Few things are surer signs of Major League Baseball teams getting off to slow starts than their stars not performing as expected. This season, it seems like more big names are struggling out of the gates than usual, so we thought it might be useful to point out the five most surprising slow starters, all of whom could be holding back their teams from reaching their expected heights. We'll exclude players on the injured list, which means no Garrett Crochet, who was a major contributor to the Boston Red Sox's slow start. Fear not -- you'll see one of his teammates to make sure that club has representation. If you like our content,  choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google . 5. Jarren Duran - Red Sox OF Apr 28, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Boston Red Sox centre fielder Jarren Duran (16) hits a broken bat ground out against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning at Rogers Centre.…