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The bases are juiced with 15 games on the schedule, which means I’m stepping up to the plate to drive in some MLB player props winners.

My favorites for today include a pair of RBI props for a couple of big-name sluggers who are somehow still getting undervalued.

Those and more MLB picks for Friday, April 3 below.

Best MLB player props today

Dylan Cease Over 7.5 Strikeouts (+112)

This is a big number. But if anyone is up to the task, it’s Dylan Cease. 

Cease’s debut with the Toronto Blue Jays couldn’t have gone better. The right-hander allowed just one run on three hits while punching out a ridiculous 12 batters in 5 1/3 innings pitched against the Athletics.

And I love his chances of doing something similar to his former team, the Chicago White Sox, on Friday afternoon.

The White Sox are striking out at a crazy high rate to start the season. A whopping 34% percent of the time, to be precise. If Cease faces 22 batters again in this start, that’s 7.5 strikeouts. 

The only other big strikeout arm the White Sox have faced this season has been the Milwaukee Brewers' Jacob Misiorowski, and he struck out 11.

So, giving me Over 7.5 at plus money is too good to pass up.

• Time: 2:10 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: CHSN, SportsNet

Yordan Alvarez Over 0.5 RBIs (+110)

Air Yordan is back.

Yordan Alvarez looks like his old self after an injury-riddled 2025 campaign, and his power was on full display in the Houston Astros sweep of the Boston Red Sox, hitting two doubles, two dingers and four RBIs.

Alvarez is now hitting .417 with a 1.480 OPS, three dingers and six RBIs for the season, and he’ll look to stay hot as they open a series with the Athletics.
 
The A’s hand the ball to Jeffrey Springs, but don’t let the lefty-lefty matchup scare you away. Alvarez has had reverse splits his entire career. The Astros slugger is a career .319 hitter with a .984 OPS when facing left-handed pitching. 

On top of that, Springs is an extreme fly ball pitcher, ranking in the sixth percentile in ground ball rate. That is not a recipe for success vs. Alvarez. 

Yordan gets into one tonight and drives in another run.

• Time: 9:40 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: SCHN2, NBCSCA

Juan Soto Over 0.5 RBIs (+155)

This is straight up a mispriced number for Juan Soto to drive in a run.

All he is is one of the best hitters in the world, off to a solid start this season with an advantageous pitching matchup. Soto comes into this one with a solid .333 average, a .894 OPS, a home run, and five RBIs. 

Now, the New York Mets lefty slugger will face off against San Francisco Giants right-hander Tyler Mahle.

Mahle's first start with the Giants was solid if unspectacular. Allowing two runs on five hits wile striking out five in four innings against the New York Yankees.

But he won’t be happy to see Soto. The Mets outfielder is 4-for-11 with a double and two dingers in his career vs. Mahle, good for a .338 expected batting average and a .976 expected slugging.

Soto will have a productive night by The Bay.

• Time: 10:15 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Peacock

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The Dodgers added a new wrinkle to their uniforms on Thursday, announcing that they will wear blue jerseys as a road alternate jersey.

Unlike the “Los Dodgers” city connect uniforms the team used in 2021-23 which were also blue but from head to toe for the first two years, these new blue road jerseys will be worn with gray pants.

Dodger Blue.

For the first time in history, the Dodgers will be wearing a blue jersey as part of their regular uniform rotation on the road. pic.twitter.com/ce3EVFVJTd

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 3, 2026

The Dodgers have worn blue jerseys all spring training for several years, but these new road alternate uniforms have a few notable differences. For one, the “Los Angeles” script on the front will be used, which has been used occasionally on gray road jerseys since 1999 (they wore “Los Angeles” in 31 of 81 road games last season, for instance). There’s also gray piping on these blue jerseys to match the pants, both on the sleeves as well as outlining the red jersey number on the front of the jersey.

In my opinion, this is the best possible deployment of blue Dodgers jerseys, as they look better with gray pants than with white pants at home.

