The struggles of three of MLB’s richest premier franchises over the opening five weeks of the 2026 season are reminiscent of a scene from “Bull Durham,” when manager Joe “Skip” Riggins asks coach Larry Hockett, “What’s our record?” Larry says 8-16, adding “it’s a miracle” when Skip asks “how’d we ever win eight?”
It was that kind of April. Teams that were supposed to be good have been bad. Teams that were supposed to be bad have been surprisingly competitive. The American League is basically the Los Angeles freeway system: very congested.
Jeff Passan already covered the big stories and themes of the month, so let’s hand out some grades to all 30 teams.
We’re factoring in preseason expectations, win-loss record and the underlying statistics for each. The top grade was an easy pick. The bottom ones -- and we have a lot of “F” marks to hand out -- prove that baseball isn’t always a simple game.
(All stats through Saturday’s games.)
Atlanta Braves: A+
We can all say, “Oh, we saw this coming, there is a lot of talent here.” But most of us would be lying.
Very few saw this coming, especially when Spencer Strider and Spencer Schwellenbach landed on the injured list at the end of spring training. Only one of 30 voters in ESPN’s MLB preseason predictions picked the Braves to win the National League East. They lead the majors in runs scored and OPS while ranking second in home runs. Matt Olson looks like the 2023 version of himself -- the one who hit 54 home runs -- and Drake Baldwin is turning into a terrific all-around hitter.
The big surprise -- and the key to the Braves keeping this going -- has been the rotation. Bryce Elder, pressed into a rotation spot because of the aforementioned injuries, is 3-1 with a 1.88 ERA. A new cutter he developed a couple of years ago with Braves pitching legend Greg Maddux -- a pitch Elder finally felt comfortable using this season -- has helped him hold lefties to a .144 average. Chris Sale has six wins already and the bullpen has also been solid, with the fourth-best ERA in the majors. Right now, the Braves look like a well-rounded team -- with help on the way if Strider and Schwellenbach can return.
New York Yankees: A
The Yankees look as if they might run away with the American League with a plus-57 run differential -- with the Tigers second at plus-12. Ben Rice has been the best hitter in baseball. Cam Schlittler has become a must-watch with his wicked arsenal of high-velo fastballs: four-seamer, two-seamer and cutter, all of which he tunnels well. He finished April second in the majors in ERA and first in WHIP, strikeout-to-walk ratio and OPS allowed. Teammate Max Fried ranked second in OPS allowed. And Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon are rehabbing in the minors. With their combo of power and starting pitchers, the Yankees look on their way to their first 100-win season since 2019.
Chicago Cubs: A-
The sign of a good team is one that has the roster depth to overcome slow starts and injuries. That has been the case with the Cubs. Michael Busch was the Cubs’ best hitter last season and hit .173 without a home run in his first 22 games. Seiya Suzuki sat out the first 12 games. Pete Crow-Armstrong hit one home run in his first 29 games. Closer Daniel Palencia went down early because of a lat strain. Despite all of that, the Cubs are still averaging more than five runs and manager Craig Counsell has expertly managed the late-game bullpen, with seven different relievers picking up saves. Cade Horton’s season-ending injury is a huge blow to the rotation, and the Cubs don’t really have an ace, but the expectations should be high for this team.
Tampa Bay Rays: A-
The Rays are 20-12 despite a so-so plus-6 run differential, going 10-2 against the AL Central. A 6-1 record in one-run games has keyed the early start, but they also had a nice three-game sweep of the Yankees when Chandler Simpson constantly befuddled New York with his speed. The Rays have some clear strengths -- Junior Caminero, Yandy Diaz -- and some clear weaknesses they might have to upgrade (center field and bullpen). With Ryan Pepiot now out for the season, a huge key is Shane McClanahan, who seems to be rounding into his previous All-Star form after sitting out two seasons. With the three AL East teams below them so far failing to match advance notice, this might turn into one of those scrappy, overachieving seasons for the Rays.
