Hot and cold MLB starts: Believe it or not?

Anderson has long been heralded as the shortstop of the future in Chicago. But as recently as this past winter, that was up for debate, as the club pursued Manny Machado and floated the idea of moving Anderson off the keystone following two underwhelming years at the plate (.683 OPS since 2017) and with the glove (48 errors over the past two years). But he has come into his own in 2019, leading the American League in batting average and stolen bases, doing so with an undeniable (and sometimes contentious) flare for the moment.

Although the push to quantify any and everything in baseball with a statistic is likely here to stay, the notion of the World Series hangover is real. I don’t care what anybody says. Ask the Chicago Cubs or the San Francisco Giants. Currently, the Red Sox look to be the next champions to carry that burden, as they finish April in fourth place, having won as many as three consecutive games only once. The good news is that they are far too talented to stay this bad for long, as Mookie Betts, Chris Sale and Rafael Devers have all begun to show signs of life over the last week.

A year ago, the Rays won arguably the quietest 90 games in years, propelled by a powerhouse second half in which they went 45-21. The momentum has carried over to the new year as well, as they own the American League’s best record. Armed with an everyday attack that can impact from all angles and a well-rounded (and deep) pitching staff, regardless of who it shares a division with, it's time to believe in this ballclub.

Bellinger currently sits atop each Triple Crown category, highlighted by an incredible .427 batting average. While his exceptional power and run production numbers should live on, it is that Ted Williams-like contact production that will eventually slow down. His average on balls in play (.385) and line drive average (.625) will come back to earth. Add in his historic propensity for swinging and missing taking an incredible leap forward, there’s likely a lesser — yet still impressive — form of Bellinger that lies ahead.

The NL East has been a regional bloodbath so far, with first and fourth place all separated by three games. Only the Phillies and Mets have in-division winning records so far, as much of the first month has allowed the clubs to beat up almost exclusively on each other — with the Marlins serving as the most frequent punching bag, to no surprise. Once the division is unleashed on the rest of the National League, it will be interesting to see how the chips stack up over the next month.

The Mariners burst out of the gate in 2019, stunning the baseball world by setting a new record for most consecutive games with a home run, with 23. Their early season offensive onslaught has seen them score over 20 more runs than any other team and stay atop the AL in home runs and total bases as well. But as was the case a year ago, Seattle is likely to head back to the pack sooner than later, as the Mariners have no regular hitting above .300 and their pitching is allowing the fourth-worst average against in the AL.

Stuck for years in the overcrowded Brewers outfield scene, Santana is making the most of his shot at a regular slot in the lineup. He has found that opportunity in Seattle, leading the AL in RBI through the first month of the season. Just two years removed from a 30-home run campaign, the 26-year-old slugger is showing signs of being the steal of the winter on the trade market.

Scherzer has gotten off to an uncharacteristically slow start, winning just one of his first six starts. However, there is much more smoke than fire here, as his strikeout rates have stayed high, his walks low and durability strong. A few more missed bats at the right time (opponents are hitting an absurd .353 against him with runners in scoring position), and Scherzer’s receipts will read as usual again.

The tandem crossed over the AL together as the return in the stunning Chris Archer trade last July, and now the two former top Pirates prospects are becoming poster boys for the cause of holding on tightly to young talent. Although Meadows is currently sidelined with a thumb injury, he hit .351 over his first 20 games, along with six home runs and 11 runs scored. On the mound Glasnow has roared out of the gates, going 5-0 with a 1.75 ERA, due in part to solving the control woes that hampered his Pittsburgh career. 

While the Giants as a whole haven’t been much to behold in Bruce Bochy’s final season, their bullpen has been effective. The relievers own the majors' lowest bullpen ERA at 2.79 and have been the fourth toughest to hit, with a .219 average against. However, with the starters averaging just 5.2 innings per outing, the workload could soon take its toll. And competitors are bound to come calling for the likes of Will Smith, Tony Watson, Sam Dyson and Mark Melancon as the pennant chase takes shape.

