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We are just over two weeks into the 2024 MLB season and once again, the AL East is the cream of the Major League crop.
American League East teams have dominated headlines this season from the dominance of the New York Yankees to baseball’s No. 1 prospect finally making his MLB debut. So, let’s dive into what each team has been up to to kick off the year.
Baltimore Orioles
First, the 2023 AL East Champs, Baltimore Orioles. The O’s won 101 wins last year and entered the 2024 season as one of the most exciting teams in baseball, and they have delivered.
Youth dominated the headlines for Baltimore as players like Colton Cowser, Jackson Holliday, and Jordan Westburg looked to cement their spots in the Major Leagues, which they have.
Colton Cowser leads the Orioles in home runs, RBIs, doubles, batting average, OBP, Slugging, and OPS. Cowser has truly shown he is ready for the big leagues. Although he did have to prove himself, making the team out of camp, it wasn’t until the fifth game of the season that he got his first multi-at-bat game, where he had two hits with a double and an RBI against the Kansas City Royals. Since then, Cowser has just taken off, staying above the .440 mark with his batting average and a 1.445 OPS.
Jordan Westburg has also shown pop to start the year with the O’s. After getting called up by the Orioles in June, last year, Westburg got into 68 games in the Show. In those 68 games, he hit one homer all year; this season, he already has three long balls, tied for second on the team.
And for Jackson Holliday, who to many’s surprise, was optioned to Triple-A and started the season in Norfolk. While down there, Holliday hit two homers in ten games, including a leadoff home run in the season opener; a game where he was a triple away from the cycle. But, on April 10th, Holliday was officially called up to the big squad. It has been far from a smooth transition for the young star, who starting his Major League career on a sour note, going hitless in his first three games. However, in the bottom of the seventh in the series closer against the Milwaukee Brewers, Holliday smacked one through the infield, into right field for a clutch single. Holliday would come around to score representing the winning run in the Birds’ 6-4 victory.
Speaking of the Brewers, Sunday’s starter for the O’s would be the 2021 Cy Young Award winner and three-time All-Star, Corbin Burnes. The same Corbin Burnes the Orioles acquired from the Brew Crew at the start of Spring Training. Burnes has diced since joining the Birds; in his four starts, he has a 2-0 record, allowing only six runs in 23.2 innings and striking out 25.
Burnes has solidified and helped keep the pitching staff afloat despite their rash of injuries. The O’s have four pitchers currently on the Injured list, three of whom are on the shelf with elbow injuries, including two Cy Young finalists in 2023.
Kyle Bradish finished fourth in AL Cy Young Award voting in 2023 after leading the O’s in ERA, strikeouts, and WHIP. Bradish was placed on the Injured List to start the year after a sprained UCL in his throwing arm held him back in the spring. A rehab start for Bradish is scheduled for this week as a return to the rotation seems close.
The same can’t be said for the other AL Cy Young nominee from a year ago, Felix Bautista. Bautista was the anchor for the O’s last season, locking down 33 saves in 39 opportunities. He led the American League in strikeouts amongst closers with 110 plus the lowest ERA at a stingy 1.48. Bautista battled UCL problems all year, including an IL stint in August before eventually needing Tommy John surgery before the O’s first playoff appearance since 2016.
Finally, John Means, who returned from Tommy John surgery in September 2023, made four starts heading into the postseason. Unfortunately for Means, a flare-up in his pitching arm caused a total shutdown in Spring Training. Means has thrown a couple of rehab games for Triple-A Norfolk, but it hasn’t gone well. In seven innings, Means has 10 earned runs on nine hits and three home runs. According to Orioles GM Means is scheduled to make another start at some point this week and could be ready for MLB games by the end of the month.
Reinforcements are coming.
Speaking of those Tides, they have a roster that could compete in the Majors at this point. The Tides lead the International League in runs, homers, RBIs, slugging, and OBP and are showing no signs of stopping, even without Jackson Holliday.
The Orioles are young and they are good, once Holliday fits into his spot and the young guys continue to rake, Baltimore will be bound to give the Yankees a run for their money for the top of the East.
