5 Biggest Surprises of Week 1 of the 2014 MLB Postseason

The first week of the MLB postseason has had it all.

We’ve seen teams mount unimaginable comebacks late in games, whether it be the Kansas City Royals rallying to defeat the Oakland A’s in the AL Wild Card Game or the Baltimore Orioles getting to the Detroit Tigers bullpen for four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning in American League Division Series Game 2.

We’ve also seen some historical collapses, most notably Clayton Kershaw yielding seven earned runs to the St. Louis Cardinals during the seventh inning of National League Division Series Game 2. It certainly wasn’t what anyone was expecting for the soon-to-be three-time NL Cy Young Award winner.

In general, the first week of the postseason has been full of surprises. And based on how some of these series are playing out, it’s a safe bet there’s going to be even more in the coming weeks.

Here are the biggest surprises from Week 1 of the 2014 MLB postseason.

5. Brandon Finnegan, LHP, Kansas City Royals

Brandon Finnegan emerged as a Royals hero in the AL Wild Card Game, as the rookie left-hander held the A’s to just one run over 2.1 innings in extra innings. The 21-year-old left-hander was selected by the Royals with the No. 17 overall pick in this year’s draft out of TCU and then rushed through the minor leagues so as to work out of the team’s big league bullpen in September.

The Royals were so impressed with Finnegan’s performance over the final month of the regular season that they decided to include him on the postseason roster—a decision that has paid huge dividends. After his brilliant outing in the Wild Card Game, Finnegan has appeared in each of the Royals’ two wins against the Angels in the ALDS.

The southpaw has now thrown 1.2 scoreless frames between both games, throwing only 14 pitches overall, and he picked up his first postseason win Friday.

Not bad for a kid who was on the verge of being drafted four months ago.  

4. J.D. Martinez, OF, Detroit Tigers

The Tigers signed J.D. Martinez during the offseason after three inconsistent seasons with the Houston Astros, targeting him for his platoon potential given his knack for mashing left-handed pitching.

However, Martinez blew past all expectations out of the gate and eventually hit himself into an everyday role with the club. He finished the regular season with a .315/.358/.553 batting line, 23 home runs, 30 doubles and 76 RBI while playing in 123 games.

According to Martinez, his turnaround at the plate this season is a result of working with an anonymous hitting guru. From Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com:

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Naturally, everybody wants to know who the so-called "secret guru" is, now that Martinez, who was claimed by the Tigers near the end of Spring Training and joined their active roster in mid-April, is MLB's biggest breakout performer of the year. But the matter only becomes more mysterious when Martinez discusses why the guy, with whom he still checks in weekly, wants to remain anonymous in this instance.

"He said it's more for me than it is for him," Martinez said. "He doesn't want me to get in trouble or anything. He said, 'Just do you.' "

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Martinez’s red-hot bat has carried over into the ALDS against the Orioles, as he launched a solo home run in Game 1 and followed it with a go-ahead three-run blast in Game 2 the following day.

3. Mike Moustakas, 3B, Kansas City Royals

Jeff Gross/Getty Images

Yes, this postseason has been the Eric Hosmer coming-out party, but the strong performance by his good buddy and fellow corner infielder, Mike Moustakas, has been more surprising.

Moustakas battled through a dismal first half of the season, as he batted just .192 and even spent time down in Triple-A. Though he fared better after All-Star break, the 26-year-old still finished the regular season with the worst batting average (.212) and on-base percentage (.271) among AL third basemen with at least 500 plate appearances, while his .361 slugging percentage and 76 wRC+ ranked ahead of only Matt Dominguez.

But the postseason seemingly has brought out the best in the left-handed-hitting third baseman, as he’s 3-for-10 with three runs scored through the Royals’ three postseason contests.

Before Hosmer hit an extra-inning home run Friday night, Moustakas became the first Royals player to hit an extra-inning homer—it also was his first home run since Aug. 25—in the postseason with his go-ahead solo shot off Fernando Salas the previous night in Game 1 of the ALDS.

2. Mike Trout, OF, Los Angeles Angels

Denis Poroy/Getty Images

It was yet another monster season for Mike Trout, as he batted .287 while leading the American League in both runs (115) and RBI (111) and ranking third in home runs (36), triples (nine), slugging percentage (.561) and OPS (.939). More impressively, Trout led all MLB position players in WAR (7.8) and finished second to Andrew McCutchen in wRC+ (167).

Naturally, big things were expected of Trout in his first trip to the postseason. However, the 23-year-old phenom hasn’t made much of an impact through the first two games of the ALDS, going a combined 0-for-8 with a strikeout, caught stealing and two walks.

Trout expressed disappointment with his Game 1 performance, per Quinn Roberts of MLB.com:

"The emotions are high and you want to do so much," Trout said. "That can be when you get in trouble. You just have to go out again."

Unfortunately, with an 0-2 series deficit, Trout and his Angels are running out of time “to go out again.”

He’ll still go down as baseball’s best player in 2014 and finally claim his first AL MVP award, but there’s no denying Trout’s performance this October has been a huge disappointment.  

1. Clayton Kershaw, LHP, Los Angeles Dodgers

It goes without saying that Clayton Kershaw was the best pitcher on the planet this season.

The 26-year-old left-hander won his final seven starts to finish the regular season with a ridiculous 21-3 record, while his 1.77 ERA and 239 strikeouts both were tops in the National League. Kershaw also established a new record, per MLB.com, by winning his fourth ERA title in the last four years.

However, after dropping two games to the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2013 NLCS, Kershaw had something to prove with his start in Game 1 of the NLDS.

Kershaw yielded a solo home run to the second batter of the game, rookie Randal Grichuk, but he then proceeded to retire the next 14 batters. Then came the seventh inning, however, and Kershaw yielded seven earned runs and coughed up a five-run lead.

Per MLB.com:

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The Cardinals, after not hitting with a runner in scoring position all night, went 5-for-7 in such spots in that inning. They took five consecutive at-bats with the bases loaded against Kershaw, who had faced only three batters with the bases full in his 27 regular-season starts.

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Kershaw has now allowed 15 runs over his last two postseason starts against the Cardinals, and there’s a chance that number could increase should the series reach Game 4.

As has been the case with Trout, Kershaw’s shaky performance this October has been an unexpected disappointment. At the same time, I don’t think anyone would be surprised if the left-hander dominated in his next outing, provided the Dodgers are still alive and well.