Want to sound smart for Opening Day? Here's 1 key stat per team

Want to sound smart for Opening Day? Here's 1 key stat per team

March 30th, 2023

It’s Opening Day, and the excitement and promise of a new season are radiating throughout the sport and beyond. It’s time to consume baseball in every form possible, including, of course, talking baseball. Whether it’s water-cooler chats, work messages from the home office, family dinners or group chats, you’re going to need some baseball topics ready. Everyone has a World Series pick, but not everyone is prepared with an A-plus nugget.

That’s where we come in. We don’t just want you talking baseball, we want to equip you to wow and amaze whoever you’re with. Here’s one fact per team to make you sound smart.

• Here's everything to know about each Opening Day matchup

AL EAST

Blue Jays: Power from the youth

The Blue Jays were one of two teams with multiple three-homer games from individuals last season – Toronto had two and the Pirates had three. For the Jays, the sluggers in question were 23-year-old on April 13 and 24-year-old in the second game of a doubleheader on Sept. 5. They became the fourth duo of teammates under the age of 25 each with a three-plus-homer game in the same season, joining Larry Parrish and Gary Carter for the 1977 Expos, Tommy Brown and Duke Snider for the 1950 Dodgers and Lou Gehrig and Tony Lazzeri for the 1927 Yankees.

Orioles: The Adley era

In his debut season, had a 133 wRC+ – meaning that his offensive production was 33% better than league average. That’s considering all batters, though. If we zero in on other catchers, the mark becomes even more notable. There were 34 players to rack up at least 250 plate appearances as a catcher last season, and Rutschman’s 133 wRC+ led the way. He had a better-than-MLB-average 18.3% strikeout rate and 13.8% walk rate. 167 batters had at least 450 plate appearances last year, and just eight walked at a higher clip. And of course, none of them were catchers.

Rays: Wander’s world

was limited to 83 games last season, but plenty about his game was clear even in that sample. His 9.6% strikeout rate was third-lowest of 277 batters with at least 300 plate appearances. It’s even more impressive when we consider that Franco was just 21 years old in ‘22. His 9.6% was the third-lowest strikeout rate in a player’s age-21 season or younger since 1990, with that same plate appearance minimum. Only Mike Caruso in 1998 (6.8%) and Gary Sheffield in 1990 (7.5%) were ahead of Franco on that list.

Red Sox: Welcome to MLB, Masataka

will begin his MLB career today with the Red Sox, but we got a good look at what he can do in a high-stakes environment for Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic. In seven games, he hit .409 and slugged .727. He drove in 13 runs, setting a single-WBC record for RBIs as well as setting the standard for any Team Japan player in a WBC career.

Yankees: A young shortstop born in New Jersey

will be 21 years and 336 days old on Opening Day, making him the youngest Yankees player to start on Opening Day since a 21-year, 281-day old Derek Jeter in 1996. But Jeter had debuted in May 1995, and Volpe won’t just be starting on Opening Day, he’ll be debuting amidst the pomp and circumstance. Only four Yankees have made their MLB debuts on Opening Day at a younger age than Volpe will be: 1951 Mickey Mantle (19 y, 179 d), 1930 Ben Chapman (21 y, 111 d), 1962 Joe Pepitone (21 y, 183 d) and 1932 Frankie Crosetti (21 y, 191 d).

AL CENTRAL

Guardians: Defenders of The Land

Defense was a priority for Cleveland last season. For the first time in franchise history, the club had four Gold Glove recipients in a single season: , , and Andrés Giménez. Kwan became the fifth rookie outfielder to win a Gold Glove, joining: Tommie Agee (1966), Fred Lynn (1975), Ichiro Suzuki (2001) and Luis Robert (2020), according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He was also the second Cleveland rookie to win a Gold Glove, joining Sandy Alomar in 1990.

Royals: Bobby baseball

With 20 homers and 30 stolen bases last season, became the fifth player to notch a 20-20 season in his debut year. He joined Julio Rodríguez (2022), Marty Cordova (1995), Ellis Burks (1987) and Mitchell Page (1977). What if he does the same in 2023, especially given the new rules, which could lead to more stolen bases? Just two players in Royals history have had multiple 20-20 seasons in their careers: Carlos Beltrán (four) and Bo Jackson (two).

Tigers: Miggy milestone watch

Last year, became the 33rd member of the 3,000-hit club, and now, there’s still more climbing to do. He enters the year with 3,088 hits, which ranks 24th all-time. Cabrera should certainly move up this list over the course of the season, especially considering he’s just a hit shy of Ichiro Suzuki at 3,089, in 23rd. He had 101 hits last year, which would put him just ahead of Cal Ripken Jr.’s 3,184 in 15th.

