MLB Breakouts of 2019

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Josh Calloni, Reporter

We are one month into the baseball season, and already there are some stars that have stood out amongst the others.

White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson has been the center of a lot of attention in the month of April. From hitting close to .400 the entire month of April to starting an all out brawl against the Royals, he has been very noteworthy. However, his batting average now sits at .365, which is good for second among qualified hitters, and first in the AL alone. Anderson has also seen a bit of an early power stroke, hitting six, including one walk off against the Tigers. Additionally, Anderson has been more active on the basepaths, leading the league in stolen bases with 10, and already a third of the way to his 2018 total.

Tyler Glasnow joins Anderson as an AL pitcher that stands out. Glasnow was acquired by the Tampa Bay Rays last July for Chris Archer. Glasnow, who was bounced around as a starter and reliever during his tenure as a Pirate, has seemingly found a home in the Rays rotation. Through his first six starts and 36 innings in 2019, Glasnow has won five games, highest in the league, and has the leagues lowest ERA, 1.75.

“Anderson has looked really good so far, at least in my opinion,” junior Ethan Seymore said.

Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker has laid into opposing pitching to start 2019 as well. Walker, who is getting playing time after many years of being blocked by Paul Goldschmidt, is batting .308 with a seven long balls through 29 games. Walker has a OPS+ of 149, meaning he has batted 49% better than league average for 2019.

As for pitching, Chris Paddack, starter for the Padres started his major league career off very nicely. Paddack, 23, was acquired by San Diego for Fernando Rodney from Miami back in 2016, and through his first six major league starts, holds steady at a 1.91 ERA. His ERA is good for 5th lowest in the league, and WHIP stands at 0.697, which is the lowest in all of baseball.

“Paddack is a funny story, with them getting him for Fernando Rodney who was 40 at the time. Good story, and an even better player,” senior Hunter Kensie said.

Finally, for the Cardinals, shortstop Paul DeJong has broken a few records already this season. DeJong has knocked out 15 doubles in the first month, more than any Cardinal in history, barely nudging out Stan Musial and Albert Pujols, who both had 14. DeJong has also clubbed out five home runs, and is batting .336 on the season. With DeJong, reliever John Gant has shown strong. In a season where Andrew Miller was supposed to be the most dominant reliever, Gant has started his season off with an 0.90 ERA. He has held his opponents to an 0.90 batting average, and has only allowed two runs, both of which were solo home runs.

“It seems like the Cardinals have gotten the wrong Paul off to a hot start. Everyone expected Goldschmidt, but DeJong has come in nicely,” junior Adam Thomason said.

With five months left in the season, these six players have gotten themselves off to a potential all star season in 2019.