Major League Baseball is only roughly 6 percent through a 162-game regular season, but that’s not stopping Yardbarker MLB writers from delivering knee-jerk reactions about NL teams.
Are the Pittsburgh Pirates and Atlanta Braves done? Is the Arizona Diamondbacks’ vaunted rotation a disaster? Read on.
All records and statistics are through 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’t figure it out soon, the hole may be too deep even for their talented lineup (and the returns of outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. and pitcher Spencer Strider) to dig out of.
MIAMI MARLINS (5-4) | Otto Lopez will be an All-Star | The second baseman looks like the Marlins’ best player (.270 BA, two home runs and seven RBI). His two homers are already a third of what he hit last season, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he were to be Miami’s representative at the All-Star Game.
NEW YORK METS (6-3) | Mark Vientos’ 2024 season was a fluke | The third baseman was a key figure in the team’s 2024 success, hitting 27 homers and adding 71 RBI. However, he’s batting .118 with eight strikeouts in 37 plate appearances, making last season’s breakout seem more like a flash in the pan.
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (7-2) | Jesus Luzardo is the missing piece | The Phillies have fallen short of a World Series title the past three seasons, but is the addition of this left-hander to their rotation the missing ingredient? Luzardo has been masterful in his first two starts in red pinstripes (1.50 ERA and seven shutout innings vs. the Dodgers).
WASHINGTON NATIONALS (3-6)| OF Dylan Crews is a bust | The 2023 first-round draft pick hasn’t lived up to his top-prospect billing (.236 OPS and 13 K in eight games). He’s only 23, though, and collected two hits and a stolen base against 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 enough offensive additions were made in the offseason | The Reds have struggled on offense, including a stretch of three consecutive 1-0 losses — the sixth such instance in MLB history and the first since the 1960 Phillies. Within the stretch, they went 35 innings without scoring a run, the longest drought in franchise history since 1946.
MILWAUKEE BREWERS (5-5) | March was a fluke | Milwaukee started terribly, losing four straight games for the first time since 2011 and getting outscored 47-15 in the process. However, since April, the Brewers have rebounded, winning five of their past six games, outscoring opponents 27-17 and eliminating initial concerns.
PITTSBURGH PIRATES (3-7) | Another last-place finish in the cards | The Pirates are trending downward from their 76-win last-place division finish in 2024. As a team, they have the lowest slugging percentage in the majors (.296) and third-lowest batting average (.197) and OPS (.586).
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS (4-5) | They have plenty of offense | After finishing last season with a middling offense and making no significant offseason upgrades, the Cardinals were expected to produce similar results in 2025. Instead, they’ve opened the season as one of baseball’s more dominant offensive teams, leading the majors with a .301 batting average and .389 on-base percentage and ranking second in slugging (.482) and OPS (.862). — Taylor Bretl
