Early-season Grades for MLB's Most Intriguing Stars
Not all of baseball's top players perform like it this early in the MLB season.
Some are slow starters, others are hampered by injuries and, in some cases, players are just flat out declining.
Approaching the end of April is probably too soon to make any rash judgments, but how the game's biggest stars perform early contributes to the larger picture.
In this exercise, we hand out early-season grades for some of MLB's top stars. Our grading criteria takes into account the players' career numbers for context and the expectations that came with this season.
There are, of course, more than 10 stars in the game, but we'll focus on these specifically as either former MVPs, potential MVPs or Cy Young winners.
All stats accurate prior to Friday's games.
Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles Dodgers
1 of 10
The Dodgers are not off to the start they were hoping for, and Freeman's struggles have been a part of it.
Unlike Freeman's first season with the Dodgers, in which he tied for the lead among MLB first basemen in fWAR and finished second in wRC+, it has not been as smooth in 2023. As of Friday, he ranked 10th among first basemen in those same categories.
It took the Dodgers' most recent series against the Pirates for Freeman to snap out of a 9-for-50 slump. He responded with a hit in each of the three games, including a home run.
The performance against Pittsburgh improved Freeman's slash line to .287/.371/.455, all below his career averages (.298/.386/.508).
There is obviously plenty of time to correct these issues, and if the Pirates series is any indication, it should happen sooner rather than later.
For now, Freeman is performing below standard.
Grade: C-
Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros
2 of 10
Yordan Alvarez's biggest problem has been his health.
Last year, and even in the most recent spring training, there was a vague issue with his hands. In the years prior, Alvarez had knee issues that ultimately required arthroscopic surgery on both knees in 2020.
Now, he's missed the last few games with neck stiffness. The Astros even sent him back to Houston from their trip to the Tampa Bay Rays before they played a game.
Yet when Alvarez has been on the field, he's carried the Astros this season. He ranks second in RBIs across baseball (27) despite having 19 fewer at-bats than MLB leader Adolis García and 28 fewer at-bats than the player behind him, Pete Alonso (25). Alvarez accounted for nearly a quarter of the Astros' 117 RBI as of Friday.
Even with health concerns, Alvarez is still one of the most feared hitters in the game.
Grade: A
Paul Goldschmidt, St. Louis Cardinals
3 of 10
Speaking of carrying a team, Paul Goldschmidt can't do it all by himself for the Cardinals, as great as he is. Goldschmidt definitely tried earlier this week, though, when they faced the Giants on the road.
The reigning NL MVP hit two home runs in the first and third innings, respectively, and went 4-for-5 in a loss to the Giants.
St. Louis is one of baseball's major disappointments so far this year after winning 93 games a season ago to claim the NL Central division title. Now, the Cardinals and Pirates have switched, with St. Louis at the bottom and Pittsburgh at the top.
None of that, however, seems to be Goldschmidt's fault. He leads all MLB first basemen in fWAR and ranks third among them in wRC+.
Grade: A
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Manny Machado, San Diego Padres
4 of 10
The Padres, who are struggling as a team overall, bumped Manny Machado down to fifth in the batting order, the lowest he's hit since joining the team in 2019.
It was the first time Machado started a game that low in the lineup since May 6, 2015, according to MLB.com's Joey Pollizze.
To his credit, Machado responded well, going 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's loss to the Chicago Cubs.
Still, Machado's wRC+ among qualifying hitters is 12th-worst. His 66 OPS+ through 102 at-bats is startling. Machado is well below career averages in every relevant statistic, slashing .225/.259/.324. For his career, those marks sit at .281/.340/.490.
All of this is happening on the heels of his new 11-year, $350 million extension signed during the offseason.
Machado is going to need a lot more games like Thursday's to get over this bump in the road, and the Padres could really use the help struggling to stay around .500 with an abysmal run differential.
Grade: F
Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
5 of 10
Quietly, Mike Trout is being his usually exceptional self. It's probably quiet because the Angels aren't making a ton of noise, two games above .500 in a division most believe still belongs to the Houston Astros.
But the Angels have been good, sporting a plus-18 run differential going into Friday's action. And Trout has been even better, slashing .305/.405/.558 with five home runs through 95 at-bats.
