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The Ringer | Ben Lindbergh: Shohei Ohtani has already made adjustments in his career—adjusting to inside pitches as a hitter and pitching down in the zone as a pitcher—and it means that we may have only seen the beginning of the two-way player’s greatness.
Baseball Prospectus | Russell A. Carleton: One thing WAR misses about Mookie Betts is that because he can “handle center,” it means that the Red Sox essentially gain an extra roster spot, so it’s like his value in WAR plus the value of the extra pitcher or platoon bat they add. Mike Trout is still probably better, but it’s pretty close.
FanGraphs | Travis Sawchik: Here’s one that many Yankees fans may have noticed: Aaron Judge is laying off the low pitch. Even though his strike zone is notoriously bad and he gets very, very few balls to hit, he has gotten even better.
FanGraphs | Rian Watt: The rarest sight in baseball is a pitcher swinging in a 3-0 count—it has only happened seven times since 2011! But there is a method to it, and it usually involves premeditation and an already-good hitting pitcher trying to take a chance.
Bill James Online | Alex Vigderman: Robinson Cano’s Hall of Fame score is right around other possible candidates, and Bill James’ odds are at even money Cano reaches Cooperstown.