The Good, The Bad, and The Downright Strange: A look back at an eventful opening week in Baseball (By Jake Reagan)
It’s just over a week into the MLB season so naturally, it’s time for overreactions because it’s still cold, snowing and March Madness is over so what else is there to do? Through the first week, there has been oddities, as there always are in baseball. A bald eagle landed on a Canadian pitcher, Gabe Kapler seems like he’s brand new to the sport, and Edwin Encarnacion rumbled to an inside-the-park homer sans parrot; who knows what could happen during the rest of this year.
As unpredictable as the season can be, there are a few outcomes that seem more like eventualities. The Dodgers and Astros will win the West, the Central will belong to the Indians and Cubs, and the NL East will be conquered by the Nationals. What’s not so certain, is which teams will slot into the remaining two Wild Card spots. It’s not much of a reach to say that the second-place finisher between the Red Sox and Yankees for the AL East will claim a spot; there is just too much offensive and pitching firepower for it not to happen. After that, who knows?
While the AL Wild Card race seems to be for only one spot, the NL is completely wide open with a large field vying for a bid. Last year’s winners, the Rockies and Diamondbacks, look hungry for another run. The NL Central looks like an absolute gauntlet and the NL East might just sneak up on everyone. Some of these teams have known superstars like Arenado, Goldschmidt and Syndergaard, but it will be the lesser known guys who will have to make the difference.
In the AL, there only two potential Wild Card teams after the Red Sox/Yankees runoff; those teams are the Minnesota Twins and the Los Angeles Angels.
The Twins seem like the best kept secret in baseball. Somehow, guys like Brian Dozier, Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano have stayed out of the brightest limelight to this point in their careers. Minnesota garnered attention this offseason by being one of the busiest teams of the winter. They collected Jake Odorizzi from Tampa Bay, signed former Card Lance Lynn, and signed Logan Morrison for a price so low that my super bargain shopping mother would’ve be impressed. The Twins are top five in the AL in run differential at the moment, which should shock no one as they led the league post -All-Star break in the category during 2017. Long story short, the Twins can score. Their issue last year was their lack of elite pitching talent. Ervin Santana was their go-to ace as he hurled a career year. Depending on another phenomenal season from an aging veteran is not a recipe for success; the Twins need 23-year-old Jose Berrios to take over and become the true ace in Minnesota. Performances like his complete game shutout of the Orioles on April 1st need to become routine if the Twins want another shot at an AL East team in the Wild Card.
The Angels certainly have solidified themselves as a squad with star-power. Mike Trout is the second coming of Mickey Mantle, Albert Pujols is the Godfather of hitting the ever-loving crap out of the ball, and Shohei Ohtani can apparently just do whatever the hell he wants on a diamond. LA has scored the second most runs in the MLB through their first eight games and offense should continue to be a strong suit for the team throughout the year. Anderlton Simmons and Kole Calhoun headline the exceptional defense the Angels have behind their starting staff, but therein lies the issue: the starting staff. If the Angels, like the Twins, want to make a run into the Wild Card, they need a consistent starting rotation, something they have been completely unable to compose the past couple of years. So, the player that the Angels need most to preform, does not yet play for them. The team has only played eight games and Blake Parker, a member of their starting five, has already gone down for the year. Matt Garza, Ubaldo Jimenez and John Lackey are all still on the free agent market, but a pitching savior doesn’t seem to be obvious for the Angels.
Heading to the NL East, the key player for the Mets is shockingly not a certain pitcher named Matt Harvey; clearly, the ball club can succeed despite the Dark Knight. Brandon Nimmo will be the man to watch in Queens. The outfielder is so valued by the organization, that the team rejected a trade for Andrew McCutchen which involved shipping Nimmo to Pittsburgh. Brandon will slot in as the Mets fourth outfielder behind Cespedes, Conforto and Bruce; three pieces which drive the New York offense. Nimmo needs to make sure the offense doesn’t sputter without one of the three starting outfielders in the lineup.
