BATTERS: Early-season surprises, 2015

Let's continue our analysis of early-season surprises by taking a closer look at a bunch of bats in each league who are off to noteworthy starts, both on the surface and beneath it.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

José Bautista (RF, TOR) has an ugly .149 BA after 59 PA, a mark that could lead some of his owners to shop him on the trade market. Smart owners will blame that mark on a tiny .097 BABIP, the lowest BABIP of any batter in MLB so far. With steadily strong plate control (19% bb%, 0.92 Eye), good hard contact (111 HctX), and excellent power skills 185 xPX, hold Bautista and enjoy the upswing, assuming his shoulder is sound.

Lorenzo Cain (CF, KC) has been a multi-category contributor so far in April (2 HR, 5 SB), and he is posting the highest...

Almost!

You’re just a few clicks away from accessing this feature and hundreds more throughout the year that have a singular goal in mind: Winning your league. Subscribe to BaseballHQ.com here!

Already a subscriber? Sign in here

More From Batters

Brice Turang's five-category output in April was backed by good batted ball quality and elite plate discipline drivers.
May 4 2026 3:15am
Elly De La Cruz's good start to the season has been even better than it appears on the surface.
Apr 27 2026 3:15am
Chandler Simpson's hitting leadoff versus RHP, more Atlanta movement, and Rice getting run against LHP.
Apr 24 2026 3:05am
Nick Castellanos isn't showing any underlying signs that he can rebound from his slow start to the season.
Apr 20 2026 3:05am
Tyler Stephenson's modest early surface results are overshadowing some electric batted ball quality.
Apr 13 2026 3:06am

Tools