The Baseball Buffet for 4/1/2025

Issue #231

What follows is a new feature for 2025 at Now Taking the Field. The goal with The Baseball Buffet series is to provide the best daily dose of relevant baseball info in a smart-brevity format (mostly short bullets, getting to the point, with quick analysis/insights.) Think of it like what baseball fans of a certain age would look forward to in their morning newspaper’s sports section each day! Let me know what you think of each issue… leave a comment on the post or send me an email at [email protected].

⚾ The season has begun! ⚾

Fifth day of the season included a a nearly full slate of 14 games:

• MIN 0, CHW 9 - The White Sox offense came alive against MIN SP Chris Paddack, including HR by Andrew Vaughn, Andrew Benintendi, and Michael Taylor. Meanwhile veteran lefty Martin Perez introduced himself to the home crowd by throwing six innings of no-hit ball with 9 strikeouts.

• KCR 11, MIL 1 - The Royals showed that it isn’t just the Yankees that can hit Brewers pitching this year, as they tallied up 14 hits, including HR from Maikel Garcia and Salvador Perez. And Kris Bubic was solid in his 2025 debut throwing 6 innings with 3 H, 0 ER, and 8 K.

• BOS 5, BAL 8 - This game had 23 hits and 13 runs scored… but with 19 singles and no HR. Tyler O’Neill went 4-4 while the Orioles’ 24-year old Cade Povich let up 3 ER in 4.1 IP, but also had 8 K. The Rafael Devers nightmare start to 2025 continued, as he walked twice but was 0-3 with 3 more strikeouts—so he is now 0-19 with 15 K. Yikes.

• COL 1, PHI 6 - After making only five major league starts the past two years, Germán Márquez pitched well (6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 4 K). The Rockies scored first in the sixth with a solo HR by catcher Hunter Goodman, the only run allowed by Christopher Sanchez (5.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 7 K). But then Kyle Schwarber homered in the 7th, and Max Kepler and Nick Castellanos hit back-to-back HR in the 8th.

• PIT 1, TBR 6 - Other than Oneil Cruz running a lot (5 SB already), the Pirates’ offense just isn’t doing much. Drew Rasmussen pitched well (5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 K), and the Rays leveraged ten hits, including four doubles, to get the win.

• TEX 3, CIN 14 - The Reds jumped out to a 6-0 lead after 2 IP as 25-year old prospect Kumar Rocker (3 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, only 3 K) didn’t have a good start to his 2025 season. Several Reds hitters contributed, but superstar Elly De La Cruz led the way going 4-5 with 2 HR, a double, a SB, and 7 RBI. Brady Singer (7 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 8 K) was outstanding in his debut for Cincinnati.

• NYM 10, MIA 4 - This one was 1-1 until the top of the fifth when the Mets scored 7 runs from a Pete Alonso grand slam and a two-run HR by catcher Luis Torrens. Brandon Nimmo added another two-run HR in the sixth, and Mets starter David Peterson put in a good effort (6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 9 K).

• WAS 2, TOR 5 - The Nats’ CJ Abrams and James Wood had solo homers off Bowden Francis, but that wasn’t enough as Francis otherwise pitched well (6 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 4 K). The Blue Jays had 10 hits, including five doubles, plus a HR by

  Andrés Giménez, to spread out the five runs they scored.

• LAA 5, STL 4 - Lars Nootbaar and Brendan Donovan homered for the Cardinals, but the Angels fought their way to a road win in 10 innings even though they were out-hit 11-4.

• SFG 7, HOU 2 - DH Wilmer Flores hit his third HR of the young season, and Giants starter Jordan Hicks was outstanding (6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 6 K).

• CLE 2, SDP 7 - Jose Ramirez went 3-4 with a HR and a double, but that wasn’t enough as Luis Ortiz (4.2 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 4 BB, 2 K) struggled in his debut with the Guardians.

• DET 9, SEA 6 - Seattle SP Emerson Hancock didn’t get out of the first inning, as Detroit jumped to an early 6-0 lead. Rookie Jackson Jobe didn’t have a strong start (4 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 K), but overall the HR hit by the Mariners (Randy Arozarena, Luke Raley, Cal Raleigh) weren’t enough.

