Daily Briefing: Shohei Ohtani does something new

The FanGraphs Newsletter, May 12, 2021 [READ IN BROWSER]( By Jeffrey Bellone - May 12, 2021 🟢 OHTANI DOES SOMETHING NEW Well, technically you can't accuse Angels manager Joe Maddon of taking Shohei Ohtani out of the game too early last night, even though his team's bullpen promptly allowed four runs. Maddon did change pitchers in the eighth inning, but he kept his starter, Ohtani, in the lineup by moving him to right field. The two-way star had his [best start]( since returning from Tommy John surgery. He struck out 10 Astros hitters over seven innings, walking only one, and allowing one run on four hits. However, both Aaron Slegers and Alex Claudio struggled in relief, resulting in a 5-1 Houston victory. The decision to move Ohtani to the outfield was designed to give him a chance to hit in the ninth inning of what would have been a tied game had the bullpen done their job. Instead, he came to the plate down four runs and struck out looking. Per the Elias Sports Bureau, Ohtani became only the third player since 1900 to strike out 10 or more batters and then play another position. ⚫️ WHAT ELSE HAPPENED? ▫️ The [Oakland Athletics will explore the possibility of relocating]( "with the blessing of Major League Baseball" as the city of Oakland considers a proposed $12 billion mixed-use development in downtown Oakland that would include a waterfront stadium. ▫️ Right-hander [Jordan Zimmermann]( a two-time All-Star who played for parts of 13 seasons in the majors, announced his retirement on Tuesday. In two appearances for the Brewers this season, he allowed five earned runs in 5.2 innings. He pitched his best for the Washington Nationals, finishing fifth in Cy Young voting in 2014. ▫️ Mets back-up catcher Patrick Mazeika became the [first player in 100 years]( to record multiple walk-off RBIs before earning his first major league hit. His walk-off fielder's choice last night was his second in five days. He has three career at-bats, zero hits, three RBIs and two walk-offs. This newsletter is made possible due to the generous support of our members. If you are reading this email or use FanGraphs in your daily baseball routine, please consider supporting us. [BECOME A FANGRAPHS MEMBER]( YESTERDAY'S MOST PIVOTAL PLAY After starting the season 13-2, the Dodgers have been sputtering, losing 15 of their previous 20 games heading into last night. But Gavin Lux helped put them in the win column on Tuesday, hitting his first regular season home run at Dodger Stadium, a three-run no-doubter to give the Dodgers a 6-4 lead that Kenley Jansen saved against the Mariners. SCORES (HOME TEAMS IN CAPS) DODGERS 6 Mariners 4 Athletics 3 RED SOX 2 D-BACKS 11 Marlins 3 WHITE SOX 9 Twins 3 Blue Jays 5 BRAVES 3 CLEVELAND 3 Cubs 2 Padres 8 ROCKIES 1 TIGERS 8 Royals 7 Yankees 3 RAYS 1 Cardinals 6 BREWERS 1 (11) ASTROS 5 Angels 1 Phillies 6 NATIONALS 2 METS 3 Orioles 2 PIRATES 7 Reds 2 GIANTS 4 Rangers 2 Track every game using our [LIVE SCOREBOARD](. [These Aren't the Hits MLB Wanted]( by [Sara Sanchez]( I wanted to take a look at possible reasons the HBP rate is at record levels so far in 2021, but first we need to be clear about which parts of this trend are continuations from previous seasons and which parts are actually new. In 2019, Devan Fink demonstrated that the HBP rate per plate appearance was approaching [the highest levels seen since the early 1900s](. He looked at increased velocity and reliever usage to demonstrate that while a pitches’ speed didn’t necessarily mean a pitcher had worse command, relievers had a larger share of HBP than their starting counterparts. It’s still true that relievers are responsible for more hit by pitch events than their starting counterparts. I looked at reliever/starter splits and HBP rates through May 4th. While the rates of HBP are climbing for both groups, they are rising faster for relievers, as you can see below: [READ MORE ]( 📝 RECENTLY PUBLISHED [Mariners Prospect Adam Macko Has a Quality Curveball (and an Even Better Backstory)]( by David Laurila [Crowd-Sourced OOTP Brewers: Allen A Day's Work]( by Ben Clemens [Introducing pWAR: A Predictive Wins Measurement for Pitchers]( by Tal Schulmiller [The Cutter: A Platoon Neutral Offering?]