April Recap

If the month of April is any indication,  the rest of the big league baseball season should be one to remember. From Atlanta Braves rookie Jason Heyward's six home runs, to Ubaldo Jimenez pitching the first no-hitter in Colorado Rockies history, the 2010 MLB season is off to a fantastic start.

Team of the month...Tampa Bay Rays.
The Rays are big league best 17-6, including a streak of 7 straight wins on the road.
Offensively the Rays are lead by third baseman Evan Longoria, who leads the team in hitting, at .341, in home runs with 5, and in runs scored with 22. Speedy Rays outfielder Carl Crawford has 7 stolen bases, and first baseman Carlos Pena has 22 runs batted in.
Even with all that offense, the Rays best player has been pitcher Matt Garza. The Rays right hander has team highs in wins, with 5, ERA, at 2.06, and in innings pitched with 35. The Rays lead the American League in pitching with a ERA of 3.13.

Player of the month...Robinson Cano, New York Yankees
The second baseman of the World Champion Yankees hit a big league best .400 in April, lead in OPS, at 1.201, was second in slugging percentage, at .765, was second in hits, with 34, and second in total bases with 65.

Pitcher of the Month...Ubaldo Jimenez, Colorado Rockies.
If a 5-0 record, with an ERA of 0.79, and a WHIP of 1.05 wasn't enough to make Jimenez my pitcher of the month, Jimenez added a no hitter, the first ever in Rockies history, on April 17th in Atlanta, and now owns the Rockies record  with 22 1/3 consecutive innings of scoreless baseball. Opponents are hitting a measly 1.86 against Jimenez, and lefties are hitting just 1.33.

Rookie of the month...Austin Jackson, Detroit Tigers. Jackson finished April with a five hit night against the Anaheim Angels, giving him a rookie best .364 batting average, and Jackson's 36 hits, 49 total bases, and .422 on base percentage topped all rookies. Jackson was also second among all rookies with 6 doubles.
On April 23rd Jackson was hitting .300, then the Tigers rookie center fielder collected 16 hits, raising his average to .364, and at the same time raised his on base percentage from .364 to .422.

Rookie Pitcher of the Month...Brian Matusz, Baltimore Orioles. There wasn't much to be excited about if you were a Bird Fan in April, as the O's had the big leagues worst record, at 5-18, but 2 of those five wins went to Matusz, who has struck out 29 batters in 30.2 innings pitched, walking only 10.

So, as we enter May, baseball is in full swing, go out to a ball park near you and have fun watching the great game of baseball.