We hit on the hot (and not) starts from the NL Central already and we move on to the AL Central for our next installment of looking around the league
Chicago White Sox
Hot
Adam Eaton, OF – The offense is struggling quite a bit, with Eaton leading the team in hitting with a respectable .327 avg, however, also leading the team with a .787 OPS is a different story
Mat Latos, SP – Latos once very promising career, looks like it may be back on track in Chiacago, as he is 3-0, with a 0.49 ERA in 3 starts with 6 hits allowed, 5 walks, and 11 K’s, to go with a .097 avg against and 0.60 WHIP
Chris Sale, SP – Finally, a star player off to a good start! Sale is 3-0, with a 2.35 ERA, has 23 K’s, a .181 avg against and 0.78 WHIP
Not
Todd Frazier, 3B – Frazier’s .182 average is not the worst avg among starters (Avila .136/A.Garcia .156), however his stats are a disappointment for the key offensive addition as he has 10 hits (2 2B, 3 HR) and 15 K’s to go with a .619 OPS
John Danks, SP – Danks has 2 starts under his belt and gave up 5 runs in each of them (7.94 ERA) with a .311 avg against and 1.59 WHIP
Cleveland Indians
Hot
Francisco Lindor, SS – Lindor is following up an very promising rookie season with a solid sophomore start with a .326 avg, 4 XBH, 2 SB, and .835 OPS
Danny Salazar, SP – The 26-year old has shown a ton of promise and is off to a fast start in backing up that promise with a 2-0 record, 0.79 ERA, 16 K’s, .135 avg agaisnst, and a 0.97 WHIP
Carlos Carrasco, SP – A darkhorse Cy Young candidate, Carrasco is 2-0 with a 2.79 ERA with 18 K’s, .208 avg against, and 1.03 WHIP
Not
Carlos Santana, 1B – Santana does have a couple homers and is leading the team with 8 RBI, however his .154 avg and .594 OPS has lots of room for improvement
Corey Kluber, SP – Former Cy Young winner, Kluber has struggled in 2 of his 3 starts and is 0-3 with a 6.16 ERA, has 19 K’s, but also a .286 avg against, and 1.42 WHIP
Detroit Tigers
Hot
J.D. Martinez, OF – Martinez has been there to cover for the struggles of “meat of the order” by hitting .370 with 3 doubles and 2 homers to go with his 1.010 OPS
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C – Nick C or Ian Kinsler could be here as well, however for Salty to get the at bats he’s been getting since the injury to McCann, he’s been impressive. Currently, Salty is leading the team in homers (5), RBI (14) and OPS (1.230) in just 30 at bats. Thank you Miami!!
Jordan Zimmermann, SP – Zim throws against a tough Royals team tonight, however he is 2-0 currently with 13 scoreless innings, has 7 K’s, .167 avg against, and 1.00 WHIP
Not
Justin Upton, OF – If you have been watching the games, you know where to pitch Upton (up with a fastball) and it’s apparent that most of the league does with his .245 avg and whopping 22 strike outs in 53 at bats!! Oh, Upton has just 2 RBI so far if the 22 K’s wasn’t enough…
Starting Pitchers Not Named Zimmermann – Let’s start with ERA…Mike Pelfrey 2.79 (how!!), Anibal Sanchez 4.60, Shane Greene 7.15, Justin Verlander 7.16 (5.60 ERA combined) with only two pitchers on the staff with double digit strike outs (Sanchez & JV 15) and a combined WHIP of 1.53, ugh!!
Kansas City Royals
Hot
Ian Kennedy, SP – Tonight’s starter, Kennedy is 2-0 with a 0.66 ERA allowing a run against Houston and none against Minnesota. Batters are hitting .156 against Kennedy and he averaged 0.73 in WHIP to go with 14 K’s
Edinson Volquez, SP – Volquez has started well in his first 3 starts (although not going more than 6 innings) with a 2-0 record, but giving up just 4 earned runs (2.04 ERA), and allowing batters to hit just .215 with and has a 1.19 WHIP
Kris Medlen, SP – A popular fantasy waiver wire pick up, Medlen is 1-0 om starts with a 2.38 ERA with 11 K’s, .211 average against, but has walked 8 to raise his WHIP to 1.41
Not
Alex Gordon, OF – Gordon is off to a .222 start with 3 RBI and 20 K’s to go with a .594 OPS
Chris Young, SP – Young is the only Royals starter currently struggling to start the season as he has given up 12 earned in 3 starts with a .333 average against and a 1.98 WHIP
Minnesota Twins
Hot
Joe Mauer, 1B – The “old man” still has it, as Mauer is hitting .340 with 4 XBH and has racked up 10 walks to raise his OPS to .932
Not
Miguel Sano, OF – The light tower power hasn’t shown up yet, but the strike outs have with Sano striking out 19 times in 47 at bats. The .191 average and .607 OPS are also a good reason for Sano to be on this list
Byron Buxton, OF – The #2 prospect in my Top 100 Prospects for 2016, Buxton has yet to show that he can hit at the Major League level and is off to another cold start, hitting 9th in the lineup and hitting just .152 with 15 K’s. On a positive note, of Buxton’s 5 hits, 3 are for extra bases (2 2B, 1 3B)
Next: National League Central
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