For the Phillies, Maikel Franco and his bat must play a major role in games if the upstart, ahead-of-schedule club has any hope of sneaking into a Wild Card spot. Prior to the home run barrage of Rhys Hoskins last year, and the market-shaking deal of Scott Kingery in March, Franco was viewed as the future of the organization. He slashed .255/.306/.427 with 25 home runs and 88 RBI in 2016, his first full season. It should be noted that the Phillies lost 91 games that year. Due to the extremely young core around him, Maikel has become a young veteran in only his third full season with the team. His bat and attitude need to be a rallying point, his abuse of the baseball and of Marlins pitchers over this weekend’s series, is a great place to start.
In the NL West, the Diamondbacks and Rockies (especially the Diamondbacks who are 6-2 currently), may scare a lot of the folks that picked the Dodgers to run away with the division. Both showed that they were playoff caliber last year, winning 93 and 87 games, respectively. The teams both did a good job retaining the core which led them into October. Archie Bradley of the D-Backs, who famously belted a two-run triple in the Wild Card game last year against the Rockies, will be an impact arm out of the Arizona pen. Last season, in his first year out of the rotation, Bradley had miniscule ERA of 1.73 in 73 innings. He posted a 1.04 WHIP and 25 holds. Bradley’s ability to shorten games will be valuable for the D-Backs, especially down the stretch of the playoff run.
Continuing the pitching theme, Wade Davis, Bryan Shaw and Jake McGee are the impact players for the Rockies. All three are veteran arms who have experience in high-leverage situations. There is not much analysis required to figure out that Coors Field wears down arms and jacks up ERAs. These three dudes need to shorten ball games when the Rockies have the lead to save the Colorado staff as much as they can.
To the deepest division in baseball, the NL Central. The Cubs should take the division with all their talent and Postseason experience. But, behind them are the new-look Brewers, the tradition-laden Cards and the all-but-forgotten Pirates. The Brewers had a busy offseason, making big splashes by roping in Lorenzo Cain to patrol centerfield, and acquiring Christian Yelich during the Marlins sell-off. Johnathan Villar, their infield utility man, will be an important piece for the Brew Crew. Villar had a down year in 2017, but hit in the mid-.280s during 2015 and ’16. He put 19 balls over the fence in 2016 and 11 in ’17. If Villar can give the team that kind of pop, play three different positions, and replicate the OBP he had in ’16 (.457), he will be an absolute terror off the bench. Oh, and by the way, he’s swiped 85 bags in the past two seasons.
Paul DeJong inked a deal this offseason which will keep him a Cardinal until at least 2025. He finished second in the 2017 Rookie of the Year voting. He also is one of the lesser known shortstops in a league filled with Lindors, Correas and Machados. DeJong had an OPS of .857 last year and has shown through the first week of this season that 2017 was no fluke. He has an OPS over 1.000 so far and 3 of his first 10 hits have been dingers. DeJong will be an All-Star and household name by October; because of that, the Cards will be in the heat of the playoff chase.
Last, and contrary to popular belief, not least, the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Bucs have been given the worst odds of any team on this list to win the National League, and worst to win the World Series. A 6-1 record out of the gate won’t win any rings, but it’s sure fun to talk about. If Pittsburgh makes the playoffs, or even make a push, it’ll be because of Gregory Polanco. Most of the sport decided that the Pirates wouldn’t be worth watching once they traded Gerrit Cole and Andrew McCutchen this offseason. Polanco’s performance so far in 2018 may be cause for some more eyes on the Bucs. Though it’s only been a week, Polanco has crushed the ball. He holds a slugging percentage of .680 and an astonishing OPS of 1.121. Two home runs, four doubles and one single have come off his bat so far, netting a league leading 11 RBI. The Bucs core is young, and their stars may play for other teams now but Josh Harrison and Starling Marte still share the field in Pittsburgh, along with a young and very electric starting staff. Behind Polanco’s bat, the Pirates may be the surprise club of 2018.