In many ways, April baseball unfolded as expected: The National League is top-heavy — and dominating — while the American League might have a dozen teams in the playoff race deep into the season.

It was the month of Aaron Judge, who became just the seventh player to finish April with a .400 batting average and at least 10 home runs. It was a month to remember for Pete Crow-Armstrong and Jorge Polanco and Hunter Brown and the San Diego Padres bullpen. It was a month to forget for the Colorado Rockies.

Yes, it’s time for April grades. We’re factoring in preseason expectations, how key players are performing and other factors, like strength of schedule and how young players might be developing. It’s early, and a lot can change. But just look at last season, when the Kansas City Royals started 18-13 and went on to a surprise playoff spot. April does matter.

Let’s start with the biggest winners of the 2025 MLB season so far.

There are hot Aprils that feel legitimate and hot Aprils that don’t look so convincing. This one feels legit. The Mets lead the majors in ERA even without projected rotation members Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas, as Kodai Senga looks like a possible ace and Tylor Megill (1.74 ERA, 39 strikeouts in 31 innings) has been so good filling in that he might have earned a permanent slot in the rotation. Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor have carried the offense with Juan Soto off to a lukewarm start, and the Mets have been almost unbeatable at home, where every game seems to have a playoff atmosphere.

Concerns? Ryne Stanek just lost three games in a week, including blowing two ninth-inning leads, so overall bullpen depth is probably the big one. Obviously, there will be regression from the rotation, and the Mets have played an easy schedule (although they did sweep the Phillies in their biggest head-to-head matchup), but once Soto heats up, watch out.

They’re certainly not going to overpower you, but the Tigers have as much pitching depth as any team in baseball, with more rotation depth than last year’s surprise playoff team and the same impressive bullpen that manager A.J. Hinch does such a good job of mixing and matching. The reemergence of former No. 1 picks Casey Mize and Spencer Torkelson has been a nice boost. The power in the lineup comes primarily from Torkelson, Kerry Carpenter and Riley Greene, and Torkelson and Greene are striking out a lot, so you’d love to see them eventually add another hitter. But it’s possible the Tigers will run away with the AL Central even without doing that.

Is this going to be a repeat of 2021, when a Giants team came out of nowhere to win 107 games and edge out the Dodgers to become the only team besides L.A. to win the NL West since 2013? I’m not saying it’s going to happen, but the Giants have had some early magic brewing with five walk-off wins — and sometimes that early momentum carries on throughout the entire season.

The interesting thing is it’s not because of anything new that president of baseball operations — and Giants legend — Buster Posey did in the offseason. Willy Adames was the big free agent signing and he has been below replacement value, according to Baseball-Reference. Justin Verlander is winless in six starts with a 4.99 ERA. Meanwhile, Jung Hoo Lee has been the team MVP, Wilmer Flores has been the surprise RBI getter and the bullpen has been outstanding.

Let’s put it this way: The Giants and Dodgers don’t meet for the first time until June 13. That series might be a lot more interesting than we thought before the season started.

After the 2016 team slowly fell apart and players drifted to new teams across the league, the Cubs became not only mediocre but not very interesting. This team is better and a whole bunch of fun. The Cubs are scoring runs in bunches, Pete Crow-Armstrong is one of those players you can’t keep your eyes off and Kyle Tucker is playing at an MVP level. They had a strong April despite a tough schedule — they’re already done with the Dodgers, Padres and Diamondbacks, for example. The season-ending injury to Justin Steele was a huge loss and the bullpen is a concern, but this looks like a team that could win its first full-season division title since 2017.

Back on Opening Day, I looked at who was playing in the season opener for San Diego and said, “The Padres are trying to win with Yuli Gurriel, Brandon Lockridge, Gavin Sheets, Martin Maldonado, Elias Diaz and Jason Heyward.” Needless to say, I was not impressed. The Padres won that day — and, indeed, started 7-0 on their way to a fantastic first month. Heck, you could have even thrown Jose Iglesias, Oscar Gonzalez and Tyler Wade into that above list. Some of these guys have played well while others haven’t — but it’s mostly been about Fernando Tatis Jr., Nick Pivetta and the best bullpen in the majors. San Diego has managed to overcome the early injury to Jackson Merrill, but we’ll see how this lack of depth holds up over 162 games.

It’s been quite the roller coaster of storylines and headlines for the Yankees: Gerrit Cole’s season-ending injury, the torpedo bats, Giancarlo Stanton’s tennis elbows, Ben Rice crushing it, Trent Grisham suddenly turning into Mickey Mantle, Devin Williams imploding as the closer, Max Fried sitting at 5-0 with a 1.19 ERA. Most of all though: Aaron Judge, Aaron Judge, Aaron Judge. He had a season for the ages in 2022, was somehow better in 2024 and is somehow better again so far in 2025, hitting an insane .427/.521/.761 with 10 home runs and 32 RBIs in 31 games. From May 1, 2024, through April 30, 2025, Judge played 158 games and hit .368 with 62 home runs. It’s hard to fathom, in this age of pitching, that a hitter can be this good.

Your fun stat of the week: The Mariners are second in the majors in road OPS! Yes, the team known for its starting pitching might actually be a good offensive team. You certainly wouldn’t have said that the first two weeks of the season when, playing primarily at home, the Mariners started 4-8 and were hitting just .200.

Since then, they’ve won seven series in a row, despite losing starting right fielder Victor Robles and starting second baseman Ryan Bliss to what will be nearly seasonlong injuries. But Cal Raleigh and Jorge Polanco have combined for 19 home runs and Andres Munoz is 11-for-11 in save opportunities. Seattle has been without George Kirby all season and the rotation depth will now be further tested as Logan Gilbert just hit the injured list for the first time in his career.

