Let's check out a few players who are off to hot starts this season:Ian Kinsler: If you don't know who Kinsler is by now then you need to get familiar with him because he is on the verge of making himself known as one of the best players in all of baseball. Kinsler is hitting .453 right now with 5 home runs, 16 RBI, and 6 steals. He's got 40/40 potential and should be a lock to get to 30/30 if he stays healthy. If his team was any good he would probably be an MVP candidate, but since they most likely won't finish with a good record, he probably has little chance to win the MVP no matter how good he plays.
Nick Markakis: I felt like this was going to be a breakout year for Markakis and he has been playing really well so far. He is hitting .389 with 2 home runs and a league leading 18 RBI. He's definitely been a solid run producer early on this season and I think he'll hit for more power as the season goes on too. He kind of reminds me of Paul O'Neill, except without the bat slamming and temper tantrums.
Heath Bell: I guess the Padres knew what they were doing when they replaced all-time save leader Trevor Hoffman with Heath Bell. Bell leads the majors in saves with 7 right now and has yet to give up a run. So far, so good for Bell and the Padres.
Matt Kemp: Kemp is just 24 years old and already has two solid seasons under his belt. This season he is hitting .392 with 3 home runs, 14 RBI, and 4 steals. His goal this season is to go 40/40 and he has the tools to do so. I think he's more likely to reach the 40 steals than the 40 home runs, but he could be on the verge of a huge season nonetheless.
Other MLB News:
- The Dodgers are off to a hot start with a 10-4 record and are looking like they are going to pick right up where they left off last season. Right now they have the best offense and pitching in the NL with a 119 OPS+ and a 127 ERA+. They probably won't be able to keep those numbers up throughout the season, but it does show the potential this team has as a legit World Series contender.
- The Pirates pitching has been surprisingly good so far this season posting a NL high 146 ERA+. They also lead the NL in ERA at 3.29 and are second in WHIP at 1.27. However, they are dead last in the NL in strikeouts with just 69 K's in 123 innings pitched. The low amount of strikeouts suggests to me that their pitchers do not have the best stuff and have been getting somewhat lucky to start to season, unless of course they have a bunch of Greg Maddux types out there on the mound, which I highly doubt.
- In other Pirates new, their catcher Ryan Doumit is out 8-10 weeks with a broken wrist. Doumit is a strong hitting catcher, but has had injury problems throughout his short career.
More: MLB & MLB Weekly
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