Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
This Japanese sensation might have been slowed down recently with a blister. But what he has done in a short career as a rookie is nothing short of amazing.
Ohtani entered this weekend's action with a .342 average, three homers and 11 RBI in 10 games. He's also posted a 2-1 record with a 3.60 ERA and 19 strikeouts in just 15 innings of work. The modern-day Babe Ruth (almost literally), Ohtani comes in No. 4 on the SNIPdaily MLB Top 100 for the month, ahead of reigning MVPs Jose Altuve and Giancarlo Stanton. Whew.
Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies
The five-game suspension Arenado received for an involvement in a fight earlier this season has him as the talk of west coast baseball. Though, we simply can't ignore just how dominant this third baseman has been from the plate over the years. Still only 27, Arenado is coming off a three-year stretch that saw him combine for 110 homers and 393 RBI. Yeah, about that Coors Field altitude.
Bartolo Colon, Texas Rangers
Colon has been pitching in the Majors since Aaron Judge was less than five years old. It's a span that includes 22 years of experience and a Cy Young award. Most recently, Colon flirted with a no-hitter against the defending champion Houston Astros last weekend. The 44-year-old pitcher has no idea what Father Time means, having posted a 1.45 ERA in four appearances this season. That's all sorts of crazy right there.
Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
The best player on planet earth, it's kinda crazy to realize that Trout is still only 26 years old. This season alone, the two-time MVP leads the AL with seven homers and has posted a .995 OPS. That comes on the heels of Trout averaging 33 homers and 94 RBI while hitting .303 over the past five seasons. This level of ridiculousness has Trout as the most-popular MLB figure all-time in the SNIPdaily California Top 100.
Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox
Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter said it the best by indicating that Betts is the best right fielder he's aver seen. For someone that's been around the game north of three decades, that's mighty high praise. A five-tool player, the 25-year-old Betts is, however, much more than that. He entered this weekend boasting an AL-best .382 batting average while leading the league with eight doubles. This, after a two-year span that saw Betts average 28 homers and 108 RBI.
Giancarlo Stanton, New York Yankees
This reigning NL MVP had to know what would be in store for him should he struggle in the Big Apple. After striking out five times twice in a game earlier this season, Stanton found that out first-hand. Boo birds in the Bronx. What a shocker. It really is something to behold. Stanton enters this weekend's action hitting just .201 with an absurd 40 percent strikeout rate. For comparison's sake, he hit .281 with a 27 percent K-rate in Miami last season. All of this has Stanton as the talk of New York. And not for the best of reasons.
Chris Sale, Boston Red Sox
Dominant. That would be the best way to describe this reigning AL Cy Young runner-up. In four starts this season, Sale has posted a 1.23 ERA and 0.96 WHIP with 31 strikeouts in 22 innings. This comes on the heels of him leading the Majors with 308 strikeouts last season. Unfortunately for Sale, he has just a 1-0 record to show for it. Boston has scored four runs or less in three of his four starts. Despite this, he remains the talk of Beantown.
Andrew McCutchen, San Francisco Giants
A fan favorite in Pittsburgh, it had to be hard for Pirates fans to see Cutch traded to the west coast during the summer. That doesn't mean the former NL MVP has not become the toast of San Francisco since arriving by the bay. With two walk-off hits in his first three-plus weeks in a Giants uniform, fans in Northern California are quickly learning what McCutchen brings to the table. It's now going to be important for him to turn those late-game heroics into solid all-around play. After all, the 31-year-old outfielder is hitting just .213 on the season.
Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals
In what has already been a Hall of Fame worthy career, this soon-to-be $500 million man is off to his best ever start. At this point, there's really nothing opposing pitchers can do to stop Harper at the plate. He entered this weekend's action leading the league with eight homers while driving in 19 runs in just 20 games. Harper also leads the league with 20 runs scored and 25 walks.
Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
The quickest player in MLB history to 60 homers, this reigning AL Rookie of the Year isn't slowing down any time soon. He just continues to tear the cover off of baseballs, and has now taken his all-around game to the next level. After all, Judge entered this weekend's action with a robust .328 average and a ridiculous .464 on-base percentage. He's also currently the eighth-most talked about figure in the SNIPdaily MLB Top 100, ahead of teammate Giancarlo Stanton.
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : https://snipdaily.com/2018/04/10-mlb-stars-were-talking-about-already-this-season/