For all the lecturing about the early-season struggles of the Blue Jays and Angels—and how there are no shortcuts on the road to contention—the Indians accelerated their timetable after an offseason overhaul. 

General manager Chris Antonetti's to-do-list started with a managerial vacancy. So Antonetti hired a two-time World Series-winning manager. Then he added some new assets by signing two of the best free-agent hitters available and trading for a former top-five draft pick with top-of-the-rotation potential. While Cleveland fans enjoyed an uncharacteristically festive winter, their smiles turned into expletive-filled rants quickly. Four weeks into the season the Indians were in the familiar position of looking up in the standings at less-talented teams. The low point came on April 28 when the Indians lost 9-0 to the Royals in the first game of a doubleheader; a loss that pushed the Indians to 8-13 on the season, and extended their losing streak to three games.

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The unfortunate truth is teams sometimes benefit from their players' injuries. Take Oakland. 

Last spring the A's entered camp with Scott Sizemore as their everyday third baseman. Sizemore's season soon ended when he suffered a torn ACL during fielding practice. The A's tried replacing Sizemore with various options, including Brandon Inge, yet when August rolled around they turned to Josh Donaldson. Donaldson's prospects of success were limited. He started the season as part of a third-base platoon but his poor play precipitated Luke Hughes' short-lived tenure in green and gold. Donaldson failed to capture Oakland's imagination during a later fill-in stint for Inge as well, though he made good on a third try, and played well enough to earn the third-base gig outright. 

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Last season the Angels missed the postseason in part due to a second-rate rotation. General manager Jerry Dipoto tried an in-season fix by acquiring Zack Grienke for a trio of prospects. But at season's end Greinke left for fatter checks. In order to entertain keeping Greinke, Dipoto dismantled half of his remaining rotation. He shipped Ervin Santana to the Royals and nearly dealt Dan Haren to the Cubs before non-tendering him once the proposed trade fell through. 

Rebuffed by Greinke, Dipoto instead signed Josh Hamilton, but not before adding two other starters. He signed the down-market innings eater Joe Blanton, then pulled off a riskier deal by trading former closer-of-the-future Jordan Walden to the Braves for former ace-of-the-future Tommy Hanson. (Dipoto later made another trade, this one of the intradivisional sort, to bring in Jason Vargas.) To call it a challenge trade is to partake in revisionist history. The deal looked riskier for the Angels than it did for the Braves all along. 

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On Saturday, Scott Kazmir and the Indians faced Joe Mauer and the Twins. Kazmir was looking for his first victory since 2010, and he got it. Mauer was looking to break out of a 4-for-38 stretch that had dropped his OBP nearly 100 points. He reached base twice, but only once against Kazmir, and with weak contact.

Previous history:
For three seasons, Scott Kazmir and Joe Mauer shared space at the top of prospect lists. From 2003 to 2005, Kazmir ranked 11th, 12th, and seventh on Baseball America’s lists, while Mauer was fourth, first, and first. Each player debuted in 2004; each started the 2005 season on a major-league roster, and each had a strong rookie season—though Kazmir (3.7 WARP) finished just ninth in Rookie of the Year voting, behind Jesse Crain, while Mauer (3.0 WARP) received no votes, behind Jesse Crain. They faced off in three games through 2008, with each player demonstrating some of his signature skill: Mauer banged out three line drive singles in 10 trips to the plate, while Kazmir struck out Mauer, one of baseball’s toughest tasks, three times.

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Trevor Cahill, Diamondbacks
Cahill showed up to camp svelter than usual. The offseason work paid off with a strong April, as Cahill averaged more than seven innings per start while striking out about 2.5 batters per walk issued. He saved his best for last: throwing eight innings of one-run ball on Tuesday against the Giants. The bread-and-butter of Cahill's arsenal remains his sinker. His secondary pitch of choice has changed, however. Cahill threw his cutter 26 percent of the time in April, compared to 11 percent in 2012.  Increased confidence in the pitch gives Cahill a fourth option, or at least a backup plan on nights when he cannot find the feel for his changeup. 

Patrick Corbin, Diamondbacks
Yes, another Arizona starter acquired through an earlier trade. Corbin allowed one home run in 33 innings after allowing 14 homers last season in 107 innings. A considerable difference, and one that allows for improvement even after regression. There are two encouraging signs from Corbin so far: 1) his velocity is slightly up, and—more importantly—2) his command has been better. Corbin must stay down in the zone in order to be effective. He's done just that early this season. 

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While there were plenty of April surprises—good and bad—to fill a dozen pieces such as this one, here's a look at six hitters off to better-than-expected starts. 

John Buck, C, Mets
Buck played better than a perceived placeholder traded twice in one winter is supposed to play. Fueled by nine home runs—including a six-homer barrage over his first 40 plate appearances—Buck showed his raw strength in quantity and quality. The quantity may have been unexpected, but the geographical spread of the home runs jived with his past, as only three of the home runs qualified as true pull jobs; the other six landed beyond the left-center or right field walls. 

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Is it news when a general manager calls one of his players underrated? Should it be? Brewers GM Doug Melvin voiced concerns to Jayson Stark last week about the national coverage of Jean Segura. "I see people talk about the [Jurickson] Profars and even the Dee Gordons," Melvin said. "But they never talk about him. He's an exciting player." Putting aside Melvin's obvious vested interest in Segura, let's give the man what he wants by highlighting his shortstop.

Segura is indeed an exciting player. The 23-year-old is the youngest standout on a surprisingly fun Milwaukee roster. His .349/.386/.470 line entering play on Monday translated into the fifth-best True Average amongst shortstops with 50-plus plate appearances, and his stellar play is one of the causes behind the Brewers' recent surge. Why then is Segura overlooked in favor of the world's supply of Profars and even the Gordons? Presumably due to a combination of three reasons: 1) He plays in Milwaukee; 2) He lacks the elite ceiling of Profar; and 3) He lacks an elite tool, unlike Gordon. What Segura has—a wide and deep skill set—is more than enough to make up for those perceived flaws.

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Joe Mauer turned 30 last week. He celebrated early with back-to-back four-hit games before his birthday. Ho hum. So it is with Mauer, who is one of the best hitters of his generation, and perhaps one not fully appreciated. Let's be clear: Mauer is not a superstar doing dogsbody tasks. The former no. 1 pick front-manned advertisement campaigns for video games, anti-dandruff shampoo, and Pepsi products in the past—practically the holy trinity for teenage males. People know who Mauer is. He's made All-Star Games, won Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers, and took him the 2009 MVP trophy.

You remember Mauer's MVP credentials. He batted .365 and homered 28 times while catching in 109 games. In retrospect, that season set the bar too high. Mauer has hit .318 with 24 home runs since. Diminished numbers when compared to his best; dominant numbers when compared to most every other catcher's best. Mauer remains a top-notch offensive backstop—and yes, he remains a catcher. His approach at the plate is easy and impressive. So easy and natural it can go overlooked. 

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