1 Reason for Every MLB Fanbase to Be Excited Early in 2026

Whether it's a breakout star who could lead a World Series charge or a budding foundational piece who could be key to a postseason push a few years down the road, every Major League Baseball fanbase has something to be excited about one month into the 2026 campaign.

This year more than ever, the most exciting reminder for a bunch of fanbases who were expecting much more from their teams could be the fact that it's still early and there's time to right the ship.

Let's not forget it was just two years ago that the Houston Astros started out 12-24 before flipping a switch and winning the AL West with room to spare. Perhaps the Phillies, Red Sox or one of these teams out to a rough start could do the same.

We'll highlight one exciting development for each team from the first month, going in alphabetical order within each division.

AL East

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Baltimore Orioles: Unexpected Contributions

Baltimore has been riddled with injuries, still waiting on Jackson Holliday, Heston Kjerstad, Jordan Westburg and Keegan Akin to make their 2026 debuts. With those guys unavailable, though, Jeremiah Jackson is playing second base nearly every day and leading the O's with 19 RBI, Leody Taveras is hitting well out of nowhere as the primary center fielder and Rico Garcia has been lights out in the bullpen, not even allowing a hit until his 12th appearance.

Boston Red Sox: Payton Tolle Is Back (Temporarily)

Prior to that 10-run ninth inning on Saturday, there had been precious little worth getting excited about in Boston thus far. The fact that they've had to turn to top prospect Payton Tolle is a testament to how many key arms are on the IL right now. But the strikeout-inducing southpaw made his 2026 debut on Thursday against the Yankees, allowing one run with 11 whiffs over six innings of work. How long Tolle remains in the rotation hinges on how long Sonny Gray's hamstring keeps him out of commission, but it was quite the spot start.

New York Yankees: Sensational Rotation

With Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón and Clarke Schmidt all on the shelf, starting pitching easily could have been a big problem for the Yankees. Instead, both Max Fried and Cam Schlittler have been unhittable, Will Warren and Ryan Weathers have been racking up strikeouts right and left and both Cole and Rodón should be back some time in May. That pitching has the Yankees in the early driver's seat for the AL's No. 1 seed.

Tampa Bay Rays: Nick Martinez Investment Paying Off

A few days before pitchers and catchers reported to spring training, Tampa Bay made Nick Martinez its highest-salaried player for 2026 on a one-year, $13M deal—a $9M salary plus a $4M buyout of the $20M mutual option that won't be exercised. Bringing in a veteran on an eight-figure salary is far from business as usual for the Rays, but it has been a fantastic move thus far. Martinez lowered his ERA through five starts to 2.10 on Wednesday via an eight-inning outing in a win over his former club (Reds).

Toronto Blue Jays: Dylan Cease Is Shoving

Overall, it has been a brutal first month for the 2025 AL pennant winners, due to a litany of key injuries, as well as early struggles from the likes of Jeff Hoffman and Kazuma Okamoto. But that massive offseason investment in Dylan Cease is looking swell thus far, with the mustachioed flamethrower racking up 44 strikeouts in his first 25.2 innings of work. Both in his season debut against the A's and in his last start against the Angels, Cease struck out 12 of the 22 batters he faced.

AL Central

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Chicago White Sox: Munetaka Murakami Has More Than Met the Hype

Munetaka Murakami's power was never the question. We knew from his past eight years that he could hit baseballs a long, long way. However, teams were worried about the strikeout rate and whether he would be able to consistently hit against Major League pitching. So far, he has been masterful with 11 home runs in his first 113 trips to the plate, including a 451-foot bomb to center on Wednesday night.

Cleveland Guardians: Two Legitimate Candidates for AL Rookie of the Year

Outfielder Chase DeLauter has cooled off considerably since hitting five home runs within Cleveland's first eight games, but he did have a massive bases-clearing triple in Tuesday's win over Houston and remains one of the top five or so candidates for AL ROY. Right there with him is southpaw Parker Messick with a 1.76 ERA and 0.88 WHIP. He is 3-0 and the Guardians have won in each of his first five starts—all of which have come against teams who entered the year among the top 12 candidates to win the World Series.

Detroit Tigers: Kevin McGonigle Is the Real Deal

Kevin McGonigle entered the season as one of the top prospects in all of baseball, and the rookie has not disappointed in the slightest. We're still waiting on the raw power to show up, as he has one home run in 13 trips to the plate compared to 19 in 397 plate appearances in the minors in 2025. But he's batting well north of .300, has as many walks as strikeouts and is playing solid defense despite bouncing back and forth between shortstop and third base.

Kansas City Royals: Carter Jensen Is Roping

When the Royals parted with Freddy Fermin at last summer's trade deadline, it was a clear sign that Carter Jensen's time was fast approaching. The highly touted catcher had a .941 OPS as a September call-up and has continued to produce at nearly the same level with a team-leading six home runs and 14 RBI. Can the rookie give his teammates some pointers, though? Because the rest of this offense has been dreadful.

