With the MLB season underway, theScore's MLB editors look at some early storylines, surprising teams, players, and struggling stars that have defined the first few weeks of the campaign.
What's the biggest early-season storyline?
Contract extensions: More players are forgoing the rigors of free agency for financial security. Both Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Garrett Crochet didn't want to negotiate their contracts during the regular season but ultimately did just that. Guerrero would have been the prize of the 2025 free-agent class, while Crochet was slated for a huge payday after the 2026 campaign. Jackson Merrill and Kristian Campbell, meanwhile, are ascending stars who took what are likely to be long-term discounts in exchange for immediate life-changing money. The horror stories we've seen unfold over the past few offseasons seem to have changed how all parties think. - Ben Wrixon
Torpedo bat: The odd-looking lumber has been the topic du jour since the media discovered several Yankees were using it during a record homer barrage to start the season. The bat's creator, manufacturing companies, and players testing the innovation received national attention. MLB has no issue with the fad. However, data is still being collected to see exactly what the benefits are for hitters. Only time will tell if the bat will actually revolutionize baseball or just end up being a footnote in the game's history. - Tom Ruminski
Hitting down league-wide: Maybe it's the cold weather. Maybe it's players still finding their timing early in the season. Whatever the reason, teams are struggling to hit. Entering play Wednesday, the league batting average was .235, an eight-point drop from last year and a 13-point dip from 2023. Batting average has declined over the past several years, with the league failing to crack a .250 average since the 2017 campaign. Presumably, as the weather warms up, the hits will start falling. It's still worth watching to see how much both teams and players start finding holes for base hits moving forward. - Josh Goldberg
Which team do you think is overachieving?
Los Angeles Angels: Ron Washington's team is a half game out of first place, but that's as much a product of the Astros, Mariners, and A's slow starts as it is the Angels' play. Even with a healthy Mike Trout, L.A.'s minus-7 run differential and 7-9 expected record tell a very different story than its 9-7 record. Pitching will ultimately be this team's downfall: The Angels have received the worst pitching in baseball (minus-0.1 total fWAR), and their staff owns the fourth-highest ERA (4.79). Some of their key offensive players - most notably second baseman Kyren Paris, who's slugging .805 - are going to fall back to earth as well. Maybe these Angels surprise everyone and take a small step forward, but it's hard to see them remaining atop the AL West. - Simon Sharkey-Gotlieb
Miami Marlins: The Fish enter Wednesday at .500 after preseason projection systems had them winning 63 contests with a 0% chance of making the playoffs. But five of their eight victories were against the Pirates and Nationals, and they got clobbered by the Mets and Braves in three of their losses. Miami's schedule is about to become tougher with upcoming series against the D-Backs, Phillies, and Dodgers, so we'll see what the Marlins are really made of. The next few weeks should also offer some clarity on Matt Mervis, who has hit like Barry Bonds at times - five homers and a .676 slugging percentage - but is also among the league leaders in strikeout percentage. - Bryan Mcwilliam
San Francisco Giants: Few expected the Giants to keep up with the juggernauts in the loaded NL West, yet that's exactly what they've done in jumping out to a 12-5 record. Unsustainably hot starts from Wilmer Flores and Jung Hoo Lee have made this lineup look much better than it is, as the former is tied for the NL lead in home runs (6) while the latter is slugging .651. San Francisco has scored the fifth-most runs in the league (89) while striking out 25.2% of the time and managing just the twelfth-best wRC+ (104). Logan Webb and Robbie Ray have looked great, but Jordan Hicks and offseason acquisition Justin Verlander have gotten rocked. The writing is on the wall for the Giants once the Dodgers and Diamondbacks really start clicking. - Wrixon
Which player's hot start has you most intrigued?
