It’s easy to overreact to teams having fast starts in the early days of an MLB season. Postseason favorites can begin the grind a bit sluggishly, while teams that flew under the radar during the winter months can surprise the league with promising Aprils. Just this year we’ve seen teams like the Cleveland Indians and Los Angeles Dodgers limp from the starting line to mediocre records early on.
After notable offseason acquisitions for the Red Sox, Angels, and Mets, that trio of teams has exploded right out of the gates, with each franchise off to their best start in club history. Shohei Ohtani has stolen the show early on, putting questions lingering from a weak spring training to bed, for now. The oft-talked about Mets pitching staff is finally healthy, the very pitching staff that carried them to the World Series in 2015. The early returns on Alex Cora’s culture changes to the Red Sox have proven successful as well, with contributions coming up and down the lineup, in addition to the Sox starting rotation owning the top ERA in baseball.
Let’s dive deeper into what has caused the spark for these clubs early on, starting with the Angels.
Angels (13-3): The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim had one of the better offseasons of any team in the majors this past winter, slinging a number of quality deals to sure up shortcomings in their lineup and up the middle. Signing Zack Cozart away from Cincinnati has paid early dividends to the tune of a .789 OPS, and he also brought versatility to the infield when he slid over to second base after Ian Kinsler, another veteran signed in the offseason, went down because of injury on opening day. Justin Upton, the owner of arguably the most under-the-radar offseason nine-figure deal in recent memory, has provided a huge lift (.291, 4 HR, 11 RBI), as has the ageless Albert Pujols (.282, 3 HR 9 RBI). Ohtani, the splash of the offseason in LA, has at the very least met his astronomical expectations, if not surpassed them. The heralded “Babe Ruth of Japan” has slashed .367/.424/.767 with three homers and 11 RBI, but he’s been just as successful, if not better, on the mound. He’s won both of his starts, took a no-hitter into the later innings in one of them, and has fully looked the part early on after a less than stellar spring training. This is all with Mike Trout hitting for a .266 avg. If the Angels bullpen maintains its MLB 6th-best 2.45 ERA, then the Houston Astros might have something to think about down the stretch.
Mets (12-3): The manner in which the Mets core is constructed lies ultra-heavily on the pitching, both in the bullpen and in the starting rotation, where the Metropolitans bring the bacon. After a rash of season-ending injuries befuddled the Mets’ hope of contention in 2017, the entire rotation is back and has aspirations of being the best in baseball again. Only Matt Harvey has an ERA over 4.00, as Steven Matz, Noah Syndergaard, Jacob DeGrom, and Zach Wheeler have all returned to form for first-year manager (and former pitching coach) Mickey Callaway. New York got a surprise boost by the return of Michael Conforto, who was expected to be out at least until May. There were questions about what kind of player Conforto would be in his return, as the brutal shoulder injury he rehabbed from has ended careers for many players prior. He has responded by showcasing a .852 OPS through 10 games. Todd Frazier has hit well so far (.313/.453/.542, 11 RBI) and has also added stability at third base, something Mets fans have yearned for in light of David Wright’s laundry list of injuries. Keep in mind that Yoenis Cespedes has hit just .186/.262/.356 so far. This pace might not be sustainable, but crazier things have happened, and the Nationals look far from invincible right now.
Red Sox (13-2): After an explosive 2016 for the Red Sox offense, just about every player took a significant step back at the dish in 2017, as Boston’s hitting tumbled from best in the bigs to below league average in run scoring. With that, a change in approach was advised, so the Sox went out and hired Alex Cora, a young coach known for emphasizing an analytical approach. Early on, the Red Sox have been swinging earlier in counts, and that adjustment has led to the Sox ranking second in the majors in runs (89), batting average (.275), and OPS (.975). J.D. Martinez, the club’s prized signee, has been solid at the dish (.268/.306/.518), and Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts have looked in command in the box, smacking doubles to all fields with impressive exit velocities. Red Sox starting pitchers lead the majors with a 2.06 ERA, but Cora has been careful with how much work he’s given his horses, as the starters have thrown just 70 innings so far. Boston already has multiple come-from-behind victories, including a surprising six-run outburst to come from behind and defeat the Rays in the eighth inning over a week ago. The red-hot Sox are off to a torrid start, and this has been sans-Dustin Pedroia and Drew Pomeranz.
SportSmart 