Triple Crown Watch

By Craig CalcaterraOct 2, 2012, 8:22 AM EDT
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The latest on Miguel Cabrera’s chase for the Triple Crown:

Batting Leaders

1. Miguel Cabrera   .329
2. Mike Trout   .325
3. Joe Mauer   .322
Home Run Leaders

1. Miguel Cabrera  44
2. Josh Hamilton  43
3. Edwin Encarnacion  42

RBI Leaders

1. Miguel Cabrera  137
2. Josh Hamilton  127

Among those leaders, the only player on a team with something left to play for is Hamilton, whose Rangers are trying to fend off the A’s for the AL West.  In light of that, one question worth asking is whether Jim Leyland give Cabrera a day off either today or tomorrow?

If the Triple Crown wasn’t on the line it would seem like a no-brainer — rest the horse you rode to get here — but with such a slim lead in the home run chase and Hamilton’s ability to hit them in bunches, who knows?  Of course a day off could theoretically help him in the batting average race. Though after a 4 for 5 day, he is kinda hot.

Oh well. Something to watch for if you don’t care about the A’s-Rangers or the Cardinals-Dodgers.

Nathan Eovaldi to make 2018 debut for Rays soon

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
By Bill BaerMay 24, 2018, 5:35 PM EDT
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Rays manager Kevin Cash said that pitcher Nathan Eovaldi will join the starting rotation on Monday or Tuesday to face the Athletics, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Eovaldi’s rehab outing with Triple-A Durham went well, even though he gave up eight runs in four innings.

Eovaldi, 28, hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2016 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He had arthroscopic surgery in March to remove loose bodies in his elbow. It’s been a long road back. Knowing Eovaldi needed to recover from surgery, the Rays signed him to a one-year, $2 million contract in 2017 that included a $2 million club option for 2018 that they exercised last November.

When Eovaldi last pitched, he ranked among baseball’s hardest throwers, particularly among starters. He averaged 97.1 MPH on his fastball in 2016. Among starters who racked up at least 100 innings that season, only the Mets’ Noah Syndergaard had a higher average velocity (97.9 MPH). It remains to be seen if he still has that velocity after undergoing two procedures on his elbow.

The Rays will be glad to have Eovaldi back. The club has sustained injuries to Jake Faria, Yonny Chirinos, and Jose De Leon.