10 Things We Learned from Opening Day 2017
Last year, I published a post titled 10 Things We Learned About the National League on Opening Day 2016. Like a fine wine, that post has aged well. Included in it are observations that Daniel Murphy could be a good addition to the Nats (He went on to finish 2nd in last year’s MVP voting), and that the Diamondbacks train could be derailed by a thoroughly average Zach Greinke (He was 1% better than MLB average according to ERA+). While it’s just one day in a 162 game season, the pageantry and excitement of Opening Day places a pressure on teams that exposes their true self.
I did not get to watch as many games yesterday as I wanted (Read: I didn’t watch every inning of every game), but I did watch enough to learn a few things.
1 Miguel Sano hit an absolute laser of a home run and appeared to be bulked up from a year ago. There’s a not-so-subtle strength through his shoulders that was not there last year. 2016 had Sano’s physique feature a not-so-subtle belly. Pair a more flattering uniform fit with my Kyle Schwarber post from Friday and I’m all aboard the Sano train once again.
2. Manny Machado and Nolan Arenado are at the absolute peak of their respective careers. We talked about it last year, but Arenado and Machado are likely paired with Mike Trout atop the baseball triumvirate of power at the moment. They both flexed their defensive muscles in late innings of yesterday’s games. Machado threw out a runner at first from his knees in the 10th, and Arenado started a game-ending double play by diving to his right.
3. Mark Reynolds hit a homerun for the Rockies in what was a wildly fun game featuring two clubs with solid position players and pitching staffs that need work. I spent some time talking about how the Brewers were lackluster all around last week, but the position player group looked fun yesterday. Either the Rockies pitching staff is going to hold them back more than we thought, or this Brewers position player group is better than we thought. I’m leaning toward’s better Brewers.
4. Dallas Kuechel looked good in his start by keeping the ball down, which led to more movement on his pitches and more weakly hit groundballs. Kuechel’s success is dependent on his ability to mix, match, keep the ball down, and be a pitching coach’s favorite pitcher. I doubt he’s the true Ace across 30 starts that he appeared to be en route to that Cy Young award in 2015, but he looked the part yesterday. That’s great news for an Astros team that has World Series aspirations.
5. Miguel Diaz is the best player on the Padres:
https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/849022643588276225
6. Just like last year, the Braves bullpen is a joke. That’s ok, though, because the Braves social media team just posted another photo of Bartolo Colon
7. Noah Syndergaard looked absolutely unhittable against the Braves. His first batter of the season went back to the dugout on 3 pitches, the last of which was a 93 mph slider at the back foot. It also should be noted that he was pulled after the 6th inning at 86 pitches because of a blister on his finger. As always with this Mets staff, Yoda offers words of wisdom: “Careful not to get too excited, we must be.”
8. Ricky Nolasco was the Angels Opening Day starter. Despite Mike Trout homering and doubling, the Angels scored just two runs. I happen to really like Garret Richards, last year’s Opening Day starter, who was featured in this space and discussed as a tantalizing talent. Richards is slated to start Game 3 of the season, followed by the also-talented Tyler Skaggs. Before we get to those two, Angels fans are stuck watching Matt Shoemaker and Ricky Nolasco. We’ve run pieces recently questioning the Angels’ plan, and mourning life as an Angels fan. The order of their rotation gives another reason to shake your head at the non-Trout Angels.
9. A few Aces (Corey Kluber and Masahiro Tanaka) did not have their good stuff yesterday. Kluber was a frustrating in his first 17 starts last year, posting a 3.79 ERA. His stuff is great, his peripheral numbers are fantastic, but he seems to give up too many runs. He did turn it around to finish third in the Cy Young award voting and he dominated in the playoffs, but his regular season seems to be too up-and-down. Meanwhile, Tanaka reminded us that a great spring does not mean a great season. The Rays did not miss on many of Tanka’s offerings.
10. The MLB At Bat app is really fantastic. I clicked on a notification and was greeted with a video of Joc Pederson belting a grand slam. I’m not sure if Pederson, MLB, or Apple are the real story here, but all three are in for a big 2017.
Baseball is back!
-Sean Morash
