MLB Weekly Wrap-up (Week of 4/6/15)
Spring has arrived, and with that comes the return of America’s pastime, baseball! The 2015 MLB season got underway this past week after much anticipation. Two teams managed to get through the first week unscathed: the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals (both of the American League Central) have records of 6-0. Speaking of the AL Central, the Cleveland Indians have already suffered a key injury to their starting catcher, Yan Gomes, who is expected to miss 6-8 weeks with an MCL sprain. This is a critical loss for the Indians, because not only is Gomes arguably the best-hitting catcher in the AL, but he is also the man behind the plate handling the team’s pitching staff. With the Tigers and Royals jumping off to fast starts, it’s possible the Indians could be in a deep hole by the time Gomes is healthy.
In the National League, it has been a rough start for reigning MVP Clayton Kershaw. The Los Angeles Dodgers ace has struggled in each of his first two starts: 6 innings pitched, 6 hits, 3 earned runs, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts against the San Diego Padres in a no-decision; 6.1 IP, 10 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 5 SO against the Arizona Diamondbacks in a loss. This is a far cry from the nearly unhittable pitcher we saw a year ago, with the 21-3 record, 1.77 earned run average, and 239 SO. It’s still early in the season, so there is no reason to panic, but Kershaw certainly has not found his stride just yet.
New York Yankees 3rd baseman Alex Rodriguez made his return to baseball last week after missing all of 2014 with a season-long suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs. A-Rod’s return was met with skepticism around baseball, but he has been a key bat in the Yankees offense. Serving primarily as the designated hitter, Rodriguez has posted a .300 batting average, with 1 home run and 6 runs batted in so far. His teammates may have welcomed him back with open arms, but the front office has not. Rodriguez is now five home runs away from tying Willie Mays for 4th on the all-time list with 660. Upon reaching this milestone, the Yankees would owe A-Rod a $6 million bonus. However, the team is prepared to go to arbitration to avoid paying this bonus, sighting the fact that A-Rod’s PED use has tainted his numbers. It will be interesting to see how that situation plays out if and when Rodriguez hits #660.
Hottest Team: Detroit Tigers (6-0 last week)
Image courtesy of sportslogos.net
The Tigers came out of the gates on fire. They are hitting the cover off the ball and shutting down opposing offenses, and as a result, they have the best run differential in baseball (+31). The pitching staff, behind starters David Price and Anibal Sanchez, started off the season with back-to-back shutouts. Detroit followed that up by only allowing one run in their third game. The pitching was only average this past weekend against the Indians, but the offense picked up the slack, scoring 25 runs over the three-game series. Four everyday starters are currently hitting .440 or higher, led by Miguel Cabrera, who is batting .520 with 2 HR and 8 RBI. The World Series contenders are certainly looking like such after the first week.
Coldest Team: Miami Marlins (1-5 last week)
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Many expected the Marlins to be a playoff contender this season. After surprisingly hanging around in the wildcard race deep into the summer last year, the Marlins locked up star slugger Giancarlo Stanton with a 13-year $325 million deal in the offseason. Stanton, along with a promising young corps of players around him, had Marlins fans feeling good about the upcoming season. However, there hasn’t been much to cheer about in Miami so far. The Marlins were swept at home by the Atlanta Braves, a team that is building for the future after offseason trades of several star players. Then, the Marlins dropped two out of three at home to the Tampa Bay Rays, who are expected to be cellar dwellers in the AL East. If the losses continue to mount, it will be interesting to see if owner Jeffrey Loria can practice patience and avoid another one of his annual fire sales.
Best Hitter: Adrian Gonzalez – Dodgers (.609 AVG, 5 HR, 7 RBI last week)
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports
Adrian Gonzalez had an incredible opening week, the likes of which MLB has never seen before. The Dodgers 1st baseman became the first player ever to record 5 HR in his first three games. Three of those home runs came in a win against the Padres last Wednesday. It’s crazy to think that Gonzalez has actually cooled down to a .609 average over these past few games. He was sitting at .769 following that series against the Padres. He hasn’t driven in a run since then, but no other player came close to matching Gonzalez’s overall output over the first week of the season.
Best Pitcher: Sonny Gray – Athletics (1-0, 0.59 ERA, 7 SO last week)
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports
The Athletics have gotten off to a bit of a slow start, but that is no fault of Sonny Gray. He took the ball on opening day and pitched 8 shutout innings, allowing just 1 hit and 1 walk in an 8-0 win over the Texas Rangers. He followed that up by working 7.1 innings last Saturday allowing just 1 earned run against the Seattle Mariners. He exited that game with a two-run lead, only for the bullpen to spoil it and lose the game 5-4. Gray isn’t a high-volume strikeout pitcher, but he is the ace of a solid rotation, and he is as reliable as they come.
-Danny Rinehart
