5 players who can sustain their hot starts

If you weren't already a believer in Eric Thames, you should be now.

The former Korean League MVP, who was ambiguously accused of taking PEDs by two members of the Chicago Cubs, mashed his league-leading eighth home run of the season on Thursday. To put that in perspective, Thames' eight big flies in 15 games is more than the entire Boston Red Sox lineup.

While the 30-year-old continues to prove his performance overseas wasn't an aberration, other players have also gotten off to strong starts. Some regression is to be expected, but there's reason to believe these five in particular can sustain their play.

James Paxton, Mariners

The Richmond, British Columbia native has to be making Canadians proud, especially if you factor in the Toronto Blue Jays' dreadful 3-12 start. Condescension aside, Paxton's early performance, which included a 23-inning scoreless streak, isn't too surprising.

He's always had great stuff, while it's his durability and string of injuries that have affected his performance in recent years. In 20 starts last season, Paxton pitched to a 3.79 ERA but managed a far lower 2.80 FIP, which typically means a pitcher performed better than his ERA indicates.

Having already contributed 1.3 WAR this year - third best among starters - while initiating the highest amount of swinging strikes in his career (14.4 percent), the sky is the limit for the Canadian lefty.

Jose Ramirez, Indians

Ramirez's ultra-blonde hairstyle must be a good-luck charm because the 24-year-old has been red hot. Once considered a utility player with little offensive upside, Ramirez has been anything but since 2016, proving the doubters wrong.

While some didn't trust his breakthrough last year, Ramirez has begun 2017 where he left off. His 16 RBIs leads the team and if you dig a little deeper, there's added reason for optimism. Ramirez rarely strikes out (only eight Ks in 55 at-bats this year), and he's posted the AL's fourth-lowest strikeout percentage (10.5) since 2015.

So you have a player with great discipline and speed. Now he needs to know how to hit, and Ramirez does. He's making even better contact than last year, with a hard batted ball percentage of 38.6 this season, 12 percent higher than 2016. With Cleveland boasting its best lineup in years, expect Ramirez's strong production to continue.

Shelby Miller, Diamondbacks

Miller was, by all accounts, awful last year. In his first season with the Diamondbacks, he posted a 6.15 ERA and allowed 11.3 hits per nine innings, and was demoted midway through the year.

After dealing with a finger injury last season, Miller altered his delivery for 2017, and the early results have been promising. His strikeouts are on the rise (8.5 K/9), his FIP is great (2.91), and his ground-ball percentage is the highest it's ever been (48.1).

The best news of all, however, is his uptick in fastball velocity. After averaging a career-low 93 mph on his two-seam and four-seam fastballs last year, he's maintained a velocity of 95 mph on both pitches this season.

Mitch Haniger, Mariners

Of general manager Jerry DiPoto's 986 trades, one stands out in particular - the acquisition of Haniger.

Relatively new to the majors, the 26-year-old appeared in only 34 games with the Diamondbacks last season, but offered intriguing offensive upside after hitting 20 home runs in Triple-A. Haniger has displayed that skill set again this season, already with 15 RBIs and a .323/.432/.597 slash line in 16 games.

Other than being a savvy defender (he's posted four defensive runs saved in 2017), it appears Haniger's plate discipline is his biggest improvement early on. He's already walked 11 times this season (15.2 percent), which ranks him first on the team. His BABIP was low last year (.256), while his isolated power numbers were promising (.174), meaning Haniger could end up being one of the AL's most productive outfielders.

Eric Thames, Brewers

I didn't forget about him.

Leading up to this season, Thames was labeled a "boom or bust" player. His stats overseas - which led to him being nicknamed "God" - were worthy of the sobriquet if you factor in how great he was.

Well, that success is translating to the majors and until pitchers figure him out, Thames will keep mashing. It would be preposterous to assume he'll maintain this pace, but there's little to suggest his success has been a mirage.

He's connecting with the ball (53.7 hard contact), he's not chasing pitches out of the zone (20.4 percent, which is better than average), and Miller Park in Milwaukee should further help his power numbers moving forward.

If you bet on Thames before the season, you look like a genius right now.

(Photos courtesy: Action Images)