Winners and Losers from the First Week of the 2016 MLB Season
After slogging through a long, cold winter and going through the motions in spring training, Major League Baseball has a full business week of 2016 regular-season action under its belt.
Spoiler alert: It went better for some than it did for others.
We know this because our purpose here is to look at the biggest winners and losers from the week that was. We have five of each, ranging from teams that did and didn't do well to players who are already super-hot to one who's sadly going to be out for a while.
Step into the box whenever you're ready.
Winner: Trevor Story
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Here's a story about a guy named Story who's a heck of a story.
OK, enough of that. Point is: Trevor Story has been amazing. The rookie Colorado Rockies shortstop has homered six times in four games to lead the league. Per ESPN.com, he's only the fifth major leaguer to homer in each of his team's first four games. Even better, he's the first rookie to do so.
"It's an honor," the 23-year-old told Thomas Harding of MLB.com on Wednesday. "I can't really understand it. It's just kind of surreal that this has happened."
Actually, it makes a lot of sense. Story's hot hitting is a case where a guy who raked in spring training (1.199 OPS with six homers) continues to rake. And as Mike Petriello of MLB.com highlighted, Story's home runs have had a perfect combination of exit velocity and launch angle.
Since this is only the beginning of Story's career, there's a limit to how much anyone can get excited. But the Rockies can be forgiven if they can't contain their excitement. The Jose Reyes situation could have cast a dark cloud over their shortstop job. Instead, Story has changed the...well, you know.
Loser: Chicago Cubs
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The Chicago Cubs are doing just fine on the field, thank you very much. They've played four games and won three of them. For those who dig bad on-pace quips, the Cubs are on pace for over 120 wins.
But because of what happened to Kyle Schwarber, it's hard to call them winners.
The young slugger had to be carted off the field after colliding with Dexter Fowler against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday night, and the news Friday, per the club's official site, was not good. Schwarber has a torn ACL and LCL, as well as a severely sprained left ankle. He's out for the year.
"He's going to [be] missed," veteran catcher David Ross told Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. "No sugarcoating it. He's a big part of this team."
No kidding. Schwarber showed huge potential as a 22-year-old rookie last season, OPS'ing .842 with 16 home runs in 69 games and then starring in the postseason. He was especially dangerous against right-handers. And after trading Chris Coghlan, the Cubs may not be able to replace that skill set.
This doesn't mean the Cubs can't win their first World Series since 1908. But it definitely won't be as easy now.
Winner: Robinson Cano
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Trevor Story's six home runs in four games is a great you-know-what.
But in the meantime in Texas, it was the same you-know-what for Robinson Cano. Before cooling down with a measly 1-for-4 on Friday against the Oakland A's, the veteran second baseman helped the Seattle Mariners win two of three against the Texas Rangers in Arlington with four long balls.
With four dingers already in his pocket, the difference between where Cano is and where he was this time last year is night and day. It took him until June 26 to hit his fourth home run in 2015. And by the end of the year, he'd endured his worst offensive season since 2008.
Cano's health appears to be what's changed. After struggling with a stomach ailment last season, he reported to camp feeling "98 percent" healthy. Then came seven spring training home runs. Just like Story, he's been raking for a while now.
This is obviously terrific news for the Mariners. Last season made it look like their $240 million investment in Cano was beginning to circle the drain. But if the 33-year-old can keep this up, they may yet get their money's worth.
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Loser: San Diego Padres
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The San Diego Padres had a really good day at Coors Field on Friday, cranking out 18 hits en route to a 13-6 win over the Rockies.
Before that, though, the Padres were basically the polar opposite of Trevor Story.
Officially, the Padres began their season with a three-game series against the Dodgers. But realistically, they might as well have not shown up at all. They lost all three games and got outscored 25-0.
Yes, that's a zero. And with that zero, the Padres made history. Per the Associated Press (via ESPN), they became the first team to start a season with 27 straight scoreless innings. And with three scoreless frames out of the gate Friday, they pushed that record to 30.
Nobody should be too surprised. The Padres were only 10th in the NL in runs in 2015. And with Justin Upton gone, their everyday lineup doesn't even have one impact hitter in his prime.
The best advice for Padres fans is to enjoy whatever runs are scored. Because in the long run, there likely won't be many of them.
Winner: Pittsburgh Pirates
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The Pirates had a hard time keeping up in the NL Central's offseason headline contest, but you'd never know it from looking at how they've kicked off their 2016 season.
The Pirates got rolling with a three-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals. On Friday, they ran their record to 4-0 by ending the Cincinnati Reds' unbeaten streak with an 6-5 win.
As per usual, Pittsburgh's pitching has led the way with a 2.37 ERA across 38 innings. Francisco Liriano has turned in a pair of solid efforts, and Juan Nicasio's dominance in spring training carried right into his 2016 debut against the Cardinals. In six innings, he allowed a run on two hits with seven strikeouts.
"I'm not thinking too much," Nicasio told Adam Berry of MLB.com. "Like I did in spring training: One pitch at a time, one hitter at a time and keep going the same way."
Though they haven't shined quite as brightly, Pirates hitters are not to be overlooked. They're hitting an even .300, benefiting in particular from hot hitting on the part of their uber-talented homegrown outfield of Starling Marte, Andrew McCutchen and Gregory Polanco.
Speaking of Polanco, the Pirates further added to their good vibes by locking him up with an extension that could keep him in Pittsburgh through 2023, per the team's official website. All told, that's a pretty good week.
