Best of 2023 through the End of April

Who were the best players at each position through the end of April? What would that roster look like?

Issue#84

The first full month of the 2023 season ended recently, so I'm a few days in getting this article out. But who were the all-stars through the end of April? Given the increased level of interleague play, unlike the real All-Star game in July I'm not going to separate selections by league. So for overall MLB, through the end of April, here is what I came up with:

Here are those players, along with some others who I considered and that deserve at least honorable mention:

C

• Adley Rutschman (BAL) - .291/.409/.437, 4 HR, 22 walks

• Sean Murphy (ATL) - .256/.396/.577, 6 HR

• Jonah Heim (TEX) - .303/.386/.592, 5 HR

• Elias Diaz (COL) - .321/.380/.464

Those are some impressive OBPs from these catchers so far in 2023.

1B

• Pete Alonso (NYM) - .257/.328/.562, 10 HR, 25 RBI

• Yandy Diaz (TBR) - .319/.420/.585, 7 HR

• Paul Goldschmidt (STL) - .306/.405/.509, 4 HR, 10 doubles

• Matt Olson (ATL) - .252/.369/.563, 8 HR, 25 RBI

Diaz' surge in power is one of the reasons for Tampa's great success so far this year. Olson is slugging well, but is also striking out a lot—his 43 Ks led MLB through the end of April.

2B

• Luis Arraez (MIA) - .438/.500/.551

• Thairo Estrada (SFG) - .346/.393/.529, 4 HR, 8 SB

• Nico Hoerner (CHC) - .328/.367/.437, 10 SB

• Marcus Semien (TEX) - .268/.347/.455, 5 HR, 4 SB

As advertised when he was acquired by Miami for SP Pablo Lopez during the offseason, Arraez is hitting for a very high batting average, not striking out much (5 K in 102 plate appearances through end of April) but not providing any power (1 HR) or speed (1 SB). Marcus Semien is displaying both power and speed, and while he's only batting .268 he was leading MLB with 25 Runs at the end of April.

SS

• Jorge Mateo (BAL) - .347/.395/.667, 6 HR, 10 SB

• Wander Franco (TBR) - .300/.364/.546, 5 HR, 12 doubles, 6 SB

• Xander Bogaerts (SDP) - .308/.400/.514, 6 HR

• Bo Bichette (TOR) - .317/.354/.508, 6 HR

Mateo did well in many respects in 2022, leading the AL with 35 SB and also hitting 13 HR with 7 triples in 150 games. But he slashed only .221/.267/.379 -- that OBP was particularly awful, as he only walked 27 times (vs. 147 strikeouts). This year he is hitting for more power, a much higher average, and has a better BB/SO ratio of 6/12 so far—all while still stealing lots of bases.

3B

• Matt Chapman (TOR) - .384/.465/.687, 5 HR, 15 D

• Max Muncy (LAD) - .238/.408/.663, 11 HR

• Patrick Wisdom (CHC) - .250/.324/.641, 10 HR

• Rafael Devers (BOS) - .232/.285/.563, 10 HR, 27 RBI

15 doubles for Chapman is impressive! At the end of April he was three ahead of second-place Wander Franco with 12. Chapman's career high for doubles is 42, from 2018, his first full season. The last two years he's only managed 15 and 27 doubles, along with rather pathetic .210 and .229 batting averages. On the flipside, Devers hit for an uncharacteristic .232 average through the end of April, but 17 of his 26 hits went for extra bases, including 10 HR.

RF

• Ronald Acuna Jr. (ATL) - .352/.440/.546, 4 HR, 13 SB

• Josh Lowe (TBR) - .342/.398/.632, 5 HR, 5 SB

• Nick Castellanos (PHI) - .313/.369/.509, 4 HR, 10 doubles

• Adolis Garcia (TEX) - .267/.322/.533, 8 HR, 30 RBI

Acuna is back, and while his power did get going much in April, he led the majors in stolen bases.

