Baseball Report Card: April (AL East)

Baseball Report Card: April (AL East)

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1. New York Yankees (15-11)

The AL East has been consistently the best division in baseball. However, it is off to a slow start in 2014 and each team has a negative run differential. The Yankees currently lead the division despite having a -11 run differential. As expected, they brought in high priced free agents in the offseason after missing the playoffs: Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann, Carlos Beltran, and Masahiro Tanaka. The hitters they brought in have done well. Ellsbury is hitting the best with a .309 average and .364 OBP. Beltran has provided 5 homeruns and clutch hits. McCann is batting only .225 but provides power for a catcher with 3 homeruns. The big story for the Yankees so far is the brilliance of Tanaka. He was the big question mark going into the season as critics wondered if his dominance in Japan would translate to the United States. The early answer is clearly yes. He has been otherworldly going 3-0 with a 0.93 WHIP, 2.27 ERA, and 46 Ks in only 35.2 innings against only 6 walks. He has been the ace pitcher they paid for. The other story for the Yankees is Michael Pineda and the pine tar incidents. Regardless of the controversy, he has pitched great before getting hurt. It is very encouraging that he is 2-2 with a 1.02 WHIP, 1.83 ERA, and has 15 Ks compared to only 3 walks in 19.2 innings. He has shown the ace stuff he had with Seattle when the Yankees traded for him. There were also questions about the Yankees bullpen heading into the season with the retirement of Mariano Rivera. Although David Robertson got hurt in the first month, he will be fine and is off to a solid start as the closer with a 0.86 WHIP, 1.29 ERA, and 4 saves in 7 innings. The young arms have pitched well in the early going to form a solid bullpen. Former top prospect Dellin Betances has adjusted well as a reliever with a 1.02 WHIP and 1.72 ERA while striking out an eye popping 28 batters in only 15.2 innings. It should be interesting to see how well he does when he is trusted with higher leverage situations.

Grade: B-

2. Baltimore Orioles (12-12)

The Orioles offense is off to a slow start. After a monster 2013 season, slugger Chris Davis only hit 2 homeruns before getting hurt. Nevertheless, they have some standouts after the first month. Catcher Matt Wieters is off to a hot start batting .341 with a .374 OBP, 5 homeruns, and 18 RBIs. Free agent signing Nelson Cruz has played very well batting .298 with a .370 OBP, 9 homeruns, and 29 RBIs. They were also missing one of the best young players in the game in third baseman Manny Machado. He is coming off a serious injury at the end of last season and missed the beginning of this season. Their offense will be more than fine over the course of the season. Pitching will be the key to their season and they are still looking for a true ace. Chris Tillman is their best starter at 3-1 with a 1.31 WHIP, and 3.80 ERA. While he is good, he is not close to an ace. Ubaldo Jimenez has been a bust so far as a free agent signing. He was dominant in the second half of last season but has started at 1-4 with a bloated 1.56 WHIP and 5.19 ERA. The Oriole rotation has been mediocre at best. Their bullpen has fallen in line behind closer Tommy Hunter. He has a 1.37 WHIP so he is not dominant but he already has 9 saves.

Grade: C+

3. Boston Red Sox (13-14)

Not surprisingly, the Red Sox may be suffering from a World Series hangover. The offense is off to a slow start. The loss of Jacoby Ellsbury to the Yankees has hurt in the early going. Jackie Bradley has only batted .216 taking over the centerfield job from Ellsbury. Nevertheless, this offense will get going since they have too many good hitters. Their pitching has mixed results. Ace Jon Lester has been great with a 1.09 WHIP, 2.59 ERA, and 58 Ks compared to only 10 walks in 48.2 innings. However, he only has a 3-4 record which proves that wins and losses are overrated. Jake Peavy and John Lackey have also been solid behind Lester. The back of the rotation has been sketchy. Felix Doubront and Clay Buchholz have 5.09 and 5.63 ERAs respectively. Their bullpen has continued to be great. Koji Uehara continues to be elite with a 1.17 WHIP, 1.32 ERA, and 19 Ks compared to only 3 walks in 13.2 innings. The Red Sox will get going and be a force in the division.

Grade: C

4. Toronto Blue Jays (12-15)

In 2013, the Blue Jays were a trendy preseason pick to win the AL East. Instead, they were dead last by a wide margin and had a nightmare season.  As a result, there was really no way to start this season worst than the 2013 campaign. 2014 has been better but still not good. Jose Bautista is back as a big time slugger in the middle of the lineup batting .302 with a .464 OBP, 9 homeruns, and 20 RBIs. However, they also have a lot talented hitters who are off to a shaky start. Edwin Encarnacion, Colby Rasmus, and Brett Lawrie are each hitting around .230. They will need to do better. Their pitching is the biggest problem. Mark Buerhle is off to a hot start with a 5-1 record 1.25 WHIP and 2.25 ERA. His performance is not sustainable because he has a mediocre 23/10 K/BB ratio in 40 innings. The RA Dickey trade has not panned out. They gave up top prospects and Dickey has a 5.01 ERA. Moreover, they lost their closer Casey Janssen at the beginning of the season but he will be back soon. Fill in Segio Santos has been terrible with a 2.25 WHIP and 10.61 ERA. Janssen should bring some stability so the rotation will be the biggest problem. They are a dangerous offense but their pitching is simply not good enough to compete in this division.

Grade: D+

5. Tampa Bay Rays (11-16)

The Rays have had terrible luck in the first month. Their starting rotation has been ravaged by injury. Matt Moore suffered a devastating elbow injury and requires Tommy John surgery that will put him out till next season. Alex Cobb and Jeremy Hellickson are also out an extended amount of time until the end of May and June respectively. The Rays have a lot of pitching depth in their system but even it is stretched thin with the injuries. Ace David Price is off to an unlucky start. He has a 4.44 ERA but has a tremendous 55K/5BB ratio in 48.2 innings. His overall stats will match his terrific peripherals in the long run. Unfortunately, no one else is the rotation in pitching particularly well. Top prospect Chris Archer has bloated 1.36 WHIP and 4.91 ERA. In the long run, they should figure out their pitching but they may be putting themselves in a big hole early that they will have a difficulty overcoming later. On the other hand, they have had some decent offensive starts from their hitters. The one big disappointment to date is Wil Myers. Like others, I thought he would have a breakout season. However, he is only batting .248 with 4 homeruns and the only team he is able to hit well is the Yankees. If he can get going against the rest of the league, the offense can be special and they will need it to be to make up the ground they could be giving up early.

Grade: C-

Pat Wong

About Pat Wong

Patrick is a contributor for Rookerville. He is an avid sports fan. Before joining Rookerville, he was part of a defunct New York Yankees message board, NYYankeefans, where he was its top poster and was inducted in its Hall of Fame for his contributions. Patrick is also a passionate fan of movies. He has enjoyed reading movie reviews over the years and is excited about the opportunity to review movies.

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