What we loved from each MLB team after 1 week
Opening week has come and gone. Though the sample sizes remain small, there's plenty of reason to be optimistic about your team's chances. Here's one thing we loved about each club after the first week of the 2025 season.
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Arizona Diamondbacks: Eugenio Suárez is a man possessed. The veteran slugger has five home runs, including a game-winning grand slam in the eighth inning at Yankee Stadium. Suárez has five seasons of at least 30 homers, and he looks primed to add a sixth to his resume.
Athletics: The A's have received excellent production from two burgeoning anchors of their lineup. First baseman Tyler Soderstrom's off to a hot start, hitting .296/.321/.667 with three home runs. Rookie shortstop Jacob Wilson has gone 9-for-24 (.375) with no strikeouts over his first seven games.
Atlanta Braves: There's not much when you're the only winless team in the league. At least the Braves won't have to travel back to California anytime soon. They'll have nightmares of San Diego and Los Angeles after going 0-7 through those two cities out of the gate.
Baltimore Orioles: It's Cedric Mullins again; we can't escape him. Mullins mashed three homers and a team-leading 11 RBIs while posting a 1.092 OPS. That's a fantastic sign for the Orioles, who desperately need Mullins to return to form.
Boston Red Sox: Craig Breslow locked up two key members of the young core before the first week ended. Newly acquired left-hander Garrett Crochet signed a six-year, $170-million extension. A few days later, top infield prospect Kristian Campbell inked an eight-year, $60-million deal after five big-league contests.
Chicago Cubs: Runs galore. The Cubs exploded for 35 runs in a three-game wallop of the Athletics in Sacramento. Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki lead the way early, combining for eight home runs, seven doubles, 22 RBIs, and 17 runs in nine contests.
Chicago White Sox: The White Sox are 2-4 after six games, which is somehow good enough for a share of the division lead. Last year, during their record-setting 121-loss season, it took them 11 contests to secure their second win and 18 games to get their third. After the previous campaign's misery, guaranteeing the White Sox won't be that bad again has to bring smiles to the South Side.
Cincinnati Reds: Elly De La Cruz had four hits, two homers, and seven RBIs in his first game using a torpedo bat. He hit 25 home runs and stole 67 bases in 2024 without the benefit of the highly publicized piece of lumber. The Reds will need De La Cruz and the rest of the lineup to find some runs, with, or without the torpedo bat after getting shut out in three consecutive games.
Cleveland Guardians: Kyle Manzardo was expected to face challenges against left-handed pitchers. Instead, he's opened the season by mashing southpaws to the tune of .667/.714/2.167 with two homers. The hulking DH even added a triple for good measure. It's clear Manzardo's ready to anchor Cleveland's lineup.
Colorado Rockies: Rockies starting pitchers have an ERA under 2.00. That isn't a typo. Don't adjust your screen. The real test begins when the club returns to Coors Field. At the very least, Kyle Freeland and Germán Márquez should be reliable contributors this season.
Detroit Tigers: Casey Mize seems to be finally staking his claim to a rotation spot. The former first overall pick, who's battled elbow injuries, hasn't allowed a run after a solid start to open his year. Mize breaking out would give Detroit three reliable starters, and that could go a long way toward helping the Tigers return to the playoffs.
Houston Astros: Hunter Brown has carried the momentum from his breakout 2024 campaign into this season. The right-hander has 15 strikeouts and 1.00 WHIP through a pair of starts against the Mets and Twins. Brown could be on the verge of becoming one of the top starters in the AL.
Kansas City Royals: Maikel Garcia's gotten off to a tremendous start, slashing .353/.421/.824 with two homers. A Garcia breakout would be welcome news for the Royals, who could desperately use another impact bat. At just 25 years old, there's no reason Garcia can't keep this going.
Los Angeles Angels: Forget about his slash line. Mike Trout, who hit his first home run Wednesday, made it through the season's first week healthy. That's a win not just for the Angels but for baseball.
