Red-Hot 2015 MLB Starts That Are Nothing but a Mirage
Having determined last week which players making impressive first impressions are for real—and which aren't, like Clay Buchholz, C.J. Wilson and Kyle Kendrick—here's another batch of hot-starting players, all of whom probably ain't for real.
Oh, and this time, we're including teams, too. Because individuals shouldn't get to hog all the not-worthy notoriety.
DJ LeMahieu, 2B, Colorado Rockies
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Look, DJ LeMahieu is a nice little player for the Colorado Rockies. He's a really great defender whose exploits with the glove were rightfully recognized when he won the NL Gold Glove at second base in 2014.
On offense? LeMahieu is, well, a really great defender. OK, that's a bit harsh, because the 26-year-old does make contact (16.9 percent career strikeout rate) and has a decent .281 lifetime average in the majors.
But LeMahieu has been absolutely, inexplicably bonkers through the first seven games of 2015, with at least one hit in each contest and a .517 mark overall (15-for-29) after—get this—his third three-hit game already, which came Monday against the San Francisco Giants.
Thing is, for all that contact, not much of it is hard. LeMahieu has averaged an extra-base hit about every four-and-a-half games as a pro between the minors and majors. In other words, his .577 BABIP is even more ridiculous than it looks.
Ubaldo Jimenez, RHP, Baltimore Orioles
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Ubaldo Jimenez very well may be the poster boy for the who-knows-what-he'll-have-today starter.
After a disastrous first season with the Baltimore Orioles during which he was relegated to a relief role by midyear because he was on his way to a 4.81 ERA and 1.52 WHIP, the 31-year-old needed a late-spring surge just to make it back to the rotation this year.
Then he went out and twirled a one-hit, one-walk, no-run masterpiece with eight strikeouts against the potent Toronto Blue Jays in his first outing of 2015.
"I was executing the pitches," Jimenez said via Steve Melewski of MASNSports.com. "Every time you pound the zone, the fielders will be on their toes. If you start throwing a lot of balls like what happened last year, the guys will be sleeping a little bit. I mean, it's a good start. When you have a start like that you will feel more comfortable, more confident for the next game."
As impressive and confidence-building as that performance was, Jimenez is infamous for his inconsistency and inefficiency, so he'll need a few more quality starts before we start signing off. Besides, the O's have stud-in-the-making Kevin Gausman waiting in the wings to seize a starting spot at the first sign of trouble.
Mark Canha, 1B, Oakland Athletics
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A Rule 5 draftee from the Miami Marlins back in December, Mark Canha has gotten off to a strong start for the Oakland Athletics this year.
The 26-year-old has gone 11-for-30 with seven runs and RBI apiece through as many games, his first such in the major leagues. That has helped the Oakland Athletics offense stay solid even after having lost Yoenis Cespedes, Brandon Moss, Josh Donaldson and Derek Norris, among others, within the past nine months.
The platoon-savvy A's are using the righty-swinging Canha wisely, which should help his cause, as should the fact that he proved he can be patient at the plate (.375 minor league OBP) as well as part-time powerful (.474 minor league SLG).
But this is still a rookie who essentially was made readily available to all clubs a little over four months ago. And Canha not only has yet to walk in the regular season, he also whiffed 23 times in 79 trips during spring training—or 29 percent—which was the second-highest strikeout total in March.
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Nick Martinez, RHP, Texas Rangers
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Speaking of Canha and the Oakland Athletics' surprisingly still-better-than-you-think offense, Texas Rangers righty Nick Martinez did well to shut out the AL West rival over seven innings in his first turn, allowing only four hits and two walks over seven frames.
But Martinez, 24, is a finesse right-hander who barely scrapes 90 mph and relies on what needs to be pristine control and command. In a hitter-friendly locale like Globe Life Park in Texas, that's unlikely to get the job done over any extended period of time.
No wonder Martinez registered a 4.55 ERA, surrendered 18 homers and sat down just 77 in his 140.1 innings as a rookie in 2014. An improvement on those digits wouldn't be out of question, provided Martinez adjusts, but he's far from a sure thing and doesn't have the stuff to back up his impressive initial impression.
Cody Asche, 3B, and Freddy Galvis, SS, Philadelphia Phillies
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Why not kill two Philadelphia Phillies with one stone?
A 2-for-4 effort on Monday brought Cody Asche's batting average up to .444, as he's now 8-for-18 on the year. Meanwhile, his mate in the left side of the infield, Freddy Galvis, went a perfect 3-for-3 to push him to 10-for-25, or .400 even.
Both players are hitting really well right now and are still young enough at 24 and 25, respectively, to get better. But neither has been—or is likely to become—an impact offensive performer that their hot starts might suggest to some.
Of the two, Asche has more upside with the bat, considering he possesses some pop from the left side and at least a little plate discipline. Except he'll have to watch out for top prospect Maikel Franco, currently at Triple-A, who could push Asche off third—or at the very least, cut into some of his playing time—by midseason.
The switch-hitting Galvis, on the other hand, owns a .226/.268/.365 slash line in parts of four MLB campaigns. And yes, that's including what he's done here this first week-plus.
The Atlanta Braves
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Following Monday night's 3-2 win over NL East rivals the Miami Marlins, the 6-1 Atlanta Braves sport the best record not only in the division but in all of the Senior Circuit. Just as everyone expected, right?
This makes for a fun rebuilding-team-that-could narrative, but let's be real: No club that spent all offseason trading away its top big league talent, including (deep breath) outfielders Jason Heyward, Justin Upton and Evan Gattis as well as stud closer Craig Kimbrel, is going to get better.
The Braves won 79 games in 2014 and had the second-worst offense in baseball—and that was with all of the above.
And anyway, new president of baseball operations John Hart's plan since taking over has been to remake this club going forward, with the goal of returning to relevance by 2017, when the organization's new stadium opens.
This unexpectedly strong start is cute and all, but the Braves still are likely to be battling the Philadelphia Phillies to stay out of the cellar in the East.
Statistics are accurate through Monday, April 13, and courtesy of MLB.com, Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.
To talk baseball or fantasy baseball, check in with me on Twitter: @JayCat11
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