Cardinals outfielder Harrison Bader has gone 7-for-36 this month, well below his season average, and has not stolen a base in all of June. His only multi-base hit was a double on June 6 against Miami and has yet to tally an RBI this month. With all that said, he is still drawing a lot of starts for St. Louis because he is outperforming veteran Dexter Fowler in nearly every hitting category and is a younger, more athletic fielder at this point in his career. It’s hard to make a case for benching Bader, as he holds the highest Wins Above Replacement (WAR) on the team, making him the most valuable Cardinal according to the WAR statistic, which is an all-inclusive way to measure and compare players.
“See you later, gator” – @aybaybader pic.twitter.com/g1yStyegDc
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) June 18, 2018
Anthony DeSclafani (RHP) — Cincinnati Reds
DeSclafani made his first start since 2016 on June 5, allowing four runs on six hits and one walk with five strikeouts over five innings. Disco allowed the runs in the first two frames, settling down to throw three scoreless, facing the minimum. He threw 55 of his 91 pitches for strikes. The right-hander has started two games since and won them both, allowing just two runs in each contest.
“There’s still a lot of work from here on out,” @Reds starter Anthony DeSclafani after his first win since September 28, 2016: pic.twitter.com/zzgNaIUn4y
— FOX Sports Ohio (@FOXSportsOH) June 10, 2018
Johnson gave up a run in four relief duty innings against Detroit on June 7. It was a solid outing for the lefty as he fanned five and gave up just three hits.
Darren O’Day (RHP) — Baltimore Orioles
O’Day was activated on June 9, exactly one month after landing on the DL with a hyperextended elbow. He has pitched well in the three games he’s appeared in since being activated. Showalter has limited the submariner to one inning in each appearance and has allowed just one hit overall with five Ks.
Preston Tucker (LF) — Atlanta Braves
After coming into June as the likely replacement starter for the injured Ronald Acuna, Tucker has gone just 2-for-12 in June and has all but relinquished the starting role to Charlie Culberson.
Mike Zunino (C) — Seattle Mariners
Zunino is sitting at a career-worst 39 percent strikeout rate for this year, but he is still slugging home runs and making great plays on defense for Seattle. He is 9-for-42 so far this month with seven RBIs, three home runs and 21 strikeouts to his name.
MiLB Players
Peter Alonso (1B) — Las Vegas 51s (New York Mets Triple-A)
Alonso was sent up to Triple-A on Saturday and he’s already had a multi-hit game and two RBIs in three games with Vegas. The Mets released veteran first baseman Adrian Gonzalez last week and it’s looking like Alonso may have a shot at getting called up to the bigs once roster expand in September. But a source close to the Mets stated that Alonso would not be getting called up this year no matter what. Alonso is hitting .310/.441/.567 with 15 HR and 50 RBI in 62 games (210 at-bats) this season for Binghamton. He is a career .301/.390/.548 hitter with 38 HR between three minor league levels over three seasons (185 games).
Shaun Anderson (RHP) — Richmond Flying Squirrels (San Francisco Giants Double-A)
Anderson pitched exactly six innings in all three starts this month. He was unable to pick up a win and was handed a loss in his latest start where he allowed two earned runs on six hits and had five Ks.
Kevin Chapman (LHP) — Toledo Mud Hens (Detroit Tigers Triple-A)
Chapman gave up his first run this year on June 10 but has pitched very well since being signed by the Tigers organization in May. He holds a 0.77 ERA through 10 ⅔ innings.
Jonathon Crawford (RHP) — Daytona Tortugas (Cincinnati Reds Class A Advanced)
Crawford remains on the disabled list.
Matt den Dekker (LF) — Las Vegas 51s (New York Mets Triple-A)
The center fielder was placed on the DL on June 6.
Dane Dunning (RHP) — Birmingham Barons (Chicago White Sox Double-A)
Dunning has gone 2-1 in three starts so far in June. In his latest outing, Dunning allowed four hits through eight innings and struck out 10 batters.
Alex Faedo (RHP) — Lakeland Flying Tigers (Detroit Tigers Class A Advanced)
Faedo went seven innings, allowing one run on five hits, no walks and three strikeouts to pick up his second win of the season. The right-hander lowered his ERA to 3.20 for the year.
Nolan Fontana (SS) — Salt Lake Bees (Los Angeles Angels Triple-A)
Fontana was called up to the Angels and played in five games for Los Angeles this month before being optioned back to Triple-A Salt Lake once Andrelton Simmons got back healthy. In those five games he went 1-for-11 with a home run and five strikeouts.
