There were quite a few Major League Debuts over this first weekend of baseball, and we are going to look at how they are doing in their first couple games.
First off, we have Diego Castillo of the Pittsburgh Pirates. He made his debut against the Cardinals on April 7th, 2022. He got to play opening day due to Ke'bryan Hayes having some discomfort after diving for a ball. He got his first major league hit on April 9th. He took an outside pitch to the right field gap for a double. So far this year, he has 4 hits through 3 games.
Bobby Witt Jr made his major league debut on Opening Day with the Royals. Over the span of 36 at-bats, he has 4 hits and a .139 batting average. Obviously it's not a very good start, but there is room to improve. One thing to look at though is that, fielding wise, he has been outstanding. Through 81 innings, he has a 1.000 fielding percentage, which means has not made an error yet this year.
The new pitcher from the Reds, Hunter Greene, has performed as predicted. Through 10.1 innings, he has a 4.35 ERA (earned run average). Now this isn’t the greatest, but this is only through 2 games and doesn’t show how good he’s been. He broke a record, throwing 39 pitches at 100+ mph. That is absolutely insane, and this rookie has major potential.
One of the top prospects from the Tigers is Spencer Torkelson. Through 29 at-bats, he has 6 hits and 2 homeruns. That makes his batting average .207, and he already has 5 RBI’s. He already has made a big impact for his team offensively and defensively. He has a 1.000 fielding percentage, so you could say he’s a good fielder too.
The Astros lost Carlos Correa this offseason, but his replacement, Jeremy Pena, has been doing pretty well. Through 39 at-bats, he has 12 hits, 2 homeruns and a .308 batting average. He has scored 7 times and has 4 RBI’s. Now defensively he has made only one error. so he still is good at fielding with a .979 fielding percentage. With what he’s doing and how he’s helping the team, he could be a key part in their lineup.
Last but not least, the Padres 2 top prospects have made their debut. CJ Abrams, a shortstop, got a chance at the Majors with Fernando Tatis Jr. being out with an injury. Through 30 at-bats, he has 4 hits and 1 homerun amounting to a .133 batting average. Now, I know that's not good, but he still has time to develop like all these other prospects. I think he could be good here in the next months or so. Now, they have Mackenzie Gore, a pitching prospect who got his chance in the majors and, in 2 games, has 1 win, 10.1 innings pitched, 10 strikeouts, and a whopping 1.74 ERA. Those are incredible stats for any pitcher. Now he has only played 2 games, but it shows how good he can actually be. That ends this year's major prospect debuts. A new era of baseball has begun!
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