[Sundance]

Recap

Monthly Record: 13-11
Overall Record: 13-11
Position: 3rd
Games Back: 1

The Good

It’s not the hottest start to the season, but we’re still in striking distance. The Dodgers (13-11) and ROckies (14-10) are off to similar starts, so a rather pedestrian month doesn’t put us too far behind. We’re 7-3 in our last ten games, making us the hottest team in the division at the moment. Hopefully we can carry that moment into next month.

Tatis Jr. is off to a hot start this season. He batted .341/.442/.727 with 6 doubles, 2 triples, 8 home runs, and 25 RBI. A strong start to what should hopefully be another MVP worthy season. Machado is also off to a good start himself with a .322/.410/.529 line with 5 home runs and 19 RBI. Dickerson and Marcano also started off the season well. Marcano is hitting .409/.487/.591 and Dickerson is hitting .348/.402/.573.

On the mound, James Paxton looks every bit our ace. Through 5 starts he’s posted a 0.81 ERA with 0.75 WHIP and 9.2 K/9. Two new additions to our bullpen have also helped hold down the fort. Archie Bradley has a 1.54 ERA and 0.94 WHIP over 11.2 innings of work, and Chad Green has a 1.50 ERA and 0.75 WHIP over 12.0 innings.

The Bad

We continue to be plagued by injuries. This time it was Ha-Seong Kim that got hit. He played just 6 games before suffering from a herniated disc in his back. He’s expected to miss 2-3 months. Tucupita Marcano will take over starting duties and we’ve called up 2B Alex Goicochea for depth.

While most of our key hitters have gotten off to hot starts, a few are lagging behind. Jose Abreu is off to a slow start, hitting just .244/.306/.333 with just a total of two extra base hits. Ian Miller is also struggling at the plate, with a .250/.312/.330 line. His saving grace is that he has stolen 7 bases so far, so at least when he’s getting on base, he’s still a threat. We just need him to get on more often.

The Ugly

Our pitching staff is not at all where we want it to be at this point. Hopefully it’s just some early season kinks that need to be worked out, but there have been some rough outings. Gore has looked completely average and his control has gotten away from him a bit. Baez and Weathers have both shown their inexperience and haven’t looked great, And there’s a number of concerning performances from our bullpen. Hopefully our pitchers will settle down now that the first month is in the books because we aren’t going to win anything if they keep throwing like this.