Mariners Moose Tracks, 5/25/18: Mike Zunino, Shohei Ohtani, and Welington Castillo

Good morning everyone! Solo: A Star Wars Story was very good, and that’s all I’ll say about that. The Mariners were not as good, sadly. But that’s OK, because they’ve got another shot today. For now, let’s get you some links to help you get through the day.

In Mariners news...

• Lookout Landing alum Brendan Gawlowski analyzed the effectiveness of Mike Zunino’s swing. ($)

Around the league...

• Major League Baseball has finally admitted that the baseballs are juiced, but they supposedly don’t know why.
• Looks like the Angels are skipping Shohei Ohtani’s start this week to try to preserve his arm.

• The Rays are really doubling down on this whole “opener” idea.

• The Lehigh Valley IronPigs have made their pitch to recruit NBA superstar LeBron James, who is set to be a free agent this summer. I just think it’s funny to imagine how angry the 76ers would be if LeBron got swiped by the local minor league team.
• It seems that people were very impressed by Welington Castillo’s honesty.

• MLB Daily Dish wonders if Tommy John surgery is becoming more common among top young arms.
• Travis Sawchik at Fangraphs notes that the Astros’ starting rotation is on pace to be the best of all time. But really, who’s surprised?

Anders’ picks...

• Competitive horses are stupid expensive, jeez.