With April in the books, division races are heating up, and the Major League Baseball regular season continues to develop. In this edition of my MLB Notebook, I'm going to talk about the Washington Nationals, the astounding production of Nelson Cruz, and AL East race.
The Case for the Washington Nationals
The Nationals had one of the worst starts to this year's regular season. Washington is currently 11-14 and sits three games from the bottom of the National League East. There's a lot of hope for Nationals' fans, however, as things are starting to look up. Here's three reasons Washington will find their way back to the top of the NL East.
Reason #1: Bryce Harper
Bryce Harper has really shown maturation as a hitter. It's hard to believe that this is Harper's third season in a Nationals' uniform. People seem to forget that Harper is only 22 years old, and he's really shown a lot more patience at the plate this season. Harper has drawn 24 walks already this season, which is the most among Major League hitters. He's got a terrific .461 on-base percentage, and in during the last seven days, he's hit five extra-base hits, driving in five of his 15 RBI's this season.
The only drawback to Harper's approach at the plate this season has been the strikeouts. If Harper can reduce his strikeout rate, he will become a legitimate NL MVP Candidate by the season's end. Harper can really energize the rest of this lineup and will help the Nationals rise up to the top of the NL East.
Reason #2: The Awakening of the Dream Rotation
The acquisition of Max Scherzer in the offseason strengthened one of the most solid rotations in the Majors. The slow start that's plagued this rotation has made a lot of fans at least mildly concerned, but the Nationals' starting rotation isn't ultimately doomed just yet.
The shaky defense has been detrimental to the expectations of this pitching staff. The Nationals have committed 24 errors, which is the most in the Majors. This hasn't benefitted the performance from the starting rotation at all.
One promising stat for the Nationals starting staff is this: out of 29 games played by the Nationals, 15 of those games have been a quality start from their starting pitching. On top of that, Nationals' pitchers have only allowed 15 home runs from opposing hitters. This is the third-fewest in all of Major League Baseball.
Reason #3: The Improving Health of Jayson Werth
Werth hasn't been the most effective hitter in the lineup for the Nationals this season, but better days are obviously ahead. So far, he's hit for a .159 average with only a .238 on-base percentage. In 147 games last season, Werth hit for a .292 average with 16 home runs and 82 runs driven-in. As Werth's shoulder continues to improve and heal, he'll be able to supplement Washington's offense, and the increased scoring will allow for the improvement of the Nationals' record.
The Mighty Nelson Cruz
Whoa Nelly!!!
Nelson Cruz has made me re-read several box scores already this season. He's terrorized opposing pitching and has had an incredible start at the plate this season. Unfortunately for Cruz, he's been about the only contributor in the Seattle Mariners' lineup so far this season.
The Mariners acquired Cruz in the offseason, and he's quickly showing us why he earning $14.25 million on his contract. Cruz (as of Sunday night while I write this) has hit 13 home runs with a .343 average and 25 RBI's. In the last seven days, Cruz has hit for a .407 average that's included four homers and five runs driven-in. For Mariners' fans, it's a shame that he couldn't have had more runners on the base paths, as Seattle has gone 1-4 during this five-game stretch.
Cruz led all hitters in Major League Baseball last season with 40 home runs for the Baltimore Orioles and was easily the most impactful signing of the 2014 offseason. His quick start this season has him currently on pace to hit 84 home runs and drive in 162 runs. Obviously, Cruz will have to slow down at some point, but this stretch has been exciting to say the least. The only complaint that Mariners' fans have had during this incredible run by Cruz has been the most important stat, wins.To address the wins by the Mariners, I say this: take the Aaron Rodgers' approach and relax. Seattle's only eight games back from first place in the AL West, and like the Washington Nationals, they are only a hot streak away from being right back in the hunt.
The Race for the AL East
The Tightest Race in Baseball
The AL East is separated from top-to-bottom by a mere four games. Even though the 2015 regular season is still very young, this race has been interesting from the beginning. I had to explore some numbers to see why this race has been so close.
The first thing that I noticed was that only three of the five teams in this division have a positive run differential. Run differential is comprised of total runs scored subtracted from runs allowed. Interestingly enough, the top two teams in the division (the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles) both have positive run differentials. What shocked me however, was that the Toronto Blue Jays had a positive run differential despite being at the bottom of the division.
This division could be described as good hitters facing bad pitching. The Yankees and the Rays are the only two teams in the division that have a Team ERA under four. It will be interesting to see if any of these five teams will attempt to make deals in order to upgrade their pitching. If I had to speculate, I would say that the Boston Red Sox or the Toronto Blue Jays will be the teams that could gain the most from one of these acquisitions.
One thing that's guaranteed: this division will be one of the most exciting in the entire Major Leagues this season and will be decided by an exciting finish.
As always, thanks for reading! Please be sure to follow me on Twitter @griffaldo for more Major League Baseball notes and my daily #GriffsPicks.
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