As expected, there were some surprises at the start of the 2024 MLB season. After all, this is baseball, and anything can happen on any day.
So, no analysis of the baseball season so far is complete without discussing what surprised and shocked us in the first month of the season.
The biggest surprises of the 2024 MLB season are one month away
Granted, these are just our first impressions of the MLB season. MLB's biggest early-season surprises of 2024 may not last all season.
But sometimes, early success – or in some cases, lack of success – ends up continuing throughout the season. With that in mind, we wanted to share the five biggest surprises of the 2024 MLB season each month.
The Mets are actually a contender
This has been a rebuilding year for the Mets after selling out cheaply last summer and underspending during the offseason. Also, those who thought the sky was falling after the start of year 0-5 had certainly overreacted.
While there is still a lot of ground to make up on both the Braves and Phillies in the NL East, for a team that has lost five straight games to start the season, the Mets are in good shape.
Key players like Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo have yet to break ground while the team recently welcomed J.D. Martinez into the lineup. The Mets don't even have their star player Kodai Senga, yet the rotation has been mostly solid and the bullpen is reliable. With plenty of room for improvement, the Mets look like they could be a surprise contender in 2024.
Boston Monument
Who would have dreamed that the Red Sox would have the team's lowest ERA — by a wide margin — a month into the season? The amazing part is that they lost free agent signing Lucas Giolito to injury before the season and then lost Nick Pivetta to injury after two starts.
However, Cotter Crawford and Tanner Hauck played like front-line starters, as did Garrett Whitlock and Brian Bellew before they went to Illinois as well. Naturally, those injuries will test the depth of Boston's rotation. The good news is they're still running Crawford and Houck while Kenley Jansen and the Bulls have been solid, so Boston's excellent showing is probably sustainable.
Kyle Hendricks dies
It's been shocking and a little sad to see how bad Kyle Hendricks has been this year. After five starts, the 34-year-old has an ERA of 12.00 and a WHIP of 2.10. The veteran posted a 3.74 ERA last year, so there was no way to predict things would fall apart for him this way.
The Cubs have placed him on the IL with a back injury. But that may not actually be the issue, and only time will tell if Hendrix is able to turn things around at some point.
The Astros are worse than the A's
The Astros' early-season struggles have been well-documented. Most of the major hitters outside of Jose Altuve and Kyle Tucker have performed poorly while the injury-prone rotation has been a disaster. A month into the season, it's shocking to think that the White Sox might be the only team in the American League worse than Houston.
Even the A was a little better, which is probably the most surprising part about this. In theory, the Astros should weather the storm and turn things around, although Houston can't wait much longer.
Tyler O'Neal is crushing it
We didn't have Tyler O'Neal as one of our breakout candidates this season because he's 28 years old and has failed to build on his breakout campaign in 2021. He's become known more for his glove than his bat, but not anymore.
With nine home runs in his first 20 games, O'Neill is off to a shockingly impressive start. It's not just about power as O'Neill is also hitting over .300. Even a brief stint on the IL due to a concussion didn't slow him down. The only question is whether this kind of start is sustainable.
