Main League Baseball is barely roughly 6 p.c by way of a 162-game common season, however that is not stopping Yardbarker MLB writers from delivering knee-jerk reactions about NL groups.
Are the Pittsburgh Pirates and Atlanta Braves achieved? Is the Arizona Diamondbacks’ vaunted rotation a catastrophe? Learn on.
All data and statistics are by way of Sunday.
NL East
ATLANTA BRAVES (1-8) | Is their season already over? | The last-place Braves are off to a dreadful start. If they can not determine it out quickly, the opening could also be too deep even for his or her gifted lineup (and the returns of outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. and pitcher Spencer Strider) to dig out of.
MIAMI MARLINS (5-4) | Otto Lopez will probably be an All-Star | The second baseman appears just like the Marlins’ greatest participant (.270 BA, two residence runs and 7 RBI). His two homers are already a 3rd of what he hit final season, and it wouldn’t be shocking if he have been to be Miami’s consultant on the All-Star Sport.
NEW YORK METS (6-3) | Mark Vientos’ 2024 season was a fluke | The third baseman was a key determine within the group’s 2024 success, hitting 27 homers and including 71 RBI. Nevertheless, he’s batting .118 with eight strikeouts in 37 plate appearances, making final season’s breakout appear extra like a flash within the pan.
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (7-2) | Jesus Luzardo is the lacking piece | The Phillies have fallen in need of a World Collection title the previous three seasons, however is the addition of this left-hander to their rotation the lacking ingredient? Luzardo has been masterful in his first two begins in purple pinstripes (1.50 ERA and 7 shutout innings vs. the Dodgers).
WASHINGTON NATIONALS (3-6)| OF Dylan Crews is a bust | The 2023 first-round draft decide hasn’t lived as much as his top-prospect billing (.236 OPS and 13 Ok in eight video games). He’s solely 23, although, and picked up two hits and a stolen base towards the D-backs on Sunday. — Lauren Amour
NL West
ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS (5-5) | The rotation is overhyped |
Arizona’s rotation has a combined 5.96 ERA through its first two turns. While it’s still early, that’s not a positive sign for a unit that was supposed to be one of the team’s strengths in the deep NL West.
COLORADO ROCKIES (2-7) | SS Ezequiel Tovar will be an All-Star | Tovar snapped a 0-for-12 skid in a big way, going 8-for-15 over his past three games, including a career-high-tying four-hit game on Sunday. Of those eight hits, three were doubles and one a triple, continuing Tovar’s knack for logging extra-base hits from last season, when he finished second in the NL with 75.
LOS ANGELES DODGERS (9-2) | Dodgers found their kryptonite | Could going 1-2 in Philadelphia over the weekend be a sign of things to come if the Dodgers and Phillies meet in the postseason? That’s a long time down the road, but with Philadelphia’s pitching and lineup, circle the Phillies’ games in L.A. from Sept. 15-17 as a series to watch if these teams are October-bound.
SAN DIEGO PADRES (8-2) | SS/DH Xander Bogaerts has returned | After a lackluster 2024 season, lowlighted by injuries and an OPS+ of just 92 (league average is 100), Bogaerts has started this season strong, reaching base safely in nine of his past 10 games. That has boosted his on-base percentage to .375, well above last season’s .307.
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (8-1) | The Giants are the two-out kings | A two-out, ninth-inning single by infielder Wilmer Flores gave San Francisco a home win over the Seattle Mariners on Sunday. The hit also extended San Francisco’s mastery of coming through late in the inning, as the Giants have now scored 22 of their 49 runs this season (44.9 percent) with two outs. — Kevin Henry
NL Central
CHICAGO CUBS (7-5) | Bullpen stinks | Despite holding first, the Cubs have already suffered two losses because of bullpen collapses — a 6-2 eighth-inning lead against the Diamondbacks and a 7-6 eighth-inning lead against the Padres. The bullpen has a 5.18 ERA and a league-worst 1.85 WHIP, according to Covers.
CINCINNATI REDS (3-7) | Not sufficient offensive additions have been made within the offseason | The Reds have struggled on offense, together with a stretch of three consecutive 1-0 losses — the sixth such instance in MLB historical past and the primary for the reason that 1960 Phillies. Inside the stretch, they went 35 innings with out scoring a run, the longest drought in franchise historical past since 1946.
MILWAUKEE BREWERS (5-5) | March was a fluke | Milwaukee began terribly, shedding 4 straight video games for the primary time since 2011 and getting outscored 47-15 within the course of. Nevertheless, since April, the Brewers have rebounded, successful 5 of their previous six video games, outscoring opponents 27-17 and eliminating preliminary issues.
PITTSBURGH PIRATES (3-7) | One other last-place end within the playing cards | The Pirates are trending downward from their 76-win last-place division end in 2024. As a group, they’ve the lowest slugging percentage within the majors (.296) and third-lowest batting common (.197) and OPS (.586).
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS (4-5) | They’ve loads of offense | After ending final season with a middling offense and making no vital offseason upgrades, the Cardinals have been anticipated to supply related ends in 2025. As an alternative, they’ve opened the season as one in all baseball’s extra dominant offensive groups, leading the majors with a .301 batting common and .389 on-base proportion and rating second in slugging (.482) and OPS (.862). — Taylor Bretl
