Credit: Royals Review
In this article, I will briefly describe the overperforming and underperforming teams of the 2024 Major League Baseball season so far (as of games concluded on Wednesday April 17th).
The methodology was using the projected season standings from an article ESPN published on March 25th, right before the season started. Then by taking every team's Current W/L % minus their projected W/L % statistics (from ESPN), I was able to find the positive and negative differences in every team's projected and current win percentage.
The three teams with the highest positive difference, the Royals, Guardians, and Brewers, are the best performing teams, in which they're ahead/over their preseason expectations. On the other hand, the White Sox, Marlins, and Astros are performing severely under preseason expectations.
Overperformers
Kansas City Royals (+0.188 difference)
The Royals are 12-7 and are second place in the AL Central, 0.5 games back of the next team on our list, the Guardians. However, the Royals have looked bright to start the season, with their young core of players like Bobby Witt Jr. and Cole Ragans paired with old veterans in Salvador Perez and Seth Lugo have the team currently at a .632 winning percentage and the second best pitching staff in the MLB with a 2.79 ERA.
Cleveland Guardians (+0.173 difference)
The Guardians hold a 12-6 record and sit atop of the AL Central. Likewise to the Royals, their pitching staff ranks third in the MLB, recording a 3.05 team ERA. Some of their best hitters include Steven Kwan, Josh Naylor, and Andres Gimenez with a .354, .328, and .301 batting average respectively. Even with the season injury to their ace pitcher Shane Bieber, due to Tommy John surgery, the pitching staff ranks sixth in the MLB with a 3.18 ERA, and the bullpen has been solid with the likes of closer Emmanuel Clase, Tim Herrin, Hunter Gaddis, and Nick Sandlin.
Milwaukee Brewers (+0.159 difference)
Credit: MLB
The Brewers are 11-6 and sit atop of the NL Central, 0.5 games above the Cubs. In losing their star ace Corbin Burnes in a trade to the Orioles, the team was projected to be below .500, however hitters and pitchers alike have stepped up to keep the Brewers in contention for deep playoffs runs in the postseason as it has been with the nature of the team in the past. Key players include pitcher Freddy Peralta, catcher William Contreras, and shortstop Willy Adames.
Underperformers
Houston Astros (-0.299 difference)
The Astros have numerous hitters like Jose Altuve, Jeremy Pena, Yordan Alvarez, and Yainer Diaz performing well with .300+ batting averages (ranking third in the MLB with a .268 team batting average), and pitchers Ronel Blanco and Christian Javier showcasing 0.86 and 1.54 ERA's respectively. However, the team has the second worst team ERA in the MLB at 5.24, and star closer and recent marquee signing Josh Hader and several other bullpen and starting pitchers have been the main cause of the Astros losing games they should be winning and living up to expectations. The team currently sits last in the AL West, 4.5 games back of the Rangers, at a record of 6-14.
Miami Marlins (-0.264 difference)
The Marlins were expected to build off the success from the 2023 season in earning a National League Wild Card Birth, but subsequently bowing out and getting swept by the Phillies. However, things have not gone to plan and the Marlins currently sit last in the NL East, 9.0 games behind the Braves, at a record of 4-15. The pitching is the third worst in the MLB, holding a team ERA of 4.84, issuing the most walks in the MLB at 87, and ranking in the bottom five in several major offensive statistics.
Chicago White Sox (-0.210 difference)
Credit: Bleacher Nation
The White Sox are dead last in the AL Central at a record of 3-15, and sit 9.0 games back of the first place Guardians. The team has the second worst batting average in the MLB at .196, and only have an abysmal 35 RBI's/38 runs scored on the year as a team. This ranks far below any other of the poor performing teams, roughly 20 RBI's/runs behind the Athletics. While the pitching still needs improvement, ranking in the bottom third of MLB teams, the offense needs to find some sort of spark to generate runs and start winning more games for the fans. No fan wants to see their team have the lowest W/L % in the league, in which the White Sox currently sit at with a .167 win percentage.
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