This MLB season was full of surprises, whether it be individual or team performances. This MLB season was full of surprises, whether it be individual or team performances. In a sport where people say there is not much diversity, that surely does not seem to be the case as there were two teams who were at the bottom of the league last year record wise who went on to make the playoffs.
We also had a couple of extraordinary individual performances from some unlikely candidates. Some guys came out of nowhere to put up MVP season while others finally tapped into their potential. Below are the teams, and players that stuck out to me that had seasons better than even they could have hoped for.
10. Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays were not a very good team last year, and expectations were particularly low coming into this season as they had traded away their ace in David Price in the middle of last season, and lost their manager during the offseason to the Cubs.
The Rays suffered a rash of injuries, particularly to their pitching staff, but in typical Rays fashion they managed to find a way to stay afloat. Half way through the season the Rays were actually in first place, and left many people wondering how this team was staying so completive despite the many losses they endured both before and during the season.
With Kevin Cash now running the show, the Rays shocked the baseball world and managed to stay in contention for much of the season. Behind superb defense, a great bullpen, and a true ace in Chris Archer, the Rays showed how they are always able to defy logic.
Kevin Kiermaier proved to be one of the better defensive outfielders in the game with his great arm and diving catches. If the Rays are able to add a little talent in the offseason or turn out some more prospects as they seem to do every year, they may be able to make some noise in an always tough AL East.
9. Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees
Unless you are the most devout of Yankees fans, there is a good chance you wrote off A-Rod heading into the 2015 season. Rodriguez had been dealing with hip issues for the last couple of seasons, and when you combine that with his age and the fact that he was suspended for all of 2014 it easy to see why people did not believe in him.
In my opinion though the year off did A-Rod a lot better good than bad. It finally gave his hip time to heal after it had been nagging him the past couple of seasons. A fully healed hip allowed A-Rod to turn on inside fastballs which he had been unable to do for years, and really drive the ball for power.
A-Rod managed to stay off the disabled list this season in large part to becoming the teams full time DH thus limiting an extra stress his body would’ve taken by playing the field. As a result of staying healthy he had his first 30 homerun season since 2010, and had his highest homerun total since the 2008 season. If it weren’t for the amazing comeback of Prince Fielder, you would be looking at this years comeback player of the year, as he went on to become an integral piece of the Yankees.
8. Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays showed some promise when they finally made it back above .500 and finished only five games out of the wild card. The Blue Jays started out hot this year and when they realized they were still in contention by the All-Star break they decided to make some moves to bolster their roster. The Jays acquired Troy Tulowitzki, and David Price in their efforts to make their first playoff appearance since they won the World Series in 1993.
The Jays went on to win their division, and managed to make it to the AL Championship series before being defeated by the Royals, the eventual World Series Champions. The Blue Jays had far and away the most potent offense in baseball scoring 891 runs which is 127 more than the Yankees who scored the second most runs.
While many expected the Jays to be good not many saw this type of season coming as the Blue Jays are looking like a legitimate playoff threat for years to come with a fantastic lineup, and young pitching on the way.
7. Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals
The potential has always been there as Harper was the consensus number one pick when the Nationals drafted him a few years back. A big part of his breakout season is that he was able to finally stay healthy, and vastly improved his eye at the plate.
Harper finally displayed some of the power that so many scouts saw at homerun derby’s and college games. Harper was tied for seventh in baseball with eight “no doubt” homeruns which is a homerun that cleared the fence by at least 20 feet and traveled at least 50 feet beyond.
Harper easily set career highs in almost every batting category, batting .330 with 42 homeruns, 38 doubles, 118 runs, and 99 RBI. Harper displayed an incredible eye with 124 walk, which lead to his astonishing .460 OBP. Just as people were doubting whether Harper’s attitude and health would prevent him from reaching his potential he posts a monster MVP caliber season that is unseen by many players in their primes let alone at 22 years old.
6. Houston Astros
The Astros stunned the baseball world when they went on to make the playoffs this year. The Astros finished as the third worse team in baseball, and considering their youth, and what was considered to be a tough division no one expected the Astros to make such a big leap this year. The Astros rode their power hitters, a young super star in Carlos Correa, and their much improved pitching to make it to the playoffs.
The Astros had five players hit at least 22 homeruns, and they got a CY Young caliber season from Dallas Keuchel. Strong pitching and timely hit homeruns was their recipe for success, and with a little more seasoning and willingness to make more contact at the plate the Astros can be a dangerous team in the coming years, after being the definition of mediocre for so many seasons.
