Freddie Freeman Player of the Month

Freeman Player of the Month in May and More MLB News and Notes

By David A. Avila

Baseball is a marathon. Plain and simple.

We’re in June, it’s only the third leg of the long baseball season but four teams Texas, Baltimore, Arizona and Pittsburgh are making somewhat surprise runs and two teams are still looking for their legs.

Sixty games into the season its’ still too early to predict the end. But we do have a standout player to recognize.

Los Angeles Dodger first baseman Freddie Freeman was voted NL Player of the Month in May and it should come as no surprise. Since his arrival in Major League Baseball he’s been one of the best left-handed hitters in the league year after year.

When you hit in a lineup that features Mookie Betts, JD Martinez, Will Smith and Max Muncy, that puts more than the usual pressure against any pitcher. It doesn’t matter if you are an ace like Justin Verlander or simply a fifth starter.

Freeman has the ability to hit off-speed or high velocity bullets. It seems he had the ability to hit straight from the crib.

In his first full year as an Atlanta Brave in 2011 he hit .282 with 21 homers and 76 RBIs. His OPS was .795. He struck out 142 times and only once in his 14 years has he exceeded that strike out number. He’s a pure hitter who seldom gets fooled.

Consistency has been his trademark and his .299 career batting average pretty much sums up his line drive philosophy. His .967 career OPS is remarkable too.

This year as a Dodger, Freeman broke the franchise record with 17 doubles in the month of May. The previous record holder was Babe Herman in 1930. No other Dodger in its more than 123 years of history ever hit more. He was voted NL Player of the Month. It was the fourth time he achieved that recognition.

“May has been kind of good for me,” said Freeman to MLB.com. “You kind of try and hold on to those streaks.”

If you watch Freeman at bat, he never seems to be fooled. He knows what every pitcher throws and has a plan for each pitch. And he uses the entire field as his playground. Curveball inside, he pulls and uppercuts. Fastball inside up, he strokes defensively with contact emphasis. Slider on the outside and down, he taps into left field. Fastball high and outside he uses the meat of the bat to his own advantage.

Seldom does he overswing.

One thing overlooked with Freeman is his ability to play first base. His defensive prowess saves runs and outs for the team every game.

Most saber metrics neglect the importance of a good first baseman. It really is the nucleus for any good defensive team. Collecting throws in the dirt or offline can make or break an inning for a pitcher.

Freeman has always been very good with the glove, just never spectacular. This year with Max Muncy at third the need for a good first baseman was never greater.

It was truly a good month for Freeman and the Dodgers.

New Dogs and Old Dogs

Pitching dictates who wins and loses every year.

One team that surprised almost everyone is the NL Central second place Pittsburgh Pirates. They are right behind the first place Milwaukee Brewers when it comes to pitching. They also have a ton of young hitting talent.

But pitching-wise their 4.13 team ERA is right behind the Brewers at 4.04 ERA. It’s the reason they are mere games apart and keeping stride with the rest of the National League.

Another surprise NL team has been Arizona which is leading the NL West one game ahead of the Dodgers. The Diamondbacks have a team 4.33 ERA and the Dodgers 4.52 ERA. It’s the difference between the two teams vying for the division at the moment. Though the San Francisco Giants have a better ERA than both teams, their lack of offense hurts them tremendously.

Offensively the D-Backs trail the Dodgers in runs and OPS. But as always, pitching is the name of the game in baseball and Arizona has some very good young talent.

Zac Gallen has become the ace of the Arizona pitching staff and most of the NL has become aware of his talent since last year. The right hander has a 2.75 ERA and has started 12 games in winning six. His WHIP at 1.06 has kept his team within striking distance every time he toes the mound.

Gallen will most definitely be named to the NL All Star team this year. If Arizona makes the playoffs this year, he will be the main reason they have jumped ahead of San Diego and San Francisco.

He can pitch.

In the American League the Texas Rangers were no surprised when it came to pitching especially after signing Jacob DeGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray and Andrew Heaney. The main question for the Rangers was their hitting attack. Aside from Corey Seager and Marcus Semien who were signed to multi-million dollar contracts, who else was going to contribute in hitting?

Well, say hello to Adolis Garcia, Josh Jung and Nathaniel Lowe who are cracking the baseball as if it were an insult. The Rangers are hitting, pitching and fielding and are 20 games above .500 and were not even past June.

One thing about playing in Texas is always the heat. That Texas heat bears down on a player even if the roof is retractable or not. It’s still early for teams that play in intense heat such as Arizona and Texas. The hot weather hasn’t started yet.

Two teams not playing up to par have been the mainstays of baseball the Dodgers and Yankees.

Typically, the Dodgers and Yankees lead with their pitching. This year the arms are not there with most on the injured list.

The Dodgers have not had Walker Buehler at all and starting pitchers like Tony Gonsolin, Julio Urias and now Dustin May have not been available at times. In the case of May, he may be gone for the entire year.

In New York, the Yanks have missed new acquisition Carlos Rodon for most of the season. They also have Lou Trivino, Frankie Montas, Ian Hamilton and Jonathan Loaisiga on the injured list. Those are all powerful arms.

But don’t feel sorry for either team. They have a history of coming up with replacements in both starting and relieving capacities.

It’s only June and the hot weather coming will bear down on the pretenders.