The first two weeks of the MLB season have already given fans plenty to talk about. Some teams are showing they could be dominant, while others are surprising everyone with unexpected performances.
Pitchers who struggled in past seasons are suddenly looking like Cy Young contenders and rotations that seemed shaky are starting to click. The big question now is which of these early trends will stick and which are just noise.
FOX Sports MLB analyst Dontrelle Willis weighs in on the storylines already shaping the season.
The Yankees have a historically great rotation: Overreaction
Cam Schlittler has a 1.62 ERA through three starts. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Willis’ take: “It’s an overreaction, but they will be good. I love what I’ve seen from Max Fried being in a Yankees uniform. He’s been outstanding… 19 wins last year, 2-0 this year. Will Warren has a two ERA pitching today, and Cam Schittler is one of the best young arms in all of baseball. He’s truly fun to watch ever since he rolled over the Red Sox in that postseason start last year. You see the confidence bleed in. Also, they get [Carlos] Rodon and Gerrit Cole back into the fold. Watch out. Nobody is going to want to see that Yankee rotation.”
The Yankees are off to a strong 8–3 start, driven largely by how locked in the rotation has been to start the year. As a group, it holds a 2.47 ERA—tied for second-best in baseball as of Thursday. Fried and Schittler have led the way, combining for 36.2 innings while allowing just six total runs.
Sandy Alcántara is back to Cy Young form: Not an overreaction
Sandy Alcántara owns a 0.74 ERA so far this season.(Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
Willis’ take: “Breaking all my records one start at a time. He is fun to watch. The 30-year-old is finally healthy. The efficiency and command is there, not only with that sinker but the secondary pitches as well. The only thing that’s going to be unfortunate is that the Fighting Fish are not in the race. He’s going to be a big trade piece once again.”
Alcántara has struggled to stay on the field in recent seasons due to multiple injuries, but he’s opened this year looking fully rejuvenated. Through 24.1 innings, he owns a 0.74 ERA. He’s also recorded 18 strikeouts, reestablishing himself as one of the most dominant arms in the league.
Even with the Marlins not viewed as a serious contender this season, he remains firmly in the mix for a Cy Young-caliber season.
Alcántara is also closing in on a franchise milestone in complete games, sitting at 13 — just two behind Willis, who holds the record at 15. Willis even joked on the broadcast that Alcantara could surpass that mark within a few weeks and at this pace, it’s hard to argue otherwise.
The Angels are a playoff team: Overreaction
Is this the year that Mike Trout and the Angels get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2014. (Photo by Ryan Sun/Getty Images)
Willis’ take: “It’s early, but I do love how Mike Trout is playing every single day. Zach Neto is going to take that next step. We talked about (Jorge) Soler in the power department, but a little shaky in that rotation. [José] Soriano has been outstanding, but [Yusei] Kikuchi and company have struggled. They need to play better, but also the AL’s kinda shaky, so maybe they could stumble in there.”
Not only have the Angels been one of the early surprises this season, but their rotation is off to a strong start and Trout looks as healthy as he has in recent memory. They may have been overlooked entering the year, but Soriano is quickly becoming impossible to ignore as a legitimate threat at the top of the rotation.
Soriano is 3–0 with a 0.45 ERA and 21 strikeouts through 20 innings this season. If the Angels are going to contend in a competitive AL West, they’ll need a true ace — and Soriano is making a strong case to be exactly that.
