One early-season development to believe in for each team

One early-season development to believe in for each team

April 11th, 2024

Thursday marks two weeks since Opening Day, and we've learned a lot about every team so far.

While some positive developments might be bigger than others, all 30 clubs have seen good things happen somewhere to begin the 2024 season. With the help of each team's MLB.com beat writer, here's one early-season development to believe in for every club.

Jump to: AL East | AL Central | AL West | NL East | NL Central | NL West

American League East

Blue Jays: has had a dominant start
From the day Berríos arrived in camp, he’s looked fantastic. There’s a little extra edge to Berríos in 2024, too, coming off the controversial ending to the ‘23 season when Berríos was lifted early in the Wild Card Series against the Twins. In Toronto’s home opener earlier this week, Berríos threw 6 2/3 shutout innings and said afterward that he was trying to be a “bad dog” on the mound. It all comes together to put Berríos in position to chase a career year. We’ve seen his incredible consistency in the big leagues, outside of the surprising 2022 season, but this year could show us how high Berríos can climb. -- Keegan Matheson

Orioles: can handle the ninth inning
At 35, Kimbrel may not be the flamethrower he was early in his 15-year big league career. In fact, the right-hander’s velocity was down considerably over his first three outings of the season (93.2 mph average for his four-seam fastball). However, Kimbrel’s spin rates are up, and that’s helping him get batters out. He was lights out in Pittsburgh this past weekend, pitching a 1-2-3 inning on both Friday and Saturday. He struck out two in Friday’s perfect frame for his 418th career save. So far, Kimbrel is showing he should be just fine filling in for All-Star closer (Tommy John surgery) this season. -- Jake Rill

Rays: The middle of the rotation is going to be fine
had a bad inning on Opening Day and a bad outing in Anaheim, with a strong performance against Texas in between. The fifth spot in the rotation has been an issue. The bullpen, thought to be the team’s strength entering the season, has surprisingly been among the worst in baseball so far. But there were a lot of worries coming into Spring Training about the middle of the rotation -- , and -- and those three have helped calm those nerves. Civale, with a 2.12 ERA, looks more like the pitcher who thrived in Cleveland. Littell has continued to shine after last year’s remarkable move from the bullpen to the rotation. And Pepiot, who had a tough first inning in his season debut, is coming off a confidence-boosting gem at Coors Field. -- Adam Berry

Red Sox: is on fire
O’Neill is healthy again, and as he proved in 2021, a healthy O’Neill is an all-around force. Through his first six games, O’Neill has belted six homers, all of them solo shots. He has also played strong defense in right field. With likely to miss the rest of the season due to a left shoulder dislocation that will require surgery, O’Neill’s bat is going to be even more important than expected for the Red Sox. Thus far, he looks up to the challenge of producing for his new team. -- Ian Browne

Yankees: has improved his swing
Volpe made changes at the plate this past offseason, recognizing that he needed a more consistent way to reach high fastballs. The league had recognized that they could blow heat by him upstairs, especially if Volpe continued to swing with an uppercut. Volpe has looked “like a way better hitter, period,” according to manager Aaron Boone, who has seen Volpe now stinging the ball with line drives while working tougher at-bats. Opposing pitchers will certainly try to adjust, but Volpe said that it is “motivating” to know he can keep building off his hot start. -- Bryan Hoch

AL Central

Guardians: ’s glove remains unmatched
It’s hard to know what’s going to stick with the Guardians. Their pitching staff has been great, but we know it’ll be hard to work around 's season-ending surgery. The bullpen has been stellar, but there are so many unproven arms. The offense has been electric, but we’ve seen the bats go cold in recent years. One thing we know that is for certain, though, is Giménez’s glove. Every night, there’s at least one play at second base that leaves everyone in the ballpark speechless. If any ball is hit near the right side of the infield, manager Stephen Vogt has quickly learned to expect that it will result in an out. There’s a reason Giménez won the Platinum Glove last year, and there’s no reason to believe he can’t do it again. -- Mandy Bell

