7 early breakout stars nobody saw coming

Plus: Ohtani has never hit a ball harder

Wednesday, April 24 View In Browser  TOP NEWS The breakout stars of April that nobody saw coming   The best part about the first month of the season is seeing which players turned their offseason work into huge early results, and sometimes it's the ones you were never expecting. Ohtani destroys 118.7 mph homer for hardest of his career J-Rod hits Texas-sized first HR of '24: 'I definitely did not miss it' Batting leadoff for the 1st time since '20, Trout goes deep Fried tosses 3rd career 'Maddux' ... just as his team predicted Change in 'mojo': How high socks helped snap KC's skid Buxton's first homer of '24 sets up Twins' first walk-off win Smith's slam, 6 RBIs lead D-backs' 14-run outburst vs. Cards J-Ram leaves both managers 'in awe' in Guards' MLB-leading 17th win MORE TOP NEWS TOP PERFORMANCES Mike Tauchman: 2-for-3, 2 HR, 4 RBIs, 2 R, 1 BB 1st 2 homers of season; 2nd career multihomer game Max Fried: 9 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 Ks, 92 pitches 3rd career "Maddux," 2nd in MLB this season Pavin Smith: 2-for-5, HR, 6 RBIs, 2B, 2 R 2nd career grand slam; new single-game high in RBIs Logan Webb: 8 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 Ks 19 consecutive scoreless IP; 7+ innings in 4 straight starts Riley Greene: 2-for-3, 2 HR, 3 RBIs, 2 R 1st career multihomer game PLAY A SPORCLE BASEBALL QUIZ! MORE FREE GAMES AT MLB PLAY MUST-SEE PLAY Michael Conforto contorted himself to make one of last night's top plays. MORE TOP PLAYS STAFF PICKS A friendship forged by fastballs 20 years in the making Brought together by one of the most hotly anticipated Draft prospect pitching matchups in history, two Justins -- Verlander and Orenduff -- have shared a special bond since they toed the rubber on the same day in April 2004. Flamethrower rears back ... and lights go out. Catcher not fazed Imagine you're about to catch a pitch from a guy who's been clocked at 104 mph and the lights go out right as he releases the pitch? That exact scenario happened in the Giants' bullpen Monday night. Furry new member of Nats booth provides collar commentary The Nationals' latest guest analyst had nothing to say in his debut on the air. That's OK: He was still a good boy. Nod your head if you're a fan of these awesome bobbleheads From trash monsters to bouncing pickles to Babe Ruth on a bicycle, every farm system has at least one awesome giveaway scheduled this season. Unstoppable college slugger back at it with 2-HR night Jac Caglianone's NCAA-record streak of nine straight games with a home run is over now, but don't think for one second the University of Florida star is on a cold streak. Sometimes flashing 98 in a social media video gets you a deal with the Red Sox What does it take to get noticed by a Major League team? For pitcher Danny Kirwin, all it took was one short video. A full day of live baseball on MLB Network Settle in for D-backs vs. Cardinals at 1 p.m. ET, Orioles-Angels at 4, Marlins-Braves at 7 and, to cap it all off, the conclusion of Padres-Rockies. MORE STORIES SCOREBOARD BOS 1 CLE 4 PHI 1 CIN 8 MIL 1 PIT 2 LAD 4 WAS 1 DET 4 TB 2 OAK 3 NYY 4 MIA 0 ATL 5 HOU 2 CHC 7 TOR 2 KC 3 CWS 5 MIN 6 ARI 14 STL 1 SEA 4 TEX 0 SD 4 COL 7 BAL 4 LAA 7 NYM 1 SF 5 © 2024 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. MLB trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball. Visit MLB.com. Any other marks used herein are trademarks of their respective owners. Please review our Privacy Policy. You (gahleexholly.hdhask@blogger.com) received this message because you registered to receive commercial email messages from MLB.com. Please add info@marketing.mlbemail.com to your address book to ensure our messages reach your inbox. If you no longer wish to receive commercial email messages from MLB.com, please unsubscribe  or log in and manage your email subscriptions. Postal Address: MLB.com, c/o MLB Advanced Media, L.P., 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.