Takeaways from All 30 MLB Teams

Thanks to the delayed start, the MLB season is just hitting its 2-month mark. Each team has had some ups and some downs, so here’s every team’s season recapped in one article. I actually split this article into tiers based on where the teams are, so the sooner your team is, the better I think they are.

BEST OF THE BEST

LOS ANGELES DODGERS

The Dodgers are, unsurprisingly, the best team in Major League Baseball. It’s hard to even find a weak point on the Dodgers, and they really only have one underperforming player (Max Muncy). From their lineup to their defense to their rotation and their bullpen, this is the best team in baseball, and arguably one of the best ones in recent memory.

NY YANKEES

The Bronx Bombers are off to a flaming hot start, holding the best record in baseball and firing on all cylinders. Their pitching has been especially strong, but not due to their top investments. Gerrit Cole and Aroldis Chapman have been good, but the other pitchers are what make this Yankees staff elite. Nestor Cortes is off to a flaming hot start as New York’s best starter, and the Yanks have a three-headed monster in the bullpen with Michael King, Clay Holmes, and Jonathan Loaisiga.

Their pitching is the best of the best, the Yankees bats have begun to improve lately. Once again, it isn’t the product of star-power, but rather the product of depth and lower-investment guys playing really well. Many of their everyday players have a WRC+ of at least 100 (which means that they are at least league average hitters) and one of the only guys excluded from that list, Joey Gallo, is getting horrifically unlucky. This all leads to the Yankees having a top-ten WAR (wins above replacement) batting, and the best WAR pitching.

This Yankees team feels more complete than those of years’ past. Their high-end depth, particularly in the rotation, could get them to a place they haven’t been to in a while: The World Series. Now, this obviously begs the question of whether or not they will choke again, but I expect the Yankees to enter the postseason on top.

HOUSTON ASTROS

It’s hard not to be impressed by the Astros once again. They boast a ridiculously strong lineup, with both the veterans and the young blood contributing at a high level. Their lineup not only excels at the plate, but also on the field, performing as one of the top defenses in the league. The pitching has been pretty solid, as they have a deep rotation, led by Cy Young-candidate Justin Verlander, who looks like he’s in his prime even when coming back from more than a year away from baseball at age 39. There’s a reason why this team continues to perform at a high level, and expect them to be a dangerous team in the postseason once again.

SERIOUS THREATS

SAN DIEGO PADRES

Bob Melvin is an incredible manager, and Manny Machado is making a Hall-of-Fame push. These are the two biggest takeaways from San Diego’s surprising season so far. Their pitching staff, which was an eyesore just a year ago, has shown to be one of the league’s best in 2022. Their hitting, even without their top player Fernando Tatis Jr., has performed well, and better than expected. With Melvin managing, and Tatis slated to return relatively soon, the Padres look like a team that nobody should want to face in October.

TORONTO BLUE JAYS

This roster is loaded. They have several star hitters with Springer, Bichette, and Guerrero Jr., and look to be gearing for a world series run. However, the Jays haven’t looked like a world series team. Their rotation has the potential to be the league’s best, but they haven’t shown that so far. Kevin Gausman is an ace, and Alek Manoah is a rising star, but Jose Berrios, Yusei Kikuchi, and Hyun-Jin Ryu are the causes of several high-scoring losses. Toronto is still unbelievably dangerous. They have some true superstars, and the necessary depth in the lineup to succeed. If their pitching staff can put it together, Toronto will be unstoppable.

NEW YORK METS

The Mets are a really fun story. They always start out the season doing well, but their success seems more sustainable. Their offseason was headlined by a spending spree, skyrocketing their payroll up to the top of the league. However, the Mets are clicking on all cylinders at the moment. So far, they have only lost one series, and are also doing what the Yankees do: scoring more runs than their opponent. Like the Yankees, most of the top Mets are excelling at the plate, but they’ve flamed out recently. They’ve been mediocre in May, with most of their top guys regressing. Let’s see if this Mets team can prove that they’re different from those of years past and stay hot throughout the season.