At the very least, there’s a chance to create new memories in these new blue jerseys, because the moment most associated with the Dodgers wearing blue tops came in 1999, during the brief time when they occasionally wore blue jerseys at home, when Chan Ho Park delivered a spinning kick to Tim Belcher, then of the periwinkle-clad Angels.

After a mixed bag of results during their 6-game stretch on the road to open the 2026 season, the Nationals finally head home for their opening series at Nationals Park. Playing host to the 2025 World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers, they are faced with an exciting matchup for their first time playing in front of the Washington faithful.

The Dodgers, per usual, continued to insert high-priced additions onto their already-vaunted roster during the offseason, bringing in a pair of All-Stars in closer Edwin Diaz and outfielder Kyle Tucker. They find themselves once again firmly at the top of just about every MLB power ranking, and opened up the season to a 4-2 record after 3-game sets against the Arizona Diamondbacks and Cleveland Guardians.

Washington will continue working their 2nd time through the rotation, with a trio of veterans tasked with keeping the Dodgers’ lineup of All-Stars at bay. Offensively, the Nationals will continue to search for viable offensive reinforcements behind the scorching-hot Joey Wiemer as they take on a fascinating group of Los Angeles starters.

Game One – Friday 1:05 PM EST

WSH: RHP Miles Mikolas

LAD: RHP Emmet Sheehan

Mikolas’ 2026 campaign got off to a less-than-ideal start against Chicago, getting tagged for 4 runs across 5 innings of work. The 37-year-old veteran will look to settle into his arsenal and miss more bats in his second start of the season, after generating just 9 whiffs and 4 strikeouts in his last outing. He’ll attempt to improve upon a poor career track record against Los Angeles, with a 1-5 record and 6.20 ERA in 10 career appearances against them.

Sheehan, another youthful asset to a deep Dodgers rotation, had his fair share of ups and downs in his 2026 debut. His 4-pitch mix flashed at times against Arizona, but he lasted just 3.1 innings, ending with 4 earned runs to his name. The Nats could jump on him early and get the home opener crowd behind them, with Sheehan being the least likely Los Angeles starter in the three-game set to work deep into the game.

Game Two – Saturday 4:05 PM EST

WSH: RHP Jake Irvin

LAD: RHP Tyler Glasnow

2025 was a season to forget for Irvin, and his first start of the new year was certainly a step toward making that a reality. He was sharp across 5 innings of 2-run ball against the Cubs, racking up 7 strikeouts to just 4 total baserunners. With 2 of the 3 hits being home runs, the southpaw will have to bear down against the star-studded Dodgers lineup and keep the ball in the yard to keep Washington in the game.

Performance on the field has never been an issue for the oft-injured Glasnow, and that trend continued on March 28th, mowing down the Diamondbacks with a final line of 6 innings, 4 hits, 2 runs, and 6 strikeouts. There’s always a question about how his health will hold up, but he’s a formidable opponent regardless. The Nats had his number the last time they faced off, rocking him for 6 runs across 5 innings in his lone appearance against them in a Dodgers’ uniform.

Game Three – Sunday 1:35 PM EST

WSH: LHP Foster Griffin

LAD: RHP Roki Sasaki

Griffin made his triumphant return to Major League Baseball for the first time since 2022, and he had a decent amount of success in his first start back in the bigs. The box score wasn’t anything crazy, but he showcased 5 above-average offerings and held the Cubs to 2 runs over 5 innings. He still holds a sizeable advantage over MLB hitters, simply because of the lack of him available for teams to study, and could parlay his strong 2026 debut into another impressive start.

The former Japanese phenom is still a work in progress for the Dodgers, and has developed a sort of “effectively wild” attack plan. His splitter will be a tough puzzle for the Nats to solve, but working the count could sway the game in their favor. It seems to always be a toss-up as to how Sasaki will look on any given day, and Washington will have to adapt on the fly to one of the game’s most polarizing young arms.

Can Nats Bounce Back From Game 3 Collapse Against Philadelphia?

