Kuzul

Carlos Correa, whose nickname is “The Captain,” is one of the best prospects in all of baseball. The Puerto Rican shortstop was drafted No. 1 overall by the Houston Astros in 2012. He’s had a hot start since being called up from the minors, nabbing hits in the first four games he played at the major league level, including smashing two home runs over the wall to put a stamp on his arrival.  

Correa figures to be an all-star someday, something the Astros hoped for when they drafted him three years ago, and something they still hope to see as he’s progressed up through the ranks. FoxSports.com’s Matt Whitener recently compared Correa to a young Alex Rodriguez:

A-Rod always profiled as a greater power threat than Correa does, but the similarities are within reason otherwise.

Rodriguez’s rookie year was interrupted by the strike of ’94, but with a full season to apply his craft, Rodriguez ripped apart the American League, hitting .358 and becoming the final piece to help launch the Mariners into the postseason. What Correa’s immediate purpose stands to be could be quite similar. 

But Correa is already an all-star player to one family, the Glasscocks, and especially their seven-year-old son, Corbin, who was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer last year. The Glasscocks are from Chapel Hill, a small community just outside of Tyler, an East Texas town four hours north of Houston.

“Corbin loves baseball,” said Kayla Glasscock, Corbin’s mother. “This was really special for him.”

The Glasscocks were invited to visit the Astros before their June 13 game against the Seattle Mariners. The Astros provided the family seats, field passes and a special meet-and-greet session with players before the game during batting practice.

While Corbin’s rigorous cancer-treatment schedule keeps the Glasscocks busy for weeks at a time, and Corbin’s chemotherapy keeps him off his feet for days at a time, the Glasscocks piled in their car that day because opportunities, such as the one the Astros provided the family on Saturday, come along once in a lifetime.

So there Corbin was with his family, his mom Kayla, dad Josh and three-year-old little brother Jackson, when Correa strolled over to him before batting practice.

“Hey there, Corbin,” Correa said with a big league smile. “My name is Carlos Correa. It’s so nice to meet you.”

Corbin’s smile was as big as Texas, and the two chatted for a bit, took pictures and did the standard meeting thing players sometime do before Correa headed over to take some swings at the plate.

Correa turned to Corbin before he headed there. Whatever he said to him seemed important. Corbin was happy, his family was beaming and even the ground crew and folks who work for the Astros were now wearing newly lifted smiles.

During batting practice, Correa swung the bat like he’s been in the majors for years. He has a good swing, smooth and easy. The ball practically leaps off his bat whenever he makes contact, and he seems to have a real knack for finding the sweet spot.

Maybe he can be as good as A-Rod someday.  

The bat he used was beautiful. There’s just something about baseball. Isn’t there? That piece of wood looked like a trophy almost or something that belonged in a museum someday. And honestly if Correa turns out to be as good a ballplayer as everyone cheering for the Astros hopes he is, it very well might be.

I’m not sure what it is, but that bat looked like a work of art.

But that bat had purpose, too. Correa turned on the fastballs during the session like they had done something to his family. It was like watching a world-class fighter have a go at the heavy bag. It’s a space where both the brutality of blunt force and the smooth, poetic beauty of artistic movement coincide. It was amazing.

It seemed like Correa was hitting baseballs for hours. Everyone had turned to watch him do it, too, and everyone was disappointed when the exhibition ended.

When he was finished, the slender and athletic Correa, nimbly made his way over to the hordes of early arriving baseball fans. He did it on purpose. He signed autographs. He took pictures.

Heck, for all I know he was over there kissing babies like he was running for president or something.

But the latter is probably not something that really happened. Correa seems too good a person for mere politicking. At least that’s what I thought when he made his way back over to Corbin a short time after.

“Here you go,” the future Houston Astros’ all-star shortstop told the seven-year-old battling bone cancer as he handed him his bat. “Here you go,” he said each time he handed him one of his gloves.

“Thanks for coming today.”

