1 Fun Fact to Know About Every MLB Team Thus Far in 2025
Though we are still a few weeks away from Memorial Day and the unofficial beginning of being allowed to pay attention to the standings, 35-ish games is more than enough to dive into some fun facts and stats about the 2025 MLB season.
All 30 of these "fun" facts are intended to in fact be fun—read: positive—information about the team in question.
From Javier Báez's career-best batting average and Carson Kelly outslugging Aaron Judge to Houston thriving in the 9-hole while San Francisco eviscerates opposing clean-up hitters, we've got all sorts of "20 percent into the season" goodies in here.
Even for the Colorado Rockies, we were able to find a split where they have been the best in the majors. That teaser alone should be worth a scroll down to the NL West, right?
All statistics are current through the start of play on Tuesday, May 6.
American League East
1 of 6
Baltimore Orioles: Jackson Holliday Is Delivering on His Potential
Not a whole lot of "fun" to report in Baltimore thus far in this disappointing year, but at least the O who was supposed to win Rookie of the Year heading into last season appears to have figured out big league pitching.
Holliday homered in each of his first two plate appearances on Sunday, after which he was triple-slashing .341/.449/.561 over his last 15 games.
Slugging .561 after posting roughly a .561 OPS through the first 73 games of his career has been quite the 180-degree turnaround, and maybe it will be the springboard Baltimore needs to turn its own campaign around.
Boston Red Sox: Early-Inning Warriors
While we often talk about starting pitchers struggling their third time through a lineup, Boston's bats have done most of their damage the first time, posting an .883 OPS in innings 1-3, compared to about a .680 mark from the fourth inning onward.
In particular, Alex Bregman has made a habit of coming out hot, hitting seven of his eight home runs within the first three innings of ball games, batting .412/.500/.941.
One other intriguing innings-based note here: Boston has allowed six total runs in the fifth inning in this entire season. While not quite as remarkable as Kansas City allowing just three first inning runs, that's still an impressive feat—for what otherwise hasn't been a particularly stingy staff.
New York Yankees: *Gestures Wildly at Trent Grisham*
Aaron Judge's incredible start to the season has understandably generated all of the buzz. But more surprising than the six-time All-Star remaining the best hitter on the planet is the amount of production the Yankees have gotten out of their center fielder not named Cody Bellinger.
Grisham hit below .200 in each of the past three seasons, posting a cumulative OPS of .651.
The two-time Gold Glove recipient was perpetually buried at the bottom of the order as the Padres and Yankees tried to hide his bat while utilizing his glove. But out of nowhere, he has a 1.010 OPS and nine home runs, hitting his way back into the leadoff role.
Tampa Bay Rays: Chandler Simpson's Average Hit Has Traveled 98.5 Feet
Last Thursday, Simpson had not one but two infield singles that traveled a whole one foot in the air. Neither was a bunt, either. Just full swings with a launch angle of near-negative 90 degrees. In fact, his average launch angle is 1.0 degrees, and his 10.6 hard-hit percentage is almost dead-last in the majors.
Thanks to his blistering speed, though, the 24-year-old is batting .296 and has immediately become one of Tampa Bay's most valuable players.
And, to be clear, this is no "small sample size" oddity. Simpson has two home runs in more than 2,000 career plate appearances across all levels, destined to thrive as an Ichiro-like, left-handed slap hitter who steals a ton of bags.
Toronto Blue Jays: Jeff Hoffman Has Been Better Than Ever
Hoffman had a strong two-year run with the Phillies, saving 11 games with a 2.28 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 12.0 K/9. He was an All-Star last season before imploding in that NLDS against the Mets.
However, the 32-year-old has been Toronto's brightest star, sitting at 3-0 with seven saves, a 1.10 ERA and an 11.5 K/BB ratio. In each of the three wins, he pitched both the 9th and 10th innings, allowing a combined total of one hit and one intentional walk with 10 strikeouts.
If the Blue Jays are going to hang around in the playoff hunt, Hoffman is going to be a massive piece of that puzzle.
