We touched on the biggest disappointments. We are now onto the biggest surprises and there are some very good ones for this season.

The Surge of the Cardinals

Everyone thought the Cubs would win the division. That’s not the surprise. What is the surprise is that they aren’t running away with it entirely and a lot of that has to do with the St. Louis Cardinals. I think many (including myself) thought the Cardinals would be awfully similar to what the Reds are or even on the level as the Brewers. They are now on the same level as them, due to them cooling down and the Brewers getting hot.

But credit to this Cardinals team, who is playing with house money this season. They’ve turned things over to the younger guys and they are leading the way. Brendan Donovan is the best second baseman in the National League. He has been a hitting machine and his 1.8 WAR is the most among all second baseman. Alec Burleson, Lars Nootbaar continue to impress and Masyn Winn is a very fun young player.

The biggest improvement is their pitching. Sonny Gray continues to do his thing, but Matthew Liberatore having a career year is something nobody expected. The rest of the staff has fallen in line, and as it stands they have the 17th best pitching staff in the sport. If they can sustain that and get extra contributions, they’ll continue to fight for the playoffs.

The Giants are For Real

This is easily a surprise. Nobody expected the Giants to be in the mix and that was despite adding Willy Adames and trying to improve their ball club. But I don’t think anyone pegged this team to make the playoffs, not when you have other teams like the Padres and even the Diamondbacks before they began to freefall. But this Giants team is without hesitation for real.

It starts with the pitching and has been one of the best in the sport. They sit 7th in ERA for their rotation (3.54). Logan Webb is in the midst of a career season. Not to mention, Robbie Ray has returned to his CY Young form and leads the Giants with a 2.44 ERA. They’ve gotten other notable contributions and the bullpen has been good as well. This team pitches and they pitch well.

They do need bats. Jung Hoo Lee and Wilmer Flores have been really nice pieces for them hitting wise, but they need more. They get more, this team is more for real t

The Yankees Getting the Contributions They’ve Needed Offensively

Their biggest question other than pitching, was who is going to produce behind Aaron Judge? He can’t do it alone and the team was fortunate to have Juan Soto last season. He left, so others need to fall in line and they have.

They’ve defied my own expectations. I didn’t expect to see what I am seeing and this Yankees offense remains to be one of the best in the sport. The Yankees got virtually no production out of their first base position last season. Even Paul Goldschmidt last season produced more than every Yankee who played the position combined. Right now, Goldschmidt is batting .323, which is eighth overall.

You then have Cody Bellinger, who has put together a nice season. Most importantly, the Yankees do not have to rely on just veterans. Ben Rice has emerged as a legitimate hitter, despite having a bit of a cool down. He is hitting .245 with an .841 OPS, but he’s put on side and has increased his bat speed, which has then translated to raw power. Jasson Dominguez continues to shine as a rookie and is coming off a monstrous month of May, hitting .265 with an .854 OPS.

These are things the Yankees needed to see and also helps ease the blow of not having Giancarlo Stanton in the mix.

The Mariners Can Hit the Baseball

Last season might have been the most frustrating thing in the world for Mariners fans. They have arguably the best put together rotation and a guy that can take the ball EVERYDAY and give them a chance to win. But despite being in the mix for the playoffs, the could not hit the baseball if their lives depended on it. They struggled to hit for average and for power, and they struck out ALOT. Bad recipe and a slap in the face to that rotation.

Fast forward to 2025 and this team can mash the baseball. Cal Raleigh is having a phenomenal year and could have one of the best years we’ve ever seen from a catcher. Furthermore, JP Crawford is bouncing back in a really big way and Julio Rodriguez is having a good enough season for himself. Dylan Moore has been a blessing for depth and this Mariners team has been able to deliver.

Overall, they still struggle for average, but they are 14th in OBP, SLG, and 12th in team OPS. It’s a much better improvement from last season.