The MLB Opening weekend overreactions with a grain of truth to them

There isn't a better time to overreact than the first week of the MLB season. I mean, every team is still very alive with 160-ish games yet to be played, and all sorts of players get off to hot and cold starts. I mean, who had Paul Skenes getting pulled in the first inning of his Opening Day start? Is he washed? Who bet on Luke Raley to hit home runs in each of the Seattle Mariners' first three games? Is he the AL MVP favorite?

These overreactions are clear overreactions to the first weekend of the MLB regular season but they could actually come to fruition.

Mike Trout is all the way back

In 2025, Mike Trout had his healthiest season since 2019. He appeared in 130 games, which was great to see, but he hit just .232 with a 32 percent strikeout rate. He struggled mightily to catch up to fastballs, and pitchers reacted accordingly. Well, in his first four games of this season, Trout has gone 6-for-13 with two home runs and seven walks. He's reached base in 13 of his 20 plate appearances, good for a .650 OBP. Is that good?

Not only is Trout hitting like the MVP-caliber player he once was, but he's even made some nice plays in center field, the position he believes will keep him the healthiest, and he's also stolen a base. Trout looks every bit like the five-tool monster he was in his prime, and he had this huge series at Daikin Park, a stadium that's given him fits in the past.

The Los Angeles Angels are a team full of flaws, but having this version of Trout certainly makes them more entertaining to watch. If he can stay healthy (which is admittedly a big if), why can't he have a career resurgence? We all know he has the talent, and he looks as potent as he has in quite some time, now.

Jacob Misiorowski is a NL Cy Young dark horse

The Milwaukee Brewers took a risk, trading Freddy Peralta for prospects fresh off a NLCS berth. The reason for the trade was mostly because Peralta is only a year away from free agency and they were unlikely to re-sign him, but the Brewers were also comfortable making the deal because they believed their internal options, like Jacob Misiorowski, were ready to step up. If Misiorowski's Opening Day start was any indication of what'll happen in the future, they were right.

Misiorowski got the ball for the season opener and was nothing short of dominant. He made one mistake that resulted in a home run but was otherwise unhittable, allowing one run on two hits, issuing three walks and striking out 11 batters in five innings of work. 11 of the 15 outs Misiorowski recorded were strikeouts, and the only ball that went out of the infield was the home run.

It's no secret that Misiorowski has some of the best pure stuff in the sport. His command can be spotty at times, and walking three batters in five innings on Opening Day is proof of that, but with the stuff he has, why can't he make serious noise in the NL? We saw how dominant he could be at times in 2025, and now, with experience under his belt, he seems poised to take a leap.

Chase DeLauter will lead the Guardians to a AL Central title

It feels like every year, the Cleveland Guardians' lineup features Jose Ramirez and a whole bunch of average to below-average hitters. I mean, in 2025, Ramirez had a 133 wRC+ and was a AL MVP finalist, yet Cleveland still finished 28th in runs scored. Kyle Manzardo was their only other above-average hitter. This season, it's looking like Cleveland finally has a Robin to Ramirez's Batman in Chase DeLauter.

DeLauter debuted in last year's postseason but hadn't played in a regular-season game at the MLB level until Opening Day. He promptly homered in his first regular-season at-bat. He then did so again in the ninth inning, giving Cleveland a much-needed insurance run. He did so again the next day against George Kirby. Oh yeah, he did so again, this time against Andres Munoz on a pitch out of the strike zone, on Saturday. He's homered four times in total, and at least once in each of the three games he's played.

Obviously, DeLauter won't average more than one home run per game through the entire 162-game season, but he certainly looks like a player who can put up monster numbers hitting in front of Ramirez. Having the offensive firepower they lacked around Ramirez last season, why can't the Guardians win a third straight division title? The Detroit Tigers are favored, but Cleveland should be taken seriously.

Dylan Cease will be a AL Cy Young finalist

Many scoffed at Dylan Cease getting a seven-year, $210 million deal after posting a 4.50 ERA in 2025, but the Toronto Blue Jays looked past his ERA and believed he was an elite pitcher worth a mega-contract. In his Blue Jays debut, we're seeing why.

Matched up against a dynamic Athletics lineup, Cease allowed just one run on three hits in 5.1 innings pitched. He walked two batters and struck out 12. Yes, 12 of Cease's 16 outs were strikeouts, and like Misiorowski, he rarely allowed the A's to make contact, let alone do damage. This is the kind of start he's always been capable of.

Sure, Cease has a pair of 4.50 ERA seasons in his last three years, but he also has two top-four finishes in the Cy Young balloting. He also has five straight years of at least 165 innings and 214 strikeouts. When he's on, he's incredibly tough to square up and eats a ton of innings. With an elite defense behind him and his strikeout stuff in top form, another dominant season could be on the horizon.

Marlins will linger in the NL playoff race

It's easy to overlook the Miami Marlins in a division that includes the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves, and in a league that houses teams like the Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers. After all, the Marlins have MLB's lowest payroll, and they've made the postseason just once in a full season (excluding the shortened 2020 season) since their World Series win in 2003. They should not be overlooked, though.

Sure, they played the lowly Colorado Rockies to begin their season and needed some late-game Owen Caissie magic to secure the sweep, but the Marlins won 79 games last season and could be even better in 2026. They won 79 games despite a brutal half-season from Sandy Alcantara and getting just 20 starts from Eury Perez. That dynamic duo combined to allow three runs in 14 innings with 13 strikeouts and only three walks.

They didn't hit much in the three-game sweep, but it's worth noting that their best hitter, Kyle Stowers, is hurt, and that Owen Caissie, their top prospect, has gone 5-for-10, including his walk-off home run to secure the sweep. They might not make the playoffs, but expect the Marlins to be in the Wild Card hunt from start to finish.

It's going to take a while for Bo Bichette to get going

Bo Bichette's New York Mets career has gotten off to a brutal start. He's gone just 1-for-14 with eight strikeouts, several of which have come in big spots and in an ugly fashion. Defensively, his throws from third base have been erratic and almost exclusively glove-side. The start to his Mets career has gone so poorly that Mets fans began booing him on Sunday, in just his third game with the club.

Some Mets fans have already come to the conclusion that 2025 will be a lost season for Bichette based on these three games. I won't go that far, but I will say that it'll likely be a while before he looks like the Bichette of old for a couple of reasons. First, adjusting to a new position is easier said than done. Bichette has had some good moments in his brief time at third base, but clearly has more work to do when it comes to perfecting the position.

Second, Bichette is adjusting to a new city with a whole lot of pressure under a massive new contract. We saw Juan Soto take a couple of months after signing his $765 million deal with the Mets to adjust before he was fully comfortable and putting up Juan Soto numbers. Fans might not give Bichette the patience he needs, but adjusting to a new situation under lots of pressure is very hard.

Bichette should be fine, but it's reasonable to expect him to not hit the ground running after what we just witnessed.

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