Mariners Moose Tracks, 4/29/18: Byron Buxton, Shaquem Griffin, and Tyler O’Neill

Luke is trapped in Tacoma, so this is John here with your links today. I’m headed out to have pancakes later this morning and am eagerly anticipating the maple syrup-laden malaise that will follow. Are y’all butter+syrup folk? Powdered sugar and berries? Or something more daring?

Anyways, I’m starving, here’s the news:

In Mariners News...

• Dee Gordon is the first Mariner to reach 10 stolen bases prior to the end of April since James Jones in 2014. That is excellent baserunning company, albeit shakier company for all other things center field related.
• Speed needn’t be limited to what your feet produce. Nelson Cruz is the first player in the entire Statcast era to hit the ball as hard, as often as he did yesterday.

• Down in Tacoma, Daniel Vogelbach beat the shift with his first home run of the AAA season.
• Scott Servais was typically eloquent in his reaction to the popular selection of UCF linebacker Shaquem Griffin in the NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks:

• We shouldn’t expect the Mariners to make any shifts with the starting rotation despite the extra day of rest on Monday.
• Former Mariner RHP Seth Frankoff built on his solid debut in the KBO.

Around the League...

• The hits keep coming for the Minnesota Twins, who just snapped an eight-game losing streak. Byron Buxton was diagnosed with a hairline fracture in his toe, throwing his immediate future into question. The Twins are also now without 3B Miguel Sanó, who is experiencing hamstring tightness.
• The Giants benefited from, well, something other than Kenley Jansen’s finest moment.

• Former Mariners prospect Tyler O’Neill was demoted to AAA after just 9 plate appearances with the Cardinals, and is still in search of his first big league hit.
• The Rays have been, well, confusing so far this year.

• The Yankees continued taking it to the Angels, as LA’s ace Garrett Richards was flooded by nine runs in just 1.2 IP in a blowout loss.
• After crushing a no-doubt home run last week, Jarrod Dyson went a different route with the ultra-rare bases-loaded bunt. It didn’t go quite as planned.
• Yasiel Puig will undergo x-rays after fouling a ball off his foot on Saturday.
• Jason Vargas has been activated off the DL to make his first start of the season.
• Mookie Betts left Boston’s game with hamstring tightness, which could be the only thing to slow both Betts’ MVP-level production so far and the Red Sox blazing hot start.

John’s Pick...

• It is of course one-handed Shaquem Griffin, because even as someone who has seen his football fandom lapse notably recently, this is the best.

• Correction, this is the best.