New York Yankees
Speaking of the top of the East… and the Yankees, let’s talk about the New York Yankees!
The Yanks entered the year with one of the most exciting lineups in all of baseball. Adding Juan Soto, Alex Verdugo, and Trent Grisham to an already stacked outfield made the Bronx Bombers look nearly unstoppable, and that’s exactly how they’ve started off the year.
Juan Soto looks like a man on fire right now as he continues to make clutch plays for his new club. Soto, who leads the team in RBIs with 15, has used his offensive abilities and grit to help the Pinstripes to the top of the MLB standings.
Soto’s addition to the top of the lineup has made New York an absolute force to be reckoned with. Rival to only maybe the L.A. Dodgers and/or the Atlanta Braves, Volpe, Soto, and Judge have been one of the best three-headed monsters in baseball. Hitting a combined .305 to start the year with eight homers and 32 RBIs, they have to be one of the scariest groups to face in baseball right now.
Aaron Volpe has been an absolute revelation for the Yanks. Taking over Derek Jeter’s old position as a young prospect is far from a guaranteed success story. After a ton of fanfare, Volpe became a serviceable middle infielder by the end of the year. To start 2024, Volpe is tied for the lead for hits on the team with Soto, with 21, with five stolen bases, and 14 runs, nevermind holding the best average on the team with a .382, the bat is coming around for the young shortstop.
Plus, not to mention Oswaldo Cabrera’s hot start; Second on the team in RBIs and dingers, Cabrera’s shocking production from the hot corner has been such a sweet cherry on top for New York.
But enough with the bats, the pitching is where the real story is. After Gerrit Cole was shut down early in the spring with another elbow injury, the Opening Day starter spot was left in limbo. After the new acquisition, Marcus Stroman turned down the offer so he could stay on his pitching schedule, it was the eccentric one, Nasty Nestor Cortes, who stepped up and took the bump for the Yankees on Opening Day. Nestor has been a bit bumpy allowing at least three runs in three of his four starts this year, but he has shown some solid control. Cortes holds a 3.80 K/BB ratio this year and has only walked more than one batter twice this year.
Carlos Rodon has also stepped up after a disappointing debut season in the Bronx. Holding a 1.72 ERA in 15.2 IP, Rodon has seemingly returned to his former self, proving that last year’s 6.85 ERA was just an outlier.
The Yankees have been exactly what everybody thought they would be entering the year and more. Depending on when Cole can return and whether or not Giancarlo Stanton can keep up this vintage pace, the New York Yankees may finally be the force they used to be.
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox, on the other hand, have not had the most fruitful season thus far. The Bo Sox currently sit fourth in the division, only one game up on the Jays, but it does almost feel worse than that. Boston’s nine wins have come against the Los Angeles Angels, Oakland Athletics, and Seattle Mariners, not exactly the most impressive resumé.
On top of that, injuries have been a prevalent story at Fenway once again. Trevor Story will miss the rest of the 2024 season after falling awkwardly diving for a Mike Trout bloop single, dislocating his shoulder. Story hasn’t played more than 95 games in three years and at the age of 31, there aren’t a ton of chances left for the former two-time All-Star.
Pitching has also taken a hit for Boston as Nick Pivetta has hit the 15-day IL with a right flexor strain in his throwing elbow after he struggled to recover in between starts. Pivetta did play catch over the weekend and is expected to return from his injury when his 15 days are up.
The same can’t be said for one of their big winter acquisitions, Lucas Giolito. Giolito was expected to be one of the top pitchers for the Red Sox, but after just two starts in Spring Training, he was shut down and placed on the Injured List with right elbow discomfort. Giolito is expected to miss a significant chunk of the season, if not the entire year. Not exactly the start with a new team you are looking for.
Speaking of tough starts, Vaughn Grissom, who Boston acquired in an offseason trade with the Atlanta Braves for Chris Sale, suffered an injury early into spring after straining his groin. Grissom has played two rehab games in Triple-A Worcester where he has gone hitless in seven at-bats.