Daniel Gibson (LHP) — Jackson Generals (Arizona Diamondbacks Double-A)
Gibson has not allowed a run through nine innings across seven appearances for the Generals this season with 11 Ks. He has two saves in as many opportunities this year as well.
Taylor Gushue (C) — Harrisburg Senators (Washington Nationals Double-A)
Gushue has three home runs and 13 RBIs so far this month on 14-for-35 hitting. He raised his average to .249.
Dalton Guthrie (SS) — Lakewood BlueClaws (Philadelphia Phillies Class A)
Guthrie was placed on 7-day DL retroactive to June 11.
Eric Hanhold (RHP) — Las Vegas 51s — (New York Mets Triple-A)
Hanhold has had some good games since being promoted but his good games were sandwiched in between a disaster June 11 where he blew a save and gave up six runs on five hits. Hanhold was placed on 7-day DL on Monday.
Mark Kolozsvary (C) — Dayton Dragons (Cincinnati Reds Class A)
Kolozsvary went 2-for-5 this week with a double and an RBI. He also walked three times in a game last Tuesday and hit his first home run of the year on Friday. The catcher is hitting .210.
Taylor Lewis (RHP) — Free agent
Austin Maddox (RHP) — Pawtucket Red Sox (Boston Red Sox Triple-A)
Maddox was pulled from his rehab start in Triple-A on June 5 with shoulder inflammation but it hoping to resume throwing again soon.
Johnny Magliozzi (RHP) — Free agent
Richie Martin (SS) — Midland RockHounds (Oakland A’s Double-A)
Martin is hitting .323 on the season which is fifth in the Texas League. Martin is sixth in on-base percentage, tied for second in triples and sixth in doubles.
Scott Moss (LHP) — Daytona Tortugas (Cincinnati Reds Class A Advanced)
Moss earned a pair of wins in three starts this month. He had eight Ks and allowed no runs on three hits in his best performance.
Bobby Poyner (LHP) — Pawtucket Red Sox (Boston Red Sox Triple-A)
Poyner actually has a lower ERA in the big leagues (1.69) than he does with Triple-A Pawtucket (2.76). But he has pitched about six innings more in the minors this year. Either way, Poyner has been a consistent presence with both clubs this year.
A.J. Puk (LHP) — Stockton Ports (Oakland Athletics Class-A Advanced)
Puk underwent Tommy John surgery and is out for the rest of the season.
Buddy Reed (CF) — Lake Elsinore Storm (San Diego Padres Class A Advanced)
Reed went 3-for-17 with four walks and stole four bases, giving him a league-leading 28 on the season. Reed also leads the California League with 75 hits.
Mike Rivera (C) — Lake County Captains (Cleveland Indians Class A)
Rivera was activated from the DL Tuesday and went 3-for-14 with a double, an RBI and four walks this week. The backstop is hitting just .195 on the year. He was sent back to the DL later on in the week.
Paco Rodriguez (LHP) — Chattanooga Lookouts (Minnesota Twins Double-A)
Rodriguez has pitched much better since his initial disaster in Double-A, only allowing one earned run in five appearances since.
Frank Rubio (RHP) — San Jose Giants (San Francisco Giants Class A Advanced)
Rubio has made four appearances this month, pitching a total of 11 innings and four earned runs.
Justin Shafer (RHP) — Buffalo Bisons (Toronto Blue Jays Triple-A)
Shafer made a two-inning save only allowing one base runner via walk on Monday. He followed that up with a 2 ⅓ inning outing where he gave up a hit and a walk.
Logan Shore (RHP) — Midland RockHounds (Oakland A’s Double-A)
Shore started Tuesday, giving up five earned on nine hits and one walk with five Ks to suffer his first loss of the season. He now has a 4.42 ERA and a 3-1 record.
Kirby Snead (LHP) — New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Toronto Blue Jays Double-A)
Snead made two appearances this week, allowing three earned runs across 3 ⅓ innings. The left-hander has now allowed runs in three straight and four out of his last five appearances. His ERA has nearly doubled in that time and now sits at 4.15.
Tim Tebow (LF) — Binghamton Rumble Ponies (New York Mets Double-A)
Tebow is hitting .239 and got a hit in all but five games in June.
Josh Tobias (2B) — Portland Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox Double-A)
Tobias went 0-for-8 this week with four strikeouts, dropping his average to .228.
Casey Turgeon (3B) — Free agent
Danny Young (LHP) — New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Toronto Blue Jays Double-A)
Young was rocked during his inning of work for five earned runs on four hits Thursday with two Ks. On the bright side, he did finish the inning.
Resources: MiLB.com, MLBTradeRumors.com, MLB.com, Baseball-Reference.com
