5 things we learned in the 1st month of the MLB season

With the first month of the 2015 season officially in the books, theScore's MLB editors break down five things we learned in April:

Birenbaum: The Yankees dealt wisely this offseason

Perhaps motivated by the Kansas City Royals' improbable postseason run this past autumn, the New York Yankees focused on revamping their bullpen this winter in lieu of signing a marquee free agent that would've inflated an already bloated payroll. So far, their understated offseason strategy – a departure from the club's standard operating procedure – is paying off handsomely.

Andrew Miller, whose four-year, $36-million deal constitutes the Yankees' largest offseason acquisition, has already solidified his spot at the back of New York's bullpen. The 29-year-old left-hander has yet to allow an earned run in 10 appearances thus far and boasts a 46.5 percent strikeout rate that ranks second among qualified relievers. Miller also leads all relievers in win probability added and became the first Yankee in history to log eight saves within the first 20 games of a season. Sorry, Mariano.

Dellin Betances has enjoyed comparable success in a setup role – he, too, has yet to allow an earned run while fanning 19 over 12 1/3 innings – while newcomers Chris Martin and David Carpenter have also enjoyed auspicious starts with their new team. The Yankees' bullpen, consequently, leads the American League with 1.6 wins above replacement and have helped New York secure an early (and somewhat unexpected) lead in the AL East.

Kritzer: Indians and Brewers have dug themselves a huge hole

It's an understatement to say each team coming out of spring training hopes to get off to a good start. Every team goes through a rough patch throughout the year, but a slow start in the first month is definitely magnified, to say the least.

The playoff hopeful Milwaukee Brewers and Cleveland Indians – who some picked to go to the World Series – each had a month to forget. The Brewers, who went 20-8 to start the year in 2014, went 5-17 in April and already sit 10.5 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central. The record is the worst start by an NL team to start a year since the Cubs went 4-18 in 1997. The Brewers offense has been non-existent thus far, ranking 27th in the league in runs (71) and 22nd in home runs (15). The pitching – not much better. Their 4.78 ERA is tied for second-worst in the majors, and they've been prone to the long ball – allowing a league-high 31 homers. 

The Indians have been through early struggles before, but this year, it's a major surprise.

The loss of catcher Yan Gomes both offensively and defensively has been tough to overcome with backup Roberto Perez behind the dish, but more notably, the pitching hasn't kept the team in the game. The reigning AL Cy Young award winner Corey Kluber is still winless on the year and the starters have combined to go 7-10, 4.88 on the year, 23rd worst in the league. 

The Indians won 85 games after the slow start in 2014, and 92 in 2013, so there's time to turn this around.

Toman: Injuries can't stop the Dodgers

The Dodgers begin the second month of the season without their closer, backup closer, two-thirds of their Opening Day outfield and two-fifths of their starting rotation. Despite it all, they sit first in the West with the third-best record in the NL at 13-8.

Clayton Kershaw is still dominant (most strikeouts in majors), Adrian Gonzalez had an absurd April .(383/.432/.790, 8 HR) and the Dodgers lead the league in homers. 

But if there's one thing we really learned this month about the Dodgers, it's that Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi are very good at their jobs. How else does one explain losing Yasiel Puig, Carl Crawford, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Brandon McCarthy and Kenley Jansen to injuries, Hanley Ramirez and Matt Kemp to other teams and still remain among the league's elite?

The Dodgers' newcomers aren't all performing well out of the gate – Howie Kendrick and rookies Joc Pederson and Alex Guerrero are off to good starts; Yasmani Grandal, Brett Anderson and Jimmy Rollins are not – and that's a scary thought. As we look to May and the anticipated returns of Puig, Jansen and possibly Ryu and Crawford, somehow the Dodgers can only go up from here.

Warren: Astros a force to be reckoned with in the AL West

Oddsmakers projected a 76-win season from the Houston Astros, who surprisingly own a solid four-game lead atop the division with a 15-7 record after the first month of the season. Houston pitchers rank third in the majors in ERA (3.04) and fourth in bullpen ERA (2.18), while the offense ranks in the top-10 in most major statistical categories. 

The scary thing about this ballclub is that George Springer and Evan Gattis have both struggled at the plate in the opening month, which means the Astros should put up even more runs moving forward. The maturation of Jake Marisnick has been a pleasant surprise, and his speed hitting out of the No. 9 spot, combined with leadoff man Jose Altuve, is giving opposing pitchers fits leading into the meat of their lineup.

It’s probably unrealistic to expect Dallas Keuchel and Collin McHugh to continue pitching at their near-flawless levels for the remainder of the season, but nobody expected Houston pitchers to make this kind of impact in a competitive division. The additions of Luke Gregerson and Pat Neshek have stabilized a once-shaky bullpen, providing balance to the pitching staff as a whole.

Wile: So much parity in the American League East

If the first month is any indication, the AL East will be the most tightly contested division in the majors. While the Yankees wrap up the month with the outright lead with a 13-9 record, they're only separated by 2.5 games from the last-place Toronto Blue Jays – the lowest margin separating top to bottom in any division. 

The Orioles own a winning record over three-quarters of their division foes, but are 1-5 against the Blue Jays, who have one win in seven attempts against the Rays. Boston claimed their first series against both the Blue Jays and Yankees, but have a losing record against the Rays and Orioles. No team is more than a game above .500 against divisional opponents while no team is also less than a game under .500. See a trend? 

No other division boasts five teams with double-digit wins through the first month of the season and each team comes with its fair share of question marks heading into May and beyond.