The 2019 season already has begun for the Athletics and Mariners, and Opening Day is right around the corner for the rest of the Major Leagues.

With all 30 clubs set to be in action on Thursday, here is one notable stat about each, with help from Statcast:

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST

Blue Jays: There were 169 starting pitchers who generated at least 250 balls in play last season. Toronto now has the top two in terms of ground-ball rate in Marcus Stroman (63.8 percent) and Clayton Richard (57.7 percent), who was acquired from the Padres in December.

Orioles: A barrel is the ideal type of batted ball, based on exit velocity and launch angle, producing a .772 batting average and 2.632 slugging percentage MLB-wide in 2018. Unfortunately for Trey Mancini, he hit into an out on a barrel 16 times, tying him for the MLB lead and suggesting some bad luck.

Rays: Batters missed on 34.8 percent of their swings against Blake Snell last season, giving the AL Cy Young Award-winning lefty the second-highest whiff rate among Major League starters, just behind Boston’s Chris Sale. Snell’s curveball was especially deadly, inducing a miss on 53.4 percent of opponent swings.

Red Sox: Both Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez hit exactly 26.7 percent of their batted balls last season at least 95 mph (the threshold for hard contact) and in the launch angle “sweet spot” between 8 and 32 degrees. Only the Cardinals’ Matt Carpenter made this type of quality contact at a higher rate.

Yankees: Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge have combined to produce each of the 13 hardest-hit home runs since Statcast began tracking in 2015. Stanton set a new Statcast record last Aug. 9 by walloping a homer with an exit velocity of 121.7 mph -- breaking Judge’s mark of 121.1 mph set the previous June.

AL CENTRAL

Indians: When Cleveland’s two big hitters are up, don’t look opposite field. No Major League hitter pulled more home runs in 2018 than Jose Ramirez (33) and Francisco Lindor (28).

Royals: Kansas City's ability to run will be a key to success in 2019, especially after acquiring Billy Hamilton to add to its existing stable of burners. Hamilton’s 30.1 feet-per-second sprint speed last year tied for fourth in the Majors, helping give the Royals what looks like the fastest team in MLB.

Tigers: There is still plenty of thump in Miguel Cabrera’s bat. Before a ruptured biceps tendon ended his 2018 season in June, he made hard contact (95-plus mph exit velocity) on 54.6 percent of his batted balls. That rate led all Major Leaguers who put at least 100 balls in play.

Twins: It remains to be seen if Byron Buxton can stay healthy and show consistency at the plate, but his wheels are certainly not in question. Even during a rough 2018, he was MLB’s fastest player, with an average sprint speed of 30.5 feet per second. It was the third time in Statcast’s four years that Buxton led in that category.

White Sox: Few players have the ability to hit a ball 115 mph or harder. Only three reached that threshold at least 10 times last year, and they are three of the game’s top sluggers: Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge and Joey Gallo. Right behind them, with nine, was White Sox rookie Daniel Palka.

AL WEST

Angels: Matt Harvey's average fastball velocity last season increased from 92.6 mph with the Mets to 94.3 mph with the Reds. While still down from his career high of 96.6 mph in 2015, the increased heat could give the Halos hope for a Harvey revival.

Astros: Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole both have raised their games since the Astros acquired them in trades, and they formed one of MLB’s hardest-throwing, most dominant duos. Only Max Scherzer recorded more strikeouts on four-seam fastballs than Verlander (131) and Cole (124), who also ranked first and third, respectively, in getting swings and misses on that pitch.

Athletics: Oakland is hoping veteran Marco Estrada can rebound from a tough 2018 in Toronto and bolster the rotation, and it does seem like the A's spacious ballpark could be a good fit. No MLB pitcher (minimum 250 batted balls) allowed balls to be hit in the air (line drives, fly balls and popups) more often last season than Estrada (74.3 percent).

Mariners: It wasn’t clear how long Edwin Encarnacion would remain in Seattle when the club acquired him in a trade this offseason, but for now, he provides the lineup with an accomplished power bat. Since Statcast debuted in 2015, Encarnacion ranks eighth in the Majors with 194 barrels -- balls hit with an ideal combination of exit velocity and launch angle.

