New York Yankees Carlos Beltran bounces back from slow start

By Brody Hilgenkamp | Jun 6, 2016

Jun 3, 2016; Baltimore, MD, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Carlos Beltran (36) swings during the his first inning at bat against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /

The New York Yankees, Kansas City Royals and Miami Marlins feature players who are on fire after getting off to slow starts in 2016.

Now that the season is into its third month, players who got off to hot streaks early have cooled off and come back to earth and slow starters have shed April’s bad luck.

Slow starts by key players can hamstring a team. One such example is Carlos Beltran of the New York Yankees. While the Yankees have been plagued by a litany of problems this season, a slow start by Beltran certainly didn’t help. He had a .648 on-base plus slugging through May 8, and the Yankees were 11-18 over that stretch.

Since then, however, the Yankees and Beltran have played much better. From May 9 through Saturday, Beltran was hitting .308 with a .354 on-base percentage and was slugging .681 with nine home runs. His improved production has helped the Yankees go 15-11 over that stretch and keep pace with the Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox.

Speaking of the Baltimore Orioles, let’s check in on some other hitters bouncing back from slow starts.

Adam Jones, Orioles:
Jones was off to a dreadful start this season. He had a .543 OPS on May 8 and had just one home run. Compare that to last season’s .476 weighted on-base average (wOBA) in April of 2015, and the Orioles were missing a big chunk of their offense. On May 10 of this season, Jones homered against the Minnesota Twins and has been hitting .283/.324/.535 with seven home runs through Saturday.

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The biggest jump in Jones’ offensive output has been since Manager Buck Showalter started hitting Jones leadoff. His first game in the leadoff role was May 27, and through Saturday he was hitting .324/.357/.622 with three homes runs from the top of the order.

Lorenzo Cain, Kansas City Royals
Cain was an MVP candidate last season, but you wouldn’t have known it from watching him early on this season. Through April 25 he was hitting .200/.291/.286, and while there was good and bad news in his early struggles, strikeouts were cause for concern. He struck out in 26.6 percent of plate appearances over that span, more than 10 points higher than 2015.

Cain has experienced some positive regression since then. From April 26 through Saturday, he slashed .345/.378/.525 and had cut his strikeout rate to 18.2 percent. According to FanGraph’s over the past 30 days Cain was 2oth in the majors in wOBA (.413).

K yle Seager, Seattle Mariners
Seager couldn’t have asked for a better way to end the month of May. He homered in two consecutive games, including a 3-for-4 day that included four RBIs. He had an abysmal .479 OPS after play on April 23, but he hit .366/.426/.641 with eight homers from April 24 through Saturday.

Ma rcell Ozuna, Miami Marlins
Last season was supposed to be Ozuna’s second breakout, but he limped to a disappointing .259/.308/.383 line and saw his home runs drop from 23 in 2014 to 10 in 2015. This season didn’t start off on a promising note either, as he was mired in a .196/.212/.294 slump through April 20 and had a .706 OPS at the end of the month.

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Ozuna has been one of the hottest hitters on the planet since then, meaning this season might be his second breakout. From April 21 through Saturday, Ozuna hit 10 home runs and was slashing .359/.416/.654. His .445 wOBA over the past 30 days is seventh in the majors.

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