So we’re in season 2 of our baseball boycott, but that doesn’t stop us from checking out the box scores daily. Let’s see what’s going on around the diamond through the first 2 weeks of the 2021 season.
The Red Sox started out by getting swept during their opening series with the Orioles. It was looking like it was going to be another season of disappointment in Boston, but since coming out of the gate 0-3, the Sox have now won 6 in a row and now lead the AL East by 2 games. After a 3 home run performance by JD Martinez yesterday, he’s now hitting .472 with 5 home runs and 15 RBI on the young season.
The Baltimore Orioles are now 4-5 on the year. Trey Mancini hit his second home run on the season as he bounces back from his surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his colon. The O’s top prospect, Ryan Mountcastle, is struggling in the early going hitting just .184 with one longball and 5 RBI.
Tampa is 4-5 after losing to the Bronx Bombers yesterday. Randy Arozarena has been their offensive force hitting .314 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI.
The aforementioned Yankees are also 4-5 through this early point. Brett Gardner and Gio Urshela both well north of a .300 batting average.
The Blue Jays are the 4th team in the division to be 4-5 and 2 games behind the Red Sox. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. may finally be hitting his stride in the bigs as he’s off to a .379 average to go along with his .538 OBP.
Moving over to the AL Central, the Indians lead the way with a with a 5-3 record and a 1/2 game lead over KC and Minnesota. Franmil Reyes off to a quick start with a .333 average, 4 home runs and 7 RBI.
Akil Badoo seems to be the talk of the town in Detroit with his .313 average and 1.165 OPS.
Whit Merrifield is doing everything for the Royals. He’s hitting at a .393 clip with 3 home runs and 10 RBI. In contrast, former Red Sox outfielder, Andrew Benintendi hasn’t found his stroke as he’s struggling to hit just over .200 with a single RBI.
The Twins are packing some punch in their lineup. Byron Buxton is over .480 with 5 home runs and 9 RBI. Nelson Cruz is the owner of a .444 average to go with 10 RBI and Luis Arraez just keeps on hitting with his .357 average.
The White Sox are surely missing Eloy Jiminez, but Yermin Mercedes is taking some of the pressure off by leading the majors in batting at .536 through his first 28 at bats.
The Astros and Angeles both lead the west with a 6-3 record. Yuli Gurriel leads the ‘Stros in hitting with a .355 avg while Kyle Tucker is leading in the power categories with 5 home runs and 11 RBI.
The Angels, per usual, are led by Mike Trout and his .414/3/6 to go along with the always exciting Shohei Ohtani and his .294 and 3 home runs to go along with his 4.2 innings pitched, 7 strikeouts and 1.93 ERA.
Kyle Seager is swinging a hot bat for the 5-4 Mariners. He’s hitting .314 with 2 bombs and 8 RBI.
The Rangers are 3-6. Not too much to see here besides Nick Lowe’s impressive 14 RBI total.
The Oakland A’s are bringing up the rear in the West with a 3-7 record. Nothing much else to see here folks. The best I can come up with is Jesus Luzardo has 14K’s in 10.1 innings.
Over in the Senior Circuit, the Phillies lead the way in the East. Rhys Hoskins and JT Realmuto are both over .300 with young hopeful Alec Bohm is trudging along at .235.
The Braves are two games behind the Phil’s at 4-5. My current favorite, Ronald Acuna Jr., is sporting a .444, 4 HR and 8 RBI line. Can’t wait til he really starts hitting! Pablo Sandoval is coming off the bench hitting .400 with 2 longballs.
The Mets have only played in 5 games (2-3) so far due to Covid and rainouts. Brandon Nimmo is clocking the ball at a .412 pace.
The Marlins stand at 2-6. Starling Marte is the offensive catalyst with his .333 average over the first 30 at bats.
The Nationals can’t seem to catch a break as they start the year at 1-5. Trea Turner is still doing Trea Turner things by hitting over .300.
The Reds lead the central at 6-3. Tyler Naquin has blast 5 balls over the fence and has driven in 14. Former MVP, Joey Votto, has seen much better days as he starts the season 6 for 37 for a .162 average.
The Brew Crew is 5-4 early on. Christian Yelich may be bouncing back with his .333 early season hitting.
The Cardinals are also 5-4 led by long time catcher, Yadi Molina (.367) and newcomer Nolan Arenado hasn’t skipped a beat by hitting .333. Who needs Coors field?
The Cubbies start out 4-5 behind Javier Baez and his 3 bombs.
My Pittsburgh Pirates are in their comfy man cave in the basement, per usual, winning 3 out of 9 games. Phil Evans, filling in for rookie of the year hopeful Ke’Bryan Hayes, is doing a more than competent job by hitting .393 with 3 blasts through 28 at bats.
The clear favorites to win the World Series, the Dodgers, are cruising along at 8-2. Mookie Betts started off hot with a .348 average, but he’s been sitting on the bench lately nursing a stiff back. Max Muncy, Corey Seager, and Justin Turner are all hitting north of .340.
The preseason darlings, the Padres are rolling at 7-3 and they’ve been without their budding star, Fernando Tatis, Jr., for most of that time. Trent Grisham is proving his worth with a .455 average and 2 homeruns out of the leadoff spot.
San Francisco is the final team above .500 at 6-3. Evan Longoria has seemingly found the Fountain of Youth by batting .333 with 3 bombs and 7 RBI. Meanwhile, recent breakout outfielder, Mike Yastrzemski has started out ice cold hitting at a clip of .125 with just one solo homerun for the offense.
The Diamondbacks come in at 4-6. Ketel Marte is scorching, hitting .462 with 2 deep blasts, but he doesn’t seem to have too much help.
Finally, we have the Rockies at 3-7. Ryan McMahon is the offensive star so far. He’s currently cruising with a .324 average with 5 round trippers.
We’ll try to check in every week and see who’s hot and who’s not. Pitchers should start separating themselves in the coming weeks and we’ll jump into them in more depth soon.
Thanks for reading!
Nightly Unwind 