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.
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