Unbelievable: Brewers Head Coach Pat Murphy Has Been Banned In Any MLB Game….
April is almost over, meaning it’s time to take a deeper dive into the performances we’ve seen during baseball’s first month in an exercise we like to call the all-April All-Stars.
It’s easy to give too much credence to a player’s performance out of the gate, but early struggles could also be a sign of what’s to come. In that vein, one aspect of the game I monitor closely during April: which young hitters are adjusting and improving — and which ones aren’t.
We saw Elly De La Cruz struggle last season after his initial rocket start to stardom, but it appears he is figuring things out. He is chasing less often and seems to better understand how pitchers are attacking him. As a result, he’s hitting .281/.395/.573 with seven home runs (and still running wild on the bases, leading the majors with 18 stolen bases). Bobby Witt Jr., who improved dramatically in his 2023 sophomore season after a rocky rookie year, appears to be growing into his strength, hitting .308/.349/.547 with 16 extra-base hits and only further cementing his status as one of the best all-around players in the game.
As good as those two have been, however, they aren’t the starters at shortstop for the all-April All-Stars. That’s because they play the same position as Mookie Betts and Gunnar Henderson — the former a future Hall of Famer adapting to a new position and tearing it up at the plate and the other a sophomore sensation who, like De La Cruz this season and Witt last year, is only building upon his rookie numbers. As the season races on, those battles for starting shortstop at the All-Star Game at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, will be the most intriguing.
Let’s go through each position and pick an All-Star, a player to keep an eye on and someone off to a disappointing start as April comes to a close.
How good does this trade continue to look for the Brewers? In a three-team deal in December 2022, they acquired Contreras from Atlanta and reliever Joel Payamps from Oakland for outfielder Esteury Ruiz. Contreras finished 11th in the MVP voting a year ago, and he has grown into a strong two-way player. He might not be a Gold Glove contender behind the plate, but he certainly has developed much better than the Braves believed he would. (Atlanta acquired veteran catcher Sean Murphy in that deal.)
Keep an eye on: Patrick Bailey, San Francisco Giants
Bailey earned rave reviews for his defense last season as a rookie, but he hit just .233 with a sub-.300 OBP. So far, he’s showing big improvement at the plate, with elite exit velocity metrics and an above-average walk rate.
Disappointment: Henry Davis, Pittsburgh Pirates
The former No. 1 draft pick played the outfield when he was called up last season — and not very well — but moved back to catcher with the offseason injury to Endy Rodriguez. When drafted out of Louisville, Davis’ bat was at least viewed as a sure thing, but he continues to struggle with a sub-.200 average and no home runs.
First base
All-Star: Pete Alonso, New York Mets
Alonso hasn’t let his free agency status affect him as he appears on his way to a fourth career 40-homer season. He would be in pretty good company: Only 15 players have had at least four 40-homer seasons through their age-29 season. Ten of them are already in the Hall of Fame, and Albert Pujols should get there someday. Plus, Alex Rodriguez is on that list. The other three: Adam Dunn, Juan Gonzalez and Ryan Howard.
The Dodgers didn’t have room for him on their major league roster, so the Cubs swung an offseason trade for a player who put up big numbers in Triple-A. Busch is off to a strong start in Chicago, homering in five straight games. He has a lot of swing-and-misses, but he doesn’t chase much, and the power is legit. He looks like a potential 30-homer guy with a solid OBP — just as his minor league numbers suggested.
The 36-year-old has a history of slow starts only to recover with his usual strong campaigns. Given that he’s coming off a career-low .810 OPS, however, there has to be some cause to worry that the fastballs are catching up to him — or that he can’t catch up to the fastballs like he once did.
