MLB notes: How do Red Sox stack up one month into season?

Baseball season is long and usually it s not worth getting too worked up over who s in what place through the first week or two But with in the modern day marking the season s one-month mark we re at a point now where the landscape is starting to come into focus Entering Saturday the Red Sox stood at - good for second in the AL East and games behind the New York Yankees for first place Their wins was tied for second in the American League which to this point looks wide open and hasn t seen any organization separate itself from the pack It s a totally different story in the National League which arguably boasts the five best teams in baseball through the first month At this point it s safe to say the Red Sox start has been disappointing but not disastrous The club hasn t played to its probable and has endured a couple of really poor stretches but it s also right within striking distance of all its top competitors One good week and the Red Sox could find themselves with the best record in the AL How about everyone else Have all the preseason favorites played to their feasible Any big surprises Here s a look around the league at the one-month mark New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso has gotten off to a fast start through the first month of the season AP Photo Frank Franklin II Best crew New York Mets The defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers deservedly got the the bulk attention for their splashy offseason but the New York Mets have assembled a powerhouse of their own Entering Saturday the Mets had the best record in baseball - as well as the largest lead of any of the six division leaders The fact that the Mets had opened a five-game lead in the NL East is particularly notable given how that division features two other clubs expected to be probable World Series contenders in the Phillies and Braves Even more notable is the fact that New York s pitching not its offense has largely carried the gang The Mets have given up the fewest runs in baseball and their pitching staff collectively boasts the lowest ERA All five of the club s starters have recorded an ERA of or better and arguably the only pitcher on the staff who has underperformed is closer Edwin Diaz who still has six saves and strikeouts in innings despite a ERA Offensively the Mets have been a middle of the pack squad but there s good reason to believe they ll get a lot better as the season goes along Pete Alonso has been a monster batting with six home runs doubles RBI and a OPS and Francisco Lindor has gotten off to a great start too batting with five homers and RBI Everyone else has kind of just been OK including Juan Soto New York s new million man at the moment is batting with three homers RBI and a OPS which is better than average production but nothing close to what the Mets were expecting Soto does have more walks than strikeouts as he usually does so don t be surprised if he breaks out at certain point as the calendar turns to May New York s pitching staff may come down to Earth eventually but this Mets association is built to win and nobody should be surprised if they remain atop the standings throughout the summer Matt Chapman right and Jung Hoo Lee have played a central role in the San Francisco Giants' hot start AP Photo Jeff Chiu Biggest surprise San Francisco Giants Anyone could have guessed that the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres would be good and after the way they finished the season it isn t exactly a shock that the Detroit Tigers have picked right up where they left off But even with their impressive offseason did anyone give the Giants a chance to contend for a division title As of this writing the Giants - are in a dead heat for first in the NL West with the Padres - and Dodgers - all three of whom have won more games than any of the three division leaders in the American League San Francisco ranks sixth in runs scored per match and seventh in runs allowed and the Giants have played a substantial portion of their schedule against winning clubs collectively going - against teams above Jung Hoo Lee whose first season in the majors was limited by injury to just games has looked much more like the participant the Giants thought they d be getting when they signed the outfielder out of Korea prior to the season Lee has been one of the best all-around players in baseball so far batting with three home runs doubles RBI and a OPS Matt Chapman has also been excellent with five home runs and walks and Wilmer Flores has seven home runs and RBI Those three have helped offset the disappointing start by big ticket offseason addition Willy Adames Pitching-wise the Giants have an ace in Logan Webb ERA strikeouts and while former Cy Young Award winners Justin Verlander and Robbie Ray haven t been anything special San Francisco s bullpen has been lights out It ll be fascinating to see if the Giants can keep pace with Los Angeles and San Diego over the long haul but the club has certainly made a announcement out of the gate This season hasn't gotten off to the start Chris Sale and the Atlanta Braves had envisioned AP Photo Jason Allen Biggest disappointment Atlanta Braves Sure the Colorado Rockies have been wretched and the Chicago White Sox are looking at another long summer but how much of a bummer has this first month been for fans of the Atlanta Braves Originally viewed a possible World Series contender the Braves - at present sit last in the NL East behind the Miami Marlins and Washington Nationals Atlanta has been below-average both offensively and defensively has battled key injuries and started the season with an - road trip getting swept out of the gate by both the Dodgers and the Padres So far the Braves are still without MVP contender Ronald Acu a Jr who is expected back from his torn ACL sometime in May and top starter Spencer Strider only made one start after returning from elbow surgery before going right back on the injured list with a low-grade hamstring strain Atlanta should get both players back soon but the early performance of reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale has been concerning Sale at present has a ERA over innings through his first five starts not exactly the kind of production you want from a top-of-the-rotation arm The good news is Atlanta has shown signs of bouncing back over the past week The club has won six of its last seven games since April and if we re being honest starting the season with seven straight against the Dodgers and Padres is a tall order My guess is a month from now we ll look up and the Braves will be back in Wild Card position and if Strider is back and Acu a is on the cusp of a return Atlanta should be able to put this rough April behind it New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge is an early favorite to win a third AL MVP award AP Photo Frank Franklin II Judge Tatis Jr early MVP favorites This might come as a shock to a lot of you but Aaron Judge is really good The two-time MVP has solidified himself as a clear favorite to win his third ranking as baseball s bulk productive hitter through the first month by a fairly wide margin As of this writing the New York Yankees star either leads or is tied for the MLB lead in wins above replacement batting average on-base percentage slugging percentage and hits while also ranking among baseball s best in runs scored total bases home runs RBI and walks At this point Judge s track record speaks for itself so there s no reason to expect he ll slow down anytime soon The only athlete who has matched Judge s overall impact is San Diego s Fernando Tatis Jr who once again appears to be harnessing the incredible talent he flashed before his career was thrown off the rails by injuries suspensions and poor judgment As of this writing Tatis has WAR a batting average eight home runs RBI seven stolen bases and a OPS through his first games all of which rank among the best marks in MLB He s played a central role in San Diego s - start and if he can stay healthy he s on pace to approach his career-best marks from his breakout season Tatis may eventually face stiffer competition for MVP than Judge especially if Shohei Ohtani returns to the mound and resumes his two-way dominance but for now he s made a strong opening report Even amid what he described as a disappointing start Garrett Crochet still ranks among the early contenders for the AL Cy Young Award Matt Stone Boston Herald Crochet among crowded Cy Young field Garrett Crochet s last start was a little bit underwhelming and over the past week or so the Red Sox ace has complained that his performance hasn t lived up to his expectations Still if this qualifies as a rough stretch then watch out Even after allowing four runs on Thursday Crochet still entered the weekend tied for third in the AL in innings pitched while ranking third in strikeouts and sixth in ERA He s one of several early contenders a group that also includes Texas Tyler Mahle Houston s Hunter Brown and New York s Max Fried among others but also possibly has the highest ceiling of the bunch On the National League side Philadelphia s Zack Wheeler is once again in the mix ranking second in the NL in both innings and strikeouts Dodgers star Yoshinobu Yamamoto has the league s best ERA and former Red Sox starter Nick Pivetta has gotten off to a brilliant start with the Padres posting a ERA with a microscopic walks and hits per innings pitched It s hard to say anyone has really set themselves apart as a favorite but there s still a lot of baseball left to be played