Twins: Buxton’s dynamic game

We know that has an elite combination of power and speed, and it was on display yet again in 2022. With 92nd-percentile sprint speed and a 93rd-percentile hard-hit rate, Buxton was one of just three players to be in at least the 90th percentile in each. The only others on that list for ‘22 were Mike Trout and Julio Rodríguez.

White Sox: Cease’s slider

No pitcher induced more missed swings on a single pitch type last year than on his slider. Batters swung at 695 of his slider offerings and missed on 301 of those. No other pitcher got even 275 misses on a pitch type. It should come as little surprise, then, that Cease’s slider was by far the most valuable pitch last season, according to Statcast run values.

AL WEST

Angels: Always Sho-time

Last year, became the first player to qualify as both a pitcher and a hitter in the same season (based on current qualification rules). He was tied for 11th among all batters in home runs, with 34, and was sixth among pitchers with 219 strikeouts. Ohtani became the first player to finish in the top 15 in MLB in both categories in a season since the mound was moved to its current distance in 1893. What’s next?

Astros: World Series-winning bullpen

The Astros’ bullpen was a big part of the team’s World Series win last season. Throughout the postseason, Astros relievers had a 0.83 ERA, .126 opponent batting average, .215 opponent on-base percentage, .208 opponent slugging percentage and 0.75 WHIP. There have been 94 teams to record at least 35 innings from their bullpens in a single postseason. The 2022 Astros’ aforementioned marks were each the lowest of those teams in those categories.

A’s: Out-of-zone? No problem

We know that swinging at a pitch right down the middle tends to yield contact. But what about pitches that aren’t even in the zone? had a 76.3% contact rate on out-of-zone pitches last season. That was third-highest of 111 batters with at least 300 swings at out-of-zone pitches, behind only Luis Arraez (89.4%) and José Iglesias (78.8%).

Mariners: The J-Rod squad

In 2022, became the first player in MLB history with at least 25 home runs and 25 stolen bases in his first MLB season. Two other rookies had done it -- Mike Trout in 2012 and Chris Young in 2007 -- but both had debuted the year prior. Looking ahead, only one Mariners player has had multiple 25-25 seasons: Mike Cameron, with two.

Rangers: Second-half Lowe

had a standout second half for the Rangers in 2022. He had a 176 wRC+, second among qualified hitters to only Aaron Judge (251). His .566 second-half slugging percentage ranked third among that same group, as did his .339 batting average.

NL EAST

Braves: Welcome, Sean Murphy

New Braves catcher brings both offensive and defensive prowess. He had 39 barrels while batting as catcher last season, second-most among backstops while playing the position to only J.T. Realmuto (44). He also had an average pop time to second base of 1.89 seconds, second only to Realmuto (1.82 sec) among catchers with at least 20 attempts to second.

Phillies: Trea’s magnifique

put on a show during the World Baseball Classic, with five home runs, tied for most overall in a single WBC, with Seung Yuop Lee of Korea in 2006. Not only that, but Turner's five homers are the most by a Team USA player in a WBC career. His 11 RBIs were third-most in a single tournament and second-most for USA in a career, behind David Wright’s 15.

Marlins: CG Sandy

This stat never gets old, demonstrating how he combined dominance with sheer volume. Alcantara’s six complete games led all of MLB in 2022 -- truly, the whole sport, because he had all of the Marlins’ CGs and no other team had six or more. It was the first time in MLB history that an individual led all players and teams in complete games.

Mets: Another multi-time Cy Young winner

will be the eighth multi-time Cy Young winner to pitch for the Mets, joining Tom Glavine, Pedro Martínez, Bret Saberhagen, Johan Santana, Tom Seaver, Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer. That will be four more than any other franchise, per the Elias Sports Bureau. Verlander and Scherzer will be the third duo of three-plus Cy Young winners to pitch for the same team in the same year, joining the 2021 Dodgers’ Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw and the 1986 White Sox Steve Carlton and Seaver -- though Carlton and Seaver were never on the roster at the same time.

Nationals: The legend of CabaJoey

made his MLB debut, as a 30-year-old, on Aug. 2, and proceeded to hit .324 and slug .563 with 13 homers in 56 games. That batting average was sixth among qualifiers from Aug. 2 through the end of the season. Only seven players hit more home runs than Meneses in that span, and his 13 led all rookies. With a strong showing for Team Mexico at the WBC already, we can’t wait to see what the rest of ‘23 brings.