Minnesota Twins: Early Returns from Last Summer's Fire Sale

Arguably the two most valuable players thus far this season for the Twins have been the two pitchers with MLB experience who they acquired last summer: Taj Bradley and Mick Abel. Unfortunately, the latter is on the IL with elbow inflammation, but Bradley has emerged as a possible ace. Several of the prospects added during that whirlwind have also gotten out to a strong start to 2026, so at least it wasn't all for naught.

AL West

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Athletics: Bash Brothers 2.0

2025 AL Rookie of the Year Nick Kurtz started slow with one single and 13 strikeouts through his first six games of this campaign, but he has been mashing as of late with a 1.207 OPS from April 12-24. Meanwhile, Shea Langeliers is already up to eight home runs with a Cal Raleigh-like constancy in the lineup, either as catcher or DH. Navigating that one-two punch in this lineup is like trying to make it to the "Go!" space in Monopoly when there are hotels on Park Place and Boardwalk.

Houston Astros: Yordan Alvarez Is So Very Back

Pitching has been a disaster for the Astros during a 10-17 start, but Yordan Alvarez is doing everything in his power to make up for it. One year removed from an injury-plagued 2025 campaign with just six home runs in 48 game played, Alvarez pummeled his MLB-leading 11th home run on Wednesday afternoon, entering play on Saturday with a 1.247 OPS that even makes Aaron Judge's and Shohei Ohtani's best seasons pale in comparison.

Los Angeles Angels: José Soriano Is on an Incredible Heater

Angels pitchers not named José Soriano have allowed 121 runs in 200.2 innings of work, but that sudden ace is 5-0 with a 0.24 ERA through six starts. He hasn't exactly been mowing down weak competition, either, facing the Astros, Cubs, Braves, Reds, Padres and Blue Jays with a Drake Baldwin solo shot his only blemish to date. His next two starts are both slated to come against the White Sox, so the good times should continue to roll. (Mike Trout is still healthy and hitting well, too. That might be even more exciting.)

Seattle Mariners: Cal Raleigh has Woken Up

Through Seattle's first 10 games, the Big Dumper was batting a homer-less .132 with 20 strikeouts in 43 plate appearances (46.5 percent). Since then, however, five home runs, a .238 batting average and a drastically improved 18.3 percent strikeout rate. Better yet, Raleigh, Josh Naylor, Julio Rodríguez, Randy Arozarena and J.P. Crawford each had multiple hits in Wednesday's walk-off win over the A's. Perhaps that entire offense is about to start pulling its weight.

Texas Rangers: Clearly Won the Nimmo-Semien Swap

While Marcus Semien is with the Mets, sputtering through a third consecutive season with an OPS south of .700, Brandon Nimmo has been the best thing about Texas' lineup, on pace for what would be the first season of his career with at least 300 total bases. Could that offseason trade end up being the difference that gets the Rangers into the postseason?

NL East

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Atlanta Braves: Thriving, Even Without Key Pieces

Spencer Strider, Sean Murphy and Ha-Seong Kim are all on rehab assignments, nearing their 2026 debuts, while both Ronald Acuña Jr. and Austin Riley have gotten out to bitterly cold starts by their standards. And yet, Atlanta has the best run differential in baseball and already appears to be running away with the NL East crown. This was supposed to be the top challenger to the Dodgers in 2025, but better late than never.

Miami Marlins: Offense Is Coming Around

From 2018-25, the Marlins scored the fewest runs in the majors. Not even by a close margin, either, at 121 runs behind 29th place Pittsburgh in that department. But despite just getting Kyle Stowers into the lineup this past week and still waiting for Christopher Morel's 2026 debut, the Fish have gotten a lot of early production out of Otto Lopez, Xavier Edwards, Liam Hicks and Javier Sanoja en route to what has been a league-average offense for a change. The franchise record of 790 runs in a single season (set in 2007) could be in danger.

New York Mets: Nolan McLean's 2025 Arrival Was No Flash in the Pan

The silver lining on what has been a trainwreck of an opening month for the Mets is that Nolan McLean is every bit the force of nature that we got a sampling of for eight starts late in last year's campaign. The NL Rookie of the Year candidate is averaging 4.8 strikeouts per walk and a National League-best 4.5 hits allowed per 9.0 innings pitched.

Philadelphia Phillies: Félix Reyes' Sudden Breakthrough

From 2022-24, Félix Reyes was an unheralded, Single-A prospect who didn't hit much. Out of nowhere, he had a .923 OPS in 101 games played in 2025, had a .930 OPS in spring training and had a 1.000 OPS in 18 Triple-A games this spring before getting the call last week and immediately homering off Chris Sale on the third big-league pitch that he saw. Maybe Reyes can help salvage this mess?

Washington Nationals: Potent Offense

To put it lightly, Washington's pitching hasn't been great, and it's hard to see that changing any time soon. The offense led by James Wood and CJ Abrams has been putting in work, though, trailing only Atlanta for the MLB lead in runs scored. They have been aggressive on the basepaths, almost to a fault. But after four consecutive seasons scoring 700 runs or fewer, they're on an early pace for almost 900.

