10 things that surprised us in the first month of the MLB season
Peace out, April. You were fun. You helped us start another year of baseball and we’ll remember you fondly for your small-sample sizes and early-season hilarities. We’re off to May now, heading toward the summer, when things around MLB get a bit more serious.
Before we do that, though, The Stew thought we owed the surprises of April a look-back. The thing about April surprises, sometimes they’re precursors of what’s to come, sometimes they’re fun little anecdotes we’ll recall in September when the season has taken shape. Remember when the Astros were good? Remember when Devon Travis looked like the Rookie of the Year and Chris Archer looked like an AL Cy Young candidate?
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We’ll spend the upcoming months figuring out whether those things will actually happen, but for now, The Stew’s Chris Cwik and Mike Oz have collected 10 of their favorite April surprises.
THE ASTROS KICKING APRIL’S BUTT
Here are the teams that won more baseball games in April than the Houston Astros:
See that. Nobody. The Astros finished the month 15-7, which tied them with the Kansas City Royals for the best record in the AL. They’ve won seven in a row, so a late-month hot streak obviously helps thing. But the Astros are 10-2 on the road and Dallas Keuchel has emerged as an ace. We knew they’d contend eventually, but maybe this year, in a so-far subpar AL West, eventually has arrived. (Mike Oz)
THE GIANTS GOING FROM CHAMPS TO CHUMPS
The reigning champs have looked more like chumps in April. Offensively, the San Francisco Giants (9-13) have scored just 66 runs, ranking them second-to-last in the National League. Hunter Pence is set to return soon, and that should help, but this team needs to start playing better if it wants to disprove the whole even year/odd year theory. (Chris Cwik)
MIKE MOUSTAKAS EMERGING, FINALLY
Has Kansas City Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas finally turned the corner? Well, the only players that have been more valuable to their teams this season are Mike Trout and Matt Carpenter, based on fWAR. Moustakas, 26 and a former No. 2 overall pick, hit .356 in April with a .942 OPS. Neither of those will hold, obviously, but the bigger question is whether this is a real breakout. Moustakas hadn’t become the star the Royals had hoped in his first few seasons, even getting sent to Triple-A last year. After a strong postseason, though, Moustakas is now showing a more refined approach at the plate, which seems to suggest this isn’t just small-sample size fun. (Oz)
CHASE UTLEY SLUMPING BIG TIME
Is this the end for Utley? Probably not. The 36-year-old is hitting just .114 over 81 plate appearances through April, but there’s evidence things will be just fine. Utley’s peripherals are in line with his career rates, but his BABIP is just .102 thus far. Things will get better for Utley, but not necessarily for the Philadelphia Phillies. (Cwik)
DEVON TRAVIS MAKING US LEARN HIS NAME
The out-of-nowhere star of April is Toronto Blue Jays rookie second baseman Devon Travis, whose .325/.393/.625 start with six homers and 19 RBIs is better than anybody in Toronto was hoping when they got Travis in a November swap with the Detroit Tigers. Travis’ OPS is 1.018, which is silly for a 5-foot-9. 13th round draft pick. (Oz)
JERED WEAVER GETTING LIT UP
Through five starts, Jered Weaver sits at 0-3, with a 5.83 ERA. Things haven’t been good. Weaver’s never been a hard thrower, but he’s averaging just 84.3 mph on his fastball this season. That’s down from 86.7 mph last year. His strikeout rate is way down as well, and he’s already given up six home runs. If the Angels want to contend, they are going to need their ace to turn things around. (Cwik)
THE METS DOMINATING THE NL EAST
The New York Mets aren’t the buzz of baseball like they were two weeks ago. They’ve come back to Earth a bit after their red-hot start. They’ve lost three in a row and are 5-5 in their last 10 games. Buuuuut they’re still 15-8 and 4.5 games up in the NL East, the only over-.500 team in the division. Those 15 wins tie the Mets with the St. Louis Cardinals for most in the NL in April. You just have to figure the Washington Nationals (10-13) will get better and challenge the Mets, but for now Queens has to be really happy about how the first month shaped up. (Oz)
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JON LESTER NOT LOOKING LIKE AN ACE
The Chicago Cubs made Jon Lester one of the biggest free-agent signings of the winter, getting the ace they need to sit atop their rebuild. So far, not so much. Lester is 0-2 in four starts with a 6.23 ERA. We’re not suggesting the Cubs whiffed by signing Lester, we suspect he’ll even out over time, but the early returns haven’t been fruitful. (Oz)
CHRIS ARCHER TAKING THE ACE THRONE IN TAMPA BAY
The Rays may have traded David Price last season, but they appear to have a new ace now. Archer has been fantastic over five starts, posting a miniscule 0.84 ERA. There’s a lot to like about his numbers, too. Archer’s strikeout rate is down, his walk rate is up and he’s getting ground balls at an extremely high rate. His slider, which has always been a strong pitch, has really taken a step forward. Archer could be a big reason to believe in the Rays’ hot start. (Cwik)
JOC PROVING HE CAN TAKE A WALK
A month into his major-league career, Pederson, the Los Angeles Dodgers rookie, is showing off some Adam Dunn qualities. Sure, he’ll strike out often, but he’s been able to balance that by taking 17 walks and slugging .596. Pederson probably won’t hit near .300 as the year wears on, but he’s already displayed enough skills to prove he belongs in the majors. He might be hitting leadoff now, but he’s going to be a force in the middle-of-the-order very soon. (Cwik)
HONORABLE MENTIONS
• The Cleveland Indians buying in to the SI curse.
• The fourth-place Nats wanting every baseball writer’s World Series prediction to burn.
• Jose Iglesias impressing us with his bat and not just his glove.
• Edwin Encarnacion, Russell Martin and Jose Bautista struggling to hit above the Mendoza line.
• Dee Gordon not regressing now that he’s with the Marlins.
• Lorenzo Cain proving his postseason wasn’t a fluke.
• The Milwaukee Brewers winning only five games. Oof.
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