American League Central
2 of 6
Chicago White Sox: Luis Robert Jr. Is Leading the Majors in Stolen Bases...and Times Caught Stealing
The actually fun fact for White Sox fans is that the young portion of the rotation—Shane Smith in particular—has shown some promise.
That's something they could build around if it persists, while Robert is almost certainly on the move this summer.
All the same, how about the oft-injured Robert out there running like there's no tomorrow? Despite batting just .195, the 27-year-old has already attempted 20 stolen bases, on pace to swipe around 75 this season—after entering this campaign with 69 stolen bases in his five-year career.
It's almost as if Robert is trying to run his way out of Chicago after surprisingly not being traded during the offseason.
Cleveland Guardians: Cade Smith Was Just Getting Warmed Up Last Year
If you had asked us in the preseason to rank the 30 teams in order of certainty that the current closer remains the closer all season (so long as he's healthy), Cleveland and Emmanuel Clase probably would have been No. 1 on that list.
But between Clase's early struggles and Cade Smith's continued dominance in relief, maybe the Guardians make a more permanent switch?
Smith already has three saves this season, and he now has a career line of: 92.0 IP, 1.76 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 12.2 K/9. He has allowed just one home run in those 92 innings pitched, resulting in a 1.45 FIP that easily ranks best among all pitchers with at least 50 IP since the beginning of last season.
Detroit Tigers: Javier Báez's Batting Average Would Be a Personal Record
For a while there, Báez's contract was looking like every bit the sunk cost that Miguel Cabrera's was for quite a few years for the Tigers.
Báez had a .610 OPS through his first three seasons in Detroit, and it hardly felt like a coincidence that the striped cats caught fire last August right as he was leaving to have season-ending hip surgery.
Lo and behold, the lifelong infielder with a career .293 on-base percentage through his first 11 seasons is batting north of .300 and has become the near-everyday center fielder in recent weeks, at least temporarily addressing what had been a major issue with all of Parker Meadows, Matt Vierling and Wenceel Pérez on the IL since spring training.
As of Monday morning, Báez was tied with Tarik Skubal for the team lead in bWAR, which could not possibly have been on many bingo cards heading into the season.
Kansas City Royals: Best in Baseball Since Easter
After an 8-14 start to the year that had everyone pointing to a lackluster (aside from Bobby Witt Jr.) offense and a half-hearted approach to the offseason, Kansas City has been on fire, winning 12 out of 14 games one contest into a four-game set against the White Sox.
For the most part, pitching has paved the way, the offense scoring four or fewer runs in 10 of those 14 games. But that was always the plan for the Royals, who had Seth Lugo and Cole Ragans returning, re-upped with Michael Wacha and converted Kris Bubic back to a starter with what has been an incredible degree of success thus far.
Minnesota Twins: Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa Have Missed a Combined Total of 4 Games
Knocking on all of the wood while pointing this out, but how about Buxton and Correa playing in darn near every game so far this season for the Twins?
Granted, they're still waiting on Royce Lewis to make his 2025 debut and have struggled to a 15-20 record, so they haven't exactly made the most of having both veteran stars in their lineup.
By this time last year, though, Buxton was on the IL and Correa had already missed a few weeks in April, en route to missing a combined total of at least 96 games for the third consecutive year.
American League West
3 of 6
Athletics: Justin Sterner Leads Majors in Scoreless Innings Pitched
Please excuse the inevitable writer's jinx here if Sterner gets tagged for something like four earned runs in one-third of an inning the next time he takes the mound, but what a start the 28-year-old rookie has gotten out to with an MLB best 16.2 IP without allowing a single run.
Teammate Tyler Ferguson has been almost as potent with one earned run allowed in 17.1 innings of work. Mason Miller gets all of the "Athletics' bullpen" spotlight for his flamethrowers, but those unheralded middle relievers have been a colossal part of the A's jumping out to a 20-16 record.
Houston Astros: Saving the Best for Last?
With Christian Walker batting .200 for the year and especially struggling when slotted fourth in the order, Houston's cleanup spot has posted a disastrous .557 OPS for the year, good for almost dead-last in the majors.