St. Louis Cardinals: A-
St. Louis has been better than expected, with some compelling things: Jordan Walker might finally be having that breakout season after being a nonfactor the past two seasons; rookie JJ Wetherholt is living up to his prospect hype and looks like a future star; and Ivan Herrera is turning into an on-base savant between all the walks and hit by pitches. Are the Cardinals legit contenders? They’re coming off a hot week, but their pitchers are last in strikeout rate and it’s almost impossible to make the playoffs doing that. Last year, the bottom nine teams in pitcher strikeout rate all missed the playoffs.
Cincinnati Reds: B+
The Reds receive a high grade based on their 20-13 record. That’s in the bank. They could play .500 ball the rest of the way and that might get them into the playoffs. Even better would be their first division title since 2012. But are they good? There are a lot of fluky things going on here, including going 7-0 in one-run games and 4-0 in two-run games. That’s fun but not sustainable.
Elly De La Cruz notwithstanding, this isn’t a good offensive team, ranking 25th in the majors in wRC+. As Saturday’s game showed, when the Reds walked seven batters in a row (the first time that has happened in the majors since 1983), the pitching has some issues as well, as they’re tied with the Astros for the worst strikeout-to-walk ratio. The Reds hadn’t played within the division -- and the NL Central has been the best division in baseball so far this season -- until this series against Pittsburgh, which promptly blew out Cincinnati the first two games.
Pittsburgh Pirates: B+
This grade was looking like an “A” grade until the Cardinals swept a four-game series this past week in Pittsburgh -- although the Pirates rebounded with those impressive 9-1 and 17-7 wipeouts of Cincinnati. They’re averaging 5.26 runs per game through that Saturday win, which would be the most by a Pirates team since ... whoa ... 1930, which was the all-time juiced-ball season. Considering the Pirates were last in the majors in 2025 at 3.60 runs per game, this would go down as one of best year-to-year turnarounds in MLB history. That’s a big if, but it has made the Pirates watchable, even when Paul Skenes isn’t pitching.
Los Angeles Dodgers: B+
Good? Absolutely. Dominant? We’ll see. The offense has run into a bit of a rut of late, hitting .223/.312/.301 over an 11-game span through Saturday’s loss, a stretch over which the Dodgers went 4-7. And that includes a 12-run win. It’s probably nothing; the Dodgers’ worst 11-game stretch of hitting last season was a stretch in July in which they hit .197 with a .308 slugging percentage. Still, it’s something to watch given all the 30-something-year-old players in the lineup. The other item to watch is Roki Sasaki, who continues to struggle with both walks and home runs. In the big picture, it’s a minor concern given the Dodgers’ pitching depth (and Blake Snell close to returning), but they certainly want Sasaki to develop as a starter.
San Diego Padres: B+
There’s a bit of disconnect between the Padres’ record and their run differential (minus-2) and underlying numbers. Yes, some of that is Mason Miller locking down leads, but the Padres haven’t played that many one-run games (4-2). Somehow, Fernando Tatis Jr. hasn’t homered yet. And what has happened to Jackson Merrill? His offensive struggles are semi-alarming. And Manny Machado hasn’t been all that great, Jake Cronenworth is hitting well under .200 and three-fifths of the rotation has an ERA over 5.00. Yet here the Padres are, neck-and-neck with the mighty Dodgers. What happens the rest of the way is a mystery.
Chicago White Sox: B+
The big headline has been Munetaka Murakami, who is a threat to break the single-season record for strikeouts -- which scared off many teams, despite his big power numbers in Japan -- but nonetheless is hitting .231/.374/.564 with an MLB-leading 13 home runs. He’s as pure a three-true-outcomes guy as we’ll ever see: He hasn’t even hit a double yet. But Murakami isn’t the only story here. Top pitching prospect Noah Schultz has debuted and displayed strikeout stuff. Colson Montgomery is swatting home runs. Sam Antonacci looks like a fun player and Miguel Vargas has more walks than strikeouts. The White Sox probably don’t have the pitching or lineup depth to hang here all season, but they’ll avoid 100 losses -- and maybe even make a run at .500.
