1 Word to Describe Every MLB Team Early in 2025 Season
Nearly every MLB team has played 10 games in the 2025 season, so we're starting to have enough intel to form some early thoughts on all 30 clubs.
Since MLB has a 162-game season, nothing is written in stone after 10 games the way it is in other sports. Nonetheless, it's OK to form some early opinions on clubs even if things will change over the coming months.
With all that in mind, here's one word to describe all 30 teams early in 2025.
AL East
1 of 6
New York Yankees: Powerful
It can't just be the torpedo bats. The Yankees are the first team to 25 home runs this season, a welcome sign as they try to prove they are still a World Series contender after losing Juan Soto in free agency. Trent Grisham has three home runs, while both Anthony Volpe and Jazz Chisholm Jr. have gone yard four times. Oh, and Aaron Judge—who isn't using a torpedo bat—is continuing one of the greatest power peaks we've ever seen with an MLB-leading six homers himself.
Toronto Blue Jays: Springy
The long-term extension with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is the biggest story surrounding the Blue Jays early in 2025. But another long-term deal that looked to be one of the worst in baseball this year suddenly might not be as bad as we thought.
George Springer—who is in the fifth season of a six-year, $150 million deal—has found the fountain of youth early in 2025. The former World Series MVP is off to a monster start with a .455 batting average and 1.180 OPS to show after his first 11 games of the year. Mind you, the 35-year-old posted a .674 OPS in 145 games last season, so this has been a much-needed hot start.
Tampa Bay Rays: Lacking
The Rays—who are being forced to play this season at George M. Steinbrenner Field after Hurricane Milton destroyed Tropicana Field's roof—are off to a 4-5 start. But their overall offensive results have been concerning.
Yes, Jonathan Aranda and and Jonny DeLuca are off to quick starts, but the Rays have hit only five home runs as a team through Monday, which is tied for the lowest mark in MLB. Christopher Morel, Danny Jansen, Junior Caminero and Yandy Díaz—whom the Rays are counting on to provide some of that thump—all have OPS under .660 right now, with zero home runs and four RBI among them.
Tampa is off to a 4-5 start, but concerns about their lineup entering the season haven't been alleviated to this point, especially if you think Aranda and/or DeLuca might come back down to earth.
Boston Red Sox: Will-ing
Alex Bregman and Kristian Campbell—two new additions to Alex Cora's lineup—are off to hot starts. But Wilyer Abreu, whom many thought could be an offseason trade candidate, has been the best hitter for the Red Sox so far in 2025.
After missing much of spring training as he dealt with a stomach virus, it was unclear whether Abreu would be ready to go to start the season. Not only was he, but he's been one of the best hitters in baseball to this point, as he's currently leading baseball in on-base percentage (.537) and OPS (1.324). This is coming from a 25-year-old that won a Gold Glove Award in right field during his rookie season last year.
Baltimore Orioles: Burned
The Orioles lost Corbin Burnes in free agency this past offseason after he posted a 2.92 ERA over 194.1 innings in his lone campaign in Baltimore. So far, their starting rotation looks thin as expected.
While offseason pickup Tomoyuki Sugano and veteran Zach Eflin have pitched well, three-fifths of the starting rotation in Baltimore has struggled in the early going.
Charlie Morton — 9.72 ERA over 8.1 innings across two starts
Cade Povich — 6.10 ERA over 10.1 innings across two starts
Dean Kremer — 6.52 ERA over 9.2 innings across two starts
A year ago, the Orioles felt thin on front-line pitching even with Burnes. Now, Burnes is gone, while Grayson Rodriguez is on the injured list with right elbow inflammation and Kyle Bradish is working his way back from Tommy John surgery.
A start like this from the rotation is concerning, to say the least. We now understand why they brought back veteran Kyle Gibson late in spring training.
AL Central
2 of 6
Detroit Tigers: Greene
Much of the attention last season went to AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal and slugger Kerry Carpenter, but Riley Greene also solidified himself as a long-term cog in Detroit.
Greene has followed up an All-Star campaign with a hot start in 2025, hitting .317 with three home runs, four doubles and a .967 OPS. While he has seen some time in center field, Greene is an excellent defender in left field and one of the most complete corner outfielders that the sport has to offer right now.
Kansas City Royals: Lacking
Kansas City's bullpen is off to a tremendous start, and we know that the one-two punch in their starting rotation of Cole Ragans and Seth Lugo is one of the better ones that baseball has to offer.