MILWAUKEE BREWERS

The 2022 Brewers are basically the same as the 2021 Brewers. Their pitching is elite, with seven quality starters, and the best bullpen arm in the league in Josh Hader. Unsurprisingly, their pitching has been stellar, and this mirrors last years’ pitching staff. The hitting, just like 2021, has been fine. Standing around the middle of the league in most metrics, Milwaukee’s bats have been no more but no less than average. They have a slightly modified cast of bats, but they’re performing at the same level as last year’s hitters. We know that Milwaukee should make the postseason, and that their pitching will take them far. The real question is: Can their hitting finally take a step forward, or will they fail to succeed against postseason-worthy pitching staffs?

LOS ANGELES ANGELS

Are the Angels actually good? They’ve had two of baseball’s top stars in Trout and Ohtani, but always failed to surround them with the proper talent to succeed. However, this season seems like a change for the better, and has set the Angels up in first place. The additions of Noah Syndergaard, Aaron Loup, and Michael Lorenzen, and significant improvements from home-grown starters Reid Detmers and Patrick Sandoval all put together the best pitching staff that the Angels have ever had. Last season, they had Shohei Ohtani carrying both their pitching and their hitting, and now that he has help, notably with breakout hitter Taylor Ward, the Angels look dangerous.

Since I wrote this, the Angels have lost twelve in a row, and fired their manager in the process. This may be who the Angels are, or they’ll rebound. Let’s see what new manager Phil Nevin can do.

TAMPA BAY RAYS

The Rays are a good team, but this isn’t anywhere near what last years’ team looked like. They have a bona-fide superstar in Wander Franco, but seem to have lost some depth. The rotation has taken a step back, and the departure of Nelson Cruz has definitely hurt, especially when Reid Detmers threw MLB’s second no-hitter all by himself. Tampa is still definitely good, and they have the best player that I can remember to put on a Rays jersey, but unless they can have some role-players step up, they look like they’ll choke in the postseason once again.

PLAYOFF HUNT

MINNESOTA TWINS

The Twins are a fun team. While their pitching has been mediocre, they are still outperforming expectations without many noteworthy names on their pitching staff. Their bats, however, are why the Twins are the AL Central’s only success story so far. They’re headlined by the often-injured Byron Buxton, but he has played the whole season so far and looks like an AL MVP frontrunner. They also have several other bats playing at a high level, enough so to make each and every member of their lineup a tough out. So far, the Twins are making last season’s struggles look like an anomaly, and they look like the AL Central’s top team so far.

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

The Cardinals are good. Their hitting is superb, with Paul Goldschmidt’s MVP-level start leading the way. They also have fantastic depth, with quality backups just about everywhere. As expected, their defense is great, and they help out their pitchers a lot. The pitching, however, is pretty abysmal. While they aren’t the most talented pitching staff in the league, they’re nowhere near the bottom-5 staff that they’ve looked like these two months. Steven Matz and Jordan Hicks have been horrible, and the rest of their staff has been pretty weak as well. The Cardinals have the lineup to win a World Series, but they may not even make the playoffs if their pitching doesn’t improve.

SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

This was always a transition year for the Giants. They have elite depth, but their hitting and pitching have taken steps back. Now, this is likely attributed to significant losses in the offseason, but it’s hard to tell if the Giants were a one-year wonder. They look like they’re going to fight for one of the final wild card spots, but until they can regain some of their lost talent, they’ll still be second-fiddle at best to the Dodgers in the NL West.

ATLANTA BRAVES

Atlanta seems to be off to a World Series slump so far. Let’s start on a positive note, where the pitching has been nothing short of impressive. Even without their ace, Mike Soroka, Atlanta’s pitching has been stellar and the reason why they are hanging around in the Wild Card hunt. Their lineup, on the other hand, has been a dud. The infield, as always, has been good. Matt Olson replaced Braves legend Freddie Freeman seamlessly, and the rest of their infield is at least league-average behind the plate. The outfield, however, has taken a significant step back. It’s hard to emphasize how bad the outfield has been, especially since breakout performances from Adam Duvall and Eddie Rosario were key parts to their championship team. Even with Ronald Acuna Jr. and Marcell Ozuna, their outfield has been a complete dud. The Braves are hanging around .500, and look to have a decent chance to make the postseason in a weak NL East.