Rangers: José Leclerc might still be flying under the radar, but the right-hander earned a contract extension earlier this month, coming off a season in which he emerged as Texas’ closer. Leclerc got opponents to miss on 41.1 percent of their swings, beating out Craig Kimbrel for the highest whiff rate in MLB (minimum 400 swings).

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST

Braves: Since Statcast began tracking the outfield defense metric Outs Above Average in 2016, nobody has been better than Ender Inciarte, who has recorded plus-21 OAA in each of those three seasons. Inciarte tied for first in ‘16 and has finished a close second in both of the past two years.

Marlins: While Miami traded star catcher J.T. Realmuto to the Phillies, the club also received an exciting young catcher with a lot of potential. Jorge Alfaro averaged 90.8 mph on his max-effort throws last season, beating out Realmuto for the best mark among catchers.

Mets: Edwin Diaz, acquired from Seattle, gives New York a lights-out closer. Not only does Diaz throw hard, but the 75 strikeouts he recorded on sliders last season were nine more than any other MLB reliever.

Nationals: As Juan Soto tries to follow up his sensational rookie season, the 20-year-old will continue to benefit from his ability to drive the ball to all fields. Soto’s .965 slugging percentage on opposite-field batted balls last year led the Majors.

Phillies: One obstacle Bryce Harper will have to overcome in his debut season in Philly is pitchers’ inclination to work around him. Just 41.5 percent of pitches Harper saw in 2018 were in the zone, the lowest rate in MLB among 127 batters who saw at least 2,000 total pitches. The MLB average was 48.9 percent.

NL Central

Brewers: Christian Yelich doesn’t lift the ball in the air as frequently as many of the game’s top sluggers, but he makes it count when he does. Yelich’s 1.399 slugging percentage on fly balls and line drives led the Majors in 2018, beating out second-place Giancarlo Stanton.

Cardinals: Jordan Hicks could get a shot to close in 2019 after bursting onto the scene in a rookie year that saw him become the first pitcher other than Aroldis Chapman to lead MLB in average fastball velocity (100.5 mph) since ‘13. Hicks also joined Chapman as the only pitchers on record to hit the 105-mph mark.

Cubs: Good health could be all it takes for Kris Bryant to rediscover his form, after an injury-plagued 2018 in which his average exit velocity (85.8 mph) and hard-hit rate (33.7 percent) both were well below the MLB average. Bryant posted marks of 89.3 mph and 39.2 percent when he took NL MVP honors in ‘16.

Pirates: What makes closer Felipe Vázquez so nasty? Among the 122 left-handers who threw at least 100 four-seam fastballs last season, Vazquez ranked second in average velocity (98.0 mph) and first in average spin rate (2,554 rpm).

Reds: It’s well known that Cincinnati has perhaps MLB’s most disciplined hitter in Joey Votto, but Jesse Winker showed in his rookie year that he’s not so far behind. In 2018, 77.6 percent of Winker’s swings came against pitches in the strike zone, tying him for 10th (minimum 500 total swings), while Votto (83.4 percent) ranked second.

NL WEST

D-backs: While his overall performance took a step back from 2017 to ‘18, right-hander Zack Godley still used his hook to great effect. No pitcher struck out more batters with curveballs than Godley (134).

Dodgers: Some might wonder if Max Muncy is for real after his out-of-nowhere success in 2018, but his numbers don’t suggest a fluke. Muncy connected for a barrel -- ideal contact based on exit velocity and launch angle -- on 16.9 percent of his batted balls, tying him with Khris Davis for second in the Majors (minimum 250 batted balls). Right behind them were Mike Trout and Aaron Judge.

Giants: Righty Dereck Rodríguez also was a surprise contributor in 2018, in part because of how well he limited that sort of optimal contact. Just 3.9 percent of balls put in play against him were barrels, tied for the third-lowest rate in MLB (minimum 300 batted balls).

Padres: No player hit more ground balls in 2018 than Eric Hosmer (288), whose negative average launch angle (minus-1.2 degrees) hampered his production. When Hosmer put a ball in play with a positive launch angle, he slugged .903.

Rockies: Kyle Freeland enjoyed a breakout 2018 season, in part because of his ability to work both sides of the plate while avoiding the middle. The lefty ranked among the MLB leaders in both highest percentage of pitches thrown to the inside and outside edges of the zone (32.9 percent), and lowest percentage thrown to the center of the zone (5.6 percent).