• CHC 18, ATH 3 - The Athletics 23-year old SS prospect Jacob Wilson hit his first major league HR, but otherwise this one was all Chicago. 21 hits and 18 runs included six doubles and HR by Michael Busch, Dansby Swanson, Carson Kelly, and Kyle Tucker.

• ATL 1, LAD 6 - Another day, another Dodgers (6-0) win—and in this case, another Braves loss (0-5). SP Tyler Glasnow was outstanding (5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 8 K) and Teoscar Hernández and Kike Hernández each hit a homer.

Who’s on the move?

In this section I won’t list 26th-man moves, or every time a team shuttles relievers back and forth to AAA to keep a stock of fresh arms in the bullpen. I’ll focus on the biggest, more impactful demotions, promotions, and injury list changes (for a full list, see all the latest MLB transactions).

⬆️ Called up

• ATL RP Jesse Chavez - well that didn’t take long! The 41-year old is back with the Braves again. RP Hector Neris was designated for assignment.

• ATL SP Bryce Elder

🤕 Placed on the IL

• KCR OF Dairon Blanco - 10-day IL with right achilles tendinopathy

• BAL OF Colton Cowser - 10-day IL with left thumb fracture

• MIL SP Aaron Civale - 15-day IL with strained left hamstring

• DET 2B Gleyber Torres - 10-day IL with left oblique strain

• ATL SP Reynaldo Lopez - 15-day IL with right shoulder inflammation

❌ Placed on restricted list (suspended)

• ATL OF Jurickson Profar - 80-game suspension after testing positive for a restricted performance-enhancing drug

On this day in baseball history…

Here is what stands out to me for this day in baseball history (for a longer list, see the feature at the Baseball Almanac or the Bullpen feature at Baseball-Reference.com):

📅 On April 1…

• 1914: Hall of Famer Rube Waddell died at only age 37 from tuberculosis. Waddell was a rare strikeout pitcher during an era full of contact hitters. Most of his best seasons were with the Philadelphia Athletics, including 1902-1907 when he led the AL in strikeouts each year. 1905 was arguably his best year, as he led the AL in wins with a 27-10 record, in ERA with a 1.48 mark, and in strikeouts with 287. He retired with a 2.16 ERA and 135 ERA+ and then played a few more years in the minors. He tried to help contain floods in Kentucky in 1912 and 1913, but caught pneumonia in both cases. He later contracted tuberculosis which led to his early death on April 1st, 1914.

• 1970: The Seattle Pilots become the Milwaukee Brewers. According to baseball-reference.com, “An ownership group headed by automobile dealer Bud Selig buys the Seattle Pilots for $10.8 million. Selig will immediately move the Pilots to Milwaukee, WI and rename the team the "Brewers." The Pilots lost $1 million during their lone season in Seattle, WA.”

• 1985: April Fools Day by Sports Illustrated. As described at baseball-reference.com, “Today’s issue of Sports Illustrated contains a fictitious article about a New York Mets pitching prospect named Sidd Finch, whose fastball has been timed at 168 miles per hour. Author George Plimpton offers bogus quotes from real-life members of the Mets, as well as several staged photos, and fools readers nationwide.”

• 1996: Umpire John McSherry dies during a game. During the first inning of a game between the Reds and Expos at Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium, home plate umpire John McSherry collapses and dies of a heart attack. The game was cancelled. The 51-year-old McSherry had declining health after umpiring in the National League for 26 seasons.

• 2018: The Shohei Ohtani era begins. According to baseball-reference.com, “Three days after being the starting designated hitter on Opening Day in his major league debut, Japanese phenom Shohei Ohtani makes his debut on the mound, pitching six innings in leading the Angels to a 7 - 4 win over the Athletics. The only blemish on his ledger is a three-run homer by Matt Chapman in the 2nd. Ohtani is the first player since Babe Ruth in 1919 to start as a position player on opening day and then start a game on the mound within his team's first ten games.”

• 2024: Ronel Blanco throws a no-hitter. After toiling for many years in the minors, 30-year old SP Ronel Blanco threw a no-hitter for the Astros against the Blue Jays.

