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Seems like you could give everyone in Seattle an A+ for their first 5 games.  They've got six regulars SLG'ing .588 or better, and they have scored 5+ runs for five games in a row.  ... 9, 6, 12, 6, 5.  That is against 5 TOR pitchers.

Sideways Stat:  Oakland SP's fired 18 shutout innings in their 2-1 series win over the Angels.

We'll start at the top:

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DOMINGO SANTANA

Never hath a player done so much in so few gameth to convert me to the Denizenth side.  Aside from the .389/.476/1.000 slash line, he's done it is such a way as to garner attention:

• Spray chart all over the field, corner-to-corner (the grand slam was down the 1B line)
• Leading the M's in walk percentage, 7+ AB (except for EE)
• Only 25% swings outside the zone (the sweetest factor for me)
• 72% swings at strikes (60% or thereabouts the ML average)

He just keeps going up there with that violent Jose Canseco swing, both hands on the bat allllll the way around, and zinging hard-hit balls everywhere.  That's 50.0% hard-hit vs 8.3% soft-hit.

True, he's got a .444 BABIP.  Also true that he doesn't need a 1.000 slugging percentage to stick in the major leagues.  Early evidence coming way in on your side, amigos.  He's looked fantastic.

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TIM BECKHAM

Batting .500/.556/1.188.  Leaving us all wondering: As a #1 draft pick, is it too late for him to bloom into a star?

With him as with Santana, the plate discipline is out of this world.  Up to this year he had a 28% strikeout rate and 6% walk rate; this year it's 5% strikeout and 11% walk.  Heh!  Component plate disciple stats (chase rate etc) follow along nicely.

Dr. D has no idea whether it means anything; probably not.  Just wanted to publish his own opinion that Beckham has looked as solid as his numbers have.

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RYON HEALY (semi-fizzler)

Looks like the same dude to me, having run into an extra mistake pitch or two.  ... well, maybe one of two of those doubles file under "came ready to play."  But he's still got a 0.25 EYE in the midst of the carnage.

Of course Dr. D thinks Healy can play baseball in the first place, and at age "27 with experience" he's a whale of a nice bet this year anyway.

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OTHER SIZZLERS

Mallexx Smith has a triple, a homer, and a 225 OPS+ start.  Mitch Haniger has looked kind of cool by his own standards, hasn't he?  He is .294/.381/.588 with a normal BABIP.  After Saturday's game-winning HR* give credit to Jay Bruce who, if he gets on a roll, is another 30-homer man.  At age 31 (32 next month) it's not a stretch to ask him to find his 2016-17 (uninjured) form.

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FIZZLERS

Guys who are looking for their form include the aforementioned Jay Bruce and .... who else?  Edwin Encarnacion is 2-for-14 but has 4 walks (vs 4 K's) and 2 HBP's.  Narvaez has an 87 OPS+.  Dee Gordon, I guess; he's rolling a 36 OPS+.

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Leaving us where?  .... Leaving us wondering not, perhaps, whether 7.6 runs per game can last all summer, but at least whether it can last into Wade LeBlanc's start Sunday.

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Be Afraid,

Jeff