The starting pitching has been a little rickety and the defensive metrics are the worst in the majors — it won’t help that calling up Nick Kurtz to play first base forced Tyler Soderstrom to the outfield, a position he has never played — but this is an exciting young lineup worth checking out. Soderstrom and Brent Rooker have been mashing home runs, Jacob Wilson is a contact master from the Joe Sewell school of hitting (look him up!), Lawrence Butler is getting going and now Kurtz, the No. 4 pick in last year’s draft, will get an opportunity. Playing in a minor league park adds an additional element of theater, including the grass seating area. The defense probably prevents this team from being a surprise playoff contender, but it also wouldn’t be shocking if that does happen.

The Dodgers started 8-0 but have been sort of mediocre since then and have a growing list of issues and concerns. Blake Snell is out with shoulder inflammation and hasn’t pitched since April 2. Tyler Glasnow pitched 18 innings in five starts and also landed on the IL with shoulder discomfort. Justin Wrobleski and Bobby Miller each had a spot start and got hammered, leading to a couple of early bullpen games already. Max Muncy just hit his first home run, Michael Conforto is struggling, Mookie Betts hasn’t heated up, Roki Sasaki hasn’t won a game in six starts and the bench has been every bit as bad as it appeared it would be.

Oh … and the Dodgers are still in first place and on pace for 110 wins.

The Red Sox were sort of everyone’s favorite sleeper pick to win the AL East, although it wouldn’t be exactly right to call them a deep sleeper. The four key newcomers have been good to outstanding so far: Garrett Crochet looks like a Cy Young contender, Alex Bregman is hitting like it’s 2019 all over again, Walker Buehler is 4-1 and rookie second baseman Kristian Campbell already looks like an All-Star. Lucas Giolito, last year’s newcomer who missed the season with Tommy John surgery, just returned to make his first start in a Red Sox uniform and pitched well Wednesday before giving up two home runs in the sixth inning. One caveat: The Red Sox had the easiest schedule in the majors in April, per Baseball-Reference, including seven games against the White Sox. (They only went 4-3 against them, however.)

The Astros probably shouldn’t be over .500: Yordan Alvarez hasn’t delivered at his usual super-powered level, Christian Walker hasn’t hit much, the Jose Altuve left-field thing remains one of the stranger decisions in recent years, Framber Valdez is 1-3 with a 4.00 ERA and Spencer Arrighetti got hurt after two starts. Yet here they are, finding a way.

Hunter Brown has been perhaps the best pitcher in the AL, the bullpen has been clutch, and every time I check the highlights, Jake Meyers is making an outstanding play in center field. Heck, Lance McCullers Jr. will even make his first start since the 2022 World Series this weekend. The Astros haven’t had a losing record in a full season since 2014, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see them capture an eighth straight non-COVID-season AL West title.

They’re over .500 and win-loss record is all that matters, but the Guardians are probably a little lucky to be where they’re at in the standings. Clay Davenport’s third-order standings, which looks at a team’s underlying statistics and adjusts for strength of schedule, has the Guardians barely better than the White Sox. Indeed, the rotation has certainly scuffled and closer Emmanuel Clase has already allowed more earned runs than all of last season (although he is 4-0). Assuming Clase figures things out, the bullpen should remain a strength and they’re hoping for Shane Bieber to return around the All-Star break. The Guardians are better than the White Sox, but let’s see what happens as they play a tougher schedule in May.

This grade was a little higher until the Reds’ ugly doubleheader loss to St. Louis on Wednesday (6-0, 9-1). It’s been a month of extremes for them, including that 24-2 win over the Orioles. The big positives have been the rotation trio of Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo and Brady Singer, while the big negatives have been several position players not producing at the plate and the decline of former All-Star closer Alexis Diaz. Jeimer Candelario went on the IL this week with a lumbar strain while hitting .113, but even if a sore back was part of the problem there, it’s time to just move on and let Noelvi Marte play third base.

Cincinnati will need Matt McLain and Spencer Steer to start hitting and I’m not convinced this is a playoff-caliber bullpen, but the Reds might be the best bet in the NL Central to challenge the Cubs if manager Terry Francona can sort through the roster and figure out who can play and who can’t.

The Rangers’ record is hovering above .500 and they’ve played one of the more difficult schedules so far, but until a 15-run explosion on Tuesday, the offense had been near the bottom in the majors in runs, so it’s still hard to draw an angle on this team, given the offense was also weak in 2024. The top three starters have been outstanding, however, as Nathan Eovaldi has dominated with a 2.11 ERA and an absurd 46-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio, Tyler Mahle has ridden a low BABIP to a league-leading 1.14 ERA and Jacob deGrom is rounding into form with just three runs allowed over his past three starts. The bullpen looked like a huge issue heading into the season but has been very good (at least until Wednesday’s ninth-inning implosion). If the bullpen keeps it going, this team should remain in contention in the AL West.

It’s been a bit of a bumpy ride for the Phillies as the offense has been inconsistent and lacking power (27 home runs in 30 games), the bullpen has been shaky at times, the defense isn’t good and Aaron Nola is 0-5. Kyle Schwarber, now moved out of the leadoff spot, has been the big bat while Trea Turner and Bryson Stott have been getting on base more than last year. Jesus Luzardo has been a huge — and necessary — addition to the rotation given the injury to Ranger Suarez. The depth of the Phillies’ rotation, assuming Nola’s last outing is a return to form (one run in seven innings against the Cubs), should still make them a playoff team, but that statement feels like a lot less of a sure thing than it did on Opening Day, especially with a top-heavy NL.

