Depending on where you stood, the Super Bowl was either a tremendously shocking heartbreak, an endlessly satisfying exorcising of demons, or simply a boring game. But if you’re one us Baseball Intellectuals, the only unambiguously true conclusion following Sunday’s game is that baseball season is officially underway.

Yes, other sports are on. But Spring Training is getting kicked off, college baseball starts this weekend, and the vibes are heading towards the way of bat, glove, and ball.

In just a little over a week from now, baseball games will be played. There will also be a new voice calling games in Florida for one team…he might be decent at his job? Maybe, we’ll see. Read more on this later, I guess, or whatever, it’s definitely really not a big deal honestly.

For now, we’ll look at some storylines to with Spring Training getting underway. We’ve got our next wave of top player lists with the best starting pitchers in baseball being the focus on the Just Baseball Show this week.

Pitchers and Catchers Report

WE (unless you’re Alex Bregman, for some reason) MADE IT!

The grueling offseason months have come to an end with all pitchers and catchers reporting this week as the baseball season enters it’s oh-so-glorious cocoon phase.

Teams are starting to get to work in Arizona and Florida and we’re getting our first look at players in the new year.

Early Spring Training Energy

The energy and positivity among all 30 fan bases is never higher than it will be over the next few weeks. For some, that will continue. For others — but we won’t name names because #kindness is important — the energy will quickly dissipate after the actual games get played.

But let’s stay positive for now. This guy is back to throwing off a mound, which rules.

While Shohei is the only one getting back to playing both sides of the ball, plenty of faces are arriving in new places this spring. There’s always a certain, satisfying mojo for fans seeing their team’s new acquisitions for the first time.

Vibes are slowly reaching the place of immaculate and we cannot wait to bring you the best baseball content we can throughout Spring Training and into the entire MLB season.

Last Minute Signings

• The Pirates added a veteran bat as they agreed to a one-year, $4 million deal with Tommy Pham. They’ll look for him to provide solid offensive support to their offense that needs it.

• They may not be all that competitive (or have any sense of direction) but the Angels keep adding, inking Yoan Moncada to a one-year, $5 million deal with the hopes of him tapping into that upside he displayed early on in his career. They also brought in closer Kenley Jansen yesterday on a one-year, $10 million deal as he looks to move up on the all-time saves list with ample opportunities following the departure of last year’s closer Carlos Estévez.

• San Diego finally spent some money...but not necessarily in the way of years prior. They agreed to one-year deals with veteran outfielders Connor Joe and Jason Heyward who are expected to split time in left field for the Friars.

• Somehow the Dodgers have made another move, bringing back vibes leader Kiké Hernandez on a one-year. This deal was initially reported by Hernandez himself, which is fairly on brand. Also on brand, the least surprising news ever dropped as Clayton Kershaw is at Dodgers camp and is expected to sign a deal once he clears his physical.

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.

What date is the earliest traditional MLB Opening Day in history (excludes series like the Japan Series this year)?

A) March 27th

B) March 25th

C) March 29th

D) March 30th

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Top Starting Pitchers for 2025

Even if your particular favorite team isn’t fulfilling your heart’s desire for championship glory, one thing to be happy about as baseball fans is the objectively astounding amount of talent throughout the game. There are cathedrals everywhere for those with the eyes to see, and such a thing is made especially evident when examining the degree of pitching talent in the game.

The list of players that MISSED our Top 25 features a collective of arms who could all be an All-Star this year and we wouldn’t bat an eye. This position is so incredibly loaded, and it’s exciting to see a new crop of superstars start to take the torch from the legends of the 2010’s.

While the second name on our list may be the exact same one, seven of our top 10 were not featured in the top 10 last season with the top name barely even cracking our top 20 just a year ago.

As a reminder, our three show hosts and three website editors all ranked their own lists to create Just Baseball’s list. If you’re favorite ace didn’t crack the top 10, direct your anger at them. We mean that, too. Those divas need to (respectfully) be put in check every now and then.

After winning the American League Cy Young and Triple Crown, Tarik Skubal is in his primed and firmly entrenched in our top spot. It’s hard to argue against his combination of stuff, age, and results from last year.

On the other hand, while not with the same meteoric rise of Skubal, consistent excellence is just as awesome to behold. For the second year in a row, Zack Wheeler is our second-best arm in baseball. Meanwhile, Paul Skenes is ranked third coming off…his rookie season!

Familiar names join that trio in the top tier, but one pitcher is coming off his first ever season as a starter and another hasn’t been healthy in many seasons. Garrett Crochet debuts at seven following his unreal first season starting while Chris Sale is ninth after winning the NL Cy Young and Triple Crown at 35 years old. White Sox fans…we see and hear your cries. We’re here for you, let it out.

*Reoccurring Just Baseball Show host Walker Buehler also joined the show today to talk about signing with Boston and our top starting pitchers list! Listen below.

The talent pool is getting even stronger this season as five superstar pitchers only pitched a couple of games or none at all cracked this list. Jacob deGrom and Spencer Strider lead that group checking in at sixth and 14th, respectively. Additionally, the best player in the world — who also happens to pitch a little, because god plays favorites — returns to the mound as Shohei Ohtani is our 20th-ranked starter.

There was also a pair of players truly emerged in 2024 with Michael King, who lands at 19th, and Hunter Greene checking in at 24th in their first appearances on our list.

Check out the list and listen to the Just Baseball Show!

Called Up to the Show

This past week, our very own Jack McMullen was named the new lead radio announcer of the Miami Marlins!

We could not be more proud of Jack and are so excited to hear him calling games for Miami all season.

Jack has been spent the past three seasons as the Triple-A Indianapolis broadcaster and now achieves a massive goal of calling MLB games. He’ll kick off his time with the Marlins at Spring Training in Jupiter next week.

And yes, you’ll still hear him on the Just Baseball Show. We can’t get rid of him that easily.

Collectibles Corner

As we continue to update every team top prospects list one by one this offseason on The Call Up, Aram Leighton — the sicko (affirmatively) that he is — will be giving away prospect cards from his collection!

Check out our top prospect lists as they drop and stay tuned on The Call Up pages for a chance to win a variety of cards over the next few months.

Trivia Answer: A) March 27th, 2025!

After the Japan Series between the Dodgers and Cubs kicks off the season on March 18th, traditional Opening Day on March 27th will be the earliest start to a season in MLB history.

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