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April is almost over, meaning it's time to take a deeper dive into the performances we've seen during baseball's first month in an exercise we like to call the all-April All-Stars.
It's easy to give too much credence to a player's performance out of the gate, but early struggles could also be a sign of what's to come. In that vein, one aspect of the game I monitor closely during April: which young hitters are adjusting and improving -- and which ones aren't.
We saw Elly De La Cruz struggle last season after his initial rocket start to stardom, but it appears he is figuring things out. He is chasing less often and seems to better understand how pitchers are attacking him. As a result, he's hitting .281/.395/.573 with seven home runs (and still running wild on the bases, leading the majors with 18 stolen bases). Bobby Witt Jr., who improved dramatically in his 2023 sophomore season after a rocky rookie year, appears to be growing into his strength, hitting .308/.349/.547 with 16 extra-base hits and only further cementing his status as one of the best all-around players in the game.
As good as those two have been, however, they aren't the starters at shortstop for the all-April All-Stars. That's because they play the same position as Mookie Betts and Gunnar Henderson -- the former a future Hall of Famer adapting to a new position and tearing it up at the plate and the other a sophomore sensation who, like De La Cruz this season and Witt last year, is only building upon his rookie numbers. As the season races on, those battles for starting shortstop at the All-Star Game at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, will be the most intriguing.
Let's go through each position and pick an All-Star, a player to keep an eye on and someone off to a disappointing start as April comes to a close.
National League CatcherAll-Star: William Contreras, Milwaukee Brewers
How good does this trade continue to look for the Brewers? In a three-team deal in December 2022, they acquired Contreras from Atlanta and reliever Joel Payamps from Oakland for outfielder Esteury Ruiz. Contreras finished 11th in the MVP voting a year ago, and he has grown into a strong two-way player. He might not be a Gold Glove contender behind the plate, but he certainly has developed much better than the Braves believed he would. (Atlanta acquired veteran catcher Sean Murphy in that deal.)
Keep an eye on: Patrick Bailey, San Francisco Giants
Bailey earned rave reviews for his defense last season as a rookie, but he hit just .233 with a sub-.300 OBP. So far, he's showing big improvement at the plate, with elite exit velocity metrics and an above-average walk rate.
Disappointment: Henry Davis, Pittsburgh Pirates
The former No. 1 draft pick played the outfield when he was called up last season -- and not very well -- but moved back to catcher with the offseason injury to Endy Rodriguez. When drafted out of Louisville, Davis' bat was at least viewed as a sure thing, but he continues to struggle with a sub-.200 average and no home runs.
First baseAll-Star: Pete Alonso, New York Mets
Alonso hasn't let his free agency status affect him as he appears on his way to a fourth career 40-homer season. He would be in pretty good company: Only 15 players have had at least four 40-homer seasons through their age-29 season. Ten of them are already in the Hall of Fame, and Albert Pujols should get there someday. Plus, Alex Rodriguez is on that list. The other three: Adam Dunn, Juan Gonzalez and Ryan Howard.
Keep an eye on: Michael Busch, Chicago Cubs
The Dodgers didn't have room for him on their major league roster, so the Cubs swung an offseason trade for a player who put up big numbers in Triple-A. Busch is off to a strong start in Chicago, homering in five straight games. He has a lot of swing-and-misses, but he doesn't chase much, and the power is legit. He looks like a potential 30-homer guy with a solid OBP -- just as his minor league numbers suggested.
Disappointment: Paul Goldschmidt, St. Louis Cardinals
The 36-year-old has a history of slow starts only to recover with his usual strong campaigns. Given that he's coming off a career-low .810 OPS, however, there has to be some cause to worry that the fastballs are catching up to him -- or that he can't catch up to the fastballs like he once did.
Second baseAll-Star: Ketel Marte, Arizona Diamondbacks
Marte was an All-Star in 2019, when he finished fourth in the MVP voting in a career season. He has started 2024 where he left off last postseason, when he was the best player -- hitting .329/.380/.534 -- on a Diamondbacks team that made it all the way to the World Series.
