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Throughout the season, CBS Sports MLB experts break almost anything by batting every week around the Roundtable. Latest news, historical questions, thoughts about the future of baseball, all sorts of things. Last week we discussed the closest thing in baseball. This week we are going to work on the team that surprised us in April.
Good or bad, which team surprised you until 2025?
RJ Anderson: Orioles. We knew that there was a serious negative side risk to the Baltimore pitching staff coming in the spring. Assuming they sort things out and end the season, if not the best team in the American League, I overlooked it. Maybe they’ll do – I’m not going to give up on ghosts yet – but I have to confess that they didn’t foresee the first month of the season with the worst ran differential on the junior circuit. Honorable mentions about the Tigers (I didn’t play this well), the Reds and the Giants.
Dayn Perry: I have to go with the Giants. When I write this – that is, by the time I read this, it can change – they are tied to number one in the most brutal division in baseball, and they have the best running differences in the same division. San Franc may still find the expected level. So, it means fourth place ahead of the Rockies alone, but they definitely went against their expectations. In fact, the Giants are one of the best teams in baseball to date, and despite one of MLB’s toughest schedules, they did so. So far, Jung Hoo Lee’s production on plates has been a particularly pleasant surprise.
Mike Axa: I was planning to say the Giants too. For diversity, I go with the Mariners, one of the best offensive teams in baseball. Who saw it coming? Maybe I’m not surprised. They ended up leading the American League in the run after setting up Hall of Fame Edgar Martinez as hit coach in August. It is being carried until 2025. The Mariners sitting on top of the ungreat Al West is no surprise. I’m amazed at how they are going. They do it on offense, not pitching. Logan Gilbert and George Kirby are both on the list of injuries sustained due to arm problems.
Matt Snyder: I’ll go with the Giants too. They had a toughest schedule after the Cubs so far, and almost everyone assumed they would be the fourth-place team in the NL West. At best, they were considered fringe competitors sitting around National League playoff photos, but many thought it wasn’t that good. Instead, they are mostly taking part in the mix for the best records in the league. I don’t know if they can continue doing this, but I can’t even shake up my feelings for 2021 either. Instead, they won all the way up to 107 games in the regular season.
