Ever since the pandemic began, the MLB has been full of chaos. This season has been no different. A month after the Atlanta Braves were crowned World Series champions, the MLB had its first lockout since 1990. This caused spring training to be pushed back and shortened. Despite all this, the MLB is a month into the 2022 season and has been full of plenty of shocking storylines.

One of the more unexpected starts has been the Los Angeles Angels. With Mike Trout injured for most of the 2021 season, the Angels struggled for wins, finishing under .500 for the sixth straight season. The Angels haven’t made the playoffs since 2014, but this year could end that streak. Shohei Ohtani and Trout are two of the premier players in the MLB today and can certainly lead this team back to the playoffs.

“The Angels have surprised me so far. Even though they have arguably the two best players in baseball, they weren’t very good last year. But now, Trout is healthy and the Angels are playing well,” junior Jonah Silverstein said.

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Nestor Cortes Jr pitches against the Texas Rangers on May 9, 2022. He went on to strike out eleven batters through seven innings before his no-hit bid was ended in the eight inning. He has been one of the more impressive pitchers so far.

Another surprising team so far has been the New York Yankees. The Yankees have always been full of talent, but recently they have disappointed. This year, though, the offense is producing plenty of runs and the starting pitcher is putting together impressive starts. Part of the reason for the Yankee’s great start is the pitching of Nestor Cortes. The fifth-year starter out of FIU has the tenth best ERA in the MLB and is the leader of the second-best pitching staff in baseball.

“I think the Yankees have surprised me in terms of how well they have been doing. It seems like they consistently have good rosters, but haven’t put up the kind of stats they have been looking for,” junior Isaac Malka said.

The Nationals haven’t been good since they won the World Series in 2019. Fans thought that the Nationals would go on a dominant stretch after the victory, but instead, they have declined. They were forced to sell Max Scherzer, Trea Turner and other veteran players last year in order to get prospects to help build their future. The Nationals this season have one of the worst records in baseball and it seems that it will be a while before they become contenders.

“The Nationals with how bad they have been doing. I thought that after we won a World Series, we would have some traction, but it really hasn’t carried over into anything substantial,” Malka said.

Entering the season, the rookies have been a major talking point. People were talking about Bobby Witt Jr. and Spencer Torkelson as the best rookies in this year’s class, but Seiya Suzuki has catapulted himself to the top of the rookies list.

“Suzuki is looking very impressive so far through the first month of the season. He leads all rookies in doubles and RBIs,” junior Kru Corke said.

Despite the New York Mets having one of the best records in baseball, Starling Marte has gotten off to a slow start. The former All-Star player is hitting well below his career averages and is struggling to get on base. He is one of the top-tier outfielders in the MLB and a key addition to a Mets team looking to win the World Series. His batting averages and numbers will certainly increase in a big way.

“I think Marte has been very cold through the first month. He has got it in him to get out of a slump for sure. He is a guy that can put up impressive numbers without much trouble as he has done it in the past on multiple different occasions,” Corke said.

Another player that has been bad so far is Joey Votto. After being one of the top sluggers in baseball over his career, Votto has struggled this season to get hits. In one of the last seasons of his career, Votto has also expressed his frustrations about his team. They have one of the worst records in baseball causing him to want out of Cincinnati and get traded to a contending team.

With plenty of games left in the season, there will certainly be more surprises, especially among teams in contention for the playoffs.