The 2024 season is off and running, and it's overreaction time.
This is the time of year where owners make the silly mistakes of dropping players too early due to slumps, while others get too hyped over players who will never keep it up.
But as we have seen with the Spencer Striders of the past, some will keep it up so there is reason for everyone to get excited about hot starts and hope they have the "next big thing." That's why I thought I'd take a look at some of the great starts in the JLB, which includes several players who may fall off this list in the next week.
This is a list that is a mix of superstars and surprise stars and as we see with the first name on the list, players who have a lot of pressure in the JLB to live up to where they were drafted.
10. Ian Happ
There were a few LFs I thought for here, but I chose Happ over Steven Kwan and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. All three are off to great starts, but with Happ going 1-1 in our draft, I'm impressed with how he has lived up to that billing. He's among the League leaders in hits, runs scored and walks. He's batting .325 with a .438 OBP. Happ has scored 10 runs and driven in 8. He's a perfect fit in the leadoff spot for the Cubs and I could easily see him scoring more than 100 runs this year with the lineup behind him.
9. Jared Jones
What a story for Jones. He really wasn't on anyone's radar to be an impact starter right at the start of the season, but here he is sitting at 1-1 with 2 quality starts for the Pirates. He has 17 strikeouts to just 2 walks to boast a 0.94 WHIP. He does have a 3.86 ERA because he has given up some hits, and that would be the only knock against him; players have hit him well. His fastball velo, chase percentage, whiff percentage, K percentage and walk percentage are all in the 90th (and above) percentile, but he's among the worst in the majors in hard-hit percentage and barrels.
8. Tyler O'Neill
Mr. Muscle is showing off for Boston in the early going with 5 homers, but sadly, he has a Mike Trout problem in that all were solo shots and that is all the RBIs he has this year, so far. That should change as he finally gets the chance to smash balls off the Green Monster. O'Neill is batting .357 in 9 games with the Sox. He has scored 12 runs and walked 9 times to boast a .514 OBP. I really liked O'Neill and passed over him in the draft. That is proving to be a mistake so far.
7. Garrett Crochet
When we all saw that the White Sox were moving Crochet to the rotation because they didn't have any starters to step in, we all laughed. Admit it. But look who's laughing now. With 2 quality starts in 3 outings, Crochet has a 2.00 ERA with a 0.667 WHIP. He also has 21 strikeouts in 18 innings. His most recent outing against the Royals was his shortest, so maybe we are over-reacting here considering the first starts were against the Tigers, whose offense really hasn't gotten it together, and the Braves in a very cold, weather-impacted start. Nevertheless, using the stats, Crochet has been among the players who have impressed me the most to start.
6. Reid Detmers
Man has Detmers been impressive! He's 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA and a 0.818 WHIP. He's struck out 19, walked 4 and only allowed 5 hits in 11 innings. His metrics are off the charts through 2 starts. His whiff rate is 41.8 percent which is in the 97th percentile, and his K percentage is 45.2 which is in the 99th percentile. Crox has to love his choice to hold on to him.
5. Jose Berrios
Who would of thought he would be on this list 2 years ago with he finished the year with a 5.23 ERA? Well, after a quietly good season in 2023, Berrios leads MLB with 3 quality starts. He is 2-0 with a 1.45 ERA and 1.125 WHIP. He has 14 strikeouts in 18.2 innings and is a lone bright spot on a Slammers pitching staff that has notably struggled through the first matchup of 2024.
4. Spencer Steer
With triple eligibility, Steer is a fantasy stud right now. He had a strong 2023 that did fade a bit in the summer heat, but he's on fire to start 2024 for the Gamblers. Steer is batting .378 with a triple, 3 HRs, 14 RBIs, 2 stolen bases and 9 runs scored. He's also walked 4 times for a .465 OBP. Steer had a strong May and June last year, but fell off in July and August, so it will be interesting to see if he can be more consistent in 2024. If he can, he will instantly be a fantasy steal for the Gamblers.
3. Shohei Ohtani
How can I not put him on this list? Actually, this list could easily have 5 Dodgers on it. Ohtani has a .375 average through 13 games with an MLB-best 17 runs scored. He also has 5 HRs and 11 RBIs, and his 13 walks has him sitting with a .514 OBP. It's truly a tough run for pitchers to have to deal with him right after they deal with the man who is No. 2 on my list.
2. Mookie Betts
When Choo traded for Ohtani, I sent him one message and it was about Betts. I said Betts alone makes it worth it. Seriously. Ask Choo. I said it. And so far, with a .375 average and .508 OBP, he is easily an early season MVP candidate. Betts has 17 runs scored, 3 doubles, a triple, 5 HRs and 11 RBIs. He has 2 stolen bases and a 1.300 OPS. The 31-year-old is coming off of his best season where he hit .307/.408 with 39 HRs, 107 RBIs, 96 walks, 126 runs scored and 40 doubles. He's on pace to surge well past those numbers, so we'll be on MVP watch with him for sure.
The story of Ronel Blanco is incredible. He was among the JLB waiver wire claims on Opening Day, but he wasn't taken in the first round of waivers. He wasn't even taken in the second round. The Steaks grabbed him on the third time around the waiver order. As it turns out, he should have gone in the first round of the JLB Draft. He's 2-0 with 2 quality starts with a 0.00 ERA and 0.467 WHIP. He's given up just one hit in 15 innings of work so that easily makes him No. 1 on this list. That said, I do have some reason for pause here as he's walked six. The command is a bit of an issue, and a part of his success has been attributed to a pitch that was not on any scouting reports until now. The next few opponents should be plenty ready enough for his change-up. Will they hit it? Well, maybe they won't, but as we saw with the Rangers on Sunday, maybe more will spit on it and earn walks.
If that happens, then one of the many omissions will move up into the Top 10.
Omissions like an Anthony Volpe who is batting .417 or, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith who I just squeezed out because I didn't want to list all Dodgers. Juan Soto, Ketel Marte, Cole Ragans, Grayson Rodriguez, and sadly, Shane Bieber, all had the great stats worthy of this list, but when factoring in fantasy value in where certain players were acquired, I'm sticking with the 10 I picked for being the most impressive in the JLB.
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