This time last year, the pitch clock had fundamentally changed baseball, and its effects were wide-ranging. This year, the game has fallen into relatively familiar patterns. The teams that were supposed to be better than everyone -- the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers -- are on 111 and 98-win paces, respectively. The teams that were supposed to be unwatchable -- the Chicago White Sox and Colorado Rockies -- are positively god-awful. Shohei Ohtani is doing Shohei Ohtani things (at the plate, at least).
Still, every April brings surprises: teams better or worse than expected, breakout stars or faltering veterans.