Hunter Greene: The Cincinnati Reds right-hander looks like he's taken another step forward after finishing eighth in 2024 NL Cy Young voting. The 25-year-old All-Star hasn't allowed a run over his last 18 2/3 innings. He's surrendered just three earned runs on a measly 12 hits in four starts to go along with 31 strikeouts. The biggest indicator that he's leveled up is the 1.3 BB/9, a marked improvement over his career 3.4 rate. Greene, who sits in the 99th percentile for fastball velocity, could be borderline unstoppable if he continues to harness his control and command. - Ruminski
Shane Baz: The 25-year-old is coming off one of the best starts of his young career, dominating the Red Sox with 11 strikeouts across six innings. The Tampa Bay Rays right-hander has 27 punchouts against just four walks over his first three outings. Baz, once a top prospect, struggled through injuries for the first few years of his career, but his emergence has been a particularly welcome development for the Rays with star left-hander Shane McClanahan on the shelf to start the season. And, so far, this looks like the makings of a true breakout campaign. - Goldberg
Kyle Tucker: Since 2020, Tucker has been a top-10 hitter in baseball, so it's not surprising to see him having a great year, even if it's with a new team in the Chicago Cubs. What's intriguing about Tucker's hot start is that it comes as Guerrero took himself off the free-agent market. This means Tucker has a chance to become the top player available this winter if he can keep up with his scorching 40-homer, 100-RBI pace. Tucker could earn himself a contract in the neighbourhood of Guerrero's deal - or higher -if he has another strong campaign like he typically does. His performance should be one to monitor throughout the season because of the future ramifications it could have on free agency. - Mcwilliam
Which struggling player are you most worried about?
Christian Yelich: The Brewers outfielder finally looked like he was rediscovering his MVP form last summer - until he underwent back surgery in August. The post-procedure results haven't been close to what Milwaukee needs. Yelich's 63 OPS+ is concerning enough on its own, but his average exit velocity and hard-hit percentage are both down, and his barrel percentage is in the 25th percentile. Unfortunately, it feels like the Yelich of old may be gone for good. - Sharkey-Gotlieb
Alec Bohm: The wheels seem to have fallen off for Bohm, as his slump from the end of last season carries over into 2025. The Philllies third baseman has been worth minus-0.6 fWAR with a .365 OPS (5 OPS+) through 16 games. He has just two extra-base hits and has only driven in four runs after plating 97 in each of the previous two seasons. His average exit velocity ranks in the 80th percentile, but his expected batting average and expected slugging percentage are both way down compared to 2024. He's also striking out at his highest clip in years (21.7%) while walking just 1.4% of the time. - Wrixon
Marcus Semien: The 34-year-old finished as an AL MVP finalist three times since 2019, including two years ago when he helped the Rangers win the World Series. However, it looks like Father Time is catching up to him. Semien is 7-for-60 with one homer over 16 games to start the season after slashing .237/.308/.391 with 23 homers across 159 contests in 2024. The struggles haven't been due to bad luck, as he sits 29th percentile for average exit velocity, 23rd percentile for barrel rate, 13th percentile for hard-hit percentage, and ninth percentile for bat speed. And he's still owed $98 million through 2028. - Ruminski
Which recent extension is the best value?
Kristian Campbell: From the perspective of the Red Sox, getting Campbell's name on that eight-year, $60-million deal was a masterstroke by chief baseball officer Craig Breslow. Campbell is a dynamic young talent who can play multiple positions, and he's locked up at a rate that allows Boston to keep spending and augmenting a bright young core. If, for some reason, he doesn't pan out over the long term, this deal won't be too much of a burden for the franchise to overcome. This was a deal the Red Sox simply couldn't pass up. - Sharkey-Gotlieb
Jackson Merrill: The Padres handed Merrill a nine-year, $135-million deal earlier in April after he finished runner-up to Paul Skenes in NL Rookie of the Year voting. The contract bought out at least four free-agent seasons, allowing Merrill to potentially enter the market at age 30 or 31. Getting Merrill, a five-tool player with unlimited potential, locked in for just over $21 million annually (in his free-agent seasons) when he's in his prime is a fantastic piece of business for Padres executive A.J. Preller. Merrill profiles as at least a $30-million-a-year player if he continues to develop at this pace. - Goldberg
Ketel Marte: The six-year, $116.5-million extension was a nice piece of work by the D-Backs' front office. They secured one of baseball's top position players and a core piece of a group that reached the 2023 World Series and looks capable of doing it again without breaking the bank. Marte's annual average salary of $19.4 million is a steal considering the only second basemen with a higher fWAR than the 31-year-old since 2017 are Jose Altuve ($30M annual average value until 2028) and Semien ($26M AAV until 2027). Marte has outplayed both of them over the past two years and was a big part of MVP conversations last season, ultimately finishing third for the NL award. - Mcwilliam