He is top 10 among qualifying hitters in both fWAR and wRC+. Yet somehow, Trout is making more headlines for the signed Little League baseball his uncle sold at an auction, the golf course he's building with Tiger Woods in New Jersey and his striking resemblance to new Angels outfield teammate Hunter Renfroe.
Grade: A
Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
6 of 10
Judge was performing well before he was pulled from Thursday's game against the Texas Rangers with discomfort in his right hip.
The Athletic's Brendan Kuty and Chris Kirschner reported Friday that Judge would need an MRI to determine whether he heads to the injured list. The Yankees brought up Jake Bauer from Triple-A as insurance for Judge, who was already tasked with carrying this offense.
Judge's historic 62-home run season was followed by a massive contract from the Yankees in free agency. But the Yankees also failed to make significant upgrades to an offense that relied heavily on Judge's brilliance in 2022.
Now, Judge is still playing well, but he's leveled back down to mortal form so far in the first season of this nine-year, $360 million contract. He is batting .261/.352/.511 (140 OPS+) with six home runs in 26 games, below his career standard .283/.393/.580 (162 OPS+).
Grade: C
Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers
7 of 10
Mookie Betts is truly one of the special athletes in professional baseball. He made his debut at shortstop Sunday against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field and did so adeptly, even turning a double play.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters afterward he thought Betts looked comfortable and confident.
Betts, however, has not really got it going yet at the plate. He's slashing .233/.349/.411 with three home runs over his first 90 at-bats and .154/.241/.308 over the last seven games leading into Friday's action.
Last season, Betts was the top MLB right fielder not named Aaron Judge, according to fWAR. He was third among right fielders behind Judge and Juan Soto in wRC+. So far this season, he ranks eighth among right fielders in fWAR and 13th in wRC+.
The Dodgers are going to need more from Betts and others to stave off a stacked (albeit struggling) San Diego Padres group. The Arizona Diamondbacks also continue to show their progression.
Grade: C-
Max Scherzer, New York Mets
8 of 10
The sticky substance suspension alone has to be a demerit on Scherzer's grade. But it's not like he'd been amazing up until that point.
The three-time Cy Young winner is 2-1 with a 3.72 ERA through four starts, which is fine. Strikeouts, however, are down for Scherzer in a small sample size this year.
His 7.9 strikeouts per nine innings would be the lowest mark of his career. While not super concerning this early, it is something to keep an eye on throughout the season.
Scherzer's fastball velocity is also down, ranking in the 40th percentile and he's walking batters more than ever. Again, the sample is too small to be alarmed, but it's enough to acknowledge a low grade for one of the game's best.
Grade: C-
Jacob deGrom, Texas Rangers
9 of 10
The best ability is availability, and deGrom is off to a rough start for the Rangers in that regard.
He left in the middle of an outing Friday for the second time in three starts. While the injury was not immediately clear, it was enough to pull deGrom in the fourth inning against the New York Yankees.
Everything seemed fine early for deGrom, who dealt three perfect innings before running into trouble in the fourth. He threw 20 of his 28 pitches for strikes, but just like his start on April 17 when he left against the Royals with left wrist soreness, deGrom was unable to make it through the outing.
All of this matters after signing a five-year, $185 million deal to become the ace of a team trying to climb from the pits of its division.
When deGrom's right, he's been one of the game's best this season. He was top five in strikeouts as of Friday. His 14.5 strikeouts per nine innings would mark the best of his career, and his 1.44 FIP also ranks among his best.
Grade: B+
Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
10 of 10
The same player tied for the sixth-most home runs in baseball is also allowing the lowest batting average by opponents.
That's Shohei Ohtani this year, and we know enough about him now to understand that he could do this any year, or every year.
On Thursday against the Oakland Athletics, Ohtani came up just a few feet short of hitting for the cycle. He would have been the first player in baseball history to do so while also serving as the game's starting pitcher.
As a hitter, Ohtani ranks in the 89th percentile or better in expected batting average, expected slugging, hard hit percentage and xwOBA, according to Statcast.
As a pitcher, he ranks in the 90th percentile or better in hard hit percentage, whiff percentage, expected slugging, expected batting average and in the 83rd percentile in xERA/xwOBA.
Those numbers show Ohtani continues to be one of the game's best, both at the plate and on the mound.
Grade: A+
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