The first month of the 2017 MLB season has concluded and not a moment too soon for several clubs, most notably the Kansas City Royals.
The Royals, who won back to back AL pennants in 2014 & 2015 and a World Series title in 2015, own MLB's worst record going 7-16 in April. They ended the month with nine consecutive losses. The Royals are 6½ games back of the defending AL champion Cleveland Indians. The Tribe has a ½ game lead over the Chicago White Sox, a 1½ game lead over an improved Minnesota Twins squad while the Detroit Tigers are two games back. The Royals, while not out of it by any means, have some catching up to do in a competitive division.
The Toronto Blue Jays experienced a similar fate to the Royals in the AL East. After winning the AL East in 2015 and the AL Wild Card in 2016, the Jays find themselves 8 games back of both the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles. Injuries to Marco Estrada, Aaron Sanchez and 2015 AL MVP Josh Donaldson haven't helped matters. Like the Royals, the Jays have dug themselves a hole in a competitive division with the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays 2½ and 4½ games off the pace respectively.
In the AL West, the Houston Astros appear to have regained their 2015 form ending the month of April with a three game lead over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Dallas Keuchel appears to have regained his 2015 Cy Young form going 5-0 with a 1.21 ERA in MLB's inaugural month. But the Angels, after underachieving in both 2015 and 2016, have won 7 of their last 10 games. Meanwhile, the Oakland A's, Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners are bunched together at 5, 5 and 5½ games off the pace, respectively. Like the Royals and Blue Jays, the Rangers have thus far shown little of their form that earned them back to back AL West titles in 2015 and 2016 while the Mariners have not yet had the breakout season for which fans in the Pacific Northwest have longed hope. Meanwhile, the A's are very streaky and it is unclear which side of the streak will prevail in 2017.
Over in the NL, the Washington Nationals own MLB's best record at 17-8 which was capped off with an astounding 23-5 shellacking of the New York Mets yesterday in which third baseman Anthony Rendon went 6 for 6 with 3 HR and 10 RBI. Rendon had a good month one afternoon. But the Nats have been good all April and own a 5 game lead on both the Miami Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies with the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets bringing up the rear. Yes, the 2015 NL champions and 2016 NL East winners have lost 7 of their last 10 games and have lost one of their top starters in Noah Syndergaard who sustained a lat injury during the 23-5 debacle. Syndergaard had missed a start several days earlier, but had refused to undergo an MRI and now he and the club are paying the price. The Mets still have Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Steve Matz, but it isn't enough to overcome a NL worst .217 team batting average.
The NL Central is thus far MLB's most competitive division. The defending World Series champion Chicago Cubs (never thought I'd write that sentence) have a one game lead on the St. Louis Cardinals and the upstart Milwaukee Brewers led by Eric Thames. After stints with the Blue Jays and Mariners in 2011 and 2012, Thames has spent the four years playing in South Korea where he has become a home run machine. In 103 plate appearances, Thames has slugged 11 home runs. Thames must have the Cubs spooked because pitcher John Lackey and pitching coach Chris Bosio not so subtlety suggested Thames was juicing without evidence. The Cubs and Brewers rivalry could make the Red Sox-Yankees look like a Sunday picnic by comparison. Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates had a so-so 11-13 record in April, but they are only 2½ games behind the Cubs. The Reds and Brewers are undoubtedly grateful they aren't in the NL West.
Since 2010, the only teams from the NL West to have made the post-season are the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants. This could change in 2017. April ended with the Colorado Rockies leading the Arizona Diamondbacks by ½ game. The Rockies and D'Backs are helmed by new managers - Bud Black and Torey Lovullo, respectively and seem to have given their clubs new life. The Dodgers are a respectable two games back, but the Giants who have won three World Series titles this decade have the worst record in the NL. To make matters worse they are 1½ games back of the San Diego Padres which have a payroll $100 million lower than the Giants.
Can the Giants, Mets, Royals, Blue Jays and Rangers rebound in May? Or will teams like the D'Backs, Rockies, Brewers, Yankees and Astros which rode high in April get shot down in May? We'll find out in a month's time.
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