MLB's best April ever?! Here's Part II

It was 10 days ago that we listed nine things already making this the best April ever in baseball. The fact is that the baseball season got even better.

You want more reasons why?

We have nine more, in no particular order, and you know this is the short list …

1) We can start with “A”

That means the guy who is still baseball’s A-lister: Michael Nelson Trout.

Through Friday night’s game against the Mariners, he was hitting .425 and had a slash line so good it’s difficult to wrap your mind around it: .523/.781/1.304. He’s also hit six home runs.

Trout is better than ever as he approaches his 30th birthday in August. You know what would make this one of the best Octobers ever?

One with Trout back in it.

2) “B” is for Bryce being back

Bryce Harper scared everybody watching the other night when he took a 97 mph fastball thrown by the Cardinals’ Génesis Cabrera to the face. Harper then took a couple of days off because of that (and after sending what was described as an empathetic text to Cabrera) and then another one Friday night because of a sore wrist. Before that, Harper was starting to roll, up to six homers and a .321 batting average.

It’s not just the Phillies who need Harper to be a big star. So does baseball.

3) “B” is also for Corbin Burnes (even though he's out right now)

Burnes went on the injured list for an unspecified reason. But all baseball fans, not just Brewers fans, should be rooting for it to be something minor, and not major. In the month of Jacob deGrom, Burnes was lighting it up in Milwaukee, with a 1.53 ERA and 49 strikeouts.

Not even the best part: He still hasn’t walked anybody this season.

4) The middle of the Red Sox’s batting order

J.D. Martinez, who came about of obscurity to become one of the most important hitters in baseball by the time he got to Boston in 2018, is back after a disappointing ‘20. He leads MLB with nine homers so far (including two more Friday night against the Rangers), 25 RBIs, a .351 batting average. Xander Bogaerts? Same unsung star, hitting .330. And Rafael Devers, who is still just 24, keeps hitting himself (seven homers, 21 RBIs) into the conversation about the best young players in the sport.

5) Dodgers vs. Padres

Neither team has run away from things in the NL West, and both teams have to consider their win-loss record a disappointment at the point. But they have played seven games against each other already that make you want them to play seven more in May, and seven more in June, and so on.

6) Fernando Tatis Jr. and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

They are both sons of former Major Leaguers, they both hit the big leagues in 2019 and both make you afraid to miss a single at-bat. Tatis has hit all those home runs against the Dodgers, and he is the scariest .246 hitter around. Guerrero already has a three-homer game, not to mention seven homers, 20 RBIs and a .350 batting average on the season.

7) A pair of aces in New York

Even with no run support, deGrom is not just pitching like the best pitcher of his time. He pitches like one of the best of all time. He gave up one run to the Red Sox in a 1-0 loss on Wednesday night, and his ERA ballooned all the way to 0.51. Gerrit Cole of the Yankees has four victories, an ERA of 1.43 and 62 strikeouts against just three walks. Every time one of these guys walks somebody, they act as if somebody just slashed the tires on their car.

We can only hope they face each other in just one Subway Series game this season.

8) Three first-place teams -- one from the AL East, one from the NL West, one from the AL Central

The Red Sox, who began the season 0-3, came out of Friday night with the most wins in baseball, with 17. The Royals continue to lead the AL Central. And the Giants came out of Friday night with a better record than either the Dodgers or the Padres. If you had those three leading their divisions on May 1, head for Vegas.

9) Shohei Ohtani

He has eight homers and a .283 batting average. He has made three starts, has a 1-0 record, an ERA of 3.29 and 23 strikeouts in 13 2/3 innings. There’s no way to leave him out of any conversation about this season that includes the word “best.”

There are players who have been left out on this list -- like Madison Bumgarner, who pitched that seven-inning no-hitter for the D-backs, and a slugger named Aaron Judge, who comes into May off a big two-homer night at Yankee Stadium. Big month in baseball in the books. Here comes the month of May.