Five truths at MLB quarter mark
The quarter mark of the Major League Baseball season is generally the time when teams believe they can draw accurate conclusions about who they are, when players are no longer merely off to hot or slow starts. Now that most clubs have played at least 40 games, here are five statements we can make with a fairly high degree of confidence they’ll hold up. (Note: Records and statistics through Monday.)
Shohei Ohtani is real deal
Any backup will tell you how hard it is to keep his swing sharp while not playing every day. That’s one of the more underrated aspects of Ohtani’s remarkable first month and a half in the majors.
He has been in the starting lineup as a hitter four games in a row once, typically resting the day before and the day after he pitches. Yet the Japanese rookie continues to swing a hot bat, hitting .348 with five home runs, 16 RBI and a 1.044 OPS and ranking 10th on the Angels in plate appearances with 74 but tied for fourth in homers and fifth in RBI.
Add to that his pitching prowess — a 3-1 record with a
3.58 ERA and 43 strikeouts in
322⁄ innings — and the magni
3 tude of Ohtani’s amazing abilities starts to come into focus.
Dodgers’ blues
Yes, injuries have been a big factor in the Dodgers’ 16-24 record, their worst in 60 years through 40 games. Although star third baseman Justin Turner is about to rejoin the lineup, shortstop Corey Seager is out for the season, there’s no timetable for Clayton Kershaw’s return from a shoulder ailment and fellow starter Hyun-Jin Ryu is out until after the AllStar break.
But the issues with the defending National League champions go beyond injuries. First baseman Cody Bellinger has had two incidents defying manager Dave Roberts, the bullpen (4.51 ERA) has been a trouble spot and the baserunning has been lacking.
Getting swept at home in four games by the Reds — which had not happened since the mid-1970s — raised huge warning flags.
Javier Baez is dazzling
Nobody swings the bat with more ferocity than the Cubs’ infielder, or applies quicker tags, or seemingly has more fun playing the game.
When Baez isn’t celebrating a teammate’s good play before it’s completed, as he did in last year’s World Baseball Classic, he’s playfully teasing pal Francisco Lindor for failing to steal a hit from him, or making a dazzling defensive play from any of the three infield positions at which he excels.
Now that he’s no longer a whiff machine, having reduced his strikeout rate from a career mark of 28.3% to 20%, Baez is even more compelling to watch. He leads the National League with 36 RBI to go with 10 homers and a .906 OPS, putting him on track for his first AllStar Game appearance.
AL Central worse than we thought
Everybody figured the Indians would rule the division, but with a .500 record? Yes, a 2020 mark is plenty good enough to sit atop baseball’s weakest division. The American League Central champs each of the past two years have seen their once-vaunted bullpen become vulnerable, with a 5.45 ERA that ranks next-to-last in the league. Cleveland has just seven saves, tied for the fewest in the AL.
The Indians’ mediocrity has allowed teams such as the Twins and Tigers to hang around the race despite their own issues. Minnesota desperately misses Miguel Sano’s power bat in the middle of the lineup, and its bullpen has had its own difficulties. Detroit has performed above expectations, but that’s not saying much considering the Tigers’ 18-22 record.
The Royals and White Sox? They’ve gone 23-55.
Manny’s the man
Despite toiling for the woebegone Orioles, who at 13-28 are tied with the Royals for the big leagues’ second-worst record, Manny Machado has put his stunning array of skills on full display this season, his last one before free agency.
Machado leads the majors in RBI (38), shares the lead in homers (13) and ranks second in OPS (1.100) while playing a sometimes-spectacular shortstop in his first year back full time at the position, after winning two Gold Gloves at third base in his first six seasons there.
“It has been even better than I expected,” Machado told USA TODAY about the switch. “This has always been the position I wanted to play. ... Every day I go out there I’m happy, I’m playing the game I’ve played my whole life, the position I’ve always wanted to play. It’s been a great thing. I can’t go back.”
Machado is highly likely to get traded before the deadline, and the Braves are starting to look like a good match, especially if they maintain their strong early-season performance.