MLB First Impressions
By Matt Zylbert
So just like that, the first week of the 2015 Major League Baseball season is in the books, as America’s favorite pastime begins to settle in comfortably for the next seven months. In this new weekly installment, we’ll take a look at some of the past week’s highlights and lowlights, while also focusing on the week ahead.
As expected, MLB’s opening week was pretty wild and crazy, already featuring some heroic performances, baffling surprises, and potential breakouts. While at the end of the day, it’s only just that -- merely one week out of the six-month regular season trek -- we still witnessed some intriguing events that could foreshadow what’s ahead for the new season.
Let’s recap it…
-- We’re down to two unbeaten clubs after the opening week, and they actually exist within the same division. That would be the Royals and Tigers, who engaged in a hot rivalry last year that culminated at the very end of the season, with Detroit capturing its fourth straight division title. Ultimately, it was Kansas City who got the last laugh, however, when they won the American League pennant before just falling short in the World Series. This year, it looks like we’re in for an encore, as both teams mowed through their competition in impressive fashion. The Tigers just swept the Indians, a team that many had pegged right behind them in the division chase coming into the campaign, while the Royals took down the up-and-coming White Sox to begin their year, and then the Angels in a rematch of last year’s ALDS. Both look poised to continue their respective runs so it’ll be interesting to see how that unfolds in week two, and how the linesmakers respond as well.
-- While this was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the club, the Braves have soared out of the gates to own the National League’s best record after week one at 5-1. They’ve been doing it with balance, sporting quality starting pitching and efficient hitting in achieving their early impressive start. In addition, their bullpen has also been effective, even after dealing outstanding closer Craig Kimbrel last weekend, with veteran Jason Grilli filling in admirably and racking up three saves. Of course, now comes the question whether or not they can sustain it, and as long as they continue to get solid work from their pitching staff, they can realistically be in it. The trio of Julio Teheran, Alex Wood, and Shelby Miller is a very formidable front three to rely on every five days.
-- Staying in the NL East, what happened to the Nationals this week? They’re off to a 2-4 start, which includes a series loss to the lowly Phillies, after Vegas properly anointed them with the highest win total entering the new season, but have resembled a team on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. There’s reason for that, though, as their offense has been horrific, missing three key bats in Jayson Werth, Anthony Rendon, and Denard Span. As a result, it’s probably best to not look too much into this, as they still expectedly received tremendous starting pitching. Once they get the rest of their lumber back -- and Werth is due back today, in fact -- their offense will get going, and the Nats will be on their normal path. Most interesting of all, of course, is the fact that the Nationals were under .500 going into June last year and still won a National League-high 96 games. They’re fine, and their big free agent acquisition Max Scherzer has looked as dominant as usual in his first two starts.
-- Speaking of NL East teams out to an inauspicious start, let’s discuss the 1-5 Marlins. A year ago, they were my No. 1 bold prediction to break out, and easily cashed in on that prognostication, which had many people believing they could reach the next level in 2015. I thought they would stay put around the .500 mark, but have been playing far below even those expectations thus far. Why is that the case? Well they’ve received virtually no offense. Their face of the franchise, Giancarlo Stanton, hasn’t gotten going yet and has zero home runs. In fact, Miami as a team has just one long ball through the first week of the season, which only came on Sunday. That will obviously come in time, which could make them a consistent sneaky play if they’re being given the underdog tag on a daily basis. In the meantime, their starting pitching has been pretty good other than Mat Latos’ first start with the team, so as long as their offense remains stagnant, they could register considerably more unders than overs as these next few weeks play out.
-- The Rangers were by far the most banged up team a year ago -- even setting a new Major League record for most players used in a season, which they accomplished with a full month left -- and unfortunately, it looks like that trend has reared its ugly head again so far this season. It was already known they’d be with Yu Darvish for the campaign, and now they won’t have their No. 2 starter Derek Holland, who was tremendous when he finally returned last September, as he’s slated to miss at least two months with a shoulder issue. They’re also already lacking two other regulars in their rotation, Martin Perez and Matt Harrison, who both won’t be back until the summer months. Furthermore, new right fielder Ryan Rua landed on the disabled list this weekend, while Shin-Soo Choo, another injury casualty from a year ago, endured back spasms that sidelined him the past couple of games. Luckily for Texas, they’re hanging in there so far, as is the entire AL West, who are all either 3-3, 3-4, or 2-4. It should continue to be a dogfight.
-- Interesting stat from an over/unders standpoint: AL East teams are a combined 22-6-2 for the over. Some of the games were against each other, but it’s still a very telling stat overall in the early going. The best team for over bets, however, has been AL West-dwelling Oakland, who is 6-1 in that category. As long as they continually get lines around 7, which is typical for their home affairs, this is a trend that can continue. On the other end, it’s the Astros leading the way in unders, having accomplished such in five out of their first six games. In fact, they just recorded their first over only yesterday, thanks to a late-inning comeback by the Rangers. I don’t think it will continue that intensely, as Houston’s lineup hasn’t fully gotten going yet, and it should sooner than later with a nice nucleus of hitters in Jose Altuve, George Springer, Evan Gattis, and Chris Carter. The Nationals are 4-1-1 as it pertains to winning unders, thanks to their aforementioned dead-bat offense and stellar starting pitching.
Upcoming Series To Watch
Seattle Mariners at Los Angeles Dodgers
Two trendy World Series picks entering 2015 will be squaring off in a very intriguing Interleague series. Both teams are each entering game No. 7 of their seasons on Monday night with the same 3-3 record, making this a potentially important clash if one of these contenders wants to springboard into a lengthy April run.
At the same time, each organization is also carrying some concern related to their star ace pitcher. On the Los Angeles side, there is much shock over reigning NL MVP and Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw, who has a 5.84 ERA and 1.70 WHIP through his first two starts of the new campaign, while opponents are raking .320 off him. Again, it’s only two starts, but it’s still incredibly, incredible rare to see Kershaw struggle as such in back-to-back starts.
Meanwhile, Seattle fortunately hasn’t seen Felix Hernandez get hit that hard -- he has a very acceptable 3.00 ERA and 11/3 K/BB ratio in 12 innings -- at least until the latter half of his assignment yesterday in Oakland, leading him to leave with tightness in his right quad. The Athletics registered more of their eight hits in those last two innings, and with “The King” looking very ineffective at that point and exiting early, there has to be a little bit of fear over a potential injury. As a result, this series showdown could consist of extra importance.
Fearless Prediction
The Reds and Cubs are both out to delightful starts, and will be meeting for the first time in 2015. One of these NL Central teams could make a huge statement in week two, with both atop the division in the very early going, and I’m going to say Chicago prevails in continuing their rise. They looked really good in their series win over the previously undefeated Rockies at Coors Field, and seem to be on the verge of hitting their stride before enjoying the arrival of mega prospect -- and one of the future faces of baseball -- Kris Bryant. Cincinnati slid down a bit over the weekend after their unbeaten start, and the Cubs will capitalize. Jon Lester starts the opener on Monday, which could set the tone for how this early-season series goes down.