Momentum was at an early high after the Nationals took the first game of the series against the Phillies, with their record improving to a quick 3-1. However, a melancholic offensive performance in Game 2 and a blown 5-1 lead in Game 3 have them right back at .500. Their next test comes against one of the best top-to-bottom rosters in MLB, and they have the chance to spark major excitement among the fanbase if they can grind out a series win.

Texas Rangers lineup for April 3, 2026 against the Cincinnati Reds: starting pitchers are MacKenzie Gore for the Rangers and Brady Singer for the Reds.

Its the home opener, y’all!!! Let’s rage!!!

The lineup:

Nimmo — RF

Langford — LF

Seager — SS

Burger — 1B

Pederson — DH

Smith — 2B

Jung — 3B

Carter — CF

Jansen — C

3:05 p.m. Central start time. Rangers are -175 favorites.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone hit on several topics as he spoke to the media ahead of Opening Day in The Bronx against the Miami Marlins...

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Giancarlo Stanton's hot start

Everybody knows this isn’t sustainable. But the Yankee slugger starting the season with 10 hits in his first 20 at-bats with two doubles, a home run, and a 270 wRC+ is still something to take notice of, especially as Stanton has represented a key cog in the lineup the past two years when he’s healthy. 

“He’s just kinda been on everything,” Boone said of Stanton’s .500 start through his first five games. “Recognizing pitches well. He’s really good at devising a game plan that he wants to use against a particular pitcher and staying disciplined to that. 

“But I just feel like he’s been getting himself into a really good position to hit at-bat after at-bat. Really, since his first day of being in a game during spring training. I felt like the consistency of at-bats have been there.”

The production has been there for Stanton ever since he returned to the lineup last season after dealing with elbow issues, as he hit 24 home runs with 66 RBI and posted a 158 wRC+ over 77 games last season.

The skipper said a lot of that comes with the off-the-field work of a true professional.

“I have so much respect for him,” Boone said. “He’s just such a stud in our room. I just have a lot of respect for the person and the way he goes about things. The thing he’s been through that get him to different places. 

“You go back to the end of ‘24 and the playoff run… and then really last year, he mighta been as good as ever when he came back from June on, he was just such a massive presence in the middle of our order.”

Boone added that despite Stanton getting on in age, he turned 36 last November, “he’s still so good and in a lot of ways better.” What’s behind the slugger staying good?

“He’s very cerebral and very analytical about how he goes about processing and doing things and preparing,” the skipper added. “And I think he’s got really great at the preparation game. For him personally, what does he need to mentally, physically to be ready to go up and produce in a game. 

“And he is just so mentally tough and disciplined to what he has to do you really sense that and feel that being around him the last several years.”

Carlos Rodon and Gerrit Cole updates

Rodon, who suffered a setback with a hamstring issue as he rehabs from offseason elbow surgery, said he hopes to throw off the mound again on Saturday, per SNY’s MLB Insider Chelsea Janes.

The lefty would be doing so less than a week after feeling that hamstring discomfort, and he added that if that session of around 50 pitches goes well, he might be headed for a rehab assignment soon after.

Boone said that it wasn’t really much of a setback for Rodon, but it all depends on how he responds to the throwing session.

“It is just a matter of when he can run and cover and field his position and things like that,” the manager said about the next steps. “He’s able to keep his arm going through this, so [the hamstring issue] is minor enough that that’s the case, so it’s a good thing.”

On Cole, Boone said he did not know when his minor league rehab start would begin, and seemed to indicate it would not be imminent for the former Cy Young Award winner.

“He just did a one-up, live the other day, so I don’t have anything on the horizon for that,” the manager said.

When asked about his conversations with the right-hander, Boone said the reports have been positive.

“It’s going well, he looks great, every bullpen, every live, every game that I’ve seen from him has been really, really encouraging,” he said. “Now it’s just continuing to stack those days and be disciplined to the timeline, and then eventually we will start that clock of building him up.

“But I don’t have that plan in front of me right now.”

