One month doesn’t make a season—but it sure can be a sign of what’s to come in the future. We took a look at a few players and teams that started the 2015 season on a most positive note, and also those that are already slumping.
Hot
4. Kansas City Royals
The Royals aren’t just hot in terms of wins. Some players are hot under the collar, too. The feel-good bunch of 2014 are now the bad boys of 2015— having engaged in multiple beanball wars. One such incident, against the White Sox, got Yordano Ventura and Lorenzo Cain suspended.
The results, though, remain unchanged. Kansas City keeps winning—and maintains the best run differential in the majors.
3. St. Louis Cardinals pitching
Most pitching staffs can’t withstand the loss of a starter like Adam Wainwright. Even though the Cards lost their ace for the rest of the season to a Achilles injury, St. Louis can’t lose much confidence. Wainwright was certainly a major contributor in giving the Cardinals a league-low 2.40 earned run average (ERA).
But Michael Wacha and Carlos Martinez have carried the load with a 7-0 start, while Lance Lynn is tops in the majors with 26 strikeouts. And regarding the back-end of the bullpen, Trevor Rosenthal has converted on all eight of his save chances.
Somehow, the Cardinals continue to find ways to get it done—year after year.
2. Nelson Cruz/Hanley Ramirez
This MLB season was met with an April shower of home runs—many of them coming from two players on new teams. Hanley Ramirez is enjoying a Red Sox uniform, and has 10 homers to his name. Nelson Cruz, now with the Mariners, joins Ramirez at the top of the major league leaderboard. His bat was especially blazing in the opening week when he went deep in five consecutive games.
1. Dallas Keuchel
Coinciding with the early emergence of the first-place Houston Astros is the further development of their 27-year-old right-hander. Coming off a 12-win performance in 2014, Keuchel is on the fast track to besting that total. A 3-0 record isn’t nearly as impressive as a 0.73 ERA and a 0.73 WHIP. His stamina is also noteworthy—all but one appearance has resulted in stays of at least seven innings.
Not
4. Cleveland Indians
A popular pick to reach the postseason is quickly trending downward. The Indians are among baseball’s worst in terms of team batting average, runs scored, and runs allowed. Defending Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber is 0-3 and has an ERA north of 4.00. And now struggling Cleveland is dead last in the AL Central as it watches Detroit and Kansas City create plenty of space in the standings.
3. Washington Nationals defense
Its widespread mistake-prone fielding has resulted in a league-high 24 errors. But the man on Washington with the biggest penchant for stone hands is Ian Desmond. While his hitting has been less than impressive, his play at shortstop leaves even more to be desired.
Desmond has already committed nine errors—ranging from botched pop-ups to mishandled ground balls to poor throws.
2. Chase Utley
There’s no surprise that the aging Phillies are sitting in the cellar. The decline of their second baseman, however, is an eyebrow-raiser. Utley actually leads the team in RBIs (11), but doesn’t have much else going for him. His on-base percentage (.198) is frighteningly bad. His batting average (.114) is even worse.
1. David Buchanan
It’s seems wrong to pick on another member of the Phillies. But when you are 0-5 with an 8.76 ERA and 15 walks in 24.2 innings pitched, you just can’t avoid being on the bottom of this list. The only thing that could be worse than that dreadful line is the fact that the Phillies don’t have enough talent to replace him in the rotation—even though they should.