Names To Watch This MLB Season
Sean Gordon
Staff Writer
Each MLB team has only played around 30 of their 162 scheduled regular season games, but storylines are starting to write themselves. With more than three quarters of the season left to play, it is difficult to predict what exactly will happen throughout the season. There will be some players to look out for as the season progresses.
Here are players that have started the season hot:
Aaron Judge (RF – NY Yankees)
An obvious choice, but one that must be discussed. The reigning AL MVP has picked up right where he left off a season ago, batting .412 and leading the league in hits. The slugger has also gone yard nine times, which trails only Cal Raleigh and Eugenio Suarez, each with ten homers. There isn’t much else to say about Judge. He will be among the favorites for the AL MVP again.
Alex Bregman (3B – Boston Red Sox)
Boston signed two-time World Series champion Alex Bregman to add help to a roster that missed the playoffs a season ago. This signing has narrowed the gap between the Red Sox and the reigning AL East winning New York Yankees with Bregman leading the charge for Boston at the plate. The third baseman is batting .331 and has 40 hits with 23 RBI.
Paul Goldschmidt (1B – New York Yankees)
Another Yankee, but Paul Goldschmidt’s tremendous start to the season cannot be ignored. The first baseman trails only teammate Aaron Judge in the batting average (.363) and hits (41) categories in his thirteenth MLB season. It’s still early, but Goldschmidt seems to be the complement to Aaron Judge that Yankees fans thought they were losing when Juan Soto left for Queens.
Shohei Ohtani (DH – LA Dodgers)
Another obvious choice, this time from the National League. You can’t make any list related to baseball’s best without including Shohei Ohtani. The Japanese slugger is primed for another NL MVP campaign, starting the season strong. Ohtani leads the league in runs scored and has already hit seven home runs.
Pete Alonso (1B – NY Mets)
A name that could be overshadowed by the arrival of Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, has had a nice start to the 2025 campaign. Alonso has been the most important player for the Mets, who currently have the best win percentage in the entire MLB. The seven-year veteran player is batting .346 and has homered seven times while batting in 28 runs. Alonso will be in the mix for NL MVP as long as he remains consistent.
Gavin Lux (LF – Cincinnati Reds)
Gavin Lux was traded to Cincinnati after being a key player in the World Series last season with the Dodgers. Lux’s numbers do not scream at you off the page, but he has been a consistent force for the Reds early on. He has only hit one home run thus far but has managed a .352 average (leads NL) and 32 hits.
Contact Sean at sean.gordon@student.shu.edu