Daily Briefing: Making history

The FanGraphs Newsletter, June 1, 2021 [READ IN BROWSER]( By Jeffrey Bellone - June 1, 2021 🟢 MAKING HISTORY In a season defined by superlative pitching, Jacob deGrom continues to stand out. After throwing six more scoreless innings last night in Arizona, he lowered his ERA to a microscopic 0.71, which is the [lowest for a qualified pitcher at the end of May]( since Chris Short (0.64) in 1964, per the Elias Sports Bureau. The 32-year-old allowed only two hits, striking out eight and walking none, in helping the Mets beat the Diamondbacks 6-2 on Monday. He has yet to allow more than one earned run in any of his eight starts this season, and has held opponents scoreless in four of those games. In another example of how pitcher wins fail to tell the full story, deGrom sports an underwhelming 4-2 record on the young season. The Mets have infamously [struggled to put up runs]( he is on the mound. His 27 "tough losses" in quality starts is second most since 2014, behind Madison Bumgarner. Luckily, his offense gave him plenty of runs to earn the win last night. ⚫️ WHAT ELSE HAPPENED? ▫️ Braves outfielder Marcell Ozuna was [arrested]( on charges of aggravated assault and battery after police witnessed him attacking his wife on Saturday. He was released from prison on Monday after posting a $20,000 bond. ▫️ MLB will partner with a new company to "[significantly]( expand its nonfungible tokens offerings this fall, per ESPN. The first digital release will be an exclusive Lou Gehrig NFT on July 4 to celebrate his "Luckiest Man" speech. ▫️ The Rays continue to roll, beating the Yankees 3-1 on Monday for their 16th victory in their last 17 games. They finished the month of May with a major league best 22-6 record. They have a two game lead on the Red Sox in the American League East. 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 In an epic 14-pitch at-bat that lasted over ten minutes in real time, Chris Taylor delivered a three-run double off Génesis Cabrera to give the Dodgers a 6-3 lead in the sixth inning last night. The clutch hit proved the difference maker in their 9-4 victory. SCORES (HOME TEAMS IN CAPS) DODGERS 9 Cardinals 4 Twins 3 ORIOLES 2 (10) Mets 6 D-BACKS 2 White Sox 8 CLEVELAND 6 (DH/8) CLEVELAND 3 White Sox 1 (DH/7) BRAVES 5 Nationals 3 CUBS 7 Padres 2 ROYALS 7 Pirates 3 REDS 11 Phillies 1 Rays 3 YANKEES 1 MARINERS 6 Athletics 5 (10) BREWERS 3 Tigers 2 (10) ASTROS 11 Red Sox 2 GIANTS 6 Angels 1 Track every game using our [LIVE SCOREBOARD](. [The Time for "Reach Out" Calls Is Here]( by Kevin Goldstein As the calendar flips to June, it means just one thing to big league teams: there’s activity on the horizon. July means trade season, and June is the month to get ready for it. It can be a complicated process, but it starts with some old school front office work, as teams get in touch with each other to lay the groundwork for the insanity to come through what are commonly referred to as reach out calls [...] As of June 1, here is how I would conservatively categorize the 30 teams heading into call season: That’s nearly two-thirds of the league getting ready to make their reach out calls and let other clubs know either what they are looking for or who is available. Meanwhile, the bubble teams are in receiving mode, ready to discuss both buying and selling scenarios, while the conversations themselves can help steer the future direction of those clubs as they begin to get a better understanding of both acquisition costs and what their potential trade chips might generate in return. [READ MORE ]( 📝 RECENTLY PUBLISHED [As if the Rockies Needed More Trouble, Trevor Story Is Injured]( by Jay Jaffe [Tarik Skubal Has Arrived]( by Mike Podhorzer [A Ground Ball Revolution?]( by Justin Stofferahn [Wilson Contreras Stars in Will Craig's Theatre of The Absurd]( by David Laurila [Bullpen Report: June 1, 2021]( by Lucas Kelly [Roto Riteup: June 1, 2021]( by Justin Mason 🎧 FANGRAPHS PODCASTS [THE SLEEPER AND THE BUST EPISODE 934 - Trusting the RotoGut (ft. Vlad Sedler)]( The latest episode of “The Sleeper and the Bust” is live. Support the show by [subscribing to our Patreon]( VLAD SEDLER INTERVIEW - League Check-In (1:35) - Early-to-Midseason Mgmt (8:26) - FantasyGuru Content (24:00) - Memorial Day Leagues (40:48) - Carlos Rodón/Anthony Rendon 🔝 TOP PERFORMERS Some additional performances not noted above. 🔺 JOSE BERRIOS (SP/MIN): 8 IP, 6 SO (7 swinging strikes), 0 BB, 5 H and 1 ER. 🔺 JOSE URQUIDY (SP/HOU): 6 IP, 9 SO (13 swinging strikes), 1 BB, 3 H and 1 ER. 🔺 PATRICK WISDOM (3B/CHC): 3-4 (2 HR, 2 R, 1 SB, 2 RBI) 🔺 GAVIN LUX (SS/LAD): 2-4 (2 HR, 2 R, 2 RBI) Check out our [Live Daily Leaderboards]( to track each day's top performers in real-time. ⚾️ ROSTER REPORT For the latest roster information, please visit our [RosterResource]( pages. 📚 [What role is the new ball playing in all these no-hitters?]( by Eno Sarris, The Athletic ($): There’s a certain amount we know to be true about the ball this year, because baseball told us, and because the ball is behaving in a way that aligns with the changes MLB outlined in an offseason memo. The ball has been slightly deadened in the core, and the ball is lighter. What’s funky is that those two alterations have had different, sometimes confusing effects, but the overall effect is obvious: offense is down some. Offense is down! The ball is different! And of course, no-hitters are up. The record for no-hitters in a season is seven, and as June dawns we sit just one shy of tying that mark, (plus whatever Madison Bumgarner did). The league told us the ball changed before the season. Are there straight lines to be drawn here? 📚 [Wil Myers and the Importance of Exit Velocity]( by Kyle Horton, Pitcher List: Last year, Wil Myers made a swing change that broke his three season long streak of being just a league-average hitter. In his 218 PA last season, he hit .288/.353/.430 with 15 home runs and a 154 wRC+. His .318 ISO was a career high by a wide margin. Myers finished in the 93rd percentile in barrel rate, wOBA, and xwOBA. He also finished in the 95th percentile in xSLG. All in all, Myers swing change resulted in a career year. But this season it’s been a different story. He’s hitting as of late—bolstering his wRC+ up to 115—but the peripherals of Myers’s season have been drastically different. He’s gone from making some of the best contact a year ago, to making bottom-of-the-league kind of contact. 📚 MORE READS: [Bridging the Partisan Divide on Taxpayer-Financed Ballparks]( by Rob Mains, Baseball Prospectus ($) [Canada Opens Olympics baseball qualifier with no-hitter]( TSN [NCAA Baseball Tournament Bracket Analysis: An Imperfect Field For An Imperfect Season]( by Teddy Cahill, Baseball America ($) [@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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