What another great week of baseball it has been in the first official week of May. Baseball fans almost so the first no-hitter of the year and one has to feel bad for Yu Darvish, second time in two years Darvish had a no-hitter broken up with one out to go. With the almost no-hitter, May is off to a hot start and by saying that here is this week’s standout players of the week.
Edwin Encarnacion
After a below average start to the season for him, Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Edwin Encarnacion has had an outstanding week at the plate. Though his stat line of .252/.337/.483 is slightly below his career average, Encarnacion power as well as hitting has made him standout above the rest for a Blue Jays team that should make a serious run in the wide open AL East. With a .321 batting average, .345 OBP, .893 SL, and adding four home runs and 10 RBI Edwin Encaracion is this week’s AL standout player of the week.
Seth Smith
While Edwin Encarnacion was trotting his way to the AL standout player for the week, San Diego Padres left fielder Seth Smith has put out one of the better weeks at the plate. While the Padres are yet again toward the bottom of the division but not still out of it, Smith had been the bright spot in the Padres offense and this season has been one of the better starts of his career. Seth Smith’s week has been almost a Troy Tulowitzki kind of week with .500 batting average, .576 OBP, 1.000 SLG, and has added one home run to seven RBI. Seth Smith is this week’s NL standout player of the week.
Robbie Ray
Detroit Tigers pitcher Robbie Ray was the main focal point in the head scratcher trade that involved former Tigers pitcher Dour Fister being traded to the Washington Nationals for Ray and a shortstop who has been on 25 different teams it seems like. Everyone thought the Nationals got the better end of this ridiculous deal and yet that is far from the case. Fister just made his season debut Friday night against the Oakland Athletics and we can all agree that his start was just plain awful in blowout loss to the A’s. However, Robbie Ray has been a bright spot filling in for the injured Anibal Sanchez and hopefully staying with the club to help out the ailing bullpen, Ray could be the future of the Detroit Tigers. In his first two starts for the Rookie, Ray has put together a one win and o loses, though it should have been two wins if not for a bullpen collapase and error by Rajai Davis, 0.79 ERA, seven strikeouts, two walks, .220 AVG, and a WHIP of 0.97 and that work has been a nice surprise so far this season and is looking like the Detroit Tigers got the better end of that deal, at least on early returns.
CC Sabathia
New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia has started this season like last season ended, dismal. Once considered amongst the most dominant pitchers in MLB, Sabathia has seen his career slide from dominance to just ordinary and continues to disappoint Yankee fans and his numbers show it. Though I would never count Sabathia out and he can produce, CC Sabathia looks like a rookie out there not use to the spot light and for New York Yankee fans one can assume their counting down the days once his contract is up. Through the start of the season, Sabathia has put together three wins and four loses, 5.28 ERA, .301 BA against him, 1.48 WHIP. The bright spot so for Sabathia has been his strikeout to walk ratio of 44/10 but his other numbers take away from that stat and all we hope is somehow he can turn this around at least for his sanity.
What a great first week of May it has been with good play at the plate, on the mound, and in the field. While Edwin Encaracion and Seth Smith had standout weeks in their respective leagues, Robbie Ray is looking like the next big star in this league though time will tell for that to be the case but if his start is any indication then look out Major League Baseball.
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