Correa went hitless in the 8-1 loss to the Mariners that day. But he hit a home run with everyone else. 

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.

Kelsey McCarson is a boxing writer for Bleacher Report and TheSweetScience.com who sparred undefeated junior middleweight Jermell Charlo last year to raise money for Corbin’s cancer treatments. You can contribute to the fundraiser for Team Corbin at GoFundMe.com. All money collected goes to Corbin’s medical fund.

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Houston Astros star second baseman Jose Altuve injured his hamstring in the first inning of the team’s game on June 12. He isn’t believed to be seriously injured, though he was kept out of the lineup the following day.

Continue for updates.

Altuve Out vs. Mariners

MLB.com’s Chandler Rome reported that Altuve would be out of Saturday’s lineup, though Astros manager A.J. Hinch didn’t seem overly concerned with the long-term impact of the injury.

“He’ll be day to day for the next couple days until he feels back to 100 percent,” Hinch said. “But I know he and our trainer were encouraged by how he was evaluated today. We avoided a worse injury.”

Rome also provided comments from Altuve, who also seemed optimistic about his injury, saying, “It feels really great, better than I thought. Obviously, I’m not playing today, but I feel way, way better than I did yesterday.”

Marwin Gonzalez took Altuve’s place when he left the game and also on Saturday. 

The reigning American League batting champion is impossible to replace in the lineup between his high contact rate and knack for stealing bases. Altuve is also extremely dependable on defense and seldom commits errors.

Even with Altuve not quite producing as well as he did last season, the Astros have enjoyed surprising success in 2015. Everyone has stepped up to help Houston exceed expectations by a long shot, but Altuve’s leadership is key.

Considering he missed just 14 games total in the prior two seasons, it will take a lot for Altuve to be out for too long.   

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Even the great ones stumble. So there’s not necessarily cause for panic in Seattle after Felix Hernandez turned in another rough outing Friday night.

But man, that was one rough outing. 

Hernandez endured easily the worst start of his brilliant 11-year career, surrendering eight runs on five hits and recording just one out in a 10-0 blowout loss to the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park.

It was a historic night for the ace right-hander, though not the kind he’d prefer, as ESPN Stats & Info noted: Since 1969, only 11 other pitchers have been tagged for eight earned runs or more without getting at least two outs.

So you brush it off and move on. Some days you don’t have it. That’s baseball, and other platitudes.

Except this isn’t the first time recently that King Felix has looked more like a commoner. 

On June 1, he coughed up seven runs in 4.2 innings against the New York Yankees. Coming into that start, he owned a 1.91 ERA. Now, after Friday’s debacle, it’s ballooned to 3.38.

That’s still a respectable mark. And overall, Hernandez is having a typically stellar season. But two shaky appearances—admittedly sandwiched around a seven-inning, one-run showing June 6—have got to set off at least a few alarm bells for the Mariners. 

The most obvious, and troubling, explanation is that Hernandez is battling an undisclosed injury. The only other time he lasted just one-third of an inning was in 2007, when he exited with an elbow strain.

Maybe he is dealing with some phantom ailment. But it hasn’t popped up in any unconfirmed whispers, let alone reliable reports. He tweaked his ankle May 17, but manager Lloyd McClendon declared his ace to be “fine,” per Jayson Jenks of the Seattle Times.

The stuff showed up for Hernandez briefly Friday when he rung up touted Houston rookie Carlos Correa with a knee-high 91 mph fastball on the outside corner.

Mostly, though, he made location mistakes, and the ‘Stros, to their credit, made him pay.

Take the two-run shot Jason Castro smacked to extend the lead to 8-0 in the first. Catcher Mike Zunino wanted a fastball down, Hernandez left it up, and the left-handed Castro launched it the other way, over Minute Maid Park’s cozy left field porch.

That’s life in the big leagues, where a few inches can mean the difference between resounding success and stunning failure. 

