MLB Bullets can’t be caught

Did anyone else turn on a baseball game this weekend and think “Hmm. The Royals are playing the Royals in this one. Let’s see who is playing in this other game. Why, it’s the Royals taking on the Royals again!”

Happy Father’s Day a day late to everyone. I wished everyone a Happy Father’s Day in the Minor League Wrap on time.

• The Astros are a very good team, but as Scott Lauber notes, no team is likely having more fun than they are at the moment. It’s easier to have a loose clubhouse when you’ve got the most wins in baseball. The Cubs know that from last season.
• The Astros are so good because they have a core of extremely talented players (ESPN Insider Only), writes Tony Blengino.
• One of those “core” players is pitcher Lance McCullers, and McCullers makes Joe Sparacio’s list of five young aces in the making.
• Paul Lebowitz has a list of five MLB players whose trade “stock” has risen the most this season from teams expected to be sellers at the trade deadline.
• One of the players on that list is Athletics first baseman Yonder Alonso, but Alonso says he wants to play for the A’s long-term, he tells Ken Rosenthal. Alonso would like to sign an extension with Oakland.
• One guy who isn’t going to be sticking around the East Bay long-term is Trevor Plouffe, because he just got dealt to the Rays for the ubiquitous player-to-be-named-later.
• File this under “Strange but true.” The Rockies are good. Christina Kahrl notes the role that rookie pitchers are playing in the Mile High revival. (Which, by the way, is the name of a really terrible Creedence Clearwater Revival cover band from Denver.)
• Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado hit for the cycle yesterday, as anyone who gets alerts from MLB on their phone already knows.
• George Will reviews Keith Law’s new book “Smart Baseball.” You should probably read the review just for all the Will-isms in it. I mean, he starts out by comparing Law to Ludwig Wittgenstein.
• David Schoenfield anoints Dodgers first baseman/outfielder Cody Bellinger as the game’s next great power hitter. He’s already got more home runs than his dad did in his career.
• Speaking of dads, there were a lot of stories about baseball and dads over the weekend for some reason. Cliff Corcoran has the top ten MLB father-son combos of players who are currently active. (So no Ken Griffey Jr.) I’m going to guess that no one is going to guess which father/son combo has the combined highest lifetime WAR among active sons. The Bellingers will get on the list one day, most likely.
• Here’s a story about Cardinals pitcher Mike Leake and the bond he shares with his dad, who was paralyzed after a fall from a roof four years ago.
• Not enough of a tear-jerker for you? Here’s Padres infielder Yangervis Solarte and what it means for him to be a single father to his three daughters on the first Father’s Day since his wife’s death from cancer last September.
• Here’s something a bit lighter: Delino DeShields Jr. wore some sweet cleats to honor his dad on Father’s Day.
• Max Scherzer announced on Father’s Day that he and his wife are going to have a baby girl. I’m guessing the two of them won’t make that highest-WAR list, even with Max’s high totals.
• A dad in Virginia wrote all 30 teams to ask them who his newborn son should root for.
• The Twins signed first pick in the draft, Royce Lewis.
• Mike Axisa has one interesting thing about each team’s 2017 draft class.
• Rob Neyer continues his history of the draft, focusing on players taken late in the draft and how the draft got shortened to 40 rounds.
• Jeff Passan looks ahead to the free agent classes of the next two seasons.
• Buster Olney is already on worthy players who could get “snubbed” for the All-Star Game. I will link to a similar story to this probably 15 times between now and the ASG.
• Robert Tuchman takes a look at the upcoming home run derby in London on the 4th of July. Former Cub Carlos Pena will be taking part.
• Jeff Sullivan looks at what is wrong with Dodgers pitcher Rich Hill. He does a follow-up piece with even more information.
• Marly Rivera talks with Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor about making the transition to the United States, and how living in the States is different than living in Puerto Rico. (Before some wiseguy mentions it: Yes, I know that Puerto Rico is part of the U.S.)
• She also speaks with Albert Pujols about his accomplishments and how proud he is to be Dominican. He also says his favorite player growing up was Julio Franco, which, while not weird, is not what I’d expect him to say.
• Craig Edwards asks that with Mike Trout injured, who is currently the best offensive player in baseball?
• After another poor start yesterday, Reds starter Bronson Arroyo admits that his career may be over. If so, it was a pretty great run.
• Scott Lauber notes that Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello is following up his Cy Young Award-winning season with a stinker. He talks with Porcello and his manager to try to find out why.
• Edwin Jackson has signed with the Nationals. Unfortunately, he’s played for them before so he’s still one short of tying the major league record for most teams played for.
• Tigers DH Victor Martinez was hospitalized with an elevated heart rate.
• The Charleston RiverDogs of the South Atlantic League spent a recent game mocking Columbia outfielder Tim Tebow.
• After a hot start, Tebow has been struggling badly in the minors. Marc Normandin suggests that Tebow should try becoming a knuckleball pitcher. Because, after all, he’s already mastered throwing a knuckleball in the NFL.
• Jeff Passan has a look back at Negro League umpire Bob Motley and the effort to build a statue in his honor before he passes on.
• The Freeze lost a race.
• And it wasn’t to Dee Gordon, who says he could beat The Freeze without a head start.
• And finally, returning to Yangervis Solarte, he’s got a pretty unique way of stretching to get ready for a ballgame. I think we’ve got our next MLB “Dancing With The Stars” contestant!

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.