MLB Predictions: 5 Teams That Will Snap out of April Swoons

The first month of the season has been very eventful with some surprising starts already. The Texas Rangers jumped out and lead the West with a 13-3 record. The Washington Nationals are leading the East in pitching with a 2.21 ERA, and are atop their division.

On the flip side, there are some teams who have struggled so far and haven’t played up to their expectations. The Phillies are two games under .500 currently and do not look like former NL Champs. Also, the Angels are five games under. And that is just a couple.

I’ve compiled a list of my top five teams who have gotten off to rocky starts, but definitely still have a chance to redeem their season.

1. Boston Red Sox (10-6)

One of the biggest surprises of the season thus far has been the Bo Sox’s sloppy play and horrendous pitching. This year was supposed to be “their” season with the addition of new manager Bobby Valentine and new general manager Ben Cherington.

Nothing has gone right for Valentine this season; both Carl Crawford and Jacoby Ellsbury are on the DL again. It seems like déjà vu all over again. Crawford is going to see specialist Dr. Andrews about the sourness in his left elbow. Ellsbury suffered a subluxation of his right shoulder will be out for at least another month or so.

Even in the absence of these star players, their offense has been able to put up staggering numbers already; they are second in the American League in hitting at .291 and have scored the third most runs in the league with 87.

David Ortiz is leading the charge; he’s batting .444 as he’s collected 28 base hits in just 63 at-bats, including three home runs, 15 RBI and eight doubles already on the year. Adrian Gonzalez is batting at a .302 clip, but that’s what we expect from him. He’s jolted just two home runs on the young season. Cody Ross leads the team with five long shots.

The problem this season with Boston has been their atrocious pitching staff. Collectively, they sport the worst stats in the majors; their team ERA sits at 6.27 as they’ve allowed 99 earned runs over just 142 innings pitched.

I realize it’s early in the season, but five of their pitchers have ERAs higher than seven. RHP Daniel Bard and RHP Josh Beckett are the only two starters with ERAs in the 4s. Both starting and relief pitching has been horrendous for the Red Sox. If they want to be competitive, that’s what they need to work on.

2. Los Angeles Angels (6-11)

The second most surprising team that has started off on a terrible path is the Los Angeles Angels. The entire offseason was centered on their next move and whether or not they would lock down Albert Pujols. Well, even he hasn’t been able to keep pace with the mighty Texas Rangers.

Both their offensive and pitching numbers are down this season. The Angels’ front office lured Pujols to Anaheim with the expectations he would be able to put up similar numbers as he did with the Cardinals: 35+ home runs, 100+ RBI and .300+ batting average. Not to mention all the intangibles he brings to the table.

However, this year, he’s hitting just .232 over his first 16 games, and he’s yet to connect for his first home run in an Angels uniform in the regular season. If the Angels are going to contend with the bulldozing Rangers, Pujols has to get off the snide and produce for them.

As a team, they’re hitting .254, which places them 5^th in the American League. By no means is that low, but some of their proven hitters are struggling and can really bring those numbers up if they get hot.

Bobby Abreu, who’s only played in six games, has just four base hits in 20 at-bats. Torii Hunter is hitting .279 over his 15 games, but he’s yet to go for the long ball as well.

So, yes, some are hitting well, but their power isn’t there; they rank 11^th in home runs in the league with just 11 on the year. Not only are they struggling in the power department, they’ve only scored 67 runs, which places them 10^th in the league.

Overall, their offense needs to be more productive, and whenever Pujols, Hunter and Abreu come around, they’ll be more competitive.

Pitching-wise, they’ve struggled a bit as well. As a whole, they sport a 4.41 ERA. Starters C.J. Wilson (2.37 ERA) and Jared Weaver 2.43 ERA) are the leaders in the rotation, and both are pitching very well.

Dan Haren (4.07 ERA) is struggling a bit, but in time he should revert back to his old ways. He’s a slow starter, and he’ll pitch to better results when their offense comes around.  Both Ervin Santana and Jerome Williams have been shaky in their outings (each sports ERAs above seven). But, Santana has a proven track record of being a strong starter for the Angels, and should adjust.

They’ve just gotten off to a slow start, but I’m sure they’ll improve as the weather becomes warmer and warmer.

3. Philadelphia Philles (8-10)

The Philadelphia Phillies are another team that you would expect to have a better record by this time of the year. Of course, they did lose their power-slugging first baseman Ryan Howard last October due to a torn Achilles tendon.

Their pitching staff is one of the best, if not the best, in all of baseball, and they’re putting together impressive numbers thus far. Collectively, they sport a 2.93 ERA, which is good for second 4^th in the National League, and 2^nd in their division, behind the surprising Washington Nationals.

