Garceau: Ugly Starts, Early Comeback Awards & More
Breaking down a few other interesting facts from around Major League Baseball...
Pitching With Promise: With slumping Kevin Gausman and Chris Tillman still missing, Dylan Bundy has been the O's early ace. Bundy has made 3 of his 6 starts against Boston and has been terrific with a 4-1 record, 1.82 ERA and 1.03 WHIP. His reduced velocity and only 25 K's in 39 2/3rds innings is cause for concern but Bundy knows how to pitch.
On The Road (Again): The Orioles are the only AL East team with a winning road record (9-7). The Red Sox have played 18 home games, the Yankees have 15 at home, the Orioles have only played 11 at Camden Yards.
Most Home Runs: Yankees rookie outfielder Aaron Judge is on pace to hit 81 home runs this season. He's a 6-7, 282 pound athlete with a .330 batting average. Of course he can't keep this pace up but nobody would be shocked if he hits 35-40 HR's this year.
Cy Young Award: If it was passed out today the Twins Ervin Santana gets a slight edge over former Cy guy Dallas Keuchel of the Astros. Both pitchers are 5-0; in 6 starts and 41 innings Santana has given up only 3 runs and 16 hits with a 0.66 ERA and 0.71 WHIP.
Surprising Starts: Yankees 17-9 (1st place), White Sox 15-12 (T-first), Twins 14-12 (half game out), Rockies 18-11 (1st place).
Ugly Starts: Blue Jays 9-19 (Worst MLB record), Royals 9-18 (Ready to sell-off?), Giants 11-18 (and no Mad Bum).
Early Comeback Awards: The Nationals' Ryan Zimmerman hit .216 last season with 15 home runs his low fuel warning light was brightly flashing. Oops! Zimmerman is MLB's top hitter with a .424 average and is tied for the NL lead with 11 HR's. Today he's a Comeback and MVP candidate. He's tied with the Brewers Eric Thames who hadn't hit a big league HR since 2012. Thames who's played the last three years in Korea tied a Brewers record when he homered in 5 consecutive games. In Korea the fans called him "God" in Milwaukee he's been a Godsend.
