Nerd out on these MLB leaderboards. Plus, we need to talk about the Giants

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If all his lineup ideas work this well, maybe Jose Altuve could be a manager someday?  

Plus: I dig into the “other” leaderboards, the Giants have thrived when they should have wilted and Ken has more on the upstart Mariners. I’m Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal. Welcome to The Windup!

Shakeups: Another position change for Altuve?

I mean, sorta. After switching from second base to left field, the Astros’ longest-tenured player and nine-time All-Star has now requested to be taken out of the leadoff spot in the batting order.

It’s a classy move by Altuve, but also the right one. He entered last night’s contest hitting .274/.310/.377 (.687 OPS). That’s not abysmal — his OPS+ is 99, meaning he’s one percent worse than league average — but it’s not what we’ve come to expect from Altuve. In fact, .687 would be his lowest OPS in a full season since 2013.

So last night, Altuve, 34, was bumped all the way down to … second in the order.

If a one-game sample is worth anything, the experiment is off to a good start: Altuve went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs, boosting his OPS up to .725, while new leadoff hitter Jeremy Peña went 2-for-4, scoring twice. The Astros beat the red-hot Tigers 8-5.

Altuve hasn’t been the only struggling Astros hitter. Yordan Alvarez, Christian Walker, Cam Smith, Yainer Diaz and Mauricio Dubón all have batting averages between .172 and .217, and Houston entered play last night 25th out of 30 teams in runs scored.

Still, they’re far from dead in the water. In fact, after finishing last April at 10-19, this year’s squad is now 15-13. That’s good enough for second place in the division, one game behind the Mariners. Speaking of Seattle …

Ken’s Notebook: Here come the Mariners

From my latest notes column:

On April 6, the Seattle Mariners’ season took an early turn for the worse. Right fielder Victor Robles suffered a dislocated left shoulder in San Francisco. And the Mariners were swept by the Giants, falling to 3-7.

Since then, the Mariners have won six straight series, including all three on a trip east to Cincinnati, Toronto and Boston. Their other series triumphs were at home against AL West rivals Houston and Texas, and over the weekend, against Miami.

The Mariners are succeeding with a patchwork lineup. The injury to Robles and season-ending loss of second baseman Ryan Bliss to a left biceps tear forced the team to recalibrate. So did the move of Jorge Polanco from third base to designated hitter, which initially was triggered by a minor oblique strain and also has prevented him from batting right-handed.

The early disruptions figured to be detrimental to a club that last season ranked 21st in runs. Instead, the Mariners are getting production from unexpected sources at a time when their best offensive player, center fielder Julio Rodríguez, is sputtering.

Rookie third baseman Ben Williamson, an elite defender, is among the welcome contributors. So are second baseman Leo Rivas and, at least in terms of on-base percentage, infielder Miles Mastrobuoni. And let’s not forget Dylan Moore, a Gold Glove utility man last season who is second on the team in OPS.

Polanco, if he had enough plate appearances to qualify, would be second only to Aaron Judge in OPS-plus. Shortstop J.P. Crawford is hitting the way he did in 2023. Some regression is inevitable, but the team’s walk rate is 2 percent higher than it was last season and its strikeout rate is down 3.4 percent from its league-high mark in 2024.

The Mariners’ foundation, their starting pitching, is showing cracks. Right-handers Logan Gilbert (elbow flexor strain) likely is out until June, and George Kirby (right shoulder inflammation) won’t be back much before then. But fill-in righty Emerson Hancock is coming off back-to-back impressive starts on the road against Cincinnati and Boston. The Mariners also feature the hottest closer in the game — Andres Muñoz, who is 10-for-10 in save opportunities and has yet to allow a run in 14 innings.

More notes here.

Look It Up: Statcast leaderboard check

The traditional leaderboards are fun, sure (here ya go). But once in a while, I like to pull up Baseball Savant and check the leaders in a few advanced categories. It’s always a good* time!

* For enormous nerds. 

Here are few that I think are interesting (all stats as of last night, but you can click through for updated totals).

Fielding Run Value: OF Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cubs (7 Outs Above Average) — If you’re curious how it’s calculated, here’s an explainer. (Basically, his defense has been elite.) But for context: Last year’s leader was Giants catcher Patrick Bailey, with 22, while three players (including Crow-Armstrong) tied for second with 16. A month into the season, Crow-Armstrong has nearly half of last year’s total.

Arm strength: OF Oneil Cruz, Pirates (99.1 mph) — I repeat: Oneil Cruz averages 99.1 mph on his throws this year (and his max is 103.3 mph)!! Cruz also leads the league in average exit velocity (96.4 mph) and added runs from stolen bases. I guess Steel City boasts the Man of … Speed? Speaking of …

Baseball Savant

Sprint speed: SS Bobby Witt Jr., Royals (30.3 ft/sec.) — This is nothing new; Witt led the league in 2024 and tied for first (Elly De La Cruz) in 2023 (30.5 both years). In this category, I also like to look at the slowest player in the league to see if I’m fast enough to beat even one big-leaguer in a footrace. Rowdy Tellez averages 23.1 ft./sec … no comment.

Longest average home run trot: C Luis Torrens, Mets (35.5 seconds) — This one is a bit misleading. Torrens has hit one home run this year, and he stopped when he thought the ball was caught. So Marcell Ozuna (31.7) is your actual multihomer leader. The fastest average home run trotter? Dustin Harris of the Rangers (19.4)

Longest average home run trot against: LHP Steven Okert, Astros (35.1 seconds) — Yeah, they track this for pitchers, too! Okert has also only allowed one home run, and it was a grand slam to noted slow-trotter Randy Arozarena. Hector Neris is on the other end of the spectrum, here — his one home run allowed was to Gavin Sheets, who circled ‘em in 18.7 seconds.

Them?: Let’s talk about the Giants

Handshakes and High Fives

Part of the Cubs’ success at the plate? It might be playing to the park factors of Wrigley Field.

Tyler Glasnow is officially on the IL with … uh … well???

If you pay for the player, you sorta expect that the signature move is part of the package. So where has the “Soto Shuffle” gone? In the meantime, Brandon Nimmo tied a team record with nine RBIs in one game.

This week’s Power Rankings take a look at one superlative stat for each of the 30 teams.

The left-field situation in Atlanta has not gone to plan. After Jurickson Profar was suspended for PED use, Jarred Kelenic has now been optioned to the minor leagues. The team signed Eddie Rosario, who hit .167 in 84 games with the Braves last year.

Every big-league success story is also a story about scouts. Brendan Kuty tells the story behind the success of J.C. Escarra of the Yankees.

Speaking of the Yankees, their pitching coach Matt Blake says the booing isn’t helping deposed closer Devin Williams. Which … obviously, but I don’t think “let’s help this guy out” has ever been the intent of booing. Also: What’s real and what’s not about the Yankees’ hot start?

Keith Law has another draft scouting report, this one including notes on Riley Quick, Henry Ford and others.

Most-clicked in our last newsletter: Mitch Bannon’s dispatch on Kevin Gausman getting ejected after throwing 53 pitches in an inning

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(Photo: Peter Aiken / Imagn Images)

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