It¡¯s almost Opening Day, with the excitement and promise of a new season radiating throughout the sport and beyond. It¡¯s time to consume baseball in every form possible, including, of course, talking baseball. Whether it¡¯s water-cooler talks, Slacks from the home office, family dinners or group chats, you¡¯re going to need some baseball topics ready. Everyone has a World Series pick, but not everyone is prepared with an A-plus Juan Soto nugget.
That¡¯s where we come in. We don¡¯t just want you talking baseball, we want to equip you to wow and amaze whoever you¡¯re with. Here¡¯s one fact per team to make you sound smart.
AL EAST
Blue Jays: Vlad for average and power
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a career-high .323 last season. With his .311 average in 2021, he now has two qualified seasons with at least a .310 batting average. Can he do it again? The only Blue Jays player to do so more than twice is Tony Fernandez, with four such seasons. But it isn¡¯t just about average -- Guerrero also hits the ball very hard. He has 46 batted balls with at least a 115 mph exit velocity since the start of 2021. That¡¯s second most in MLB in that span, behind only Giancarlo Stanton (95).
Orioles: Ground Chuck
When he starts in the regular season, 41-year-old new Oriole Charlie Morton will join an exclusive list. He¡¯ll be just the fourth pitcher to start for the Orioles/Browns franchise at age 41 or older. Morton will join 1916-17 Eddie Plank (20 starts), 1951-53 Satchel Paige (13) and 1938-39 Fred Johnson (eight). He¡¯ll be the first to do so since the franchise moved to Baltimore.
Rays: Yandy¡¯s unique ability
The Rays recently exercised a 2026 option for Yandy D¨ªaz and added a vesting option for '27. And with good reason, given the reliable anchor he¡¯s been for their offense. Last season, D¨ªaz had a 14.2 percent whiff rate, which was 97th percentile in MLB. His 48.7 percent hard-hit rate was 89th percentile and his 22.8 percent chase rate was 88th percentile. Ranking that well in all three categories was particularly notable. D¨ªaz was the only player to be 85th percentile or better in hard-hit rate, chase rate and whiff rate in 2024 (among Statcast qualifiers, 2.1 plate appearances per team game).
Red Sox: Welcome aboard, Crochet
New Red Sox acquisition Garrett Crochet, who started last year for the White Sox, will be the ninth pitcher in the last 125 seasons to make at least one Opening Day start for multiple franchises before turning 26. He¡¯ll join Dennis Eckersley (CLE, BOS), Art Fromme (STL, CIN), Jim Bagby (BOS, CLE), Joe Kennedy (TB, COL), Red Ruffing (BOS, NYY), Floyd Youmans (MON, PHI), Livan Hernandez (FLA, SF) and Johnny Lush (PHI, STL). The flamethrower may set a new standard for Boston starters. Crochet threw 73 pitches at 99 mph last season, sixth most among starters. The most 99-plus mph pitches by a Red Sox starter in a season under pitch tracking (2008) is 64 by Chris Sale in 2018.
Yankees: MVPs abound
After acquiring 2022 NL MVP Paul Goldschmidt and 2019 NL MVP Cody Bellinger during the offseason, the Yankees now have four MVP winners, with Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton as well. The Yankees will be one of eight teams in history to have at least four former MVPs appear for them in a season -- something the Dodgers will do, too (Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Clayton Kershaw, Shohei Ohtani). The teams to do this prior to '25, per the Elias Sports Bureau: the 2024 Dodgers (Betts, Freeman, Kershaw, Ohtani), 2022 Dodgers (Betts, Bellinger, Freeman, Kershaw), 2021 Dodgers (Betts, Bellinger, Albert Pujols, Kershaw), 1996 Red Sox (Roger Clemens, Jos¨¦ Canseco, Kevin Mitchell, Mo Vaughn), 1982 Angels (Rod Carew, Fred Lynn, Don Baylor, Reggie Jackson) and 1978 Reds (Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, George Foster, Johnny Bench).
AL CENTRAL
Guardians: That bullpen
The Guardians¡¯ bullpen was outstanding in 2024. The group had a 2.57 ERA, the fourth lowest by any team¡¯s relievers in a season in the Wild Card era, behind only the 2013 Braves (2.46), 2003 Dodgers (2.46) and 2013 Royals (2.55). Two big reasons for that were Emmanuel Clase and Cade Smith. The duo had two of the most valuable pitches in baseball last season. Clase¡¯s cutter and Smith¡¯s four-seamer each had a run value of plus-24, per Statcast. Those were tied for the second-most valuable pitches in MLB, with Chris Sale¡¯s slider, behind Dylan Cease¡¯s slider at plus-25.
