There have been a few surprises thus far in MLB season. Many predicted the Toronto Blue would steamroll towards a division title and that just isn’t going to happen. The Texas Rangers were supposed to be geared for a down year given the loss of Josh Hamilton; however, it is the Rangers who top the division while Hamilton’s new team the Los Angeles Angels are lagging seven games behind for the division lead.
Over in the National League there aren’t too many surprises. The Atlanta Braves got off to a hot-start only to cool considerably in their last ten games; while the Los Angeles Dodgers, Washington Nationals and San Francisco Giants are all playing .500 baseball.
The biggest surprise thus far this season has got to be the New York Yankees. Many people thought that the Yankees would be hard-pressed to win the division even with a full complement of roster players and some went so far as to say that even the wildcard was going to be a stretch for this bunch.
If I had told you in the preseason that the Yankees would have over $83 million in salaried players currently on the disabled list come May 1, would you have pegged them to have 15 wins on the season and be in second-place in the American League East? Absolutely not, is the answer to that question.
The Yankees have the third-highest winning percentage in the American League and as a team they are top-ten in the league for offensive statistics. Robinson Cano is leading the charge and is pacing the Yankees in every major offensive category. The cast-off crew of Vernon Wells and Travis Hafner appear to be rejuvenated by playing in the Bronx as each is off to a terrific start.
Mariano Rivera is his usual self as he has racked up nine saves out of the Yankees 15 wins. CC Sabathia has been solid thus far as he is the staff leader in wins with four as well as strikeouts with 36. Hiroki Kuroda has established himself as a legitimate starter as he leads the staff in ERA, WHIP and WAR.
For the Yankees to have 15 wins on the season while Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira have yet to play a game is quite an accomplishment. They are perfectly poised to make a run at the division title and yet another playoff run once these injured players return to the lineup.
There is no doubt that the Yankees have been the biggest surprise of the season so far. Whether or not they can sustain the success in lieu of the injuries remains to be seen, but one thing’s for certain, they have outperformed all expectations to this point.