Was April 2023 in any way predictable? Judging by the fact that I'm doing a custom of Mauricio Dubon, no.
Even if this is the first month of the season and early weirdness is still abound, this was still a very wild month of MLB play, with a lot of perplexing developments and great moments. As usual on the blog, I'll reflect with gauges of predictability and try and figure out what May will have in store.
First off, a few of the predictions I made prior to the season:
1. Fernando Tatis' forgiveness tour doesn't quite take off. Absolutely spot on, he's struggled to return to pre-suspension/injury levels in his week back from the IL, and is hitting .226 as I write this post.
2. A big team that won't succeed by the end of the year will have a huge start and bowl everybody over. My money is on the Rangers. Well, yes, the Rangers did have a nice start, but they're looking a lot more real than I'd anticipated. I would put the Pirates in this category, as their start completely wowed the whole league. Also, in regards to the Rangers, I think it's interesting that I also had this bit in the prediction: And then in May, hey guess what, deGrom's arm is sore again. Well, what do you know?
3. Trea Turner's tour of the surrounding areas of major league stadiums will continue, at least for the first half of April. No, this didn't happen, he's only hit 2 homers. Mind you, he's doing alright, but his hot bat from the WBC didn't exactly spread to the first month of the regular season.
4. Jordan Walker is going to get eyes upon him immediately, in a good way. Thanks to his 12-game hitting streak, this did happen. Then, uh, he stopped hitting.
5. Some aspect of the new rules draws controversy during a game. Well, both Manny Machado and Tim Anderson had noted ejections following pitch clock violations. Y'know, maybe baseball should be siding with their big stars rather than the umpires who always think they're right, but you know..
Mostly spot on. Now, 5 Things from April 2023 That No One Could Have Predicted
1. NL-Leading Pittsburgh Pirates. There was no way, absolutely no way, that the Pirates could have found this much success using a low-budget rotation, easy free agent signings and a star outfielder who was thinking of leaving anyhow. And yet there they are, playing beautifully, leading the NL Central and sporting an 20-8 record that any Bucs fan would be happy with. Reynolds is earning his keep, Cutch has returned to form, Oviedo and Keller are looking sharp and so much is clicking. I know deep down that it won't last but I so badly want it to.
2. Sonny Gray's resurgence. I assume people figured Sonny Gray would be alright for the Twins this year, but so far he's been one of the best pitchers in the league, with a 3-0 record, 36 Ks and a 0.62 ERA, numbers that not only harken back to his Reds days, but his strong stuff coming up with Oakland. With Gray, Ryan, Mahle and Lopez all pitching excellently so far, the Twins have been in great shape for April alone.
3. The Cardinals & Padres' rough starts. The Padres at least came off somewhat respectable, are still in third and still have people like Josh Hader, Ha-Seong Kim and Xander Bogaerts doing well, but with the amount of pitchers and big hitters that haven't performed especially well, a lot of Padres fans have been disappointed so far. Cardinals fans might have it even worse, they're in last, even with all the talent they've stockpiled. Both great teams that are really going through it at the moment.
4. Just how many games the Rays started the season by winning. Again, most people thought the Rays would be circling third, so to see them win 13 straight to begin the season, which broke all sorts of records, blew minds all over the country. Especially considering who's not only still injured but became injured as the streak went on. The Rays are still in an insane position, and nobody's quite sure if they'll keep this momentum going or even out, as many other recent hot starts have.
5. The Diamondbacks Take the West. So people assumed the Dodgers wouldn't be in first for much of 2023, and they all assumed the Padres would have a stronghold over the division. Nope. The Arizona Diamondbacks, with all their young and speedy stars, an incredible Zac Gallen performance and a lot of revitalized performances from veterans, have taken the division, and along with the Rays have made this a very fruitful 25th anniversary year. We'll see if this spreads into the following month.
As the antithesis to that, 5 Things from April 2023 That You Probably Could Have Predicted
1. DeGrom throws beautifully, then arm is suddenly hurting. Yeah, I think we all saw this one coming. Wonder when we'll see him again.
2. Ohtani continues to do Ohtani things. A 4-0 record, a 1.85 ERA and 46 strikeouts, all while he's also hit 6 homers. Nobody else like him.
3. Polar Bear Pete continues to rake. After his rookie year, I think that Pete Alonso leading the league in homers for a period is a sort of thing you should see coming at any point. He's got 10 after a month of play. Of course he does.
4. The Oakland Athletics. As I write this they have the inverted record of the Rays; 5-23, with barely any decent pitchers and a lot of young players in search of direction. I think we all knew this'd happen the second Murphy left.
5. Ian Anderson needs Tommy John surgery. You throw the way he throws and you're asking for it.
Alright, in my opinion, here are the 5 Most Important Players of April 2023:
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