Milwaukee Brewers: B
The Brewers rank fourth in run differential at plus-46, behind the Braves, Dodgers and Yankees. That’s a good sign, a strong predictor of a team’s future win-loss record, with the caveat of early-season sample size. How they get there, though, doesn’t quite add up.
The rotation is fifth in ERA, although 27th in innings pitched, as manager Pat Murphy has the quick hook. Uncharacteristically, the bullpen has been inconsistent, with a negative win probability added, after ranking 10th overall in 2025, second in 2024 and first in 2023. The offense is 23rd in OPS and tied for 28th in home runs. It seems the key has been hitting with runners in scoring position, with a .294 average. The Brewers were good in this area last year as well, hitting .279, but it feels as if they’ll eventually have to hit a few more home runs to repeat as NL Central champions for the fourth season in a row. We’ve learned not to bet against them.
Cleveland Guardians: B
It’s a Cleveland team: It doesn’t score a lot of runs (at least until Saturday’s 14-run outburst) and does a good job of preventing them. Gavin Williams has his occasional bouts of wildness but is turning into one of the most electric starters in the game while rookie left-hander Parker Messick was one of the top pitchers of April. If they remain one of the best 1-2 duos in the majors, the Guardians can hang around even if the offense remains subpar. Chase DeLauter has been impressive, joining Messick in the early Rookie of the Year watch. DeLauter has more walks than strikeouts, although he has hit only one home run since beginning the season with four in the first three games. He’s a big key, of course, but the Guardians will need more from the core of Jose Ramirez, Kyle Manzardo and Steven Kwan.
Athletics: B
Let’s get into some nerdy early-season stats: Nick Kurtz has walked 22.8% of the time so far in 2026. That would be the highest walk rate since Barry Bonds, who had the highest walk rates of all time, last played in 2007. (Mike Trout’s 21.6% rate this season would be third highest.) Meanwhile, Jacob Wilson’s 2.2% walk rate would be the sixth lowest since the 2008 season (with Baltimore’s Jeremiah Jackson even lower). Yes, the A’s are a team of extremes in many ways, from great starts (Shea Langeliers, Carlos Cortes) to lousy ones (Lawrence Butler, Brent Rooker). But the question through five weeks is the same as in March: Is there enough pitching to keep the A’s in the playoff race?
Colorado Rockies: B
For most teams, a 14-20 record in early May isn’t a reason to be boastful. For the Rockies, it’s a million miles from what happened last year. It has been a much more competent brand of baseball. Last year, they went 7-44 in blowout games -- those decided by five or more runs -- but so far this year they’ve gone 4-7. The pitching ranks 19th in ERA, after ranking last in each of the past four seasons. Unfortunately, there is probably regression to come there for a rotation that doesn’t strike out enough batters. The exception has been Chase Dollander, the ninth pick in the 2023 draft, who struggled with a 6.52 ERA as a rookie in 2025. He has 42 strikeouts in 37 innings and has had success working in a bulk role out of the bullpen.
Washington Nationals: B-
I had the Nationals as a pretty solid No. 29 in my preseason predictions, ahead of only the Rockies. The pitching has been as problematic as expected, but the offense scored more runs in April than every team except the Braves -- even though James Wood and CJ Abrams are the only regulars with an above-average OPS+. That suggests the lineup probably won’t keep this up, even if Wood is a force of nature. Similar to Murakami, Wood is also on pace for 250-plus strikeouts -- and is still hitting .238/.393/.523. What an era of baseball.
Miami Marlins: C+
There’s something brewing here, with Xavier Edwards and Otto Lopez suddenly in discussion as the best double-play combo in the majors. Both are hitting .336 entering Sunday as Lopez ranks in the top 20 among position players in WAR. Liam Hicks, selected from the Tigers in the 2024 Rule 5 draft, is hitting .309 and is one of the toughest guys in the league to whiff, striking out only nine times in 112 plate appearances. The Marlins need Kyle Stowers, Owen Caissie and Jakob Marsee to start hitting. If that happens, and with Robby Snelling and Thomas White on track to help out soon in the rotation, don’t write them off. They could be a sleeper playoff contender.
