Baseball’s biggest surprises from MLB season’s first month

There is nothing like the beginning of a new baseball season. The relaxing and relatives of the bat crack and a fast ball that buries Itelf in the glove of a receiver. The contagious optimism found in the 30 club houses, from the defense champions to the last place from 2024 who think it can surprise some people. Oh yes, and the unbridled lie.

Wait, what?

April baseball always sacrifices some surprises, both positive and negative. It is just a matter of determining what statistics tell you the truth about what a player is now, and which are not. Unfortunately, Chris “Big Red” Shelton could not maintain an OPS 1.186 through 2006 despite his first scorching month for those tigers. No, David Ortiz was not real at dawn of a decrease at 34 in 2009 with a bad start. But yes, when Ronald Acuña Jr. began 2023 at a torrid pace both in the offensive and in the bases, wax A real signal of its next MVP 40/70 campaign.

April 2025 has presented its own surprises. Are these reais endure for the rest of the season? We will discover it soon, but whatever happens, they have fascinating to see the legs.

Good: Jung Hoo Lee

In December 2023, The Giants Made A Deal with One of the Best A Rookie of the Year in Korea’s Top League at Just 18 in 2017, Lee is the Son Of A Legendary Kbo Player and Suppl and 6491, and 6491, and 6491, and 6491, and 6491’s triples, and 6491, and 6491, and 6491, and 6491, and 6491,491, and 6491, and 6491, and 6491, and 6491, and 6491, and .491, and 6491, and .491. Before coming Stasside.

2024 was a difficult debut for Lee. After some exciting first games against the Parent and Dodgers division rival, he went through a period of adjustment against the launch of MLB and hit alone .265/.312/.325 from April 5 to May 12. He never had the opportunity to recover, as on May 12, he broke his shoulder trying to make a great capture in Cincinnati. Lee needed surgery to repair a torn labrum, and like that rookie year he had already finished. The giants marched to an 80-82 season and the main office underwent a review after three years of frustration. The future receiver of the Buster Posey Hall is now running baseball operations.

The giants as a whole would fit well as one of the greatest early surprises of 2025 (a slow beginning of Big Free Agent Fireming Willy Adames will be convicted) since few hoped that they were neck and onnelt with the archirival dodgers of Juggnaut. But Lee has been a real prominent.

For the staunch fans of Lee among the bright and called Hoo Lee to the road and Jung Hoo Crew, maybe this is not a real shock. Few, however, would have expected a triple Slash .321/.379/.536, a 162 OPS+and a better of the National League 11 so far. He has been an excellent central gardener, has had a game of several homers at Yankee Stadium, and has sprayed the ball with a square 94 square.

Althegh This must be Lee’s Teco, there are reasons to wait for this to maintain this. We need more stars with nicknames like “grandson of the wind” anyway.

Bathroom: Baltimore Orioles

The 2022-23 seasons marked the incredible resurrection of the orioles. After a franchise record 115 losses in 2018, they cleaned the house, hired Mike Elias de Houston to execute their baseball operations and embarked on a reconstruction. Sometimes he got ugly and even lost 110 as recently as 2021. But the following year, they approached an improvement of 31 victories and were not eliminated until the last weekend. Then, in 2023, the youth movement was worth it when they captured its first crown of Al East in almost a decade with a 101-61 season. They were disappointed to be swept by the possible World Rangers series champion in the ALD, but the base had a leg placed for a Renaissance of Charm City baseball.

Last year he thought, the Orioles fell to 91 victories and a wildcard that went anywhere in a two outs without blows to the real ones. However, with a nucleus of the MVP candidate, Gunnar Henderson, the All-Star receiver that hits Switch, Adley Rutschman, and reliable taxpayers such as Cedric Mullins, Ryan Mountcastle and Jordan Westburg (more younger talent on the road), 2025 or’s should be in the mixture to recover the crowns of Yankees easts.

Instead, they have a terrible leg and sit at the Al East winery.

Nick Touchiaro-Imagn images

The already scarce pitcher lost Corbin Burnes to the Diamondbacks, and Elias could not properly replace him. Altheghin, the right of the NPB, Tomoyuki Sugano, has been decent enough, his partner Signernee Charlie Morton has sought his age in 41 with an effectiveness of 9.45 in 26.2 entries, leading the elders with 28 races won 2025. Only four MLB teams have an effectiveness of the personnel of more than 5.00, and a contender should be like Baltimore does not have business in the same company as the rockies, Marlins and Nationals. The opening of the opening day Zach Eflin is in the IL and the aspiring AS of Grayson Rodríguez recently suffered a setback. The bullpen is usually doing its job, but that only matters so much when its rotation does not keep it in ball games.

