As the first month of the MLB season comes to a close, there are already quite a few surprises. Some players are doing better than expected, and some teams continue to ride unexpected hot streaks. The baseball season is a long and grueling 162 games, and things can change on a month to month basis, but some teams are gaining much needed momentum as April comes to an end. Here’s a look at five of the biggest surprises in MLB thus far.

1. New York Mets Win Streak

The New York Mets are in first place of the NL East with a 14-4 record.  They lead the second place Atlanta Braves by four and a half games, and were riding an 11-game win streak before the Yankees took Game 1 of the Subway Series Friday night.  

The Mets have been successful with a very good starting rotation and some timely hitting.  Their rotation was expected to be their strength, there was just some concern with the offense, but so far they have been doing well in all aspects of the game. Their 14-4 record is the best in the bigs, and they’ve had the best start in franchise history since 1986 when they won the World Series.

The return of Matt Harvey has been a huge boost for this team, as has the addition of Michael Cuddyer who has added some depth to this roster.

Now, the East is a tough division, and one the Washington Nationals are expected to win with ease. That being said, the Mets hot start won’t go unnoticed, and they have the potential to be a darkhorse this year.

2. New York Yankees Hot Start

Both New York teams are sitting in first place at the moment. While the Mets sit atop solo, the Yankees are tied with the Boston Red Sox with a 10-8 record. The AL East is, as always, one of the toughest divisions in baseball as the last place Baltimore Orioles are only three games back.  This is a division with a lot of competition, but so far, the Yankees are showing they shouldn’t be ignored.

The return of Masahiro Tanaka, CC Sabathia, and Michael Pineda will undoubtedly help this rotation that greatly struggled last season after these three missed the majority of the season due to injury.  They are also getting offensive production from their veteran players, especially Mark Teixeira, which is a great benefit to an older lineup.

They didn’t do much in the offseason, which came as a surprise to some, but they are showing they are capable of beating some top teams early on after taking three of four from the Detroit Tigers heading into a big series against the Mets.

3. AL West Standings

The AL West standings are quite the surprise at the moment.  The Houston Astros are in first place while the division favorite Angels and Mariners sit a few games back.

Houston has been clutch at the plate, and the pitching staff has done well keeping them in games as they have beat some pretty good teams thus far.  

The Angels have some drama going on with the Josh Hamilton situation as he is expected to be dealt to the Rangers, but they’ve had some struggles at the plate despite an All Star lineup.

The Mariners have gotten their money’s worth with Nelson Cruz who has been clutch in the early season, but as of late they have fallen short, allowing the Astros to take over first with the Oakland A’s not too far behind.

This is also a close division, and is expected to be so throughout the duration of the season. The last place Rangers are only two games out, but it’s surprising to see the Astros sit atop the division, while the Angels and Mariners have below .500 records.

4. Kansas City Royals are Feisty

Only a few weeks into the season, and there have already been a few bench clearing brawls involving the Kansas City Royals. It all began against the Oakland A’s when Brett Lawrie questionably slid into second. Since then, Kelvin Herrera has been suspended five games for throwing at Lawrie, and Yordano Ventura has been fined for hitting Lawrie.  

After the series with the A’s, tempers flared against division rival Chicago White Sox, which resulted in a benches clearing brawl. Three Royals players were ejected; Lorenzo Cain, Ventura, and Edinson Volquez.  Jeff Samardzija and Chris Sale were ejected on the White Sox behalf.

The suspensions have been announced and are as follows: Ventura will miss seven games, Volquez five, Sale five, Samardzija five, Cain two, and Hererra two for their actions.

Usually there are only a few instances like this within a season, and if they happen to occur with the same team, it’s usually not within a few days of each other.

5. Alex Rodriguez picking up where he left off

After missing so much time, it was unknown how ARod would readjust to the MLB life.  So far, he’s picking up right where he left off after his suspension for testing positive for performance enhancing drugs.

There were also questions of whether or not Rodriguez would even play in a pinstriped uniform this year, as well as how much playing time he would get. So far, he’s been playing on a regular basis.

He’s hitting .269 on the year with four homeruns and 11 RBI.  

ARod isn’t a player many MLB fans are fond of anymore, but he has been a big part of the Yankees early success.