Outside of Bobby Witt. Jr. and Maikel Garcia, they haven’t really hit at all, with a whole host of batters — Vinnie Pasquantino, Michael Massey, MJ Melendez and Hunter Renfroe — all struggling. That’s supposed to be the middle of the KC lineup and all four of those guys are hitting under .200. Welcome to baseball in 2025, where it seems every lineup has four players hitting under .200. The bullpen has pitched much better than last season and the rotation has once again been a strength. Ace Cole Ragans is 1-1 with a 4.40 ERA, the worst ERA of the starters, but his peripherals remain outstanding, so he’ll start winning some games — if the Royals can score some runs behind him.

The season began with that disastrous rout at Yankee Stadium, when the Brewers were outscored 36-14, but they quickly recovered from that and have a couple of blowout wins of their own. Brice Turang has been a bright spot, Jackson Chourio is hitting (but not walking) and Jose Quintana is 4-0 in four starts with a 1.14 ERA. They’ve been uncharacteristically sloppy at times, however, and manager Pat Murphy yanked Sal Frelick (for a bad throw) and Caleb Durbin (for getting picked off second base while down four) midgame last weekend. Message sent. But the key will be continuing to get surprise performances from the likes of Quintana and unheralded rookie Chad Patrick in the rotation.

The Rays entered the season looking to find the offense that abandoned them in 2024 (they scored 256 fewer runs than 2023) and get a healthy season from their rotation. The offense has been a little better thanks to rookie outfielders Jake Mangum and Kameron Misner plus a spark from recent call-up Chandler Simpson, but Tampa Bay remains below average in runs per game. The rotation lost Shane McClanahan in his final spring training start, but at least the other five members have been healthy — and it’s nice seeing one-time top prospect Shane Baz finally pitching well. There’s a potential playoff team here for sure, but they’re going to need Yandy Diaz, Brandon Lowe and Junior Caminero to produce more than they have.

It’s been a weird month of extreme highs and lows for Arizona as Corbin Carroll has been one of the best players in baseball, Pavin Smith has been absolutely raking with an OPS over 1.000 and Eugenio Suarez had his history-tying four-homer game. On the other end, the rotation — aside from Brandon Pfaadt — has struggled, as Corbin Burnes has just one win in six starts and he and Zac Gallen have both had some control issues. This still feels like a quality team, but we’ll get a better read over the next two weeks as they play the Phillies this weekend and then have series against the Mets, Dodgers and Giants, their first intradivision matchups of 2025.

MacKenzie Gore and James Wood are both off to excellent starts, with Gore leading the majors in strikeouts and Wood bashing nine home runs with a .903 OPS. Both, of course, came to the Nationals in the Juan Soto trade (as did CJ Abrams). Who has the brighter future? Wood would seem to be the easy choice; he’s four years younger and not a pitcher. But starting pitchers often take a long time to develop, and Gore keeps improving, with these early returns suggesting a whole new level for him. As for the rest of the team, they had two nice wins to beat the Mets last weekend but the bullpen has been a mess (next to last in win probability added) and the rest of the rotation lacks strikeout stuff.

The Cardinals have gone 0-4 in extra-inning games, which you can attribute to bad luck, lack of depth or lack of clutch hitting, but it has put them in an early hole. Maybe that’s not so unexpected, given the plan all along was to roll out the likes of Jordan Walker, Victor Scott II, Nolan Gorman and Ivan Herrera and give them a chance to play — maybe the final opportunity in a Cardinals uniform for Walker and Gorman, even though both remain relatively young. It’s not exactly a rebuilding year but the Cardinals are kind of spinning their wheels for a third consecutive season, which could eventually lead to trades for Nolan Arenado, Ryan Helsley and maybe even Sonny Gray.

After an awful start, the Twins did turn things around last week — when they played the White Sox and Angels. That may temporarily have taken manager Rocco Baldelli off the hot seat, but they’ve certainly struggled to score runs, and the bullpen, which I thought would be a strength, ranks 27th in the majors in win probability added. Adding to the disappointment is that Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton have played nearly every game — but both have sub-.300 OBPs. I’m not giving up on the Twins, as I still like a rotation with Pablo Lopez, Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober, and the bullpen should get better, plus they do have a positive run differential. Still, they need to reel off a hot streak soon and prove they can beat teams other than Chicago and L.A., which are two of just three teams that have a worse record than Minnesota in the AL.

They’ve had some good moments, and a few blowout losses (10-0, 14-0, 15-2) skewed the run differential, but overall they’re still not very good and four starters have ERAs over 7.00 (three over 8.00), which isn’t going to work. Unlike the Pirates (see below), at least the Marlins have essentially turned over the roster and are playing semi-younger players to see if they might have something in the likes of Matt Mervis, Liam Hicks and Kyle Stowers. Max Meyer might be having a breakout season, so that’s exciting, but Sandy Alcantara’s return from Tommy John surgery has not been smooth as he continues to fight his control.

They’re starting to dig themselves out of a wretched 5-13 start, winning consecutive series against the Twins, Cardinals and Diamondbacks, but it’s still difficult to get a read on this team. Braves fans had much consternation over this start as concerns about the team immediately popped up: the outfield production, the back of the rotation, the weak bench.