CF

• Mike Trout (LAA) - .308/.395/.589, 7 HR

• James Outman (LAD) - .292/.376/.615, 7 HR, 3 triples, 4 SB

• Brandon Marsh (PHI) - .329/.418/.647, 4 HR, 4 triples

• Cody Bellinger (CHC) - .297/.371/.604, 7 HR, 4 SB

• Jack Suwinski (PIT) - .279/.393/.618, 6 HR, 5 SB

• Brandon Nimmo (NYM) - .330/.435/.457

James Outman is having a great start to his rookie season, though not without some growing pains as he has 36 strikeouts, tied for fifth most in MLB through the end of April. And 4 triples for Brandon Marsh already ties his career high of 4 that he had last year over 134 games.

Suwinski doesn't play every day, but when he does he has been providing the Pirates with a nice combination of power and speed while playing a mix of CF and RF. And Bellinger so far is making the Cubs look smart for taking a chance that he could rebound after so many below-expectations seasons.

LF

• Randy Arozarena (TBR) - .327/.392/.573, 7 HR, 28 RBI

• Bryan Reynolds (PIT) - .320/.353/.573, 5 HR, 9 doubles, 5 SB

• Jarred Kelenic (SEA) - .308/.366/.615, 7 HR, 5 SB

• Corbin Carroll (ARI) - .309/.374/.536, 4 HR, 10 SB

You could make a case for Kelenic as one of the top two here over Arozarena or Reynolds. He is only 23, so its not too late to deliver on the heavy prospect hype from two years ago. He's off to a great start this year, though he is still striking out a lot with 28 K in 26 games.

DH

• Brent Rooker (OAK) - .353/.465/.779, 9 HR

• Shohie Ohtani (LAA) - .294/.355/.541, 7 HR, 5 SB

• Harold Ramirez (TBR) - .329/.395/.616, 5 HR

• Yordan Alvarez (HOU) - .272/.388/.543, 6 HR, 27 RBI

Brent Rooker has been one of the few highlights for Oakland, putting up impressive numbers while playing a mix of DH, LF, and RF. And of course the incredible Shohei Ohtani is off to a good start as both a hitter and pitcher.

Some additional position players were either off to good starts before getting injured, or have done well in otherwise limited playing time, including:

• SS Geraldo Perdomo (ARI) had an impressive .383/.456/.617 slash line in 71 plate appearances through the end of April.

• CF Adam Duvall (BOS) was off to a good start before he got injured, as he was slashing .455/.514/1.030 with 4 HR and 5 doubles in 8 games.

• CF Jarren Duran (BOS) stepped in when Duvall went down, and in his age 26 season he might be having his breakout, with a .396/.415/.646 slash, 9 doubles, and 2 stolen bases in April.

• SS Corey Seager (TEX) was off to a good start before getting hurt, slashing .359/.469/.539 now that the infield shifts are restricted.

• C Jason Delay (PIT) is one of many surprises for the Pirates this year, as he is slashed .390/.435/.610 over 47 plate appearances in April as part of their catching mix.

SP

• Gerrit Cole (NYY) - 1.11 ERA, 44 K in 40.2 IP, 0.836 WHIP

• Spencer Strider (CHC) - 1.80 ERA, 49 K in 30 IP, 0.833 WHIP

• Shohei Ohtani (LAA) - 1.85 ERA, 46 K in 34 IP, 0.824 WHIP

• Sonny Gray (MIN) - 0.77 ERA, 41 K in 35 IP, 1.057 WHIP

• Zac Gallen (ARI) - 2.15 ERA, 51 K in 37.2 IP, 0.770 WHIP

• Kevin Gausman (TOR) - 2.33 ERA, 54 K in 38.2 IP, 1.009 WHIP

• Jacob deGrom (TEX) - 2.67 ERA, 45 K in 30.1 IP, 0.758 WHIP

• Clayton Kershaw (LAD) - 1.89 ERA, 41 K in 38 IP, 0.763 WHIP

• Luis Castillo (SEA) - 1.82 ERA, 38 K in 34.2 IP, 0.923 WHIP

• Justin Steele (CHC) 1.49 ERA, 32 K in 36.1 IP, 0.963 WHIP

• Shane McClanahan (TBR) - 2.12 ERA, 42 K in 34 IP, 1.088 WHIP

• Wade Miley (MIL) - 1.86 ERA, 19 K in 29 IP, 1.000 WHIP

You could certainly debate how best to rank these starters, and there were many more that could have been mentioned. For instance, Max Fried has been outstanding in fewer April starts (4) than the above guys, posting a 0.45 ERA and 18 K in 20 IP.