Royals: Bobby baseball
With 32 homers and 31 stolen bases last season, Bobby Witt Jr. the first shortstop in MLB history with multiple 30-30 seasons. It wasn¡¯t just the home runs and stolen bases, though -- his all-around ability was on display in a big way. He was the only player to be in the 95th percentile or better in batting, baserunning and fielding run value last season. Statcast has tracked these three run value components since 2016. In that span, just one other player has been in the 95th percentile or better in all three run values in a season: Mookie Betts, who did so in his 2018 AL MVP year.
Tigers: The Skubal era continues
Unanimous AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal won a pitching Triple Crown in 2024. By doing so, he became the third Tigers pitcher to win a Triple Crown, joining Justin Verlander in 2011 and Hal Newhouser in 1945. Detroit became just the second team to have three different pitchers win Triple Crowns since earned runs became official in both leagues (1913), joining the Dodgers with Clayton Kershaw (2011), Sandy Koufax (three times) and Dazzy Vance (1924).
Twins: Versatile Willi
Willi Castro played five fielding positions for the Twins in 2024 and also made two pitching appearances. But he didn¡¯t just play five positions, he played each of them at least 25 times: 56 appearances at shortstop, 40 at second base, 34 in left field, 30 in center field and 27 at third base. He became the first player in MLB history to make at least 25 appearances at five or more defensive positions in a single season, per Elias. Entering 2024, only one player had even made 20 appearances at five or more defensive positions in a single season -- Zach McKinstry in 2023.
White Sox: Historic Opening Day
Manager Will Venable named Sean Burke the White Sox Opening Day starter for 2025. He¡¯s thrown just 19 big league innings, the fewest by any White Sox pitcher entering an Opening Day start, per Elias. The prior fewest was back in 1903 by Patsy Flaherty with 61 career innings. That is the fewest career innings by any Opening Day starter since Fernando Valenzuela in 1981, who had 17 2/3 innings under his belt. Burke and Valenzuela are the Opening Day starters in the last 70 years to have thrown fewer than 20 career innings entering that start.
AL WEST
Angels: Powerful and Speedy Trout
Mike Trout only played 29 games last year due to injury, but he was off to a great start in the power and speed departments. He totaled 10 home runs and six stolen bases. He reached 10 homers and five stolen bases in the Angels¡¯ first 25 games of a season for the second time in his career, also doing so in 2018. He joined Reggie Jackson in 1969 and '74 as the only players since 1900 to do this twice. Among those 10 home runs was Trout¡¯s sixth career leadoff on April 23. He hadn¡¯t hit a leadoff home run since Sept. 28, 2012. The 11 years and 208 days between leadoff homers was the second-longest such span in MLB history, per Elias.
Astros: No-hitter factory
With Ronel Blanco¡¯s no-hitter on April 1 last season, the Astros have now thrown at least one no-hitter in three straight seasons entering 2025. They are the seventh team to do so in at least three straight seasons, and this year, they will bid to tie the 2012-15 Giants and 1962-65 Dodgers atop that list by doing so in four consecutive seasons. Houston has thrown seven no-hitters since last being no-hit in Matt Cain¡¯s 2012 perfect game. That is the longest team streak of no-hitters, including playoffs, without being no-hit in MLB history, per Elias.
A¡¯s: Rook(er), line and sinker
The A¡¯s signed Brent Rooker to a five-year extension with a club option for 2030 in the offseason, ensuring that a key piece of their offense will be in tow for years to come. Rooker had a career-high 5.6 WAR last season, hitting 39 home runs with a .293 average and .562 slugging percentage. Two of those home runs came in the same inning on May 4, both of which were at least 110 mph off the bat. Rooker became the first player with multiple homers of at least 110 mph in the same inning of a game under Statcast (2015).
Mariners: Big Dumper
Cal Raleigh set a record for catchers when he hit his 34th home run of the season last year. It was the 93rd of his career, breaking a tie with Mike Piazza for the most home runs by a backstop in his first four career seasons (minimum 50 percent of games at catcher). Looking at this season, the mark for most in a catcher¡¯s first five seasons is 128 by Piazza. Raleigh would need 36 home runs to pass Piazza¡¯s mark, just two more than his career high set last season.
