The Week That Was: April 10–16
We are now two weeks deep into the 2017 MLB season, and things are heating up.
Standings
Playoff Odds
National League
American League
Standout Performers
American League West:
- Jose Altuve, 2B, Houston Astros: 9 H, 7 BB, 4 SB, 12 TB
- James Paxton, LHP, Seattle Mariners: 15 IP, 17 K, 3 BB, 0 ER
National League West:
- Wil Myers, 1B, San Diego Padres: 10 H, 1 BB, 1 HR, 20 TB
- Clayton Kershaw, LHP, Los Angeles Dodgers: 8.1 IP, 8 K, 1 BB, 1 ER
American League Central:
- Jose Ramirez, 2B, Cleveland Indians: 11 H, 2 HR, 4 BB, 19 TB
- Matt Boyd, LHP, Detroit Tigers: 12 IP, 9 K, 4 BB, 1 ER
National League Central:
- Eric Thames, 1B, Milwaukee Brewers: 8 H, 5 HR, 2 BB, 24 TB
- Jon Lester, LHP, Chicago Cubs: 13 IP, 10 K, 3 BB, 1 ER
American League East:
- Mitch Moreland, 1B, Boston Red Sox: 11 H, 1 HR, 4 BB, 20 TB
- Marco Estrada, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays: 7 IP, 8 K, 3 BB, 0 ER
National League East:
- Marcell Ozuna, OF, Miami Marlins: 10 H, 4 HR, 3 BB, 23 TB
- Max Scherzer, RHP, Washington Nationals: 6 IP, 10 K, 2 BB, 1 ER
Injury Report
- In perhaps the biggest injury news of the season so far, the Baltimore Orioles have placed their closer, Zach Britton, on the 10-day disabled list with left forearm soreness.
- The Houston Astros appear to have averted a catastrophic injury as shortstop Carlos Correa’s x-ray was negative following a hit by pitch on April 15. He was out of the lineup on Sunday and is officially listed as day-to-day.
- As if their bad start wasn’t bad enough, the Toronto Blue Jays had a rash of injuries this week, as Josh Donaldson (right calf soreness, April 14), Aaron Sanchez (blister, April 15), and J.A. Happ (left elbow soreness, April 16) were all either placed on the disabled list or could be out several days.
- Los Angeles Dodgers’ left-hander Rich Hill has yet another blister and was removed from his start early on Sunday. His return timetable is unclear.
- San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey could return on April 18 after being placed on the seven day concussion DL following being hit by a pitch early last week.
- Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner could be slated to come off the disabled list on April 19 following his right hamstring strain.
- Jake Odorizzi of the Tampa Bay Rays was placed on the 10-day disabled list following a left hamstring strain he experienced during his start on April 15.
Three Big Storylines
Several Playoff Contenders Floundering Early
Every year in April baseball fans take things out of proportion and “freak out”. That player is 0 for 30, that guy is going to be MVP, that team sucks; these are all things we hear on an almost daily basis over the first couple weeks, or even months, of the season. This kind of reaction is almost always met with the same response: “relax, it’s early”. While this old adage is right more often than not, especially when only a fraction of the season’s games have been played, there comes a time when it stops being “early”. For several preseason playoff favorites, that time is very rapidly approaching.
For many baseball writers and pundits, there was a clear split prior to the season between teams with playoff aspirations, and teams that had none. In the National League, the Cubs, Nationals, and Dodgers all appeared to be sitting pretty atop their divisions, with the Cardinals, Mets, Giants, and perhaps a few others vying for those divisions, or more likely, Wild Cards.
In the American League there was a similar story, with the Red Sox, Indians, and Astros consensus favorites in the divisions with the likes of the Blue Jays, Rangers, Mariners, and a few other teams making it interesting. With the season somewhere between 11 and 14 games old for every team, at least half of those teams just mentioned have put themselves in precarious positions.
In the National League, the Giants and Cardinals haven’t done themselves any favors, as both have already seen their playoff odds drop 17 percent in only two weeks according to Fangraphs playoff odds listed earlier in the article. For the Giants, this isn’t as alarming, as they currently sit just shy of 50 percent playoff odds with a 5–9 record, only four games behind the top team in the division. The Cardinals, on the other hand, have more cause for concern, as their playoff odds began at a lower place than the Giants, and have fallen all the way down to just shy of 30 percent. With last night’s loss to the Yankees, the Cards find themselves at 3–9, only four and a half games behind the first place Reds (what?) but still in a precarious position nonetheless.
