Indians Bring Back Joe Smith

Indians Get: Joe Smith (3-0, 3.28 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 51/10 K/BB, Age 33)
Blue Jays Get: Thomas Pannone (8-1, 1.96 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 120/28 K/BB at High Class A and AA, Age 23)
Samad Taylor (4 HR, 19 RBI, .300 AVG, 4 SB, 133 wRC+ at Class A Short Season, Age 19)

One year after he was traded to the eventual World Champion Cubs at the deadline, Joe Smith has again been dealt, this time to the team they beat in the World Series, the Indians. In what is bound to be a heated race between Cleveland and Kansas City, the Indians have stocked up, now putting together what might be the best bullpen in baseball. Andrew Miler (1.52 ERA, 0.73 WHIP), Cody Allen (2.74 ERA, 1.24 WHIP), and Bryan Shaw (2.90 ERA, 1.21 WHIP) already form a three headed monster at the back of that bullpen, and Smith (3.28 ERA, 1.12 WHIP) will only make it better. He actually played for the Indians from 2009-2013, so he's familiar with the city and stadium. He's in the midst of another great year, striking out 35.4% of the batters he has faced while walking just 6.9%. He'll be a free agent after the season and carries a career 2.95 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP.

Thomas Pannone gained some exposure earlier in the year when he started off with 34.2 consecutive scoreless innings at High Class A Lynchburg and AA Akron (54.2 if you include the end of 2016), and while he hasn't been untouchable with Akron, he's been pretty good. After going 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.61 WHIP over five starts with Lynchburg, he is 6-1 with a 2.62 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP over 14 starts in Akron, striking out 81 and walking 21 in 82.1 innings. The 6' lefty just turned 23 in April and could be a back-end starter for the Jays in the near future. Samad Taylor is a little farther off from the majors, having been drafted in the tenth round out of a California high school in 2016. Reaching Class A Short Season Mahoning Valley this year, Taylor is slashing .300/.328/.467 with four home runs, showcasing an aggressive approach but a quality bat. He just turned 19 in July, so he has plenty of time to develop, and with the way young Blue Jays hitting prospects Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. have taken off this year, this could be a great situation for Taylor.

Tracking Awards: 5/14

AL MVP: Mike Trout (LAA): 10 HR, 24 RBI, .347 AVG, 5 SB, 216 wRC+. Last week: Trout.

Trout and Judge remain neck and neck offensively (216 to 212 in wRC+, .471 to .473 in wOBA, 1.151 to 1.150 in OPS), but Trout gets the edge due to defensive value and the lack of lineup protection around him. He is slashing .347/.441/.711, all of which would be career highs, and his .376 BABIP (the "luck" factor) is not too high above his career .361. Coming into today, he has homered in back to back games, easing any worries about his hamstring at least from a hitting standpoint. This season has been vintage Mike Trout, a guy who is a future first ballot Hall of Famer easily.

NL MVP: Bryce Harper (WSH): 11 HR, 31 RBI, .368 AVG, 0 SB, 209 wRC+. Last week: Ryan Zimmerman.

Bryce Harper will take over this spot from his teammate, Ryan Zimmerman, as he outplayed him this week. He is getting on base at a ridiculous pace, leading the MLB with a .493 on-base percentage that crushed #2 Freddie Freeman's .463. He has walked more times (29) than he has struck out (27), while adding 11 home runs and nine doubles to go along with valuable defense. His 2.5 fWAR leads the MLB, and his .499 wOBA is second only to Zimmerman's .518. He's already had three four-hit games. The same day that he agreed to the largest arbitration contract in history, he knocked a walk-off home run for the Nationals, helping them maintain the best record in the National League. With Harper, Zimmerman, and Daniel Murphy (.331/.392/.554) in the middle of the lineup, the Nats offense has been pretty unstoppable to this point.

AL Cy Young: Jason Vargas (KC): 5-1, 1.01 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 39/8 K/BB. Last week: Ervin Santana.

Ervin Santana finally had a tough start, so the equally surprising Jason Vargas will step into this spot. He has only allowed runs in three of his seven starts, and he has only allowed more than one run in one of his starts. Take out one mediocre start against the White Sox on April 24th (5 IP, 3 ER, 7 H), then Vargas is 5-0 with a 0.45 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP over his other six starts. In each of those starts, he has gone at least six innings, allowed no more than one run or six hits, and walked no more than three batters. The 34 year old made just twelve starts from 2015-2016 due to Tommy John surgery, but he has come back stronger than ever here in his twelfth major league season.

NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw (LAD): 6-2, 2.43 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 57/8 K/BB. Last week: Mike Leake.

