5 teams off to hot starts and why they can keep it going

As teams finish up their first series of the young season, let’s take a look at which teams are likely to stay hot this week.

The MLB season has officially begun and of course, fans and analysts alike are all over-reacting to the very small sample size of games we have for each team thus far. While a lot of these teams and the numbers they are producing are irrelevant at the moment, we decided to take a look at some of the top performing teams from this first weekend of games and pick out a few to highlight for 2018.

Houston Astros

Houston currently is tied for the American League lead in runs scored with 22 and only trails the Braves for the league best in the category. The Astros handled the in-state rival Rangers, taking three of four games in Arlington, TX.

Their starters have looked dominant so far, only allowed six runs over their the four games series with the Rangers. And their bullpen has been so-so, allowing five runs 10.2 innings pitched.

The reigning World Series champs were thought to be the favorites coming into this season, and so far they look the part.

Washington Nationals

The Nationals just polished off a three-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds, who scored the 3rd most runs this past weekend with 21 runs. Bryce Harper and Adam Eaton had fantastic debuts against the Reds, driving in 9 runs between the both of them.

The Reds did get to the Nationals bullpen, scoring 8 of their 10 runs against Washington’s relievers, who also allowed three home runs and issued four walks. The Nats had issues with their bullpen last year, but with Sean Doolittle, Ryan Madson, and Brandon Kintzler in tow, they should revert back to form.