Speaking of which, Hernandez wasn’t helped by his defense, as MLB.com‘s Greg Johns and Brian McTaggart spelled out:

Before the Astros teed off on Hernandez with the two first-inning homers, the Mariners’ ace got in hot water with some shoddy fielding contributing to the mess. Utility man Willie Bloomquist, making his fifth start of the season at shortstop, was slow on a throw to first as Jose Altuve turned a routine grounder into an infield single leading off the game.

Later, Hernandez himself made a bad throw on a play at the plate, which was definitely on him but not an indictment of his pitching.

It’s entirely possible this start and the one against the Yankees were outliers, anomalous blips in what will otherwise be a predictably dominant season for the five-time All-Star and 2010 American League Cy Young winner.

Hernandez, after all, has lasted at least seven innings eight times this season and threw a complete-game, four-hit shutout on May 27. Don’t bet your college tuition on the King staying down.

“I think it’s a lot of luck,” Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira said after he launched a grand slam off Hernandez June 1, the sixth time he’s taken the M’s stud deep, per Newsday‘s Erik Boland. “He’s a great pitcher. I’ve faced him so much. There’s very few guys that for 10-plus years you face on a regular basis. He’s one of them. I’ve just gotten a couple good pitches to hit.”

If Hernandez takes the ball next time and reverses his luck—and offers up fewer pitches to hit—he’ll calm a lot of nerves in the Pacific Northwest, where fans are already plenty anxious about the fourth-place Mariners.

But if he gets whacked around again, this stumble will start to feel more like a fall.

All statistics current as of June 12 and courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.

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Oakland Athletics switch-pitcher Pat Venditte has fallen victim to the injury bug that has forced him to be placed on the 15-day disabled list. 

Continue for updates. 

Venditte Has Shoulder Strain

Friday, June 12

According to the A’s official Twitter, Venditte has a strained right shoulder that will keep him out for at least the next 15 days:

“I’ve gone from pure joy to this,” Venditte said, according to John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group. Hickey reported the pitcher won’t throw for a week.

Joe Stiglich of CSN California reported the MRI shows Venditte has minor fraying in the area of his shoulder he had surgery on in 2012, but the pitcher hasn’t torn the muscle completely.

Venditte became one of the best stories in 2015 when he made his MLB debut on June 5 against Boston at the age of 29 after spending seven-plus seasons in the minors. He became the first pitcher to throw from both sides since 1995 in that game, throwing two scoreless innings. 

Oakland manager Bob Melvin used Venditte a total of four times covering 5.2 innings before he was injured. It’s especially unfortunate timing for the former 20th-round draft pick after he fought for so many years to reach the big leagues, but hopefully he will be able to return soon. 

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Before the 2015 season started, the Seattle Mariners were praised by many for their impressive pitching staff. With its first two picks in this year’s MLB draft, the Mariners boosted their rotation by adding more depth.

With the 60th overall pick in the draft, Seattle selected Peachtree Ridge High School (GA) pitcher Nick Neidert, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. Many scouts took notice of Neidert due to his intriguing fastball and plethora of accolades at the high school level. During his senior season, he received Perfect Game USA first-team All-American honors and ended up signing his collegiate letter of intent to play at South Carolina this coming fall.

Twelve picks later, the team selected another impressive pitching prospect in Oregon State right-hander Andrew Moore. Over his three-year career at OSU, Moore anchored one of the best pitching staffs in all of college baseball. Moore received first-team All-Pac-12 honors in 2015 after posting a dominant 7-2 record to go along with a stifling 1.91 ERA.

While the picks may seem impressive on paper, some Mariners fans have responded negatively on social media due to the team’s underwhelming offense this season. Despite having star second baseman Robinson Cano and designated hitter Nelson Cruz, the Mariners rank 29th in MLB with just 196 runs scored through 57 games this season.

Some fans have questioned the first two picks by the Mariners, but some have been impressed with the team’s selections. Prep Baseball Report supervisor Nathan Rode pointed out Neidert‘s unique skill set.