Los Angeles Dodgers: The Dodgers are cruising, and it doesn't even feel like they're fully operational yet. Six of their first eight wins were comebacks. The margin for error for this collection of talent is so huge. Good luck to the rest of the league.
Miami Marlins: Otto Lopez looks like a keeper. The 26-year-old leads the Marlins in home runs, RBIs, and OPS through seven games. Any offensive improvement to go with his elite defensive play at second base would make Lopez a valuable piece moving forward.
Milwaukee Brewers: Freddy Peralta is delivering for a depleted pitching staff. The Brewers ace has 16 strikeouts, one walk, and a 2.08 ERA in his first two starts. With a handful of veterans on the shelf, Milwaukee will need Peralta to be at his absolute best if it hopes to stay afloat.
Minnesota Twins: Harrison Bader is making his hits count. Minnesota's offseason acquisition is 4-for-19 through six games with three homers. His eight RBIs lead the Twins and account for 37% of the team's runs driven in on the campaign.
New York Mets: Luis Torrens has been a godsend with Francisco Alvarez on the IL. Torrens is hitting .313 with a .978 OPS. His defensive play behind the plate came up clutch in a recent comeback win over the Marlins.
New York Yankees: No Juan Soto, no problem for the Yankees. Five hitters have an OPS above .970, and three have hit at least four homers. Aaron Judge has already crushed an AL-best five long balls.
Philadelphia Phillies: Jesús Luzardo's new sweeper induced an astonishing 70% whiff rate in his Phillies debut, leading to 11 strikeouts. Luzardo's always had the talent to be among the game's best starters. If he can stay healthy, this could be the year he puts it all together.
Pittsburgh Pirates: Paul Skenes hasn't really dominated, but he still has a 1.46 ERA with over a strikeout per inning across two starts. Skenes' outings remain appointment viewing.
San Diego Padres: It's hard to find any faults when you open 7-0 for the first time in franchise history. The lineup is raking, the rotation looks sharp, and the bullpen has been lights out. Maybe the Padres will find a way to put pressure on the Dodgers atop the NL West standings.
San Francisco Giants: The Giants are riding high after sweeping the Astros and opening the season with a 5-1 road record. The club should be encouraged to have this success considering offseason acquisition Willy Adames is struggling to the tune of a .366 OPS.
Seattle Mariners: The team's pitching remains elite, with Logan Gilbert and Luis Castillo leading the way. Gilbert's 18 strikeouts tops the AL, and he's issued just one walk in 12 innings. Castillo owns a 3.00 ERA and 1.00 WHIP while holding hitters to a .182 average.
St. Louis Cardinals: Iván Herrera hit three of his eight career home runs in one game, becoming the first catcher in Cardinals history to go deep three times in the same contest. St. Louis is certainly hoping Herrera is part of the next homegrown core to usher in another era of great Cardinals baseball.
Tampa Bay Rays: Tampa's pitching staff has taken a liking to Steinbrenner Field. Rays hurlers have allowed a league-low two homers through six games while striking out 61 and walking only six in 54 innings. They also own the AL's lowest WHIP (0.91) and ERA (2.00).
Texas Rangers: After losing multiple starting pitchers to injuries during spring training, the remaining members of the rotation have picked up the slack. Three starters - Jack Leiter, Nathan Eovaldi, and Jacob deGrom - boast an ERA below 1.20. Eovaldi threw a shutout Tuesday, and Leiter followed with five shutout frames in back-to-back 1-0 wins.
Toronto Blue Jays: The Andrés Giménez trade is paying huge dividends already. Toronto's big offseason acquisition owns a 1.131 OPS with three homers in seven games, and he continues to play stellar defense at second base. It's early, but this could be a sign that Giménez has rediscovered his 2022 form at the plate.
Washington Nationals: Keibert Ruiz was a top-100 prospect for several years with the Dodgers before landing in Washington. Ruiz struggled to a .619 OPS last season but appears to have put that behind him with a .381 average and 1.149 OPS with two home runs in six games.