The first month of the MLB season is in the books, giving us a moderate sample to judge the best and worst starters around the league. We took our evaluation in a positive direction and used Baseball Reference's WAR (Wins Above Replacement) metric to build out a list of candidates at each position for April. For purposes of this article, we'll take a look at some of the rather obvious choices, some surprising candidates, and also evaluate some of the positions as a whole.
Athlete | Position | WAR |
Cal Raleigh (SEA) | C | 1.7 |
Edgar Quero (CHW) | C | 0.8 |
Jonathan Aranda (TBR) | 1B | 1.4 |
Spencer Torkelson (DET) | 1B | 1.2 |
Tyler Soderstrom (ATH) | 1B | 1.2 |
Jazz Chisholm Jr. (NYY) | 2B | 1.2 |
Kristian Campbell (BOS) | 2B | 0.9 |
Javier Baez (DET) | UT (3B) | 1.5 |
Alex Bregman (BOS) | 3B | 2.1 |
Isaac Paredes (HOU) | 3B | 1.3 |
Bobby Witt Jr. (KCR) | SS | 2.1 |
J.P. Crawford (SEA) | SS | 1.6 |
Anthony Volpe (NYY) | SS | 1.4 |
Aaron Judge (NYY) | RF | 3.1 |
Byron Buxton (MIN) | CF | 1.1 |
Cedric Mullins (BAL) | CF | 1.1 |
Kerry Carpenter (DET) | OF | 0.8 |
Steven Kwan (CLE) | LF | 1.9 |
Jorge Polanco (SEA) | DH | 1.4 |
Ben Rice (NYY) | DH | 1.0 |
JP Sears (ATH) | SP | 1.8 |
Luis Severino (ATH) | SP | 1.8 |
Hunter Brown (HOU) | SP | 1.7 |
Kris Bubic (KCR) | SP | 1.6 |
Tyler Mahle (TEX) | SP | 1.6 |
Tarik Skubal (DET) | SP | 1.5 |
Tyler Anderson (LAA) | SP | 1.5 |
Max Fried (NYY) | SP | 1.4 |
Andres Munoz (SEA) | P | 1.7 |
Justin Sterner (ATH) | RP | 1.2 |
Tyler Ferguson (ATH) | RP | 1.1 |
Luke Weaver (NYY) | RP | 1.0 |
The Obvious
Bobby Witt, Aaron Judge and Tarik Skubal are names that baseball fans are already well aware of and will almost certainly continue to hear about for the next 10 years – perhaps with the exception of Judge because of his age. Witt, Judge and Boston's Alex Bregman are the only American League players on this to surpass 2.0 WAR for April. In his past five starts (including May 2), Skubal has allowed only three earned runs across his past 30 innings of work.
Biggest Surprises
There are several surprising names on the list, across various positions. The trio of names at first base would have been difficult to project two months ago. Many of the game's biggest stars at the position are in the National League, but Vladimir Guerrero is nowhere to be found on the list, nor are the likes of Jake Burger or Christian Walker – both of whom entered the year with high expectations as members of new teams. Instead, we see something of a changing of the guard at the position, with post-hype breakouts from Spencer Torkelson and Jonathan Aranda.
A Javier Baez renaissance, particularly after he shifted primarily to the outfield, could be the most shocking twist of all. It looked like he had an albatross of a contract with the Tigers, but instead, he has delivered strong value with both his glove and bat, albeit with the help of a .382 BABIP.
Mason Miller is a glaring omission from this list, especially when considering that two of his fellow relievers with the Athletics do appear. Justin Sterner has yet to allow an earned run across 18.2 innings (through Wednesday), though that is surely the product of a small sample as he has a subpar 4.34 BB/9 paired with other mediocre skills.
There are also some surprises among starting pitchers, specifically Tyler Anderson, Luis Severino and JP Sears. It's unclear exactly how Severino landed on the list, though he leads the league with 208 batters faced (through Wednesday), so perhaps volume alone is enough this early in the season. Sears benefits from having earned four wins and has also maintained a pristine 3.7 percent walk rate, allowing him to work efficiently. Anderson is a finesse pitcher, though he has gotten the most out of his limited arsenal regularly in the past few seasons.
Strongest Position Group
Outfield and second base immediately stand out, and the latter deserves a specific shoutout due to the excellent performance of top prospect Kristian Campbell. If Jazz Chisholm was currently healthy, this position would have been the choice.
However, the outfield blends a nice combination of star power and reliable performers. Judge is the leader of the group, though a healthy Byron Buxton shouldn't be ignored. Kerry Carpenter brings the pop, while Steven Kwan is the steady contact hitter perfect for a role toward the top of the lineup.
Weakest Position Group
Relief pitcher stands out as a weakness of the group. There is only one true closer, Andres Munoz, and some of the better high-leverage arms around the league (Hunter Gaddis, Lucas Erceg, Will Vest) don't measure up on the WAR leaderboard.
