The MLB season is officially underway, giving baseball fans games to watch that matter for the first time in months. As exciting as it is to have the game back, it's really hard to fully buy much stock into what's happening over the first couple of weeks of the regular season.
For example, the Atlanta Braves have won just one of their first eight games. Does anyone seriously believe that this Braves team is going to be one of the worst in the game? On the flip side, the San Francisco Giants have won six of their first seven games. While they improved over the offseason, it's really hard to believe they'll end the year as one of the best teams in all of baseball or even find their way into the postseason with how loaded the National League is.
Some players who have gotten off to great starts, like Aaron Judge and Zack Wheeler, are sure to maintain that momentum all year long. Others, however, are likely to regress sooner rather than later.
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4) Tommy Edman is not the slugger he has been thus far
The Tommy Edman trade wasn't the biggest of last year's trade deadline, but it wound up being one of, if not the most impactful. Edman was the NLCS MVP and performed well in the World Series as well, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a World Series win. He has carried that momentum over to the 2025 regular season.
Through 10 games, Edman has 10 hits in his first 39 at-bats. While that isn't crazy, five of Edman's 10 hits have gone over the fence, giving him a share of the National League lead. Edman is a terrific player, highlighted by his strong defensive versatility. One thing he isn't known for is his power, yet he has displayed tons of it.
In his first six seasons prior to this one, Edman has never hit more than 13 home runs. His hot start has him on pace for 81 home runs right now. Edman could very well set a career-high in that department. He could even hit 20 home runs. He is not going to hit like one of the premier power hitters in the sport, though, which is what has happened so far. Edman will cool down, but it's not as if that'll slow the Dodgers down too much.
3) Kyle Freeland hasn't pitched at Coors Field yet
Among 116 pitchers who threw at least 110 innings last season, Kyle Freeland ranked 111th with a 5.24 ERA. Over the course of Freeland's first six MLB seasons, he has posted a 4.45 ERA in 205 appearances (200 starts). So far this season, Freeland has allowed just three runs in 12.2 innings of work over his first two starts, and there's one jarring reason as to why. He hasn't pitched at the hitters' paradise that is Coors Field yet.
The lack of Coors Field exposure is a big reason why the Colorado Rockies rank 11th in the majors as of this writing with a 3.84 team ERA. Six of their first seven games have been on the road. Unfortunately, once Freeland starts to take the ball on his home turf, there's reason to believe his early-season success will fade away.
In his career, Freeland has posted a respectable 4.14 ERA in his 103 appearances away from Coors Field. At home, however, the southpaw's ERA is at 4.76 in 104 appearances. It's hard to blame him for having similar struggles to just about every pitcher that pitches in Colorado, but until he proves he can have sustained success at altitude, it's tough to expect him to consistently pitch well.
2) The Nationals shouldn't expect Mitchell Parker's hot start to last
The Washington Nationals have won just two of their first eight games this season. Both of those wins came in games Mitchell Parker, a pitcher who wasn't even guaranteed a rotation spot entering spring training, started. The southpaw has been nothing short of impressive thus far, allowing just one run in 12.1 innings of work (0.73 ERA). What's even more impressive is that he's shut down the Phillies and the Diamondbacks, two outstanding offenses.
While Parker has undoubtedly opened some eyes, it feels as if the start to his season has been mostly luck-based for a couple of reasons. First, Parker has allowed nine hits and has walked six in his 12.1 innings pitched. It's impressive that he's been able to strand literally every player that has reached base against him, but how likely is that to sustain?
Second, Parker has just seven strikeouts across his two starts. Pitching to contact is fine, but with Parker also walking a good amount of batters, how likely is it that he'll continue stranding runners at the clip he currently is and will keep the opposition off the board without putaway stuff? The answer is unlikely.
1) Eugenio Suarez has already started to cool down
Nobody got off to a better start to this season than Eugenio Suarez, who homered in four of his first five games. In fact, each of his first five hits this season left the ballpark. He had 11 RBI in those five games as well, playing a big role in the Arizona Diamondbacks' hot offensive start. As impressive as that start was, it was easy to expect Suarez to cool down. That has already happened.
Since his raging-hot start, Suarez has gone 1-for-12 with five strikeouts. He's still tied for the National League lead in home runs and is tied for second in RBI, but he has not driven in a run in his last four games.
This is par for the course for Suarez. The 33-year-old has been one of the most prolific power hitters in the game for years now, but he's always been incredibly streaky. Even last season, Suarez had a blistering-hot second half to the tune of a .942 OPS - nearly 300 points higher than his .668 OPS in the first half.
When Suarez is on, he's tough to stop. When he's struggling, he's invisible. His overall numbers look good due to his hot start, but as Diamondbacks fans are already seeing, those numbers will go down as he hits one of his funks.