Royals: The young hitters are crushing the ball
Entering Wednesday, the Royals lead the Majors in average exit velocity (90.6 mph) and barrels/plate appearance percentage (8.3%). That’s an encouraging sign from a young offense the Royals are hoping takes the next step in 2024. Hitting the ball hard isn’t always going to lead to results, but it is going to give the Royals a better chance every night. And because of that, along with their approach at the plate, you can see the belief start to trickle through the lineup that deficits can be overcome and games can be won. It’s a little early to declare how the rest of the season is going to go, but that feeling is certainly different from the past few years. -- Anne Rogers

Tigers: There's been significant defensive improvement
The Tigers entered Wednesday tied for third in MLB with five Outs Above Average, up from 20th last season, while their three percent added success rate this season is tied for highest. This was expected to be a strength of Detroit’s new outfield with fleet-footed now fully integrated in center field and former starting center fielder (8% success rate added) playing in the corners. But even on days without Meadows in the lineup, ’s rangy defense in center makes this strength. The combination of Vierling and Greene played a major role in Detroit’s win at Pittsburgh on Wednesday with Greene’s home-run robbery at the fence and Vierling's two running catches in the gaps. Meanwhile, has made a marked improvement defensively, while rookie second baseman is in positive territory in OAA. -- Jason Beck

Twins: is absolutely healthy
Considering the career-worst season Correa had on offense while dealing with plantar fasciitis in 2023, it was more than fair to be skeptical that he could be productive again until he showed it -- and boy, has he. His defense has been typically top-notch, as evidenced by his game-saving relay throw to nab on Wednesday, and his offense has rebounded in a huge way as one of few bright spots on a struggling Minnesota offense. Correa is 11-for-34 (.324) with a .923 OPS and .452 on-base percentage to start the season, and the underlying metrics back it up with 82nd-percentile marks or better in expected batting average, slugging percentage and wOBA. Considering he hovered around league average in all of the above last season, this is certainly a promising development for the Twins. -- Do-Hyoung Park

White Sox: is a closer … and a very good one
The right-hander came to Spring Training with his sights set on the White Sox rotation and was stretched out as a starter. But the team decided to move him to the bullpen midway through Cactus League action, and he has looked elite in the late-inning role ever since the change. Kopech picked up save No. 2 on Wednesday in Cleveland, throwing 23 fastballs among his 24 pitches covering two perfect innings, with 14 of those fastballs topping 100 mph, per Statcast. He averaged 100.4 mph on the fastball. The change of focus has benefitted Kopech, going from five or six innings to one or two, and Kopech deserves credit for smoothly moving into the new role. -- Scott Merkin

AL West

Angels: has emerged at catcher
O’Hoppe is considered the future face of the franchise and has been off to a hot start offensively while also leading the charge behind the plate and helping the club’s pitching staff. O’Hoppe is a natural leader who is also having an impact in the clubhouse on his teammates. He’s shown plenty of power so far and could move up to a higher spot in the batting order. He looks the part of a perennial All-Star and is starting to show his immense potential after missing most of last season with a torn labrum in his left shoulder. -- Rhett Bollinger

Astros: will thrive in the No. 2 spot in the order
One of first-year manager Joe Espada’s biggest changes in the spring was moving Alvarez to the No. 2 spot in the order, hitting him behind and ahead of . After an adjustment period (Alvarez started 3-for-24 with no homers or RBIs), the slugger has settled into that spot nicely. He's 14-for-25 with four homers and 11 RBIs in the seven games since (entering Wednesday), with a pair of four-hit games and a three-hit game. -- Brian McTaggart

Athletics: is off to a strong start
Blackburn has not allowed a run in his first 13 innings pitched this season. It’s a streak that is really 26 2/3 consecutive scoreless frames if you count Spring Training. The A’s have seen this from him before, particularly in his 2022 All-Star campaign. He doesn’t "wow" you with high velocity or a high strikeout total. Instead, he has supreme command of six different pitches and keeps hitters off balance and guessing, which has led to a very low hard-hit rate of 25.6% through two starts. -- Martín Gallegos

Mariners: has tweaked his swing
France is playing with newfound "dad strength" after he and his wife last week welcomed the birth of their first child. But he'd already been heating up at the plate before going on the paternity list. Scroll to the first baseman's Baseball Savant page, and it's all red. He ranks in the 94th percentile or higher in just about every quality of contact metric, which has been huge for the former All-Star after a disappointing 2023. -- Daniel Kramer

