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With the new bat speed metrics unveiled this week at MLB.com, a lot of smart folks have dissected them thoughtfully in hopes of figuring out what is useful and what might not be. In his The Advance Scout newsletter, Noah Woodward noted the skill of Freddie Freeman with his approach at the plate, and how the Dodgers first baseman is able to be more direct to the ball.

“He’s able to meld strong decision making with an adaptable swing in ways that no other hitter can,” Woodward wrote. “You can see this ability in his wide bat speed distribution.”

Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz is off to an incredible start this season. He’s hitting .270/.370/.503 with nine home runs, a 145 wRC+, and we already saw his impact on the bases in the series opener. On Thursday, De La Cruz had four hits and four stolen bases, just the second such game ever at Dodger Stadium (Houston outfielder Gerald Young was the first, in 1987).

De La Cruz was the first person with four steals in a game against the Dodgers since old friend Jayson Werth in 2009.

With 30 stolen bases through Friday — 13 more than anyone else in the majors — De La Cruz on pace to steal an eye-popping 108 this season, a number unreached in the majors since 1987, when Vince Coleman’s 109 steals marked his third triple-digit-steal season in a row.

Sam Miller at his Pebble Hunting newsletter this week was enamored with De La Cruz’s daring on the basepaths, harkening back to the style of the 1980s. “Watching somebody steal 100 bases (or even 80 bases) with intention is a tremendously exciting pursuit,” Miller wrote.

The last year anyone stole even 80 bases was 1988, when both Rickey Henderson (93 steals) and Coleman (81) did so.

Noted grifter Frank McCourt, who dragged the Dodgers into bankruptcy before selling for over a billion dollars in profit more than a decade ago, now has a plan to buy TikTok. I don’t really care about what his plan is, nor has he earned any reason for anyone to trust him, but my favorite part about this story was Ben Smith at Semafor describing McCourt as a “tech critic.”

It’s easy to see why Mayer or Bowers might not be stoked to be on the same team. They are two top tight ends who are very young and want to be the lead guy. For now, Bowers thinks the two will form a great duo.

“We’ve definitely been watching a little bit of that and just seeing what they did well and trying to translate to our game over here,” Bowers said during his May 10 media availability.

“If you have two great tight ends, I think it’s really hard to match that, personnel-wise, in order to defend against the pass and the run. So, I mean, I think it makes it difficult for defensive personnel.”

Two tight ends can work but offensive coordinator Luke Getsy needs to be creative in his approach. Using Bowers as a wide receiver could be an option as he’s a bit more athletically gifted than Mayer.

Austin Boyd has covered the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Lakers for Heavy.com since 2019. A Los Angeles native now based in Las Vegas, his featured work at Heavy includes interviews with NFL stars Darren Waller and Joe Montana, and a behind-the-scenes look at “The Shop.” More about Austin Boyd