But the concern coming into the season is that they were too reliant on their two big stars in the lineup, Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez. Witt—last year's AL MVP runner-up—has an .797 OPS, so he's gotten out of the gates quickly. But the 35-year-old Perez has a .612 OPS, and he's part of a lineup where every regular other than Witt has an OPS under .775 currently.
For a team with World Series aspirations, it's hard not to be concerned by what we thought could be their Achilles' heel looking that way early in the season.
Cleveland Guardians: José
Cleveland responded to making the ALCS last year by trading away Josh Naylor ahead of his contract year. It was the exact opposite of what a team that was hoping to get over the hump should have done. The Guardians needed to add another bat or two after last season, not subtract.
That aside, the one constant in Cleveland is José Ramírez, who continues to build his Hall of Fame case. The five-time All-Star is off to another incredible start, as he's hitting .320 and homered three times on April 5 in Anaheim.
He's going to go down as one of the inner-circle players for a franchise that's had quite a few Hall of famers play for them.
Chicago White Sox: Bad
The White Sox won two of their first four games under new manager Will Venable, which led you to think they might just be normal bad after being historically awful last season with a 41-121 record.
But since then, the White Sox have lost five consecutive games, including getting swept by the Tigers over the weekend. We know this team is going to be bad, it's just a matter of how much so. Will they lose 110-plus games for the second year in a row, or can they lose only 95-100 games?
Minnesota Twins: Crossroads
The Twins lineup is built around three gifted but often injured stars in Royce Lewis, Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton. Lewis has opened the season on the IL with a left hamstring strain, while Correa (.111 batting average, .318 OPS) and Buxton (.189 batting average and .555 OPS) are off to cold starts.
It may be that Lewis returns from the IL, Correa and Buxton heat up and the Twins end up as a playoff team in 2025. What feels more likely is that they have flashes this season but again end up as a disappointing tease that misses the playoffs, leaving them with some tough decisions to make after the season.
AL West
3 of 6
Texas Rangers: Sleeping
Despite have a minus-1 run differential, the Rangers are off to an 8-3 start. They feel like a sleeping giant destined to have a special season after a World Series hangover turned 2024 into a lost year.
Nathan Eovaldi, Jacob deGrom and Tyler Mahle are all off to hot starts in the starting rotation, as was Jack Leiter before a blister on his right middle finger forced him to go on the injured list.
They're off to a hot start even though their lineup has largely been ice-cold, with Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Joc Pederson, Jake Burger and Adolis García all hitting under .180. It doesn't seem particularly likely that one of the most talented lineups in baseball is going to continue to struggle this much.
Therefore, the Rangers feel like a sleeping giant right now. That's scary when they've won eight of their first 11 games.
Los Angeles Angels: O'Hoppin
Catcher Logan O'Hoppe hit 20 home runs for the Angels last year, but he did so while hitting .244 with a .712 OPS.
The 25-year-old has continued to mash this season with five home runs already. But he's doing so with a far better batting average (.345) and one of the highest early-season OPS marks (1.229).
O'Hoppe—whom the Angels acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies in the Brandon Marsh trade in 2022—looks like he could be an All-Star candidate this season. If any team needs some young stars to emerge, it's the Halos.
Perhaps they have one behind the dish.
Seattle Mariners: Frustrating
Bryce Miller is off to a slow start, while George Kirby is currently on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation. But with Logan Gilbert, Luis Castillo and Bryan Woo at the top of their rotation, we know the Mariners are going to pitch about as well as any team in baseball.
However, it was fairly obvious coming into the season that the M's didn't make enough offensive upgrades to make the best of their elite starting pitching.
To be fair, Jorge Polanco has opened the season on fire, and Julio Rodríguez has been good despite not hitting for a high average. But there are still too many holes on this team offensively.
Donovan Solano is the primary first baseman and he's hitting .071. Starting second baseman Ryan Bliss is hitting .200. Shortstop J.P. Crawford, left fielder Randy Arozarena and DH Rowdy Tellez are all hitting under .150. And Mitch Garver isn't even an everyday starter despite making $12.5 million.
The Mariners appear destined to waste their elite starting pitching once again.
Houston Astros: Cold
The Astros have a .579 OPS, which ranks 29th in baseball.
Even as he tries to adjust to playing left field, future Hall of Famer Jose Altuve continues to rake offensively. He and second baseman Brendan Rodgers are off to hot starts, but the rest of the lineup has been late to the party.
It feels fair to assume that Yordan Álvararez is going to figure things out. But 22-year-old rookie Cam Smith—who had a monster spring after being acquired in the Kyle Tucker trade—has struck out nine times in his first 21 plate appearances. Christian Walker has only one RBI through his first 10 games of a lucrative three-year deal with the Astros.
