Just like last week, I will go over the popular headliner stories that took place over the past week. It is super interesting to see where teams land in the rankings super early in the season and where they may end up later on down the stretch. But for now, let’s analyze the short sample size we have already.

Vintage deGrom

You know baseball’s officially back when Jacob deGrom is out there dealing like a Cy Young contender. We got a perfect reminder of that this past Friday when the Rangers took on the Dodgers, squaring off against Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Even though deGrom took the loss, it still felt like a vintage performance from the 36-year-old ace. He went 7 strong innings, allowing just 1 earned run and striking out 7, dropping his ERA to a solid 3.32.

But honestly, deGrom is just the cherry on top of the ridiculous level of pitching the Rangers have been putting up during this 20+ game stretch. Top to bottom, this staff has been lights out, and if they can keep this up, Texas might be looking at another serious run.

The other contributors

Would it surprise people to realize that deGrom isn’t even the best pitcher on his own team or even the second best. If deGrom is not even perfoming at full capacity and your team is still winning then you’re especially in for a surprise once he starts to turn things back on. The two unexpected veterans are Nathan Eovaldi and Tyler Mahle. Eovaldi has been the ace of the staff for the last three seasons now and he looks to be maintaing his same consistent pace of 12 wins and a 3.50 era. To kickoff this season Eovaldi has worked into overdrive starting the season off with a 2.64 era in 5 games, hurling one complete game in 30.2 innings for an ERA+ of 144. In any other year Eovaldi would be the ace of the staff however Tyler Mahle has put that discussion to rest. Quickly to begin the season Mahle is 3-0, 0.68 ra in 5 games 26.2 inninga pitched with a whip under 0.85. He is electric and everything the Rangers need to put them over the top. He is truly a game changer and I am exicted for his first healthy season since 2022.

Liam Hendriks Comeback Story

Liam Hendriks had a stretch from 2019-2022 where he was the best closer in baseball. Statistics did not lie as Hendirks had a 2.23 era, 0.85 WHIP and averaged around 4.5 wins between the Oakland Athletics and the Chicago White Sox. Unfortunately he had to leave baseball activities at the start of the 2023 season after being diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in December 2022 . He underwent treatment, including chemotherapy and immunotherapy, at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona.  Flash forward to now and Liam Hendriks hasn’t pitched in the majors in well over almost two years with his last outing coming on June 9th 2023. Since then he has signed a 2 year deal with the Red Sox. His deal included a base salary of $10 million with incentives that can reach $20 million. Liam Hendriks had an ugly debut to say the least, in his first inning of work he gave up 3 hits and two of them counted for two earned runs with one of them being a homerun. His season era has jumped up to a revolting 18.00 era however the era will most certainly go down with an increased work load.

Juan Soto Heating Up?

Juan Soto is the man under the most scrunity and media pressure. For someone who signed a near $800 million deal he certaintly is not playing like one. However this past series the Mets swept the Cardinals saw Juan Soto look alot more confident at the plate. In the first game of the series the Mets put up four runs to back up their formidable ace in Griffin Canning.

As for Soto he started Thursday’s game going 2-3 with a double, a walk and a sacrifice fly. On Sunday, he drove in three runs while scoring another. Overall, in the final three games of the Mets Cardinals series the right fielder went 5-10 with two walks, two runs scored and five RBIs. These results quickly exceeded his previous hit and RBI totals from the previous eight games entering Friday (3-29, two RBIs)

Soto has stated in an interview after Sunday’s sweep, “players go through ups and downs, it will never always go great. There are ups and downs, but whenever you click in and find your spot, that’s when everything starts.”

The season is long and cruel but it is safe to say Juan Soto has found himself again on the baseball field. The start of the season Soto had hardly reflects the $765 million invested in him but it looks like Soto may have found his swing again. Why do people need to seriously over analyze this guy and his swing patterns? He is a legend there is no denying that, guys like these do not come around often and can easily fix their mistakes in the box without a problem. I am not worried and you shouldn’t be either.

Skenes Problems?

Paul Skenes, a man of so much baseball fortune and greatness, can’t seem to find his groove in this early season. On his own bobblehead day at PNC Park, Skenes couldn’t give the fans what they came for — a win. He went 7 innings of 2-run ball with 4 strikeouts but still couldn’t come away with the W. Honestly, he already looks like a guy tired of being in Pittsburgh.

It sucks for him, but Skenes isn’t afraid to be vocal. A few months ago, he openly pleaded with ownership to step up, saying “We Pirates want to see a winning team again. We’re tired of rewatching that 2015 Wild Card loss like it’s some motivational video.” The frustration’s valid.

Through 5 games, Skenes is 2-2 with a 2.87 ERA in 31.1 innings and 30 strikeouts. Those are alien numbers — except by his own rookie-year standards, where he nearly went 10-0 to start his career. Maybe if he cracked a few more smiles, things would feel lighter around him. Right now, he reminds me of a young Jacob deGrom — filthy, dominant, and tragically stuck with no run support.

Rematch in Queens

The Mets (15-7) and Phillies (13-9) are set for a three-game rematch at Citi Field Monday to Wednesday. Both teams are hot — but the Mets are hotter, coming off a four-game sweep of the Cardinals, our first time sweeping those Redbirds since 1986. We already rolled through one red team — we’re not scared of this one either.

Coming into this season, it was all the same nonsense: “Clay Holmes isn’t a starter,” “Can you trust Senga’s health?” “Can Peterson keep it up?” All that chatter you don’t need to hear before a season even starts. And what happened? Three weeks in, we’ve got the best team ERA in baseball — a filthy 2.35. Second-best is the Padres at 2.74. Oh — and the Phillies? The team everyone was hyping up for their “deep” pitching staff — Nola, Wheeler, Luzardo, Cristopher Sánchez, Ranger Suárez — these dudes don’t even crack the top 10. Their team ERA? A fat 4.29 — ranked 22nd.Bums.

It’s almost laughable they’re 13-9. That team crumbles when the pressure turns up. The Mets though? We exceed under pressure because we ignore it. Nobody expects us to be good. No one fears us. So why be nervous? Why fold? We lean into it — and look what it’s doing for us.

Tonight we get Aaron Nola, who’s been straight-up awful this year — 0-4 with a 6.65 ERA. I’m fired up for what the Mets bats can do against a washed-up veteran like him.

As for us? Tylor Megill’s on the bump — 2-2 with a ridiculous 1.40 ERA and a mind-blowing 275 ERA+. Now, Megill always comes out hot in March and April — then crashes back down to Earth, straight to the pits of hell in terms of trustworthiness. But tonight? No excuses. This is a game you have to win.

At the end of the day, baseball is a sport that constantly changes. You can’t get pissed off over one game — it’s a long, brutal, and straight-up insane road to the last dance. You gotta keep up, stay on your feet, and roll with the punches, because like every MLB season, it drags you to the edge of your seat and has you ripping your hair out some nights.

Baseball drives you insane — but it also drives you. It’s the motive in life, the thing that keeps you coming back even when it makes no sense. It’s a long season, it’s unpredictable, and it’ll test your patience — but damn, that’s what makes it beautiful.