Jordan Walker is the Best Player in Baseball Forever Guaranteed

Jordan Walker isn't just hot, he's the best player in baseball right now. Better than Aaron Judge, better than Ohtani, better than Bobby Witt Jr. Through 17 games he's already deleted 111 games of negative WAR from last season, and Ben is officially calling 30 home runs as the floor. We dig into why this version of Walker actually looks sustainable, and Brant Brown's "let the team be themselves" approach to coaching.

The good vibes keep going on offense. Iván Herrera is on the precipice of a breakout — second in baseball in walks, xwOBA near elite, just waiting on his launch angle to come back. JJ Wetherholt had his first multi-homer game (both off lefties, one pull-side, one backside, as a 23-year-old rookie second baseman). And his defense is way ahead of where we expected.

Pitching news: Shuster gets demoted Ryan Fernandez is back, Matt Pushard starts a rehab assignment (Ben is still calling Phantom IL on this and demanding accountability), and we make the case for Jimmy Crooks getting called up sooner rather than later. 

On the league side: Kevin McGonigle signs an 8-year, $150M extension with the Tigers (and what it means for JJ's number), Cade Horton needs season-ending UCL surgery in a brutal blow to the Cubs rotation, and we mark Jackie Robinson Day with a reminder of just how absurdly good he was on the field on top of everything else.

We close with a visit from an old nemesis.

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