The best of MLB Week One: The early All-Star performers
By Bill Felber
One week into a six-month MLB season is obviously way too early to assess who’s going to have a good season. But it’s not too early to say who had a good Week One.
Think of this, then, as a Week One All-Star team … a roster of the players who did thee best job of getting a jump-start on the season.
The Week One honorees are an eclectic mix of established MLB stars, fascinating rookies, and previously unheralded journeymen who caught fire right out of the gate.
None will continue their first-week pace all season, and several may soon retreat into anonymity. But a couple — perennial All Stars — have already amply demonstrated their ability to translate this kind of kick-start into an excellent year. We’re talking about you, Nolan Arenado.
This is a two-deep MLB All-Star team not segregated into American or National League iterations. It’s too early to exclude a very hot player because he happens to be in the same league as an even hotter player at his position.
The Week One All-Star team features four first-team and four second-team starters but no relievers, largely because the workloads for relievers have not yet approached anything resembling critical mass.
There was only one specific factor considered a “must” for inclusion. To be considered, position players had to have logged at least 25 plate appearances. Beyond that, strong showings in major hitting categories — average, on base, slugging, OPS, OPS+ — elevated a player’s status.
All data is through games played Friday.
Starters were not required to have made two starts, but it was a plus. Those who made the Week One team tended to have done well in baserunners per innings pitched, ERA, and workload.