Bases Covered is a daily roundup of the most interesting stories in baseball.
Playing the aces
Masahiro Tanaka and Max Scherzer will face off today in an ace-against-ace matchup. In Tanaka’s first start since being activated from the disabled list last week, he allowed just one run over seven innings, striking out nine. Scherzer, meanwhile, has been dominant all year with the Nationals.
The All-Royals Game?
Fans of Kansas City have been busy, it seems. The American League All-Star voting update was released yesterday, and as it stands seven Royals players are slated to start at the All-Star Game.
The year of the shortstop
The first three selections of the 2015 player draft were all shortstops. Dansby Swanson of Vanderbilt was drafted first overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks, followed by Alex Bregman, chosen by the Astros, and Brendan Rogers, chosen by the Rockies. In all, eight shortstops were selected in the first round.
From No. 1 to No. 17
In last year’s draft, left-handed pitcher Brady Aiken was taken first overall by the Astros. But he turned down a $5 million signing bonus, choosing instead to pitch for IMG Academy and re-enter the draft in 2015. Yesterday, Aiken was chosen by the Cleveland Indians with the 17th overall pick. Here’s why going from No. 1 to No. 17 could actually be a good thing.
Young guns
Twelve top prospects have made their MLB debuts so far this season. This includes everyone from Astros shorstop Carlos Correa, who made his debut last night, to Rangers third baseman Joey Gallo and Mets right-hander Noah Syndergaard. Here’s a full rundown, with a look at how these prospects have fared.