Things appear even more bleak for several American League playoff contenders. Starting with the Indians, there are at least four potential playoff teams that have face-planted to begin the season. Luckily for the Indians, their division is so terrible that a 5–7 start can be overcome. However, the other three teams aren’t so lucky. In the American League West, which is set to be one of the most hotly contested divisions in all of baseball, both the Rangers and Mariners have started the season off about as poorly as possible, as both have seen around 10 percent drops in playoff odds. Both have seen bullpen meltdowns, offensive disappearances, and altogether sloppy play, but both have seemed to weather the storm and given themselves an opportunity to recover as the season progresses.
The last team to talk about is the Blue Jays, who have had the most disastrous start of any team in baseball. At 2–10, the Blue Jays have sole possession of the worst record in baseball, a full six games behind the division leading Orioles. After starting the season as a wild card favorite, the Jays have seen their playoff odds fall nearly 35 percent, from just over 50 percent all the way down to just over 18 percent. Now the Jays find themselves in about the same place as both the Mariners and Rangers, and now behind the Yankees, Angels, Rays, and Tigers. The Jays went from the clear fourth best playoff odds in the entire American League to the 12th best in just two short weeks. Talk about a disaster.
Eric Thames Has Found A Home Once Again
The Brewers made one of the most interesting moves of the offseason when they decided to let go of their 40-home run hitting first baseman and signing former major leaguer and recent KBO star Eric Thames. After fizzling out of MLB in 2012, and playing an entire season in the minor leagues in 2013, Thames spent three years mashing in the KBO, hitting 37 home runs in 2014, 47 in 2015, and 40 in 2016.
Based on his insane KBO stat lines, Thames was once again drawing interest from major league teams. After all was said and done, the Brewers decided to take a chance on the slugger, signing him to a very reasonable three year, $16 million contract with an option for a fourth year for $7.5 million, hoping his power would translate back to the major leagues.
To this point in the season, that signing has been a resounding success. Through just 11 games, Thames has already hit six home runs, including five home runs over a four game span this week against the Cincinnati Reds. Over the last week, Thames has put up KBO style numbers with a .400/.478/.1200 slash line. On the season, Thames has put up offensive numbers befitting one of the best players in all of baseball, slashing .368/.455/.921 and tied for the highest fWAR of any offensive player. Just look at that power.
There’s still a lot of season left to be played, but Eric Thames is showing he has found a new home in Milwaukee, and more importantly, in the majors.
The Cincinnati Reds Bullpen Resurgence
In 2016, the Cincinnati Reds had perhaps the worst bullpen in baseball history. Dumpster fire is truly the best way to describe that bullpen. On the season, that bullpen was worth -0.5 fWAR, which was a full 6.4 fWAR worse than the next worst team, the Los Angeles Angels. They were not only among the teams with the worst bullpen ERAs, but they also were in sole possession of the worst team FIP out of the bullpen. The 2016 season was one to forget for the Reds bullpen.
However, so far in 2017, the Reds have almost completely turned around their bullpen. Through two weeks, the Reds have already produced 0.8 fWAR, good for ninth in all of baseball. Beyond that, they have the sixth best ERA, eighth best FIP, and fifth best xFIP. Behind converted starters, Raisel Iglesias, Michael Lorenzen, and Cody Reed, and new addition Drew Storen, the Reds have put together an above average bullpen. It remains to be seen whether the Reds can keep this up, but the early signs are very encouraging.
Play of the Week
Hit of the Week
Pitch of the Week
Matchups to Watch: April 17–23
Boston Red Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays: April 18–20
Off to the worst start of any team in all of MLB, the Toronto Blue Jays look to get back on track against the Boston Red Sox in what should be an entertaining series on both sides.
San Francisco Giants vs. Kansas City Royals: April 18–20
In a somewhat rare matchup, the San Francisco Giants hope to get over .500 with a three game series in Kansas City against the Royals.
Houston Astros vs. Tampa Bay Rays: April 21–23
If you’re looking for a series with great pitching and a chance for some heroics, look no further than the Astros and Rays next weekend.
Washington Nationals vs. New York Mets: April 21–23
Finally, in their first matchup of the season, the two NL East division rivals square off in what should be a great series with great pitching and even better storylines.