In the nine hole, though? Houston reigns supreme with a .312 batting average and an .880 OPS, fueled largely by both Cam Smith and Jake Meyers having a two-homer game down there.
The only other team with an OPS north of .760 from the bottom of the order is Cincinnati, thanks in large part to backup catcher Austin Wynns going 6-for-7 in that 24-2 victory over Baltimore.
Los Angeles Angels: Tyler Anderson's Minimal Hits Allowed
Heading into Tuesday night's start against Toronto, Anderson had allowed just 21 hits in 33.3 IP. That's not quite as prolific as Carlos Rodón's mark of 25 hits in 48.2 IP, but it's one of the best ratios in the majors.
Your natural assumption is probably that a healthy dose of regression is coming his way, but disregarding impending doom is just sort of Anderson's thing.
In two of the past three seasons, the 35-year-old had one of the largest positive gaps (among qualified pitchers) between his ERA and his xFIP. His ability to keep hitters off-balance while maxing out at about 90 mph is almost old hat at this point.
Seattle Mariners: Best Walk Rate in the Business
Last year, Seattle's pitchers led the majors in walk rate, issuing just 2.32 free passes per nine innings pitched. That pitch efficiency spearheaded by George Kirby and Bryan Woo was a huge reason the M's were able to rack up so many quality starts.
This year, however, it's their hitters who have mastered the art of the walk with a teamwide BB% of 11.2 that leads the majors.
Randy Arozarena, J.P. Crawford and Cal Raleigh are in a three-way tie for the team lead with 22 bases on balls. Combine that with 49 home runs and you've got the highest scoring offense in the AL West.
Texas Rangers: Josh Smith, Utility King
In the span of 14 team games in April, Smith played all of 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, LF, CF, RF and DH. Throw in the fact that he was a pinch hitter in one of those games, and he sure did run the gamut for a stretch of two weeks.
Shame the Rangers couldn't get him on the mound in a blowout somewhere along the way.
What's even more impressive than the 27-year-old's defensive versatility is his offensive prowess throughout it, batting .311 and tag teaming with Wyatt Langford to carry an otherwise struggling offense.
We'll need to start comparing Smith to Ben Zobrist if he keeps this up for much longer.
National League East
4 of 6
Atlanta Braves: Matt Olson Is Only About 2,000 Games Away from Cal Ripken Jr.'s Record
Olson has played in every Atlanta game this season. He was also one of four players in the majors to appear in every game last year, one of four to do so in 2023 and one of two to do it in 2022. The last game he missed was on May 1, 2021, then still a member of the A's, 653 games ago.
The 31-year-old is now 18th on the all-time consecutive games played list, and he will ascend into the top 12 if he makes it through the rest of this season unscathed.
In order to catch Ripken, though, he will need to play in every game until somewhere around the All-Star break of the 2038 season, at which point he'll be 44 years old.
Miami Marlins: Meyer vs. Myers for Mightiest Marlin
Miami's pitching staff has been, for the most part, a complete and utter disaster. Not one, not two, but three starters have made at least six starts with an ERA north of 8.00, including Sandy Alcantara.
But Max Meyer has been an exception to that rule with four quality starts, including going six scoreless innings with 14 strikeouts against Cincinnati.
Arguably a bit better than Meyer, though, has been Myers. Dane Myers, that is, the center fielder batting .353 with three home runs and six stolen bases in what has thus far been limited playing time. The job should be his until further notice, but he is one of the oldest players on the roster at 29.
New York Mets: Pete Alonso...NL Batting Champ?
The Polar Bear led the majors in home runs as a rookie in 2019 and led the majors in RBI in 2022.
But, batting average? With more walks than strikeouts?
Alonso was a .249 hitter who averaged 2.3 whiffs per walk in his first six seasons with the Mets, but he is drawing free passes more than ever before, striking out less than ever before and leading the National League in each of hits, doubles, batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
Basically, the 30-year-old is doing what the Mets are paying Juan Soto to do, which is a frightening proposition with Soto also heating up as of late.
