Alan Roden roped baseballs with regularity this spring, helping himself to land not only a roster spot, but also an Opening Day start in right field for the Toronto Blue Jays. Showing signs that he’s ready to take off at the MLB level, the 25-year-old left-handed hitter punished Grapefruit League hurlers to the tune of a 1.245 OPS and a 220 wRC+. He also coaxed six free passes and fanned just four times over his 37 plate appearances.
More than spring training results factored into his first big-league opportunity. Building on a strong 2024 season, split between Double-A New Hampshire and Triple-A Buffalo, Roden has been adding pop to his profile. Previously known more for his bat-to-ball skills than for his ability to clear fences, the erstwhile Creighton University Bluejay is now looking to lift.
Having read of Roden’s efforts to generate more power, I asked him how he’s gone about impacting the ball with more authority.
“I think it’s less of the actual impact that’s better,” Roden told me at Blue Jays camp. “It’s more the shape of the ball off the bat, directionally. The exit velocities are high enough to where if I’m getting in the air to the pull side, it’s going to go. That’s where the damage comes from, hitting the ball with more ideal launch angles.”
Roden has a B.A. in physics, so understanding the aerodynamics of ball flight, and the swing paths that produce results, comes with the territory. Explaining his mechanical adjustments was a simple exercise for the Middleton, Wisconsin native.
“My [exit velocities] have gone up slightly, just from moving more efficiently,” Roden said. “The stance is about pre-setting the slot so that once I get to launch position I can just turn — it’s how I’m posturing, and directionally moving through the swing to match the plane of the pitch. There is a little more space behind me now, and the turn starts a little bit earlier. It’s been a process to get to this point, but I really like where I’m at right now.”
Roden went 1-for-2 with a walk in his Opening Day debut with the Blue Jays.
———
RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS
Felipe Alou went 14 for 22 against Tracy Stallard.
Matt Chapman is 7 for 10 against Brady Singer.
Sam Chapman went 8 for 16 against Stubby Overmire.
Ben Chapman went 9 for 17 against Chubby Dean.
Ray Chapman went 10 for 18 against Jing Johnson.
———
Elly De La Cruz is the most exciting player in Cincinnati. About to begin his second full big-league season, the 23-year-old shortstop is coming off a year where he stroked 36 doubles, 10 triples, and 25 home runs. Moreover, he swiped 67 bases and was worth 6.4 WAR. His combination of power and speed makes him much-watch not only for Reds fans, but for fans across the country.
Ben Shulman got an up-close look when De La Cruz was playing for the Midwest League’s Dayton Dragons in 2022. Not surprisingly, the tooled-up prospect made an impression on the then-Fort Wayne TinCaps, and now Toronto Blue Jays, broadcaster.
“It was the first game of the minor league season, and my first affiliated game coming out of college,” recalled Shulman. “You’ve seen Elly De La Cruz’s frame; he clearly stands out. Just gargantuan. You see him at shortstop and can’t imagine a guy that big being over there… although I was working in the Padres system at the time, so there were some Fernando Tatis Jr. comparisons.
“In his first at-bat, he smacked an extra-base hit,” continued Shulman. “I believe he hit it the opposite way, batting right-handed, and was off to the races. I’d have to check the box score, but I’m pretty sure it was a triple… or maybe it was a double and he stole third right after. He was the most electric baserunner I saw. He created havoc. He also got to balls in the field and made throws that other guys couldn’t. The ball flew off his bat. He was pretty sensational.”
———
When Chaim Bloom was hired as Boston’s Chief Baseball Officer following the 2019 season, his directives included restocking the farm system and lowering the team’s payroll. Four years later — yes, there some mistakes along the way — he was unceremoniously fired after succeeding on both fronts.
Notable among Bloom’s decisions was allowing Xander Bogaerts to depart via an 11-year, $280M free-agent contract that he signed with the Padres. Over his first two seasons in San Diego, the 32-year-old shortstop logged a 109 wRC+ and 6.6 WAR (4.6 of it in 2023). Bogaerts is a good player, but with nine years and a healthy chunk of change remaining on the deal… let’s just say that Bloom isn’t the chump many Red Sox fans deemed him to be when “Bogie” departed.
