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The first month of baseball has officially concluded, and there were plenty of notable storylines to follow. From a stunning start by the Seattle Mariners, to the contrasting pitfalls experienced by the Boston Red Sox and torrid starts from some of the game's young superstars, the 2019 MLB season is in full “swing,” so to speak.
But who are the real winners and losers at the conclusion of April? Of course, it is still early, and there are over 130 games still to be played. All the same, the smallest slip-ups or contributions can make a big difference in a tight division race come October.
With this in mind, here are some of the winners and losers in the month of April:
MLB Winners
Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays are winners in a variety of ways. For one, they had the highest wining percentage (.679) and run differential (+47) at the end of April. Secondly, their decision to send Chris Archer to the Pittsburgh Pirates is paying off in droves.
Prior to last year's deadline, Tampa Bay sent Archer to Pittsburgh for Tyler Glasnow and Austin Meadows, two players under 25 years old that had both shown good potential and projected well in the major leagues.
After one month, Meadows is hitting .351 with six homers and a 1.097 OPS. Glasnow, meanwhile, boasts a 5-0 record with a 1.75 ERA and 9.5 K/9, molding himself into one of the best pitchers on a staff that already features last year's American League Cy Young award winner, Blake Snell.
The rest of the youngsters are producing as well. Second baseman Brandon Lowe (24) has six homers and has already saved three runs at second base, according to FanGraphs. Many questioned Tampa Bay's decision to swap Jake Bauers for Yandy Diaz, but Diaz has responded with seven homers while ranking 22nd in baseball in terms of fWAR.
Tommy Pham and Kevin Kiermaier have each given solid production (Pham has six stolen bases), and Charlie Morton is looking like a fantastic offseason addition, posting a 2.76 ERA in six starts.
An excellent staff as well as bullpen arms like the dominant Jose Alvorado and Diego Castillo have allowed the youngsters in the lineup to find their stride. The scariest part is that the Ryas could get even better in a division where the Red Sox are struggling and the Yankees are still somewhat banged up.
New York Yankees
Speaking of the Bronx Bombers, it is hard not to chock April up as a serious win considering everything that has happened the men in pinstripes this month.
Luis Severino's status is still unknown, Miguel Andujar missed nearly the entire month, as did Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Hicks. The biggest blow seemed to come when Aaron Judge suffered an oblique injury that is likely to keep him out of commission until the end of May.
Not to mention, star reliever Chad Greene somehow forgot to pitch and was optioned to Triple-A after posting a 16.43 ERA and giving up four homers in just 7.2 innings of work.
And yet, the Yankees finished April at 17-12, just two games back of the Rays in the American League East. A starting rotation that initially struggled out of the gate has rebounded tremendously.
James Paxton has lowered his ERA to 3.38, and C.C. Sabathia returned from an Injured List stint to post a 2.66 ERA in four starts. Meanwhile, 26-year-old Domingo German (who initially got his chance in the rotation because of Sabathia's injury) has been superb. German went 5-1 with a 2.56 ERA in April, and his peripherals (2.76 FIP and 9.1 K/9) match up nicely, which bodes extremely well for his projections over the rest of the year.
In spite of Greene's horrendous start, the rest of the Yankees bullpen has continued to prove why they still have the potential to be the best relief unit in the league. Jonathan Holder's peripherals suggest he has been better than his ERA indicates, Adam Ottavino is finding ways to get outs and Tommy Kahnle has regained his verve as a power pitcher.
Meanwhile, the lineup continues to be held together by a thread. With both Judge and Stanton out, Luke Voit and Gary Sanchez each clubbed eight homers. Gio Urshela has a .909 OPS, and Clint Frazier was blossoming before landing on the Injured List.
New York has managed to survive an absurd number of injuries, mostly due to the unexpected brilliance of their pitching staff. Once they get some of their key pieces back on the field, they could take off.
Minnesota Twins
The Twins n0t only lead the American League Central after the first month, but they also have the fourth-best run differential in the AL (behind the Ryas, Yankees and Astros).
With the Indians succumbing to the injury bug early and facing some questions about their future, the Twins have struck early. Eddie Rosario hit 11 homers, shortstop Jorge Polanco had a .989 OPS and Jonathan Schoop is looking like a bargain at one year and $7.5 million.
Max Kepler is blossoming into a potential star, and Byron Buxton is producing much closer to his 2017 season (great news for Minnesota). Marwin Gonzalez and C.J. Cron have hardly produced up to expectations, and yet the Twins still scored 141 runs in April.
The starting rotation is still somewhat of a question mark, but Jose Berrios and Jake Odorizzi have been excellent, and both Kyle Gibson and Martin Perez have shown decent stuff in their last two appearances of the month.
But the real story has been a lights-out group of arms in the bullpen. Minnesota's relievers had the fifth-highest fWAR in the league in spite of a deceiving ERA that has ballooned mostly due to Adalberto Mejia, Fernando Romero and Matt McGill.
Trevor Hildenberger, Trevor May, Ryne Harper, Taylor Rogers and Blake Parker combined for a 2.16 ERA in April. Four of the five each posted an ERA+ above 200, and May–who had the highest ERA in that group–actually had the second-lowest FIP.
Minnesota is for real, and they could become the team to beat in an otherwise weak American League Central.
Cody Bellinger and Christian Yelich
Not much else needs to be said here. Bellinger (3.0) and Yelich (2.4) finished 1-2 in fWAR in April, and both players tied an MLB record with 14 homers in the month. In fact, Bellinger and Yelich are 1-2 in homers, RBIs, slugging percentage, wRC+ and isolated power.