NL CENTRAL

Brewers: Best of luck against Burnes

continued to dominate with swing-and-miss stuff in 2022. Burnes induced a 35.2% whiff rate, leading all starters (minimum 750 pitches swung at). He had a 49.7% whiff rate against his slider, 47.7% against his curve and 46.7% against his changeup. There were 52 individual pitches that were swung at 100 or more times with a 45% whiff rate or higher. Burnes was the only pitcher with three of those 52, and the only other hurler with even two was teammate Brandon Woodruff (changeup 54.0%, slider 45.1%).

Cardinals: Walker time

is 20 years old and won’t turn 21 until May 22. The last 20-year-old to appear in a game for the Cardinals was Rick Ankiel in 2000, and the last position player to do so was David Green in 1981. But wait, it gets better. Walker will be 20 years and 312 days old on Opening Day. Only one Cardinal since 1900 has made his MLB debut on Opening Day at a younger age: Steve Carlton, in 1965 at 20 years and 111 days old … in a game that ended in a tie due to darkness after 11 innings.

Cubs: Good to Seiya

provided plenty of exciting moments for the Cubs in ‘22, starting with a nine-game hit streak to begin his career. That was tied with Andy Pafko in 1943 for the longest hit streak by a Cubs player to begin his career since at least 1900. On July 4, after missing 35 games due to injury, Suzuki broke a 1-1 tie in the ninth inning in Milwaukee with an inside-the-park home run. Though the Cubs eventually lost in extras, it’s worth noting it was just the Cubs’ third go-ahead inside-the-park home run in the ninth inning or later in the expansion era (since 1961).

Pirates: Cruz-ing up the leaderboards

In his first full season, quickly put his name atop various Statcast leaderboards. On July 14, he threw a ball 97.8 mph after fielding a grounder to shortstop, marking the fastest-tracked infield assist under Statcast (since 2015). On Aug. 24, he crushed a single with a 122.4 mph exit velocity, displacing Giancarlo Stanton for the hardest-hit batted ball tracked by Statcast.

Reds: Greene bringing the heat

2023 Opening Day starter lit up the radar on numerous occasions in 2022. For an example, look no further than his Sept. 17 start. He threw 33 pitches at 101.0 mph or faster, the most in a game in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008). Eight of those were strikeout pitches -- five more 101-mph strikeouts than anyone had ever notched in a game in that span. He threw 47 pitches of at least 100 mph, the most by a pitcher in a game since ‘08. He owns the top five spots on that list.

NL WEST

Dodgers: Leading the way

Last year, for the fifth straight season, the Dodgers led the NL in runs scored (most) and runs allowed (fewest). That streak surpassed the 1936-39 Yankees for the most consecutive seasons by a team leading its league in both categories. But the Dodgers didn’t just lead the NL in both categories, they led MLB. They became just the seventh team since 1900 to lead MLB in both, joining the 2001 Mariners, 1944 Cardinals, 1939 Yankees, 1927 Yankees, 1906 Cubs and 1902 Pirates.

D-backs: Blink and you’ll miss him

's speed is on another level. In 52 competitive runs last season, he had an average sprint speed of 30.7 ft/sec, leading the Majors. For context, 27 ft/sec is average and 30 is elite – so Carroll’s average was elite. Of those 52 runs, 31 were bolts, which are elite-speed runs. Speed can manifest in different ways, and for Carroll, one of the many was getting down the first-base line. His 4.05-second average home-to-first time led all players with at least 25 competitive runs.

Giants: Twinning

On April 11 last season, the Giants’ and Padres’ each pitched, marking the second game in MLB history where two twin brothers pitched (7/31/56: Johnny & Eddie O’Brien, both for PIT). Now, the twins are teammates, and they can become the first to do so in multiple games, as both opposition and teammates. They are the fourth set of twin brothers to be teammates, joining José and Ozzie Canseco (1990 OAK), Eddie and Johnny O'Brien (1953, '55-58 PIT) and Joe and Red Shannon (1915 BOS).

Padres: Just keep walking

led MLB with a 20.3% walk rate in 2022. It was his third qualified season with a 20% walk rate or higher, which is tied for fifth-most all-time, and he’s just 24. Soto is the only player with three such seasons through his age-23 season. The only other player to even have two such seasons through his age-23 season is Ted Williams. Talk about good company.

Rockies: Cron at Coors

and Coors Field was a fun duo to track throughout 2022. A hitter with a proclivity for hard-hit and powerful home runs, in a park that certainly doesn’t hurt. He hit 22 of his 29 homers at home, and had an overall average home run distance of 426 feet, 12 feet further than the average distance for any other batter with at least 25 home runs. In fact, it was the longest average home run distance for any batter in a season tracked by Statcast (min. 25 HR).