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By Will Glover - April 5, 2024
The first week of the 2024 season has officially concluded and there are plenty of stories and narratives to follow as the season progresses. Now... watching one week of ball usually is never a good indicator of future player and team performance; however, it is my job to overreact and it is your job to read my overreactions and slander my opinions (or agree, who knows). While I have several storylines to follow and list out, I will do my best to limit myself to the 4 most intriguing stories to follow for the 2024 MLB season! Shouldn't take too long.
The NL Central Looks Like the Best Division in Baseball
I promise you, this might be the last time I type that out. So to all my fellow NL Central truthers, enjoy this week... cause it might be the last time I say this for a long time. Yes, the NL Central looks like the best division right now. Headlined by the red-hot Pirates (where have I seen this before?), the Central looks primed to be competitive and each team has started out much better than expected, especially my St. Louis Cardinals, who are still in last place with a 4-4 record. Other teams to look out for are the Reds and Pirates, who boast youthful rosters, filled with future all-stars.
Not only is every team currently playing winning ball, but the central features some of the most exciting young talent primed to break out this season. From Paul Skenes to Masyn Winn to Jackson Chourio, the NL Central should be an exciting brand of baseball for years to come... as long as the Pirates or Cardinals don't trade any young talent to Tampa... yikes. Lastly, as much as I hate watching the Cardinals play baseball, something tells me they will defy all odds and come out on top of the central. I believe that their veteran presence on the field will overpower their opponents when they are outmatched.
Here are my standings predictions: (not even sure if the wins can work like this)
Cardinals (88-74)
Reds (87-75)
Pirates (84-78)
Cubs (84-78)
Brewers (78-84)
Only time will tell, and if last season was any indicator of this season, I will be proven wrong by early June.
The Mookie Betts NL MVP Narrative is Cooking Right Now
Now, I did not publish my award winners predictions for the MLB this season; however, I promise you I was on the Mookie bandwagon. Betts is showing us why he is still the gold standard in baseball and the fact that he is doing this from the 6 on the diamond (shortstop) makes his MVP campaign all the more impressive. Betts currently leads the MLB in WAR (1.4), hits (16), batting average (.485), home runs (5), runs batted in (11), runs scored (14), on-base percentage (.595), slugging percentage (1.091 lol), and OPS (1.686).
Obviously, Betts won't keep this pace, but he is doing things that only a handful of hitters have done to lead off a season. His production early on is something to note, not to mention he is borderline elite on the defensive end at short. His 3 defensive runs saved, 1 out above average, and a 1.1 defensive rating are all top 10 among shortstops.
The New York Yankees are Legit Contenders
We say this every year so I will spare you all my basic reasoning for why I believe that they are a serious title contender. I will say this, however... Anthony Volpe hitting the way he is hitting, along with Juan Soto being more aggressive at the plate is a huge problem for the AL East. We all know the Yankees will be buyers at the deadline to pick up another arm and bat (Arenado and Lynn come to mind here if St. Louis is not competitive this season). If the role players (and Soto) come around and start producing consistently behind Judge, this will be a tough offense to beat on a night-in, night-out basis. My only concern is the pitching staff without Cole, Brubaker, Effross, Kahnle, and Trivino will be throwing a lot of innings with little help. Nasty Nestor and Clarke Schmidt will settle in to be great 4 and 5 options once Cole comes back, however. This rotation with Cole, Stroman, Rodon, Cortes, and Schmidt is an elite starting rotation, and the only thing that sets the Bronx Bombers back is, of course, the injured list.
Baseball Fans in the State of Texas... Chill Out!
I don't even know why Rangers fans are freaking out after starting the season 4-2... weird behavior to say the least. Astros fans have a little more to be worried about. But don't. Don't worry, guys. The Rangers and Astros will be just fine, and here's why:
Both teams are top 10 in both pitching and hitting - and they're getting healthier
That's it... that's all you need to know. This should surprise no one. The only thing that completely catches me off guard is the fact that the Astros are 2-5 with a +7 run differential, leading the league in WRC+ (metric that assesses each team's ability to create and score runs), and are top 5 in almost every other hitting stat. It's safe to say that the Astros are the most unlucky team in the league, and if I didn't know better, as long as you keep playing consistently, the tides will change. The Rangers, like the Astros, are an elite group of hitters with a lot of youth. The fact that the Rangers are playing so well without the likes of Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom, Tyler Mahle, Josh Jung, and Nathaniel Lowe says a lot about how their organization is run. Next man up mentality... it goes a long way in baseball. These Rangers are my pick to go back-to-back this season, for the first time since the Yankees three-peated back in 1998-2000. So don't worry, Rangers fans, you'll be just fine.
So there you have it! Here are the 4 storylines in the MLB I believe are worth watching as the 2024 season progresses! Let me know what I am overreacting about or not mentioning on our socials! Thanks again for the love and support as we continue to grow, looking forward to seeing your engagement as we grow!