Pittsburgh Pirates to Ronel Blanco: 10 early surprises from MLB season
Every MLB season brings its own set of surprises, some pleasant and others not. Two weeks after MLB opened its season in South Korea, here are 10 early surprises.
All records and stats are through Monday's games.
Pittsburgh Pirates are hot
At 9-2, the Pirates sit atop the NL Central. Pittsburgh has not made the postseason in nine years or won their division in 32 years. It's still super early, but there are plenty of encouraging signs for Pirates fans.
Shortstop Oneil Cruz and third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes could be the team's best duo since Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonilla in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Plus, the team's young core is among the best in the majors.
...and so are the Yankees
New York's 9-2 start has them tied with the Pirates for the best record in baseball. The Yanks went a pedestrian 82-80 and finished fourth last season in the AL East. The addition of Juan Soto was its lone big offseason move, but New York has quickly flipped the script on last season's debacle.
The big question now is: Can star slugger Aaron Judge — who said last year's toe injury still requires "constant maintenance" — stay in the lineup?
Anthony Volpe has found his bat
The 22-year-old shortstop is off to a blistering start for the Yankees, hitting .417 — nearly double his near-Mendoza line average from last season (.209). As the youngest prospect since Derek Jeter to make last year's Opening Day roster, Volpe started with hope and then devolved into a prolonged offensive malaise (167 strikeouts in 601 plate appearances). That makes this year's hot start all the more surprising.
Ronel Blanco's no-hitter
Pitching against the Blue Jays in only the eighth start of his career, the Houston Astros right-hander threw this season's first no-hitter on April 1. His pitching mastery continued with his second start, no-hitting the defending champion Rangers into the sixth inning Sunday night for 15 consecutive innings of no-hit ball.
Esteury Ruiz gets demotion
After making the A's 2023 Opening Day roster, the 25-year-old Oakland A's outfielder broke the AL rookie steals record, swiping 67 bases. However, after three hits, a stolen base and an RBI in his first 11 at-bats this season, Oakland shockingly demoted him to Triple-A.
UCLs failing fast
Cleveland Guardians' Shane Bieber and Miami Marlins righty Eury Perez are done for the season with UCL tears. Atlanta Braves Cy Young-favorite Spencer Strider looks headed for the same. Losing two aces and a promising young star in less than two weeks is a lot, even with UCL surgeries continuing to occur at a worrying rate.
Marlins and Chicago White Sox are combined 2-19
A slow start for these two isn't surprising, but their play has been awfully inept. They've each won one game, sport a combined minus-62 run differential and have yet to show any signs of their record being unrepresentative of their ability.
...but Garrett Crochet is dominating
The White Sox starter has dominated through three starts in his first season as a full-time starter. In 18 innings, the left-hander has allowed only four earned runs, struck out 21 and walked only one. Crochet has the White Sox's lone win.
Shota Imanaga is dominant, too
Another Chicago pitcher off to a blistering start is the Cubs' Imanaga, known as "The Throwing Philosopher" for his studious approach to the game. In 10 innings over his first two starts, the left-hander hasn't allowed a run or walk and has 12 strikeouts. His four-year, $53 million contract looks like a steal so far.
Cleveland Guardians are thriving without Terry Francona
Coming off a 76-86 season and entering their first season in over a decade without Terry Francona as manager, the Guardians would've been excused for starting slowly while establishing a new identity under rookie manager Stephen Vogt. Instead, they've bolted to an 8-2 start and lead the league with only 2.1 runs scored against them per game.
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