Keep an eye on: Brice Turang, Milwaukee Brewers
Turang was a first-round pick out of high school in 2018, and while his glove was never a question, it appeared after hitting .218 last season as a rookie with a .585 OPS that his future would be as a utility infielder. However, he has been a key reason the Milwaukee offense has been a big surprise, batting over .300, hitting the ball harder and turning into a tough guy to strike out. Oh, and he's a perfect 13-for-13 stealing bases. If he keeps putting the ball in play like this, he's going to be a very valuable player with his defense and baserunning while hitting for enough average to keep his offense above water.
Disappointment: Gavin Lux, Los Angeles Dodgers
To be fair, this could just be some rust showing after missing all of 2023. But after losing his shortstop job in spring training, Lux just hasn't hit, showing very little pop with only two extra-base hits. The Dodgers already have turned to platooning Lux with Miguel Rojas, with Mookie Betts sliding back and forth between short and second.
Third baseAll-Star: Alec Bohm, Philadelphia Phillies
Some of the usual candidates -- Austin Riley, Nolan Arenado and Matt Chapman -- are off to slow starts, making Bohm the easy call so far. His batted ball metrics aren't really much different from last season, when he hit .274, so he might not hit .365 like he is right now all season. On the other hand, he's chasing out of the zone a lot less, so maybe the better swing decisions will lead to a higher average.
Keep an eye on: Joey Ortiz, Milwaukee Brewers
Ortiz, acquired along with DL Hall in exchange for Corbin Burnes, has only been a part-time player so far and has yet to hit a home run, but he is showing excellent plate discipline after hitting .321 in Triple-A last season. I'd like to see the Brewers roll with him and see what he can do playing every day.
Disappointment: Jeimer Candelario, Cincinnati Reds
Candelario was a rare free agent signing for the Reds and a bit of a questionable one at that: He had been OK in 2023 but awful in 2022. What would 2024 bring? The early returns aren't good, with a bunch of weak contact and a strikeout rate more than 10 percentage points higher than last season.
ShortstopAll-Star: Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers
For Betts, it's not enough just to move to shortstop. No, he might also be on the way to his best offensive season. He got off to a quick start at the plate, hitting .500 with five home runs in his first eight games. He is walking more than he strikes out. He's averaging a run scored a game. He's even stealing a few more bases. Betts is in his age-31 season and already has over 67 career WAR. The only position players to debut after 1960 and get to 100 career WAR are Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Rickey Henderson, Mike Schmidt and Albert Pujols. Betts has a chance to get there. It's time to start thinking of him as an inner-circle type of Hall of Famer.
Keep an eye on: CJ Abrams, Washington Nationals
Rushed to the majors in 2022, Abrams continues to grow at the plate, hitting for average and power. He should give the Nationals a legitimate All-Star representative this season. (Yes, MLB better find a way to squeeze all three shortstops -- Betts, Abrams and De La Cruz -- on the team if they keep hitting like this.)
Disappointment: Oneil Cruz, Pittsburgh Pirates
As with Lux, let's consider some potential rust involved. But while De La Cruz -- who has been likened to Cruz as a large, physical shortstop -- is doing a better job of taking some walks and improving his plate discipline, Cruz continues to struggle in these key areas with a 36.2% strikeout rate and 6.9% walk rate.
OutfieldAll-Stars: Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Arizona Diamondbacks; Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres; Michael Harris II, Atlanta Braves
Others to consider include Ronald Acuna Jr. and LaMonte Wade Jr. Clearly, if you're not a Junior or a Second, you have no shot of being a NL All-Star outfielder. To be honest, not many NL outfielders are tearing it up. Christian Yelich was red-hot for 11 games then got injured. Acuna has an OBP of .382 and is stealing bases but has just one home run. Gurriel leads NL outfielders in RBIs, while Harris just had a stretch where he went 12-for-25 to raise his average to .330 (that's now .315). Certainly, if I were filling out a ballot, I'd vote for Acuna because I would consider his status as reigning MVP, but he hasn't been one of the best of April.
Keep an eye on: Jackson Merrill, San Diego Padres
Merrill hasn't quite matched the power of fellow rookie Jackson Chourio but has been the better all-around player, hitting just under .300 and transitioning well from shortstop to center field. Merrill's hard-hit rates and average exit velocity are above average, so his power should eventually develop. Maybe he only hits 10 home runs as a rookie, but he should grow into a 20-homer guy over the long term.
