In partnership with

There’s no better time than the present to overreact to two weeks of baseball and make our followers either delusionally excited or unjustifiably sad.

Maybe we won’t go that far, but let’s take a dive into the some of the best and worst performances across the league in the early going of the season!

Stock Up, Stock Down

While it’s way too early to read too far into results, checking in how teams and players have looked out of the gate remains fascinating to all. Unless you’re a fan of a stock down team…you may not love this.

Teams

📈NL West is stacked once again. It’s a Wild Wild West to start off the season, and not in that old Will Smith movie kind of way. With 38 wins combined, it’s safe to say it’s been the best division in the early going. The Padres bullpen has been the league’s best, the Giants offense has stepped up in the clutch far more than most might’ve expected, and the Dodgers are, well, the Dodgers! It’s been joked about for a while, but could this truly be the year we get three teams from the same division in the playoffs?

📉The Braves open with a rocky start. The team whose 2024 could best be described as a season from hell is starting off 2025….like it’s the season from hell? Indeed, despite being one of the favorites to dethrone the Dodgers heading into the season, the Braves started off the season with an 0-7 record, and currently stand last in the NL East at 2-9. We bring up 0-7 since there’s, shockingly, never been a team to make the postseason with as cold of a start. (Don’t you just love the official Just Baseball account? So helpful…so fun…so very worthy of following perhaps…)

Plus, with the injury to Reynaldo Lopez and massive PED suspension of Jurickson Profar, it’s about as nightmarish for Atlanta as anyone could’ve expected. There’s, of course, still hope considering the tremendous depth of the roster and the impending returns of superstars Ronald Acuna Jr. and Spencer Strider, but the NL East is hardly a cake-walk with the Phillies and Mets amongst its ranks. 

📈Rangers seem ready to reclaim AL West. Ranger Danger, indeed (complimentary), because Texas is off to a great start following plenty of questions heading into the offseason. The 2023 world champs haven’t been world-beaters in the obvious categories, and the early struggles of the Mariners and Astros have certainly helped their chances, but their 9-4 record despite not getting the most out of their stars (e.g. Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, Adolis Garcia, Jacob deGrom, and even Joc Pederson) speaks to just how well-constructed their roster still is.

If the rest of the lineup starts putting up the bigger numbers we’re accustomed to, don’t be surprised if they quickly vault into the clear top-contending spot in the American League.

📉Central divisions are struggling. It’s a tale as old as recent-time, but the Central divisions remain the, let’s say, least exciting of MLB. The Tigers lead the AL Central with a 7-6 record following a strong series against the Yankees, while the Cubs and their strong offense (1st in runs scored) lead the NL Central at a 9-6 record. But outside those two teams it…hasn’t been great.

The Twins were a sneaky contender for some prior to the season, but their offense has struggled mightily despite some favorable matchups. The Guardians, who made the ALCS not too long ago (last year), have suffered the same issues and we’re starting to worry that Tanner Bibee’s food struggles might’ve been an omen.

Then in the NL side of things, the Cardinals, Pirates, and Reds all find themselves with below .500 records. The Pirates haven’t gotten the superstar production they hoped for thus far from O’Neil Cruz (on top of some…scary…defensive lapses) and have already DFA’d closer David Bednar, the Reds bullpen has been a mess despite some strong starts from Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo, and the Cardinals are lacking any surefire starters to help alleviate the load from a surprisingly productive offense that’s 3rd in runs scored.

📈Angels are…actually pretty fun? Yeah, yeah, yeah, we know you’ve heard this one before. But it’s still noteworthy that the Angels, with Mike Trout still in tow, have had a much better start than the Astros and Mariners thus far at 7-4. But while Trout is certainly the star, it’s been the explosion of their young prospect Kyren Paris that’s taken the league by storm.

If you’re an Angels fan, unexpected production from prospects hasn’t been all that common over the last decade (?), so this is a welcome sight.

Looking for unbiased, fact-based news? Join 1440 today.

Join over 4 million Americans who start their day with 1440 – your daily digest for unbiased, fact-centric news. From politics to sports, we cover it all by analyzing over 100 sources. Our concise, 5-minute read lands in your inbox each morning at no cost. Experience news without the noise; let 1440 help you make up your own mind. Sign up now and invite your friends and family to be part of the informed.

Subscribe to 1440 today.

Players

📈Aaron Judge is ready for his third MVP. Forget those damn torpedo bats, Aaron Judge is so freakishly good he might be a great player with a tennis racket as his weapon of choice. The two-time MVP has been carrying the Yankees offense just like fans have come to expect, and there’s nothing else more to say other than that we’re experiencing one of the greatest runs any player has had in 21st century.

📉Dylan Crews has yet to find MLB groove. It’s safe to say that prior to the season, us here at Just Baseball found ourselves extremely Crews-pilled. Our No. 6 prospect on the top-100 has struggled mightily, however, with a .128/.171/.128 slash line. It just goes to show that every prospect is exactly that — a prospect — and it may take more time for some than others.