Idly, a rebound must arrive, if not only because the crime should not remain as medium as it is currently. Mullins and Ryan O’Hearn have racked, but Henderson and Rutschman have a sub -700 OPS. Mountcastle entered 2025 with 114 PAHO+ in his five -year career between 2020 and 24; Its OPS+ is currently in 51. Even with Westburg, the addition of Tyler O’Neill garden, and the runner -up of Al Rookie of the year, Colton Cowser, all in IL, simply modest steps of Henderson, Rutschman and Mountcastle will have them in a better place. Baltimore just have to make sure he doesn’t get into early.

Good: Mystery of the average rotation

Pop maybe: If you were asked to name the best initial pitchers in the Mets, Rangers and Filis, it would be safe to say that Kodai Senga, Jacob Degrom and Zack Wheeler, respectively. Maybe you had seen one of those (Nathan Eovaldi is more successful than Degrom, for example), but all those are perfectly solid selections. They are probably technically correct since April only means a lot.

That said, while the Mets, the Rangers and the Philis have representatives in the list of leaders of the qualified era, consult the real identities:

1. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 1.06 Era (Dodgers)
2. Tyler Mahle, 1.14 era (Rangers)
3. Max Fried, 1.19 era (Yankees)
4. Hunter Brown, 1.22 era (stars)
5. Jesús Luzardo, 1.73 Effectiveness (Philis)
6. Tylor Megill, 1.74 era (Mets)

Naturally. Now finally healthy after a long recovery of Tommy John’s surgery, Mahle is helping to maintain the rotation of the rangers in the mixture with Degom slightly low performance. Luzardo was acquired from Miami and always had talent to put everything in the ATS and Marlins; It simply happened a lot, and now it is blooming with the highest philadelphia pressure in Wheeler, Aaron Nola and Cristopher Sánchez. And although Megill is not new in the METS, it is a leg overly overlook for a more years of his most striking rotation companions.

It is easy to find reasons to make holes in the numbers of these pitchers, but do not worry; A rival will be happy to do it. Meanwhile, it is fun to see these guys prosper.

Bathroom: Elite relief

There is an understanding in baseball that they are often relieved. Its success is difficult to predict, so there is enough variety in the yield from year to year. However, when the true arms of crop creams are still at their best, it is reasonable to have a certain degree of confidence.

Indeed, Emmanuel Class and Devin Williams would have been popular selections for the title of “The best reliever of the MLB”. Both have won two reliever awards of the year in this decade, and despite the doors of brutal positions in 2024, both entered 2025 with very high hopes. And yet, both class and Williams have already allowed more races than in the totality of 2024.

Photo of Elsa/Getty Images

The good news for the class is that despite its ugly beginning and its barking shoulder, Cleveland has managed to win the game in all appearances except one of its appearances (and in the exception, Class launched an entrance without score). Although it could not dominate in the same degree as in its era of 0.61 2024, it should return to normal.

As for Williams? Yeesh has its first month as the nearest leg of the Yankees. It has already been at least temporarily degraded from paper. His command has been completed, and the fast ball that normally helps allow the success of his famous “Airbender” change has been beaten. Williams approached dangerously to an inauguration day, and despite that escape, an advantage of four races in Tampa on the 19th exploded before a zero effort against the tiles in the 25 lost the game when Angry rained in the Yanke Stadium. This restoration will take a little time.

In the eye of command: The Colorado Rockies

Look, on the one hand, nobody expected the rockies to be anywhere near the good. The toughest division in baseball is likely, their organization lacks sense of direction, its best paid player could never play baseball again, they have already shot a batting coach, their rotation is a tire fire. They have lost 100 games in consecutive years and the chances of preseason were not optimistic about 2025. It was always going to be bad and easy to ignore.

But this Bad?

The most recent team to do so was the 2003 Tigers, who lost 119 games and almost broke the modern record. The condemned white averages 2024 could have started 3-22, but after 29 games, they were 6-23. The 1962 infamous mets were a comparatively dominant 10-19.

Mounting an eight -game skate until the end of April, the only better question than “Why Bud Black continues to handle the rocky mountains?” At this point is “why Bud Black even because Still to drive the rockies? “Even recognizing that Casey Stengel’s ghost could not make the thesis thesis good, daily beatings cannot be exactly pleasant for Ol ‘Buddy.

---

Honorary mentions

Good: The game of four homeros by Eugenio Suárez; The Breakout after the Hype of Spencer Torkelson; Aaron Judge’s impression of 1941 Ted Williams; Mackenzie Gore hits the world; Outside now Yanks Ben Rice and Trent Grisham combine for 16 bombs; Tyler Sodeterstrom ?? Tyler Sodeterstrom !!; Jorge Polanco can’t stop home; The offensive of the high flight puppies

Bathroom: The aforementioned Willy Adames; Joc Pederson Skid 0-41; Mookie Betts and Aaron Nola are being worrisome; Blake Snell’s shoulder unhealthy; José Miranda’s doubly shameful month; The popular beginning of the preseason NL EAST Pick Braves Braves 5-13 (only avoiding one feature due to its recently hot streak); The bullpen of chaotic puppies