Some fans were concerned about whether or not Neidert would play college baseball at USC instead of opting to play for the Mariners organization right away.

Charleston Post and Courier reporter David Caraviello was one of the first to clear the air on Neidert‘s signability.

What separates Neidert from most high school baseball prospects is his ability to throw a fastball that tops out at 96 mph. Perfect Game USA scouting coordinator Brian Sakowski said Neidert‘s fastball is impressive despite his small stature.

Similar to Neidert, Moore was seen as a reach by some due to questions about his signability. Despite being viewed by some as unready for the professional level, Moore has decided to sign with the Mariners and forgo his senior season, per Divish.

Some fans believe that Moore was taken far too early in the draft.

Contrary to fan opinion, Oregon State head coach Pat Casey said the Mariners’ selection of Moore will help the team win games for years to come.

While pitching was not seen by many as an immediate need for the Mariners, the team clearly wants to build on its strength rather than address glaring weaknesses. It is unclear right now how each of these pitching prospects will fit into the mix in the future, but there is no doubt Neidert and Moore bring a lot to the table.

Follow Curtis on Twitter: @CalhounCurtis

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Player: Michael Matuella

Position: RHP

DOB: 6/3/1994 (Age: 21)

Height/Weight: 6’7″, 220 lbs

Bats/Throws: R/R

School: Duke

Previously Drafted: N/A (not drafted out of high school)

Background

Nothing hurts a player’s draft stock like injuries, but at the same time, that often sets a player up to be an absolute steal for the team willing to take a chance on his health moving forward.

Last year, it was East Carolina ace Jeff Hoffman.

The right-hander was in the mix to be the No. 1 overall pick until Tommy John surgery prematurely ended his season, and he wound up slipping to the Toronto Blue Jays at No. 9 overall.

This year, it’s Duke right-hander Mike Matuella.

Undrafted out of high school, Matuella received just two Division I offers, with Maryland and Duke both willing to give him a chance.

“Coming from high school, I wasn’t anybody,” Matuella told Aaron Fitt of D1Baseball.com. “I don’t think I ever threw harder than 88. I got no major league interest. And honestly, I struggled a lot in high school. I struggled a lot with command, and I was really overthinking things.”

He chose Duke, and as a freshman he made six starts and 15 relief appearances, going 4-3 with a 3.72 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 26 strikeouts in 55.2 innings.

As his big 6’7″ frame started to fill out and he started to refine his mechanics, his stuff took off—and so too did his performance during his sophomore season.

Moving into the rotation full time, he went 1-3 with a 2.78 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 69 strikeouts in 58.1 innings, but a lat strain bothered him for much of the season.

The lat strain was not his only health issue heading into his junior season, though, as he also dealt with back issues from a pre-existing vertebrae condition known as spondylolysis.

Despite the health questions, his junior year began with plenty of hype, as some had him penciled in at No. 1 on their too-early mock drafts, and he started off strong with a 1.08 ERA through his first six starts.

Arm issues set in from there, though, and he wound up needing season-ending Tommy John surgery before his season really ever got going.

Pick Analysis

With Matuella taking off last summer in an effort to get healthy, and then getting hurt early this season, scouts have not had a ton of chances to get a look at the big righty.

His stuff is impossible to ignore, though, and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com’s Prospect Watch provides the full scouting report:

When healthy, he can overpower hitters with his 93-97 mph fastball and make them look bad with his curveball and slider. If that’s not enough, he also demonstrates feel for his changeup and throwing strikes. His 6-foot-7 frame creates difficult plane and angle for his pitches, making him that much tougher.

Even before his Tommy John surgery, Matuella had been plagued by injuries during his college career. He battled lat discomfort as a sophomore and was then diagnosed with spondylolysis, a manageable defect of the vertebra in the lower back. He has thrown just 141 innings during his three years at Duke.

