Byron Buxton's Breakout Has Arrived

Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton may be reaching his sky-high potential in 2021. Buxton is off to a red-hot start, slashing .481/.548/.1.185 with five homers through his first 31 plate appearances- and he has the underlying statistics to back up the incredible slash line. Not only is the 27-year-old hitting the ball harder than ever […]

Alex Reyes Has Been Dominating In Closer Role

St. Louis Cardinals closer Alex Reyes has been given every save opportunity -- he's 3-for-3 so far -- over relievers Jordan Hicks and Giovanny Gallegos so far this year. Reyes is reaching 100 mph with his fastball and hasn't allowed more than one hit on any of his pitches. The right-hander is expected to throw […]

Jacob Stallings Extends Hitting Streak To Four Games

Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Jacob Stallings extended his hitting streak to four games on Monday, going 1-for-4 with a double in the loss to the Padres. Stallings got off to a slow start this year, but in his last four games now he is 5-for-9 with two doubles, two RBI, three runs scored and a 3:4 […]

Tyler Naquin Has Been A Big Surprise

Cincinnati Reds outfielder Tyler Naquin has been one of the biggest surprises in baseball in the early going, as he's tied for the National League lead in home runs with five and leads the league with 14 RBI. Coming out of spring training, Naquin was expected to be the fifth outfielder behind Nick Castellanos, Nick […]

Zion Williamson Scores 30-Plus For Third Straight Contest

New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson continued his red-hot offensive play in Monday's victory over Sacramento. Williamson netted 30 points with six boards, four assists, and a block in 39 minutes. The 20-year-old has now scored 30-plus points in each of his last three games and is averaging 26.5 a night for the season. Most […]

J.T. Realmuto Remains The Best Catcher In Baseball

Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto has been excellent on defense in terms of framing, blocking balls in the dirt and limiting the opponents' running game. He's helped starting pitchers Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola get off to solid starts on the mound. On offense, Realmuto leads the team in average, is second in RBI and […]

Brandon Ingram With Strong Two-Way Effort Monday

New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram put together a strong effort on both ends of the floor in Monday's 117-110 win over the Kings. Ingram scored a team-high 34 points with seven assists, six rebounds, three triples, two blocks, and a steal. He was quite efficient, shooting 11-for-18 from the field, 3-for-8 from deep, and […]

Ronald Acuna Jr. Showing Why He's Elite

Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. has gotten off to a blazing start to the season and is showing why he was the No. 1 overall pick in most fantasy drafts. Acuna is making exceptional plays on defense, taking extra bases on the basepaths and is hitting for power and showing his high-end speed while […]

Chris Bassitt Picks Up First Win Of 2021

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Chris Bassitt allowed two runs in five innings to earn his first win of the season Monday in Arizona. Bassitt was lucky to escape with only two runs as he had traffic on the base paths all night allowing two hits and five walks. Bassitt has had walk issues in the […]

Gerald McCoy Doesn't Plan To Retire

Free-agent defensive lineman Gerald McCoy (quadriceps), a six-time Pro Bowler, doesn't plan to retire after missing all of the 2020 season due to an injury. "I just know I have so much more to give this game, even if for a short period of time," McCoy said. The pass-rusher had 54.5 sacks in his nine […]

Michael Conforto Hitless Over Last Three Games

New York Mets outfielder Michael Conforto has had a rough start to the 2021 season. Through five games, he's gone 3-for-21 with a double, a walk, three RBI and eight strikeouts. He's failed to record a hit in each of his last three games. Conforto had his best all-around season in the Majors last year. […]

Buccaneers Not Against Drafting Tom Brady's Successor

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians said he's not against taking a developmental quarterback at the end of the first round (pick No. 32) of this year's draft. The Buccaneers are returning 22 starters from their championship season a year ago, so they could take the best player available when their turn is up […]

Matt Chapman Has Big Night Versus Diamondbacks

Oakland Athletics outfielder Matt Chapman went 3-for-5 with a home run, two RBI, and two runs scored in a win at Arizona on Monday. Chapman has gotten off to a slow start this season batting just .179 after this performance. He's faced some brutal matchups so far with series against the Astros and Dodgers pitching […]

Statcast Hitter Leaderboard: Maximum Exit Velocity

Although we technically got Statcast data as soon as the first pitch of the 2021 season was thrown, any good sabermetrician knows that sample size matters. It's still quite early in the season but we can't wait to start digging into the stats, so let's start this year's iteration of the Statcast Hitter Leaderboard by […]

Tanner Houck Could Make A Start This Weekend

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Tanner Houck was optioned to the team's alternate site in Worcester on Wednesday after Eduardo Rodriguez returned to the team. Now, however, there's a chance that the Red Sox will need to call Houck back up for a start in this weekend's series against the Chicago White Sox. Houck will […]