Alonso’s all-out assault on spring pitching has carried over into the regular season, as he has quickly become the heart of the Mets lineup. Alonso leads all MLB rookies in home runs, RBI and OPS and has quickly put to bed any of those concerns about his glove work, allowing him to be an everyday factor.

It has not been a banner year for relief pitching so far, especially among some of the league’s top anticipated contenders. With the league-wide save percentage hovering just south of 70 percent, sooner than later a needy GM is going to cave to the demands of the All-Star closer to come to the rescue. The Nationals (42 percent saves converted), Cubs (50 percent) and Braves (55 percent) stand chief among those that could use Kimbrel’s area of expertise, immediately.

The Indians made no secret of their openness to moving Kluber over the winter, an effort that may be more complicated now. Perhaps they knew something no one else did, as the two-time Cy Young winner has gotten rocked with stunning regularity so far. He has allowed 37 hits over 31 innings, along with a 5.81 ERA. Add in his horrible showing in the ALDS a year ago, and it may be safe to say the salad days for Kluber as an ace among aces have come and gone.

The last time the Rockies finished lower than third in runs scored in the National League? 2008, when they pulled in at eighth place. Yet so far in 2019, they are the 10th most productive offense in the NL and are hitting only .238. This has come amid uncustomary slow starts from Nolan Arenado, Charlie Blackmon, Daniel Murphy and Trevor Story, all of whom have roared back to their customary forms of late. The elite Rockies offense is on its way in short order.

Tatis Jr. forced the hand of the Padres coming out of the spring, as they bucked the new tradition of benching top prospects for financial gain in lieu of getting him to the majors to open the year. The 20-year-old prodigy has in turn rewarded that show of goodwill, hitting .300 with six home runs, six stolen bases and a .910 OPS over the first month of his career. He has lived up to the hype, and more.

Ramirez’ year has gotten off to a tough start, all around. After taking a nasty foul ball off his shin late in spring training, his season has been a complete disappointment so far. Ramirez is hitting just .188 with two home runs, a year after finishing third in AL MVP voting for a second consecutive year. However, there has been an inordinate amount of tough luck (his 90 mph average per contact is a career-best) and warning track outs, which indicate that he could be inches away from a return to form.

Center field in Oakland has become home to one of the most exciting defensive presences in the game in the new year. Nicknamed "Lazer Ramon" for the sniper-like throws he's capable of unleashing, Laureano is a nightly highlight package in the making. He has accounted for the most putouts among American League outfielders and has tallied five outfield assists already.

Reddick has long been a glovesmith and "glue guy" — the type of contributor who is key to completing the picture of elite teams such as the Astros. But what he has never been is a leading contributor at the plate night in and night out. A career .264 hitter with a .760 OPS, Reddick is operating well outside his depth at his team-best .341 average, a number that should tumble substantially in the near future.

Blessed with some of the best "stuff" in the game since he made his debut two years ago, Castillo is finally coming into his full potential. The 26-year-old's 1.45 ERA is among the lowest in the National League, and he is also holding opponents to the fewest hits per nine innings (5.2) and a .177 average against. A major secret to his success has been keeping the ball in the park as well; after allowing 28 homers a year ago (one for every six innings worked), he has let up just one over his first 36.2 in 2019.

The Yankees currently sit in second place in the AL East, which is a minor miracle considering the massacre of crucial injuries that have besieged their ranks. Fifteen Yankees have spent time on the injured list already this year, not the least of which being Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, Miguel Andujar, Luis Severino and Dellin Betances, all of whom stand to be gone well into the next month and beyond. But the silver lining is even at less than 50 percent of their potential; the Yanks have the first place Rays within their grasp by less than three games.