It’s not hard to see why Matuella was in the conversation to be the top pick, with an impressive arsenal of pitches and an intimidating presence on the hill.

There’s no question he’s a risk, but a risk that could pay off in a huge way.

MLB Player Comparison: Brandon McCarthy

This comparison is made as much for the lanky 6’7″ frames and full repertoire of pitches both pitchers possess as it is for the injury histories attached to both guys.

McCarthy has been terrific when healthy, and a strong showing with the Yankees last year was enough to earn him a four-year, $48 million deal in free agency.

However, he’s currently sidelined for the year after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and over the course of his 10-year career, he’s topped the 150-inning mark just twice.

While you certainly root for Matuella putting his injury problems behind him and having a lengthy big league career, he too could tease with his performance while struggling to stay on the field.

Projection: No. 2 starter potential when healthy

Major League ETA: 2019

Chances of Signing: 90 percent

While returning for his senior season and proving he’s healthy could boost his stock, Matuella is probably best suited getting his career started and rehabbing at the pro level with the best doctors and trainers money can buy.

All statistics and background information on Matuella come courtesy of D1Baseball.com and The Baseball Cube.

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Texas Rangers pitcher Chi Chi Gonzalez tossed a shutout in Friday’s 4-0 win over the Kansas City Royals and set a franchise record by starting his career with 14.2 consecutive scoreless innings, per Elias Sports Bureau (via ESPN Stats & Info).

Despite striking out just two batters, Gonzalez held the Royals to three hits and two walks over nine innings, needing 116 pitches to go the distance in his second major league start.

He previously tossed 5.2 scoreless innings against the Boston Red Sox in his MLB debut last Saturday, striking out two batters while allowing two hits and five walks.

Now 2-0 through his first two big league appearances, the 23-year-old Gonzalez has found success by keeping the ball on the ground, owning a 57.1 percent ground-ball rate, per FanGraphs.

The steady stream of grounders has made up for a lack of strikeouts, with Gonzalez fanning just four batters through his first 14.2 innings.

Despite the lack of punchouts, he’s the first Rangers pitcher since Len Barker in 1976 to toss a shutout within his first two major league games, per ESPN Stats & Info.

Gonzalez will look to continue the early success in his next outing, scheduled for Thursday against the Oakland Athletics at O.co Coliseum.

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Every day that passes is another day closer to the July 31 trade deadline. For the first time in what seems like ages, the Houston Astros are shaping up to be buyers, not sellers, as that time approaches.

It is already June, and the Houston Astros still have the best record in the American League. After years of trading veterans in exchange for young prospects, the shoe is finally on the other foot.

There is a good chance that the Astros will remain in contention throughout the season, and if they want to make a serious push at the postseason, they might need a top-of-the-line starting pitcher to anchor the staff through the dog days of August and September.

According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, the Astros are in negotiations with the Philadelphia Phillies for left-hander Cole Hamels.

“The goal is [to acquire] a No. 1 or 2,” a source told Heyman.

Apparently, the Houston front office does not think that the starting rotation has enough depth to navigate through the playoffs, and a 1-2 punch of crafty southpaw and sub-2.00 ERA owner Dallas Keuchel and Hamels—or another front-line starter—does sound appealing.

However, the Astros need to be wary of betting the house on Hamels.

There is no argument that he is an elite pitcher, but the number of top-tier prospects that Philly will undoubtedly command in return is too steep a price.

For example, think about in the past when Hamels has been a hot commodity.

The Dodgers and Red Sox each showed significant interest in the 31-year-old Philadelphia ace, but in both instances the Phillies asked for an unrealistic return.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Phillies wouldn’t budge on an offer of all three of the Dodgers’ top prospects—Joc Pederson, Corey Seager and Julio Urias—last summer right before the trade deadline.

Then, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reported in January that the Phillies were “unrealistic in their expectations,” possibly asking for both Mookie Betts and Blake Swihart in exchange for Hamels.

