By Jhett Laurie
Staff Writer
As the MLB season has been in full swing for nearly three weeks, clear leaders have begun to show among players and teams. The NL West has been outstanding, with four out of the five teams holding records above .500 and three teams with more than 10 wins, more than any other division.
The Padres have been by far the most dominant team in the league, with a 14-3 record and an 11-0 home record. They are ranked second for batting average as a team with a .284 and second for on-base percentage with a .352. The Padres also rank second in the league in earned run average, with 2.70.
Fernando Tatis Jr. has been dominant at the plate, raking in six home runs and boasting a .361 batting average. In his sophomore season, Jackson Merrill has been a key contributor to the Padres' success, batting .378 with a 1.091 on-base plus slugging percentage.
The Padres will look to ride the hot bats of their star outfielders once they begin playing within their strong division.
One of the more shocking storylines of the season is the flailing Dodgers. After starting the season 8-0, they have underperformed as of recently, dropping six out of their last 10 games, most notably in a 16-0 blowout loss to the Chicago Cubs at home. This loss is the largest at home in Dodgers history, according to ESPN.
Offense seems to be the biggest issue for the Dodgers, currently sitting at ninth for runs and hits. Sophomore pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto currently sits at a 1.23 ERA, ranking him seventh among qualified pitchers.
The Dodgers need to find some momentum, as the red-hot Padres and Giants don’t seem to be slowing down within the division. If the Dodgers keep this pace, they will be fighting for a Wild Card spot come September, as the division could very well end up favoring the Padres or Giants over the reigning champs.
The New York Mets have been one of the better teams in baseball this season, with their pitching being unparalleled among teams. They currently have the lowest ERA, sitting at 2.22 through April 14. This is a whopping 0.5 points lower than the second-place Padres.
Former Home Run Derby champion Pete Alonso has been one of the strongest hitters in the MLB this season, currently holding a 1.137 OPS and 19 RBIs, placing him at third and second, respectively.
Mets pitcher Kodai Senga has been one of the strongest in the league with a 1.06 ERA. Mets relief pitchers have been outstanding, with the likes of Ryne Stanek and Reed Garrett each not allowing any runs. They currently do not meet the requirements for ERA rankings, but they each hold a zero ERA over their innings in relief.
Across the city, the Yankees have been putting in their respective work this season. After the rough loss of Gerrit Cole before the season even started, the season was looking bleak for Yankees fans. That was until opening day, when the Bronx Bombers debuted their new ‘torpedo’ bats.
According to ESPN, the new bats have their weight redistributed to 6-7 inches below the tip, the most likely place that a hitter will make contact. Designed by an MIT engineer, the new style of bat is expected to harbor a new era of bats in baseball.
The Yankees, while not the only team to use the bats, have implemented them on the largest scale, and they have results. They currently lead the MLB with 32 home runs as a team. Jazz Chisholm and Aaron Judge each have six home runs while Ben Rice has five.
Judge, the reigning AL MVP, appears to be in mid-season form, as he is top three in many of the major hitting categories, such as batting average, home runs and OPS. Judge looks to earn his third MVP award and lead his team to their first World Series since 2009.
The Philadelphia Phillies have also had a strong start to the season, using a series victory over the Dodgers to build momentum. Phillies pitching has struggled this season, with star pitcher Aaron Nola holding a 0-3 record and 5.51 ERA and Zack Wheeler with a 4.07 ERA.
Led by the likes of Nick Castellanos, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, they look to topple the Mets for the lead in the division. In what is sure to be an intense series, the Phillies take on the Mets starting April 21.
The MLB has quite a few teams that are proving to be strong this season, and an interesting playoff race seems to be brewing.
