
Evan Phillips, the Dodgers’ best relief pitcher who was discarded by the Orioles and Rays before thriving in Los Angeles, was profiled by Tyler Kepner at the New York Times.
“I feel like I’ve been through the worst in this game,” Phillips told Kepner, “so when I’m out there and it looks like it’s a hot situation for a relief pitcher, I feel as cool as can be.”
Max Muncy is one of three qualified batters hitting under .200 with an above average overall line, hitting .191/.323/.474 with a 115 wRC+. Michael Buamann at FanGraphs wrote about how the last decade or so has been a unique time in MLB in that these low-average players both exist and are allowed to play regularly.
Bobby Miller’s incredible start to his major league career — 23 innings, two runs, 23 strikeouts in his first four starts — as well as his stuff was analyzed by Eno Sarris of The Athletic and Alex Fast of Pitcher List on Fast’s podcast.
Alex Vesia was among the pitchers who last year took the longest in between pitches who talked to Rowan Kavner at Fox Sports about adjusting to the pitch timer this year. The left-hander has struggled this year with a 6.61 ERA in the majors, and was optioned to Triple-A for four weeks in May.
“I’m very conscious of the clock, where I’m looking at it probably more than anything,” Vesia told Kavner. “But then I get the sign from the PitchCom, step on the rubber and I’m like back locked in to the catcher. So, it’s just getting that tempo.”
Richard Staff at Defector talked to some of the 29 players whose only major league playing time to date came during the 2020 season with no fans at ballparks.