for an early-season divisional tussle that has been quite fascinating. With that in mind, here are the most surprising early-season developments for each team in the NL West.
D-backs: How well they’ve dealt with their injuries
Every team knows it is going to have to deal with injuries during the course of a season, but the D-backs have had far more than their fair share so far in 2021. Among those who have been on the injured list this year for them are shortstop Nick Ahmed, center fielder Ketel Marte, right fielder Kole Calhoun, center fielder Tim Locastro, first baseman Christian Walker, ace Zac Gallen, closer Joakim Soria and setup man Tyler Clip