FREE FOR ALL MONDAY
It's too hot to charge for this June update
It's very hot under the heat dome, and I thought it would be nice to share a baseball update on how June is going so far. This edition of Billy-Ball is free for all of you. I hope you will become a paying subscriber and join the ranks of those cool readers already part of the B-B community.
HEADING DOWN THE JUNE RABBIT HOLE
Two divisions are playing over .500 ball, and the AL East has the best record in the majors.
It’s been a terrific June for the AL East.
Every team in the AL East has played at least .500 baseball, and the Yankees, the team in first, is the team with the worst record this month. The team with the second-best record this month, the Red Sox, traded their best hitter, Rafael Devers, for four players and a Billy-Ball tote bag.
The Rays have the best record in the AL East, but the team with the best record in the majors in June is the Houston Astros.
The Astros have the second-lowest ERA this month at 2.96 (and the most strikeouts with 217), but proving that pitching isn’t everything, the Guardians (8-11) have the lowest ERA at 2.93. To further prove that point, the 12-9 Dodgers have a 4.67 ERA, 26th in the majors.
On the other hand, the 8-11 Mariners are hitting .279 this month, the highest BA in the majors. The Rays are around the middle of the pack with their 3.75 ERA, but have a .793 OPS, the highest in baseball. They have also scored the most runs with 115.
New York, New York is playing meh-meh baseball with each team at 10-10 this month. The Mets have hit 39 homers this month, the most in baseball, while the Yankees’ 3.09 ERA is the third best in baseball.
The Phillies are 11-9 despite their starters having the lowest ERA (2.83). The Rangers are 10-9 despite having the lowest bullpen ERA (2.31).
It’s so good to have Ronald Acuna Jr. healthy again. His .409 BA is the highest in baseball. His 1.212 OPS is the second highest. He has scored 23 runs, also the most in the majors. Yandy Diaz is next hitting .405. The other .400 batter this month is Freeman. Not Freddie Freeman, who is struggling, hitting only .200, but the Rockies’ Tyler Freeman, who is hitting .400. Tyler leads the majors with hits in 18 games this month. Luis Arraez and Brooks Lee are next with 17. Infielder/outfielder/reliever Kiké Hernández has been hitless in 14 games this month. Jeremy Peña leads with 12 multi-hit games (30 total hits).
It’s so good to have Byron Buxton healthy again. His 1.215 OPS is the highest in baseball. Thank you to Juan Soto for quieting his disbelievers this month. He has a 1.181 OPS, third best in the majors.
While this appears to be Cal Raleigh’s world (and we just live in it), believe it or not, his nine homers this month are not the most in baseball. Eugenio Suarez has hit 10 homers so far this month, giving the Dbacks’ third baseman 25 on the season. His 25 RBI are also the most this month. In addition, Jo Adell of the Angels also has nine dingers this month (16 overall). We talk about Raleigh’s exploits because he also carries the burden of being a catcher, but it’s another catcher, Hunter Goodman of the Rockies, who leads the majors with 15 XBH (six doubles, two triples, seven homers) this June. He’s had five games this month with at least two XBH. He also leads the majors, striking out 14 times with two outs.
A normal player would be pretty content with a June hitting .271 with a .971 OPS and six homers. But Aaron Judge is not a regular player, and this month has been a struggle, particularly considering that he leads the majors with 33 strikeouts. Garret Crochet, the Red Sox ace, leads all pitchers with 36 strikeouts. The Rays’ Ryan Pepiot has 35 strikeouts. He also leads the majors, with 16 strikeouts with two outs. Atlanta’s Grant Holmes is the NL leader with 33 Ks. Charlie Morton leads the majors with 14 strikeouts with runners in scoring position. The Brewers’ Jose Quintana has walked 14 batters this month (that’s the most). Juan Soto has walked 21 times this month (that’s the most). Colorado’s Thairo Estrada has been to the plate 61 times, the Nats’ Keibert Ruiz has 54 PA, and Pittsburgh’s Adam Frazier has been to the plate 52 times this month, and none of them has drawn a walk. The Dodgers’ Andy Pages is having a terrific month. He’s hitting .338 with a .991 OPS, he has six homers and 16 RBI, and has scored 12 runs. He’s been to the plate 82 times, in 21 games, without one walk.
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I wish I could give new subscribers that virtual tote bag.
Tampa’s José Caballero has 10 steals (in 12 attempts), the most in June. Washington’s Jacob Young is 0-4 this month in steal attempts. Martín Maldonado, the Padres catcher, is 0-14 in his efforts to catch base thieves. The Cubs’ Carson Kelly (a name that sounds like an old West sheriff) has caught seven varmints in 14 attempts.
The Yankees’ Anthony Volpe has made four errors in the infield this month. So has Max Muncy, of the A’s, not of the Dodgers. The Dodgers’ Max Muncy has made two errors, but has hit .310 this month with a 1.051 OPS and five homers. The Mariners and the Rangers’ infielders have each only made one error. The Red Sox have made 11. Altogether, Boston has made 20 errors this month, the most in the majors. The Mariners and Rangers, just three each. The Sox have allowed 17 unearned runs this month. No other team is in double figures.
The Cubs have bounced into only five double plays this month. The Rockies have hit into 19 double plays, and the Astros 18. The Brewers have 11 sac flies this month, the Giants 10.
The Blue Jays are hitting .351 w/RISP; the Giants just .201. But the Giants have scored 49 runs with two outs, the most in the majors. The Astros and Rays have scored 47 apiece. The Bucs stop at two outs; they have scored just 14 runs.
Josh Hader has four wins this month. The Twins have allowed 10+ runs in five games this month. It must be a Pennsylvania thing. The Phillies have allowed no more than two runs in 11 games this month. The Pirates have scored no more than two runs in 12 games this month. The Yankees have been shut out four times. The Guardians and Royals have been blanked three times each.
The Rockies, Twins, and Orioles have each homered in 16 games this month. The Twins have lost 11 of those games. The Astros have won 12 games in which they have homered.
Willson Contreras has an RBI in 14 Cardinals games this month. Jeremy Peña has scored a run in 15 Astros games this month.
What about old subscribers? I'd buy a Bill-Ball tote!! God knows, I have enough NYY stuff.