Baseball Report Card: April (NL East)

Baseball Report Card: April (NL East)

Freeman-and-Heyward

1. Atlanta Braves (17-9)

Despite the injuries to the pitching staff, the Braves still have great starting pitching. Young studs, Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy, needing Tommy John surgery right before the season was a big blow. Nevertheless, they signed veteran Earvin Santana and used the pitching depth in their organization to fill the holes and keep on rolling. They have surrendered the least amount of runs in the Major Leagues. Julio Teheran has taken another step forward and is the ace of the staff with a 0.88 WHIP, 1.80 ERA, and 33 Ks versus 9 walks in 50 innings. Alex Wood has been unlucky with a 2-5 record but he has been great with 1.18 WHIP, 3.00 ERA, and 44 Ks compared to 9 walks in 45 innings. Veterans Earvin Santana and Aaron Harang have also pitched very well. Mike Minor was hurt at the beginning of the season and only has 2 starts with a 6.97 ERA. He had a tremendous, breakout season last year. Once he gets going, this rotation will be even better. The Braves also have the luxury of having the best closer in the game, Craig Kimbrel. He is pitching great again with 9 saves, 1.05 WHIP, 2.19 ERA, and 26 Ks compared to 5 walks in 12.1 innings. His setup men include David Carpenter, Jordan Walden, and Anthony Varvaro. They have all pitched very well and strike out a lot of batters. They will also get Jonny Venters back this season. He was a tremendous lefty reliever before having Tommy John surgery. On the other hand, their offense is very talented but very frustrating. Freddie Freeman is one of the best, young hitters in the league and is a MVP candidate. He is off to a fast start batting .307 with a .382 OBP, 6 homeruns, and 19 RBIs. Justin Upton is also hot batting .303 with a .378 OBP, 9 homeruns, and 19 RBIs. However, Upton had a monster start last season too before falling fast back to Earth. While Freeman and Upton have been great, outfielders BJ Upton and Jason Heyward are a disappointment again batting .212 and .202 respectively. Second baseman Dan Uggla is past his prime and only batting .184. Those automatic outs really kill their offense. At this point, I am not very confident that they will be able to turn it around. Nevertheless, their pitching will keep them at the top of the division.

Grade: A

2. New York Mets (15-11)

When Matt Harvey got injured last year and needed Tommy John surgery, the Mets delayed their plans to try to put together a top team. Nevertheless, they have the pitching depth in their organization to be a big time team in the next few years. That pitching has kept them afloat so far. Jonathan Niese has been great with a 1.01 WHIP, 1.82 ERA, and 30 Ks versus 9 walks in 39.2 innings. Dillon Gee is pitching above his ability at 3-1 with 1.05 WHIP and 2.51 ERA. However, he only has a 32K/14BB ratio so he has been lucky. As such, the Mets will be smart to trade him for a good position player if they get a chance with their pitching depth. Zach Wheeler has a ton of potential with 39 Ks in 39.1 innings. However, he still has a lot of work to do with his command as he also has 17 walks. I think he can be a very good middle of the rotation starter but I do not know if he will ever be an ace. Veteran signing Bartolo Colon has great peripherals with 34 Ks against 5 walks. However, the results have not matched up with a 5.36 ERA. Once he gets his numbers better, I can also see Colon as trade bait like Gee. On the other hand, the Mets have a problem with their bullpen. It was not strong to begin with and was crippled when closer Bobby Parnell needed Tommy John surgery. If they stay in contention, I would expect one of their young, power arms to take the role. For example, Jenrry Mejia has been shaky in the rotation with a 5.23 ERA and walks a lot of men. Nevertheless, he has 34 Ks in 32.2 innings. Consequently, it may suit him better to be in the pen and bring it for an inning or two. The Mets offense has also been a disaster. They have a pathetic team batting average of .225. They only signed one free agent, Curtis Granderson, to help. Unfortunately, he has been a disaster batting .175. In addition, top catching prospect Travis d’Arnaud still cannot get it done in the Majors batting .200. He has been great in the minors so questions will continue whether he is an AAAA player. The Mets have a lot of work to do on offense before they contend in the future.

