Never trust a knuckleballer guys. If there’s one thing you should have learned during your time here on Pitcher List, it’s don’t trust a knuckleballer. If you did, then you trusted Steven Wright last night against the Orioles, and like a stupid sheep pun, it was baaaaaaaaaad. Everyone was hitting home runs against Wright last night, and one of those players was Trey Mancini who went 2-3, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI. If Mancini was on just about any other major league team where he’d be getting regular playing time, he’d be owned in a lot of leagues, because the guy is major league ready. He’s got 20+ home run power and can hit for a pretty decent average. Unfortunately though, he’s in a crowded outfield with the Orioles, but if he keeps hitting, he’ll find his way into the lineup, and if he starts getting more at-bats, he’d be worth keeping an eye on.
Let’s take a look at some of the other performances of note from Wednesday’s games:
Rickie Weeks – 1-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI. Rickie Weeks??? Yep, that Rickie Weeks. He got the start for the Rays and smacked a home run before smacking into Brett Gardner in a collision that knocked them both out. Weeks doesn’t have much relevance at 34, but it’s nice to see him still playing I guess.
Aaron Judge – 2-3, 1 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI. For the third straight came THE JUDGE has homered, and he keeps doing it. The guy has monster power, the home runs will keep coming all year as long as he gets starts.
Austin Romine – 2-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 4 RBI. Romine has had a nice start to the season, and he’s been starting a fair amount of games. It’s a little early to get too excited about a 31-year-old utility guy, but just keep an eye on it.
Ryan Schimpf – 1-2, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI. Schimpf has good power but strikeouts and batting average have always been a problem. That being said, he’s been taking a good amount of walks this season, worth paying attention to in an OBP league.
Stephen Piscotty – 3-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 5 RBI. A nice game for Piscotty, and worth noting that his walk rate has shot up this year. Small sample size obviously, but worth noting.
Michael Conforto – 2-4, 1 HR, 3 R, 1 RBI. You see Mets? Do you see what happens when you give Michael Conforto a place to play? He’s talented, he’s been major league ready for over a year now, he needs to play. If he keeps getting starts, grab him.
Maikel Franco – 2-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 4 RBI. Maikel Franco hits home runs, it’s what he does. After a slow start, things are finally starting to pick back up for him, the buy low window (if there is one this early in the season) is starting to close.
Jose Peraza – 3-5, 1 R, 1 SB. Once again, Jose Peraza steals a base. In fact, it’s been three straight games of a stolen base for Peraza. Francisco Cervelli is easy to steal on.
Eugenio Suarez – 3-4, 1 R, 3 RBI. I am very very interested in this hot start for Suarez. It’s too early to call it legit, but he’s always been a talented hitter, he’s just had major plate discipline problems. But that strikeout rate has come way down and his walk rate has gone way up. If he can keep this up, he can be very useful.
David Freese – 2-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI. Freese is off to a nice start, but don’t be fooled. He’s 34 and has always been a slightly above average hitter. Everything will balance out.
Adam Jones – 2-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI. Jones joined the Orioles’ home run party last night with a solo shot, he’ll hit plenty of those this year.
Chris Davis – 3-5, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI. Crush doing what Crush does: crushin’.
Jonathan Schoop – 2-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI. Another member of the Orioles home run party last night. If there’s a team that’s going to hit a ton of home runs, it’s Baltimore, and Jones, Davis, and Schoop will all hit plenty of them.
Pablo Sandoval – 1-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI. Ayyy panda panda panda with a home run. Too bad he’s had a terrible year otherwise.
Ender Inciarte – 2-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 3 RBI. Inciarte doesn’t usually hit for much power but he was able to match Giancarlo Stanton with two home runs last night. Don’t expect that moving forward though.
Giancarlo Stanton – 2-3, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI. Speaking of Stanton, he had a killer night too. Dude has incredible power, that’s no bold statement, he just needs to stay healthy.
Jonathan Villar – 2-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI. One of the things that’s made Villar so attractive is that he has decen pop to go along with his incredible speed. He didn’t steal a base on Wednesday, but he did get a solo shot in.
Andrew Toles – 2-5, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI. A nice solo shot off of John Lackey for Toles, but there’s really nothing to see here.
Elvis Andrus – 2-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI. Three home runs and no steals so far for Elvis Andrus? What the eff?
Mike Napoli – 2-4, 1 HR, 2 R, 1 RBI. This just in: Mike Napoli hits home runs.
Josh Reddick – 2-3, 3 R, 2 RBI. I want Josh Reddick to stay healthy sooooooo badly. If he does, he could be really good this year.
Jose Altuve – 3-3, 3 R. Hey now, that Altuve kid can hit.
Taylor Motter – 2-4, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI. Motter will be getting some starts while Jean Segura is out, but there’s really nothing worth noting here, just a nice night for Motter.
Jake Lamb – 3-3, 1 R, 1 SB. Hey now, Jake Lamb with a stolen base. Don’t expect too many of those this year.
Are we holding onto Rendon? Currently have Lemahieu and Villar who can fill the spot.
Make that Franco and Villar.
I’m not giving up yet, it’s only been eight games. The plate discipline stats are a little concerning, but it’s a small sample size. I’d bench him for now and keep an eye on him. If he doesn’t start to improve by like mid-May, then I’d consider dumping him. But for now, go ahead and start Franco and Villar ahead of him.
An encouraging stat so far: He’s got a .190 BABIP. That’ll rise.