MLB: The Biggest Surprises Of The 2013 Season So Far

Are the Yankees the biggest surprise of 2013? Photo credit MLB

The Success of the Yankees and the Red Sox

Before the 2013 season began many experts predicted a tough season ahead for the New York Yankees. Who could blame them? A series of injuries left a depleted Yankees squad without stars, but as the first stage of the season has proved, lack of stars doesn't necessarily equal lack of quality. For the batters consistency has been the key to their success. Other than possibly Robinson Cano, nobody has really stood out with the bat, but at the same time they don't have a starter who is struggling, its a strange situation that seems to be working with a strong rotation to keep the opponent's run totals low. Hiroki Kuroda has had an incredible start, in 9 starts the 38 year old has a 1.99 ERA and a 6-2 record. C.C. Sabathia and Andy Pettite are performing to a high level as usual, and outside of his last 2 starts
Phil Hughes has had a solid season as well. Sitting atop the American League East with a 28-17 record, the Yankees should only get better with the return of Curtis Granderson imminent.

The 27-19 Boston Red Sox are 1.5 games behind the Yankees, having a season that is just as impressive as their rivals. Dustin Pedroia is on fire at the moment with a .333 batting average, and the same can be said for David Ortiz who is hitting .349, albeit in less at bats. It would be unfair to talk about the success of the Red Sox and not bring up Clay Buchholz. With a 6-0 record and a 1.78 ERA, Buchholz is having the best season of his career, will he be able to keep it up? With Jon Lester and closer Andrew Bailey also having very good years, the framework is in place for Boston to continue their fine performances and reach the playoffs for the first time since 2009.

Struggles in LA

The situation in Los Angeles is almost exactly the opposite to what is going on in the northeast with the Yankees and the Red Sox. The Dodgers and the Angels entered the year with high expectations after expensive splashes recently that resulted in their rosters looking "loaded" on paper. You'll hear people say "The game isn't played on paper" multiple times in your life, and that saying has never been more true than it has in the first months of the baseball season.

The Dodgers sit in last place in the NL West, 7 games out of first. This is despite spending big recently bringing in stars such as Zack Greinke, Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Hanley Ramirez. The roster already included elite players in Clayton Kershaw and Matt Kemp, so it was no surprise when they were being touted as world series contenders before the year began.

Key injuries to Zack Greinke and Hanley Ramirez won't have helped their cause, but with Greinke returning the Dodgers will be able to shore up their rotation and begin to turn their season around.

In Anaheim, the LA Angels are currently 10 games below .500 at 17-27, with their star players struggling. Albert Pujols is batting .247, Mike Trout has been more inconsistent than his .293 BA shows, and their big offseason signing, Josh Hamilton, has failed to live up to expectations as well. Their rotation isn't the problem right now, other than Joe Blanton they are having a solid but unspectacular year. If Joe Blanton (0-7, 6.62 ERA) can snap out of his cold streak the Angels will have one of the better rotations in baseball, especially when Jered Weaver returns. There is hope for the side from Anaheim, but with the dominance of the Texas Rangers so far this season it would take a monumental comeback for them to save their season.

Matt Harvey

When the the New York Mets traded R.A. Dickey to the Toronto Blue Jays in the offseason many feared for the Mets' 2013 rotation. They knew Matt Harvey was going to be a part of it, but he wasn't expected to dominate in the fashion that he has.

In 9 starts this season Harvey has a 5-0 record and a 1.55 ERA, but the hype surrounding him is about more than numbers. His command and confidence on the mound, even when it gets tough, are helping Mets fans dream of better days ahead. The young right-hander already has a one hit shutout to his name, and in every start but one he has given up 5 hits or less.

The Mets season hasn't gone to plan, their 17-26 record is really put into perspective when you realize that 7 of their wins came in games where Matt Harvey started.