Grade: B

3. Washington Nationals (16-12)

The Nationals started out poorly last year. They got hot at the end of the season but it was too little too late. They are off to a decent start this year. On offense, they have suffered a couple of key injuries. Injury prone Ryan Zimmerman got hurt but he hit .364 with 6 homeruns in only 10 games. Bryce Harper plays recklessly and got injured sliding head first. They need both players back in the lineup. I think this offense can be great once they return. Jayson Werth continued his great finish to last season. In the early season, he has batted .313 with a .397 OBP, 4 homeruns, and 17 RBIs. Adam Laroche is having a rebound season batting .324 with a .427 OBP, 5 homeruns, and 21 RBIs. In terms of pitching, the Nationals still have three top of the rotation starters with Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmerman, and Gio Gonzalez. Gonzalez and Zimmerman have pitched well with ERAs under 3. Strasburg has not even pitched all that well yet but still has a 3.42 ERA and 64 Ks in only 47.1 innings. His stuff is filthy. They also have a good 1-2 punch at the end of their bullpen. Rafael Soriano has 7 saves and has yet to give up a run. He also has a .85 WHIP and 15 Ks versus 5 walks in 13 innings. His primary setup man, Tyler Clippard, has walked too many in the early going but also has 21 Ks in 15 innings. The Nationals have some of the best talent in baseball. If they get it together, they can be a championship team.

Grade: B

4. Philadelphia Phillies (13-13)

The Phillies are old but their veterans are producing so far. Second baseman Chase Utley is off to a fast start batting .325 with a .379 OBP, 3 homeruns, and 16 RBIs. Ryan Howard has had a resurgence with 7 homeruns and 20 RBIs despite a .236 average. Jimmy Rollins has been productive batting .267 with a .341 OBP, 3 homeruns, 16 RBIs, and 5 stolen bases. However, young outfielder Domonic Brown has been bad with a .226 batting average, .286 OBP, and only 1 homerun. They need him to step up to have any chance. The Phillies still also have good pitching. Cliff Lee is pitching very well as usual with a 1.29 WHIP, 3.64 ERA, and 51 Ks against only 7 walks in 54.1 innings. They signed A.J. Burnett in the offseason. While he has a 1.29 WHIP and 2.90 ERA, his terrible 39K/21BB ratio is very alarming. He has been great with the Pirates the last couple of years because he significantly improved his command. If he cannot find that command, his stats will implode shortly. They also got ace Cole Hamels back recently. He has a 7.20 ERA but he will turn it around and be great. Jonathan Papelbon is still a great closer with 9 saves, 1.05 WHIP, 2.03 ERA, and 12 Ks versus 4 walks in 13.1 innings. In the end, I believe the Phillies’ window of opportunity has already closed and they should blow up the team to rebuild. They have a lot of pieces that could help other teams with their 3 veteran hitters, Papelbon, and Lee. Cliff Lee could get a good haul as he is still one of the best pitchers in the game who can pitch a team to a championship.

Grade: B-

5. Miami Marlins (13-14)

The Marlins went on a spending spree a few years back to line up with the opening of their new stadium. However, it did not go well and they blew up the team to rebuild quickly. The organization took a lot of heat as the Miami taxpayers felt tricked. Nevertheless, they have rebuilt the team quickly. They have a talented, young team that is tough for opponents. They arguably have the best hitter and the best pitcher in the game after the first month. Giancarlo Stanton has been on a tear batting .294 with a .385 OBP, 11 homeruns, and 40 RBIs. Jose Fernandez is 4-1 with 0.90 WHIP, 1.74 ERA, and 65 Ks versus 12 walks in 46.2 innings. He is the clear, early frontrunner to win the Cy Young Award. In addition, they have a lot of young, good pitching that will make them difficult to play against. Nathan Eovaldi has also been tremendous with a 0.99 WHIP, 2.78 ERA, and 45 Ks versus 6 walks in 45.1 innings. Tom Koehler and Henderson Alvarez also have low ERAs but I expect regression as their K/BB ratios are not stellar. They also have a solid closer in Steve Cishek. The Marlins will be a pain to deal with all season with their young pitching and Stanton. They will not make the playoffs but they have a bright future with some top prospects arriving soon.

Grade: B+

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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