:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/64715795/usa_today_13011008.0.jpg)
FanGraphs | Ben Clemens: Yasiel Puig had a very poor start to the season for the Reds, fights included, and now he’s one of the hottest hitters in baseball. This is thanks to him just being his usual self, and actually punishing the pitches (breaking pitches) he should and avoiding the pitches (fastballs) that he can’t.
Baseball Prospectus | Rob Arthur ($): Ejections are way up this year, ready to outpace a record 2015 and already 30% more than at this point in 2018. Why? It’s not clear. It could be the new pace of play rules, or managers trying to exercise the only anger they can without challenging—on balls and strikes. Nonetheless, the pace is likely to continue and could only get worse as more umpire unfriendly policies (robot ump?) are implemented.
The Athletic | Eno Sarris ($): You don’t need analytics to see where the wind is blowing with these second-half trends, which means there are a few things that will be very predictable in the second half: one of the better AL teams will miss the postseason (Red Sox or Rays); the Diamondbacks will play closer to their run differential (ie: better), and the Padres still have a great call-up under their sleeves.