With April now over, it’s time to look at a few MLB players who got off to quick starts this year after having disappointing 2017 seasons.

Whether they can keep up their torrid starts they have had through their team’s first month remains to be seen, but their play has shown that they should not be written off due to last season.

Miguel Cabrera - Detroit Tigers

Cabrera has a history that few can rival. He’s made 11 All-Star Teams, won four batting crowns, two MVPs, and a Triple Crown. He is approaching both 3,000 career hits and 500 career Home Runs.

That’s why his 2017 season when he batted just .249 with a .728 OPS was shocking to many. Through April, he is hitting .326 with 21 RBIs and a .942 OPS which is the Cabrera fans are used to seeing.

Johnny Cueto - San Francisco Giants

From 2011-16, Cueto sported an 82-43 record, 2.73 ERA, and 1.08 WHIP. Last season in his first year with the Giants, he went 8-8 with a 4.52 ERA and 1.45 WHIP. The 32-year-old went 3-0 in five April starts and led the majors with a microscopic 0.84 ERA. He also had the second-lowest WHIP at 0.69.

Manny Machado - Baltimore Orioles

Machado didn’t even have a bad year last season. It’s just a .259 Batting Average, and .310 on-base percentage isn’t what fans expect of him.

He also got off to a terrible start hitting .205 through May. That Slow Start didn’t follow him to this season though as his .361 batting average in April led the majors. He hit nine homers and had more walks (17) than strikeouts (16). With his team getting off to a slow start and his impending free agency looming, expect trade talks to start really picking up soon.

Rick Porcello - Boston Red Sox

Porcello was named the American League Cy Young in 2016 when he went 22-4 with a 3.15 ERA. A year later, he was 11-17 with a 4.65 ERA. In six April starts, he has gone 4-0 with a 2.23 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, and 38 strikeouts in 40.1 innings. He’s had two starts in which he hasn’t allowed an earned run which is the same amount of scoreless outings he had all of last year.

Kyle Schwarber - Chicago Cubs

Schwarber entered the major leagues in 2015 and went on to hit 16 homers in 232 at bats. After missing almost all of 2016 with injury, he hit just .211 with 150 strikeouts in 422 at bats last year. Coming into this season in the best shape of his life, he has gone on to hit .273 with seven home runs in April. He struck out in 30.9 percent of his plate appearances last year but saw that number drop to 24.2 percent in April.
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