5. Chicago Cubs
It isn’t shocking that the Cubs are one of the best teams in baseball, what’s surprising is that it happened in the 2015 season. The Cubs have one of the best minor league systems in baseball, and they relied on that young talent to propel them to a near 100 win season in the toughest division in baseball.
The Cubs had two hitters make the All-Star team, Anthony Rizzo, and Rookie of the Year front runner Kris Bryant. The Cubs relied on some other young talent though for this Cinderella season of theirs. Middle infielder Addison Russell, and outfielder Kyle Schwarber who has just silly power to all parts of the field went on to play big parts in the Cubs season. Schwarber more so than Russell, as Schwarber carried his monster power into the playoffs, and helped add power to a Cubs during the regular season that it lacked outside of Rizzo.
It wasn’t all hitting though the Cubs pitching was much improved with the addition of Jon Lester, the emergence of Jake Arrieta, and shut down closer Hector Rondon. The Cubs also had the perfect manager for the job in Joe Maddon who is use to having young teams from his time in Tampa Bay, and he knows just how to push their buttons and when to let them be themselves in order to maximize their potential.
When you consider the Cubs went from a .451 win percentage to one of the best teams in baseball in the best division in baseball, with 97 wins, it makes this season that much more spectacular.
4. Jake Arrieta, Chicago Cubs
The potential for Arrieta to develop into an ace was always there, but he lacked something whether it was health or trying to be too much of a thrower and not a pitcher. Arrieta used to think his electrifying stuff was enough on it’s own to get him through a game but now that he has learned to pitch he has become lethal on the mound.
Arrieta has one of the most dominant seasons you can get from a pitcher with a 1.77 ERA, .865 WHIP, 22 wins, and 236 strikeouts in 229 innings, but he had possibly the best second half of a season you will ever see. After the All-Star break Arrieta posted a 0.75 ERA in 107 innings with 113 strikeouts, and a 12-1 record. The Cubs have transformed Arrieta from forgotten prospect to potential CY Young winner.
3. A.J. Pollock, Arizona Diamondbacks
Despite his team not being very good, and Pollock having to fight to get a starting job in a crowded outfield, Pollock went out and had a great all around season. Pollock went from speedy above average defender to all around lethal weapon. Pollock made his first All-Star team this year and he finished the season batting .313 with 20 homeruns, 111 runs, 76 RBI, and 39 steals.
Power and speed is a rare combination in today’s game, as many players choose to sacrifice their speed for power, but this combination is even less prevalent among guys who are able to bat for a high average such as Pollock. To understand how rare a season like this is, this type of power, speed, and average combination is so rare that you generally only see these types of skills among players like Mike Trout. Now I’m not saying Pollock is a Mike Trout but this is just an example to show you how rare it is to find a guy who is capable of these types of stats.
2. Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies
In his third year, Arenado broke out and had a monster season that would have him in MVP conversations if his team weren’t so bad. It was known that Arenado was a great defender, and that he had potential to be a good hitter especially at Coors Field, but now we know he can be a great hitter. Arenado had more homeruns, and RBI this year than in his first two season combined, as he went on to hit .287 with 97 runs, 43 doubles, 42 homeruns, and 130 RBI.
One of the more impressive things about this season is that his power was not aided by the friendly confines of Coors field. Arenado hit 20 homeruns at homeruns, and 22 on the road, but he did have a higher batting average at home by around .40 points. As crazy as it seems there is still room for growth for this slugger as he is only 24 years old, but no longer will he be sneaking up on anybody as he has legitimized himself as a top tier hitter.
1. New York Mets
Who would have seen this season coming for the Mets. We all knew that they had a great pitching staff with Jacob deGrom, and Matt Harvey, but then they called up Noah Syndergaard, and Steven Matz, and opposing hitters basically had no chance. When the All-Star break came around, and the Mets realized they had something special brewing in New York they went out and acquired Yoenis Cespedes who had a monster second half for the Mets, and was an integral part of their magical playoff run.
The Mets made it all the Way to the World Series, during their first playoff appearance since 2006. If it weren’t for a lack of overall experience among the team they may have won it all this year with that great starting rotation, but they ran into a Royals teams that was determined to win it all after being bested by the Giants last year in game seven.
Nobody expected much out of the teams in the N.L. East other than the Nationals who managed to not meet expectations, and eventually surrendered their division lead to the Mets who took it, and never looked back.
It is said that pitching wins championships, and if that really is true then the Mets are going to be championship contenders for a long time as they have perhaps the hardest throwing rotations in baseball history, that has the potential to become one of the best rotations the sport has ever seen. If the Mets are able to bolster their bullpen and pick up a bat or two watch out, as they already only need to score 3-4 runs to win a game with their team as is.