The Mookie Betts fiasco is another story — a bad trade is a bad trade — although it does bear noting that the 12-year extension Betts signed with the Dodgers was for a whopping $365M. Could John Henry and Co. have afforded that? Sure, but that’s on them. Bloom may have been guilty of getting pennies on the dollar in terms of the return, but he wasn’t the one controlling the purse strings.
The four amateur drafts that Bloom oversaw in Boston? The yield included Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell, Marcelo Mayer, Kyle Teel, and Nick Yorke. The Red Sox also acquired under-the-radar prospect Wilyer Abreu in exchange for two months of free-agent-to-be Christian Vázquez, and procured Garrett Whitlock via the Rule 5 draft.
Bloom — now in St. Louis and slated to become the Cardinals’ President of Baseball Operations at season’s end — deserves a ton of credit for where the Red Sox are today: a legitimate World Series contender that just so happens to boast one of baseball’s best farm systems.
———
A quiz:
Who holds the San Francisco Giants franchise record for most saves? (A hint: he recorded more than 100 saves with another team and was a three-time All-Star.)
The answer can be found below.
———
NEWS NOTES
MLB announced on Friday that Opening Day rosters included a total of 265 players (27.8% of all players) representing 18 different countries and territories outside of the 50 United States. The Dominican Republic had the most foreign-born players (100), followed by Venezuela (63), Cuba (26), Puerto Rico (16), Canada (13), Japan (12), and Mexico (11).
Tommie Reynolds, an outfielder who played for four teams across the 1963-1972 season, died on March 19 at age 83. Two of his dozen home runs — including his first — came against Mickey Lolich. Reynolds also took Luis Tiant and Jim Bouton deep. He played roughly half of his games with the Kansas City Athletics.
———
The answer to the quiz is Robb Nen, who had 206 saves with the Giants and 108 with the Florida Marlins. If you guessed Rod Beck, he had 199 saves with the Giants and 87 with other teams, including 58 with the Chicago Cubs. Nen and Beck were both three-time All-Stars.
———
When he was featured here at FanGraphs last summer, I referred to Seattle right-hander Bryan Woo as “a low-slot success story.” The piece included Woo’s explaining how his delivery came to be, but not when he learned why it helps his stuff play up. I asked him about that at Mariners camp this spring.
“I guess it would be when I got drafted,” recalled Woo, whom Seattle selected 174th overall in 2021 out of Cal Poly. “They bring you in and go through your whole arsenal. They walked me through it, putting numbers on everything, like vertical ride, release height, and all the stuff that plays into it. Before I got drafted, I didn’t understand analytics a whole lot. It was a learning process for me.”
———
Jameson Taillon has evolved as he’s gotten older. At age 33, the Chicago Cubs right-hander attacks hitters differently than he once did. I asked him about that, including how his raw stuff compares to what it was in his younger years.
“That’s interesting,” replied Taillon, who reached the big leagues with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2016. “When I was a rookie, I threw two pitches — I was sinker/curveball — and they were probably both plus pitches. Now I throw six pitches. I don’t throw as hard as I did back then, but I have way better command. In terms of out-getting ability, I think I’m way ahead of where I was.”
I had the Automatic Ball Strike system in mind when I posed my question. After mentioning last Sunday’s column to him — it led with three perspectives on that very topic — I asked Taillon how a fully-implemented ABS might impact pitching as a whole.
“You have to be able to get swings-and-misses in the zone,” said Taillon. “I think that’s important, no matter what. I faced some minor-league guys this spring. When you used to throw on back fields — the chainlink-fence league — all they’d do is hack. Now they’re coming up [through the minors] with ABS and are a little more aware of the strike zone. To get swings-and-misses you have to be able to tunnel your pitches and be a little more deceptive in the strike zone.”
———
FORTHCOMING MILESTONES
The Boston Red Sox entered the season with 9,955 wins, needing 45 more to reach 10,000.
The Minnesota Twins entered the season with 9,955 losses, needing 45 more to reach 10,000.
Clayton Kershaw needs 32 strikeouts to reach 3,000.
Manny Machado came into the season needing 100 hits to reach 2,000, and nine runs scored to reach 1,000.