Their starting rotation could be the scariest in baseball as it features Roy Halladay (1.50 ERA), Cliff Lee (1.96 ERA, who currently just was placed on the DL), Cole Hammels (2.95 ERA), Vance Worley (2.16 ERA) and Joe Blanton (4.34 ERA). Not to mention, they have Jose Contreras as a back-up starter with great experience despite his struggles so far this season.

Out of the pen, Chad Qualls is hot and currently sports a 1.29 ERA through seven contests. Not to mention, they added former Red Sox closer Jonathon Papelbon (1.13 ERA) to the back end, which would fortify any bullpen around the majors.

The Phillies major problem has been their offensive woes; as a team, they’re hitting just .248 on the year, which places them in the middle of the pack (7^th of 16 teams). Without Howard, they have relied on the unlikely home run power of Shane Victorino (four home runs) and Hunter Pence (three home runs).

Former MVP Jimmy Rollins has never really reverted back to his old ways since his injury. This season is no different; he’s batting just .229 with 16 base hits in 70 at-bats throughout the first 18 games. He’s the most important batter in the offense. The Phillies need him to get back on track and for Howard to make a roaring comeback to rejuvenate this offense.

4. Miami Marlins (7-9)

Entering this season, there were great expectations placed on the Marlins. This was even before they played their first game on their new, beautiful field in South Miami. Many chose the fish to win their division and make it to the playoffs.

They definitely have not lived up to those standards yet. Ozzie Guillen was brought in to wrangle this bunch, including newly-acquired Carlos Zambrano, Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, and Heath Bell, to start the list.

As a team, they are really struggling at the plate; hitting just .237, good for 10^th in the National League. Leadoff hitter Reyes, who’s supposed to be the go-to-guy to get on base, has not impressed since his debut. He’s just 14-for-65 (.215 average), including five doubles and two triples.

Another staggering statistic is the amount of runs scored so far. The Marlins have crossed the dish just 58 times this season, which places them 10^th in the league. One of the reasons behind their low run total could be due to the struggles of Reyes and not getting on base as often yet.

Ramirez, who is the face of the organization, is also having a hard time at the plate. He’s batting just .250 as has collected 15 base hits in 60 at-bats, including four home runs and 12 RBI. So, he has been able to produce power but needs to work on getting more base hits.

Giancarlo Stanton, formerly Mike Stanton, has yet to connect for his first home run of the year after smashing 34 last season. He’s batting at a .255 clip with just five RBI.

Pitching-wise they have been strong. They sit with a 3.22 ERA, which is good for 6^th in the National League and 3^rd within their division, behind the Nats and Phils.

However, Bell has really been a disappointment in the closer role. Throughout the first 16 games of the year, he’s already recorded two blown saves in just four opportunities. Not to mention, he sports an inflated 7.20 ERA in his six appearances. This is not the same Bell from the last three years with the Padres. I’m sure he’ll adjust to South Florida in May.

Both Zambrano (2.84 ERA) and Buerhle (2.66) have been strong for the Marlins over their first three or four outings. If they can continue to be consistent, Miami will have a very tough starting staff. The only question is their hitting and whether or not they can produce more runs.

5. Minnesota Twins (5-13)

The Twins are one of those teams who will sneak up and come out of nowhere to win a division. They’ve gotten off to a tough start this season, mainly due to the struggles on the mound and in the power department.

Pitching-wise, they sport a 5.69 ERA, which ranks them second-to-last in the American League. They have used six different starting pitchers, and four of them have ERAs over five runs per game. Carl Pavano (4.73 ERA) has been the only somewhat consistent starter.

Starter Francisco Liriano has tossed 16.1 innings and allowed 22 earned runs already (11.02 ERA) over his four outings. Both starters Jason Marquis and Nick Blackburn sport ERAs in the sevens.

Out of the bullpen, a couple of their relievers have gotten off to rough starts as well. Former Nationals closer Matt Capps is 0-1 with a 5.14 ERA. Relivers Matt Maloney and Glenn Perkins both are sitting with ERAs above eight.

The Twins have always been a team that’s prided themselves on playing the fundamentals of baseball, and that means pitching well. This has been a tough start pitching-wise for the Twins. If they are going to have any shot at a wild card this season, their entire pitching staff needs to step up.

Offensively, they’re batting at a .252 clip, which is good for 6^th in the league. That’s about all the good news there is. They’ve only smacked 13 home runs on the year (9^th in the league), and scored 65 runs (10th in the league).

Their power numbers are down due to the struggles of their two power sluggers, Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. Mauer has only one home run and just 9 RBI on the year. Morneau’s connected for four home runs, but he’s only driven in seven.

Mauer and Morneau are the heart of the Twins offense. If they don’t produce the numbers they are capable of, Minnesota is in for a long summer.