5 hitters surprising early this MLB season, including the Astros' Yainer Diaz and Yankees' Anthony Volpe

Any discussion about the players who have stood out over the 2024 season’s first week must begin with the guy leading MLB in virtually every offensive category: Mookie Betts. That Mookie has somehow seemingly elevated his game following an MVP runner-up finish last season is both a testament to his greatness and a tremendous first chapter for what could be a truly special season for the Dodgers.

But the difference between Betts playing like merely an MVP candidate and playing like the best player on the planet doesn’t drastically alter the outlook for the superteam for which he plays. We already knew Betts is elite; we already knew the Dodgers are laughably loaded.

Look beyond Betts, though, and we find a handful of hot starts from players whose performances moving forward could have far bigger impacts on how we perceive their teams. We’re still talking about tiny samples, of course, but here are five players whose strong first week could make a major difference for their teams if they can keep it up.

Yainer Diaz, Astros catcher

Outside of the surprise addition of closer Josh Hader, the most significant roster decision Houston made over the winter was finally moving on from veteran backstop Martín Maldonado in favor of the 25-year-old Diaz. While Maldonado had long been lauded for his integral role in managing Houston’s exceptional pitching staff despite his meager bat, it was time to turn the page, especially with such a promising internal replacement ready to roll.

Although his defense was a bit of a mixed bag as a rookie, Diaz proved what he was capable of offensively when given opportunities in 2023. Among catchers with at least 300 plate appearances, his 127 wRC+ was tied with Willson Contreras and Adley Rutschman for fourth.

Granted, there were some red flags within Diaz’s offensive profile — namely, his propensity to chase pitches out of the strike zone and his severe lack of walks (2.9%) — that made some wary of projecting similar production in 2024. Similar concerns about his teammate Jeremy Peña following his 2022 breakout have proven to be fair, but Diaz possesses significantly more raw power — and the ability to tap into it.

Also, while it’s early, Diaz has perhaps turned a corner in the patience department: He has already drawn three walks this year, something he didn’t do until his 27th game of 2023. His fourth walk last season didn’t come until his 47th game on July 4. This could be a fluke, but it’s something to monitor. It’d be nice if Diaz can improve his plate discipline, but some hitters are special enough to be productive despite an uber-aggressive approach; Salvador Perez, for example, has done just fine for himself.

Going forward, Houston will continue to spell Diaz defensively with veteran Victor Caratini fairly consistently, but an additional 100-150 plate appearances for Diaz, compared to the 377 he received a year ago, will unquestionably bolster the middle of an already fearsome Astros lineup. If Diaz can continue to develop his all-around defensive game, it might not be long before we’re considering him one of the best catchers in the league.

Anthony Volpe, Yankees shortstop

Volpe’s debut season following an ultra-hyped ascent from New Jersey prep star to top prospect could be viewed through multiple lenses. On one hand, Volpe won the Gold Glove as a rookie and became just the fourth shortstop age-22 or younger to hit 20 homers and steal 20 bases in a season, joining Bobby Witt Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr. and Alex Rodriguez. Pretty good!

On the other hand, Volpe’s 84 wRC+ ranked 125th out of 134 qualified hitters, with his .283 OBP ranking 133rd, in 601 plate appearances — a full-season sample of undeniably poor hitting. Further muddying the outlook for his sophomore season was the bizarre way he finished his rookie campaign: Volpe posted his best month (.889 OPS) in August before free-falling offensively, with a season-worst .482 OPS in September. So then what to expect in 2024?

With the power, speed and defense already intact, Volpe’s floor as the Yankees’ shortstop is already considerably high, especially for someone who doesn’t turn 23 for another few weeks. And with so much star power at the top of New York’s lineup, even an average offensive season from Volpe in the bottom third of the order would make the Yankees’ offense that much more intimidating.

After an offseason of swing adjustments, the early returns for Volpe have been encouraging: He drew a career-high three walks on Opening Day in Houston and racked up a career-best four hits against Arizona a few days later. If Volpe can make meaningful strides toward becoming the all-around offensive force he was in the minors, we might need to start talking about the Yankees as one of the deeper lineups in the American League — not just the one with the best 1-2 punch in Aaron Judge and Juan Soto.

Michael Conforto, Giants outfielder

Amidst a wave of high-profile hot-stove acquisitions, Conforto’s continued presence in the outfield was hardly one of the bigger headlines for San Francisco entering 2024. While he wasn’t terrible in his first year as a Giant (also his first year back on the field after missing all of 2022 following shoulder surgery), Conforto didn’t do much to warrant any hope that he would rediscover the All-Star form demonstrated early in his Mets career. There’s a reason he opted into $18 million for 2024 rather than testing the open market.

