On The Lookout, 4/5: Stacks Look to Flip Back to Top with Five Starters

The second weekend of Major League Baseball action is upon us with a morning-heavy schedule as teams that started on the road return home for their Opening Day. 16 Starting Pitchers are set to toe the rubber in the RDBL on Friday led by the Alamo Short Stacks who have five going.

Here's the latest On The Lookout for Friday, 4/5:

Projected Starters for Friday, 4/5:

Grapes: Greene (vs. NYM), Canning (vs. BOS)

Falcons: Hicks (vs. SD)

Stacks: Strider (@ ARZ), Skubal (vs. OAK), Jones (vs. BAL), Gilbert (@ MIL), Littell (@ COL)

Aristocrats: N/A

Clovers: N/A

Hammerheads: Crawford (@ LAA)

Maulers: N/A

Goutfish: Cease (@ SF)

Hops: N/A

Devils: Peralta (vs. SEA)

Ducks: Stroman (vs. TOR)

Jokers: Hendricks (vs. LAD), Quintana (@ CIN)

Tacos: Brown (@ TEX), Kikuchi (@ NYY)

Fringe: Rodriguez (@ PIT)

Pitching Matchup of the Day: Jones vs. Rodriguez

Two of the most exciting young arms in baseball will face off Friday afternoon as Fringe activation Grayson Rodriguez will take on Stacks right-hander Jared Jones. Rodriguez was excellent in his 2024 debut, posting 23.0 points while allowing just one run and striking out nine in six innings of work. Jones lived up to the hype in his major-league debut, notching 22 swings and misses on 89 pitches. According to MLB's Sarah Langs, 22 swings and misses are the most by a pitcher in their MLB debut in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008).

Stacks Looking for Big Day with Five Starters

The Alamo Short Stacks entered Period 3 with a 78.0 point lead, posting 281.0 points over a four day Period. Thanks to a 25-for-125 run in Period 3, the Stacks have a league-low 90.0 points this week and will be looking to change that in a big way Friday when they send five starting pitchers to the mound. Rainouts pushed co-aces Tarik Skubal and Spencer Strider back, a positive for Skubal who moved from a Mets matchup to the Sacramento Athletics today while Strider lost a start against the Chicago White Sox and now has to face the red-hot Arizona Diamondbacks.

Hammerheads Posting Elite Strikeout Numbers

The Honolulu Hammerheads are off to a scorching start on the mound, leading the RDBL with 197.0 pitching points entering play on Friday. The staff has posted a 2.30 ERA and 1.12 WHIP over 62 2/3 innings, but the big number that stands out is a league-high 80 strikeouts.

Help on the Way for Fish?

While Jackson Holliday is getting all of the attention in the Triple-A Norwich lineup, Spokane Fightin' Fish outfielder Heston Kjerstad is off to a ridiculous .571/.581/1.214 start with five home runs and three doubles in 28 at-bats. The Orioles depth chart in Baltimore is loaded, so a call-up might not be imminent but Kjerstad, a two-time RDBL draftee who dealt with heart issues that forced him to miss 2021, looks poised for a strong future.

Looking Ahead: 2025 Projected Keeper Rosters

It's never too early to think about next season, right? As part of a new Roger Dorn Baseball League feature, we will be tracking the Projected 2025 Keeper Rosters throughout the season with monthly updates as trades and player performance alter future Front Office plans across the league.

The 2025 Projected Keepers will be included as a tab in the RDBL Archives Spreadsheet.

Notes on 2025 Keeper Rosters

• The Nashville Aristocrats have the makings of a potential juggernaut with a wave of young stars on the way to the big leagues. Offensively, Jackson Chourio and Jackson Holliday will be set to join the rotation while Jackson Jobe, Max Meyer, Gavin Stone and Hurston Waldrep all look poised for big roles in 2025 while Chase Burns, Tink Hence, Jacob Misiorowski and Cade Horton try and knock down the door to the big leagues.

• The Burlingame Blue Ducks might be the Front Office most focused on 2025 with the arrivals of Paul Skenes, Wyatt Langford and Dylan Crews along with Taj Bradley and Rhett Lowder. It wouldn't surprise anyone to see Travis Bazzana pull a Langford next Spring and make the big league club out of camp as well. Good things appear to be ahead for GM Ryan Walsh.

