Pittsburgh Pirates to Ronel Blanco: 10 early surprises from MLB season

Ronel Blanco's no-hitter

Pitching against the Blue Jays in only the eighth start of his career, the Houston Astros right-hander threw this season's first no-hitter on April 1. His pitching mastery continued with his second start, no-hitting the defending champion Rangers into the sixth inning Sunday night for 15 consecutive innings of no-hit ball.

Esteury Ruiz gets demotion 

After making the A's 2023 Opening Day roster, the 25-year-old Oakland A's outfielder broke the AL rookie steals record, swiping 67 bases. However, after three hits, a stolen base and an RBI in his first 11 at-bats this season, Oakland shockingly demoted him to Triple-A.

UCLs failing fast

Cleveland Guardians' Shane Bieber and Miami Marlins righty Eury Perez are done for the season with UCL tears. Atlanta Braves Cy Young-favorite Spencer Strider looks headed for the same. Losing two aces and a promising young star in less than two weeks is a lot, even with UCL surgeries continuing to occur at a worrying rate. 

Marlins and Chicago White Sox are combined 2-19

A slow start for these two isn't surprising, but their play has been awfully inept. They've each won one game, sport a combined minus-62 run differential and have yet to show any signs of their record being unrepresentative of their ability.  

...but Garrett Crochet is dominating

The White Sox starter has dominated through three starts in his first season as a full-time starter. In 18 innings, the left-hander has allowed only four earned runs, struck out 21 and walked only one. Crochet has the White Sox's lone win.    

Shota Imanaga is dominant, too

Another Chicago pitcher off to a blistering start is the Cubs' Imanaga, known as "The Throwing Philosopher" for his studious approach to the game. In 10 innings over his first two starts, the left-hander hasn't allowed a run or walk and has 12 strikeouts. His four-year, $53 million contract looks like a steal so far.   

Cleveland Guardians are thriving without Terry Francona

Coming off a 76-86 season and entering their first season in over a decade without Terry Francona as manager, the Guardians would've been excused for starting slowly while establishing a new identity under rookie manager Stephen Vogt. Instead, they've bolted to an 8-2 start and lead the league with only 2.1 runs scored against them per game.