The Baseball Buffet for 5/16/2025

Issue #276

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].

⚾ Welcome! ⚾

The 50th day of the season had a short slate (6) of Thursday games:

• WAS 2, ATL 5 - CJ Abrams hit his second HR in three days, but the Nationals couldn’t get much else going. AJ Smith-Shawver pitched well (6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K), and Raisel Iglesias earned his seventh save on the year.

• MIN 4, BAL - The Twins winning streak continued and is now at 11 games. Byron Buxton hit his 10th HR of the year, and DaShawn Keirsey Jr. hit the second HR of his career. Chris Paddack pitched very well (7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K) and two Twins relievers combined on the shutout. The Twins win came at some cost, however, as Buxton and Carlos Correa collided and knocked heads on a defensive play and were removed from the game for concussion protocol.

• CHW 1, CIN 7 - Three Reds hit HR off Bryse Wilson (5.1 IP, 10 H, 7 ER, 1 BB, 3 K), including Elly De La Cruz, Will Benson, and Matt McLain. Meanwhile Nick Martinez was outstanding (7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K) to earn his second win on the year.

• TBR 8, TOR 3 - Three Blue Jays hit solo HR (Addison Barger, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Nathan Lukes) off Zack Littell (7.1 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K). But the Rays had four HR on the day, including two from Brandon Lowe, and one each by Kameron Misner and Josh Lowe.

• HOU 0, TEX 1 - This one was a pitchers duel as advertised. Hunter Brown was great (8 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 9 K), but let up a 6th inning HR to Jake Burger. That was all it took, as Jacob deGrom was also outstanding (8 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K), and Shawn Armstrong pitched the ninth to notch his second save.

• ATH 2, LAD 19 - Matt Sauer and two Dodgers relievers combined to allow only three hits by the Athletics. LA on the other hand had 18 hits and went an amazing 9 for 13 with runners in scoring position. They jumped on Osvaldo Bido (1.2 IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) and Jason Alexander (2.1 IP, 7 H, 9 ER, 4 BB, 1 K) early, running up the score to 15-2 after just four innings. Shohei Ohtani was 2-5 with 2 HR and 6 RBI (giving him 15 HR this year, tied with Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber for the MLB lead.) Max Muncy was 3-4 with a HR and 4 RBI, and Andy Pages and James Outman also homered. Dodgers catching prospect Dalton Rushing went 2-4 with two singles in his major league debut.

Today’s Trivia Question

I’ve written about the decline in the number of .300 hitters in the past, but Luis Arráez recently surpassed the 3,000 plate appearances level that is often used (e.g., at baseball-reference.com) for all-time hitting rate leaderboards. He currently has a solid .321 career batting average. Far below him, who are the only other two active hitters over .300, with averages of .305 and .301 respectively?

Trivia answer is at the bottom of the newsletter.

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).

➕ Starting Rehab Assignment

• SDP SP Matt Waldron

🤕 Placed on the IL

• TBR RF Travis Jankowski - 10-day IL (left groin strain)

📝 Free Agent Signing

• MIL OF Eddie Rosario (to a minor league contract)

League Leaders

I asked about active career leaders in batting average for today’s trivia question, so since it has been a week since I checked the 2025 batting average leaderboard, here we go:

• .412 - NYY Aaron Judge

• .370 - LAD Freddie Freeman

• .347 - ATH Jacob Wilson

• .346 - NYY Paul Goldschmidt

• .340 - SDP Manny Machado

• .325 - CLE Steven Kwan

• .325 - TBR Jonathan Arranda

• .324 - LAD Will Smith

• .317 - WAS CJ Abrams

• .315 - LAD Teoscar Hernandez

• .314 - BOS Alex Bregman

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 May 16…

• 1939: The first AL night game is played. According to baseball-reference.com, “With half the expected crowd on hand due to the cold weather, only 15,109 fans at Shibe Park see the Indians defeat the A's, 8 - 3, in ten innings, in the first night game ever played in the American League. Johnny Humphries is the winner over Roy Parmelee.”

• 1954: Ted Williams goes 8-9 in his return after breaking his collarbone in spring training. According to baseball-reference.com, “Ted Williams is back, though grimacing with each swing, and goes 8 for 9 with two home runs and seven RBI in a doubleheader against the Tigers. Williams has three hits in game one, a 7-6 loss. He goes 5 for 5 in the nightcap, including both home runs, but Boston loses, 9-8, in 14 innings.”

• 1965: Big day for Orioles teenager Jim Palmer. Jim Palmer picks up his first major league win, topping the Yankees, 7-5. Palmer also hit his first major league homer, a two-run drive off Jim Bouton, to give himself the victory margin.

• 1981: Craig Reynolds hits three triples in one game. The usually light-hitting Astros shortstop Craig Reynolds hits three triples in one game, helping Houston beat the Cubs, 6-1. Reynolds is only the seventh player to accomplish this feat.

🎂 Today’s Birthday Boys🎉

• Jack Morris (1955) is a Hall of Famer who had an 18-year career in the majors, pitching mostly with the Tigers, but then four seasons with the Twins, Blue Jays, and Indians. He won 20+ games three times, was a five-time All-Star, and often received Cy Young Award consideration. He pitched very well in the 1984 postseason for the Tigers and then was World Series MVP for the Twins in 1991 when he had a 1.17 ERA over three starts. For his career Morris had a 254-186 (.577) record, 3.90 ERA, and 105 ERA+.

