MLB Weekly Roundup: Yankees Retire Derek Jeter’s Number

The second week of May has come and gone, as the MLB season is in full swing. Don’t worry if you missed any action though, we’ve got you covered

Most teams have played about 35 games by this point, meaning we are nearly a quarter of the way through the 2017 MLB season. It’s still too early to be making playoff predictions, but the things are finally starting to take shape. At the very least, we can start to get an idea of the strengths and weaknesses of certain squads. The Bronx Bombers paid tribute to an all-time great, and retired Derek Jeter‘s No. 2. The Yankees held a pregame ceremony for the 15-time All Star on Sunday, followed by a speech by the man himself.

While we’re on the topic, the Yankees are still tops in the AL East, holding a one-game lead on Baltimore. Following a 5-game winning streak, the Astros now possess the best record in baseball at 26-12. In addition, Houston now joins the Nationals as the only winning teams in their respective divisions. That should give you a gist of the general layout of the league, so now we can get into the more nitty-gritty details.

Good News

Without a doubt, Red Sox right fielder Mookie Betts was the hottest hitter of the week. He batted .462/.533/1.115 with 4 home runs and 12 runs batted in. Unsurprisingly, that production earned Betts AL player of the week. Not far behind him was Phillies outfielder Aaron Altherr, who crushed 4 bombs of his own to go along with a .385/.529/1.385 slash line.

And yes, you read that right. Betts and Altherr both slugged over 1.000 last week, as did Nationals left fielder Jayson Werth and Phillies first baseman Tommy Joseph. Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal also had a heck of a week too, as he’s got an 8-game hitting streak going.

On the pitching side of things, Chris Sale is still the king of the hill. After another 12 K performance on Saturday, Sale became just the 4th pitcher since 1913 to record at least 10 strikeouts in 7 straight games. As you would imagine, the three other players to do this are in the Hall of Fame.

Occasionally, good news for some can mean bad news for others. For the Dodgers, this is one of those times. Lefty Alex Wood has been on fire lately, striking out 34 batters in his last 4 starts. He was expected to pitch out of the bullpen this year, but was tasked with starting after Rich Hill and Brandon McCarthy landed on the DL. Hill and McCarthy will be back soon, but Wood has been too good to relegate to the pen. Now it appears that either Hyun-Jin Ryu or Julio Urias will lose their starting spot. Which of the two has not yet been determined, but one of them is going to be a reliever soon.

And last, but certainly not least, we have an update on the greatest player of our generation. Angels center fielder Mike Trout became the youngest player to accumulate 150 stolen bases and 150 home runs. We’ve gotten so used to Trout being Trout that it’s easy to forget just how amazing of a player he is. Oh, and by the way, he’s batting .352 on the year.

Bad News

With every week comes more injury news. Mets closer Jeurys Familia was diagnosed with an arterial clot on Thursday, and will miss 3-4 months to recovery from the surgery. The Marlins got some bad news last week too, when it was announced that Wei-Yin Chen is out indefinitely due to elbow discomfort. The Orioles also took a big hit, losing closer Zach Britton for 6-8 weeks due to a forearm strain. Dodgers speedster Andrew Toles will miss the rest of the season after tearing his ACL. Luckily, the boys in blue have a ton of depth.

As far as short-term injuries go, Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman and Angels third baseman Yunel Escobar are both missing a month of play. Chapman is out with rotator cuff issues, and Escobar has a hamstring strain.

Next: Time for the Cubs to panic?

Regarding bad news on the field, we’ve got a handful of unfortunate teams to give our attention. Due to injuries and poor play, the NL East has been a complete tire-fire aside from the Nationals. The Mets, Phillies, Braves, and Marlins are all below .500, and the Braves have the least wins in the league with 13. Around the league, the Royals, A’s, Pirates, and Padres are also basement dwellers at the moment.