The Good, the Bad, the Ugly: Early Season Surprises featuring the New York Yankees, Houston Astros, and More

The New York Yankees and Houston Astros, who headlined our early surprises, are two teams headed in opposite directions to start the 2022 season. From coast to coast, there's no shortage of plot twists in the drama that is the 2022 MLB season.

Here, we highlight some of the most intriguing plot twists of the early season, categorizing them accordingly as "The Good," "The Bad," or "The Ugly." These headlines are showstoppers that can make or break these respective players or teams. In no particular order, here they are.

The Good

New York Yankees Pitching

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 22: Aroldis Chapman #54 of the New York Yankees delivers a pitch in the ninth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Yankee Stadium

Notice that I didn't specify starters or relievers. That's because Yankees pitching has appeared to be among the most balanced across the board from top to bottom.

There may not be any household names outside of Gerrit Cole and Aroldis Chapman, but their depth has the longevity to withstand a deep playoff run. It also doesn't hurt that they have tremendous run support to compliment their well-rounded staff.

Even if the big bats don't come through, they can win tight, low-scoring games simply with their balanced pitching staff. Come playoff time, the big games depend on how deep your pitching is and the Yankees have no shortage of depth.

The Bad

Houston Astros Starters

World Series - Atlanta Braves v Houston Astros - Game Two

The Houston Astros have seen far too much of Dusty Baker strolling to the mound early and often amid their lackluster start to 2022. In fact, the reason they've stumbled out of the gate has much to do with their starting rotation.

As envious as the Yankees pitching is, the Houston Astros' starting pitching situation is a circumstance other teams would like to avoid. Beyond success from an aging Justin Verlander, starting pitching has been a weakness the team has struggled to overcome early on.

The reason their 18th ranked 3.86 team ERA isn't worse is because they have a formidable bullpen. It's no wonder they've opened the season with a record of 7-9. If the Astros want to rebound, they need promising 25-year-old starter Luis Garcia to lower his 4.60 ERA. Otherwise, they may find themselves in our "ugly" tier by season's end.

The Ugly

Ketel Marte and the Arizona Diamondbacks

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 21: Ketel Marte #4 of the Arizona Diamondbacks

The winner of our ugly tier is a two-headed monster that goes hand-in-hand. The D'backs have the worst team batting average at .185. And Ketel Marte, whom they signed to a five-year contract extension, is hitting an equally dismal .167. To add insult to injury, Arizona has already struck out a whopping league-leading 161 times barely a month into the season. Unfortunately, this is a sure sign of things to come for the rest of the season as Arizona sits dead last in the league.