Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani continues to do amazing things — counting 2025, he leads MLB with 43 straight games reaching base and 28 ²/₃ consecutive innings with no earned runs allowed — and perennial stars Corbin Carroll, Giancarlo Stanton, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Max Fried, Tarik Skubal and Sandy Alcántara are all off to big starts, too.
But it’s notable how many surprise players are making early impacts. Here’s 12:
1. Joey Wiemer, Nats OF
He’s on his fifth organization in two years, and maybe the late bloomer is finally figuring things out at bat (.440 BA, 1.253 OPS). Many hitting coaches have tried to change his unorthodox swing, but he’s determined to make it work.
2. Jose Soriano, Angels SP
With his big stuff (99-plus mph), the mystery really is why he pitched to an average 4.26 ERA last year (100 ERA-plus). But now he not only leads the majors with a 1.2 WAR and three wins, but holds a 971 ERA-plus at 0.45.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
