Within the next week, we will reach the quarter point of the 2024 MLB season. Can you believe that? It feels like we just got started, and yet already, we’re nearly through the first turn. There are various theories about when you can start paying real attention to the standings:

CHICAGO -- Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga shouted and spun down the mound, while Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya burst out of his crouch and violently pumped a fist in the air. The way the Wrigley Field crowd roared after Imanaga escaped the sixth inning with a strikeout of Xander Bogaerts on

NEW YORK -- The Yankees have never hit Justin Verlander like this. The Bronx Bombers pounded Verlander for seven runs in Tuesday night's 10-3 demolition of the Astros in the series opener at Yankee Stadium -- the most they've scored in a game against the Astros' ace since he first

LOS ANGELES -- On Monday, the Dodgers got a chance to watch Walker Buehler make his return to the mound after missing nearly two years due to injury. For the Dodgers to be at their best, they’ll need Buehler moving forward. On Tuesday, while not nearly the same level of

ST. LOUIS -- A Cardinals club already reeling from a languishing offense took another severe hit during a 7-5 loss to the Mets at Busch Stadium on Tuesday night, when veteran catcher Willson Contreras suffered a fractured left forearm that will likely keep him out of action for several weeks.

Making the jump from Triple-A to the Majors is one of the toughest transitions for any player in professional baseball. While stars like Juan Soto, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Julio Rodríguez seamlessly transitioned to the Majors, that's not often the case for young players. By gaining experience at the highest

PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies have the best record in baseball, and Bryce Harper hasn’t even been on one of his months-long tears yet. He might be close. He hit a grand slam in the fourth inning in Tuesday night’s 10-1 victory over the Blue Jays at Citizens Bank Park, hitting

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Mariners’ 10-6 victory over the Twins on Tuesday night at Target Field can be easily broken into two pieces. There was before Cal Raleigh entered the game, and then there was after he entered the game. Raleigh’s pinch-hit grand slam with one out in the seventh inning

ST. LOUIS -- Few players in baseball needed a hit more than Pete Alonso. As Alonso stepped to the plate in the fifth inning Tuesday at Busch Stadium, he was deep in a 1-for-32 slump that had dragged his average down to .201. His slugging percentage had fallen more than

DENVER -- The first three innings of Tuesday’s series opener between the Giants and Rockies looked deceptively like a pitchers’ duel, with the game scoreless through three and with each team notching a couple of hits. But while Rockies starter Dakota Hudson walked five and left the game in the

ATLANTA -- Marcell Ozuna delivered the go-ahead single in the decisive two-run eighth and Jarred Kelenic homered for the first time this year. But Aaron Bummer's damage control in the sixth inning may have been the most important contribution in the Braves’ 4-2 win over the Red Sox on Tuesday

CHICAGO -- Cody Bellinger went through all the necessary tests to make sure he could feel like himself. The biggest step arrived Monday, when the Cubs’ center fielder faced live pitching at Wrigley Field and did not hold anything back with his swing. The way Bellinger felt in that session

WASHINGTON -- What a difference an offseason makes. The season after allowing the most home runs among all National League pitchers, Trevor Williams is the only starter who has not surrendered a homer this year (35-inning minimum). The right-hander extended his streak to seven homer-less starts in the Nationals’ 3-0

OAKLAND -- From the very pitch on Tuesday afternoon, the Rangers had the upper hand. Marcus Semien drove a first-pitch fastball from Ross Stripling 401 feet over the left-center-field wall for a leadoff homer, his third of the season and the 27th of his career, kicking off an offensive outburst

KANSAS CITY -- William Contreras was barely at second base after hitting a double with the Brewers down to their final strike and trailing by two runs on Tuesday night, when Willy Adames heard more of the chatter he’d been hearing all night. Adames stood on deck, representing the go-ahead

CINCINNATI -- Zac Gallen was confident that his right hamstring was no longer an issue, that all the extra rest he had gotten since his last start on April 26 had taken care of the tightness that forced him to leave the game in the sixth inning. Yet, as with

ST. PETERSBURG -- Randy Arozarena is starting to look more like himself. The Rays’ All-Star left fielder went deep for the third time in five games on Tuesday night, blasting a two-run shot to left field in the third inning of Tampa Bay’s 5-1 victory over the White Sox at

After a multi-season hiatus, Crooked Numbers returns with a heaping portion of Minor League Baseball on-field oddities and absurdities. This edition, covering the start of the season through the end of April, has a disproportionate number of items from the Triple-A level. As for why that is, who knows? Maybe

CLEVELAND -- The baseball Ryan Vilade struck for his first Major League hit sat in a plastic bag on the top shelf of his locker in the Tigers clubhouse at Progressive Field. It was three years in the making, so it was fittingly preserved for safe keeping. There were three

The Rookie-level Arizona Complex and Florida Complex leagues began play last Saturday, a month earlier than they did a year ago. The changes mean that the circuits will be populated more by players making the jump from the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League the season before and less by guys coming

PITTSBURGH -- It’s nights like Tuesday night that keep Kevin Pillar going. Even when other teams have passed on him. Even when teams who haven’t passed on him have limited his at-bats. As important as the two homers and career-high six RBIs in the Angels’ 9-0 victory over the Pirates

This story was excerpted from MLB Pipeline's newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

This story was excerpted from Adam McCalvy’s Brewers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox. KANSAS CITY -- Matt Erickson was 28 years old in 2004 when he reported to Triple-A Indianapolis, but he might as well have been

This story was excerpted from Daniel Kramer’s Mariners Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox. SEATTLE -- The T-shirts surfaced in Spring Training and they quickly became a hit for on-field workouts and batting practice. By the end of

NEW YORK -- There’s been somewhat of an air of invincibility around Justin Verlander when he steps onto the mound against the Yankees while wearing an Astros uniform. Entering Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium, the likely future Hall of Famer had only lost two games to New York in the