April is coming to a close next week, and the new MLB season has already delivered memorable moments and performances across the board.

We’re keeping you up to date every day on the Just Baseball Show, but today let’s take a look at key storylines around the league and our first of many Stock Watch updates, featuring players who are seeing their stock rise or fall in recent weeks.

Top Stories Around MLB

We’re nearly a month into the MLB season, which means we can start to make sweeping generalizations on teams and players across the league.

Obviously it’s too early to do that, but we have reached a point where we have some legitimate takeaways and storylines emerging.

The Mets and Phillies could be in trouble. It has been rough for two of the expected top teams in the National League. Not just like oh, early season struggles. Really rough. Meanwhile, the Braves look excellent to open the year and have a huge early lead in the NL East over their rivals. While the Mets snapped their losing streak last night, these two have to truly get it going soon or Atlanta might just run away with this division.

Rookies are taking the league by storm. This year’s rookie class looks unreal so far, and that may only continue as more top prospects reach and settle in to the big leagues. Munetaka Murakami will not stop hitting home runs, Sal Stewart has been one of the best overall hitters in baseball, and Kevin McGonigle has come as advertised. That’s just to name a few, but this year’s collection of rookies already looks to be a special one.

The Dodgers are excellent…but so is most of the National League. The leagues feel a bit lopsided to start the year with the majority of the top records in baseball held by NL teams. Los Angeles remains the clear World Series favorite, but San Diego is holding pace in their division while others like Cincinnati, Chicago, and Atlanta are right up there.

Fully healthy Yordan Alvarez looks like the best hitter in baseball. Last year was all but a lost one for Alvarez, but he’s back and looks the part as one of the premier hitters in the sport. He’s leading an Astros offense that is showing out early, however, their pitching hasn’t been able to match such production.

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.

Which two qualified pitchers lead MLB in ERA as of today (4/23)?

A) José Soriano and Parker Messick

B) Shohei Ohtani and José Soriano

C) Parker Messick and Cam Schlittler

D) Tarik Skubal and Shohei Ohtani

The Anti-Aging Solution Men Actually Use

Over 1,000,000 men have made Particle part of their routine. One product. Multiple premium anti-aging ingredients. Clinically researched and engineered for men's skin. Reduces eye bags, dark spots, and wrinkles without adding complexity to your morning. Easy, effective, worth it. Get 20% off now with the code BH20.

Get 20% Off Today

Stock Watch

📈 Baseball is better with Mike Trout mashing. The performance of this legend has been incredible to witness for all of us that grew up with Mike Trout as the gold standard of baseball. Injuries have derailed the last half decade of his career, but he looks like himself once again and has been on fire to open the year.

📉 Momentum has not carried over into 2026 for Trevor Story. After a huge year for Boston last season, Story is one of many massively underperforming players on the Red Sox. It’s been rough for the whole team, including Story who is hitting just .189 for the 9-14 Red Sox.

 📈 One of the best stories in baseball is Jordan Walker’s breakout. A former top prospect, Walker has not found much of any success in the past two MLB seasons after a strong rookie year at just 20 years old. This is your reminder that progress is not linear for ultra-talented young players (we’re talking to those of you already “out” on Konnor Griffin after two weeks!). Walker has a .964 OPS with 8 homers in his first 23 games for the sneakily solid Cardinals.

Read our full Stock Watch analysis on Justbaseball.com soon, which will feature new players around MLB every week for the rest of the season!

Other Headlines

🥇 We’re updating a new team top prospects list weekly at Just Baseball. Check out our latest updated farm system breakdowns featuring the Brewers, Cardinals, Orioles, and Pirates. More to come!

📝 Lucas Giolito is signing with the San Diego Padres. One of the top remaining free agents from the offseason was still without a team until yesterday, as he’ll join a San Diego team in need of pitching depth with Nick Pivetta going down recently.

Just Baseball Discord

We have reached over 1,000 members of our Discord in just one year and expect another awesome season with our community!

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) Shohei Ohtani and José Soriano

These two are not only the sole qualified pitchers with an ERA under 1.00, but they have both allowed just one earned run each so far. Soriano has been the breakout arm of the year, while Ohtani is just further demonstrating how special he is on the mound, not just at the plate.

Just Baseball Merch

Our newest merchandise features retro logos, tv-inspired designs, and the anti wave social club!

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!