Rangers: is still the engine of this offense
The Rangers' high-powered offense is anchored by and , but Semien is who really keeps things going in Texas. In Tuesday’s loss to Oakland, the second baseman posted his team-leading sixth multihit game, the most by a Ranger within the club’s first 11 games of a season since in 2019. It was also his 54th multihit outing since the beginning of 2023, the second-most in the AL in that span, trailing only Seattle’s . Semien may not have the pure power of a Seager or García, but when he goes, the Rangers go with him. -- Kennedi Landry

National League East

Braves: will compete for the home run title
Ozuna’s early power production is just an extension of what he did over last season’s final five months. His early-season struggles last year created reason to wonder if he would be released. Ozuna is tied for the NL lead in homers and tied for second among MLB players with 43 homers since May 1. He could be a legitimate contender for the NL homer crown in 2024. -- Mark Bowman

Marlins: can be a difference-making starter
Despite 19 months between Major League outings due to Tommy John surgery, Miami's No. 3 prospect has been impressive two turns through the rotation. The 25-year-old Meyer still relies on his fastball/slider combination, but he is growing more confident in his changeup. Like before him, Meyer is making it tough on the Marlins, who are monitoring his workload, because of his success (0.73 WHIP, 58.1% ground-ball rate). -- Christina De Nicola

Mets: has had a hot start
…because it’s not merely a hot start. Manaea worked to add velocity last season and completely changed his pitch mix, relying more fully on a sweeper and abandoning his sinker. He has since revamped his changeup grip and also introduced a cutter, which he’s throwing more often than any of his offspeed pitches. Since last Sept. 12, when Manaea rejoined San Francisco’s rotation, Manaea has gone 3-1 with a 1.80 ERA over six starts. While he won’t be that good all year long, Manaea is a decent bet to hold onto his gains and might even finish as New York’s most productive starter. -- Anthony DiComo

Nationals: The Nats are off and running
The Nationals are stealing bases at a head-turning rate. They were tied for first with the Reds for most stolen bases among all teams entering Wednesday, and they had only been caught stealing twice. , , (No. 16 prospect) and (No. 19) have each stolen three bases in a single game. Compared to all players in the Major Leagues, only three others have reached that feat in a game in 2024. The Nats also became just the third team since 1900 to have a player record three stolen bases in three consecutive games, previously accomplished by the 1983 Athletics and the 1914 Indianapolis Hoosier-Feds. -- Jessica Camerato

Phillies: The rotation is real good (again)
The Phillies had arguably baseball’s best rotation last season with , , , and . Everybody is back, although Walker opened the season on the 15-day injured list with an injured right shoulder. But has taken his place and has not allowed an earned run in 11 innings in his first two starts. Meanwhile, Wheeler, Nola, Suárez and Sánchez have generally pitched pretty well. If the group remains healthy, they should keep the Phillies in a lot of games this season. -- Todd Zolecki

NL Central

Brewers: is off to a loud start
Yelich is packing a punch to begin his 12th season in the big leagues, and Statcast’s expected statistics say it’s just as good as the surface numbers indicate. Yelich was slashing .324/.410/.706 through the team’s first 10 games. Then there are his expected stats, which consider the nature of a batter’s balls in play and calculate what his numbers could be. For Yelich, those numbers suggest that his hot start is not simply a matter of well-placed hits. Ten games in, Yelich was 15th in the Majors in barrels per plate appearance, and his .482 expected wOBA was fourth best in baseball. -- Adam McCalvy

Cardinals: ’s bat can be counted on
A quick analysis of Winn’s career arc shows that with each level of baseball he has progressed to, he usually finds his footing after a brief adjustment period. That looks to be the case again this season at the MLB level as Winn led the Cardinals in hitting (.333) through 11 games. That fast start comes on the heels of the former top prospect in the Cards system hitting just .172 over 122 at-bats with the Cardinals late last season. More struggles came this spring when he hit just .227 with a .638 OPS in 44 at-bats, but he has stopped overswinging and he’s been more willing to drive balls into right field. Combine his stellar glove and 80-grade throwing arm (per MLB Pipeline) with his hitting, and Winn has been the Cardinals' most pleasant surprise so far. -- John Denton