Houston's offense needs to get going.
Athletics: A-Mason
The big story early in 2025 is that the Athletics are playing at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento, where they are going to spend at least the next three seasons.
But after an electric rookie campaign, closer Mason Miller has picked up right where he left off last season, recording three saves and four scoreless outings to open the season. He's been so dominant that he actually has a minus-0.18 FIP right now. The A's need to protect the gifted righty at all costs.
NL East
4 of 6
Philadelphia Phillies: Starting
The Phillies have won seven of their first nine games, with Zack Wheeler, Jesús Luzardo and even Taijuan Walker off to nice starts. Aaron Nola and Cristopher Sánchez are former All-Stars who have struggled to keep the ball in the yard this season, but they should get improved results as the season goes along. Oh, and both Ranger Suárez and Andrew Painter will join the rotation later in the year.
Early in the season, the Phillies have some depth questions in their bullpen. Their lineup is very powerful, but they have to prove they can win big games when they aren't hitting multiple home runs. Really, anything short of a World Series is going to be disappointing considering how close the Phillies have been in recent years.
But there's no doubt that the Phillies are going to be an excellent regular-season team if their starting pitching performs as well as it appears they might.
Miami Marlins: Nondescript
Perhaps this is unfair considering the Marlins are off to a 5-5 start, but their minus-11 run differential leads you to believe it may not be sustainable.
The reality is that outside of former NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcántara—who will likely be a top trade candidate this summer—the Marlins have one of the most unrecognizable rosters in MLB history. They traded Luzardo and Jake Burger this past offseason even though neither was entering a contract year. In the case of Luzardo, they traded him seemingly when his value was at its lowest.
Xavier Edwards has a chance to be special at shortstop, as does Eury Pérez when he returns from Tommy John surgery later this year. But the Marlins feel perpetually directionless, perhaps never more so than right now.
New York Mets: Pete
For all of the understandable excitement about the addition of Juan Soto in the offseason, the Mets' re-signing of Pete Alonso has paid the most dividends so far. Alonso already has three home runs and 11 RBI, and he seem to be en route to a major run-producing season.
The Mets only re-signed Alonso for two years and $54 million, but he has the chance to opt out after this season. If he returns to the free-agent market after a big year and without a qualifying offer attached to him, he figure to fare very well, particularly since Guerrero is now off the board.
Washington Nationals: Relief
The Nationals are off to a 4-6 start in part because their bullpen has a combined 6.42 ERA and a minus-0.4 WAR, both of which are 28th in MLB, per FanGraphs.
The Nats have some exciting young pieces in James Wood, Keibert Ruiz, CJ Abrams and MacKenzie Gore, but the early-season struggles from arms like Jose A. Ferrer, Lucas Sims, Brad Lord and Jorge López show why they still feel a year or two away from being a playoff contender.
Atlanta Braves: Hole
The Braves should improve throughout the season. Not only can they expect better results than what they've gotten to this point from Michael Harris II, Matt Olson, Austin Riley and Ozzie Albies, but Sean Murphy, Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuña Jr. are going to return from their respective injuries at some point.
With that said, the vibes are bad so far in Atlanta. Not only are the Braves 1-8, but Reynaldo López has been lost indefinitely due to shoulder surgery, and Jurickson Profar is now serving an 80-game performance-enhancing drug suspension.
The Braves have dug themselves an early hole. There's enough time left in the season to dig their way out of it, but they have to start immediately. The division-rival Phillies come to town Tuesday, a series with more importance for the Braves than a traditional April battle would have.
NL Central
5 of 6
Chicago Cubs: King
The Cubs already had a lot of good hitters in their lineup, but they needed a great one. Kyle Tucker has immediately given them that presence, as the three-time All-Star is hitting .327 with five home runs, five doubles and 16 RBI.
But as fun as the 2025 season is going to be with Tucker, his upcoming free agency looms large. With Vladimir Guerrero Jr. now off the board, Tucker clearly will be the top potential position player available this coming offseason.
St. Louis Cardinals: Offensive
To be clear, this is offensive in the scoring sense, not the "you're so bad it pains me" way.
But the Cardinals—who have viewed 2025 as a transition year—currently lead all National League teams with an .851 OPS. Nolan Arenado, Brendon Donovan, Lars Nootbaar and Jordan Walker are all off to hot starts, but catcher Iván Herrera has been the most impressive with four home runs and 11 RBI thus far. Herrera's 1.048 slugging percentage is currently the top mark in the senior circuit.
