Ranking MLB’s 10 biggest letdowns entering June

The first two months of the MLB season brought plenty of pleasant surprises. From teams like the Nationals, White Sox and Cardinals shockingly sticking in contention to Munetaka Murakami setting the world on fire, there's been a lot to celebrate. There have also been several disappointments, though.

These are the worst of the worst letdowns thus far.

10. Miami Marlins aces

Expectations were higher for the Miami Marlins this season than they were in quite some time, and their twin aces, Sandy Alcantara and Eury Perez, were a huge reason why. Well, neither arm has come close to meeting expectations, and the Marlins are 26-33 as a result.

Alcantara began his season with a bang, allowing just two earned runs in his first 24.1 innings of work ... only to post a 6.53 ERA in his next nine starts. That ERA is the worst of the 75 qualified starters in baseball over that span. Perez has a 4.60 ERA in 12 starts; he's had some good moments, but his command has been awry, as he's walked far too many hitters and surrendered too many home runs. Worst of all, Perez hurt himself in the dugout in the middle of his last start, resulting in an IL stint that'll keep him out for a couple of months.

The Marlins have gone a combined 11-13 when their two best pitchers have taken the ball, and even that feels fortunate. It goes without saying that if Miami hopes to make the playoffs, it'll need Alcantara and eventually Perez to pitch much better.

9. Baltimore Orioles rotation

The Baltimore Orioles hoped to rebound following an abysmal 2025 campaign, but so far, that has not happened. At 28-32, Baltimore is in fourth place in the AL East, and as disappointing as guys like Pete Alonso and Gunnar Henderson have been, their rotation is the biggest eason why.

Kyle Bradish has pitched better lately and Brandon Young has been a pleasant surprise, but major pieces of this rotation have struggled mightily. The Orioles traded a haul of prospects for Shane Baz only for him to pitch like a No. 5 starter on most nights at best. The Orioles believed in Trevor Rogers, who had an outstanding 2025 campaign, only for him to post an ERA approaching 7.00. Chris Bassitt has been so bad that he's been used as a bulk reliever a couple of times.

Mike Elias had a chance to sign or trade for a big-name starter, but he chose to make Alonso his major splash instead. Baltimore is paying the price for that mistake in more ways than one.

8. Invisible Padres position player stars

The San Diego Padres committed a ton of money to their star players, hoping they'd carry them to a magical October run. Well, while the team has gone 32-25 to this point, those biggest names have done virtually nothing to contribute.

A lot of attention has been on Fernando Tatis Jr., who didn't even hit his first home run of the year until the end of May, but he's far from the only one to struggle thus far. Manny Machado is having the worst season of his career by far, Jackson Merrill has taken another massive step back and Xander Bogaerts is far from the player he once was. Even Jake Cronenworth, once a steady second baseman, has been a zero offensively.

The Padres have gotten surprisingly productive seasons from guys like Gavin Sheets and Miguel Andujar, but they've been one of the worst offensive teams in the league overall because the players they thought they could count on have performed so poorly. For them to go on a run, that'll have to change.

7. Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox made it to the postseason in 2025, and hoped to improve upon that in 2026. They've gone in the other direction: At 24-33, the Red Sox are in last place in the AL East and have the fourth-worst record in the American League. It's getting late very early for this team, even in a weak AL.

There's been little to get excited about so far. Sure, they've gotten mostly good pitching and it's nice to see young lefties Payton Tolle and Connelly Early prove that they belong in the Majors, but what else is there to be happy about? The lineup, outside of Willson Contreras and Wilyer Abreu, has been abysmal. Garrett Crochet has been limited to just six starts and just suffered a setback in his rehab. Even the young core consisting of guys like Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer has underwhelmed.

Alex Cora has already been fired, and barring a massive turnaround, it wouldn't be surprising to see Craig Breslow be next.

6. Bo Bichette

When the New York Mets signed Bo Bichette, there were concerns about his defense. But the assumption was that he'd hit the same way he'd done for virtually his entire career. That has not happened: Bichette is slashing .222/.276/.312 with five home runs and 27 RBI this season. His 70 wRC+ is tied for 148th out of 162 position players, with the likes of Andres Gimenez and Josh Bell.