Arizona Diamondbacks: C
A 34-year-old journeyman, Ildemaro Vargas has been one of the season’s early uplifting stories, with a 27-game hitting streak (going back to the end of 2025) that was snapped Saturday, the longest in the majors since 2022 and the longest for a player born in Venezuela. Not uplifting: Arizona’s pitching, which is 29th in rotation ERA and 23rd in bullpen ERA. The team’s projection hasn’t changed much from the preseason: Is there enough here beyond Corbin Carroll, Geraldo Perdomo and Ketel Marte?
Detroit Tigers: C
The Tigers have some clear positives, starting with Tarik Skubal, who is still great, and Kevin McGonigle, who is on his way to greatness. Otherwise? Sort of a “meh” opening month. Let’s consider a few things happening. They wanted to cut down on their strikeouts and they’ve done that, improving from 27th in the league to 10th, although it hasn’t yet translated to more runs. Still, it’s probably a good sign.
The Tigers received excellent performances from their bench and role players last season. That hasn’t been the case so far. They signed Kenley Jansen to be the closer, but he has three blown saves (two of those losses) in his first 10 appearances, including three home runs allowed. Not a good sign. Jack Flaherty is struggling big time, winless in seven starts with 25 walks in 29 innings. Those things can turn around, but the Tigers will need to start thinking of backup plans.
Texas Rangers: C
One of the oddest things in recent years has been the transformation of Globe Life Field from a hitter’s park to an extreme pitcher’s park. That trend continues in 2026. Through Saturday, the Rangers are hitting .217 with seven home runs in 15 home games; in 18 road games, they’re hitting .250 with 24 home runs. The pitchers have a 2.73 ERA at home and 4.25 on the road. So be careful how you analyze Rangers hitters and pitchers. But no matter how you slice it up, the Rangers still look like the .500 team they were projected to be preseason -- and that’s with the bullpen exceeding expectations so far.
Seattle Mariners: C-
The Mariners were not only our consensus favorites to win the AL West -- receiving 25 of 30 votes to win the division in ESPN’s preseason predictions -- but the consensus World Series pick out of the AL, receiving half the votes. With that in mind, it has been a bit of a rocky start.
They didn’t hit at all the first two weeks. But the bigger concern moving forward might be the pitching staff. Only the Cardinals and Nationals have given up a higher hard-hit rate than the Mariners -- Luis Castillo has struggled and even ace Bryan Woo has been hammered his past two outings. Emerson Hancock’s emergence as a starter has been a big lift -- he just fanned 14 on Saturday night, the MLB high for 2026 -- but Andres Munoz blew the save. The Mariners remain the favorite to take the division but need to show more consistency in both facets of the game.
Baltimore Orioles: C-
It’s hard to get a read on the Orioles. They’ve played one of the easiest schedules so far but are under .500. The rotation hasn’t been good, ranking 26th in ERA, but that isn’t necessarily unexpected. They traded a package of prospects to acquire Shane Baz, but he has been hit around and his strikeout rate has declined. They gave the big contract to Pete Alonso and he’s off to a slow start. Gunnar Henderson is too good of a hitter to be hitting just over .200 with a slew of strikeouts. They churned through 22 pitchers already with Trevor Rogers, Ryan Helsley, Dean Kremer and Zach Eflin currently on the IL. Hmm. There are some underperforming players and if Henderson, Alonso, Samuel Basallo and others pick it up, the offense could be lethal. It will probably have to be to compensate for the pitching.
Toronto Blue Jays: C-
The Blue Jays are off to a slow start because of a fairly extensive list of injuries plus some self-inflicted wounds. It’s one thing to lose pitchers to injury, but the Jays have also been without catcher Alejandro Kirk and outfielder Addison Barger most of the season, and fellow outfielder George Springer sat out 16 games. So give them credit for not letting the season fall apart early -- like some other World Series contenders (see below!).
