Sizzlers and fizzlers: Aaron Judge powers his way to prominence

With May flowers on the horizon, players in the big leagues are looking to blossom, just as some are struggling with the change in seasons.

So, let’s see whose numbers seem well grounded this week, and who might be dust in the wind.

Sizzlers

OF Aaron Judge, New York Yankees: What makes Judge's solid performance so intriguing is usually big guys (he is 6-7), with big strike zones are easier to exploit and whiff. The fact that Judge’s strikeout-to-walk ratio improved from 42:9 last year to 24:13 in April makes his .303/.411/.750 slash line even more encouraging.

SS Tim Beckham, Tampa Rays: The Rays may have stuck with the light-hitting Beckham this long largely to justify taking him No. 1 overall in the 2008 draft. But their faith may be paying off for the shortstop, who hit .272 in April with four homers — two in the past week — to go with eight RBI.

OF Scott Schebler, Cincinnati Reds:  Halfway through the month, Schebler was struggling with a .161 average with a .278 OBP, but over the past week, he's been smoking hot hitting .364 with five homers, nine RBI, and securing his hold on a starting job.

RP Bud Norris, Los Angeles Angels: It might be easy to assume Cam Bedrosian will reclaim the closer's role when he returns from the disabled list, but the reality is Norris earned as many saves over the past week as Bedrosian has over his career. Yanking the hot hand may not be as simple as it seems.

SP Ty Blach, San Francisco Giants: Poor performances and freakish injuries plagued the Giants' first month, but Blach (who twirled seven shutout innings on Sunday) lowered his ERA to 2.55 and WHIP to 0.95 over 17 2/3 innings. He is the tonic for the injury to ace Madison Bumgarner, at least for the foreseeable future.

Fizzlers

SP Jon Lester, Chicago Cubs: Not like there should be an APB (A Pitcher Beware) on Lester, but he is getting older at 33, has thrown over 190 innings every year since 2008, and over his last couple of starts has been vulnerable, allowing 19 hits and 11 runs over 11 1/3 innings.

RP Roberto Osuna, Toronto Blue Jays: It is hard to tell whether Osuna’s opening day trip to the disabled list exacerbated the Jays' poor start, or the other way around, but the closer had three blown saves over four tries leading up into last week. Osuna has a pair of conversions in a row, so perhaps the ship is righted for now, but trouble might plague the Jays beyond the season's first month.

OF Nomar Mazara, Texas Rangers: Mazara has only three hits, with one RBI and three runs since April 18, sending his stats plummeting to a .229 average with four homers and 18 RBI. That means benching in a shallow mixed league, and looking elsewhere in the world of daily fantasy.

SP Jharel Cotton, Oakland Athletics: Cotton has not pitched so poorly over the first month, helping plug gaps in the rotation due to injuries to Sonny Gray and Kendall Graveman. Now both are back and Jesse Hahn has been pitching well enough that Cotton (5.00 ERA, 1.59 WHIP over 29 innings) could be pushed either to long relief or Class AAA Nashville for some fine tuning.

SS Trevor Story, Colorado Rockies: Story burst onto the scene a year ago with an explosive, 10-homer April. This year could not be more opposite. Although he does have six homers, he is hitting .178 with a paltry .282 OBP, punctuated by 39 strikeouts and only 13 walks.

You can follow Lawr on Twitter @lawrmichaels and read more of his writing at mastersball.com.