Bryce Harper came in needing 24 RBIs to reach 1,000.
Kyle Schwarber came in needing 16 home runs to reach 300.
Trea Turner came in needing 21 stolen bases to reach 300.
———
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
On Opening Day in NPB, 23-year-old Orix Buffaloes southpaw Hiroya Miyagi had a perfect game through seven innings against the Tohoku Rakuten Eagles before allowing an infield single to begin the eighth. Miyagi, who logged a 1.91 ERA with the Buffaloes last season, got a no-decision in Orix’s 3-2 walk-off win.
Also on Opening Day, the Yomiuri Giants rallied from a five-run deficit to top the Tokyo Yakult Swallows 6-5 in 10 innings. Trey Cabbage went 3-for-4 with a home run in his NPB debut, while Gakuto Wakabayashi went 4-for-6. Raidel Maríínez, who recorded 43 saves last year with the Chunichi Dragons, was credited with the win.
Takahiro Matsuba out-pitched Trevor Bauer on Saturday as the Chunichi Dragons beat the Yokohama DeNA BayStars 1-0. Matsuba allowed two hits over seven shutout innings; Bauer allowed six hits and the game’s lone run over six innings.
In the KBO, Austin Dean and Bo-gyeong Moon went deep on Saturday as the LG Twins routed the NC Dinos 14-4. A 24-year-old third baseman, Bo-gyeong has gone 8-for-21 with three home runs over the first week of the season.
Tae Hyun Jeon has kicked off his KBO career by going 8-for-14 with the KBO’s Kiwoom Heroes. The left-handed-hitting infielder turned 19 earlier this month.
———
Kia Tigers third baseman Do Yeong Kim suffered a mild hamstring strain in the club’s opener last weekend, putting him on the shelf for a yet-to-be-determined amount of time. Hopefully the stay will be short in duration. Do Yeong is the reigning KBO MVP, having put up a 38-home run, 40-stolen base season while slashing .347/.420/.647 for the 2024 Korea Series champions. Making his performance even more impressive is the fact that he didn’t celebrate his 21st birthday until this past October.
“He’s the best player in the KBO,” San Francisco Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee told me prior to the close of spring training. “He destroyed the league last season. And the crazy thing about him is that he’s young. He’s very young. Do Yeong is a five-tool player, and he knows how to work on every criteria of baseball.”
Jung Hoo came stateside in December 2023 after starring for the KBO’s Kiwoom Heroes for seven seasons. I asked the now-26-year-old if he thinks Do Yeong would like to follow in his footsteps and bring his talent to MLB.
“For sure,” replied Jung Hoo, who slashed .336/.386/.456 with six home runs and 13 steals in his own age-20 season. “It’s probably going to be a big dream for him to come to the major leagues. It’s a dream for any baseball player. But he’s got four more years before he can come over. Having come over from the KBO myself, I know that it’s important to focus on [the present].”
How do fans in their homeland view Do Yeong?
“I haven’t played there since 2023, so I can’t see just how famous Do Yeong is,” responded Jung Hoo. “But he plays for the most popular team in the KBO, and he is their most popular player. That makes him a superstar there.”
———
Luis Arraez is a .323/.372/.416 career hitter, and he’s led his league in batting average in each of the last three years. In 2023, he batted .354. What will his average be this season? Earlier this week, I ran a poll on social media with four range options. Here are the results:
.340 or higher: 7.5%
.330 to .339: 9.4%
.320 to .329: 37.7%
.319 or lower: 45.3%
I’m more bullish on the soon-to-turn-28-years-old San Diego Padres infielder than the vast majority of the voters. I expect Arraez to finish the season somewhere in the neighborhood of .340 — and capture a fourth straight batting title.
Which brings us to an age-specific comp. Here are Arraez and Rod Carew in their age 25-27 seasons:
Carew: 550 hits, 695 TB, 150 BB, 196 SO, .325 BA, .379 OBP, 124 wRC+.
Arraez: 576 hits, 747 TB, 109 BB, 106 SO,..328 BA, .371 OBP, 123 wRC+.