Bichette has been an All-Star-caliber hitter virtually his entire career prior to this season, with the only exception being in an injury-riddled 2024 campaign in which he only appeared in 81 games. He's fully healthy this year, but whether it's the adjustment to a new team or something else, he just hasn't been productive.

Bichette signed a short-term, high-AAV deal with opt-outs, likely intending to reenter free agency after the 2026 campaign. If he continues to play like this, though, that won't be happening.

5. The Houston Astros' pitching

The Houston Astros rank inside the top 10 in the Majors in runs scored, but you wouldn't know it when looking at their 27-33 record. It's been a struggle in Houston this season, almost exclusively because the pitching has been unbearably bad. Houston's 4.94 staff ERA is the worst in the American League and is only better than the Colorado Rockies overall.

Hunter Brown has been limited to just two starts, Josh Hader has yet to make an appearance, and while starter Spencer Arrighetti has been great, virtually nobody else has.

These are five of the team's most important pitchers entering the year, and they've all struggled. Abreu lost his closer job, and the only reason guys like Burrows and McCullers have made as many starts as they have is that the Astros lack alternatives. As good as Yordan Alvarez has been, this kind of pitching is hard to overcome.

4. San Francisco Giants

I didn't necessarily expect the San Francisco Giants to be anything more than a Wild Card team at best, but there was reason to believe they'd at the very least be competitive. Well, the Giants are 23-36, at the conclusion of play on Sunday, holding one of the worst records in the entire sport.

Nothing has gone right for the Giants. The Tony Vitello hire looks iffy at best. Rafael Devers, even with a hot streak of late, has looked like a shell of himself. Matt Chapman has one home run this season (even Luis Arraez has two). Even Logan Webb, one of MLB's most consistent and durable starters for years, has not been himself and has missed time due to injury.

The Giants were a team attempting to win now, yet they find themselves in virtually the same spot as the Rockies. That's the last place they should want to be.

3. Cal Raleigh

Cal Raleigh lit the world on fire in 2025 when he hit 60 home runs for the Seattle Mariners. It was hard to expect a repeat of that season, but he would still be productive, right? So far, that has not been the case, as Raleigh has been one of the sport's biggest letdowns.

The catcher has slashed .161/.243/.317 with seven home runs and 18 RBI this season while striking out a whopping 31.5 percent of the time. He had been mired in a 2-for-44 slump before being placed on the IL with an oblique injury.

Again, even if you didn't expect 60 home runs again, nobody could've expected this. Raleigh went from an MVP candidate to a player who couldn't buy a hit, and that's a major shame.

2. The New York Mets offense

David Stearns hoped to improve the New York Mets' run prevention, and for the most part, that plan has worked: The Mets are in the top 10 in the Majors in staff ERA, giving them chances to win their share of games. They're just 26-33, though, because their offense simply has not hit.

Injuries certainly have not helped, as virtually every key Met not named Bichette has missed at least some time. But the offense has been miserable, really from the start. Outside of Juan Soto, the Mets have not had a single consistent offensive presence all year long, and that includes Francisco Lindor, who was underperforming before his calf injury.

With even an average offense, the Mets would be in the playoff hunt, if not in a playoff spot. Because their lineup has been so putrid, New York will need a miracle just to get back to .500.

1. The Tarik Skubal injury

Tarik Skubal's injury stinks for so many reasons. First and foremost, he was hoping to win a third straight Cy Young award, something that has rarely ever been done in the history of the sport. Second, the lefty was hoping to cash in as a free agent; assuming Skubal returns from the IL looking like his usual self and he doesn't get hurt again, he'll still earn a ridiculous contract — but teams will certainly be more leery. Third, the Detroit Tigers' season has gone completely off the rails as a result.

On the day Skubal was placed on the IL, the Tigers were 18-18. After Sunday's loss, Detroit is now 22-38 on the year, holding sole possession of the worst record in the Majors as of this writing. They've gone 4-20 since their best pitcher got injured, an unfathomable result.

Scott Harris held onto Skubal over the winter in an effort to win with him, but that has backfired to the point where Skubal will probably get traded at the deadline. Which is an absolute shame: Tigers fans knew he was likely gone after the year, but it would've been nice to have one more full season of him wearing the English D. The injury robbed the chances of that happening.

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