Philadelphia Phillies: Jesús Luzardo...NL Cy Young?
In his second appearance of spring training as a member of the Phillies, Luzardo allowed home runs on three consecutive pitches against the Detroit Tigers. He would finish the spring with a 9.49 ERA and proceeded to allow a home run to the seventh batter he faced in the regular season.
Since then, though, the 27-year-old has faced 163 batters without giving up a single round-tripper, boasting a 1.94 ERA for the year and the best bWAR among all pitchers in baseball.
Zack Wheeler was the tough-luck first runner-up for NL Cy Young in both 2021 and 2024, but maybe Luzardo can join Roy Halladay as the only other Cy Young Phillie since 1990.
Washington Nationals: MacKenzie Gore's Max Scherzer Impersonation
At his peak with the Nats in the mid-2010s, Scherzer led the National League in strikeouts three consecutive years, even reaching 300 Ks in 2018.
And while Gore's ERA (3.33) and WHIP (1.15) aren't quite at Scherzer's levels of excellence in the nation's capital, his whiff rate sure is, leading the majors by a double-digit margin with 68 strikeouts in the early going.
Gore fanned 13 Phillies on Opening Day, as well as 13 Rockies a few weeks later. His curveball has blossomed from a solid pitch into a lethal weapon, while a slider he barely threw in 2024 has become his devastating go-to offering against left-handed hitters.
His 13.3 K/9 is better than Scherzer's best season, and only a hair behind Spencer Strider's 13.55 ratio in 2023.
National League Central
5 of 6
Chicago Cubs: Carson Kelly > Aaron Judge
Chicago's outfield tandem of Kyle Tucker and Pete Crow-Armstrong has been all sorts of great, combining for 18 home runs and 21 stolen bases while jostling for NL MVP consideration.
But neither can hold a candle to what veteran catcher Carson Kelly has been doing in about half as much playing time, batting .361/.500/.820 with eight home runs in 80 trips to the plate. That 1.320 OPS makes him the only player in the majors with at least 30 plate appearances and a better OPS than Aaron Judge's mark of 1.263.
No one in their right mind expects that to continue, as Kelly has never finished a season with an OPS north of .826. But he did homer Monday night, making the most of this joy ride for however long it lasts.
Cincinnati Reds: GABP Ain't What It Used to Be
For a few years now, Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park has been one of baseball's home run capitals, either first, second or third in total home runs in each of the past four seasons.
So far this year, though, Cincinnati has a .658 OPS at home compared to .788 on the road, while its pitching staff has a .646 OPS against at home and a .695 OPS against on the road. That overall .652 OPS at GABP ranks bottom five in the majors.
Granted, it's still early, and it's usually not until the summer that the venue turns into the Great American Launching Pad. But those reverse home/road splits are pretty wild, especially considering six of the Reds' road games were played in San Francisco and Miami, where home runs go to die.
Milwaukee Brewers: NL Rookie of the Year Battle...Brewing?
This year's race for National League Rookie of the Year is definitely more of a marathon than a sprint, with no one getting out to a particularly strong start. But Milwaukee has a pair of viable contenders in starting pitcher Chad Patrick and third baseman Caleb Durbin.
The former was not originally part of the planned rotation, but he has made the most of an opportunity fueled by a rampant injury bug, posting a 2.87 ERA through 31.1 innings. The latter has played in every game since making his MLB debut on April 18 and should end up with quite a few hits by virtue of all that playing time.
Might not be enough to overtake Roki Sasaki and Dylan Crews, but something to monitor as those newbies try to keep the Brewers in the postseason hunt.
Pittsburgh Pirates: Oneil Cruz's Ronald Acuña Jr.-Like Pace
This factoid is slightly outdated, as Cruz has neither homered nor stolen a base in his last three games. But through Pittsburgh's first 33 games, he had eight home runs and 14 stolen bases, putting him on pace to finish the season at 39 and 69, respectively.
