The 2026 season is young, and yet some MLB stars might already feel the heat (even with winter reminding us it’s not completely over in some parts of the country). Teams are working on their second or third games of the season this weekend, with some surprise performers emerging and others asking their superstars to kick things into gear already.
Small sample caveats notwithstanding, the early performances from Cal Raleigh and these five other MLB stars is enough to feel a little sweat on your brow.
C Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners
2026 stats: 0-for-7 with seven strikeouts after a 60-homer breakout
Was last year all a dream? Cal Raleigh might want to make sure Randy Arozarena doesn’t have a relative somewhere in the world who put a hex on him after refusing to shake his hand during the WBC. While no stranger to striking out after a year where he fanned 188 times, doing nothing but a walk of shame back to the dugout is alarming through two games and presents quite the hole to climb out of. Big Dumper will eventually run into a big fly, of course, but maybe Raleigh also needs to make some true adjustments at the plate. One cannot hit 60 home runs and fly under any pitching coach’s radar any longer.
RHP Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates
2026 stats: 67.50 ERA in 0.2 innings and bound to face adversity
Here’s the ridiculous thing about how small a sample size we're talking with Paul Skenes right now: He still doesn’t even qualify for the ERA title yet (or non-title, in his case). The reigning NL Cy Young winner allowed five earned runs to the New York Mets and retired just two batters before getting yanked.
The victim of some bad center-field play by Oneil Cruz, fans should also consider the idea that playing for a team like the Pittsburgh Pirates would eventually catch up to Skenes. He cannot afford bad days like the one he had on Opening Day; no one is ready to stop writing up mock trades for Skenes that cost several top-100 prospects. At worst, this is the kind of year Jacob deGrom had in 2017 with the Mets, when his ERA "skyrocketed" to 3.53 thanks to some uncharacteristic bad luck and a lack of help behind him.
OF Julio Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners
2026 stats: 0-for-7 with five strikeouts on a slumping offensive team
Before Raleigh became the face of the Seattle Mariners franchise, there was Julio Rodriguez. His career has been a rare one: A top-10 prospect who almost immediately became a star upon debuting in the Majors, he seems to have reached a certain ceiling which, while fantastic, won’t have his name spoken in the same sentence as Ken Griffey Jr. any time soon.
The fact that the Mariners are 1-1 despite the performance of Raleigh and Rodriguez snoozing through the first two games is actually a good sign; for what it’s worth, first baseman Josh Naylor is also 0-for-8. Rodriguez hit only .207 in the first month last season, so Mariners fans aren’t unfamiliar with a slow start. Still, hitting coach Kevin Seitzer should be sweating and have the Seattle ballpark factors ready to justify any prolonged slumps.
SS Willy Adames, San Francisco Giants
2026 stats: 0-for-7 with four strikeouts after a poor first year in San Francisco
Willy Adames might not feel like a superstar to some fans, but the San Francisco Giants are paying him like one. Just two years into a seven-year deal worth $182 million signed after the 2024 season, the concern meter here should be huge based off of his struggles in 2025. The Giants got a .225/.318/.421 hitter for their money; yeah, Adames smashed 30 home runs and drove in 87, but he also struck out a career-high 179 times and went dormant for whole months at a time. It seems like he’s off to repeat last year’s numbers for San Francisco, who have yet to score a run in two games against the New York Yankees.
1B Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles Dodgers
2026 stats: 0-for-8 and on the other side of 35
Freddie Freeman is the kind of player you can count on to have a career-worst year and then somehow still win World Series MVP. He's started off his year going 0-for-8 with a walk. Why have any panic? It’s his age: He’s already 36, and if you know anything about blowing out that many candles on your cake, you know your body starts to give out. Although still incredibly productive last season, Freeman’s 3.5 bWAR in 2025 was the lowest of any full campaign since 2015. Some athletes suddenly decline; others burn out like a wick.
OF Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks
2026 stats: 1-for-8 after a tough spring training
Maybe it would have been best if Corbin Carroll were eased into action. Dealing with a hamate injury suffered at the beginning of camp, he hit only .105 in spring training and he has limped through two regular season games. In some ways it was irresponsible of the Arizona Diamondbacks to allow him to battle through it, but we can also credit him and the organization for allowing their superstar to join the team right off the bat. The worst of what this can become has yet to arrive. A lengthy slump to begin the year void of power will probably be the outcome. If he’s that bad to begin the year, we can then question if maybe there was a better alternative. A bad March-April can bury Arizona quickly in a crowded NL picture.