But it hasn’t been all bad at Fenway as winter addition Tyler O’Neill has been hitting the cover off the ball. Tied for the MLB home run lead and holding a .313 average, O’Neill has been a bright spot on a relatively lowly team. Oh, and by the way, O’Neill left Monday’s game against the Guardians after colliding with Rafael Devers and requiring eight stitches in his face. Both he and Devers entered concussion protocol after the game… What a Canadian that O’Neill kid is.
The biggest issue holding the Bo Sox back is their defence. Boston has a league-worst 17 errors this season, adding another one on Monday in their 6-0 loss to Cleveland. Ceddanne Rafaela, who just signed an eight-year, $50 million deal with the Red Sox this past week, leads the team in errors with three as Triston Casas, David Hamilton, and Pablo Reyes follow with two each.
Injuries, combined with poor defence and quiet bats, have handed the Boston Red Sox a slow start to the year. With no clear solution coming soon, it could be a long season in Bean Town.
Tampa Bay Rays
Finally, we have the Tampa Bay Rays, who have kind of been the quietest team in the entire division. After splitting the Opening Series with the Blue Jays, the Rays have had a bit of an up-and-down start to the season.
While grabbing wins here and there against the Jays, Giants, Angels, and Rockies, Tampa Bay has struggled to find a real rhythm. The Rays opposition has scored five or more runs in seven of their 16 games. It has gotten so bad that they’ve already had a position player pitch this year. Catcher Ben Rortvedt threw two innings on Saturday after Ryan Pepiot and Chris Devenski allowed 10 runs on 10 hits.
But it hasn’t been all bad for Ryan Pepiot, though. One of the marquee additions to the Rays, acquired in the Tyler Glasnow trade, Pepiot’s 5.40 ERA is deceiving. Tossing just a 1.02 WHIP and 34.3 whiff%, Pepiot has an expected ERA of 3.11, sitting in the 74th percentile in all of baseball and a strikeout% of 30.8, 83rd percentile. Pepiot has just been unlucky, and that could be the story for the whole club.
Injuries have, weirdly enough, been the story of this report, as Tampa is ravaged by injury issues at the moment. Shane Baz, Shane McClanahan, Taj Bradley, Drew Rasmussen, and Jeffrey Springs have all been sitting on the IL since the start of the year, and that’s just the pitching staff. Taylor Wells, Josh Lowe, Jonathan Aranda, and Jonny DeLuca all started the year on the Injured List and now Brandon Lowe finds himself on the shelf with a strained oblique.
For now, the Rays have been held down by Pepiot, Zach Eflin, and Aaron Civale. Civale, who joined the Rays at last year’s deadline, has been impressive. Boasting a 2.12 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 17 innings, he has not been a problem for Tampa. Ten of the 15 pitchers Tampa has deployed this season have an ERA of 5.00 or higher, but the bats have been just as cold.
Only two Tampa Bay batters have a batting average over .300 in more than 40 at-bats, Amed Rosario and José Caballero. Caballero has had a notable start in his second full pro season, hitting for a .311 average with a homer, six RBIs, and five stolen bases, he has been a nice addition to this Rays roster. Amed Rosario has also been exactly what the Rays have needed. With a .318 average and four doubles, the veteran has added a fantastic work ethic to the squad. For a team without their former top prospect, Wander Franco, Rosario and Caballero have supplied the perfect amount of production at the Trop.
The big thing for the Rays is their bullpen. It is not at all the pitching factory it used to be. With the number of injuries and players thrust into positions they aren’t familiar with, that is to be expected. There may still be some growing pains for the Rays amid a strange transition, but if the rest of the squad can catch up to Rosario’s, Caballero’s, and Civale’s level, they could make the second half of the year quite interesting.
For more on the American League East, you can check out the most recent edition on Blue Jays Nation Radio.
More must-reads:
- Angels to acquire longtime Mets infielder from Braves
- Pirates announce date for 2023 No. 1 overall pick's MLB debut
- The 'MLB Rookies of the Year' quiz
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