Zach Davies- P- CHC- Caution- Davies had control issue in the Cactus League, walking 9 in 16.2 IP. This has continued since the games started to count. After issuing 3 free passes in 4 IP yesterday he has now walked 9 in 11.1 IP while only striking out 8. Davies has thrown 135 strikes and 87 balls in his 3 starts. He has given up 16 hits and now has a WHIP of 2.21. Statcast didn't really love Davies in 2020, even with an ERA of 2.73 and FIP of 3.88. His xERA was 5.13, a significant difference. Davies entered yesterday's game with an xERA of 6.30. There are some difficulties in this early part of the season that need to be corrected before he can be recommended as a starter.
Marcell Ozuna- OF- ATL- Hot- Ozuna posted his second 3-hit game in his last 4, going 3-for-5 with an RBI. It makes him 6-for-18 with a homer, 2 runs, and 4 RBI in this short stretch. Ozuna has also not struck out more than once in 3 of those games after striking out at least twice in 6 of his first 10 appearances. The fact that he went hitless in between the two 3-hit efforts tempers the enthusiasm a little bit, but his average from .139 to above the Mendoza Line at .204 in 4 games is a good sign, as is the preponderance of low-strikeout games. While Ozuna's Exit Velocity isn't as high yet as he was across last year, it still compares favorably to where he was in 2017, when he hit 37 homers. In that year he slugged 6 homers in April, but 5 of them came in a hot span of 7 games. In 2020, Ozuna hit homers in his second and third game of the season but only 1 more in his next 15 games. He ended up with 18 in 60 games. Ozuna is one hot stretch away from being back to his normal production. This is not a situation that is unknown to him.
Mike Yastrzemski- OF- SF- Hot- Yastrzemski went 2-for-4 with a double, triple, and run scored yesterday. It was the second time in 3 games that he collected multiple hits. This could be the start of a turnaround to a poor season start for Yastrzemski. Before these last 3 games he had a .121 average and 37.8% K%. Yastrzemski has suffered from a combination of bad luck and poor plate discipline. His BABIP was at .167. He had a Swinging Strike% of 17.6% and only made contact at a 66.7% rate. This is an indication that he was pressing and not making good contact. Yastrzemski had an Exit Velocity of 82.9, HardHIt% of 26.3 and Launch Angle of -10.1. He had a GB% of 73.7% and FB% of 15.8%. After today Yastrzemski's average is up to .186 and his K% is down to 34.0%. Before today's effort his Exit Velocity had increased to 84.9 in just two games and his GB% had dropped to 63.6% and FB% was up to 27.3%. the numbers are still not good but they are trending in a positive direction and quickly improving.
Camilo Doval- RP- SF- Rookie- Doval was called up from the alternate training site. He was also at the alternate training site in 2020 but was never called up to the majors. Doval's main asset is a fastball that can get up to 102 mph. He also has an effective slider. In 2019 at Class A San Jose Doval struck out 80 batters in 56 IP. He will not have a prominent bullpen role to start with but has potential to increase his appearances in high leverage situations. That heater is intriguing.
Devin Williams- RP- MIL- Drop Value- Williams has yet to have a decent outing in any of his 4 appearances in 2021. The 2020 Rookie of the Year has struck out 5 batters in 3.2 IP, but that's about the only positive to be found. Williams has been charged with 4 runs, for a 9.82 ERA. He has walked as many as he struck out. Only half of Williams' 80 pitches have been strikes. Two of the 20 batters he has faced have homered. Right now, Williams is not slated to appear in any high-leverage situations so even in leagues with holds he won't add anything. He needs to get a handle on his control or he may find himself at AAA Nashville to get straightened out once their season kicks off. If Williams doesn't turn around soon he may find himself at the alternate training site before the AAA season.
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