NL Central

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Chicago Cubs: Moisés Ballesteros Is on Fire (Against Righties)

Between Triple-A and the majors in 2025, Moisés Ballesteros had a .965 OPS against right-handed pitching compared to a pitiful .577 OPS against southpaws. The Cubs are doing everything in their power to take advantage of that good while avoiding the bad, almost exclusively deploying him against righties this season. And if you take out his four plate appearances against lefties, Ballesteros has a .412/.456/.667 triple slash.

Cincinnati Reds: Rookies Are Thriving

Technically, Chase Burns is not a rookie, having spent a couple too many days on the active roster in 2025. But with just 43.1 innings of experience prior to this season, he's basically part of a Reds rookie class that also includes Sal Stewart and Rhett Lowder. It has been that trio, Elly De La Cruz and a surprisingly strong bullpen anchoring Cincinnati's hot start—especially Stewart, who entered play on Friday with an OPS of 1.004.

Milwaukee Brewers: Another Key Pitcher from the Red Sox

Trading for Quinn Priester early last April was huge for the Brewers, going 21-8 in his 29 appearances with a 3.32 ERA. It appears they may have done it again, acquiring former highly touted prospect Kyle Harrison (and David Hamilton) in the Caleb Durbin trade. And while Durbin has been unable to hit the broad side of a barn in Beantown, Harrison has made four starts for Milwaukee, yet to allow more than two runs in any of them.

Pittsburgh Pirates: Oneil Cruz Is on a 50/50 Pace

Though his defense in center field remains a considerable problem, Oneil Cruz is using his bat and his speed to make up for his glove. Only José Ramírez and Nasim Nuñez (11) have stolen more bases thus far than Cruz's 10. And among National Leaguers, only James Wood (10) has more home runs than Cruz's eight. He's on pace for roughly 50 home runs and 60 stolen bases, hitting more consistently than ever before.

St. Louis Cardinals: Jordan Walker, Professional Hitter

Chances are you heard two weeks ago that Jordan Walker was leading the majors with eight home runs through 16 games—this after hitting just six in 111 games played in 2025. What you may not have heard is that Walker also had a 15-game hitting streak snapped on Tuesday, as the still-not-24-years-old outfielder is starting to deliver on the promise that preceded his arrival in the majors. The Cardinals are still rebuilding, but he might be a key part of the foundation.

NL West

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Arizona Diamondbacks: Two Journeymen Leading the Charge

Michael Soroka has now pitched for five different teams in the past three calendar years, while Ildemaro Vargas is on his fourth separate stint with the Diamondbacks. The former will make a maximum of $8.5M this season if he reaches all his performance incentives. The latter is on a one-year, $1.25M deal. Yet, while Soroka has a 2.60 ERA and an 11.1 K/9 rate out of seemingly nowhere, Vargas has a 1.046 OPS and is already one home run away from tying his previous career high of six. Corbin Carroll is the star in the desert, but the Snakes will be a problem if that veteran duo continues to provide absurd ROI.

Colorado Rockies: Mickey Moniak Peaking in Age-28 Season

Former No. 1 overall pick Mickey Moniak had a bit of a breakout in 2025 with 24 home runs and an .824 OPS. This spring, however, he has really been taking advantage of life at Coors Field, triple-slashing .370/.388/.848 with six home runs in his first 12 games there. Moniak also has a pair of home runs in eight games played away from home, so it isn't exclusively a Coors party. If he can even remotely maintain that, it should make him a top commodity at the trade deadline.

Los Angeles Dodgers: Holy Dalton Rushing

As if the Dodgers needed any breakthrough stars in order to win a lot of games, Dalton Rushing has gotten out to an unbelievable start. Because they already have Will Smith, Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani as the primary options at the spots where Rushing could be deployed, his opportunities have been limited. But in 35 trips to the plate, he has seven home runs and an OPS of 1.647. (Justin Wrobleski has also been a pleasant surprise with a 1.88 ERA through 24 innings pitched.)

San Diego Padres: The Rise of Randy Vásquez

Through his first three seasons in the majors, Randy Vásquez had a 4.81 FIP, averaging 5.8 K/8 and 1.75 K/BB. Through five starts in the current campaign, however, those marks are 2.55, 9.4 and 3.75, respectively. Granted, two of those five starts were against the Rockies. But he's pumping in the fastball about 1.5 MPH faster than last year, and the whiff rate on his changeup is through the roof as he is burying that pitch against lefties like never before. The best news of all if this breakout is legitimate: San Diego has him under team control through 2030.

San Francisco Giants: Bullpen Is More Than Holding Its Own

San Francisco's offense has been wildly disappointing, as has been three-fifths of the starting rotation. But while the bullpen looked like the clear Achilles' heel of this team heading into the season, the primary relievers have actually done quite well. The six who have logged the most innings have a combined line of 2.15 ERA and 1.05 WHIP with four saves, 12 holds and one blown save. They just need some leads to protect.