Cardinals Agree To Terms With James Conner

The Arizona Cardinals agreed to terms on an undisclosed one-year deal with free-agent running back James Conner on Tuesday. Conner visited with the team on Monday and took a physical after he had offseason surgery to fix a turf-toe injury that he sustained recreationally this offseason. The 25-year-old is expected to make a full recovery […]

Cavan Biggio Hitting Just .125 Through Nine Games

Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Cavan Biggio has been cold out of the gate this year. Through nine games, he's slashing .125/.263/.313 with two home runs, two RBI and five runs. He has a 28.2% strikeout rate, up from 23% last year. His .124 xBA ranks amongst the bottom 1% of the league. Biggio has […]

Alexander Volkov Pots Pair Of Goals Monday Night

Anaheim Ducks right wing Alexander Volkov took care of two goals in Monday's 4-0 win over San Jose, joining Maxime Comtois and Rickard Rakell on the scoreboard. The Russian winger was plus-two for the contest and had three shots and five hits. Volkov, who was picked up from Tampa via a trade last month, now […]

Falcons Could Stack Quarterbacks

With the No. 4 overall pick in this year's NFL draft, the Atlanta Falcons are in a prime position "to stack good quarterbacks" alongside Matt Ryan, according to general manager Terry Fontenot. "It's a prime time to do it when you have a player like Matt Ryan because when you can get in the right […]

Anthony Stolarz Makes Ducks History With 46-Save Shutout

Anaheim Ducks goaltender Anthony Stolarz set a franchise record with a 46-save shutout in Monday's 4-0 win over San Jose. Jonas Hiller and Dominic Roussel previously shared the record for most saves in a regular-season shutout with 45. Stolarz made only his third start of the season and improved to 2-1-0. He has recorded a […]

De'Aaron Fox Goes Off For 43 Points

Sacramento Kings guard De'Aaron Fox was unstoppable on Monday night in a loss to the Pelicans. Fox dropped 43 points with six rebounds, six assists, five triples, and a steal in 39 minutes. The 23-year-old shot well from the field and beyond the arc, though he probably could have had an even better day with […]

Whit Merrifield With A 1.124 OPS Through Nine Games

Kansas City Royals second baseman Whit Merrifield has been dominant at the top of the team's lineup so far this year. Through nine games, he's slashing .375/.405/.719 with three home runs, 10 RBI, six runs and a stolen base. His hard-hit rate (35.7%) is up significantly from last year (27.3%) and he ranks amongst the […]

Nikolaj Ehlers Takes Goal Streak To Three Games

Winnipeg Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers recorded his 18th goal of the season in Monday's 4-2 loss to Ottawa, extending his goal streak to three games. Kyle Connor opened the scoring on a power play as the Jets ended up blowing a 2-0 lead. Connor became the third Jets player with 40 points this season. Ehlers […]

Mitch Moreland Takes Batting Practice

Oakland Athletics first baseman Mitch Moreland (hamstring) has missed the last three games due to a sore right hamstring, but he was able to take batting practice before the game on Monday and is a candidate to fill in at first base with Matt Olson (thumb) listed as day-to-day after suffering a thumb contusion when […]

Brady Tkachuk Scores Twice In Monday's Win

Ottawa Senators left wing Brady Tkachuk scored two goals in Monday's 4-2 victory over Winnipeg, firing off five total shots and delivering six hits. Connor Brown extended his goal streak to eight games and Evgenii Dadonov bagged one as well for the Senators. Tkachuk posted his second multi-goal game of the season by netting on […]

Tyler Glasnow Strikes Out 14 Rangers On Monday

Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow has been electric so far this year, and on Monday against the Texas Rangers he turned in his best start yet. He pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings and allowed two hits and one walk while striking out 14. He now has a 0.46 ERA, 0.51 WHIP and 42.6% […]

Jake Diekman Earns High-Leverage Hold

Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Jake Diekman pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings with a strikeout to earn a hold versus the Diamondbacks on Monday. Diekman was used as the team's most trusted reliever in this game, as he was called on to end the seventh inning after J.B. Wendelken allowed two runs to score and had […]

Matt Olson Day-To-Day After Being Hit On Hand

Oakland Athletics first baseman Matt Olson (thumb) is being listed as day-to-day after he was removed in the eighth inning after getting hit by a pitch on his left hand on Monday night. Manager Bob Melvin said that X-rays on Olson's hand showed no broken bones after the game. Olson suffered a thumb contusion. "It […]

Brad Hand Earns First Save On Monday

Washington Nationals closer Brad Hand earned his first save of the 2021 season on Monday. He pitched a scoreless ninth inning, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out two. It was his second appearance of the season and first save opportunity. The Nationals have only played seven games so far this year and […]

Jack Campbell Finally Takes A Loss

Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Jack Campbell saw his winning streak come to an end on Monday night when Montreal delivered him his first loss of the season with a 4-2 scoreline. Auston Matthews bagged another goal and John Tavares notched his 12th marker of the year. Campbell posted a league record with 11 consecutive wins […]