Disappointment: Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks
I wonder if Carroll is playing through some sort of shoulder issue that is sapping his power; he had a torn labrum in the minors that cost him the 2021 season, and he missed a couple of games in July after suffering a "stinger" on a swing. His hard-hit rate last season was in the 51st percentile, but it's down to the third percentile in 2024, as his average exit velocity is just 83.2 mph -- way below last year's 90.0 mph. The Diamondbacks even dropped him to seventh in the order the other day.
Designated hitterAll-Star: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers
On Wednesday, Ohtani lined three doubles, raising his total to 14 doubles in his first 26 games -- while hitting .371 -- and putting him on an incredible pace for 87 doubles. No, he isn't going to keep that up, but maybe we can dream of Ohtani chasing Earl Webb's record of 67 doubles set way back in 1931 or at least the first 60-double season since 1936. When Ohtani had his first huge season in 2021 and hit 46 home runs, he struck out nearly 30% of the time. He's under 20% so far in 2024. Yes, he might be getting even better as a hitter.
Keep an eye on: Marcell Ozuna, Atlanta Braves
We have to mention Ozuna, who is stuck behind Ohtani on the DH depth chart but has been one of the best hitters of April while leading the majors in RBIs. Like Ohtani, Ozuna has cut down his strikeout rate while continuing to post elite exit velocity metrics -- and that combo is going to produce some monster numbers.
Disappointment: Jonathan India, Cincinnati Reds
The injury to Matt McLain has forced India to split his time between second base and DH, but India hasn't hit at either position, struggling with .235 average and just one home run. Cincinnati's offense has been OK, but the Reds need Jeimer Candelario and India to get it going.
Starting pitcherAll-Star: Ranger Suarez, Philadelphia Phillies
What a month for Suarez, who is 5-0 with a 1.32 ERA while holding batters to a meager line of .153/.189/.226. He's doing it without premium velocity, as he averages just 91 mph with his sinker; but he throws five pitches at least 10% of the time and has walked only five batters in 41 innings. He's just the second pitcher since 2017 with five wins and an ERA under 1.50 by the end of April (Gerrit Cole did it last year) and the first Phillies pitcher to ever do it.
Keep an eye on: Jared Jones, Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates might have the best rookie starter in the majors -- and it's not Paul Skenes, who is dominating Triple-A while the less-heralded Jones is dominating big leaguers. Jones was a top-100 prospect entering the season, but he has been even better than advertised with a 97 mph fastball and a wipeout slider that has generated a 50% whiff rate. He walked 3.6 batters per nine innings in the minors last season, but Jones has issued just 1.2 through his first five starts while leading the NL in walks per nine, strikeouts per nine and, obviously, strikeout-to-walk ratio. If that kind of control is for real, Jones is going to be a big, big star.
Disappointment: Joe Musgrove, San Diego Padres
We'll leave Blake Snell off here since he is on the injured list, but what's going on with Musgrove? He has a 6.94 ERA while allowing a .326 average and nine home runs already. His strikeout rate has dropped from 24% to 25% over the past two seasons to 17%. Remember, Musgrove finished last season on the IL with a shoulder issue. For now, he said he feels good and just needs to execute better.
American League CatcherAll-Star: Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals
Somehow, Perez doesn't turn 34 until May 10 -- but it feels like he's been around forever. Indeed, the first of the Royals' back-to-back World Series appearances came in 2014, when he was already in his fourth season in the majors and making his second All-Star team. Perez is yet another veteran who has suddenly significantly dropped his strikeout rate -- from 23.3% to 11.5% -- and put up impressive production. If he does make another All-Star team, it will be his ninth selection. That doesn't guarantee Hall of Fame selection -- Bill Freehan, a Tigers catcher in the 1960s and '70s, made 11 All-Star Games but was never inducted, for example -- but it will help make Perez an interesting candidate.
Keep an eye on: Logan O'Hoppe, Los Angeles Angels
The Angels are relying on three young players to build around Mike Trout, but while Nolan Schanuel and Zach Neto have struggled, O'Hoppe is showing the offensive potential he flashed last season in 51 games.