Think about this: despite those great numbers, Kershaw is on pace to have his worst ERA and his worst WHIP since 2012 (2.53 and 1.02, respectively), when he led the National League in both. (Yes, that was typed correctly). Basically, his worst season was still the best in the NL, and this season, his "second worst," is still the best in the NL. Kershaw's "bloated" stats are still excellent, with a 2.43 ERA, a 0.95 WHIP, and a 57/8 strikeout to walk ratio over 55.2 innings. He gets the benefit of the doubt, because through eight starts, he's already pitched at Coors Field twice, allowing allowing a combined six runs over thirteen innings. At Coors Field, he's 1-1 with a 4.15 ERA, a 1.23 WHIP and 10 strikeouts in 13 innings, which is pretty respectable for the conditions, but away from the pitchers' hell, he is 5-1 with a 1.90 ERA, a 0.87 WHIP, and 47 strikeouts over 42.2 innings. That is closer to the Clayton Kershaw we know, and it's the reason he gets the NL Cy Young Award for me at this point.

AL Rookie of the Year: Aaron Judge (NYY): 13 HR, 28 RBI, .315 AVG, 2 SB, 212 wRC+. Last week: Judge.

This one is the easiest choice, because Judge is even competing with Mike Trout for the AL MVP Award at this point. Through 31 games, he is tied for the MLB lead with 13 home runs while slashing .315/.411/.739, basically on par with Trout's offensive production. The 6'7", 282 pound outfielder has also been pretty good on defense, and despite solid efforts from Boston's Andrew Benintendi and Seattle's Mitch Haniger, it is looking like Judge could end up winning this award unanimously. He hasn't homered since May 3rd, though, so he should get back on that.

NL Rookie of the Year: Antonio Senzatela (COL): 5-1, 2.86 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 24/11 K/BB. Last week: Senzatela.

New week, more of the same from the Rockies' star young pitcher. This week's start came in Coors Field against the defending World Champion Cubs, but he was unfazed, allowing just two runs on five hits and three walks in six innings, striking out four. That brings his Coors Field-only ERA down to 3.12 and his WHIP to 1.08, versus a 2.50 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP in stadiums that aren't pitchers' hells. For any pitcher to perform this well as a Rockie is impressive, but for a rookie, it's downright amazing.

Minor League Watch: Taylor Gushue (Nationals High Class A): 11 HR, 33 RBI, .326 AVG, 0 SB, 195 wRC+. Last week: Thomas Pannone.

Quick update on Pannone: upon his promotion to AA Akron, Pannone extended his scoreless streak to 51.1 innings, 33.1 of which have come this season. Obviously, AA wasn't too much of a challenge in that start.

Okay, on to Gushue. Playing 2016 at High Class A Bradenton, Gushue put up a very mediocre season by slashing .226/.282/.357 with eight home runs over 90 games at age 22. The Pirates then sent him, with cash, to the Nationals for prospect Chris Bostick, and this team has been a completely flipped script. Repeating High Class A, he has slashed .326/.373/.753 over 25 games, crushing eleven home runs and five doubles for Potomac. Aside from a seven game homerless drought from April 15th to April 23rd, he has not gone more than two games without a home run at any point this season. He homered in four straight games April 10th to April 14th, and also had two-homer games on May 1st and May 10th. Meanwhile, he is batting .326 with a .373 on-base percentage, so he's not just a power bat. Look for this pop-up Nationals prospect down the road, as he will play all of 2017 at 23 years old.

Tracking Awards: 5/7

AL MVP: Mike Trout (LAA): 8 HR, 21 RBI, .355 AVG, 5 SB, 215 wRC+. Last week: Trout.

Mike Trout, named the American League's Player of the Month for April, has continued his hot hitting into may (is it really "hot hitting" if he does this all the time, though?). After slashing .364/.443/.707 with seven home runs in 27 May games, he has slashed .273/.467/.636 with one home run over three May games as hamstring tightness has held him out of the lineup. He is currently riding a 17 game hitting streak, and he has reached base in 29 of his 30 games this season. His only blemish this season was an 0-4 in Ian Kennedy's gem (8 shutout innings, 2 hits, 2 walks, 10 K's). 30 games in, we are seeing vintage Mike Trout.

NL MVP: Ryan Zimmerman (WSH): 13 HR, 34 RBI, .435 AVG, 1 SB, 252 wRC+. Last week: Zimmerman.

It's May 7th and Ryan Zimmerman is still slashing a ridiculous .435/.475/.907, leading the National League in home runs (13) and just about every other category. His 252 wRC+ is 30 points higher than the next best in the majors (Aaron Judge, 222) and 42 points higher than the next best in the National League (Bryce Harper, 210). He won the NL Player of the Month Award after slashing .420/.458/.886 with 11 home runs in 24 games in April, and he has only gotten better in May, slashing .500/.545/1.000 with a pair of home runs in five games. He has had at least two hits in eight of his past nine games, slashing .553/.561/1.158 and smashing six home runs over that span. I talked last week about how higher launch angles have helped Zim's production, but at this point, this is just absurd. Nothing we can do but sit back and enjoy his onslaught.