So the first step for the Astros is going to be to reach a deal. For that to happen, they will have to include plenty of their top prospects in the deal. Fortunately, they have plenty to offer. The ‘Stros have the eighth most talented farm system in all of baseball, per MLB.com, meaning they are one of the few teams who could offer a package that could get Hamels.

But Hamels would certainly be expensive. Carlos Correa is likely off limits, but 2013 first-overall pick Mark Appel, Lance McCullers Jr., Preston Tucker and Colin Moran could potentially be involved in a blockbuster trade to land an elite starter like Hamels. 

Plus, on the off chance that the two sides can reach an agreement, Hamels’ 20-team no-trade clause poses another obstacle. He has already vetoed the Blue Jays this year, and a source told Heyman that Hamels would likely do the same to the Astros.

However, if Houston continues to do well and has a chance to make the playoffs—in addition to the abundance of young talent that means the Astros will be contenders for years down the road—who knows, maybe Hamels considers it.

The final hurdle is Hamels’ contract: He is scheduled to make $24 million per year through 2018. The Astros currently don’t have anyone making more than $10 million, and they will likely not want to allocate such a big chunk of their payroll to one player. Not only is it one player, but it’s a player who will only be on the field every fifth day.

With all this in mind, I think it is a good idea for the Astros to at least explore the market for a front-line starter. But ultimately, they should not be willing to give away more than two top prospects for his services. While he is a consistent and durable pitcher—he is well on his way to surpassing the 200-inning plateau for the sixth consecutive year—I don’t think he is worth the price that the Phillies are going to undoubtedly demand.

The Astros have two of the top five picks in Monday’s MLB draft, so they will add even more potential stars to their already loaded organization.

They are a team on the rise with a very bright future. Even if they do not accomplish everything they want to this season, they have several more years to do just that.

The ‘Stros have played terrific baseball to this point—without Hamels—and it is basically a foregone conclusion that the Phillies are going to be rightfully greedy in the negotiations.

Add it all up, and the Astros are fine as their roster sits right now. Don’t overspend for an elite starting pitcher. Keuchel is having a Cy Young-caliber season to this point, Collin McHugh has proved to be a consistent middle-of-the-rotation arm and McCullers looks like a future ace.

The Astros have amassed the best record in the AL without Hamels, and they don’t really need him to take the next step of eventually making and advancing deep into the playoffs.

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Pat Venditte was a feel-good story in February and March. 

He was thrown into the hype machine in April and May, and it was ramped up to full bore Friday after the Oakland A’s called up the ambidextrous relief pitcher from Triple-A Nashville.

While the novelty of a pitcher with a weird glove who can throw with both arms was certainly real, Venditte’s talent at the major league level was still uncertain as the 29-year-old switch-pitcher made his major league debut Friday against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

He erased the questions surrounding him by throwing two scoreless innings in Oakland’s 4-2 loss, showing that his minor league success that earned him the summons was anything but a sideshow attraction. The outing made him the first ambidextrous pitcher to appear in the majors in 20 years and earned him a memorable congratulatory tweet from a teammate.

Pat Venditte became first MLB player to record an out as LHP and RHP in same inning since Greg Harris did so for Expos on Sept. 28, 1995.

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 6, 2015

Congrats on your debut @PatVenditte! (I wrote u this card with my right hand because I want to be ambidextrous too!) pic.twitter.com/HIO6RE8AmC

— Sean Doolittle (@whatwouldDOOdo) June 6, 2015

“You play it 1,000 times in your head how it’s going to happen, and I don’t really remember a whole lot,” Venditte told reporters. “Just a lot of emotions and being able to tell my family and friends that the work was starting to pay off.”

Venditte was gawked at by the baseball world from the start. As he warmed up in the bullpen, television cameras focused on him getting both arms loose. He is such a rarity even his unofficial pitches were newsworthy.

Once he entered the real thing, he was impressive. He gave up one hit and struck out a hitter in his two shutout innings, starting the seventh as a lefty and finishing it as a righty.

