I think it’s time to go back to 10 days ago when I prepared my MLB predictions. I’d like to put the Phillies atop the NL East by several games, the Rays atop the AL East, the Mariners in as a wild card and the Orioles as a .500 team.
OK, so that’s a bit much, but my goodness, what an odd start to the MLB season this has been.
The Astros have their first losing record since July of 2016.
The Phillies sit atop the first set of Power Rankings by The Athletic.
The Rays are just dominating right now with games not pitched by Blake Snell — yeah, absorb that fact for a second.
The Mariners are 6-1 with a plus-16 run differential.
The Yankees injury bug that hit in spring training has continued into the season with both Giancarlo Stanton and Miguel Andujar joining several other key players on the IL. For Andujar, it could be season-ending.
For the Yankees, this could be season-ending, too.
Overreaction? Yes, perhaps, but there is a point at which they can’t keep it going. Even the prospects are going down, Estevan Florial (broken wrist) for example, so they are running low on options here.
These are just a few examples of how crazy the first five days of the major league season has been.
It’s why we love this game and I’m excited for the next six months to unfold.
DAVIS CRUSHES ANOTHER
Khris Davis made it five homers on the season Monday night with a bomb to dead center field that went 411 feet.
Yelich took a day off from homering, but he still picked up another hit to keep his average at .412.
Who will win the home run battle on the Sex Panthers? Do we care? She seems to be upset with the amount of coverage her team didn't get preseason. Well, maybe she should read some of these daily Jargons. I think the Panthers have been in them every day.
MMMM GOOD
If you drafted, picked up or kept a Mariner, kudos to you. Things are looking really good for you and the M’s to start the season.
Domingo Santana — Sex Panthers again! — is flourishing with an actual place to play, unlike Milwaukee where they never gave him a chance and continued to send him back to Triple-A.
He was a draft target of mine but when it came down to it, I didn’t have a spot for an OF at the time.
Had I know the Reds were going to drink mind-erasers and forget what Jesse Winker did as a starter, I would have drafted MLB’s current RBI leader with 11. He also has three homers, two doubles, two stolen bases, six walks, seven runs scored and a .333 average.
But I didn’t draft him.
Instead, Gina was looking for an outfielder, so I shouted over to her draft table.
“I like Domingo Santana. I can’t get him but if you’re getting an OF, I recommend swiping him.”
And she did.
There are other M’s out there rocking it, like JLB free-agent acquisition Tim Beckham — already anointed by Parker as “Waiver Wire Pickup of the Year” — who is off to a roaring start in the seven-hole of this lineup.
Beckham is batting .423 with three homers, eight RBIs, eight runs scored and five walks.
Mallex Smith is hitting (.294) and stealing bases (2) at the top of the lineup, Dee Gordon (.276 and 4 stolen bases) is doing the same in the nine-hole, Ryon Healy (.310, 6 doubles, 2 homers) is a slugging machine who had homers and doubles galore before finally singling on Sunday.
Mitch Haniger, Edwin Encarnación and Jay Bruce also look good in this lineup
All fantasy owners are happy thus far.
If this continues, maybe we actually see the Mariners finally get that wild card — which would be funny considering this is the first year that they weren’t a sleeper pick to make it.
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