There is no perfect science to predicting the outcome of sports, especially before even a game has been played. The 2013 Major League Baseball season is no exception. More than half the schedule has been completed and Citi Field is busy preparing for this year’s Mid-Summer Classic. The three and a half months leading up to it has given us some exciting and unexpected play and I thought I would put the spotlight on a few teams and players who have surprised the baseball masses.
Pittsburgh Pirates (t-1st Place NL Central)
Courtesy: NY Times
“The losing streak will continue. Get ready for number 21.” That is what Sports Illustrated published in its baseball preview issue for April. The “21” mentioned is in reference to the sub .500 play in Pittsburgh for two decades. Well the Buccos are most certainly making them eat their words. Stud outfielder, Andrew McCutchen, has rebounded from a slow start to post a .303 BA, 9 home runs, 46 RBI, and 18 stolen bases to provide the offensive base for this team. Add in third baseman Pedro Alvarez with his 22 round trippers and Starling Marte’s 27 steals and this team can do a lot. They even pitch. Veterans AJ Burnett and Francisco Liriano look as if they are in their prime again. Burnett leads the team with 102 K’s to go along with a 3.05 ERA. Liriano must think he is in Minnesota again; his ERA is a measly 2.20 and he has a record of 8-3. However, the “ace” has probably been Jeff Locke, who I will talk about a little later.
Boston Red Sox (1st Place AL East)
2012 is a distant memory for these BoSox. Each week we expect them to become that dysfunctional team of the past and each week they just keep doing everything right. Currently, they lead baseball with 54 wins. Doing the heavy lifting has been the reliable duo of Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz. To this point Pedroia leads the team with a .321 BA and a .401 OBP. Big Papi is carrying them with 17 round trippers and a .575 slugging percentage. A little extra boost comes from Jacoby Ellsbury’s legs which have a league- leading 36 swiped bags. To me, there have been two unexpected spark plugs, Daniel Nava and Jose Iglesias. Nava is as solid as they come; 10 HR, 50 RBI. Iglesias has been the super-utility man; he can play anywhere and when he does, he hits. In just 152 at bats Iglesias has a .395 BA and a .446 OBP; he’s pesky. The big difference has been pitching. Clay Buchholz has been great with a 9-0 record and an ERA under 2. John Lackey looks young again; his record is only 6-6 but his ERA sits at 2.8. Veteran pitchers Ryan Dempster and Jon Lester have been solid and they may get better as the pennant race comes down to the wire.
Cleveland Indians (2nd Place AL Central)
I wasn’t the only one who was confused by the Indians this off season. They went out and made a lot of changes. Terry Francona was brought on to right the ship which made sense but then they went on a mini spending spree. The front office signed slugger Mark Reynolds to fill DH, gave Nick Swisher a big contract to put on a first base glove, and added speedster Michael Bourn to the top of the order. The team had lost 94 games in 2012 and didn’t seem ready to compete, especially with the pitching. Boy, was I wrong. Well, kind of. The offseason additions haven’t really done much. Swisher is struggling to a line of .243, 9 HR, and 30 RBI. Reynolds leads the team in homers with 15 but is hitting only .218 and has struck out 106 times. Bourn has been good; he has played well in the field and sports a .289 BA but he only has 12 steals. The star has far and away been second basemen Jason Kipnis. He leads the team in most offensive categories including BA (.296), stolen bases (20), and RBI (54). For his performance he received an all-star nod along with teammate Justin Masterson. Masterson has looked filthy at times. He has 10 wins and an ERA of 3.78 but most impressive has been his strikeouts, he has 131 already. This team could make a push if they add an arm at the deadline.
Jeff Locke (LHP Pittsburgh Pirates)
As I mentioned above the rookie Locke has been the unofficial ace of the Pirates staff. He doesn’t get a lot of attention; probably a result of his pitching style. Locke is a ho-hum type of starter. His fastball usually sits around 90 mph. But his line of an 8-1 record and a 2.12 ERA in a solid 102 innings pitched is not ho-hum and it earned him a spot on the NL All-star team.
Dominic Brown (OF Philadelphia Phillies)
The silver lining of what has been a disappointing summer for the Phillies has been Dominic Brown emergence. For years Brown was touted as a top prospect but he never reached stardom. Now in his age 25 season he is putting up big numbers. His 23 home runs is good for second in the NL. Coupled with that is his .281 BA and 64 RBI.
Paul Goldschmidt (1B Arizona Diamondbacks)
Out west in the National League it’s tough to get noticed. Puig-mania is in full effect and the Giants have won 2 World Series in 3 years. However, Arizona leads the division and their MVP has far and away been Mr. Goldschmidt. His 21 home runs have already eclipsed his total of last year. Those 74 RBI he has leads the National League.
Courtesy: USA Today
Chris Davis (1B Baltimore Orioles)
This man is quickly becoming the scariest site for an opposing pitcher for a few reasons. The numbers are video game like; .320 BA, 85 RBI, and a league-leading 33 home runs. But perhaps scarier than that is his pure strength; pop ups become home runs. I don’t know about you but I don’t want to pitch inside to this guy. If I miss and hit him somewhere he doesn’t like it may my head that lands in the bleachers. He is no longer the guy that just couldn’t stick in Texas.
Hisashi Iwakuma (RHP Seattle Mariners)
Felix Hernandez is not alone in that Mariner rotation any longer. In fact, he may even be playing second fiddle as Iwakuma’s ERA is a bit lower than King Felix’s. Iwakuma’s 2.60 leads the AL and he is doing it in a crafty way. His fastball stays in the low 90’s but it has some late movement and appears to sneak up on hitters. The 32- year old from Japan pitches artfully and is routinely deep in games, averaging almos t 7 innings per outing.
*All Stats as of 7/8/13.*
