Chicago Cubs lead the way on our April All-Stars

1:48 PM ET

Players have hot streaks all season. We just recognize them more in April because everybody starts from zero. Here are my April All-Stars … err, April plus the first two days of May.

C — Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals. After tearing a ligament in his thumb at the end of September and undergoing a second surgery in December, there were concerns about Molina’s readiness for Opening Day, but he’s played in 25 of the Cardinals’ first 26 games and is hitting .333/.412/.433. His home run power, which peaked at 22 in 2012, appears to be a thing of the past after hitting four last season and none so far in 2016, and his early batting average is being driven by a high BABIP, but he’s hit seven doubles and a career-high walk rate has boosted his OBP.

1B — Anthony Rizzo, Chicago Cubs. Get this: He’s running a ridiculously low .188 BABIP and yet is still hitting .230/.385/.575 and ranks second only to Chris Carter in OPS. He’s passed up Bryce Harper for the major league RBI lead (tied with Nolan Arenado) with 25, plays good defense and can contribute on the bases (17 steals in 2015, two in 2016). With runners in scoring position he’s hitting .324/.519/.757 with four of his eight home runs. In other words, once some of those hits start falling, the numbers may get even better. That means we’re talking about an MVP candidate.

2B — Jose Altuve, Houston Astros. A bright spot in the early despair that is the Astros, Altuve has added some pop to his game, at least early on, with seven home runs — but still leads the majors with 12 doubles and nine stolen bases. This is looking like a Joe Morgan-in-his-prime kind of season, minus the 100-plus walks, but even there, Altuve has doubled his walk rate from last season.

Through April 2, Nolan Arenado leads all MLB third basemen in homers (11) and RBIs (25). Dylan Buell/Getty Images

3B — Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies. Look, if you want to go with Manny Machado or Josh Donaldson, I’m not going to fight you to the death on this one. These are three of the top six or seven players in baseball right now and they’re all off to hot starts. Yes, Arenado has the Coors Field advantage, but Camden Yards and the Rogers Centre are also great home-run parks. Plus, since the start of 2015, 27 of Arenado’s 53 home runs have come on the road. I also love that he’s cut his strikeouts even more this year. And …

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