Learning From Week One

With one week in the books, we can be sure that the standings in September won’t look anything like they do now. Anything can happen in seven games (the first place Padres say hello), and we can’t extrapolate much from early season performances. It’s just one week, after all.

That doesn’t mean that we didn’t learn anything last week, though. There are some things that became obvious during week one that weren’t as clear prior to the start of the season.

The Washington Nationals are terrible.

An 0-6 start to the season isn’t the end of the world for most teams, but for a club trying to resurrect some respectability, they can’t really afford to have their season go down the drain in April. Scott Olsen didn’t put any fears to rest about his diminishing stuff in his first two starts, with a fastball that averaged just 86.9 MPH and a 7.50 FIP. The rotation is a mess, the outfield is still overcrowded, and the offense leads the majors in strikeouts while showing the least amount of power of any NL team. It’s going to be a long year in Washington.

Josh Johnson and Erik Bedard are healthy.

Coming into the season, the Marlins and Mariners were both understandably reserved about what to expect from their talented starters coming off of injuries. Both have put any concerns about their arms to rest – they have identical 15/1 K/BB ratios through their first pair of starts, and both are showing electric stuff. Johnson’s average fastball is 94.4 MPH, way up from previous seasons. Bedard is pounding the zone with his 91 MPH fastball and ridiculously sick curveball. His 1.45 FIP barely beats out Johnson’s 1.53 FIP, but both have been ridiculously excellent to start the season. They’re still health risks going forward, given their track records, but there shouldn’t be any question of whether they are still recovering from previous injuries. They’re fine.

Evan Longoria is kind of talented.

When the Rays drafted Longoria, he was touted as a defensive whiz with potential to be an above average hitter. The latter part has turned out to be a massive understatement. He hit a major league leading five home runs during the opening week of the season, flashing massive power. He even added four doubles, so nine of his 13 hits have gone for extra bases. Oh, and he made contact with 88.4% of the pitches he swung at. That kind of contact + power ability is only found in the best of the best. Longoria isn’t just a good young player – he’s a remarkably talented superstar in the making. He’s Ryan Braun with gold glove defense at third base. This is the kind of player you build dynasties around.

Outfield defense can win games.

The Mariners decided that their outfield defense needed an upgrade over the winter, so they imported Franklin Gutierrez and Endy Chavez to help cover the gaps. Through one week’s worth of games, the pair rank 2nd and 3rd respectively among MLB outfielders in UZR/150, as both have played off the charts defense so far. Gutierrez made a catch in Minnesota that’s an early Catch Of The Year candidate, and the improved outfield defense has helped the Mariners post the third lowest ERA in baseball with a pitching staff that could generously be described as questionable.