While Conforto’s stellar OBP skills were still largely in place in 2023, he lacked the thump demonstrated more consistently earlier in his career. That wasn’t a huge shock coming off his injury, but it certainly capped his offensive ceiling — a troubling trend for a corner outfielder. But now, some of that power might have started to return as Conforto gets further from his shoulder surgery: He has already hit three homers and ripped two doubles this season, including one with a 109.9 mph exit velocity, harder-hit than any batted ball he had in 2023.

I’ll admit, I’m a bit less optimistic about Conforto than some of the other players on this list. He hit three homers in his first nine games last season and had a solid .811 OPS through the end of May, only to hit .231/.325/.328 in 76 games over the final four months. And considering his longstanding struggles against southpaws, it’s hard to get too amped about Conforto stringing together an especially long hot streak. So far, though, he’s looking like he could be a far more important part of San Francisco’s lineup than we originally thought.

Jake Cronenworth, Padres first baseman

It has taken a rather absurd sequence of acquisitions to end up with Cronenworth as San Diego’s every-day first baseman. Fun fact: Cronenworth spent more games on the mound in the minors (7) than he did at first (1). Let’s not forget that from his time starring in college at Michigan all the way up to Triple-A with Tampa Bay, Cronenworth was highly regarded for his exceptional defensive versatility and legitimate potential as a two-way player. And in his first few years as a Padre, he spent the bulk of his time at second and shortstop.

But here we are, and no matter how many unexpected twists and turns and trades and signings it took to get here, it’s now on Cronenworth to adapt his game to fit his new job description. In short, the dude is going to have to hit a lot more than he did a year ago, when the addition of Xander Bogaerts and the breakout of Ha-Seong Kim pushed Cronenworth — who signed a seven-year, $80 million extension at the start of the 2023 season — to first base full-time. Last year, Cronenworth’s 92 wRC+ ranked 23rd out of 25 qualified first basemen. That ain’t gonna cut it.

The good news is Cronenworth has come out of the gate this year looking a lot more like the impactful version of himself we saw earlier in his career. He has batted third in all nine games for San Diego so far, something he did exactly zero times in 2023. Juan Soto moving to New York has a lot to do with that, of course, but even with Soto, Cronenworth batted sixth most of the time, so this is a big jump up the lineup to a spot he occupied a fair bit in 2021 and ‘22.

So far, Cronenworth has largely delivered. In the second game vs. the Dodgers in Seoul, he posted his first four-hit game since July 16, 2021. In the opening stateside series against San Francisco, he hit two doubles with 109.7 mph and 109.2 mph exit velocities — both of which were harder-hit than any batted ball of his from 2022 or ‘23. It’s too early to declare the All-Star version of Cronenworth definitively back, but that would be a massive development for San Diego.

Blaze Alexander, Diamondbacks designated hitter

While we’re often quick to dismiss spring training stats as small-sample aberrations, it’s also foolish to pretend that how players perform in the Cactus or Grapefruit League has no bearing on their standing in an organization. Sure, for veterans with secure roster spots, an outlandishly good or bad spring stat line isn’t going to impact their place on the depth chart.

But the 24-year-old Alexander is a great example of how a strong showing in spring from the right player in the right situation can go a long way toward increasing his chances of impacting the big-league team sooner rather than later. Only Rangers phenom Wyatt Langford racked up more hits in Cactus League play than Alexander did for Arizona, helping him earn the final roster spot over veteran infielder Emmanuel Rivera and a start as the Opening Day DH against Colorado in his MLB debut.

Don’t be fooled by his draft status as a former 11th-round pick; it took a $500,000 signing bonus to get Alexander, widely considered one of the top infielders in the 2018 high school class, to forgo his commitment to the University of South Carolina. Since then, it has been a gradual climb up the MiLB ladder. He never quite performed enough to be considered one of Arizona’s top prospects but never fell behind to the point that his future as a big-leaguer was out of the question. Early in his career, Alexander was known best for his shortstop defense, headlined by a rocket arm lauded as one of the strongest seen from an amateur infielder in recent memory. But the bat seemed to get better as he navigated each level, culminating in a breakout spring that earned him his first call-up.

With his natural shortstop position occupied by Geraldo Perdomo, Alexander has emerged in the early going as the right-handed side of a DH platoon with lefty slugger Joc Pederson (though if Perdomo misses time, Alexander could get some opportunities at short). Alexander smashed his first career homer off Yankees southpaw Carlos Rodon on Wednesday and seems primed to continue getting consistent at-bats. For a D-backs team that just had one of the stronger offseasons in baseball, Alexander becoming a key offensive contributor would be another exciting, new piece for the defending NL champs.