CHICAGO WHITE SOX

What’s up with the White Sox? The issue boils down to two things: depth and management. I may be a little bold here, but the game seems to be passing Tony La Russa by. His affection for batting average and lack of willingness to shift has put the White Sox exactly around .500, and these issues plague every game that they play. Their lack of depth is also being exposed with injuries, as they’ve failed to get quality depth on their hitting staff, and especially their pitching staff. Chicago has some really good players such as Dylan Cease and Luis Robert, but they need to act fast or else their star seasons will go to waste.

BOSTON RED SOX

What’s happening with the Red Sox? It seems to be that every game they show flashes of last years’ brilliance, and then collapse. To start, their pitching is underperforming even with somewhat low expectations. Their bullpen is quite bad, and the rotation is far worse than last year. The more pressing issue, however, is their lineup. Martinez, Bogaerts, and Devers are still hitting well, but you can’t win with three batters. Their offseason acquisitions aren’t doing so well, which has led to a disappointing offense.

I’m honestly quite scared that this team can’t get them anywhere. Last years’ team was significantly stronger, and unless they can replace the production of Hunter Renfroe, Kyle Schwarber, and Eduardo Rodriguez, it looks like Boston may not make it to October.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

I mean, this Phillies season is going exactly as planned. Their offense is carried by a plethora of big bats, but lacks the depth to survive an injury. They have good starters, but the pitching staff lacks the depth to close out games. The defense, however, is horrendous. They consistently trot out bottom-tier defenders such as Kyle Schwarber and Alec Bohm, and expect results that they have yet to receive. In the end, there is a reason that the Phils have a losing record, and their struggles have been clear since the beginning of the season.

BAD, BUT NOT UNWATCHABLE

TEXAS RANGERS

While the Rangers’ offseason spending spree was fun, they’re still far away from seriously competing for a trophy. Their pitching staff is still struggling, and while they have some productive hitters, they still don’t have the proper depth to compete. They’re a fun team, and their high-powered offense is enough to put fans in seats at their new stadium. There’s a reason why they’re the top team in this tier, and that’s because they’re playing good baseball. They’ve played better as of late, but while the Rangers have some nice pieces, they still need recent draft picks to produce at a major league level until they can compete for a postseason berth.

CLEVELAND GUARDIANS

The Guardians are a fun team. Their bats have been a pleasant surprise, with Owen Miller, Andres Giminez, and Steven Kwan emerging to help their superstar 3B Jose Ramirez. They’re always going to be good at pitching, with several high-end contributors in the rotation and in the pen. They have their superstar, but there’s a reason why they are sitting below.500: lack of high-end talent. Knowing Cleveland, they’ll opt to sell rather than buy, but this team is still several pieces away.

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

The Diamondbacks are a prime example of what good coaching can do for a team. After bottoming out as the NL’s worst team last season, they’re hovering around .500 in 2022, with major leaps forward from both their hitters and their pitchers. Daulton Varsho (UTIL) and Humberto Castellanos (SP) have each proven to be breakouts of 2022 and have been catalysts for Arizona’s surge. Now, they likely won’t make the postseason in 2022, but if they make the right moves, they can get there sooner than we think.

COLORADO ROCKIES

Unsurprisingly, the Rockies are on the outside looking-in when it comes to the postseason. Colorado has some quality players, and is superb in Coors Field. However, they are still the same old Rockies, and perform horribly on the road. They have some quality hitters and pitchers, but still lack the depth to compete. They were doing well at the start, but their descent was inevitable, and they have to fix some serious organizational mishaps before they’re ever contenders.