And, as could have been expected, confusion ensued the first time he faced a switch-hitter. Blake Swihart came to the plate in the eighth inning, and Venditte, per a rule that exists pretty much just for him, had to declare which arm he would use against Swihart. Venditte was not sure which way to go, though, and there was a bit of back and forth before he went right-handed and struck out Swihart, who hit left-handed.

The A’s are 11 games under .500 after the loss, and they were 10 under when they called up Venditte. Teams in that position could be accused of doing something like bringing up a circus act of a player for non-competitive reasons. Then again, the A’s had won nine of their previous 12 games and are trying to claw their way back into the American League West conversation.

They were not about to risk their momentum by throwing an undeserving Venditte a bone after he toiled in the minors for eight seasons, including 17 games of this current one. That is what September call-ups are for.

Venditte earned his way into the big leagues this year. Over 33 innings with Nashville, he had a 1.36 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and struck out nine hitters per nine innings.

He dominated left-handers with a .095/.136/.095 opponents’ slash line in 45 plate appearances. In 86 plate appearances against right-handers, he held them to a .208/.318/.306 line, showing he could get out hitters with either arm.

This was the kind of effectiveness the A’s saw in spring training. When they started him in the minors because of what began as a deep bullpen, it was with a watchful eye knowing they would eventually need his unique services.

“It’s one thing to be able to just throw a ball with both hands, let alone throw it pretty similar,” manager Bob Melvin told reporters during spring training. “The arm action is fairly the same. He moves it around a little bit. He impressed me.”

He also impressed the Red Sox, not to mention anyone who caught a glimpse of his effectiveness from both sides.

“That was truly amazing tonight,” Red Sox manager John Farrell told reporters. “To watch Venditte, it’s a remarkable thing to see what one person’s body is capable of doing. Even guys in the dugout were kind of marveling.

“It’s clear he’s able to get both lefties and righties with whatever arm he chooses. He’s got quality stuff.”

And the A’s need it. They started the game with one of the worst bullpens in baseball, and it’s been a huge reason the team is 3-15 in one-run games. Its 4.86 ERA entering Friday was the worst in the majors, and its minus-0.1 FanGraphs WAR was third worst. 

The bullpen has to find a corner and turn it if the A’s are going to become a relevant team within their division. They were expected to contend, but they’ve been a disappointment to this point of the season, falling 11.5 games out of first place and 7.5 games out in the wild-card standings.

Venditte is not a novelty. He is not a freak show. He is a quality reliever, and the A’s are in serious need of those.

Assuming he continues being a big-time run preventer, Venditte could assist with the shove the A’s need to get themselves trending upward permanently.

All quotes, unless otherwise specified, have been acquired firsthand by Anthony Witrado. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.

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Before Tuesday, the Texas Rangers knew they had an elite power-hitting prospect in 21-year-old third baseman Joey Gallo. What they didn’t know is how he looked in real, live major-league action.

Well, now they do. And they have every reason to be excited.

Very, very, very excited.

If you missed it, Gallo’s major league debut went down on Tuesday evening against the Chicago White Sox at Globe Life Park in Arlington, and it was one for the books. Filling in for an injured Adrian Beltre, he led the Rangers to a 15-2 rout by going 3-for-4 with a walk and four RBI. His hits were the first single, double and home run of his career.

The homer was a two-run blast off Jeff Samardzija in the bottom of the third, and it looked a bit like this:

Sure looks like a bomb. And wouldn’t you know it, ESPN Stats & Info measured it as a bomb:

Though that was certainly the hardest ball off Gallo’s bat, it wasn’t the only one the lefty-swinging slugger hit hard. His single was a scorching ground ball that was too hot for Adam LaRoche, and his double was a missile to deep right-center that barely missed becoming his second homer.

If you’d heard about Gallo before Tuesday, none of this was surprising. If you hadn’t, well, just know that these hard-hit balls were him living up to his billing.