• The Lake Merced Goutfish could have a scary rotation for 2025, especially with the early emergence of Garrett Crochet. Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Bobby Miller look to be in for 2024 Playoff activations while Jacob deGrom and Shane McClanahan could be additional pieces of a 5-man rotation owed just $18 combined.

• After four premium activations in 2024, the Maltese Falcons are hardy done adding impact talent with Coby Mayo, Drew Gilbert and A.J. Smith-Shawver all good bets to be ready for Opening Day in 2025.

3 Up, 3 Down: Crochet Leads Group of Hot Starts in 2024

A week of baseball is in the books as we reach the point of overreactions while crowing the Roger Dorn Baseball League's most and least valuable players. While it's far too early to draw any conclusions on RDBL clubs, some players have certainly stuck out through a week's worth of games led by Lake Merced Goutfish left-hander Garrett Crochet.

Here's the latest 3 Up, 3 Down to kick off the 2024 Regular Season:

LHP Garrett Crochet (1/$2), Lake Merced Goutfish

Crochet might have produced the biggest rise in value since Draft Day with two eye-opening starts for the Lake Merced Goutfish who nabbed the left-hander from a RP slot for $4. Crochet shut down one of the league's top offenses on Tuesday, allowing one run on three hits while punching out eight over seven innings of work. That's now back-to-back quality starts and back-to-back eight-strikeout performances for Crochet while generating 18 swinging strikes against the Braves. He owns a 1.38 ERA, 0.69 WHIP and 16:1 K:BB through 13 innings.

Looking ahead to 2025, Crochet could join a scary rotation of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Bobby Miller, Shane McClanahan and Jacob deGrom who would be owed a collective $17.

OF Seiya Suzuki (3/$22), Honolulu Hammerheads

Suzuki went 3-for-5 with a solo home run and three RBI in Wednesday's 9-8 win over the Rockies, part of a red-hot start for the Hammerheads outfielder. He has posted a .972 OPS through six games, hitting at least one batted ball 100+ mph in each game. The Hammerheads look to have the pitching to make a Playoff run, leading all pitching staffs with 186.0 points entering Thursday with a 2.37 ERA and 1.14 WHIP. If the club can produce even a middle of the road offense, they will be in good shape to make a run at their second cash finish in Franchise History.

SS Bobby Witt, Jr. (3R/$5), Asti Grape Stompers

Witt went 2-for-5 with a double, a run scored and a stolen base in Wednesday's 4-3 loss to the Orioles, another dominant performance for a player that's quickly emerging as one of the game's best. The 23-year-old shortstop has recorded multiple hits in four of the Royals' first six games, batting .400 (10-for-25) with four doubles, a triple, two homers, two steals, two RBI and six runs scored. Ronald Acuna was in uncharted territory last year with his 40-70 campaign, but if any other hitter in baseball has the talent to approach those numbers, it might be Witt who is the early leader for average exit velocity in baseball.

Witt is playing under the final season of team control for the Grapes and will be in line for a monster contract next March.

RHP Eury Perez (Minors), Maltese Falcons

After elbow soreness late in Spring Training that squashed a plan activation for the Maltese Falcons, Eury Perez will now undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery on Monday according to reports Thursday. Perez entered the season ranked as the 3rd best prospect in the RDBL, trailing only Yoshinobu Yamamoto among pitchers.

3B Josh Jung (2R/$3), Mission Viejo Maulers

The Mission Viejo Maulers were hot after Josh Jung for much of the off-season before landing the third baseman in a blockbuster deal with the San Mateo Oppo Tacos. His debut season in the Maulers uniform will be on pause for 8-10 weeks following a broken wrist that had more extensive damage than originally thought after surgery. The Maulers entered Thursday in 7th Place and will turn third base over to Elehuris Montero as of now.

Spokane Fightin' Fish

The Fish entered Thursday ranked 13th in hitting (.244/.311/.334) and last in pitching (5.43 ERA, 1.46 WHIP) as they look to shake off a rough start to the 2024 season. The Fish pitchers have allowed 70 hits in 59 2/3 innings while producing just 20 extra base hits at the plate in 320 at-bats.