Bellinger has helped the Los Angeles Dodgers to the best record in the National League amidst an absurd start. He leads the bigs in every offensive statistic besides stolen bases after the first month of play, and his evolution into a marquee superstar has been fantastic to watch.
Yelich is the only thing really holding the Milwaukee Brewers together. The Brewers scored 152 runs (fourth-best in the NL) in April, but Yelich was far and away the standout on a team with a struggling starting rotation and shortage of depth in the bullpen.
The two players each had their moments in a four-game series in the third week of April, when Yelich hit four homers and would have had five if not for a robbery on behalf of Bellinger, who himself hit a pair of go-ahead homers and helped the Dodgers win three of four.
This has the potential to be one of the more captivating MVP races ever, particularly given the record-setting pace both Bellinger and Yelich set in April. What a treat for baseball fans.
MLB Losers
Red Sox starters
The defending champions went 12-14 in April, and have the second-worst run differential in the American League. Although the Red Sox (as of May 1) may be turning the corner after a sweep of the Oakland Athletics, their rotation has been downright awful.
Boston starters ran up the sixth-highest ERA in baseball in April, and Chris Sale was winless in six starts with a 6.30 ERA. Realistically, nearly all of Boston's struggles can be attributed to the starting rotation. Outside of David Price, not a single starter had an ERA below 5.50. To make matters worse, Nathan Eovaldi went on the Injured List less than a week removed from easily his best start of the year, and will likely be out through the rest of May.
While Sale's velocity has returned, his effectiveness has not. He gave up a team-high seven homers in April, and his 9.6 K/9 is well below his career average. Rick Porcello's peripherals were as ugly as his ERA, as if the Red Sox needed another reason not to re-sign him next offseason. They have arguably been Boston's two most dependable starters in the last couple of seasons, how will they rebound?
For all the negative, there have been a few positive signs. Price was pretty good, and Eduardo Rodriguez's FIP (3.80) was over two full runs lower than his ERA, so he stands to see some improvement. Even if Boston can find some marginal improvements and get decent contributions from spot-starters in Eovaldi's absence, they will be in much better shape.
Colorado Rockies
Especially given how much teams in the NL East and NL Central improved, Colorado's best chance at making the playoffs was likely to win the NL West. But at the end of April, the Rockies are six games back of the Dodgers.
Last season, the Rockies ranked second in the NL in runs scored. After one month of play this season, they rank 10th.
The issue hardly lies in the play of their stars. Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story each had at least six homers and an OPS over .818, and Charlie Blackmon has gotten off to a decent start. David Dahl even showed signs of being that breakout star that the Rockies had hoped he might be heading into the season.
But three different starters hit .196 or worse. The Rockies led the NL in homers, yet they ranked 10th in both OPS and slugging while ranking 11th in OBP.
German Marquez has been tremendous, and Jon Gray proved he can still be effective, but the rest of the staff has been somewhat uninspiring.
Wade Davis has reestablished himself as a dominant closer in the bigs, and both Scott Oberg and Bryan Shaw have been effective, in spite of peripherals that would suggest otherwise. However, that's about it for depth. Colorado's bullpen unit had the fifth-worst ERA in the majors in April.
In a season where the Dodgers have gotten off to a fast start, the Rockies needed to keep pace. But maybe they just do not have the depth or quality necessary to challenge for a playoff spot.
Manny Machado
Hard to call someone that just signed a 10-year, $300 million contract a loser, right? Well while rookie like Fernando Tatis Jr. and Chris Paddack have flexed their muscle as potential superstars in San Diego, Machado has struggled to get things going in his new home.
Not only did the 26-year-old hit just .236 in April, but he also slugged a paltry .368 and had an OPS below .700 while some his younger teammates thrived. Not only was this month disappointing for Machado, but it was also rather unusual.
Machado has a .291 career average and .882 OPS (his highest of any month) in his career in the month of April, and his 30 April homers are the second-most in any single month over the course of his career. Additionally, Machado ran a 25 percent strikeout rate in April, and his isolated power was at just .132.
Of course, this does not mean that Machado will continue to scuffle, but the irregularities are pretty strange nonetheless.
And although Machado has yet to get it going at the plate, he has returned to being one of the best defenders in the game since switching back to the hot corner. In 250 innings at third, Machado accumulated five Defensive Runs Saved and a UZR/150 value of 22.3, according to FanGraphs.
So Machado may be the losing superstar in April, but his value has hardly diminished because of his defensive abilities.
Mike Trout… and baseball fans
By no means did Mike Trout have a bad April. He posted an OPS well over 1.000 and hit six homers while arguably playing the best defensive center field in the game.
He also walked over twice as many times (29) as he struck out (14), which is obviously suggestive of how much opposing pitchers respect him… but it is also a shame for fans of the game.
When you go to the ballpark, you want to see the best players perform at the highest level. Michael Jordan used to say that he would look into the stands and think about the kids watching him who may never have a chance to see him play again, and use that as motivation to put on a show.
But what if you can't put on a show because opposing pitchers refuse to actually pitch to you? That is exactly what has happened to Trout so far this season. According to Baseball-Reference, Trout reached a full count in 19 plate appearances in April. He walked 10 times.
Pitchers are refusing to attack Trout. Last season, Trout saw a first-pitch strike in 58.1 percent of his plate appearances. According to FanGraphs, that number was below 50 percent this April. The percentage of pitches he has seen inside the zone is also down a full percent.
We all lose when opposing pitchers refuse to compete against the truly elite hitters of the game. Here's to hoping that Trout will get more pitches to hit… but I doubt that will be the case.