• Rick Reuschel (1949) had a 19-year major league career spanning from 1972-1991, with the first half spent with the Cubs, and most of the remainder with the Pirates and Giants. Reuschel only won 20+ games once, in 1977 when he was 20-10 with a 2.79 ERA, one of his three seasons as an All-Star. He took home two Gold Glove Awards, and retired with a 214-191 (.528) record, 3.37 ERA, and 114 ERA+.

• Rick Rhoden (1953) had a 16-year career spanning from 1974-1989, mostly with the Dodgers and Pirates, and his final three seasons spent with the Yankees and Astros. He won 15+ games three times, and was an All-Star twice: in 1976 when he was 12-3 with a 2.98 ERA and then ten years later in 1986 when he was 15-12 with a 2.84 ERA. Rhoden was considered one of the better hitting pitchers of his generation, compiling a .238 average with 38 doubles, 9 HR, and 75 RBI in 761 at-bats. On the mound, he retired with a 151-125 (.547) record, 3.59 ERA, and 104 ERA+.

• Billy Martin (1928) played 11 years in the majors, working mostly at 2B but with some time at 3B and SS. He was a teammate of Mantle, Ford, Berra, and other great Yankees in the early 1950s, and then played for six other clubs from 1957-1961. He was selected as an All-Star in 1956, but had his career highs of 15 HR and 75 RBI in 1953. Martin is of course far better known to most baseball fans as the fiery, on-again, off-again manager of many teams in the 1970s and 1980s. Most famously he had several stints as manager of the Yankees, with disagreements and feuds arising often between Martin and owner George Steinbrenner. Martin managed the Yankees for parts of 8 seasons in all, with 10 years spent as manager of the Athletics, Rangers, Tigers, and Twins. Overall for his career he had a 1,253-1013 (.553) record, with two pennants and one World Series championship with the Yankees in the mid-1970s.

Today’s Matchups

A full Friday slate of games (15), including the beginning of rivalry weekend. Some games that jump out to me are:

• NYM vs. NYY is the battle of the Big Apple, with Tylor Megill (3.10 ERA, 52 K in 40.2 IP) up against Carlos Rodón (3.29 ERA, 67 K in 54.2 IP). And Juan Soto makes his first return to Yankee Stadium, so that is interesting too.

• ATL vs. BOS features two aces in Chris Sale (3.97 ERA, 64 K in 47.2 IP) vs. Garrett Crochet (1.93 ERA, 65 K in 56 IP).

Also throwing today are WAS MacKenzie Gore, KCR Cole Ragans, TEX Nathan Eovaldi, MIN Joe Ryan, AZ Corbin Burnes, and SFG Logan Webb.

HR Watch

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

• HOU Jose Altuve, 16-52 (.308) with 7 HR and 2 doubles vs. TEX Nathan Eovaldi

• CLE José Ramírez, 12-27 with 3 HR and 2 doubles vs. CIN Brady Singer

• COL Kyle Farmer, 5-14 with 2 HR and a double vs. AZ Corbin Burnes

• HOU Yordan Alvarez, 12-20 with 2 HR and 3 doubles vs. TEX Nathan Eovaldi

• HOU Christian Walker, small sample but is 5-9 with 2 HR and a double vs. TEX Nathan Eovaldi

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. In addition to the HR Watch guys listed above, here are some others to consider based on opposing SP past performance:

• TEX Marcus Semien, 9-22 with a double vs. HOU Lance McCullers Jr.

• CLE Steven Kwan, 9-23 with a double vs. CIN Brady Singer

• CLE Will Brennan, 7-15 with a double vs. CIN Brady Singer

• CLE Nolan Jones, small sample but is 5-7 with a double vs. CIN Brady Singer

• BAL Ramón Laureano, small sample but is 6-8 with 2 doubles vs. WAS MacKenzie Gore

• PHI Nick Castellanos, small sample but is 6-8 with a double vs. PIT Andrew Heaney

Who is streaking?

These are players on active hit streaks and who for this reason (if playing) might also be interesting picks to get a hit today:

• 14 - SDP Manny Machado

• 10 - NYY Cody Bellinger

• 10 - BAL Ryan Mountcastle

• 9 - CLE Jose Ramirez

• 8 - MIA Xavier Edwards

• 8 - HOU Jeremy Pena

• 7 - STL Lars Nootbaar

• 7 - AZ Josh Naylor

• 7 - NYM Brandon Nimmo

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:

• TOR George Springer, 0-14 with 6 K vs. DET Jack Flaherty

• HOU Isaac Paredes, 2-16 with 9 K vs. TEX Nathan Eovaldi

• HOU Chas McCormick, 3-16 with 8 K vs. TEX Nathan Eovaldi

⚾ Enjoy the games today!⚾

Today’s Trivia Answer

Amongst players with at least 3,000 plate appearances, Luis Arráez is the career leader in batting average with a .321 mark. The only other two active hitters over .300 are Jose Altuve at .305 and Freddie Freeman at .301. Next in line are Mike Trout (.297), Trea Turner (.296), and Aaron Judge (.293), who will rise further if he keeps hitting like he has been so far this year!

Good Reads

Here I am providing one or more links to baseball articles I’ve enjoyed recently, whether by writers at MLB.com or elsewhere.

• 113 mph homers, Fried's minuscule ERA highlight stats of the week, by Sarah Langs at MLB, 5/16/2025

• Some Teams Won By Two-Dozen Or More Runs, by Dan Schlossberg at Here's the Pitch: the IBWAA Newsletter, 5/16/2025

• Diamonds in the rough: 30 of the best prospect finds -- one for each team, by Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo, and Sam Dykstra at MLB, 5/14/2025

See recent issues of The Baseball Buffet for more recent good reads!

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