The Blue Jays were much praised last season for their contact ability and they’re again posting the lowest strikeout rate in the majors. But they’re scoring a run less per game, and even if fully healthy, there were some legitimate concerns about the offense given some of the career/unexpected seasons from a year ago. Still, this is a team with a top three of Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease and the just-returned Trey Yesavage; Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is heating up; and removing Jeff Hoffman from the closer role was probably the right move.
Kansas City Royals: C-
It wasn’t a good month for the Royals, but in the AL Central, anything is possible. Bobby Witt Jr. went 27 games before hitting his first home run and remarkably scored only one run in his first 18 games despite a .346 OBP. Salvador Perez and Vinnie Pasquantino also got off to slow starts, and the Royals rank last in the majors in OPS with runners in scoring position.
Still, don’t give up on this offense, especially with rookie Carter Jensen looking like a possible middle-of-the-order bat and Witt just itching to go on a major hot streak. The bigger problem: a bullpen that saw closer Carlos Estevez land on the IL with diminished velocity after giving up six runs in his first outing and ranking near the bottom in most categories. Maybe back-to-back one-run wins over the Mariners this weekend will get the team -- and the pen -- back in the right direction.
Minnesota Twins: D+
A four-game sweep at home against Detroit in early April got the Twins off to a nice start but then came a 3-13 stretch to drop them six games under .500. There have been some positives: Taj Bradley has been the Twins’ best starter, Austin Martin keeps drawing walks and getting on base, and Mick Abel had back-to-back scoreless starts before landing on the IL with what the Twins say is minor elbow inflammation. But the bullpen has been a mess and will undermine whatever chances they might have to make the playoffs -- not exactly a surprise considering they traded Jhoan Duran, Louis Varland and Griffin Jax, their three top relievers, last year at the trade deadline.
Los Angeles Angels: D-
Two of the best stories in April came courtesy of the Angels. First, Mike Trout hit .248/.431/.569 with 10 home runs in the month while leading the AL in runs scored. His in-zone contact rates are back to his pre-2020 levels. If he can keep that up, and stay healthy, he’s on his way to a 40-homer season. Then there’s Jose Soriano, who went 5-1 with a 0.84 ERA. He’s just the 10th starter since 2000 to begin the season with a sub-1.00 ERA through his first seven starts. The Angels were hanging around .500 until a 1-11 run dropped them to the bottom of the AL.
San Francisco Giants: D-
Welcome to the major leagues, Tony Vitello. Having fun yet? The Giants just haven’t scored runs -- they’re last in the majors in home runs, walks and stolen bases. They haven’t been this bad on offense since Johnnie LeMaster, Rennie Stennett and Mike Ivie patrolled the infield. President of baseball operations Buster Posey is discovering this job is a lot more difficult than calling pitches for Madison Bumgarner. Tyler Mahle and Adrian Houser, his two rotation additions, are 1-7 with a 6.49 ERA, and Harrison Bader hit .115 before getting injured. But the biggest problem has been Rafael Devers, who is supposed to be the team’s best hitter and looks completely lost at the plate. If the Giants continue to flail, it will be interesting to see if they make some of their key players available at the deadline.
Houston Astros: F
The Red Sox, Phillies and Mets have stolen all the “big market, bad team” headlines, but the Astros should be included as well. After all, they’ve been the most successful of the four teams over the past decade, although they did miss the playoffs last year (by one win) for the first time since 2016. More so than those three teams, the Astros can at least use injuries as an excuse. They’ve already churned through 11 different starting pitchers. But even the healthy pitchers have mostly struggled. A four-game sweep in Seattle, when the Astros walked 26 batters in the first three games, was especially ugly. The offense -- nice to see you back, Yordan Alvarez -- has actually been really good, but it’s difficult to overcome a 5.91 staff ERA.
