MLB’s Biggest Surprises This Season

Overtime Heroics Editorial

826 days ago

As we near the halfway portion of the MLB season there have been a lot of players that have been MLB’s biggest surprises. There are players this season that no one expected to have as good of a year as they are having, and there are players that people thought were going to be good but have mightily struggled this far in the season. Some of the performances by these players have had a big impact on how their respective teams have been thus far.

MLB"s Biggest Surprises: Jacob deGrom

There is no surprise that New York Mets ace, Jacob deGrom has pitched extremely well this season. MLB and MLB"s fan base know that deGrom is the best pitcher in baseball, however, no one expected deGrom to be this dominant. deGrom is on pace to have one of the greatest pitching seasons of all time. As of June 23, 2021, deGrom has a 7-2 record with an ERA of 0.50, 117 strikeouts in only 72 innings pitched.

Jacob deGrom is putting up all-time great numbers this season. He is on pace to have the best ERA in a season since Bob Gibson did it in 1968 for the St. Louis Cardinals. deGrom this season has more RBIs as a batter than he has earned runs as a pitcher. deGrom continues to show that even as dominant as he was in previous years he is still one of the MLB"s biggest surprises by the unreal job he has done this season.

MLB"s Biggest Surprises: Blake Snell

This past offseason, Blake Snell was traded from the Tampa Bay Rays to the San Diego Padres in a shocking move. The Rays just lost in the World Series and MLB was pondering why the Rays would make this move. Snell at the time was at the top of their rotation and helped the Rays make a deep playoff run. Snell is also a former Cy Young award winner, so seeing him being traded was quite the shock, however, in his first season in San Diego, Snell has struggled with the Padres.

In his first stint with the Padres, Snell has put up a 3-3 record, a 5.29 ERA, 90 strikeouts and has allowed 10 home runs against him which is tied for the amount he let up last season, six less than his all time amount. Snell could turn it around this season, however no one saw this coming, for Blake Snell to struggle this bad is one of the MLB"s biggest surprises.

MLB"s Biggest Surprises: Zack Wheeler

The Philadelphia Phillies rotation in recent years has struggled. Before it was really just Aaron Nola leading the charge while the rest of the rotation didn"t play great. Last offseason, the Phillies went out and signed Zack Wheeler and now it is looking like he was worth every single penny. Wheeler has been phenomenal this season. So far this year, Wheeler has put up a record of 5-4, a 2.36 ERA and leads the National League, and is fourth in all of baseball in total strikeouts this season with 122.

This is the best Wheeler has pitched in his entire career. If he continues to surprise everyone and pitch as well as he has been for the rest of the season, it could help the Phillies contend in a tight NL East race.

MLB"s Biggest Surprises: Jesse Winker

Jesse Winker of the Cincinnati Reds has been one of the best hitters in baseball this season. Winker has been on fire this season and there aren"t signs of him slowing down either. Winker this season is batting .333 with already a career-high in home runs (17) and RBIs (45). Winker has taken a huge leap this season and has put himself into National League MVP conversation. He and fellow Reds outfielder Nicholas Castellanos seem like a great 1-2 punch that truly helps bolster the Reds lineup, however, this surge of power and hitting ability from Winker was not expected from many people which makes him one of the MLB"s biggest surprises.

MLB"s Biggest Surprises: Gleyber Torres

The young New York Yankees shortstop has had a lot of promise in his young career in the Bronx so far. However, this season Gleyber Torres has struggled at the plate. Known for being a good hitter, Torres" numbers are lacking compared to what he usually does. The 24-year-old shortstop this season is hitting .248, three home runs, and a total of 23 RBIs. Compared to his last full season in 2019 where he hit 38 home runs, 90 RBIs and a batting average of, .278. His numbers are not what they would usually be. Hopefully, he can find his swing and stride again but Gleyber"s unusual down numbers are one of the MLB"s Biggest Surprises.

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