( by Carmen Ciardiello [Top 39 Prospects: San Diego Padres]( by Eric Longenhagen [Yasmani Grandal Has One of the Wonkiest Slash Lines You'll Ever See]( by Devan Fink [Jesùs Aguilar Has Transformed Himself at the Plate]( by Chet Gutwein [The Runner-on-Second in Extras Rule Has Worn Out Its Welcome]( by Jay Jaffe [New Everyday Starters -- May 12, 2021]( by Mike Podhorzer [Roto Riteup: May 12, 2021]( by Justin Mason [Bullpen Report: May 12, 2021]( by Jon Becker 🎧 FANGRAPHS PODCASTS [EFFECTIVELY WILD EPISODE 1692: No Mo' No-Nos]( Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Mariners’ impending call-up of top prospect [Jarred Kelenic]( the Dodgers’ recent slump, the Oakland A’s threatening to relocate, [Wade Miley]( no-hitter and how long it takes for no-no fatigue to set in, whether MLB’s offensive downturn will force the league to take action, the role of hitters in the hit-by-pitch spike, a near-umpire perfect game and the unparalleled pitch-calling accuracy of unsung umpire John Libka, the Mets’ mysterious rat/raccoon fiasco, the return of [Luke Voit]( zombie runners, and players and staff testing positive post-vaccine, plus a PSA about broadcasters saying “effectively wild.” 🎧 [The Sleeper and the Bust Episode: 926]( - Here Comes Kelenic! 🔝 TOP PERFORMERS Some additional performances not noted above. 🔺 FREDDY PERALTA (SP/MIL): 7 IP, 8 SO (15 swinging strikes), 1 BB, 1 H and 0 ER. 🔺 LANCE McCULLERS (SP/HOU): 8 IP, 9 SO (12 swinging strikes), 2 BB, 3 H and 1 ER. 🔺 MITCH HANIGER (RF/SEA): 2-4 (2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI) 🔺 MANNY MACHADO (3B/SDP): 2-4 (1 HR, 2 R, 5 RBI) Check out our [Live Daily Leaderboards]( to track each day's top performers in real-time. ⚾️ ROSTER REPORT ACTIVATED FROM INJURED LIST - Rockies SP Antonio Senzatela, Twins INF/OF Luis Arraez, Yankees 1B Luke Voit were all activated from the 10-Day IL. - Pirates OF Gregory Polanco was activated from the COVID-19 IL. PLACED ON INJURED LIST - Cubs OF Jake Marisnick, Mets SP Jacob deGrom, Pirates RP Kyle Crick, Cardinals SP Carlos Martínez were all placed on the 10-Day IL. - Angels RP Junior Guerra, Padres OF/INF Jurickson Profar, Padres OF/INF Jorge Mateo, Padres 1B Eric Hosmer, Padres OF Wil Myers, Padres SS Fernando Tatis were all placed on the COVID-19 IL. TRANSACTIONS - Former Orioles RP Jay Flaa was claimed off waivers by the Braves. - Pirates INF/OF Hunter Owen and Rays INF/OF Yoshi Tsutsugo were both designated for assignment. For the latest roster information, please visit our [RosterResource]( pages. [A's and MLB's relocation threats deserve but one retort]( by Marcus Thompson, The Athletic ($): Major League Baseball on Tuesday flexed what they believed to be leverage by [leaking their message]( to the [A’s]( to start looking for a new home. This was their way of applying pressure on local officials and drumming up public pressure to create panic about Oakland losing the A’s. It’s a common strategy, and a pretty tired one around these parts. But MLB and the A’s are trying to capitalize on the recent departures of the [Raiders]( and [Warriors]( and create some urgency to push their Howard Terminal stadium plan through. It should have the opposite effect. It does on this one resident and voter. The Raiders leaving and the Warriors moving across the Bay only proved what we already knew — The Town is lit on its own. The city’s beauties didn’t fade, nor did its flaws intensify. We are the draw. Not the teams. [Coors Field's Impact on Pitch Movement]( via BaseballCloud Blog After separating each pitch, I found that both horizontal and vertical movement were affected significantly based on whether or not the pitchers were at Coors Field. For every pitch, pitchers had less horizontal movement at Coors Field than elsewhere. The pitches that typically have more horizontal movement (sinker and changeup) were the ones that showed the biggest decrease in movement at Coors Field, while the pitches that had the least horizontal movement (Cutter and Slider) showed the least difference in movement at Coors Field. For Vertical Movement, it may seem that the results from each pitch tell different stories, yet they actually still follow a pattern. 📚 MORE READS: [Run Values by Plate Location, Pitch Types, Amount of Movement]( by Tom Tango, MLB [Ryan McMahon's New Approach is Paying Off]( by Matt Wallach, Pitcher List [How MLB's Biggest Offseason Moves Are Looking So Far in 2021]( by Michael Baumann, The Ringer [@fangraphs]( [FanGraphs]( [FanGraphs]( [RSS]( [FORWARD]( [SUBSCRIBE]( Copyright © 2021 FanGraphs Inc, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the FanGraphs Newsletter. 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