Along the way, Chris Sale has been surprisingly hittable (although his strikeout rate is excellent, so I think he’ll be fine), closer Raisel Iglesias has somehow allowed five home runs in 10 innings (not so sure he’ll be fine), Ronald Acuna Jr. deleted a social media post seemingly criticizing manager Brian Snitker (get healthy, Ronald) and Spencer Strider returned from the IL only to immediately go back on it with a hamstring strain. (He might be the most important pitcher in the league when he returns.) That’s a lot in one month — something a nice little winning streak will cure.

April certainly didn’t change my opinion that the Blue Jays aren’t a playoff team as they still look much closer to the 74-88 team of 2024 than the playoff teams of 2022 and 2023. Even the announcement of the Vladimir Guerrero Jr. extension a couple of weeks into the season didn’t do anything to change the backward momentum of this organization. The big offseason moves were signing Anthony Santander and trading for Andres Gimenez, but both are hitting under .200 with an OPS+ under 70. Only the Royals have hit fewer home runs. Indeed, the Blue Jays have been outhomered 44 to 19. That’s not going to work over a 162-game campaign.

The Angels’ offseason had a feel of desperation to it. They signed a bunch of 30-something hitters; all except Jorge Soler are hitting under .200. They signed Yusei Kikuchi and Kyle Hendricks, hoping for consistency from Kikuchi and a comeback from Hendricks; those two are a combined 0-7 with a 5.27 ERA. They used a position player to pitch on Opening Day, which is sad enough — although they did then play good baseball for a couple of weeks to jump out to a 9-5 start.

It’s been rough going since then, however, as L.A. has slid to the bottom of the AL West. And that was before Mike Trout left Wednesday’s game after tweaking his knee. The Angels are showing no signs of how they’re going to pull out of this 10-year abyss.

Nobody expected the White Sox to be any good, but entering Thursday’s game, they were 7-23 and on pace to win fewer games than last season. Ouch. They’ve at least played more competitive baseball than a year ago, mostly thanks to a rotation that has kept them in games. The offense has been wretched, with Luis Robert Jr. and Andrew Vaughn both hitting well below the Mendoza Line. It might be time to move on from both. Rookie starter Shane Smith has been a bright spot, and catcher Edgar Quero was called up and has been impressive at the plate. Still, it appears a third straight 100-loss season is in the works.

Yes, they have Paul Skenes, who has been outstanding (though he did give up three home runs Thursday), but I have no choice but to give them a failing grade considering they’re on pace for 99 losses. I’m not really sure how the Pirates dig themselves out of this either. They’re not even a young team, with five of their nine regular position players 30 or older. Oneil Cruz is the only hitter who has provided much power, and as exciting as he has been at the plate and stealing bases, his adventures in center field have basically turned him into a replacement-level player. The Pirates were 61-101 in 2021. Despite five years of rebuilding, they might be headed for that same record.

The vibes aren’t good in Baltimore right now, that’s for sure, although maybe this week’s series win over the Yankees will get the Orioles going. This goes back to the second half of 2024, when the Orioles were two games under .500 the final three months and then got swept in the wild-card series, scoring one run in two games. Having the worst ERA+ in the majors this season certainly isn’t great, and it hasn’t helped that Grayson Rodriguez hasn’t pitched and Zach Eflin went down after three starts, but it’s amazing how little they’ve gotten as a group this season from all those highly rated young hitters. To top it off, the Orioles had the worst giveaway of the young season: a bobblehead of owner David Rubenstein. Talk about not reading the room.

Imagine “The Exorcist” meets “The Shining” meets “A Quiet Place” and then throw in the creature from “Alien” and you have a rough approximation of what it’s like watching the 2025 Rockies. One year after the White Sox set a post-1900 record with 121 losses, the Rockies appear like they’re going to give that record a run — and maybe, unbelievably, even shatter it.

Their 5-25 start tied for the second worst through 30 games since 1900, ahead of only the infamous 1988 Orioles, who started 4-26 after losing their first 21 games. The Rockies haven’t even played within the tough NL West that often, with this current series against the Giants just their third intradivision matchup. In fact, every series the Rockies have in May is against a team that currently owns a winning record. They might not have even hit rock bottom yet.

One month into the Major League Baseball season, the favorites are playing as expected (for the most part), the stars are off to great starts (more or less) and the game looks as it should (except for the two minor league parks). April offers a window into the next five months, though it’s still slightly opaque — a tease for what’s ahead.

Will there be another historic Aaron Judge season? A team breaking the record for futility just one year after a single-season record for losses was established? A new standard for on-field larceny? All of that and so much more are possible, according to a wide swath of players, coaches, executives, evaluators and analysts ESPN surveyed to understand what in April was real and what was more early-season mirage.

We’ll begin with one thing that is clear enough to say definitively. And while it might not mean anything come October, for May, June, July, August and September, it’s bound to prove true.

The National League is vastly superior to the American League

This disparity was anticipated, yes, but the degree to which the Senior Circuit dwarfs the Junior Circuit in almost every way — from record to run differential to preeminence of the best teams — only reinforces the chasm between the leagues.

Currently, the NL is 224-218 with a plus-69 run differential. And that’s despite the 4-25 Colorado Rockies and their -78 run differential. The combined OPS of NL hitters is 25 points higher than that of AL hitters. They walk more and strike out less, score way more and steal copious bases comparatively and hit more home runs. In interleague games, NL pitchers have an ERA that is more than a third of a run lower than that of their AL counterparts.

There is an argument to be made that seven NL teams are better than the AL’s best team (either the New York Yankees or Detroit Tigers, who have separated themselves by the end of April), and that doesn’t even include the Cincinnati Reds, who have a five-game winning streak and the fourth-best run differential in MLB (aided by a 24-2 win against Baltimore). The NL’s magnificent seven include:

Los Angeles Dodgers: The overwhelming World Series favorites have been just all right since an 8-0 start, with injuries hammering their starting rotation and offensive struggles by third baseman Max Muncy, outfielder Michael Conforto, utility man Kiké Hernández and even shortstop Mookie Betts. And yet the Dodgers still terrify opponents because of games like Sunday, when starter Tyler Glasnow exited because of a shoulder injury and was replaced by Ben Casparius, whose fastball sat at 97 mph, topped out at 99 and complemented a slider and curveball averaging 3,000-plus RPMs of spin. The Dodgers are great because of their stars, but they’re even more dangerous because their replacements also have elite ceilings.

San Diego Padres: For a team that entered 2025 with rotation questions, the Padres have managed to post seven shutouts, the most ever for a team through the end of April. Much of it is owed to their bullpen, which owns an MLB-best 1.66 ERA and has stranded 87.8% of runners, blowing away the league average of 71%. Powered by their nasty bullpen, starters Michael King and Nick Pivetta, and Fernando Tatis Jr. going full superstar mode, the Padres have managed most of April without star center fielder Jackson Merrill and second baseman Jake Cronenworth with aplomb. Once the Padres get healthy, look out.

New York Mets: They sport the best record in MLB — and have gotten to the top of the standings despite slow starts from Mark Vientos and Brandon Nimmo, with Juan Soto still seeking his power stroke. New York’s pitching has been nothing short of brilliant, with a rotation leading MLB in ERA by nearly three-quarters of a run at 2.27. And that’s without Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas, two free agent signings who have spent the first month on the injured list. It doesn’t hurt that Pete Alonso was the best hitter in the league in April, and Francisco Lindor is doing Francisco Lindor things, too. There might not be a more electric place to watch a ballgame these days than Citi Field, where the Mets are 13-1 this season.

Chicago Cubs: The Cubs have been baseball’s best offense by a significant margin so far and achieved the exceedingly rare 40/40 month: 42 home runs and 44 stolen bases in April. Chicago’s balance isn’t just power-speed, either; it’s up and down the lineup, from Kyle Tucker starting his walk year with a flurry to Pete Crow-Armstrong‘s breakout looking real to Carson Kelly hitting better than anyone in the sport in limited playing time. The Cubs’ pitching is problematic, though, and losing Justin Steele to reconstructive elbow surgery did them no favors. But with an offense on a 977-run pace and the easiest schedule in MLB for the remainder of the season, summer and fall in Wrigley could be a lot of fun.

San Francisco Giants: The season’s biggest surprise so far, the Giants look like the Padres Lite with excellent bullpen performances elevating steadiness across all other facets of the game. Randy Rodriguez has been a revelation in a relief corps that has also seen a bounce-back from Camilo Doval, consistent excellence from Tyler Rogers and the high-octane stuff of Hayden Birdsong playing up out of the pen. The offense has been more of a mixed bag. Willy Adames has struggled at the plate, but Jung Hoo Lee is looking like a potential star and Mike Yastrzemski had his best start in years. San Francisco’s hitters have thrived in big spots, highlighted by Wilmer Flores ranking third in the majors in RBIs thanks to a .387/.457/.677 line with runners in scoring position.

Philadelphia Phillies: Let’s start with the good. On paper, Philadelphia remains one of the toughest teams in the NL. Zack Wheeler is the most consistent ace in baseball, Jesus Luzardo is pitching like the best version of himself, and coupled with Cristopher Sanchez‘s continued ascent, the starting pitchers all combine to make the Phillies a dangerous squad come October. Can they get there, though? The bullpen is a real issue, with the second-worst ERA in baseball (5.25) and only Jose Alvarado exceeding expectations. The bottom third of the Phillies’ lineup also needs to produce more, and the lack of home runs (24, which ranks 23rd in MLB) will catch up to their offense if it persists.

Arizona Diamondbacks: At some point, the Diamondbacks’ pitching is bound to right itself. A rotation of Corbin Burnes, Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodriguez and Brandon Pfaadt should not have the 24th-ranked starter ERA in MLB. Thankfully for the Snakes, the offense has been elite. Corbin Carroll has turned in an MVP-caliber April, Pavin Smith might be the best platoon player in MLB, Josh Naylor is bordering elite with his swing decisions, and Eugenio Suarez leads the big leagues in home runs. With Ketel Marte back soon and Jordan Lawlar destroying Triple-A, the Diamondbacks’ offensive excellence could get even better. And as long as the pitching stabilizes, Arizona will be a team nobody wants to face now or in October.

The stolen base is back and better than ever, but offense is still meh

When MLB introduced new rules in 2023, the implementation of larger bases and limiting of pickoffs weren’t talked about as much as adding the pitch clock and banning the shift. But both have had a demonstrable effect on the game. Perhaps not quite as much as the pitch clock — nine-inning games are averaging 2 hours, 37 minutes, almost dead even with last year’s 2:36 — but the changes that have brought back the stolen base have been far more significant than those the league hoped would help juice batting average.

Last year, MLB players stole 3,617 bases, the highest number in more than a century. This April’s stolen-base total already exceeds last year’s at this time (714 to 672), and runners aren’t going to stop stealing until catchers show they can more consistently throw them out.

With a success rate of 79.5% on steals of second — and 74.8% on attempts to swipe third — runners are emboldened. Anything in excess of 75% encourages teams to keep running, and with seven teams already pilfering more than 30 bases, they are gladly obliging, turning singles and walks into “doubles” regularly.

And it’s not only the fastest players in baseball who are thriving. Everyone is running. Bryce Harper, nobody’s idea of a stolen-base machine, has six in 29 games after swiping seven last season in 145 games. Manny Machado hasn’t stolen more than a dozen bases since 2018; he’s already halfway there.

On the other hand, an offensive regression last year alarmed executives who were hopeful the runs-per-game jump in 2023 meant offense would continue to blossom under baseball’s new rules. It has not. The numbers from the past four seasons through the end of April:

Walks are up three-tenths of a percentage point and strikeouts are down by the same amount. Runs per game are flat (4.38 last year, 4.34 this year). The ball is being put in play at the highest April rate since 2017 … but defenses are turning more of them into outs than the previous two years of new-rule ball.

The torpedo bat was more moment than game changer

Oh, the halcyon days of opening weekend, when Yankees hitters unleashed the torpedo bat and looked as if they were about to revolutionize baseball.

With this novel-looking piece of equipment that forsook the standard shape of a bat and aimed to place more wood in the part of the bat that strikes balls most frequently, the hitters who embraced the torpedo looked like world beaters. The numbers from that opening series against Milwaukee were undeniably good.

Jazz Chisholm Jr.: .417/.500/1.167, 3 HRs, 6 RBIs in 14 PA
Austin Wells: .200/.333/.800, 2 HRs, 3 RBIs in 12 PA
Anthony Volpe: .167/.286/.667, 2 HRs, 4 RBIs in 14 PA
Cody Bellinger: .400/.357/.700, 1 HR, 6 RBIs in 14 PA

Since then, those players’ numbers have been:

Chisholm: .151/.279/.312, 4 HRs, 11 RBIs in 111 PA
Wells: .212/.258/.425, 3 HRs, 14 RBIs in 89 PA
Volpe: .242/.327/.434, 3 HRs, 15 RBIs in 113 PA
Bellinger: .184/.273/.322, 2 HRs, 10 RBIs in 99 PA

The torpedo bat, it turns out, doesn’t erase weaknesses of hitters. It’s also not fool’s gold. Cal Raleigh is using it with his left-handed swing, but not his right — and seven of his 10 homers have come from the left side, where he has an OPS nearly 300 points better than the right. Steven Kwan, who might as well be the anti-Raleigh, is also swinging a torpedo and is batting .333, seventh best in the big leagues.

Because of that opening-weekend blitz, though, the torpedoes will continue to be associated with the Yankees. And it’s worth noting that Judge has continued to swing a traditional bat and not only looks like the best hitter on the planet but by a significant margin. Judge leads MLB in each of the triple-slash categories (.412/.507/.728), ranks second in RBIs (29), second in runs (28) and third in home runs (nine). He is striking out in a career-low 20.6% of his plate appearances and continues to hit the ball harder and more consistently than anyone.

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Why Jeff Passan considers Aaron Judge a little underappreciated

Jeff Passan breaks down Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge’s impressive play to Pat McAfee.

The Rockies are a real threat to the 2024 White Sox as the worst team ever

Where to begin? The Rockies are 4-25. They’re in the midst of their third six-plus-game losing streak. They have not won back-to-back games. They are dreadful on the road (1-14). They are abysmal at night (1-13). They cannot touch left-handed starters (0-9). They are striking out in 28.1% of their plate appearances, which would be a big league record. Their starters’ ERA is 6.73, which would be the worst mark in MLB history. They are 15½ games behind the Dodgers after one month.

The Rockies are not bad — they are tragic. And what’s worst of all is it’s not for lack of trying by their owner, Dick Monfort, who has typically carried a middle-of-the-pack payroll. They are simply a baseball team that can neither score nor prevent runs, with an offense tied for last and a pitching staff that ranks 29th out of 30 teams.

The record of 120 losses held for more than 60 years before the White Sox went 41-121 last year. Their minus-78 run differential through 29 games was exactly the same as Colorado’s, but even the White Sox were 6-23.

Considering the Rockies still have to play 46 games against the Dodgers, Giants, Padres and Diamondbacks, Colorado’s road is far more treacherous than the White Sox’s through the AL Central. So watch out, White Sox. Your reign of futility might be only as a one-year placeholder for the burgeoning champions of misery.

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Jeff Passan: The Rockies spend money, they just don’t spend it well

Jeff Passan tells “The Pat McAfee Show” that the Rockies are on pace to be the worst team in MLB history, surpassing the Chicago White Sox.

The pitching woes of the Orioles and Braves have dug mighty holes

All winter, Orioles fans waited in vain for the move to replace former ace Burnes in Baltimore’s rotation. And after projected Opening Day starter Grayson Rodriguez went down because of a shoulder injury and Zach Eflin hit the injured list because of a lat strain, it has become clearer than ever that the O’s lack the sort of starting pitching to stay competitive in the AL East. Kyle Gibson, their latest effort at replacing Rodriguez and Eflin, gave up four home runs to the Yankees in the first inning of his first start Tuesday. Now 11-18, the Orioles have given up the most runs in the AL and haven’t hit their way out of the pitching deficits they continue to face.

The money Baltimore did spend this winter also has not worked out well. Tyler O’Neill (three years, $49.5 million) has been a league-average player. Gary Sanchez (one year, $8.5 million) has been awful and is hurt. Charlie Morton (one year, $15 million) has the highest ERA in the AL. Andrew Kittredge (one year, $10 million) still hasn’t thrown a pitch. Only Tomoyuki Sugano (one year, $13 million) has been passable, and his lack of strikeouts does not portend good things, though he managed to find success despite it in Japan.

Like the Orioles, Atlanta is suffering from a paucity of pitching depth. The Braves have cycled through an MLB-high 22 pitchers this season, and the loss of Reynaldo Lopez to shoulder surgery, Spencer Strider to a hamstring injury and Joe Jimenez to knee surgery have taken a weakness and made it worse. Things would be better if the Braves were hitting, but outside of Marcell Ozuna, Austin Riley and Matt Olson — who’s slugging under .400 — the juggernaut lineup of two years ago remains AWOL.

There is hope for Atlanta in the form of Ronald Acuna Jr.’s upcoming return from an ACL tear and Strider’s hamstring healing. And they’re starting to win. Since an 0-7 start, the Braves are 14-8; they’re currently 6½ games behind the Mets and only two shy of the Phillies. It’s still early, but the Braves could soon look more like the team that won the World Series three years ago.

Five pitchers who are 2025’s breakout aces

We’ve focused on the themes and teams that have shaped the first month so far. Now, we’ll turn our attention to the players who have caught our eye, for better … or worse.

Hunter Brown, RHP, Houston Astros: The quietest ace in baseball began his run of dominance early last season but is only now beginning to receive the recognition he warrants. With a fastball up to 99 mph, a vicious sinker, a swing-and-miss changeup and three more pitches, he has the arsenal to complement his moxie. He is the next great Astros pitcher.

Max Meyer, RHP, Miami Marlins: Meyer’s six-inning, 14-strikeout gem against Cincinnati illustrated what the No. 3 pick in the 2020 draft can be. His slider is one of the best in MLB and he throws it 50% of the time. Combine it with a fastball that sits at 95 mph and plays at the top of the zone and he’s primed to anchor the Marlins’ rotation with Eury Perez for years to come.

Shane Baz, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays: Baz sat out nearly two years after Tommy John surgery in 2022, and though he looked excellent in his return last year, there was even more in the tank. Between his 97 mph fastball and hard curveball, he has one of the best two-pitch combinations in baseball. With Shane McClanahan out, the Rays needed one of their young arms to step up, and Baz has done just that.

Matthew Liberatore, LHP, St. Louis Cardinals: Continuing the theme of post-hype prospects is the 25-year-old Liberatore, who came into camp as an underdog to win a rotation spot after spending most of last year in the bullpen. He has rewarded the Cardinals with the lowest walk rate in baseball (two in 31 innings) and complemented it with only one home run allowed. With a six-pitch mix, Liberatore has cemented himself as a fixture for a Cardinals team in need of a reimagination.

Nick Pivetta, RHP, San Diego Padres: The 32-year-old Pivetta has spent upward of a decade tantalizing evaluators with his stuff and always found himself done in by the home run ball. In 35⅓ innings this season, he has given up two homers, and three of his six outings ended after seven shutout innings. The best part of Pivetta’s game: He’s getting tremendous amounts of in-zone swing-and-miss, a testament to the quality of his stuff.

Five hitters who are 2025’s breakout bats

Corbin Carroll, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks: The 24-year-old Carroll excels at almost everything he tries, which made last year’s first-half swoon so uncharacteristic. His aggressiveness this season — Carroll’s out-of-zone and swing-and-miss percentages have rocketed up — belies an intelligent approach that’s happy to trade whiff for production. Thanks to his speed, Carroll always will be useful. But the Diamondbacks want more than that. And if he maintains anything close to his early-season line (.298/.365/.645), they’ll have a top-10 player in the game.

Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF, Chicago Cubs: The question with Crow-Armstrong was always about ceiling vs. floor. Because his glove is so good, he could carve out a plenty fine big league career as a defense-first center fielder. But Crow-Armstrong wanted to be a great player, not simply a top-flight defender. His improvements at the plate are clear not only because of the numbers but how he’s getting them. Namely, he’s making good contact on good pitches, going from an in-zone whiff percentage of 24.6% last year to this year’s 13.5%.

James Wood, OF, Washington Nationals: If Wood ever figures out how to consistently elevate the ball, he will be one of the best hitters in baseball. As is, even with an average launch angle of 3.2 degrees — the 11th lowest of 219 qualified hitters — he has managed to whack nine home runs. Five have gone to the opposite field. At 6-foot-7, Wood packs uncommon power, particularly when he goes the other way. He’s starting to get to it, an alarming prospect for pitchers who know that pounding the outside corner is simply an invitation for Wood to do what he does better than just about anyone.

Oneil Cruz, CF, Pittsburgh Pirates: It’s finally looking like the year that one of the most physically talented players in baseball evolves into one of the best. Since he debuted in 2021, the 6-foot-7 Cruz has hit the ball as hard as anyone not named Judge. This season, he is striking out less, walking significantly more, lashing home runs and stealing bases. And while his center-field defense leaves plenty to be desired, it’s a reasonable price to pay for such exceptional offensive production.

Jung Hoo Lee, CF, San Francisco Giants: Lee doesn’t hit the ball particularly hard, limiting his ultimate ceiling, so he’ll have to settle for simply being a damn good baseball player. He rarely strikes out. He plays a solid center field. He’s a natural on the basepaths. And at 26, in his first full season after a shoulder injury sustained crashing into an outfield wall last May ended his season, Lee can fulfill his destiny as the best South Korea-born player in MLB since Shin-Soo Choo.

Five players whose slow starts warrant panic

Tanner Bibee, RHP, Cleveland Guardians: His strikeouts are down, his walks way up and his home runs allowed alarming. Bibee, signed to a five-year, $48 million contract extension in spring training, added a new cutter this winter — and it’s not working. Neither, at this point, is his fastball, a slower slider and his changeup. In five starts, Bibee has generated only 39 swings and misses. For someone expected to spearhead Cleveland’s rotation, he has a lot of work to do.

Raisel Iglesias, closer, Atlanta Braves: In 11 innings, Iglesias has given up more home runs (five) than he did in 69⅓ innings last year (four). He weathered a precipitous dip in strikeout rate last season, but his slider — always a strength — is catching too much of the strike zone and being ambushed.

Marcus Semien, 2B, Texas Rangers: Semien is a notoriously slow starter, but the lack of power and bat speed is disconcerting even for him. On top of that, he has yet to steal a base in 29 games, and though nobody would ever mistake him for Rickey Henderson, it was always the little things that made Semien such a beloved player. At 34, climbing out of an early-season hole will be that much trickier.

Anthony Santander, OF, Toronto Blue Jays: Spending the first month as a $92.5 million free agent below the Mendoza Line is tough. Doing so with a barrel rate that has cratered and only three home runs this year after hitting 44 is doubly so. Santander is not elevating the ball nearly as well as he did in 2024 — a problem Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had last year before his second-half resurgence. If the Blue Jays have any hope of contending in the AL East, they’ll need Santander to do the same.

Luis Robert Jr., CF, Chicago White Sox: The White Sox held onto Robert this winter figuring his value had reached its nadir and that they could rebuild it and move him at the trade deadline. Not only has he been a demonstrably worse hitter, his center-field defense also has plateaued. This is the ultimate change-of-scenery candidate, though with a club option for $20 million in 2026 and 2027, teams could treat Robert as more of a rental than long-term solution. With a turnaround, he could well earn it.

PITTSBURGH — The fan who fell from the 21-foot-high Clemente Wall in right field at PNC Park during Wednesday night’s game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs remained in critical condition Thursday morning.

Pittsburgh Public Safety, which includes Pittsburgh Police and EMS, posted to X on Thursday that the “incident is being treated as accidental in nature.”

The man was identified Thursday as Kavan Markwood, according to information supplied by the Southern Allegheny School District. District Workforce Development Coordinator Laura Thomson said in a statement that the district is keeping the “former student and standout athlete” in its thoughts and prayers.

“We’re just hoping for the best for him. I hope he pulls through because he’s the reason why we are here. He’s the reason why we play the game. People that show their support so we can do something we love, partly because of him and because of fans. So, I just pray that he’s all right.”

Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen

Thomson said Markwood was a 2022 graduate who “made a lasting impact” on the district community as an athlete and a “man of character.” She said Markwood was MVP of the football team during his senior year.

Markwood fell onto the warning track in right field just as Pirates star Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run double in the seventh inning to put Pittsburgh ahead 4-3. Players began waving frantically for medical personnel.

Markwood was tended to for approximately five minutes by members of both the Pirates and Cubs athletic training staffs as well as PNC personnel, before being removed from the field on a cart. He was taken to the trauma center at Allegheny General Hospital, where he remained Thursday.

Pittsburgh owner Bob Nutting said the club was “deeply saddened” and “truly heartbroken” over what he called a “terrible accident.”

“In times like these, we must come together, support one another, and keep him and his loved ones in our prayers,” Nutting said in a statement. “We also want to thank and appreciate the efforts of the first responders who rushed to Markwood’s attention and provided him with compassionate care.”

The railing that runs along the Clemente Wall in right field is 3 feet in height, which exceeds the building code requirements of 26 inches, according to Pirates vice president of communications Brian Warecki.

Fans were sitting in the front row above the Clemente Wall on Thursday ahead of the series finale between the two teams.

McCutchen, a five-time All-Star and franchise icon, said Thursday that the team was “devastated” by what happened, adding that they prayed together after the game. Asked to describe his viewpoint of the sequence, McCutchen declined, saying he is trying not to think about it and is more focused on Markwood’s health.

“We’re just hoping for the best for him,” McCutchen said. “I hope he pulls through because he’s the reason why we are here. He’s the reason why we play the game. People that show their support so we can do something we love, partly because of him and because of fans. So, I just pray that he’s all right.”

Pirates manager Derek Shelton and Cubs manager Craig Counsell both alerted the umpire crew of the situation immediately after the play.

“Even though it’s 350 feet away or whatever it is, I mean the fact of how it went down and then laying motionless while the play is going on, I mean Craig saw it, I saw it. We both got out there,” Shelton said. “I think the umpires saw it because of the way it kicked. It’s extremely unfortunate. That’s an understatement.”

Players from both teams could be seen praying, and McCutchen held a cross that hung from his neck while Markwood was taken off the field.

The game was paused for several minutes while Markwood received medical attention but there was no official stoppage in play.

Police said any medical update would be provided by medical personnel in conjunction with Markwood’s family.

Fans have died from steep falls at baseball stadiums in the past.

In 2015, Atlanta Braves season-ticket holder Gregory K. Murrey flipped over guard rails from the upper deck at Turner Field. That was four years after Shannon Stone, a firefighter attending a game with his 6-year-old son, fell about 20 feet after reaching out for a foul ball tossed into the stands at the Texas Rangers‘ former stadium.

Both incidents prompted scrutiny over the height of guard rails at stadiums. The Rangers raised theirs, and the Braves settled a lawsuit with Murrey’s family.

A spectator at a 2022 NFL game at Pittsburgh’s Acrisure Stadium died after a fall on an escalator.