Acuña went for 41 and 73, respectively, while unanimously winning NL MVP two years ago. Of course, he did so for a 104-win team while Cruz might flirt with a 40/70 campaign for a 104-loss team. Still, it's been fun to watch the hard-swinging speedster really start to hit his stride. (At the plate, at least. The defense in center is still very much a work in progress.)
St. Louis Cardinals: Victor Scott II Has Arrived
Two months ago, whether Scott would even crack the Opening Day roster was a big question mark, given the .502 OPS he posted in his several stints in the majors in 2024.
But in posting a 1.172 OPS in spring training—while Michael Siani went 4-for-42—Scott won that battle and hasn't particularly looked back, batting .284 with a pair of home runs and 11 stolen bases.
The latter part is no surprise, as he swiped 94 bags in the minors in 2023. The drastically improved on-base percentage, though, has quickly cemented him as the center fielder of the future in St. Louis.
National League West
6 of 6
Arizona Diamondbacks: Pavin Smith's September Breakout Was No Joke
When Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was forced to miss a few weeks of action last September, the Diamondbacks had little choice but to give Pavin Smith another shot.
To that point, the 29-year-old had been pretty much the definition of a replacement-level player in his 340 games played over five seasons.
Over those final 21 games played, though, Smith went 18-for-61 (.295) with six home runs, good enough to become the left-handed half of the DH platoon that Joc Pederson was in 2024. And he has continued to thrive, batting .301 with a .997 OPS and keeping Arizona among the league's highest-scoring offenses.
Colorado Rockies: Mashing When Bases Are Juiced
It's a challenge to find anything that's going right for the Rockies these days, sitting at 6-28 with a negative-89 run differential.
On the rare occasions they've been able to load the bases, though, they've made the most of those golden opportunities.
The Rockies are 8-for-14 (plus three walks and a sac fly) with the bases juiced this season, batting .571/.611/1.143, leading the majors in all three parts of that triple slash.
Both the grand slam and the sac fly came from Michael Toglia, who is otherwise having a brutal season, "leading" the majors with 48 strikeouts.
Los Angeles Dodgers: Six Dodgers Relievers Have Recorded At Least One Save
Tanner Scott has been mostly excellent as Los Angeles' primary closer, particularly his ratio of 16 strikeouts to just one walk. But with their deep stable of relievers with closer experience, the Dodgers have had the luxury of letting matchups dictate which of their many options they want to trust to protect a late lead.
One of the six members of this bullpen with at least one save is Yoendrys Gómez, who went three scoreless innings to protect a seven-run lead in his Dodgers debut.
But in addition to Scott's eight saves, Kirby Yates, Alex Vesia, Blake Treinen and Evan Phillips have also tallied more "conventional" saves for a team with 14 total in the young season. (Long way to go to match last year's mark of 14 different relievers with at least one save, though.)
San Diego Padres: Bullpen ERA of 1.68
The only team with more saves than the Dodgers are their NL West rivals in San Diego. And while Robert Suarez has been responsible for 14 of the Padres' 15 saves, virtually the entire bullpen has been on point for a 1.68 ERA through 128.2 IP.
To put that number in some context, Paul Skenes had a 1.96 ERA in 133.0 IP last season, while the Cleveland Guardians bullpen we marveled at for much of 2024 ended up with a 2.57 ERA.
There's just no way it's sustainable for six months, but each of the seven Padres relievers with at least 13 innings pitched has an ERA of 2.40 or better.
San Francisco Giants: Cleaning Up Against Clean Up Hitters
Entering play on Tuesday, players batting fourth in the lineup had hit 161 home runs at an MLB-wide level, narrowly edging out the No. 2 and No. 3 hitters at 160 each.
Not a single one of those 161 home runs has come against the Giants pitching staff, though, with cleanup hitters posting a .510 OPS through 148 plate appearances vs. G-Men.
Essentially, they've turned the opposition's best sluggers into a bunch of Andrew Vaughns. And that's how you start out 22-14 in spite of an offense posting an MLB-worst .463 OPS in "Late & Close" situations.