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Phil Niekro (1939) is a Hall of Famer and pitched in the majors from 1964-1987, mostly with the Braves. The all-time most successful and well-known knuckleballer, he led the NL in wins twice (and losses four times), ERA once, complete games four times, strikeouts once, innings pitched four times, and was a five-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove Award winner.

• Rusty Staub (1944) played parts of 23 seasons, starting with six with Houston and later 9 seasons across two stints with the Mets. He hit 20+ HR four times and had 100+ RBI three times, with a career .279/362/.431 slash line and 124 OPS+. He mostly played RF, but also played several hundred games at 1B, DH, and as a pinch-hitting specialist late in his career.

• Jeff Heath (1915) played mostly for the Indians and over parts of 14 seasons had a .293/.370/.509 slash line and 139 OPS+. He had two outstanding seasons: 1938 when he batted .343 with 21 HR, 112 RBI and an AL-leading 18 triples; and in 1941 when he batted .340 with 24 HR, 123 RBI, a career-high-18 SB and again an AL-leading 20 triples.

• Daniel Murphy (1985) was a three-time All-Star, played mostly with the Mets and Nationals, and led the NL in doubles with 47 in 2016 and 43 in 2017—also the two seasons in which he had 20+ HR. He retired with a .296/.341/.455 slash line and 113 OPS+. He generally performed well in the post-season, including earning the NLCS MVP in 2015 after going 9-17 with 4 HR and 6 RBI.

• Ron Perranoski (1936) was an outstanding relief pitcher from 1961-73, well before the specialization of relievers that we have today. As a result he was never named an All-Star, though he retired with a tidy 2.79 ERA, 124 ERA+, and 178 saves. He posted a 16-3 record and 1.67 ERA across 69 relief appearances for the Dodgers in 1963, and then later with the Twins led the AL with 31 saves in 1969 and again with 34 saves in 1970.

Today’s Matchups

A nearly full slate of games (13), so lots of possibilities:

• NYM vs. MIA features two interesting pitchers in Kodai Senga making his season debut and Sandy Alcantara making his second start after a good showing against the Pirates on opening day.

• ARI vs. NYY will be interesting as Corbin Burnes is finally making his regular season debut for the D-Backs, and the assignment isn’t easy facing the Yankees in NY (Will Warren is their SP).

• ATL vs. LAD will be interesting because the Braves have yet to win and the Dodgers have yet to lose. Maybe this is the day though, as ATL has Chris Sale on the mound, and LAD has Dustin May who didn’t pitch all of 2024 and started only 20 MLB games spread across three seasons (2021-23).

HR Watch

Predicting who might hit a HR on any given day is a challenge—especially early the season. But here are a few to consider based on opposing SP past performance:

• SEA Jorge Polanco is 5-14 with 2 HR and a double vs. DET Casey Mize

• ATL Marcell Ozuna is 3-5 with a HR and a double vs. LAD Dustin May

Hits Watch

If you play MLB’s Beat the Streak mobile game, or otherwise bet on/parlay players to collect hits, I’ll try to provide some good options in this section. Early in the season there aren’t any active streaks to report on yet, so in addition to the HR Watch guys listed above, here are some others to consider based on opposing SP past performance:

• CHW Andrew Vaughn, small sample but is 5-6 with two doubles vs. MIN Simeon Woods Richardson

• WAS Nathaniel Lowe, small sample but is 4-6 vs. TOR José Berríos

• HOU Yordan Alvarez, small sample but is 3-7 with a HR and a double vs. SFG Logan Webb

Who might struggle today?

Betting against any given player to not get a hit is tough, as guys in the starting lineup get at least one hit in a game more often than not. That said, here are some guys who clearly have struggled against their opposing SP today:

• NYM Brandon Nimmo, 4-31 (.129) with 6 K vs. MIA Sandy Alcantara

• MIL Christian Yelich, 3-19 with 6 K vs. KCR Michael Lorenzen

Once we get a few weeks into the season I’ll starting sharing out some starting pitchers to consider for strikeout totals (over/under bets), some teams that might explode offensively that day, and even some fun with NRFI (no-runs in the first inning bets). But these kinds of things are hard to judge early in the season until we see how teams and players are starting out the year.

⚾ Enjoy Day Six! ⚾

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