The opening week of the 2013 MLB season is almost over, and so far we’ve had some surprise performances. Let’s take a look at the top performers for this past week 1 [Sunday March 31 – Friday April 5, 2013]:
– Note: I am aware that Week 1 is not a full seven days. All subsequent weeks will be seven days (Saturday to Friday).
Starting Pitcher: Honestly this was not easy because the performances by the two starting pitchers being named as the inaugural top performer(s) for 2013 was so close that I couldn’t give the award to just one of them.
1A) Yu Darvish: Darvish struck out fourteen batters and came within one out of pitching a perfect game in his first start of the season. His WHIP is 0.12 and his fourteen strikeouts was the most by a starter this week. He threw 8 2/3 before giving up the hit to Marwin Gonzalez and was relieved after 107 pitches. Sure it was against the Houston Astros, but it was still within an out of a perfect game! Incredible performance by Darvish and definitely a sign of things to come. Just remember he gets to pitch against this team again several times! The Texas Rangers should have named Darvish their opening day starter.
1B) Clayton Kershaw: Kershaw struck out seven, allowed four hits on route to a complete game shut out of the San Francisco Giants. The four hits he allowed resulted in a WHIP of 0.44. The miniscule difference in WHIP was the reason why Kershaw also deserves a top performer award. Oh, did I mention that he provided the only offense he needed when he took a George Kontos, which kinda washes out the additional seven strikeouts by Darvish. The Los Angeles Dodgers know what they have in Kershaw, who has been nothing but superb over the last three seasons, but homering on opening day probably wasn’t something they expected.
I really didn’t want to have an argument with myself as to which one of these guys had the better week. To me the performances were incredible given that these came during both pitchers’ first starts. There were only six starters who completed more than eight innings during the opening week as most teams opted to pull their starters between the sixth and seventh innings. Both pitchers seem to be primed for this season and fantasy owners can expect some great things coming from these guys in 2013.
Honourable Mentions: Cliff Lee, Matt Harvey, Jeff Samardzija, Madison Bumgartner and Felix Hernandez.
Closers: Sergio Romo has pitched three perfect frames and has a strikeout for each of those frames, to go with a save per frame. The San Francisco Giants have a new man with a beard this year, with Romo permanently replacing Brian Wilson in the closer role. Wilson appeared in three consecutive games this week for the Giants and earned two saves against the Dodgers and one against the St. Louis Cardinals. Romo had incredible numbers as Wilson’s set-up man and with three saves to start the season, he looks like a lock to be one of the top fantasy closers this season.
Honourable Mentions: Rafael Soriano, Jim Johnson, Greg Kimbel and Joel Hanrahan.
Catcher: John Buck is the first surprise winner of a top performer award. Owned in just 13% of Yahoo! and 12% of ESPN leagues, Buck launched two home runs, drove in five runs and scored four times. He is batting .412 (7/17) so far this season. I guess Travis d’Arnaud is going to have to wait until Buck cools down (which should be soon).
Honourable Mentions: Tyler Flowers, Chris Iannetta, Wilin Rosario and Matt Wieters.
First Base: The Baltimore Orioles’ Chris Davis has had one of the most incredible four game stretches I have ever seen. He has homered in every game since the season opener (4), and has driven in an amazing sixteen runs while contributing five runs himself. He s owned in all ESPN and available in just 7% of Yahoo! leagues (which probably will hit 100% by next week). He must be seeing the ball really well as he’s 9/15 (.600 BA) to start the season. Even more surprising is that Davis has struck out just once in those four games. I don’t expect Davis to keep this rate of production up. He is a career .258 hitter, and struck out 169 times in 139 games 2012.
Honourable Mentions: Todd Frazier, Freddy Freeman, Prince Fielder and Eric Hosmer.
Second Base: Chase Utley can flat out play baseball, and when he is healthy he has the potential to be one of the best. The Philadelphia Phillies second baseman has been plagued by injuries over the past two seasons, but so far we’re seeing what a healthy Utley can do. Over the first four games, Utley is hitting .467, with a home run, six RBIs and three runs scored. As for the health of his knee, well Utley did steal a base so he seems to be running well.
Honourable Mentions: Ben Zobrist, Rickie Weeks, Martin Prado and Everth Cabrera.
Short Stop: Ben Zobrist didn’t claim the top performer at second base, but since he also qualifies at short stop, he gains the award in his position. Zobrist is batting .467, with a homerun, seven RBIs and three runs scored. He isn’t playing short for the Tampa Bay Rays, who have Yunel Escobar manning the position for 2013, so enjoy Zobrist’s eligibility at short while it lasts.
Honourable Mentions: Troy Tulowitski, Jose Reyes, Jed Lowrie, and Martin Prado.
Third Base: Todd Frazier also makes the ‘double mention list’ given his qualification at multiple positions. Frazier is hitting .467 (8/17) with three homeruns, six RBIs and five runs scored. He also stole a base, which is always helpful for fantasy owners form a corner infielders. This could be a breakout season for Frazier who enters his second full season in the majors. With Ryan Ludwick likely out for several months with a shoulder injury, Frazier may be called upon for more production by the Cincinnati Reds.
Honourable Mentions: Martin Prado, Trevor Plouffe, Kevin Youkilis, and Mark Reynolds.
Outfield: Given that there are so many outfield, I’ll name three top performers. The following are 3-5 on the OF rankings, as the first two ranked players (Chris Davis and Todd Frazier) are already mentionned:
1. Adam Jones enjoyed a breakout season in 2012 and continues to hit well at the start of 2013. Jones opened the season batting .536 (10/19) for the Baltimore Orioles. He hasn’t hit a home run yet, but has scored eight times and contributed four RBIs and a stolen base. I expect to mention Jones a few times this year on this list.
2. Michael Morse must like the new dimensions of his home park. He has hit four home runs in as many games, driving in six and scoring four times himself. He is batting .333 during the first week.
3. Franklin Gutierrez is the second Seattle Mariners OF on this list! I think this might be the only time it happens this season, however. Gutierrez hit two home runs, drove in six and scored four times with a .412 BA during the first week period. He is owned in just 12% of Yahoo! and 3% of ESPN leagues. If you’re desperate for an OF who will likely be a fixture in a team’s OF, you might want to consider Gutierrez. I don’t think he’ll continue this rate of production, but he’s hot right now and could help your team for the short term.
Honourable Mentions: Justin Upton, Dexter Fowler, Ben Zobrist and Andrew McCutchen.
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