Is the Cubs hot start a mirage? Will the Astros remain under .500? Let's examine

It’s about 20 games into the MLB regular season. It’s a small sample size, but no longer so small that we can completely dismiss it. Just like every year, there are some teams that are over-performing and underperforming expectations, but which of these surprising records are actually telling the truth?

At no point during this off-season did I think that the Pirates were going to be good, but I thought there was a very good chance they could be interesting. And they’re certainly interesting through 20 games with one of the best records in the NL. I like to think this stretch is largely caused by the return of Andrew McCutchen (pictured) who’s playing some of his best baseball in years with a .943 OPS and four home runs in 18 games. This team would be even more interesting if Oneil Cruz, the most unique player in the game, wasn’t injured for four months.

It’s not going to last though. This team has too many AAAA and journeyman-type players to continue to be competitive. They have a lot of veteran (read: really, really old) players who are doubtful to keep up their production for a whole season. Sorry Pittsburgh, but no one with 43-year-old Rich Hill (pictured) in their rotation in 2023 is doing much. I genuinely hope they prove me wrong though.

It was an incredibly disappointing season on the South side last year when the White Sox were considered World Series contenders and then camped out at .500 for the entire season and missed the playoffs. And how do they follow it up? It’s April 21 and they haven’t won a series. Next, they play at the Rays so don’t hold your breath.

Many of their stars are constantly injured. “But when they get healthy...” you might say. Well, a team full of easily injured players isn’t going to all-of-a-sudden get and stay healthy. This is just who they are. And their starting rotation, which looks elite on paper, has struggled. Lance Lynn (pictured) and Michael Kopech have 7.59 and 6.32 ERAs respectively. With the third-worst bullpen ERA in baseball, the rotation needs to be elite for them to even have a chance.

They got off to a similarly slow start last season but got going in May. I know one season doesn’t really have any bearing on the next, but regardless, I think they’ll do the same. Julio Rodriguez (pictured) has been good, Jarred Kelenic has seemingly become the player he was touted to be as a prospect, and four of their five starting pitchers have been good. There’s no reason they shouldn’t have a winning record before long. They even have a positive run differential, so they may have just had some bad luck so far.

This is the one I’m most on the fence about, but I’m leaning toward them being legit. They just DFA’d Madison Bumgarner (pictured) despite still owing him 34 million dollars. Bumgarner might’ve been the best postseason pitcher ever with the Giants, but this season he has a 10.26 ERA.

Telling someone “I don’t care how much we owe you, if you can’t help us win, then you can get the fuck out,” is something that winning teams generally do, so I am inclined to think the Diamondbacks are legitimately trying to be a winning team. Also, super prospect Corbin Carroll (pictured) has been every bit as advertised.

Are you kidding? They’ll be fine. How dare you ask me these things?

Despite their run to the NLCS last year, the argument could be made that they’ve been underachievers in the regular season two years in a row. It’s not fair to expect they should’ve kept up with the 111-win Dodgers last year, but 89 feels light.

No one can spend as much as Steve Cohen, but Padres’ owner Pete Seidler is giving it a valiant effort. Now they’re off to a lukewarm start again, but there’s just too much talent on this team for them not to be a really good regular-season team. I expect closer to 99 wins this season. Last night was Fernando Tatis Jr.’s (pictured) first game back after his PED suspension, and he showed them what they were missing with an 0-f0r-5 performance with two strikeouts. He’s also playing the outfield now, a position where he’s looked suspect at best. But again, there are just too many great players on this team for them not to be successful.

The winning isn’t going to last. Granted, they’ve already won a series against good teams like the Rangers, Mariners, and Dodgers. This team won 74 games last year and I refuse to believe that the additions of Dansby Swanson (pictured), Eric Hosmer, Jameson Taillon, and the fourth consecutive year of the “Is Cody Bellinger finally back?” world tour are going to get them over .500 over a full season. Maybe it’s enough if Marcus Stroman’s sub-1 ERA persists.