📈Wilyer Abreu and Kristian Campbell are leading Boston. The Red Sox paid a ton to bring in Alex Bregman to form an elite duo with Rafael Devers. While those two are starting to come into form, it’s been Abreu and Campbell leading their offense early. They just locked up the rookie Campbell for many years to come, more on that later.

📉Contreras brothers slumping early. Part of what has made the aformentioned surprising start by the Cardinals offense so surprising has been the rather horrid start by Willson Contreras, who’s last on the team in wRC+ (-5). And then Milwaukee’s William, who finished top-5 in MVP voting last year, isn’t quite last in the Brewers lineup but his rather meek wRC+ of 74 has hardly been what we’ve come to expect.

📈Hunter Greene and Spencer Schwellenbach are stars. Sometimes, the greatest treat in life — other than a literal sweet dessert treat — is knowing just how well off our game is with the young superstars on the come-up. Hunter Greene’s velocity talent is something to behold, and now in-game production is beginning to match. And then there’s Schwellenbach, who hasn’t even surrendered a run in 14 innings thus far, and carries a 30% strikeout rate to boot.

📉Carlos Correa and Twins offense starts slow. We knew the Twins offense would take a hit following the absence of the oft-injured Royce Lewis, but the star tandem of Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton (both with a 44 wRC+) has been a massive reason for their 4-8 record.

📈Kyle Tucker is thriving as the star of Chicago. Oh, daddy-o, how satisfying it must be for Chicago fans to see their prized offseason acquisition performing like a superstar immediately. Despite a rough bullpen for the Cubbies, their offense is in good hands to make up for; the only question now is whether or not an extension for the superstar is incoming.

Just Baseball Trivia of the Week

Our newsletter will have a trivia question every week to test and expand the baseball knowledge of our subscribers! The answer to the weekly trivia question will be at the bottom of the newsletter each week.

Through the end of April 9th games, what team leads MLB in ERA?

A) Dodgers

B) Mets

C) Giants

D) Reds

Early Season Extensions

The first two weeks of the MLB season has brought us some wild contract extensions headlined by the second-largest present value MLB contract ever signed by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. this week.

Toronto locked up their superstar for likely the remainder of his career with a 14-year extension that followed a number of other huge deals.

Here are all the stars to sign an extension in recent weeks:

• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Toronto Blue Jays agree to a 14-year, $500 million deal. Much has been (rightfully) made about Toronto’s struggles to reel in some big fish, but they’ll keep their homegrown superstar. Read more! He’s also receiving a quite massive signing bonus in this unique contract.

• Garrett Crochet and Boston Red Sox agree to a six-year, $170 million deal. After bringing in Crochet in a massive trade to be their ace this winter, Boston has wasted no time locking him down for the prime of his career. Read more!

• Jackson Merrill and San Diego Padres agree to a nine-year, $135 million deal. The future feels a little better in San Diego now that their star center fielder has been secured for the next decade and potentially beyond as this deal has the potential to reach 10 years and $204 million. Read more!

• Ketel Marte and Arizona Diamondbacks agree to six-year, $116.5 million deal. Arizona is going to need Marte’s production to compete in the loaded NL West this season and beyond. They’ll now have their star infielder through at least the 2030 season after he finished third in NL MVP voting last year.

• Kristian Campbell and Boston Red Sox agree to eight-year, $60 million deal. Inking Crochet was just the beginning; Boston followed with another huge move as they locked up their star rookie for nearly a decade. Just a week into his MLB career, Campbell will now be under contract through 2034 with Boston. Read more!

• Brandon Pfaadt and Arizona Diamondbacks agree to five-year, $45 million deal. The Diamondbacks have made their plans to be competitive for a number of years obvious thanks to a slew of offseason moves and they continued it into the season locking up an important rotation piece.

Other Headlines

• The Red Sox traded started Quinn Priester to the Brewers for prospect Yophery Rodriguez and Competitive Balance Round A draft pick. Read more about the trade here!

• There were some huge upsets this week in the college baseball world. Catch up on the past week of college baseball here!

• Just Baseball is partnering with Rithmm for data-backed MLB projections and betting models! Check out the info on it here.

Just Baseball Discord

We launched a Just Baseball community on Discord!

Our Discord channel is the ultimate baseball group chat while also providing exclusive access to Peter’s MLB best bets, Aram’s prospect content, giveaways, and direct connection to the entire Just Baseball staff.

Read all the details about our Discord community here.

Trivia Answer: B) Mets

New York has an unreal 2.10 team ERA through their first 12 games of the season. The second-best ERA is the Giants all the way down at 2.78 thus far. Despite all the hype surrounding their offense, the Mets pitching led by an elite bullpen has been carrying them early.

Just Baseball Merch

Our newest line of merchandise features Adidas performance gear!

We have also restocked on all your favorites including our vintage World Series line, hats, hoodies, City Series line, spring line, and much more.

Check out the full collection of Just Baseball swag here!