The Week That Was: May 15–21

With almost two months of baseball in the books, the divisional races are starting to come into clearer focus.

Source: Scott Cunningham/Getty Images North America

Standings

Almost two full months into the season there are plenty of surprise first place teams.

Playoff Odds

National League

The National League has been marked by the early season collapses of the Mets and Giants, and the rise of the Cardinals, Rockies, and Diamondbacks.

American League

Outside of the Astros, Indians, and Red Sox, it appears that the American League playoff race is still wide open.

Standout Performers

American League West:

• Cameron Maybin, OF, Los Angeles Angels: 11–24, 6 BB, 15 TB
• Yu Darvish, RHP, Texas Rangers: 12 IP, 16 K, 6 BB, 3 ER

National League West:

• Jake Lamb, 3B, Arizona Diamondbacks: 7–17, 4 HR, 6 BB, 20 TB
• Jeff Samardzija, RHP, San Francisco Giants: 8 IP, 8 K, 0 BB, 0 ER

American League Central:

• Tim Anderson, SS, Chicago White Sox: 12–26, 3 HR, 24 TB
• Danny Duffy, LHP, Kansas City Royals: 7 IP, 10 K, 2 BB, 0 ER

National League Central:

• Eric Sogard, IF, Milwaukee Brewers: 10–20, 1 HR, 4 BB, 16 TB
• Carlos Martinez, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals: 9 IP, 5 K, 1 BB, 0 ER

American League East:

• Devon Travis, 2B, Toronto Blue Jays: 13–24, 1 HR, 1 BB, 22 TB
• CC Sabathia, LHP, New York Yankees: 11.2 IP, 10 K, 3 BB, 1 ER

National League East:

• Matt Kemp, OF, Atlanta Braves: 13–28, 2 HR, 3 BB, 23 TB
• Stephen Strasburg, RHP, Washington Nationals: 13.2 IP, 14 K, 4 BB, 5 ER

Injury Report

• In the big injury news of the week, Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman is expected to miss at least 10 weeks after fracturing his left hand after being hit by a pitch earlier this week.
• Pretty much everything has been going right for the Houston Astros to start the season, but this week something finally did go wrong, as staff ace Dallas Keuchel was placed on the 10-day DL with a pinched nerve in his neck. Keuchel is expected to only miss one start. Catcher Brian McCann was also placed on the disabled list with a concussion.
• The Arizona Diamondbacks placed both outfielder A.J. Pollock, right groin strain, and pitcher Tajuan Walker, blister, on the 10-day disabled list.
• The Mariners appear ready to welcome back at least one of their starting pitchers, as left-hander James Paxton is slated to make a rehab start on May 26 in the hopes of returning to the rotation on May 31.
• After a rash of horrendous starts, including a start in which Jered Weaver failed to make it through one inning, the San Diego Padres have elected to place the veteran on the 10-day DL with a hip injury.

Three Big Storylines

The Colorado Rockies May Be For Real

It is May 22 and the Colorado Rockies have the best win percentage of any team in the National League. It’s hard to imagine anybody would have predicted the Rockies to be atop not only the National League West, but the entire National League. Even more impressive, the Rockies have won games not only with strong offense, but also with a pitching staff that has exceeded any and all expectations.

Outside of Nolan Arenado, Charlie Blackmon, and the resurgent Mark Reynolds, the Rockies really haven’t gotten much from their offense. In terms of wRC+, the Rockies rank 27th in all of baseball at just 80. Even more surprising, the Rockies also sit at 27th in home wRC+, at an even worse mark of just 78. To this point, the Rockies have been carried by their pitching staff, led by rookies Kyle Freeland and Antonio Senzatela, and their bullpen, led by Greg Holland, Jake McGee, and Adam Ottavino. It remains to be seen whether the Rockies can keep winning like this, but if the offense starts clicking, watch out.

The Milwaukee Brewers Are Impressive

If not for the hot start of the Colorado Rockies, and the poor play of the Chicago Cubs, the Milwaukee Brewers may just be the most surprising team in the National League. Despite being deep in the midst of a rebuilding effort, the Brewers find themselves at 25–19, good for the best record in the National League Central. The pitching staff has not been great to this point, but strong starts on offense, highlighted by Eric Thames, Travis Shaw, Manny Pina, Eric Sogard, and Hernan Perez, has put the Brewers into a strange position. This appears much more likely to be fluky than the hot start of the Rockies, but even so, the Brewers may just be speeding up their rebuild in 2017.

The San Diego Padres Are Clearly the Worst Team in Baseball

The Padres played seven games this week. In those games, the Padres were outscored 35–18, including being outscored 20–7 by the Diamondbacks over the weekend. So far on the season, the Padres have played 46 games. They have lost 30 of those games, good for a winning percentage of just .348. So far, the Padres have the worst run differential in all of baseball at -85, a full 22 runs worse than the second worst San Francisco Giants. Yeah, it’s going to be a rough few years of being a Padres’ fan.

Play of the Week

Hit of the Week

Pitch of the Week

Matchups to Watch: May 8–14

Minnesota Twins vs. Baltimore Orioles: May 22–24

In a matchup between two very unlikely success stories, the Twins and Orioles face off, as both are in the midsts of hotly contested divisional races.

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers: May 23–25

Although both these teams got off to somewhat slow starts, both have played a lot better in May, and both currently find themselves right back in their respective divisional races.

Chicago Cubs vs. Los Angeles Dodgers: May 26–28

The Dodgers go from welcoming the Cardinals to town to welcoming the defending World Series champs to town in what very well could be a 2017 NLCS preview.

Texas Rangers vs. Toronto Blue Jays: May 26–28

Speaking of teams that got off to poor starts, the Rangers and Blue Jays have both cut their divisional deficits to under 10 games, with the Rangers buoyed by a ten game win streak that was snapped this past weekend.