MLB Who’s Hot, Who’s Not: Carroll, Diamondbacks Making Noise
Dodgers’ Freeman Riding 20-Game Hitting Streak
The surprising Arizona Diamondbacks, led by dynamic rookie Corbin Carroll, have moved into the tie for the best record in the National League and still are flying a bit under the radar when it comes to the MLB news cycle.
Freddie Freeman of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Josh Jung of the Texas Rangers, who are featured prominently in the National League Most Valuable Player and American League Rookie of the Year odds, respectively, according to the MLB picks, have used long hitting streaks to land on this week’s “Who’s Hot” list.
It is not all good news as some players with lofty expectations regarding MLB predictions are off to tough starts.
The Atlanta Braves, the Los Angeles Dodgers and defending World Series champion Houston Astros both come in at +600 in the odds to win the World Series according to the Vegas MLB odds. The Tampa Bay Rays aren’t far behind at +650.
Keep reading for information on the hottest pitchers and batters, as well as players recently struggling.
Who’s Hot
Hitters
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- Corbin Carroll, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks: During Arizona’s current five-game winning streak, the player listed by the MLB Betting Lines as the National League Rookie of the Year front-runner is batting .368 with two home runs and seven RBIs.
Hit the jackpot. 🎰 pic.twitter.com/CiZrvVPsUZ
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) June 1, 2023
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- Freddie Freeman, 1B, Los Angeles Dodgers: Freeman is 13-for-26 with seven runs, six extra-base hits and four RBIs over the last six games as he extended his hitting streak to 20 games.
- Aaron Judge, OF, New York Yankees: Judge had four home runs in a recent three-game span to give him 18 as he leads the majors with a .679 slugging percentage and OPS of 1.088 – both close to what he registered when he was named the American League’s Most Valuable Player last season. The sportsbook has him listed as a front-runner to win the MVP once again.
- Josh Jung, 3B, Texas Rangers: Jung is on a current 14-game hitting streak as he makes this list for the second week in a row. He is batting .434 with 14 runs, five doubles, four home runs and 12 RBIs during that stretch.
- Ryan McMahon, 3B, Colorado Rockies: McMahon is batting .500 with four home runs, eight runs scored and 12 RBIs over his last eight games.
- Pitchers
- Felix Bautista, Baltimore Orioles: Bautista has allowed one run over his last 10 appearances and is 7-for-8 in save opportunities during that stretch. He has struck out 25 of the last 44 batters he has faced. Keep that in mind when looking at live betting options.
The Félix Express pic.twitter.com/DkzHaKcblX
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) May 28, 2023
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- Luis Castillo, Seattle Mariners: After allowing 12 hits and five home runs in 17 innings in his first three starts in May, Castillo has surrendered five hits and no runs with 18 strikeouts in 12 innings in his last two outings.
- Scott McGough, Arizona Diamondbacks: McGough hasn’t allowed a run in his last five appearances. He’s given up one hit and has 13 strikeouts in his last 7⅔ innings as the Diamondbacks have moved into a tie for first place with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West.
- Max Scherzer, New Yok Mets: Scherzer is 2-0 with an 0.90 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 20 innings in his last three starts.
- Logan Webb, San Francisco Giants: Webb has allowed one run or less in each of his last four starts. He has given up three earned runs with 28 strikeouts over his last 27 innings pitched.
Who’s Not
Hitters
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- Yordan Alvarez, DH, Houston Astros: He is 3-for-28 over his last nine games with two of those hits (both home runs) coming in a win over Oakland. He has at least one strikeout in each of his last eight contests.
- Seth Brown, OF, Oakland Athletics: Brown has no extra-base hits in his five games and he is 1-for-15 with five strikeouts during that stretch for the team with the worst record in the major leagues.
- Joey Gallo, 1B, Minnesota Twins: Gallo is just 2-for-24 over his last seven games and has struck out 17 times during that stretch. He has also gone 10 games without an extra-base hit.
- Bryce Harper, DH, Philadelphia Phillies: Harper has been hitless in four of his last five games with six strikeouts during that stretch.
- Jorge Soler, DH, Miami Marlins: Soler is 1-for-12 with five strikeouts over his last five games.
Pitchers
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- Chris Bassitt, Toronto Blue Jays: After beginning May by not allowing a run in his first 23 innings, he has surrendered 16 hits, 13 runs and five home runs in 10.1 innings in his last two outings.
- Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees: Cole has given up 11 hits, four home runs and six runs with six walks in 11 innings over his last two starts. It has been a tough stretch for one of the top American League Cy Young Award candidates.
- Yu Darvish, San Diego Padres: Darvish has allowed a home run in each of his last four starts. In his last three games, he has surrendered 19 hits, four home runs and 14 runs in 14 innings.
- Jake Irvin, Washington Nationals: Irvin has given up at least four runs in three of his last four starts. He has surrendered 21 hits, four home runs and 12 runs in 11⅔ innings during his three most recent outings.
- Noah Syndergaard, Los Angeles Dodgers: Syndergaard has given up 15 hits, 11 runs and four home runs in 11 innings in his last two starts as his ERA has jumped from 5.88 to 6.54.
