The biggest surprises from the first month of the MLB season

The MLB season is just over a month old, and there are some developments that fans and followers of baseball didn’t predict. We’ll delve into the biggest surprises in MLB so far. All statistics are sourced from Baseball Reference.

The Houston Astros have made the playoffs in eight of the last nine seasons, winning two World Series titles in that span. However, they’ve gotten off to a slow start in 2024 under new manager Joe Espada.

According to Yahoo Sports, the Astros have been beset by injuries to the starting pitching staff, and have also not gotten clutch hits with men on base. Given their recent track record, it seems likely that Houston will bounce back, but their progress will be something to monitor.

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The Miami Marlins acquired second baseman Luis Arraez before the 2023 campaign, and he continued his contact-hitting excellence in his first year with the team. He won the National League batting title a year ago, after accomplishing the feat in the American League with the Minnesota Twins in 2022. However, Miami traded him to the San Diego Padres in early May.

The Marlins have gotten off to a putrid start in 2024, and might be looking to sell assets off earlier than they normally would. Still, Arraez’s departure is somewhat surprising given his age and productivity. CBS Sports gave the Padres a more favorable grade on the trade than the Marlins.

It seemed like the Atlanta Braves’ ace was set to put up some special seasons in the years to come. Strider still might accomplish those lofty goals, but his career was put on pause after a bone fragment caused him to need season-ending surgery.

Strider told MLB’s website that this setback that this “isn’t a pause”, and that he needs to embrace this opportunity and make the most of it. The Braves hope that he’ll be able to return fully healthy in 2025, but it was a turn of events that not many would have predicted.

In his 2023 rookie season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Carroll seemed like he could do no wrong. He was a force at the plate as a contact and power hitter, and stole 54 bases. However, 2024 has unfolded quite differently for the 23-year-old outfielder.

Just Baseball presented some metrics that help put Carroll’s struggles into perspective. His flyball rate and line drive rate have both dipped so far in 2024, which has in twice as many pop-ups than he had in 2023.

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The Detroit Tigers were in the process of rebuilding their team, led by former top overall draft pick Spencer Torkelson. Any improvement from their young players would be taken positively, but they weren’t expected to be in the American League Central race this season.

Forbes noted that the pitching staff has been the key to Detroit’s strong play so far, and noted that their free agent investments in pitching are paying off immediately.

Speaking of pitching, the New York Mets weren’t expected to be able to hold teams down on the mound. Kodai Senga’s injury, and the organization’s decision to fill out their rotation with high risk players didn’t leave fans with a ton of optimism. With that said, they’ve performed better than expected.

The New York Post wrote back in March that the team had a lot of faith in players like Luis Severino, Jose Quintana and Sean Manaea, and so far, that belief has been justified.

It’s not surprising that Witt Jr. is one of the best players in MLB. It’s surprising that he’s one of the elite players right now, as that giant leap wasn’t supposed to happen for another year or so.

The New York Post noted that Witt Jr’s American League MVP odds are right up there with some of the game’s best. If the Kansas City Royals continue to play well, fueled by Witt Jr’s fantastic performance, it’s possible the shortstop could claim the honors at season’s end.

It feels like there has been an uptick in altercations and bench-clearing fights so far during the 2024 MLB season. In early May, the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays threw haymakers at one another. Tensions are already high, so it’ll be interesting to see if this continues into the summer months.

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