Cubs: Chicago has one of the NL’s top offenses
Out of the gates, the North Siders have featured an offense near or at the top of the Senior Circuit in runs scored, walk rate, strikeout rate and on-base percentage. The Cubs had a top-third offense in ‘23 and retained much of the same group. But beyond that, there are early signs of building on his strong second half and a potential breakout step forward by young slugger . It’s not a lineup carried by one or two players, but a fairly deep cast with a wide range of offensive attributes. If the power goes out, it’s a group that can create offense via contact and baserunning. There are plenty of reasons to expect the lineup to keep functioning at a high level deep into the summer. -- Jordan Bastian

Pirates: 's bounceback looks real
Pérez was an All-Star in 2022 with the Rangers but struggled in 2023 and was booted to the bullpen after the trade deadline. The Pirates offered him another chance to start, and he has certainly made the most out of it early, recording a 1.89 ERA through his first three starts and striking out 15 over 19 innings pitched. The cutter was a main source of his problems last year, and while it has looked much sharper, he also showed Tuesday that he can lean on his sinker. While it may too much to assume he can regain that All-Star form, he should be a reliable innings-eater who can rack up quality starts. -- Alex Stumpf

Reds: is the club’s best offensive player
Steer doesn’t have the flash of or the national name recognition. But going back to 2023, the Reds left fielder has been consistently part of the offensive machine and the hitter the Reds want up in big situations. Out of the gate in 2024, Steer has been Cincinnati’s most consistent and productive hitter and he is among league leaders in batting and on-base percentage. At the present rate, he could be representing the team as an All-Star. -- Mark Sheldon

NL West

D-backs: is poised for a big year
Marte has always been regarded as a very good player, but he’s also shown some flashes of being an elite one. There was the 2019 season, when he finished fourth in NL MVP voting, and there was last October, when he was dominant in setting a postseason hit streak record and being named NLCS MVP. Marte swung a hot bat during Spring Training and carried that over into the regular season. -- Steve Gilbert

Dodgers: will be just fine in the Majors
After his first start in Seoul, South Korea, it was pretty easy to wonder if Yamamoto was worth the massive 12-year, $325 million deal he got from the Dodgers this winter. Yamamoto allowed five runs and recorded just three outs in his first start against the Padres. But over his last two starts, Yamamoto has shown exactly why he was the most coveted pitcher on the market this offseason. Yamamoto hasn’t allowed a run in his last 10 innings, punching out 13 in the process. -- Juan Toribio

Giants: is a viable Major League starter
The hard-throwing Hicks spent most of his career as a reliever, but he signed with the Giants with the intention of fulfilling his long-held dream of becoming a big league starter. He’s handled the transition with aplomb thus far, averaging six innings across his first three starts and owning a minuscule 1.00 ERA. Hicks has never thrown more than 77 2/3 innings in a Major League season, so the Giants will have to find a way to manage his workload, but Hicks is showing that he has what it takes to stick in the rotation in the long run. -- Maria Guardado

Padres: The spotlight wasn’t too bright for
The Padres asked a lot of their No. 2 prospect according to MLB Pipeline. Merrill zoomed to the Majors at age 20 with only 46 games of experience above High-A while making a position change from shortstop to center field. The defensive transition has been seamless, with generally good reads off the bat and enough athleticism to adjust when he doesn’t get a good jump. His .803 OPS entering Wednesday topped all rookies with at least 20 at-bats. His .371 xwOBA, per Statcast, is in the 76th percentile of all MLB hitters. The bulk of Merrill’s offensive metrics place him among the top third in the Majors. -- AJ Cassavell

Rockies: ’s steady at-bats
McMahon has had dramatic hot and cold streaks. The second half of last year was a deep freeze, partly because of bad habits that returned to his swing and approach and partly because of nagging shoulder and knee injuries. But McMahon hit .400 (tied for the Major League lead) with two home runs and nine RBIs through his first 12 appearances. His .451 on-base percentage was sixth in MLB. More importantly, he was concentrating more on contact and control than force -- and he has enough power to hit home runs swinging that way. -- Thomas Harding