Alex Bregman and 6 early-season MLB disappointments catching fire at the right time

There's no time like the present, a wise man once said. And while some MLB stars don't quite have it when a season starts, scuttling through those early summer months, there's always time in August and September to get back on track and carry positive momentum into the playoffs.

For these six MLB stars, the turnaround is happening, with a chance to tangibly impact the postseason race as the finish line comes into view.

OF Jarren Duran | Boston Red Sox

You'd be hard-pressed to find a Red Sox fan with a favorable outlook on Jarren Duran these days, but the former All-Star — still, theoretically, in the middle of his prime at 29 years old — has turned up the volume of late after a brutal start to the campaign. He's still bottom-five in qualified OPS (.632), but he came into August with a .595 OPS. So things are trending in the right direction.

Duran has an .851 OPS with four home runs this month, including an ongoing six-game hitting streak. He went 2-for-3 with a triple in Friday's rousing victory over the Giants in Raffy Devers' return to Fenway.

It will take a lot more for Duran to restore the faith of Red Sox fans, many of whom want him traded in the offseason. But if the bat can wake up, even a little bit, he remains extremely dangerous on the bases. Duran led the MLB in triples in each of the past two seasons. He's on pace for another 20-plus stolen bases, and he's back to playing elite defense in the outfield (+4 outs above average). There's still a version of Duran that can tilt a playoff series in Boston's favor.

C Alejandro Kirk | Toronto Blue Jays

Alejandro Kirk did not really disappoint early in the season; he was just hurt. Kirk missed a couple months for thumb surgery after an unlucky foul ball. He returned in mid-June and took a while to shake off the rust. He has improved his OPS over 100 points — from .648 to .797 — since the calendar flipped to August, however. He has a 1.080 OPS, four homers and 16 RBI this month, with almost twice as many walks (11) as strikeouts (six).

Toronto is still in the AL Wild Card race, largely because the AL is a mess, but also partially because we're seeing more glimpses of the power (and the hitting discipline) that was so evident during last season's World Series run. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is banged up and lost in the woods, but if Kirk can keep it up — and with George Springer showing faint signs of life, too — the Blue Jays are as dangerous as a sub-.500 team can be. Dylan Cease might win Cy Young and this lineup has been there, done that in October.

RHP Aaron Nola | Philadelphia Phillies

Does Aaron Nola have the second-worst qualified ERA in baseball? Yes. Is there immense discomfort that comes with the thought of pitching him in a playoff game? Of course. But for all the bad of Nola's season, he has turned back the clock of late. Over his last five starts, Nola has given up eight runs in 28.2 innings (2.51 ERA), with 34 strikeouts and only 10 walks.

Nola's signature knuckle curve still rocks hard. It's the fastballs that have gotten him in trouble all year. Those troubles have not completely disappeared — his 4.48 FIP in the same five-start span indicates some underlying luck — but Nola is the most seasoned and accomplished pitcher in the Phillies organization, lest we forget. He's also being paid a massive sum of cash for the next five years, so Philadelphia will take all the positive signs it can get.

If Nola rides this wave into October and helps Philadelphia compete for the AL East crown and maybe even gives the Phillies some quality innings under the postseason spotlight, well — that will do wonders for his late-period reputation.

1B Alec Bohm | Philadelphia Phillies

Alec Bohm was the bane of Philadelphia fans' existence all season, with plenty of calls to either bench or cut him — including from yours truly. Well, the Phillies remained steadfast in their commitment to Bohm. Much like his predecessor, Don Mattingly exhibits an immense amount of faith in his guys. He does not believe in major lineup changes or dramatic demotions. And, well, right now Mattingly looks all the smarter for it.

Bohm has turned it on in August, against all odds and contrary to every statistical indicator or external expectation. He hammered the walk-off triple in Philadelphia's extra-innings victory over St. Louis on Friday, extending the Phils' win streak to seven. They're the hottest team in baseball and Bohm is a major reason why. Perhaps the move to first base, which eases his burden on defense, was actually a positive shift.

The 30-year-old, in the final year of his contract, is batting .371 this month with a .944 OPS. He has eight extra-base hits and 15 RBI in that span. It was always going to take a lot for Bohm to win back Philly fans, but damn it, he's doing it. Here's to hoping he does not turn back into a pumpkin in October.

3B Alex Bregman | Chicago Cubs

Alex Bregman's debut season on the North Side has not hit like fans anticipated. But better late than never, the All-Star third baseman is picking up steam as Chicago barrels toward the finish line. For a Cubs team with so much offensive talent — and so reliant on their offense to paper over a flawed pitching staff — Bregman's sudden turnaround is a welcome development.

More than productive, Bregman has been clutch of late. He hit a game-tying homer in the ninth last night against Seattle. That comes just a couple days after a walk-off single against the White Sox

Bregman has improved his OPS by 40 points this month, hitting .316 with seven homers, 19 RBI and a 1.020 OPS since the calendar flipped to August. This is more in line with the Bregman Chicago fans expected — and the Bregman Chicago signed for five years and $175 million last winter.

OF Fernando Tatis Jr. | San Diego Padres

Fernando Tatis Jr. — who hit 42 home runs and finished third in MVP voting back in 2021 — did not hit his first homer this season until May 30. He spent the first two months of the season stuck on groundball mode, for reasons that weren't overtly clear. He was still hitting the ball plenty hard, but his mechanics were out of sync and he was clearly fighting through a mental block.

Since he broke through, however, Tatis has hammered 15 home runs. In the month of April alone, he has improved his OPS by more than 40 points, up to .797 on the season with a 122 wRC+ and 3.6 fWAR. That's more in line with the five-tool superstar we know Tatis to be. In August alone, he has seven home runs (almost half his season total), with more walks (10) than strikeouts (eight) and a 1.030 OPS. He's also doing stuff like this in right field.

Tatis has always been our greatest aura farmer on the baseball diamond, to use the language of the youth. He lost that special something early in the season, but it's back now in full force. Tatis is rockin' and the Padres are red hot, with a real chance to sneak into the playoffs and cause chaos in a league where no team — not even the Dodgers — feels particularly unbeatable right now.

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