It's way too early for victory dances or declarative statements. At this moment, MLB teams have a 1.000 winning percentage in games in which they intentionally walk a batter with the bases loaded while trailing in the fourth inning. We'll see if that -- or anything else we've seen so far -- holds up over the long year.

But it's hard not to be encouraged by some of what we've seen.

In an effort to accentuate the positive, here are 10 pressing questions we had at the start of the year that have been answered in the affirmative (so far).

Question: Can the Mets overcome the absence of Jacob deGrom?
Answer: Yes! (So far.)

The Mets were 46-37 at the conclusion of the final game in which deGrom appeared last July. They went 31-48 the rest of the way. So even with Max Scherzer in tow, this team had a lot to prove when deGrom went down again in Spring Training. But, importantly, Francisco Lindor has shaken off two years of subpar offensive performance with a high-octane start at the plate (.283/.411/.565 slash line), and Tylor Megill's emergence has been a big boost for a rotation that has been elite (1.56 ERA). Buck Showalter's ballclub has people in Queens believing again.

Question: Can Dylan Cease and Michael Kopech step up for the White Sox?
Answer: Yes! (So far.)

This question was an important one for the defending AL Central champs when Carlos Rodón left in free agency, and it became even more pronounced given the early injuries to Lance Lynn and Lucas Giolito. Cease has thus far lived up to his breakout potential, with only two earned runs allowed on five hits with 16 strikeouts and five walks in his first 10 2/3 innings. And Kopech has made a smooth transition to the rotation, with only one earned run on three hits with eight strikeouts and four walks in nine innings.

Question: Is Nolan Arenado still capable of playing like an MVP?
Answer: Yes! (So far.)

Between the shoulder injury that hampered him in the pandemic-shortened 2020 and the time it took him to settle in with St. Louis last year, Arenado had valid excuses for not reaching the level of his 2015-19 play, when he annually finished in the top-eight of the NL MVP voting and had a combined .937 OPS. But just when it became fair to wonder if a 31-year-old Arenado could get back to that level, along comes a scorching start in which a slight mechanical adjustment has yielded a .368/.442/.895 slash line.

Question: Can Jeremy Peña adequately replace Carlos Correa?
Answer: Yes! (So far.)

In letting Correa walk for what can only be described as a reasonable cost and giving his position to a 24-year-old with zero big league at-bats, the Astros took a calculated gamble. So far, so good. Peña has looked fantastic in the field (98th percentile in Outs Above Average) and has been productive and more powerful than advertised at the plate (.308/.364/.590 slash line). Oh, and Justin Verlander's return from Tommy John surgery has been pretty seamless, too.

Question: Can Seiya Suzuki easily acclimate to MLB?
Answer: Yes! (So far.)

The results for position players transitioning from Japan to MLB has been a mixed bag over the years, but Suzuki has settled right in with the Cubs. As detailed by MLB.com's Sarah Langs, Suzuki's selectivity and power have translated. With a .387/.565/.839 slash line, he's been one of the more dynamic bats in the big leagues so far and helped turn the Cubs' lineup into a fun, high-contact bunch early on.

Question: Can Matt Olson live up to the pressure of replacing Freddie Freeman?
Answer: Yes! (So far.)

April has been a little rocky for the defending champs, and it stung to give up Freeman's first dinger with the Dodgers. But the Braves are getting by just fine at first base, thanks. Admirably, Olson hasn't let the emotional nature of his arrival be a distraction. He's just showed up and raked, to the tune of a .400/.516/.640 slash.

Question: Is there any room for Gavin Lux in the Dodgers' loaded lineup?
Answer: Yes! (So far.)

Lux has dealt with back tightness in recent days. But even after the Freeman signing forced him to take on some outfield duty and threatened to limit his breakout ability on this ballclub, Lux has looked like a guy you absolutely have to start when healthy. He has a 66.7% hard-hit rate and an 18.9% walk rate that are both in the top 5% of the league.

Question: Will the A's even look like a legit MLB team after trading so many stars?
Answer: Yes! (So far.)

The A's have a winning record and, surprisingly, one of the most productive offenses in MLB in the early going. Their bullpen has been a strength (no earned runs allowed in its last 21 2/3 innings), their defense has been stifling (second in MLB in Outs Above Average), and they have had a ton of timely hits (28-for-91 with runners in scoring position). They are not great candidates to keep all of this up, but we've got to tip our cap to manager Mark Kotsay's club's unexpectedly strong start after all the offseason/preseason drama.

Question: Can Noah Syndergaard boost a needy Angels rotation?
Answer: Yes! (So far.)

With only two big league innings to his name in 2020-21 (and no breaking balls thrown in those two innings as a post-Tommy John surgery precaution), Syndergaard was not the safest bet for an Angels team that has searched high and low for rotation stability. Two starts in, however, Thor has been as sharp as you could hope, allowing just two runs on seven hits with five strikeouts and two walks in 11 1/3 innings. Notably, his breaking balls have been effective.

Question: Can Joey Bart fill the Buster Posey void?
Answer: Yes! (So far.)

It's obviously not on Bart to replace Posey from a leadership standpoint. But calling a good game and producing at the plate? Bart's basically held up his end of the bargain so far. Even amid a high strikeout rate, he's mustered a .324 on-base percentage and .448 slugging percentage in a limited sample, and the Giants' pitching staff has remained one of the best in baseball.