Disappointment: Alejandro Kirk, Toronto Blue Jays
Kirk was the All-Star starter in 2022, leading the Jays to trade top prospect Gabriel Moreno after that season for Daulton Varsho. That's not a bad trade, but Moreno's development into a Gold Glover with the offense to go with it has to have the Jays second guessing that deal a little.
First baseAll-Star: Josh Naylor, Cleveland Guardians
Naylor benefits from a pretty weak group here, but he has been crushing it, hitting .283 and slugging .535 while leading AL first basemen in RBIs as part of a better-than-expected Guardians lineup. Yandy Diaz, last year's starter, is off to a slow start and Triston Casas is out with a fractured rib, thinning the options here.
Keep an eye on: Vinnie Pasquantino, Kansas City Royals
He's back from last year's injury that limited him to 61 games and walking more than he strikes out, which should eventually lead to a better average, an excellent OBP and around 25 home runs.
Disappointment: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays
So many to choose from here: Jose Abreu has been the worst hitter in the majors; Spencer Torkelson, Carlos Santana and Andrew Vaughn have yet to homer; and Schanuel hasn't hit. Guerrero has been better than all those guys, but he's also a player we expect a lot more from -- and whom the Blue Jays need to produce in that lineup.
Second baseAll-Star: Jose Altuve, Houston Astros
Houston's slow start has everyone wondering whether this is the end of the dynasty, but don't blame Altuve. He's arguably hitting better than ever, considering the offensive environment is down across the league, with a league-leading .342 average and an OPS over 1.000. His hard-hit rate is in the 44th percentile -- compared to the fifth and 10th percentile the past two seasons -- as he's barreling up balls at the best rate of his career.
Keep an eye on: Edouard Julien, Minnesota Twins
He had an under-the-radar rookie season and is always going to be a three true outcomes type of player who won't hit for a high average, but he has seven home runs and his defensive metrics have been surprisingly good so far. The production is solid; he's probably destined to be one of those consistently underrated players.
Disappointment: Gleyber Torres, New York Yankees
Torres' future looked like it would be filled with All-Star appearances after he hit 38 home runs as a 22-year-old in 2019 (and made his second straight All-Star team), but he followed that up with two rough years in 2020 and '21 -- only to rebound and average 3.5 WAR over the 2022 and '23 seasons. He's heading into free agency after this season but hitting just .218 without no home runs.
Third baseAll-Star: Isaac Paredes, Tampa Bay Rays
This is how the Rays do it. In 2022, they traded Austin Meadows to the Tigers for Paredes, who had been a top prospect for Detroit but didn't do much in his first 200 plate appearances in the big leagues, prompting the Tigers to give up on him. Paredes hit 31 home runs last season with a .352 OBP, and he's putting up even better numbers so far in 2024.
Keep an eye on: Jordan Westburg, Baltimore Orioles
Yes, the Orioles have a young infielder who was a first-round pick and has been tearing it up. No, it's not the guy we expected. While Jackson Holliday has been overmatched in his short time in the majors (he was recently optioned back to Triple-A), Westburg has been locked in, with impressive hard-hit metrics that suggest it's not a fluke. He does sell out for power with a lot of swing-and-miss, so we'll see whether he avoids the kind of slumps that can afflict those types of hitters.
Disappointment: Alex Bregman, Houston Astros
Bregman just looks ... old. He's only 30 and coming off a 123 OPS+ season, so he shouldn't be losing it overnight. Indeed, the strikeout and walk rates are good and the launch angle is right at his career norm, but he just hasn't been able to pull the ball in the air with authority.
ShortstopAll-Star: Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore Orioles
This is going to be fun, watching Henderson and Witt perhaps duking it out for MVP honors. The early edge goes to Henderson, who has hit for more over-the-fence power, while Witt holds the edge in the field and on the bases and has been hitting above .300. With Corey Seager and Bo Bichette off to slow starts, it might now be easier to pick the two AL All-Star shortstops in what otherwise could have been an absolutely loaded field.
Keep an eye on: Anthony Volpe, New York Yankees
He has slowed down at the plate after hitting .417 through his first 10 games and has made some interesting adjustments from his rookie season, focusing on more contact but, so far, at the expense of a lower hard-hit rate. We'll see whether he can find that happy middle ground that will put him on an offensive trajectory closer to Henderson and Witt.
