Week one of the Major League Baseball season is in the books.  So far, there was one major plot twist, in my opinion, with the injury of Kyle Schwarber, and a whole lot of the status quo.

Of note are a couple of first place teams – the Cincinnati Reds and the Oakland A’s.  The A’s paid a little bit of money to upgrade their bullpen and have one of the games next big stars in Sonny Gray.  The Reds, on the other hand, went into full rebuild mode in the offseason, yet have been performing quite well, getting a very nice MLB debut from Robert Stephenson (and then rewarding him with a plane ticket back to AAA).

One of the major stories bubbling just beneath the surface is the new baserunning rule that directly impacted the outcome of at least three games so far, in both the AL and the NL.  Just like the so-called Buster Posey rule at home in 2014, I expect this one to continue to linger all year long.

Division leaders:
AL East: Baltimore, NY Yankees 2.0 GB
AL Central: Kansas City, Detroit/Chicago 0.5 GB
AL West: Oakland, Texas 1.0 GB

NL East: Washington, NY Mets 1.5 GB
NL Central: Cincinnati/Chicago, Pittsburgh 1.0 GB
NL West: San Francisco, Los Angeles 1.0 GB

Impact Player:  Perhaps no player in baseball had a bigger impact on the first week than Trevor Story and his seven (7) homeruns – not to mention the Rockies bopping a staggering 17 homeruns in their first six games!  I guess it wasn’t such a stretch for them to trade Tulo to the Blue Jays at the break last year with a shortstop like this waiting in the wings.  At this rate, Story is on pace for the hall of fame by the end of the season.  But, before we get ahead of ourselves, let's remember that he'd still be at AAA is not for a Hawaiin vacation gone terribly wrong for Jose Reyes.  I’m also reminded of something Jim Lefebvre said: the game catches up with you in a hurry, so let’s see how he adjusts when it does.

Players to Watch:  I’ve got my eye on Robinson Cano, because a bounce back season is expected, and the Mariners could really be a force out west (after falling flat on their faces as the sexiest pick of 2015).  Another guy to keep a watchful eye on, as I think he could really impact the pennant race, is Manny Machado (.455/.905/1.359).  Not only is he hitting the ball well, he is the best 3B in baseball, so the Orioles need to keep him on track if they want to capitalize on their historic start.

ICYMI: Check out the move that Ken Burns revealed yesterday during the Blue Jays – Red Sox telecast on MLB Network.  This is another great move to honor an incredible man, Mr. Jackie Robinson.