His combination of a 95 mph sinker and 90 mph changeup is devastating now that he has found the strike zone. After being recalled in mid-April, Cano was perfect against the first 24 batters he faced, tying a franchise record for most batters retired to begin a season. For some reason, the Orioles kept him on the 40-man all winter. He faced 27 batters for the Orioles in 2022 and 14 reached base. The scouting report on Cano at the time: big arm and no clue of the strike zone. A 29-year-old reliever out of Cuba, the Orioles acquired him from the Minnesota Twins as part of last August’s trade of Jorge López.

David O’BrienĪdditional reading: What we’ve learned in first 30 games of MLB season, from pitch clock to Rays to A’s Baltimore Oriolesīiggest surprise: Yennier Cano is not only the answer for the Orioles here he may be the No. 417 in spring training, but now seems assured of playing time even after Harris’ return from the injured list, with Hilliard shifting to left field. Hilliard made the team because he was out of options and hit. 717 OPS in nearly 700 plate appearances during four seasons with Colorado, and the Braves got him in a November trade that cost just a fringe pitching prospect. Hilliard, 29, had two tape-measure homers in a game last week against Miami. 904 OPS through 20 games, mostly filling in for injured Michael Harris II. 296 with three homers, four steals and a. Zach Buchanan Atlanta Bravesīiggest surprise: Toolsy former Rockies prospect Sam Hilliard is having a breakthrough, hitting. Even if he settles into being a slightly above-average hitter, though, that’s quite a step up from 2022. Perdomo has elite strike zone awareness, but he ranks in the bottom one percent of the league in barrel rate.

Can he keep it up? Well, there’s an awful lot of blue on his Baseball Savant page. Through Sunday, his 1.5 bWAR is 10th in the big leagues, and he boasts a slash line of.

This year, though, Perdomo has been terrific. A former top-100 prospect thrust into a starting role before he was ready, the switch-hitter batted just. But there are a few alarming ones here, too.īiggest surprise: Last year, Geraldo Perdomo was one of the worst hitters in the majors. Perhaps because it’s still spring and optimism is still palpable for the vast majority of baseball clubs, most of these picks trended toward the positive end of the surprise spectrum. We’re going to go a little deeper than a brief look at winning percentages, though, as our MLB writers choose the biggest surprise for each team.

Walk by Cora Brent