April is almost over, meaning it's time to take a deeper dive into the performances we've seen during baseball's first month in an exercise we like to call the all-April All-Stars.
It's easy to give too much credence to a player's performance out of the gate, but early struggles could also be a sign of what's to come. In that vein, one aspect of the game I monitor closely during April: which young hitters are adjusting and improving -- and which ones aren't.
We saw Elly De La Cruz struggle last season after his initial rocket start to stardom, but it appears he is figuring things out. He is chasing less often and seems to better understand how pitchers are attacking him. As a result, he's hitting .281/.395/.573 with seven home runs (and still running wild on the bases, leading the majors with 18 stolen bases). Bobby Witt Jr., who improved dramatically in his 2023 sophomore season after a rocky rookie year, appears to be growing into his strength, hitting .308/.349/.547 with 16 extra-base hits and only further cementing his status as one of the best all-around players in the game.
As good as those two have been, however, they aren't the starters at shortstop for the all-April All-Stars. That's because they play the same position as Mookie Betts and Gunnar Henderson -- the former a future Hall of Famer adapting to a new position and tearing it up at the plate and the other a sophomore sensation who, like De La Cruz this season and Witt last year, is only building upon his rookie numbers. As the season races on, those battles for starting shortstop at the All-Star Game at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, will be the most intriguing.
Let's go through each position and pick an All-Star, a player to keep an eye on and someone off to a disappointing start as April comes to a close.