BALTIMORE ORIOLES

While the Orioles are still pretty bad, I think they deserve some positivity. Even without their top pitcher, they are a significantly more competent team than last season, and they actually look like they may be good in the future. They aren’t good in 2022, they were never going to be, but at least they have something to look forward to when the rest of their top prospects come up and at least their fanbase can have fun this season.

MIAMI MARLINS

I like where the Marlins are going, but the fish are still a year away. While they have good players both hitting and pitching wise, they still need pieces and improvement in both phases if they want to be anything more than mediocre. They have solid hitters, but are still a piece or two away from the lineup needed to compete, especially with free agent signing Avisail Garcia struggling so far. The rotation has taken a step back, but still looks to be in good shape for the future. The bullpen, however, is an issue. Those who were once their reliable arms are now blowing games, and what was once a good bullpen has struggled immensely. Marlins fans should be encouraged by their lineup’s step forward, but the fish still have a ways to go.

PITTSBURGH PIRATES

The Pirates are a bad team, but at least they’re fun. Their hitting is pretty rough, as they lack the consistency and depth to succeed. Their pitching has been a pleasant surprise, as David Bednar is a top-tier closer, and they have a mediocre pitching staff. The Pirates are a fun team to watch, but they’re obviously in the heart of their rebuild and still at least a year away from making a playoff push.

CINCINNATI REDS

It’s been a tale of two seasons for Cincinnati. The Reds began their season winning only three of their first 25 games, and looking like a complete embarrassment to the league. But then, something changed. The Reds have skyrocketed in the month of May, outperforming almost all teams in the past four weeks. They clearly aren’t contenders, but it’s been a ton of fun to see them succeed, despite being statistically abysmal on both sides of the ball.

BAD, AND POSSIBLY UNWATCHABLE

CHICAGO CUBS

Chicago sports as a whole seems to be disappointing in 2022. The Cubs made two major moves in the offseason, signing pitcher Marcus Stroman from the Mets and outfielder Seiya Suzuki from Japan. Even with their new additions, their lack of roster-talent has shown, and the Cubs look to be at least a year away from making a playoff push. Both their lineup and their pitching staff have shown to be untrustworthy, leading to a somewhat disappointing season for the Cubs.

OAKLAND ATHLETICS

It’s hard not to hate the A’s ownership. Their owners refuse to spend, and that’s why they lost all of their star talent even when they were not far away from being a serious threat. Their ability to develop talent is superb, but the roster is so cheap and lacks the talent to compete. The A’s will always outperform their expectations, as they are winning some games, but it sucks to see such good roster-building get trashed by ownership. There’s a reason why nobody shows up to their games, as their lack of spending is awful for baseball.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS

To no surprise, the Nats are bottom-dwellers in the NL East. While they arguably have the NL’s top player in Juan Soto, the rest of this roster is clearly rebuilding. Teams can pitch around Soto because their lineup has nobody else to truly be scared of, and this shows up consistently when looking at Juan Soto’s number of walks. The pitching staff is also struggling. They have some good arms, but their quality pieces fade out quickly when you look down the roster. Washington’s season as bottom-dwellers doesn’t come as a surprise, as they are still many pieces away from competing.

DETROIT TIGERS

It seems like everything that was going right for the Tigers last year is going wrong now. They added Javier Baez, who has struggled, and most of last years’ everyday players have regressed significantly. On the bright side, Austin Meadows is hitting well, and their pitching has been a pleasant surprise, but the team that was geared for a breakout looks like it still has some work to do.

KANSAS CITY ROYALS

This Royals season really doesn’t seem too noteworthy or unpredictable at all. Their bats have been inconsistent at best, both with their veterans (Merrifield, Perez, Benintendi) and their younger guys (Witt Jr. and Mondesi). Their pitching is also nothing out of the ordinary, highlighted by Zack Greinke. Overall, KC is still rebuilding, and it’s hard to be too pleased or disappointed with their season so far.