MLB: Buy Or Sell

We are officially through the first month of baseball. This season so far has been great. We have seen a lot of surprises so far. Also we might be in store for some historical seasons this year. Some players are out to a flying start, and some teams have gone above and beyond what people thought they would be in the standings after the first month. With that being said here are my buy or sell topics after the first month of the season.

Kansas City Royals AL Central Champs?

The Kansas City Royals sit atop the AL Central as of right now. Kansas City finished the month of April at 15-9. The three headed monster of Salvador Perez. Carlos Santana, and Whit Merrifield have been on fire so far this season. All three of them are hitting above .250 (.259 Perez, .278 Santana, .269 Merrifield) and have combined for 16 home runs and 58 runs batted in. Kansas City’s lineup has been a big reason why they are where they are in the AL Central.

Their rotation isn’t the greatest, but Danny Duffy is one of the best pitchers in the league right now. Duffy leads to AL in ERA 0.69 and is second in the MLB behind deGrom. He is also tied for first in the AL in wins and tied for second in the MLB. With him being their ace is their potential for the Royals to win the AL Central for the first time since 2015?

Here is the question do I buy or sell the Royals win their second division title in franchise history?

SELL: 

I think the Royals are going to contend for a playoff spot, but I do think that the White Sox are going to be a tough team to beat. Kansas City is better than the Tigers and from the looks of things right now the Royals as well. Cleveland is also starting to get back into the swing of their winning ways as well. I think there is too much talent for them to win this division. They are going to need their big bats to continue to hit this way all season, and will need their pitching staff to be a lot better than they have been. I think they will hit a wall in late June, early July and it is going to cost them their chance at the AL Central title.

The Chicago Cubs Missing The Playoffs?

The Chicago Cubs currently are sitting in the bottom of the NL Central division at the moment. Only bright side for the Cubs so far has been Kris Bryant. He is a name that I will be watching out for at the trade deadline if the Cubs don’t look like they are progressing. I see the Cubs doing a potential reset and focus on making themselves better beyond this season.

Their pitching staff is atrocious as they are being led by Kyle Hendricks who’s era is 7.54. Jake Arrieta is their best option on the bump right now, and he has a 4.31 ERA on the year as well. Chicago needs to realize that they will not go back to the World Series without a good pitching rotation. Which is something that they do not have at this very moment.

Do I buy or sell the Cubs missing the playoffs?

BUY:

The Cubs have a less than ten percent change in my opinion to make the post season. I see them finally moving Bryant and getting a great return back for him in the process. A top pitching prospect and other good talented prospects will be given to the Cubs for Bryant, but they need to manifest a trade in order to take a step in the right direction moving forward.

A Pitcher Will Win The MVP This Year?

There are three pitchers in MLB right now that are in the early running for MVP for their respective league. Corbin Burnes, Gerrit Cole, and Jacob deGrom.

Corbin Burnes has been huge for the Brewers so far this season. He is 2-2 throughout the season so far to go along with a 1.53 ERA to go along with 49 strikeouts. After the first month he has yet to give up a walk this season. If the Brewers keep up playing at the level that they are at, Burnes will be in MVP talks the entire year.

Gerrit Cole is 4-1 on the year to go along with a 1.43 ERA and adds 62 strikeouts as well. Cole is the only bright spot for the Yankees so far this season. With the way he has pitched it makes me think where the Yankees would be right now without him on the team. I know people gave the Yankees a lot of crap last year after Cole’s rough 2020. Now though Cole is back to being one of the best pitchers in the league. The Yankees better capitalize on how well he’s playing right now.

Jacob deGrom is hands down the best strikeout pitcher in the league today. The Mets struggling in games that deGrom starts in doesn’t help his case. So far deGrom is 2-2 on the season to go along with 0.51 ERA and has 59 strikeouts as well.  If the Mets continue to struggle in games in which deGrom starts in I don’t know about his MVP chances. His CY Young chances are going to be through the roof though without a doubt.

Now the question is will one of these pitchers or any pitcher win the MVP award this year?

SELL: 

I don’t think the MVP will be a pitcher in either the American League or the National League. deGrom has the best chance to win the MVP, but in the American League it is Mike Trout’s award to lose at the moment. In the National League as of right now it will come down to either Acuna or deGrom as of right now in my opinion. I do think Acuna has a better chance especially if he ends up in the 40+ home runs and 120+ RBI’s category like I think he will. These MVP races will be fun to watch out for the rest of the season as well.

-Chris Jones (@cjoneswho1212)