Bowden Francis (SP-TOR) dazzled against the Angels on Saturday afternoon as he allowed 1 run on 1 hit and 3 walks while racking up 12 punchouts over 8 IP; he carried a no-hitter into the 9th inning. The 28 year-old righty fired 84 of his 117 pitches for strikes while serving up a big fly in the outing. Bowden now owns a 4.02 ERA, 8.8 K/9, 2.4 BB/9, and 3.97 xFIP through 71.2 IP on the year. But he's been especially good over his last few starts, as he posted a 1.42 ERA, 10.4 K/9, 0.5 BB/9, and 2.68 xFIP in his last three starts entering Saturday's outing. During that span, he's limited the opposition to a 75% contact rate to go with a 35% hard-hit rate (per Statcast) while logging a 13.5% swinging-strike rate. The opposition is a bit tougher the next time out as he lines up to face the Red Sox in Boston on Thursday, but Francis has been locked in over the last few weeks.
Pete Crow-Armstong (OF-CHC) enjoyed another productive day at the dish as he went 2-4 with a HR, a 2B, a BB, and 3 RBI against the Marlins. The 22 year-old started his 2024 run in the majors slowly but has come around as of late and is now batting .220 with 7 homers, 31 RBI, 24 runs scored, and 23 steals (in 24 tries) across 284 PA, with a subpar wRC+ of 81. While the overall stat line - the stolen bags aside - isn't impressive - it's encouraging to note that Crow-Armstrong has stepped things up over the last month, for entering Saturday's action he was hitting .288 with 3 big flies, 11 RBI, 12 runs scored, and 5 steals (in 6 attempts) in 86 PA since July 26th. During that span, his strikeout rate is down to just 11.5% (26.5% before) while his Statcast metrics are much improved (48.5% hard-hit rate and average exit velo of 91.5 mph since July 26th as compared to 30% and 87.5 mph before that).
Jackson Chourio (OF-MIL) continued his strong second half of the season against the Athletics on Saturday as he went 1-4 with a BB, an RBI, and a run scored as the #2 hitter. The 20 year-old has a solid .275 average to go with 15 homers, 57 RBI, 61 runs scored, and 18 stolen bases (in 22 chances) through 435 PA on the year, with an above-average wRC+ of 111. But it's worth noting that Chourio has gotten better as the season has progressed, for entering Saturday's action he was batting .321 with 6 dingers, 24 RBI, 26 runs scored, and 10 steals (in 11 attempts) with a 146 wRC+ across 176 PA since July 1. During that span, his strikeout rate has been down (16.5% since July 1 compared to 24% before) while his Statcast profile has been improved (49.5% hard-hit rate and average exit velocity of 91 mph since July 1 versus 42% and 88.5 mph before).
Joey Loperfido (2B/OF-TOR) enjoyed another productive day at the plate against the Angels on Saturday afternoon as he went 2-4 with a pair of 2B and an RBI. The 25 year-old rookie now owns a .243 average to go with 4 big flies, 20 RBI, 20 runs scored, and 3 steals (in 4 tries) across 184 PA, with a slightly below-average 98 wRC+. He's fanned a lot (36%) while his average exit velocity wasn't exactly impressive at 88.5 mph. But he's been productive over the last week(ish) of action, as he was batting .500 with 2 homers, 2 RBI, 5 runs scored, 1 2B, and 2 3B over his last 5 games entering Saturday's action. During that span, he's fanned less often (12%) while posting a stronger 90 mph average exit velocity per Statcast. If your lineup could us a bit of a jolt, consider adding Loperfido as he's been hot of late.
Valente Bellozo (SP-MIA) got lit up by the Cubs on Saturday afternoon, coughing up 6 runs (5 earned) on 7 hits and 5 walks while fanning just 1 over 4.2 IP. The 24 year-old righty served up a trio of round trippers while throwing just 41 of his 83 pitches for strikes in the outing. With a 2.45 ERA and 4.82 xFIP through 33 IP entering Saturday's game, one had to know that regression was coming, and it did against the Cubs. The rookie now owns a 3.35 ERA, 6.7 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, and 5.44 xFIP across 37.2 IP. A fortunate 83.5% strand rate and low .255 BABIP to go with that low strikeout rate and unimpressive walk rate indicate that more regression should be in the offing. And he is slated for a turn in Denver against the Rockies on Thursday...
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