Loser: St. Louis Cardinals
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The Cardinals absorbed a few blows in the wake of their 100-win season in 2015. But according to all the things they told Jayson Stark of ESPN.com in March, they're all fine. All fine.
Are they, though? The Cardinals got off the schneid with a 7-4 win at the Atlanta Braves on Friday, but before that, they were on the receiving end of Pittsburgh's season-opening sweep.
And how. As Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote, the Cardinals were outplayed in every phase of the game by the Pirates. But most concerning was their offense, which hit just .168.
"We just didn't hit," Matt Carpenter told reporters. "Nobody really got hot in our lineup. Part of that is they pitched well, and another part is we couldn't get in a groove. But we will, and once we hit, we'll be fine."
Thing is, Carpenter may be overly optimistic. This Cardinals offense is largely the same as the unit that was only 11th in the NL in runs in 2015. And for this season, Baseball Prospectus projects them for the fewest runs in the NL Central.
This is where it's usually courteous to say things could be worse. But with the Pirates unbeaten and the Cubs also playing well, it wouldn't be a particularly accurate assessment.
Winner: Baltimore Orioles
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Like the Pirates, the Baltimore Orioles are one of Week 1's winners because they literally didn't lose. They opened with a three-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins and then topped the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday.
To nobody's surprise, the Orioles have hit well. Manny Machado and Chris Davis, Baltimore's resident duo of slugging studs, each have a pair of home runs. And overall, the club is hitting .285 with an .847 OPS. With quality bats up and down their lineup, that's just the Orioles playing to type.
Slightly more surprising is what the Baltimore arms are up to. After finishing ninth in the American League in ERA last season, O's pitchers own a 1.50 ERA with 42 strikeouts and only nine walks in 36 innings.
Anyone who says they saw all this coming is either a liar or some kind of soothsayer. The Orioles were the forgotten team in the AL East coming into the year, as both Baseball Prospectus and FanGraphs projected them to give up roughly all the runs on their way to a last-place finish.
We'll see how long they can keep it up, but for now it's quite clear the Orioles disagree.
Loser: Arizona Diamondbacks
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The Diamondbacks are up-and-comers, they said. The Diamondbacks are going to pitch better, they said.
But things aren't going the way the Diamondbacks envisioned. Though their record could be worse than 2-3, their biggest struggle is one for the "This Can't Be Happening" file. Their supposedly improved pitching has stunk.
Zack Greinke and Shelby Miller, brought in to help fix a pitching staff that was a drag on an otherwise encouraging 79-83 season last year, combined to allow 13 earned runs in their respective debuts. Overall, Arizona pitchers have a 7.00 ERA across 45 innings.
"It's frustrating," Arizona manager Chip Hale said Thursday. "I think the guys are a little frustrated at this point. I think the pitchers are frustrated. I think the whole organization is frustrated."
In other news, the Diamondbacks also had star center fielder A.J. Pollock go under the knife to repair a broken right elbow this week. The club reported there's no timetable for his return.
In the long run, the Diamondbacks probably will be a competitive team this year. But after a week such as this, it's going to take a lot to right the ship in the short term.
Winner: San Francisco Giants
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Let's face it. With this being an even year, it was inevitable the San Francisco Giants would look good.
All this week confirmed is the Giants have settled on looking good sooner rather than later. They opened the season by taking two of three against the Milwaukee Brewers and have won the first two games of a four-game set against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Giants offense has done its part. It's already notched a dozen runs in a game twice, and overall it's hitting .276 with an .846 OPS. The only regular with an OPS under .700 is Denard Span. And after Brandon Crawford's walk-off Friday, the Giants are already up to nine home runs.
"Not that we needed a reminder, but it shows how good we can be," Span said after the Giants routed the Brewers on Opening Day.
The club's pitching has been more of a mixed bag, but the Giants will gladly take strong opening performances from Johnny Cueto and Matt Cain. Particularly the latter, who looked like his old self for the first time in a while in pitching six innings of two-run ball Friday night.
Meet the 2016 Giants. Same as all the other even-year Giants.
Loser: The 'Chase Utley Rule'
10 of 10Two years ago, MLB's new rules to prevent home plate collisions initially resulted in a whole lot of confusion and frustration. And it's deja vu with the league's new rules to prevent takeout slides at second base.
It only took until Tuesday for the so-called "Chase Utley Rule" to incite controversy. The above play seemed to give the Toronto Blue Jays two runs but instead turned into a game-ending double play when the umpires ruled that Jose Bautista had made an illegal slide into second base.
Bautista was steamed and said it was "embarrassing." And even in granting that the umpires actually got the call right—which they most definitely did—Bob Nightengale of USA Today wrote it just felt so wrong.
The rule struck again Friday night, when a slide by Colby Rasmus resulted in a game-ending double play that killed the Houston Astros' late rally against the Brewers. That prompted Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel to tweet, "Are we even playing baseball anymore?"
There's no getting around it: This is a bad first impression. Though it was bound to happen eventually, MLB was surely hoping it would take a while before the rule decided even one game. That would have made it easier for everyone to get used to it. Instead, former big leaguer Pedro Martinez is right in thinking the league has some re-evaluating to do.
Whereas the ruling on the Bautista incident is defensible from a number of different perspectives, the Rasmus ruling raises questions. Chief among those: Should a double play always be assumed whenever the Chase Utley Rule is in play?
Your call, MLB.
Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless noted/linked.
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