Disappointment: Javier Baez, Detroit Tigers
His early struggles aren't necessarily a surprise given how bad he was last season (.222/.267/.325). With his contract, the Tigers may decide they have no option but to stick with him. But man, even with his defense -- which, while good, is no longer in the class of Witt or Volpe -- do you keep playing him if he doesn't start helping a little more on offense?
OutfieldAll-Stars: Juan Soto, New York Yankees; Adolis Garcia, Texas Rangers; Daulton Varsho, Toronto Blue Jays
Unlike in the NL, this is a crowded field with multiple strong candidates. Soto and Garcia are easy picks for best of April since they also have a track record of producing at a high level. Soto looks like he's primed for an MVP season -- although he'll have to really outhit Henderson and Witt given their advantage in defensive value. Kyle Tucker is doing his usual thing and Trout has been bashing home runs (first in the majors with 10). Tyler O'Neill might be here except he missed time with a concussion. In the end, defense matters as well, and that gives Varsho the edge as the third outfielder over Trout.
Keep an eye on: Colton Cowser, Baltimore Orioles
He has been only a part-time player so far, but his rate of production has been better than that of any other hitter in the AL. Cowser's profile is similar to his teammate Westburg's: He's selling out for power with a lot of swing-and-miss, but it's working. Like Westburg, he has good plate discipline, so he's not chasing out of the zone, either.
Disappointment: Julio Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners
Rodriguez outperformed Witt when they were rookies in 2022, but while we've seen Witt get better and we've seen De La Cruz start to improve as well, we haven't seen J-Rod make those adjustments. No doubt, it's no fun hitting in Seattle in April, but Rodriguez didn't hit his first home run until his 23rd game (although a recent stretch of multihit games did raise his average after scuffling under .200 the first three weeks). He's striking out more than ever and his walk rate is worse than it was his rookie year. The power will come, but I'd like to see that plate discipline start to mature.
Designated hitterAll-Star: Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros
I guess you could slot in Justin Turner here, too, and Mark Canha has hit well for the Tigers (although he has played more games in the outfield than DH). Still, this spot is Alvarez's even if he's not quite in prime pulverizing Alvarez mode yet.
Keep an eye on: Wyatt Lanford, Texas Rangers
OK, we've had to put a yellow light on Langford's rise to stardom. Perhaps we all got a little too ambitious about his future after he tore it up in spring training. Or maybe it's just a slow start. While he hasn't homered yet, Langford hasn't been overmatched either, and I suspect the long ball will start showing up soon enough.
Disappointment: Mitch Garver, Seattle Mariners
The Mariners made two major additions to the offense, signing Garver as a free agent and trading for second baseman Jorge Polanco. Designated hitter and second base have long been problems for the Mariners, but there must be some kind of curse on those positions, because both Garver and Polanco are off to rough starts.
Starting pitcherAll-Star: Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers
Yes, of course I'm going to pick my preseason Cy Young pick -- especially when he's 3-0 with a 1.82 ERA and a 35-5 strikeout-walk ratio in 29⅔ innings. He throws four pitches at least 15% of the time and batters are hitting under .200 against all four pitches. Jose Berrios has been terrific for Toronto, but Skubal has been dominating, so he gets the edge.
Keep an eye on: Tanner Houck, Boston Red Sox
Houck has been around since 2020, so he's not a young kid or anything, but he had a 5.01 ERA in 21 starts last season -- so these results are unexpected. New pitching coach Andrew Bailey has him throwing his splitter and breaking ball more often and ditching his four-seamer altogether. As a result, he has a 1.65 ERA through five starts while allowing just one home run. It looks legit so far, but let's see whether he can keep it up over a longer haul as the innings start to pile up.
Disappointment: Kevin Gausman, Toronto Blue Jays
He has been one of the best starters in the majors over the past three seasons with a 3.10 ERA, so this is probably just a small sample size fluke (0-3 with a 5.57 ERA so far this season). Still, the strikeouts are down as the splitter hasn't been quite as unhittable, so keep an eye on that.
