NEWSLETTER
One of baseball’s biggest surprises through six weeks? The AL Central has been pretty good this season. Plus, Walker Buehler returns to a major league mound after 22 months, Shōta Imanaga’s four-seamer draws national attention, and more in today’s MLB Notes.
Don’t Look Now, but the AL Central is Pretty Interesting
On paper, it was set to be one of the worst divisions in baseball. The division (except for the lowly White Sox) has defied expectations through the first six weeks of the season and has been quite interesting.
The Cleveland Guardians are at the top of the pack with the third-best record in baseball, and they’re doing so with staff ace Shane Bieber out for the season after making just two starts. What gives? Well, Cleveland is 13th in baseball in home runs this season after finishing dead last in that department in 2023. They also rank eighth in team ERA despite not having Bieber to anchor the staff. As a White Sox fan, it’s maddening to see Cleveland pump out solid homegrown pitching on a seemingly never-ending basis, but they do.
The Minnesota Twins rode a 12-game win streak into relevance over the last two weeks despite early-season injuries to Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton, and Royce Lewis. Minnesota’s 3.87 team ERA ranks 15th in baseball, and their 34 home runs rank 17th. There’s a chance the Twins could revert to the team we saw open the season 7-13, but for now, they’re adding to the fun in the AL Central.
Kansas City is sitting in third place in the AL Wild Card right now, thanks to an overhauled roster and the renaissance of veteran catcher Salvador Perez. Salvy is hitting .328 with eight home runs and a 165 wRC+ in his age-34 season for the Royals. Shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. has already amassed 2.3 fWAR in the first six weeks of the season and is on pace for a monster season. If not for Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson, Witt would be the most impressive shortstop in the American League this season.
The Tigers are only a game over .500 and not likely a contender this season, but they’re seeing their rebuild begin to turn the corner. Oh, and Tarik Skubal has been must-watch baseball this season. Skubal has a 1.90 ERA and is strikeout out opposing hitters at a 33 percent rate in his first seven starts this season.
Outside of the White Sox, the AL Central has been fun to watch this season.
Walker Buehler Makes His Return
Walker Buehler returned to the mound Monday night for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Buehler was sidelined for 22 months after undergoing a second Tommy John Surgery. He registered his first strikeout since 2022 in the top of the second inning, but Buehler has changed since his last time on a major league mound in June 2022.
In the time between his last strikeout and his first last night, Buehler got married, welcomed his first child to the world, and battled the mental anguish that came with being on the shelf for nearly two years after being the ace of the Dodgers pitching staff before the injury.
“Walking in from the bullpen was one of the cooler probably moments of my career, just the wave of people,” Buehler said. “It’s meant a lot to my family and me to play here and be a part of the success of this organization. And so to come back and kinda have that feeling is pretty cool.”
Buehler wasn’t perfect in his return. He allowed three runs on six hits. He also struck out four and walked none. All three of his runs allowed came in the first two innings. After a Nick Gordon solo home run in the second, Buehler didn’t allow another run.
The start wasn’t perfect, but according to Buehler, it was what he needed to believe that he still belonged in this game. The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya painted a wonderful picture of Buehler’s return in his column this morning. You should check that out.
Zack Wheeler Shines Again
Zack Wheeler is off to a sizzling start this season and is the front-runner for the NL Cy Young through six weeks. He fired off another strong performance on Monday for the Phillies, baseball’s best team to this point. Wheeler allowed one earned run in seven innings and racked up 11 strikeouts while allowing four hits and one walk. His four-seamer registered 13 whiffs on the afternoon against the San Francisco Giants.
Wheeler has a 1.64 ERA in eight starts. His ERA ranks fourth among qualified starters, and his 0.89 WHIP ranks sixth. His 63 strikeouts are tied with Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow for the most in baseball, and his 1.8 fWAR is the highest among starting pitchers this season.
Bryce Harper, who could be a dark-horse MVP candidate in the NL this season, went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer for the Phillies. When was the last time teammates won the MVP and Cy Young Award? That would be in 2013 when Miguel Cabrera and Max Scherzer took home the awards in the AL. The last time it happened in the NL was in 2005, when Albert Pujols and Chris Carpenter took home the honors for the St. Louis Cardinals. It could happen again this season in Philly.
Shōta Imanaga’s Fastball Drawing National Attention
“The most valuable pitch in baseball in 2024 is a 92 mph fastball. That seems impossible. But Shōta Imanaga is showing the Major Leagues that velocity is just a number.”
MLB.com’s David Adler gushes about Cubs starter Shōta Imanaga’s four-seam fastball, which has played a significant role in his hot start. Imanaga is 5-0 with a 0.78 ERA and 35 strikeouts this season for the Cubs.
Here’s Jed Hoyer discussing the Shot-a-mania:
