What we loved from each MLB team in Week 1

Well, that was fun. The first week of the 2024 MLB season is officially in the books, and there was a lot to take in. Here's one thing we loved from each team early on.

Arizona Diamondbacks: It took less than an hour into the season for the Diamondbacks to make history. Arizona scored a franchise-record 14 runs in the third inning on Opening Day against the Colorado Rockies, batting around twice against three different pitchers. What's most remarkable is that the Diamondbacks scored all their runs that inning without a homer.

Atlanta Braves: An already elite offense looks even better with the addition of Jarred Kelenic. The outfielder is hitting .545/.615/.636 with two walks and two strikeouts in 13 plate appearances. Kelenic struck out in 31.7% of at-bats last season, so the early returns are encouraging.

Baltimore Orioles: Corbin Burnes and Grayson Rodriguez are off to excellent starts, and the club is loaded with young talent, but excuse us for directing the bulk of our attention to the farm. Jackson Holliday homered in his first Triple-A at-bat and is 10-for-27 (.370) in five games.

Boston Red Sox: The biggest question mark heading into the season was the rotation, but new pitching coach Andrew Bailey has already made his impact felt. Boston's pitchers rank in the top three in the majors in ERA (1.54), strikeouts (77), WHIP (0.85), and opponent average (.180).

Chicago Cubs: Shota Imanaga is electric. The Japanese left-hander brought Wrigley Field to life during his MLB debut against the Rockies. Pitching in short sleeves in miserable April weather, Imanaga allowed just two hits in six shutout innings while striking out nine. It feels like Chicago will really fall in love with him.

Chicago White Sox: There might be a new ace emerging on the South Side. Garrett Crochet is healthy again and absolutely dominating hitters. The 24-year-old owns a 1.38 ERA, 0.69 WHIP, and 16 strikeouts in 13 innings over two starts.

Cincinnati Reds: "No grand slams for Spencer Steer, let's hope that continues."

Cleveland Guardians: Shane Bieber appears to be on a mission after an injury-shortened 2023. The former AL Cy Young winner's thrown 12 scoreless innings to open this season, punching out 20 batters and walking just one.

Colorado Rockies: We're not going to lie, it hasn't been pretty. The Rockies have been outscored by an MLB-worst 34 runs and have been awful defensively. Kyle Freeland owns a 27.00 ERA, and Kris Bryant is 2-for-20 with 10 strikeouts. But we're going to be positive here: This sliding glove is elite.

Detroit Tigers: The Tigers are hot and ready. We saw a lot of elite dugout celebrations last season, and Detroit is really bringing it early with its pizza spear.

Houston Astros: The team has had a pretty miserable start to the year, but at least its first win was dramatic. Ronel Blanco, a 30-year-old making his eighth career start, no-hit the Toronto Blue Jays. It was the club's sixth no-no since 2019.

Kansas City Royals: Someone flipped the power back on in Kansas City. The Royals have already hit nine home runs through six games - good for fourth in MLB - after finishing 26th in homers in 2023. The club has never finished higher than 20th in home runs in the last 20 seasons.

Los Angeles Angels: Shohei Ohtani might be gone, but Mike Trout is reminding everyone he's still here. The three-time MVP has launched three homers already, and they've been crushed - 473 feet (113.1 mph), 412 feet (104), and 402 feet (102.5). Unfortunately for Trout, all three have been without anyone on base.

Los Angeles Dodgers: Mookie Betts is off to one of the hottest starts you'll ever see. The Dodgers shortstop - oh yeah, he also moved to a new position midway through spring - leads the majors with five home runs and a 1.686 OPS in nine games. He's working walks twice as often as he's striking out (9 BBs vs. 4 Ks), and has already been worth 1.4 fWAR.

Miami Marlins: An 0-7 start to the season is as bad as it gets, but at least they've already had a dog day at the park. Will they have their first win in time for the next one?

Milwaukee Brewers: It's great to have Rhys Hoskins back on the field again. The first baseman is healthy and already making an impact with his new team, clubbing a pair of homers. While Hoskins gives Milwaukee some much-needed power, he also provides a bit more of an edge. His slide and exchange with Jeff McNeil already gave us one of the funnier moments of the season.

Minnesota Twins: Baseball is better when Byron Buxton is healthy. The All-Star and Gold Glove winner is off to a nice start to the season with three doubles, but his best play of the season might have been avoiding a serious collision during the Brewers' mascot race.

New York Mets: The Mets have already been rained out thrice, which might be good a thing for the sanity of the fan base as the club's scored just eight runs in four games. At least owner Steve Cohen remains committed to spending.

New York Yankees: Juan Soto hasn't been intimidated by the pinstripes. The Yankees are off to a fantastic start, and Soto is a big reason for that. He's hitting .345/.441/.483 and already made a game-saving defensive play. The dugout barking celebration is also hilarious.

Oakland Athletics: The team looks bound for another 100-plus loss season, but it might have something in Mason Miller. Moved to the bullpen this season in an attempt to keep him healthy, the left-hander flashed absolutely dominating stuff through his first two appearances. Miller generated 11 swings and misses on just 29 pitches against the Red Sox while throwing eight pitches at least 100 mph.

Philadelphia Phillies: Bryce Harper remains the heart of the Phillies. Four games into his season, Harper's already launched himself into the dugout trying to make a catch and has a three-homer game.

Pittsburgh Pirates: Is there a club that loves April more than the Pirates? The Pirates went 19-9 in the opening month last season and are off to a 5-1 start this year. Pittsburgh's No. 3 prospect, Jared Jones, struck out 10 during his MLB debut, and we can only dream of what a rotation of Jones and Paul Skenes will look like.

San Diego Padres: Fernando Tatis Jr. is trying to bring some swagger back to the Padres after a disappointing year. He's already hit three homers and is bringing the energy with his electric bat drops.

San Francisco Giants: Nothing beats a first career home run with family in the crowd. Jung Hoo Lee went deep with his dad in attendance, and the only thing that could make it better is the Korean call. 👇

Seattle Mariners: Sometimes it's hard to believe this is only Julio Rodríguez's third season in the majors. Having already won the AL Rookie of the Year, claimed two Silver Sluggers, and made two All-Star appearances, J-Rod checked off another milestone early in the year by collecting his first walk-off hit.

St. Louis Cardinals: Ryan Fernandez made his first impression with the Cardinals a memorable one. The 25-year-old Rule 5 pick struck out three batters during his lone inning of work in his MLB debut.

Tampa Bay Rays: No club unearths talent like the Rays, and now it appears they're even developing elite ball boys.

Texas Rangers: It was a painfully long wait for the franchise's first World Series title, and the club did a great job immortalizing it with their rings.

Toronto Blue Jays: Davis Schneider is trying to prove that his historic run last season was no fluke. The 25-year-old, who clubbed eight homers to go with a 1.008 OPS in 35 games last year, already has two home runs in eight at-bats this season, including a game-winning blast off Josh Hader. Schneider's career 182 wRC+ ranks sixth all time (min. 150 PA) behind Josh Gibson, Babe Ruth, Ed Steele, Ted Williams, and Charlie Smith.

Washington Nationals: It's all about the future in D.C. Nationals prospect Trey Lipscomb got the call to the majors, and the announcement was fantastic. The 23-year-old then homered in his second MLB game.