RP

• Josh Hader (SDP) - 10 saves, 0.69 ERA, 17 K in 13 IP, 0.692 WHIP

• David Bednar (PIT) - 9 saves, 0.69 ERA, 17 K in 13 IP, 0.692 WHIP

• Felix Bautista (BAL) - 7 saves, 1.32 ERA, 25 K in 13.2 IP, 1.171 WHIP

• Devin Williams (MIL) - 5 saves, 0.00 ERA, 14 K in 9.1 IP, 0.857 WHIP

• José Alvarado (PHI) - 5 saves, 0.73 ERA, 24 K in 12.1 IP, 0.487 WHIP

• Carlos Estévez (LAA) - 6 saves, 1.32 ERA, 16 K in 13.2 IP, 1.098 WHIP

• Emmanuel Clase (CLE) - 9 saves, 1.88 ERA, 8 K in 14.1 IP, 1.116 WHIP

• A.J. Puk (MIA) - 5 saves, 0.75 ERA, 13 K in 12 IP, 0.833 WHIP

• David Robertson (NYM) - 5 saves, 0.79 ERA, 14 K in 11.1 IP, 0.706 WHIP

• Kenley Jansen (BOS) - 6 saves, 1.04 ERA, 12 K in 8.2 IP, 1.039 WHIP

Interesting how the early season numbers were identical for Hader and Bednar except for saves, where Hader had one more through the end of April. Bednar got two wins vs. none for Hader, and the makeup of their low April WHIPs was different, with Hader allowing only 4 hits but walking 5 batters, while Bednar has allowed 8 hits but had only 1 walk.

There are some others I could have listed, such as Jordan Romano (TOR) who had 9 saves through the end of April, but an ERA a bit higher than the guys above. Or Alexis Díaz who had only 4 saves and a modest 3.00 ERA but also an impressive 19 K in only 9 IP.

I focused on the closers for the above, but amongst non-closers here are some top performers during April 2023:

• Yennier Cano (BAL) - 2 saves, 0.00 ERA, 12 K in 11 IP, 0.00 WHIP

• Bryan Abreu (HOU) - 2 saves, 0.63 ERA, 22 K in 14.1 IP, 0.837 WHIP

• Jorge López (MIN) - 2 saves, 0.00 ERA, 10 K in 12 IP, 0.583 WHIP

• Aroldis Chapman (KCR) - 1 save, 1.74 ERA, 19 K in 10.1 IP, 0.871 WHIP

• Michael King (NYY) - 1 save, 1.72 ERA, 17 K in 15.2 IP, 1.149 WHIP

• Shelby Miller (LAD) - 1 save, 1.50 ERA, 11 K in 12 IP, 1.000 WHIP

• Bryan Baker (BAL) - 0 saves, 1.88 ERA, 19 K in 14.1 IP, 0.767 WHIP

Its been great to track Chapman's rebirth in Kansas City. And even more amazing has been Shelby Miller's start to 2023, as he'd only allowed 4 hits in 12 IP across his first 8 appearances. He hasn't had an ERA below 5.00 in the majors since 2017, so maybe even at age 32 he still has something left (though already walking 8 batters is a concern).

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Did you know? I wrote a book with the same title as this Substack newsletter / blog: Now Taking the Field: Baseball’s All-Time Dream Teams for All 30 Franchises. It was published in early 2019, by ACTA Sports, the publisher of the annual Bill James Handbook and other popular titles. You can learn more about it at www.NowTakingTheField.com, or buy directly at Amazon and other booksellers.