Ivan Nova (SP-PIT) Nova tossed 8 shutout innings, scattering 6 hits and striking out 5 during the Pirates 1-0 win over the Tigers Thursday. Despite the stellar outing Nova was stuck with a no decision and he has gone winless in his past two starts despite tossing 14 scoreless innings over those games. Even more impressive Nova has delivered a mesmerizing 23:0 K:BB ratio over the past 4 games and has walked just 4 batters over his first 6 starts of the season. He had delivered a solid 2.9 BB per 9 during his first 7 years with the Yankees but has brought that number down even more to 1.4 BB per 9 over parts of the past 3 season with the Pirates. He will carry a record of 2-1 with a 3.32 ERA and 1.03 WHIP into his next start.
Corey Dickerson (OF-PIT) Dickerson went 1-4 with a Walk off home run for the Pirates Thursday. With Michael Fulmer and Ivan Nova locked in a pitching duel Dickerson played the role of hero Thursday afternoon with his second home run of the year. Despite being behind his 27-home run pace of last season, Dickerson has been a key part of the Pirates lineup slashing .314/.348/.500 with 8 doubles, 1 triple, 13 runs and 13 RBIs. In the early going it seems Dickerson has traded in power for more consistent contact with his ISO dropping from .207 to .159 and his strikeout rate plummeting from 24.2% in 2017 to 11.4% in 2018. If Dickerson can keep making solid contact, owners may be willing to overlook the lowered home run totals if he can keep his batting average close to .300 for the duration of the season.
Ronald Acuna (OF-ATL) Acuna went 3-4 with a double and his first major league home run in the Braves 7-4 win over the Reds Thursday afternoon. The second inning solo home run traveled 416 feet and he plated what would end up being the game winning run on an RBI double in the 8th inning. With 4 hits in 9 at bats to start his career many have already looked past his pedestrian slow start in the minors (.232/.321/.304) with hopes of him approaching the .325/.374/.522 clip he posted across 3 minor league levels last year. One thing of note will be to see if Acuna will approve upon his strikeout % as he did during the 2017 season. As he progressed from A+ (31.7%) to AA (23.0%) to AAA (19.8%) he cutdown his strikeouts at every stop along the way. The continuation of this would help cement his future superstar status.
Kyle Schwarber (OF-CHC) Schwarber went 1-4 with a solo home run, the difference maker in the Cubs 1-0 win Thursday night. Being elevated to the 2-spot in the batting order with Kris Bryant still being monitored after being hit in the head with a pitch earlier in the week, he lined a home run over the right field fence for his 7th home run of the season. The noticeable trimmer Schwarber has looked much better at the plate in 2018 thus far, dropping his K% (30.9 to 24.1), and increasing both his ISO (.256 to .318) and BABIP (.244 to .317). With Bryant's status unknown, and Anthony Rizzo still hitting well below .200 the early season power surge is much needed in the Cubs lineup.
Brandon Nimmo (OF-NYM) Nimmo making his first start in over a week, went 1-4 with a run scored. He was also hit by 2 pitches. With the Mets outfield all in good health, playing time has been hard to come by for Nimmo but he has had a knack of getting on base when he does play. He has gone 8-27 (.296) hitting but has also drawn 6 walks and been hit by 5 pitches already giving him a cool .500 OBP in 16 games. Obviously, the sample size is too small with such limited playing time, but 4 of Nimmo's 7 hits have gone for extra bases as well. Despite all three regular outfielders for the Mets hitting below .240, don't expect Nimmo to crack the lineup more than once or twice a week just yet.
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