If Willson Contreras also gets going, the early returns on the Cardinals suggest that they're going to stay in contention via their lineup. St. Louis may still keep a big-picture approach at the trade deadline in terms of not giving up young talent for rentals, but if this hot start is any indication, it's going to be a tough sell to trade off impending free-agent arms like Ryan Helsley and Erick Fedde this summer.
Milwaukee Brewers: Unsustainable
The Brewers are 5-5, which perhaps should feel like a win considering that Christian Yelich, William Contreras, Rhys Hoskins and Joey Ortiz are all off to nightmarish starts offensively, as are three-fifths of the starting rotation in the now-injured Nestor Cortes, Aaron Civale and Elvin Rodríguez.
The Brewers .500, but they have a minus-22 run differential. They still have some impressive, high-end talent in Jackson Chourio and Freddy Peralta, but they've performed in the early going is a recipe to lose 90-plus games.
Cincinnati Reds: Dicey
Over the weekend, the Reds snapped a four-game losing streak, which included being shut out three consecutive times. But for a team that appeared to have a wide variance of potential outcomes entering the season, losing seven of the first 10 and looking lifeless at times offensively isn't an encouraging start.
Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain are building blocks in Cincinnati's lineup. But Austin Hays (left calf strain) opened the season on the injured list, while Jeimer Candelario, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Jake Fraley and Gavin Lux are all off to poor starts.
Pittsburgh Pirates: Limited
Paul Skenes is awesome, which we already knew. The reigning NL Rookie of the Year has a 1.46 ERA across his first two starts and is probably the best player to put on a Pirates uniform since Barry Bonds.
That's what makes having such a limited team around him such an affront. The Pirates are off to a 4-7 start, and the biggest takeaway from their season so far is a report from Dejan Kovacevic of DK Sports Pittsburgh that showed the Pirates are not in a good place financially under owner Bob Nutting.
If that is indeed the case, he should sell the team to someone who's able and willing to put more resources into it.
NL West
6 of 6
Los Angeles Dodgers: Super
Even after losing two of three to the Phillies this past weekend, the Dodgers are off to a 9-2 start.
Will Smith, Michael Conforto, Teoscar Hernández, Tommy Edman and Mookie Betts are all of to strong starts. When Freddie Freeman returns from the injured list and Shohei Ohtani starts to hit his stride, this is going to be one of the scariest offenses in MLB history.
Durability in the starting rotation is the only real question with the Dodgers, as left shoulder inflammation has forced Blake Snell to the injured list early on. Still, 100 wins feels like the baseline for the defending World Series champions.
San Diego Padres: Serious
Entering the season, it wasn't unreasonable to believe that after losing Jurickson Profar, Ha-Seong Kim and Tanner Scott in free agency, the Padres might not be quite as good as they were last season when they won 93 games. So far, though, they look like they could be a serious threat in preventing the Dodgers from returning to the World Series.
Jackson Merrill—armed with a new long-term deal—is off to a great start in his second season. Also performing well? Fernando Tatis Jr. (.381 batting average), Gavin Sheets (.345 batting average), Jake Cronenworth (.905 OPS) and four-fifths of the starting rotation.
Perhaps the Padres weren't given enough credit for the talent they still had internally during what felt like a bumpy offseason.
Arizona Diamondbacks: Carrolling
Corbin Carroll was one of many Diamondbacks who got off to slow starts last year, which ultimately led to the Snakes winning 89 games and being the first team out of the postseason in the NL.
But after hitting .213 with just five home runs in the first half of last season, Carroll is off to a very good start in 2025. The former NL Rookie of the Year already has three home runs and 0.8 WAR, per FanGraphs.
Eugenio Suárez, Alek Thomas are Pavin Smith have also gotten out of the gates quickly, but as Carroll goes, so does this lineup. And so far, so good. Now, they just need the starting pitching to come around.
San Francisco Giants: Overlooked
Entering the season, the Giants appeared to be the fourth-best team in a division with three potential World Series contenders in the Dodgers, Padres and Diamondbacks. That may still prove to be the case, but they have kept pace with the big boys so far, winning eight of their first 10 games.
It's not particularly surprising to see Matt Chapman hit the ground running, but Heliot Ramos, Jung Hoo Lee and Mike Yastrzemski are also hitting well so far.
Imagine what this group will look like if the middle-infield duo of Willy Adames and Tyler Fitzgerald starts to hit as we expected they would coming into the season.
Colorado Rockies: Participating
The Rockies haven't had a winning season since 2018, and they did little this past offseason to improve a roster that has lost 100 games in consecutive seasons. So it should be little surprise that they are off to a 2-7 start. Under owner Dick Monfort, the Rockies organization is just participating every year with no real path toward being a consistent contender.
