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Baltimore Orioles: The Positives, Negatives and Surprises of April

By Nate Wardle

BALTIMORE, MD - APRIL 27: Manny Machado #13 of the Baltimore Orioles falls to the ground after avoiding a pitch in the eighth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on April 27, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - APRIL 27: Manny Machado #13 of the Baltimore Orioles falls to the ground after avoiding a pitch in the eighth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on April 27, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) /
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Manny Machado
BALTIMORE, MD – APRIL 28: Manny Machado #13 of the Baltimore Orioles doubles in two runs in the seventh inning during a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on April 28, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

Best Player: Manny Machado

Did you expect anyone else?

Machado, believe it or not, leads the American League in batting average at .361 after one month. He also has more walks, 17 than strikeouts, 16. Part of that is due to four intentional walks, which leads the American League.

Manny also leads in total bases with 73 and was AL Co-Player of the Week for April 22nd.

His offensive WAR is 2.0, second best in the American League to only fellow shortstop Didi Gregorius.

His defensive WAR is -0.3, which shows that moving to SS has not been the best sabermetrically, and he hasn’t exactly excelled there, despite making several highlight-reel plays.

Manny is fourth in on-base percentage and also in slugging percentage.

The Baltimore Orioles’ star has the second-most hits in the AL to only Jose Altuve, he also is only one home run off of first place. Manny currently has nine HRs, behind Gregorius, Mike Trout and Mitch Haniger.

If you look at all the sabermetrics offensively, Manny is in the top five on all of them. Offensive win percentage, runs created, adjusted batting wins, win probability added.

Quite simply, the Orioles could not have asked for anything more from their young shortstop.

And, this has not only helped him but also has helped make him a very valuable commodity, which will drive up the price to acquire him in a trade.

A win-win for everyone involved!

Honorable Mention: Richard Bleier, Trey Mancini, Dylan Bundy

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