At just 37, new manager Rocco Baldelli is the same age or younger than a handful of active players — including his designated hitter, 38-year-old Nelson Cruz. But baseball’s youngest manager has quickly taken to the rigors of his new job, helping to lead the Twins to a turnaround that has them at the top of the AL Central standings. Buoyed by strong early showings from Jose Berrios, Eddie Rosario and Jorge Polanco, Baldelli’s ballclub has the look of one that could upset the Indians’ recent stranglehold on the AL Central crown.

Nola was last season's breakout story on the mound in the National League, posting an MLB-best 10 WAR en route to a third-place NL Cy Young Award finish. His encore season, however, has not gone anywhere near as well, as he has posted a rotund 5.68 ERA over his first six starts of the year with opponents hitting nearly .300 against him. However, it is far too early to fret, as Nola’s control has steadied out and he has allowed half of his runs against vs. one team: the Nationals.

Early returns from Darvish have done little to inspire hope that he could put a disastrous, one-win 2018 behind him. Although he has managed to up his win total already, his management of the strike zone has been horrendous, to put it nicely. Darvish’s 22 walks (in just 28 innings) are an MLB-worst, while he has finished six innings only once in six starts. Darvish may rally to be solid in Chicago, but the $126 million spent on his services is stinging more and more by the start.

Despite losing Paul Goldschmidt and A.J. Pollock over the offseason and missing Jake Lamb for much of the year to a quadriceps injury, the Diamondbacks offense has soared early in the year. With new additions Adam Jones, Eduardo Escobar and rookie Christian Walker providing some unexpectedly strong performances, Arizona has scored the third most runs in the National League. However, performances such as these (as well as Jarrod Dyson’s .900 OPS) are overwhelmingly likely to come back to earth and bring the D-Backs efforts along with them.

A shoulder injury cut deeply into his productivity in his first year in St. Louis, something that Ozuna is putting far in the rearview with early returns in 2019. Ozuna connected for his 10th home run on April 28, something he didn’t do until June 13 a year ago. If he can keep at this pace, not only will it continue to position the Cardinals well in the NL Central, but it will also re-position him for a prime payday as a top target on the open market following the season.

Walker Buehler and Jack Flaherty put on two of the most precocious rookie performances in recent memory last season. However, the new year has not been quite as kind, with both of them experiencing the expected ups and downs of the life of a young pitcher -— even ones as talented as them. With teams better understanding what to expect from the duo in Year 2, the onus now falls on them to make the regular adjustments to keep the upper hand, something both will be up to the challenge of meeting as the year goes on.

Yelich’s leap to MVP-level performer a year ago caught some off guard. But his encore performance thus far has been just as impressive, putting to bed any notions of him being a flash in the pan riser. Yelich tied the record for most home runs in April with 14 amid an all-out assault within the walls of Miller Park, where he has produced an obscene 1.811 OPS and tallied 13 of his 14 long balls.

A big part of the Red Sox's early struggles have come from Betts' substandard play. He hit under .300 in a month just once a year ago — when he hit .290 in June. He rallied by hitting .330 in July...and hit over. 350 in every other month. The bottom line is that Betts doesn’t have to win a batting title to help the Red Sox, because he does so many other things at an elite level. Mookie will be fine and will at the very least give a no-doubt contribution to turning things around in Beantown.

The Marlins are positioned in the worst possible place of any team in the game: in the first full year of a comprehensive rebuilding effort and placed in the game’s most talented division. There are few days from the bludgeoning of their place in the game’s hierarchy, as they are currently on pace to finish near 120 losses on the year.

The much-hallowed starting pitching of the Mets has been hit hard in the early going, with a 5.21 ERA as a group. This has been lowlighted by Noah Syndergaard, who sports a 6.35 ERA and is allowing 10.6 hits per nine innings. Jacob deGrom’s Cy Young defense has been a dubious one so far, featuring an elbow injury scare off the mound and his not working past the fifth inning during a three-game losing skid that goes back to April 9. However, this is far too talented of a collection, if healthy, to remain this bad throughout the year.