As April nears its close, patterns are starting to emerge across baseball. Some teams are thriving, others are floundering, and plenty are still trying to figure out exactly what they are. Here’s where things stand across the majors.
National League Notes
The Cubs have been the surprise of the early season. After finishing last in the NL in walks last year, they’re now first in the category — a big reason why they’ve jumped out to a 15–7 start. The offense already has 3.1 WAR after managing just 0.8 all of last season, and hitting coach John Mabry deserves serious credit.
That success came at Arizona’s expense over the weekend, as the D-backs were swept in Chicago and fell to 2–4 on their road trip. Despite leading the league in ERA and ranking second in home runs, Arizona is just eighth in runs scored. The offseason trade of Juan Morin might be haunting them more than expected.
Pittsburgh’s offense has been the talk of the NL. The Pirates lead the league in batting average, slugging, and OPS, with Jaime Vega swinging a red-hot bat last week (.409 AVG). Meanwhile, their weekend featured back-to-back 2–0 shutouts of the Reds, who are trending in the opposite direction. Once feared at the plate, Cincinnati now ranks near the bottom in nearly every offensive category — and the bullpen hasn’t helped.
In Milwaukee, inconsistency reigns. After sweeping Arizona on the road, the Brewers were swept by Detroit, only to turn around and sweep the A’s. Injuries to key pitchers have made rhythm hard to find, though rookie J.J. McGarrett has shown he belongs despite a high strikeout rate.
The Cardinals are climbing. An eight-game win streak has them back to .500, sparked by dominant outings from Kevin Nicholas on the mound. Even more impressive: they’ve done it with little production from Gary Copeland, who’s hitting just .200 over his last 25 at-bats.
The Braves saw their NL East lead shrink to two games after a rough weekend. Doug Smith is nearing a rehab assignment, which will give Atlanta an interesting decision to make behind the plate, with Smith, Cole Kendall, and Tim Allen all vying for playing time. Bryce Harper provided a spark last week, hitting .318 with a homer and 4 RBI.
The Mets have hit the skids hard, dropping nine of their last ten. Despite the league-wide trend of aggressiveness on the basepaths, New York has swiped just six bags. That lack of pressure — along with a cold offense — has made for a long stretch in Queens.
Philadelphia, on the other hand, saw its core finally get going. Andrew Vaughn, Anthony Hale, and Ryobe Kamida combined for six homers and 15 RBIs last week. If that trio can stay hot, the Phillies could regain their 2024 form.
Washington returns home after a tough road swing (4–9 away from D.C.). While Cy Young and Raul Lisboa have been solid, the rest of the pitching staff remains full of question marks. Offensively, the Nationals are hanging around thanks to ranking second in hits and third in runs scored.
The Rockies continue to struggle on the road but hold their own at home. With 12 of their next 16 games coming at Coors Field, this stretch could determine whether they hang around or fall out of contention early. Marty Vaughn has been a bullpen standout and could be a valuable trade chip come summer.
In San Diego, McClanahan and Zepeda have been stellar, but the rest of the rotation has struggled to bridge the gap to the bullpen. Free-agent additions Raul Montoya and Rayne Supple have been great in late innings — they just haven’t had enough chances. Nick Plummer’s slow start (.174 last week) hasn’t helped either.
For the Dodgers, a pair of shutouts on Friday and Saturday raised concerns, though they rebounded Sunday to beat Texas. A series against a righty-heavy Cubs staff could be just what LA’s lefty-heavy lineup needs. With only five position players in their top 30 prospects, expect them to prioritize bats in the 2025 draft.
Miami has played in nine one-run games already — going 4–5 in those contests — but attendance is down nearly 25%. Fans are still scratching their heads over offseason pitching moves, especially with former arms Alex Watts and Hunter Johnson now thriving elsewhere.
American League Notes
Detroit might be the most complete team in the AL right now. Winners of four straight against Kansas City, the Tigers are 16–6 atop the Central. Their pitching staff has led the way, with Liberatore doing what he does best, and former No. 1 pick Jason Dumont taking a big leap — his BABIP has dropped from .323 to .220 year-over-year. A road trip through Houston and LA looms.
Baltimore’s front office revamp is off to a promising start with a 12–10 record. The offense ranks top four in average, OBP, and slugging. Rookie Alex Early has been excellent, but the rest of the rotation has been hit-or-miss. With the defense sitting middle-of-the-pack in efficiency and zone rating, that inconsistency may stick around.
The Red Sox exploded for 35 runs in a three-game set against the White Sox — but it masked serious issues on the mound. Logan Allen and Juan Davilla were shelled, combining to allow 12 runs in under five innings. Without those late-inning rallies, Boston could easily be staring down a very different record.
Those big Sox bats came at the expense of Chicago, whose bullpen coughed up 20 earned runs over 23 innings last week. With the team scuffling, keep an eye on Brock Borisoff — the 2022 15th-round pick is dominating AAA and could be called up soon.
The Guardians took two of three from Pittsburgh thanks to standout performances from Evan Waxman and Thomas Fidone, but depth remains an issue. Grayson Rodriguez has pitched better than his 0–3 record suggests, and top pitching prospect Chase Dollander could be a midseason boost.
Minnesota is 12–10 in the thick of a competitive AL Central. The big concern? Jed McKinley. The veteran catcher has an OPS+ of just 13. If that doesn’t improve, the Twins may have to find an upgrade behind the plate.
Tampa Bay holds the best record in baseball thanks to elite pitching and defense. The team is still waiting for Brandon Gill to settle in — he hit just .208 last week — but with 19 of their first 22 games at home, we’ll soon see if the Rays’ dominance holds up on the road.
The Yankees started strong at home but were swept by the Rays to begin a seven-game trip. Their bullpen ERA ranks last in the AL, and in tight games, that’s been costly. Could someone like Zach Brzykcy get a shot soon?
Sacramento (still hard not to say Oakland) has stumbled a bit lately, losing five of six on the road. But at 13–9, they’re still in a good place. Brian Chan has stabilized the back end of the bullpen, while Dylan Carlson sits second in the AL in RBIs. Hunter Greene and Hunter Johnson have not been as sharp, combining for 13 home runs allowed already.
The Angels cooled off after a long run of dominance against Texas, but rebounded to take a series from the Giants. Zack Erstad has been a revelation in the No. 2 spot. The rotation’s next test? Figuring out where Kyle Funkhouser fits in, and whether bullpen roles need to be reshuffled — especially with Mark McCain struggling.
The Royals just wrapped a tough 10-game road trip, losing six of their last seven. Injuries to Kody Clemens and the absence of Francisco Alvarez have left the lineup searching for answers. A return to Kauffman couldn’t come soon enough.
Texas has one of the worst offenses in the AL by nearly every metric — BA, OBP, SLG, runs scored. A 1–8 road record and 2–7 mark in one-run games shows how little margin for error they’ve had. Riley Greene’s slow start is becoming a growing concern.
Toronto announced its trade block last week, and followed that up by allowing 16 runs over the weekend in a series loss to Seattle. The Blue Jays are just 1–5 in one-run games and 1–4 in extras. Is it bad luck — or has the roster’s age finally caught up to them?
Seattle’s biggest surprise has been Curt Franklin. Once an afterthought in the crowded OF/DH mix, Franklin now holds an 8.3% strikeout rate — a massive jump from last season’s 24%. If he keeps producing, the Mariners may have the luxury of keeping Max Rice in the minors a while longer.