With just a little over a month of the 2024 MLB season in the books, there have been surprises, disappointments, breakouts, and everything in between. With plenty more baseball left to be played, it is a bit of a mystery in terms of what production may or may not be sustainable, but regardless, it will be a sight to behold.
Rookie Revolution:
So far in 2024, some of the most impressive standouts come from the rookie pitchers. Chicago Cubs rookie Shota Imanaga has shined in his short MLB tenure, leading the league with a 0.78 ERA. The 30-year-old southpaw signed a four year, $53 million contract with the Cubs after spending the last seven years pitching in Japan. Imanaga also has a 5-0 record as a starter, clearly indicating his ability to get the job done for the first-place Cubbies.
However, Imanaga may not be the best rookie in the National League Central. Jared Jones’ high velocity and nasty pitch repertoire gives the Pirates a potential ace of the future. In Jones’ last outing on Saturday, the 22-year-old put on an astonishing performance at PNC Park, pitching seven innings while allowing only one hit and striking out ten Rockies hitters in a Pirates victory. Jones’ 52 punchouts are tied for second among all starters, and a scary one-two punch could be brewing in the Steel City once former No. 1 pick Paul Skenes gets the call to the majors.
The NL Central is not the only division with star-studded pitchers, as the NL West also has a youngster looking to join the ranks. After backing up the brinks truck to sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a 12 year, $325 million contract, expectations were through the roof for the new Dodgers starter.
Yamamoto opened his rookie campaign with a disastrous first start in South Korea against the Padres, allowing five runs on four hits in only an inning of work. Since then, Yamamoto has been everything Dodger fans have expected, netting a 1.64 ERA since his inaugural start and a 2.92 ERA on the young season. The race for NL Rookie of the Year should be a tight one between these three highly impressive young arms.
Trouble in Texas:
They say everything is bigger in Texas, and it seems that still applies to postseason hangovers. Fresh off their first ever playoff meeting in the ALCS, the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros both got off to slow starts to open the 2024 slate. The Astros, coming off their World Series in 2022 and the retirement of Dusty Baker, were hit hard with regression.
The Astros opened up the season by going 10-19 in the month of April, including an opening series sweep at home at the hands of the new-look Yankees. Jose Altuve and Kyle Tucker have been splendid for the struggling ‘Stros, but the real issue lies in the rotation. Injuries and struggles have depleted the Astros starters, contributing to a 4.75 ERA as a team, which is 26th in the MLB. The 12-22 record in Space City is tied with the Angels for last in the AL West and among the five worst records in all of baseball, only trailing the Rockies, Marlins, and White Sox.
As for the defending champion Rangers, their World Series hangover was less severe, but they still got off to a disappointing start due to their lofty expectations. Just a year ago, Corey Seager hit .327 with a 1.013 on base plus slugging OPS and finished in second place in AL MVP voting. To open the 2024 season, the two-time World Series MVP opened the season hitting .228 with a .594 OPS and a .138 batting average over the last 15 days.
Despite the slow start from Seager, the Rangers are still sitting at a 19-16 overall record and are half a game back in of the division from the leading Seattle Mariners. Like their Lone Star Series rivals, the Rangers have woes in the pitching rotation with both Max Scherzer and Nathan Eovaldi sidelined with injuries and Jacob DeGrom and Tyler Mahle both shut down until August at least. Despite subpar contributions from some of their most valuable contributors, the Rangers got off to a slower start than most expected. With both Texas teams suffering some early adversity, it will be interesting to see how they will rebound from this slow start, as we should expect to see both of these teams playing some October baseball yet again.
Stars Struggling:
Through the first month of the MLB Season, there have been a lot of bats who are red-hot, like Tyler O’Neill and Alec Bohm. On the other end of the spectrum, a lot of stars have gotten off to slow starts to open the 2024 season. Randy Arozarena is one of these players. The power has been there for the 29-year-old, but Arozarena is last among all qualified hitters with a .143 batting average on the new year. Arozarena’s struggles are a large factor as to why the Rays are 17-18 and fourth in the AL East.
Two other stars hitting below the Mendoza Line are Matt Olson and Bo Bichette. Olson is known for his light tower power, hitting 54 homers a year ago. However, Olson is hitting a measly .197 with only three homers in 2024. As for Bichette, he has never hit below .290 in a season, until now. Bichette can’t seem to put the bat on the ball with a .195 average thus far, despite three straight seasons of 175 or more hits. The 16-19 Blue Jays will need far more from their most consistent contact hitter if they want to escape the cellar of the loaded AL East.
Stars are struggling all across the MLB, but none are struggling more than in the Big Apple. Juan Soto has been masterful in his short tenure as a Yankee, but his lineup partner Aaron Judge is having a particularly slow start to 2024. Judge’s 44 strikeouts are tied for seventh in the MLB and is hitting .220 just two years removed from his historic 62-homer MVP season in 2022.
Taking the Subway to Citi Field, both Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor are off to slow starts of their own. Alonso is hitting .206 and Lindor is hitting .207 to start the year as the two most important bats in Carlos Mendoza’s lineup have been ice cold through a month of action. Alonso is hitting .038 over his last seven games and both Mets stars have an OBP lower than .300. It is a safe bet to assume that almost every struggling star will catch fire at some point, but it is definitely still concerning to see many of the household names slumping this early.