Rangers: deReturn
Jacob deGrom made three starts for the Rangers at the end of last season, and looked like himself, striking out 14 batters in 10 2/3 innings. Entering this year healthy, he¡¯s expected to be what we¡¯ve come to associate with his name. Per Steamer, he¡¯s projected for a 2.88 ERA and 206 strikeouts. That would be his fifth season with at least 200 strikeouts and his first since 2019, when he had 255 for the Mets.
NL EAST
Braves: Everyday Olson
Matt Olson brings a hefty streak into 2025, playing 620 consecutive games dating to May 2, 2021. His streak is the eighth-longest consecutive games played streak to begin in the divisional era (1969), per Elias. Olson trails Cal Ripken Jr. (2,632, from 1982-98), Steve Garvey (1,207, from 1975-83), Miguel Tejada (1,152, from 2000-07), Pete Rose (745, from 1978-83), Dale Murphy (740, from 1981-86), Rose (678, from 1973-78) and Sandy Alomar Sr. (661, from 1969-73). He could move up to fourth on this list if he plays every game this season.
Phillies: Wheels up
Since he joined the Phillies in 2020, Zack Wheeler has amassed 24.7 WAR, per FanGraphs, the most among pitchers in that span. And that value measure doesn¡¯t even include the postseason, where he has a 2.18 ERA in 12 games (11 starts). Wheeler has an 0.73 WHIP in 11 career postseason starts, the lowest in any 11-start span in postseason history, per Elias. He also has the lowest WHIP in postseason history for a career, with a minimum of 50 innings.
Marlins: Sandy¡¯s back
Sandy Alcantara will pitch his first regular-season game for the Marlins since 2023 when he takes the mound on Opening Day. It will be his fifth career Opening Day start, two more than anyone else in Marlins franchise history. The only Dominican-born pitchers to make more than five career Opening Day starts are Juan Marichal (10), Pedro Martinez (eight), Bartolo Colon (seven) and Mario Soto (six).
Mets: Juan Soto, New York Met
Juan Soto is a four-time All-Star and turned 26 this past October. On Opening Day, he¡¯ll play for his fourth MLB team when he debuts for the Mets. Soto will be the first player to make at least four All-Star teams and change teams thrice all before turning 27, per Elias. Soto¡¯s 769 career walks are most in MLB history before turning 26 and second most before turning 27, behind Mickey Mantle¡¯s 797. He¡¯s 29 away from setting that pre-27 record, and he hasn¡¯t even played a regular-season game as a 26-year-old yet.
Nationals: Young power
In the 79 games he played last season, James Wood showed us a window into just how powerful his bat can be. He had a 52.0 percent hard-hit rate, which was 14th-highest among all players with at least 150 batted balls -- a sample size of 343 players. On Sept. 15, he recorded his first career multihomer game, becoming the fifth player in Nationals/Expos history with a multihomer game before turning 22. He joined Juan Soto (seven), Bryce Harper (five), Luis Garc¨ªa Jr. and Gary Carter.
NL CENTRAL
Brewers: Action Jackson
Jackson Chourio¡¯s debut season was one to remember, as he became the first player in MLB history with at least 20 homers and 20 stolen bases in a season at age 20 or younger, based on the player¡¯s age at the end of the season. It wasn¡¯t just the home runs and stolen bases, though -- Chourio demonstrated his all-around value. He was one of five players to be in the 85th percentile or better in batting, baserunning and fielding run value in 2024, along with Bobby Witt Jr., Elly De La Cruz, Francisco Lindor and Jarren Duran.
Cardinals: Winn¡¯s arm
We heard about Masyn Winn¡¯s arm as he made his way up through the Cardinals¡¯ system, and now that he has played 187 MLB games across 2023 and '24, we have certainly seen it on display. His average max-effort arm strength of 92.7 mph was the fastest of any shortstop to make at least 350 throws from the position last year. He already has each of the Cardinals¡¯ top 19 fastest infield assists under Statcast. His 97.2 mph on Sept. 4 was his fastest assist of his MLB career.
