The MLB season has started, and with it, fans have been disappointed. While some teams on this list can still make the playoffs, I’m going to outline five clubs who have disappointed to start the 2021 campaign. Some of these teams may be good teams that haven’t dominated the way many expected them to, while others may be just downright disappointing. Regardless, these five teams are not off to the start fans have hoped for.
Colorado Rockies:
The Rockies are one of the MLB teams that are just flat-out bad at this point. After trading Nolan Arenado to the St. Louis Cardinals this offseason, it was clear that this would not be a good ball club this season. However, at 3-8, the Rockies have the worst win percentage in the league this season. Unfortunately, that’s just where the heartbreak starts. They somehow started their season with an 8-5 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, and are now getting shut out 7-0 against the very same team.
The real tragedy of the Colorado Rockies this season is their inconsistency. Some nights they’re slugging it out and driving in 8 runs, then the next they’ll only manage one. Colorado Rockies fans have to suffer each night, wondering whether they will put on a good performance. That unpredictability in their lineup makes watching a game a roller coaster of emotions for this disappointing team. Unfortunately, Rockies fans should expect to be disappointed often this year.
Minnesota Twins:
While the Twins are a top ten team in the MLB, they haven’t been playing like it in the early going. The Twins sit at 5-7, solely in the last place of the AL Central division. The worst part about that is the fact that this division is not expected to be overly competitive this year. It seems to be a foregone conclusion that the Twins will win, while the White Sox make a strong effort in second place. Apparently, the Twins didn’t get the memo.
The Twins were off to a good start, and I was excited after putting them high in my MLB Pre-Season Power Rankings. However, they have since taken a dip. They dropped two out of three games to an unexciting Seattle Mariners team, before dropping three straight to the Boston Red Sox. The Twins made this list because I expect them to compete for the pennant, and this win-loss record doesn’t make that easy. Expect them to bounce back and gain some consistency as the season wears on.
New York Yankees:
The Bronx Bombers are another World Series contender sitting at 5-7 in the early season. The 27 time World Series champs are struggling a little bit in this early season, and fans aren’t one bit happy. The worst part about this start for the Yankees players is how amplified their struggles are. Being one of the most well-known sports franchises in the world, their media coverage is through the roof. The Yankees can’t go one day without an article or a TV piece being made about them. As fans in NY are hungry for number 28, this start is making them extremely disappointed.
The problem with the Yankees so far is starting pitching and offensive inconsistencies. Every starter, besides Gerrit Cole, has an unappealing ERA. These poor starts are forcing the Yankees to get in high-scoring matches, like 10-5, 8-4, and 7-3 finishes. It’s impossible to expect a team to produce high-scoring efforts every single game. Besides Aaron Judge and DJ LeMahieu, the Yankees bats have pedestrian averages. Clearly, the combo of poor pitching and offensive inconsistencies lead to trouble in the Big City.
Washington Nationals:
Many people, myself included, expect the NL East to be the best division in the MLB this year. However, I didn’t anticipate the Washington Nationals being in the last place. It was certainly a possibility, as any team in the division has the potential to make it to the playoffs. Realistically, I expected this team to finish third, with the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves fighting in the top two spots.
To be fair, the Nationals have had a very difficult stretch to start the season. They’ve faced the Braves, Cardinals, and Dodgers in this early go. All three of those teams are likely to be in the playoffs, so dropping a few games is expected. They have dealt with some unforeseen adversity as the season opener was due to COVID-19 issues within the clubhouse. However, that is something every team will be dealing with this year and it certainly doesn’t excuse them to lose these games. I really want to watch Juan Soto play in meaningful baseball games this summer, so hopefully, the Nats can turn it around.
Chicago Cubs:
Many are speculating that the Chicago Cubs are going to be entering a full-blown rebuild, and early indications show that this may be the case. I was optimistic that the Cubs wouldn’t have to do this, as they still have a talented lineup. The Cubs have disappointed my high expectations as they started the season 5-7, which is tied for last in the NL Central. This has come as the Cubs won their opening series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, lost the next one to the Milwaukee Brewers, and dropped their most recent series to the Pirates.
The Cubs are struggling early this season due to poor offense. The highest batting average on their team belongs to Jake Marisnick (.250), who has only had 12 at-bats. A few of the players have solid OBS numbers, but you would like to see the numbers higher this early in the year. Because of their inability to get on base consistently, they are averaging a measly 2.66 runs per game. This will allow them to win a few games, however; those numbers will lead to more losses than wins. If the Cubs want to keep this team around at the trade deadline, they have to start scoring runs soon. If not, this Cubs lineup may look a lot different in August.
