Injuries always seem to hit the baseball landscape hardest at the beginning of every season.
The reason could be the additional stress on the body that comes with the annual ramp-up in spring training. Pitchers in particular might need time to adjust their range of motion after a typical offseason. Whatever the cause, injuries aren’t always evenly distributed among the 30 teams.
Enter the Boston Red Sox. The entire left side of their Opening Day infield is suddenly sidelined, and one of their more promising starting pitchers landed on the injured list Wednesday. The team has concurrently plummeted in the standings, landing them squarely on one side of this week’s Who’s Hot/Who’s Not list:
Photo by Jay Biggerstaff/Getty Images
Who’s Hot
1. Mike Trout, Angels: It’s been a good week for the three-time American League MVP. He took over first place on the Angels’ all-time franchise walks leaderboard. He’s improved his contact rate and his plate discipline over last year and — most importantly — he’s been healthy. His eight homers lead the American League.
2. Michael Busch, Cubs: Acquired over the winter from the Los Angeles Dodgers, Busch has come into his own with increased playing time in Chicago. He leads the Cubs with six home runs, a .317 batting average, a .400 on-base percentage, and a .667 slugging percentage.
3. Bobby Witt Jr., Royals: Unlike Busch, Witt’s breakout season was entirely foreseeable. With four steals and four homers through his first 19 games, the 23-year-old can set his sights on a 30-30 season — a quick coming of age for the former first-overall draft pick.
4. Mookie Betts, Dodgers: A 5-for-5, 2-RBI game Tuesday was the highlight of Betts’ big start to 2024 (he leads the National League in hits, runs, walks, and on-base percentage). It’s a once-in-a-lifetime feat for most hitters, but the second time Los Angeles’ new shortstop has done it since last summer:
Mookie Betts now has two 5-for-5 games with the Dodgers
only 3 players have MORE games going 5-for-5 or better for the Dodgers (since at least 1901):
Zack Wheat: 4
Andre Ethier: 3
Steve Garvey: 3 https://t.co/rP5BW0HSSr— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) April 17, 2024
5. Juan Soto, Yankees: Soto reached the 500-RBI mark Wednesday while hitting his fourth home run of the season. At just 25 years old, he’s been everything the Yankees could have hoped for when they traded five players to San Diego to get him last December.
Who’s Not
1. Boston Red Sox: Third baseman Rafael Devers and pitcher Garrett Whitlock both landed on the injured list Wednesday, one day after an extra-innings loss to the Cleveland Guardians dropped the Sox into last place in the American League East.
2. Ippei Mizuhara: Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter surrendered to federal authorities after being charged with bank fraud for his role in allegedly stealing some $16 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers star.
3. Jackson Holliday: Holliday hasn’t matched the hype of his debut last week – how could he? – but a 1-for-25 start has quickly run the risk of demoralizing the 20-year-old phenom before he can find his footing.
4. Kyle Freeland: The Rockies’ opening-day starter was pinch-running in the ninth inning Monday against the Phillies when he appeared to hurt his non-throwing shoulder in a collision at home plate. Fortunately, it appears the injury won’t lead him to miss a game. Unfortunately, Freeland is 0-3 with a 13.21 ERA through four starts.
5. Chicago White Sox: The South Siders had lost six straight before beating Kansas City in the second game of a doubleheader Wednesday. An injury to star center fielder Luis Robert didn’t help, but the Sox’s lineup was thin, to begin with through Wednesday, five of their nine regulars had a batting average below .200.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.