Boston Red Sox: F
There are some misconceptions and overreactions I keep seeing about Boston’s horrid start:
1. They’re a young team.
The average age of their position players, adjusted for playing time, is 28.1 years old, right at the MLB average. Jarren Duran has basically four years of experience. Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela are in their third seasons as regulars. Yes, Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer are in their first full seasons, and maybe the Red Sox do miss Alex Bregman’s presence, but youth is not an excuse.
2. They lack power.
They haven’t hit for power, but the Red Sox hit 186 home runs in 2025, just below the MLB average of 188. With expected growth from Anthony and Abreu and the addition of Willson Contreras, it was reasonable to expect at least league-average power -- if not better -- once again.
3. They’re a bad defensive team.
The metrics don’t back this up. They’re first in defensive runs saved and better than league average in batting average allowed on balls in play.
4. They’ve been a bad baserunning team.
No doubt, there have been some boneheaded efforts, but they’re second in FanGraphs’ team baserunning metric.
The problem is simple: The Red Sox haven’t hit and they haven’t pitched. They’re both passive and aggressive at the plate, not a good combo, ranking in the bottom five of the majors in swing percentage at pitches in the strike zone but in the bottom 10 in chase rate. Three regulars hit under .200 in April while Anthony, whom everyone projected as a breakout star after his strong rookie season, finished at .208 with one home run. The rotation was supposed to be their strength, but Garrett Crochet and Sonny Gray are on the IL and Brayan Bello can’t get anyone out.
But the problems in the organization appear to run deeper than just a bad month. Ever since the Mookie Betts trade, the Red Sox have operated with a cloud of dysfunction, only confirmed by general manager Craig Breslow firing manager Alex Cora and five coaches, including two hitting coaches. Owner John Henry hasn’t spoken to reporters in six years. It’s too early to write off the 2026 Red Sox -- there is too much talent here -- but it’s fair to wonder if we should still consider the Red Sox a crown jewel franchise.
Philadelphia Phillies: F
The worrisome thing here is Bryce Harper is doing what he did last season, Kyle Schwarber ended April with a higher OPS than last season and Cristopher Sanchez has been fine, with a 2.90 ERA. Nonetheless, the Phillies finished April with a minus-45 run differential, worst in the majors, and that overall dismal effort cost manager Rob Thomson his job.
Key stat to watch: The Phillies gave up a .349 batting average on balls in play in April, a historically awful month -- and yet gave up the lowest percentage of hard-hit balls in the majors. Sanchez, in particular, has been burned by a lot of soft hits. That does point to some serious defensive issues. Though one-month defensive metrics can be wonky, Justin Crawford, despite his speed, hasn’t looked good in center field; Trea Turner, after seeing a huge uptick in his metrics in 2025, is back to a below-average metrics; and Harper rates as the worst first baseman in baseball via Statcast.
Things are so bad that after the Phillies’ game was rained out last Wednesday, a bunch of the players went to a Flyers playoff game. When they were shown on the Jumbrotron, the fans booed.
New York Mets: F
The Mets decided they didn’t want Alonso, so they signed Jorge Polanco, who was great last season but is always injured and had never played first base. He’s on the IL. They signed Bo Bichette for $42 million per season, in part because they needed to replace some of Alonso’s offense. He’s 28 years old but runs like he’s 38. Because of the Bichette signing, they had to move Brett Baty off third base after he had a solid season there in 2025. He hasn’t hit. They gambled on the injury-prone Luis Robert Jr., who has an 87 OPS+ and is now on the IL because of a back issue. They traded Brandon Nimmo to clear a spot for Carson Benge, who hasn’t hit yet, while Marcus Semien, acquired for Nimmo, looks every bit of his 35 years. Devin Williams, the new closer, has struggled.
We have to acknowledge it’s early in the season. These guys are all capable of playing better. The Mets have had injuries to Juan Soto and now Francisco Lindor. The offense has been atrocious, with the worst OPS in baseball. That’s maybe the most egregious indictment of all: This team plays in New York and has been unwatchable.