AL Cy Young: Ervin Santana (MIN): 5-0, 0.66 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, 33/13 K/BB. Last week: Santana.

Coming into the week having occupied this spot in each of the past two weeks, Santana made it three weeks in a row by casually tossing six shutout innings against the A's on Tuesday, allowing three hits and three walks while striking out seven. His ERA has dropped to a minuscule 0.66 as he has allowed just three earned runs over 41 innings, and perhaps even more impressive, just 16 hits. Allowing less than a hit per two innings has led to an opponents' slash line of just .120/.199/.180. The surprising Twins are 15-13 this season, thanks in large part to Santana's dominance every fifth day.

NL Cy Young: Mike Leake (STL): 4-1, 1.79 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 27/7 K/BB. Last week: Ivan Nova.

While Leake has hung around this spot for a few weeks now, tough starts from Noah Syndergaard (1.1 IP, 5 ER) and Ivan Nova (6 IP, 4 ER) allowed him to step in despite not having the world's greatest game (7 IP, 3 ER). Largely mediocre in his first season in St. Louis (9-12, 4.69 ERA, 1.32 WHIP), Leake has been everything the Cardinals have wanted this year, putting up a 1.79 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP over six starts. Each of his six starts have been quality starts (at least 6 IP, at most 3 ER), and Adonis Garcia's three run home run on Saturday was the first home run hit off Leake this season. He hasn't put up Ervin Santana-type numbers, but in a National League where Ryan Zimmerman, Bryce Harper, Freddie Freeman, Eric Thames, etc. are hitting the snot out of the ball, what Leake has been doing has been pretty incredible. Those four hitters have combined to go 2-12 (.167 AVG) with a pair of strikeouts, no walks, and no extra base hits against Leake, with only Zimmerman and Thames picking up lone singles despite terrorizing NL pitching otherwise.

AL Rookie of the Year: Aaron Judge (NYY): 13 HR, 27 RBI, .320 AVG, 1 SB, 222 wRC+. Last week: Judge.

Earlier in the season, Mitch Haniger's hot start had him in this spot. At this point, not only is Judge looking like a unanimous AL ROY, he is competing with Mike Trout for AL MVP consideration. Judge slashed just .133/.188/.200 in his first five games, picking up a single, a double, and a walk while striking out five times in 16 plate appearances. Since then, he has been unstoppable, slashing .354/.454/.878 with 13 home runs in 22 games. I talked last week about his improved plate discipline, and that is still the case today, and the numbers show it. With three home runs in May, he and Ryan "Babe Ruth" Zimmerman are tied for the MLB lead with 13, and Judge's 222 wRC+ and .487 wOBA actually edge Trout for the AL lead (215 and .469, respectively).

NL Rookie of the Year: Antonio Senzatela (COL): 4-1, 2.84 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 20/8 K/BB. Last week: Senzatela.

For the first time since April 16th, Senzatela got the chance to pitch somewhere other than Coors Field on Wednesday, and he didn't disappoint, allowing two earned runs on six hits and one walk over six innings, striking out two Padres in San Diego. His ERA and WHIP stand at 2.84 and 1.03, respectively, which actually puts him in NL Cy Young consideration given the difficulty of pitching half your games in Coors Field and the lack of one true frontrunner in the race. Senzatela knows what kills you in Denver, so he has walked just eight of the 151 batters he has faced, good for an excellent 5.3% rate, especially for a rookie. We'll see how a full season as a Rockie goes, but he's looking great so far. 

Minor League Watch: Thomas Pannone (CLE AA): 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.61 WHIP, 39/7 K/BB. Last week: Domenic Mazza.

Thomas Pannone was the Indians' ninth round pick in 2013 out of the College of Southern Nevada, and he pitched decently but uninspiringly over his first three seasons. Pannone was good enough at Class A Lake County in 2015 (5-5, 3.02 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 84/25 K/BB) to earn a promotion to High Class A Lynchburg in 2016, where he was excellent down the stretch. After not allowing an earned run in his final 18 innings in 2016, the Indians started him off with Lynchburg again in 2017, and it was more of the same. Over five starts, he still didn't allow an earned run over 27.2 innings, giving him 45.2 consecutive shutout innings (though he did allow an unearned run on April 12th against the Salem Red Sox). In his five starts this year, he allowed just ten hits and and seven walks, striking out 39. In no start has he allowed an earned run, more than four hits, more than two walks, or struck out fewer than six. The amazing performances earned the 23 year old a promotion to AA Akron, where he has yet to pitch.