As noted by Baseball-Reference.com, Gallo came into the 2015 season ranked as a top-15 prospect by MLB.com, Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus. There wasn’t even a shade of disagreement about his best asset.

Here’s a hint, in all caps for effect: ALL OF THE RAW POWER.

As Baseball America summed it up:

Tales of Gallo’s power sound like hyperbole, but scouts and coaches with 30-plus years of experience say Gallo hits balls as far as nearly anyone they have ever seen…Gallo has easy, top-of-the-scale 80 raw power on the 20-80 scouting scale, which he generates with quick hands, premium bat speed and plenty of strength, leveraging the ball with majestic loft and backspin.

Before everything described here was on display at Globe Life Park in Arlington, it was on display in the minors from the moment Gallo was drafted 39th overall back in 2012.

That year, Gallo slugged .660 with 22 home runs in just 59 games in the low minors. The next year, he slugged .623 with 40 home runs in 111 games. In 2014, the Rangers moved him up to High-A and Double-A, and he didn’t slow down with a .615 slugging percentage and 42 homers in 126 games.

This brings us to 2015, and Gallo’s finest work yet.

In just 34 games at Double-A, he slugged .636 with nine home runs. And as his batted ball map from MLBfarm.com indicates, pretty much anything he hit to the outfield flirted with going over the wall:

That, folks, is what 80-grade power looks like from space. All Gallo needed to do was show that it could look just as impressive in a major league setting, and that mission was very much accomplished in his major league debut.

Of course, it wasn’t a perfect debut. On a not-so-bright side, Gallo also showed off the other thing he’s known for.

In Gallo’s fourth at-bat, he struck out against the lefty-throwing Dan Jennings. Along with lots of hard-hit balls, that’s another thing that major league fans are going to have to get used to seeing from Gallo. His career strikeout rate in the minor leagues is a whopping 33.9 percent.

That does indeed reflect an extreme swing-and-miss habit. That comes with the territory with Gallo’s swing, which is as long as it is hard. The whiffs are always going to be there, and that’s undoubtedly going to be his biggest limitation as a hitter.

Fortunately, any player who regularly crushes the ball when he puts it in play is going to be able to overcome a bad strikeout habit (see: Stanton, Giancarlo).

And as he showed with his eighth-inning walk on a close 3-2 pitch, another thing Gallo has is a good eye. Next to his huge minor league strikeout rate is a 14.8 walk percentage. That, also, is quite huge.

Add it all up, and what you get is a hitter who doesn’t project to hit for average but does project as a solid on-base guy who can flirt with 40- and 50-homer seasons—especially if Globe Life Park in Arlington remains a haven for lefty power hitters.

Of course, this is assuming Gallo sticks. As it was, Gallo’s debut hardly guarantees that he will. It was a fine tease of the hitter he could be, but not proof that he will be that hitter.

Beyond that, there’s the matter of how Gallo fits into the Rangers’ current plans.

No matter what Gallo does in the next two weeks, the Rangers aren’t going to nudge a future Hall of Famer like Beltre aside as soon as he’s healthy.

Elsewhere, there’s no room for him in left field (Josh Hamilton) or at first base (Mitch Moreland). He’s also certainly not seeing time at designated hitter as long as Prince Fielder is still standing (and raking).

That’s why Rangers general manager Jon Daniels made no promises, telling Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, “I hope we’re in that spot, that team is playing well and Joey puts us in position to have to make that call. We expect Joey to go back down and we’ve told Joey that as well.”

Still, for now we can play the “you never know” card.

Gallo was crushing the ball before he arrived in the major leagues and kept right on crushing in his major league debut. If he keeps that up in the next two weeks, the Rangers might have to do everything they can to keep him in an offense that’s quickly climbing the ranks of MLB’s best.

Regardless, the excitement of Gallo’s debut is worth hanging on to. Be it sooner or later, he looks like he’s going to be a good one.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted/linked.

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