Cubs: King Tuck
Kyle Tucker, whom the Cubs acquired in the offseason, was limited to 78 games last season due to injury, but he made them count. Tucker amassed 4.7 WAR, per Baseball Reference, the highest in a season by a position player to play fewer than 80 games since 1900. He leads that list ahead of Byron Buxton (4.6, 2021), Matt Williams (4.6, 1995), Joe DiMaggio (4.3, 1949) and Jason Kendall (4.1, 1999). Tucker has had at least 4.5 WAR in each season since the start of 2021.
Pirates: Raise the Jolly Roger
At 22 years and 302 days old on March 27, Paul Skenes will be the Pirates¡¯ youngest Opening Day starting pitcher since at least 1900 and the youngest Opening Day starting pitcher MLB-wide since Jose Fernandez in 2014 (21 years, 243 days). Skenes, versus Sandy Alcantara, will be the second reigning Rookie of the Year to start Opening Day on the mound opposite a pitcher who had previously won a Cy Young, joining Carl Morton, the 1970 NL Rookie of the Year who started on Opening Day in '71 against Tom Seaver. Skenes, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 Draft, will be the fastest No. 1 overall pick to make his first Opening Day start.
Reds: High velocity
Hunter Greene will be the first Reds pitcher to make multiple Opening Day starts before turning 26 since Don Gullett in 1973 and '75. Expect to see plenty of velo. Greene has thrown 475 pitches of at least 100 mph in his MLB career, all as a starter. That is 155 more than any other starter since pitch tracking began in 2008. deGrom is second with 320.
NL WEST
Dodgers: Japanese-born superstars
Last season, Shohei Ohtani had 9.2 WAR, all as a batter. In 2023, he had 6.1 WAR as a batter and 3.9 as a pitcher, for 10.0 WAR total. In his first MLB season in 2024, Yoshinobu Yamamoto had 1.8 WAR in 18 starts. We don¡¯t know what this season will bring for either, or for rookie Roki Sasaki, but it seems fair to figure that all three may reach 4.0 WAR in a season at some point soon. For context, a 5.0 WAR season is generally accepted as an All-Star output. No team has ever had multiple Japanese-born players with at least 4.0-plus WAR in the same single season.
D-backs: Corbin and Corbin
The D-backs signed 2021 NL Cy Young Corbin Burnes this offseason. He joins dynamic outfielder Corbin Carroll on Arizona¡¯s squad. There have been three players with the first name Corbin in MLB history. Burnes and Carroll are the first to be teammates. The other, Corbin Martin, was on the D-backs in 2021-22, but did not overlap at the MLB level with Corbin Carroll. He was then claimed on waivers by the Brewers and later by the Orioles.
Giants: Logan¡¯s Web(b)
Franchise stalwart Logan Webb will make his fourth consecutive Opening Day start when the Giants take the field on Thursday. Webb will be the seventh Giants pitcher to make at least four straight Opening Day starters, per Elias. He will join Juan Marichal (six, from 1964-69), Madison Bumgarner (2014-17), Tim Lincecum (2009-12), Larry Jansen (1948-51), Bill Voiselle (1944-47) and Mickey Welch (1883-86).
Padres: Just keep hitting
Luis Arraez did it yet again, winning a batting title for the third straight season. With a 2022 AL batting title for the Twins, a '23 NL one for Miami and a '24 NL one for San Diego, Arraez became the first player to win a batting title in three straight seasons for different three franchises. Can he win another this year? Six players in MLB history have won four or more consecutive batting titles, per Elias. They are Ty Cobb (nine, from 1907-15), Rogers Hornsby (six, from 1920-25), Tony Gwynn (four, from 1994-97), Wade Boggs (four, from 1985-88), Rod Carew (four, from 1972-75) and Honus Wagner (four, from 1906-09).
Rockies: Tremendous Tovar
Ezequiel Tovar had a strong season for the Rockies in his second full year in the bigs. He had 45 doubles to lead the NL and 26 home runs. He became the first Rockies player to lead the National League in doubles outright in a season since Matt Holliday in 2007. Tovar was one of four players in the Wild Card era to have at least a share of his league¡¯s lead in doubles in his age-22 season or younger, joining Rafael Devers (2019), Manny Machado (2013) and Alex Rodriguez (1996). Tovar, who turned 23 in August, already has nine more home runs than anyone else in Rockies history before turning 24 -- and he still has several months to add to his total.