The 2023 MLB season has gotten off to a hot start with many storylines for people to really get excited about. Between hot stars for certain teams to finding glaring holes that teams need to address during the season. So, in this piece, I am going to touch on some of the top surprises as we start the season.
2023 MLB Season: The Tampa Bay Rays Hot Start
The Rays are doing something unprecedented starting off to a 14-2 start in their first 16 games. At home, they are 10-0 and have a run differential of plus 72. The scary thing is that they are going to add another stud pitcher in Tyler Glasnow who has started on the IL to begin the year. The offense has gotten off to a hot start with Wander Franco leading the way with a .318 batting average, four home runs, and 13 runs batted in.
Even though people will argue about the Rays’ beginning schedule but it looks like the Rays will be able to stay at this historic pace for the beginning of this season.
2023 MLB Season: DBacks Youth Showing Out
As of April 17th, the Arizona Diamondbacks are in first place in the wild NL West. With a 9-7 record they are one game up on the Los Angeles Dodgers. Corbin Carroll and Josh Rojas have been carrying the offense so far. Rojas is batting .356 and has an on-base percentage of .400. Carroll is leading the team in home runs with four on the year and eight runs batted in.
The Diamondbacks have utilized the new rules of larger bases by being tied for fifth in stolen bases. It is uncertain whether they can hold off the big bad Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, but it is fun to see this young team leading the division in the early start.
2023 MLB Season: The Philadelphia Phillies Rough Start
After going to the World Series last season, the Phillies are having a terrible start to the year. They are 6-10 on the year with a -16 run differential. They have faced tough teams including the Rangers and Yankees, but they also have struggled against bad teams like the Reds and Marlins.
They are missing stars like Bryce Harper and Rhys Hoskins. The pitching has not helped to rank 27th with a 5.48 earned run average.
2023 MLB Season: The Mets Need a Bat
The Mets are sitting in second with a 10-6 record. The main issue with them has been their inconsistency at the plate. Right now Brandon Nimmo leads the team in batting average with .286 but after that, it is a steep drop-off.
The pitching will come as they start to get healthier, but with Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor being the only consistent bats it is imperative for the Mets to get another bat. Brett Batty may be the answer as he gets called up today. He will most likely take over at third base with Eduardo Escobar struggling to bat .125 on the year.
2023 MLB Season: The Thrills of Pace of Play
The biggest game for the game is how baseball has been played during these first couple of games. Games are down to an average of two hours and 38 minutes which is 30 minutes faster than last year. Stealing has also gone up, adding action to the game and showcasing great defensive plays without not having the shift.
This is great for the game of baseball because the game has a flow to it and is just overall more entertaining. This hopefully will help bring the younger generation to enjoy the game of baseball and with the season just starting it is exciting to see what comes up next.
Let us know your thoughts on the 2023 MLB season so far in the comments below!
Main image credit Embed from Getty Images
