NEW YORK — As we approach the All-Star break, there are a lot of things about the 2021 season that have gone according to form: No big surprises among the starters selected for the All-Star Game, the three heaviest division favorites Dodgers, White Sox and Astros are all playing up to expectations while the moribund Orioles, Pirates, Rangers, Diamondbacks and Rockies are all living up to their worst teams in baseball destiny.
On the other hand, here are some things we didn’t see coming:
The Red Sox are leading the American League East
The Red Sox finished last in 2020 with the 28th worst team ERA (5.58) in the majors and having traded Mookie Betts to the Dodgers there was no reason to believe they would be contending any time soon. This was the yeoman task facing GM Chaim Bloom, whose first move toward righting the Fenway ship was to bring back Alex Cora as manager. Under Cora’s direction, nearly all the Red Sox are over-performing this year: Alex Verdugo, the principal return in the Betts deal is having a comparable season (.280/.348/.434, 9 HR, 32 RBIs heading into the weekend) to Mookie in L.A. (.246/.363/.458, 10 HR, 29 RBIs). Xander Bogaerts, emerging as the pre-eminent shortstop in the AL East, is having an MVP season. Matt Barnes, who had a career ERA of over 4.00 entering 2021, has suddenly come into his own as a closer (18 saves, 2.57 ERA, 59 K in 35 IP) Meanwhile, Bloom patched up the outfield nicely with under-the-radar inexpensive free agent signings of Hunter Renfroe and Enrique Hernandez who’ve settled in right and center field respectively, at the same time picking up his two principal set-up relievers Adam Ottavino (trade for international signing money) and Garrett Whitlock (Rule 5 draft) from the Yankees. This is shaping up as the third time since 2012 the Red Sox have gone from last to first in one season.
Kyle Schwarber is making like Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire with record-setting home run heroics
Beginning when the Nationals inserted Schwarber into the leadoff spot on June 8, the hulking slugger hit 16 homers in 22 games, giving him 25 heading into the July 4 weekend. At one point during this June surge, Schwarber joined Frank Howard, another Washington home run legend, as the only players in history to hit 11 homers in a nine-game span. When he hit his 14th homer of the month he had as many as 10 major league clubs combined. And to think, Schwarber, who was non-tendered by the Cubs on Dec. 2, was out there on the free-agent market for a month before the Nats signed him for $10 million. Imagine how many homers the lefty-swinging Schwarber might have had with the Yankees this year? That Brian Cashman opted instead to use his remaining money on Brett Gardner is somewhat understandable in that Schwarber, who hit .188 with 66 strikeouts and just 36 hits in 224 plate appearances last year, would have also represented yet another high-strikeout, slow footed outfielder whose defense is barely average. Still …
Kevin Gausman is the best pitcher in the National League not named Jacob deGrom
There isn’t anyone who could have believed this one, but this is a principal reason why the Giants have been atop the NL West, ahead of the Dodgers and Padres, for much of the season. Pitching, pitching, pitching, and Gausman, with an 8-2 record and 1.68 ERA has been the bulwark of the staff, much the same as deGrom has been the MVP of the Mets. Prior to this year, in which his career ERA was over 4.00 and from 2016-2019 he consistently yielded more hits per innings, there was no evidence the former LSU star who was the Orioles’ first-round draft pick in 2012, had a season like this in him. But after taking the Giants’ $18.9 million qualifying offer, he’s now set himself up for a really big pay day this winter — as have journeymen Anthony DeSclafani (8-3, 2.91), who’s emerged as the Giants No. 2 starter, and Alex Wood (7-3, 3.89), both of whom signed very modest one-year free agent deals with them.
Nick Castellanos is leading the majors in batting
Castellanos, who signed a four-year/$64 million free agent deal with the Reds in January 2020, has always been a decent offensive player, but before this season he was a .275 lifetime hitter. Now in a year in which the collective MLB batting average is its lowest in 50 years, he’s hitting nearly 70 points over (.346 as of Friday). Perhaps the big question is not so much whether Castellanos can maintain this, but for what team he’ll finish it with.