———
A random obscure former player snapshot:
Whammy Douglas had a modest career, appearing in 11 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1957 and logging a 3-3 record and a 3.26 ERA over 47 innings. The right-hander from Carrboro, North Carolina faced a number of notable names. The four hitters who took him deep were Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks (twice), Eddie Mathews, and Rip Repulski, while the first batter he fanned was Vinegar Bend Mizell. Bobby Thomson, who hit The Shot Heard ‘Round the World went 0-for-6 with three strikeouts. Wally Moon was the first batter to drive in a run while he was toeing the rubber.
Douglas had noteworthy seasons down on the farm. In 1954, he went 27-6 with a 2.06 ERA for the Brunswick Pirates, and in 1958 he went 16-10 with a 3.35 ERA for the Columbus Jets. His time in the minors also included playing for the Havana Sugar Kings in 1959.
———
LINKS YOU’LL LIKE
SI.com’s Jack Sommers wrote about how Corbin Carroll — the D-Back union rep at age 24 — is embracing a leadership role in Arizona.
Jung Ho Kang is hoping to return to MLB at age 37. Yonhap News Agency’s Jee-ho Yoo has the story.
At Cincinnati Magazine, Chad Dotson wrote about how hope is undefeated in March for Reds fans.
Eschewing uniqueness, Detroit’s Comerica Park will no longer have a dirt cutout between home plate and the pitcher’s mound. Brady Farkas shared the disappointing news at SI.com.
———
RANDOM FACTS AND STATS
On Thursday, Spencer Torkelson became the seventh player in Detroit Tigers history to walk four times and homer in the same game. Roy Cullenbine, Rob Deer, Cecil Fielder, Travis Fryman, J.D. Martinez, and Jason Thompson are the other six.
Bryce Harper has slashed .335/.414/.634 with 17 home runs in 295 plate appearances versus the Colorado Rockies.
Bob Feller threw MLB’s only Opening-Day no-hitter, turning the trick on April 16, 1940 against the Chicago White Sox. The Cleveland Indians Hall of Famer had three no-hitters in his career, as well as 12 one-hitters. Feller’s top strikeout game came in 1938 when fanned 18 Detroit Tigers batters over nine innings.
Hall of Fame second baseman Bobby Doerr had 2,042 hits and a .288 batting average. Mark Grudzielanek had 2,040 hits and a .289 batting average.
In 1951, New York Giants second baseman Eddie Stanky had 127 hits, 127 walks, and a .401 on-base percentage. In 1946, he had 143 hits, 148 walks, and a .417 on-base percentage with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Stanky’s OBP over 11 MLB seasons was .410.
On today’s date in 2018, the Pittsburgh Pirates spoiled Opening Day in Detroit by scoring three times in the top of the 13th inning to beat the Tigers 13-10. Gregory Polanco’s home run with two aboard was the deciding blow.
The San Diego Padres acquired Graig Nettles from the New York Yankees in exchange for Dennis Rasmussen on today’s date in 1984. Playing in his 18th big-league season, Nettles hit 20 of his 390 career home runs and helped lead the Padres to the World Series in the first of his three years in San Diego. He’d played in four Fall Classics while wearing pinstripes.
Players born on today’s date include Conrad Cardinal, a Brooklyn-born right-hander whose MLB career comprised six games for the Houston Colt .45s in 1963. One of his appearances came against St. Louis, with the Cardinals winning 15-0 behind a complete-game effort by Ernie Broglio (who a year later was traded to the Chicago Cubs for Lou Brock). Cardinal’s given name was Conrad Seth.
Also born on today’s date was Dave Baldwin, a right-hander who made the bulk his 176 appearances with the Washington Senators during a career that spanned the 1966-1973 seasons. Baldwin went on to earn a PhD in genetics and author the book “Limbic Hurly-Burly: Poems of Humor and Paradox.” His memoir is titled “Snake Jazz.”
Bert Blue batted .347 playing for the Ohio State League’s Newark Nukes/Piqua Picks in 1911. Ten years earlier, he’d begun his professional career with the Western League’s Dayton Old Soldiers. In between, Blue saw his only MLB action, playing for both the St. Louis Browns and Philadelphia Athletics in 1908. His given name was Bird Wayne.
Content Source: blogs.fangraphs.com