The 5 Surprising MLB Players So Far in 2010

A few days ago, I posted a blog regarding teams I thought have been surprising for the first month of the 2010 MLB Season. Now I'll focus on players that have been an impact this year thus far.

1) Rod Barajas, Catcher (NY Mets)- Barajas is definitely an interesting player so far this season. If you rate the catchers who were the top 3 favorites to start the season, Barajas wouldn't make it. With struggles by Brian McCann and Victor Martinez and with Joe Mauer missing some time, Barajas has stepped up with 9 home runs in only 23 games with the Mets and with the way he is going could break his own home run record in his career (had the most HRs in 21 in 2005 with Texas). The Mets made a gamble signing him during free agency after Toronto didn't renew his contract.

2) Andre Ethier, Outfielder (LA Dodgers)- Remember how people last year were talking about Albert Pujols chasing the triple crown? Things are changing with a new name in town and that is Andre Ethier. Ethier came into the league in 2006 with the Dodgers after former BoSox player Bill Mueller went on a the career-ending DL and has made an impact since then. Now with a month in the books, Ethier is leading the stats with a near 400 batting average, .457 on-base percentage and a .740 slugging percentage, and also has 10 home runs so far. Remember this name because he could break records by the end of the year.

3) Jason Heyward, Outfielder (Atlanta)- I don't want to forget about Heyward with the great start he is having in his rookie season. With a home run in his first at-bat, he now has 8 with 26 RBIs. Definitely a rookie of the year candidate in the NL.

4) Ubaldo Jimenez, Pitcher (Colorado) - A pitcher that averaged around 4.00 ERA in his career is off to his best start this season and leads the majors with a 0.87 ERA. Count that with his record being 6-0, including a no-hitter back in April against the Braves. With over 40 innings pitched, he also has not allowed a home run. Right now, consider him the ace of the Rockies staff.

5) Robinson Cano, Infielder (NY Yankees) - Cano is off to another great start this season, with 9 home runs, a .348 average, and a .661 slugging percentage, he is a candidate for the MVP award. His numbers tell it all and is a valid player who hasn't got credit for performance until the last 2 years.

Still a long season and the numbers can change, but these players have impressed me so far.

OTHER SPORTS NOTES:
Tiger Woods withdrew from the final round of The Player's Championship due to a disc injury. He struggled all weekend and was about 8 strokes back at the time of his withdrew from the tournament. In my opinion, I don't see him returning to action until the US Open at Pebble Beach in June.

I haven't done NASCAR in a while, but there have been some good races. Last night's Southern 500 was just one of them. Denny Hamlin sweeps the weekend and took home the checkered flag for his third win of the year. Jamie McMurray finished 2nd, Kurt Busch 3rd, Jeff Gordon 4th and Juan Pablo Montoya 5th. Gordon hasn't won for 40 races and had missed opportunities in 5 races this season due to late-caution flags. Tony Stewart's season also continues to worsen after hitting the wall with some damage to his car, also spinning during the race and finishes 23rd, 1 lap down. Right now he sits 18th in points, 59 points back from the 12th spot. Kevin Harvick leads Jimmie Johnson (who also crashed last night) by 110 points in the standngs, after race 11 of the season.