It’s easy to go into a season with heroes. When you look at an Opening Day roster and see familiar faces, you can say to yourself, “There’s Kevin Kiermaier, there’s Chris Archer, I know what jersey I’m getting this year.”
The funny thing about baseball is that no matter how certain you are going into a season of who your most beloved player is going to be, there will always end up being someone to surprise you.
I’d be hard pressed to say I was surprised by either Jake Bauers or Willy Adames, both of whom were well hyped before their arrival, and have met and exceeded my expectations.