Evaluation on 5-1 start

“The execution on the mound has been phenomenal, that’s one takeaway,” Boone said when asked to assess the season’s early, early goings. “I feel like the guys are playing clean behind that, too. And I feel like if we do those couple of things, with what I think our offense will be over the long haul, then we have the chance to be really good.

“But it’s a week of games, and I’d say that if we were off to a rough start, it’s a week of games. You wanna rack up wins when you game. But it’s been really good to see the level of execution by really our entire staff.”

Anthony Volpe progressing

Volpe made it through a live batting practice ok as he continues to rehab in Florida from offseason shoulder surgery.

Boone said that the shortstop is on track to return to New York in the middle of April and begin a minor-league rehab assignment around then, but he did not have a date for a potential return.

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Rookie sensation Nolan McLean takes the mound as the New York Mets face the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park on Friday night.

At 3-4, both teams are looking to reach .500 on the young season.

See what I’m taking with my Mets vs. Giants predictions and MLB picks for Friday, April 3.

Who will win Mets vs Giants today: Mets (-127)

Nolan McLean is one of the best prospects in the sport, and his 107 Stuff+ and .173 xBA in his debut are positive indicators of success.

That gives the New York Mets a leg up in the starting pitching department against Tyler Mahle, who had a worrisome 92 Stuff+ and fourth-percentile barrel rate in his San Francisco Giants debut.

The Giants have been anemic at the dish (64 wRC+ and .255 wOBA against RHP). They’re the weaker club, and we’re getting a shortened price since they’ve won three of their last four while New York has dropped three straight.

Mets vs Giants Over/Under pick: Under 7.5 (-104)

These two offenses have had a slow start to the season, and a matchup at the pitcher-friendly Oracle Park likely results in a low-scoring game.

The Giants have an 80 wRC+ en route to a 2-3-2 O/U record, while the Mets have an 88 wRC+ and are 2-5 O/U.

Both bullpens have a SIERA under 3.90 and have most of their best arms well-rested. They’re throwing behind starting pitchers projected to have an ERA below 4.00 this season.

Mets vs Giants odds

• Moneyline: New York -110 | San Francisco +100
• Run line: New York -1.5 (+130) | San Francisco +1.5 (-150)
• Over/Under: Over 7 (-113) | Under 7 (-107)

Mets vs Giants trend

The Mets have hit the Under in five of their last six games. Find more MLB betting trends for Mets vs. Giants.

How to watch Mets vs Giants and game info

Mets vs Giants latest injuries

Mets vs Giants weather

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

Things haven’t quite gone as planned for Marcus Semien to start the season. 

The veteran is coming off back-to-back down offensive years with the Rangers, but the Mets landed him this offseason with the hope that he had a little something left in the tank. 

He showed signs of life with four extra-base hits over his 15 spring appearances, but hasn’t quite been able to carry that production over to the early part of the regular season. 

Semien has recorded just three hits through the Mets’ first seven games.

His first two knocks were a sun-aided, Oneil Cruz botched hustle double and a single off the pitcher’s glove on Opening Day, then he picked up another infield single on Thursday. 

His latest hit snapped a dreadful 0-for-20 skid at the plate. 

Semien’s also drawn just three walks, and he’s struck out eight times over his first 28 plate appearances. 

Certainly not the start the Mets or the 36-year-old were hoping for, but neither side is growing concerned yet.

“It’s taking some time, but definitely no panic in me,” Semien told Mike Puma of the NY Post. 

“It's just [six games], I am not worried about him,” Carlos Mendoza added. “I feel like [pitchers] are attacking him, they are getting ahead of him and then they are making him chase, but I feel good with him at the plate."

After all, it hasn’t just been Semien stuck in this early-season funk.

The Mets as a team have yet to find their footing offensively, averaging just 2.0 runs per game and hitting .107 with runners in scoring position since scoring 11 times on Opening Day. 

While it’s been hard of late, the skipper has been encouraged by his team's at-bats. 

“We’re creating traffic,” Mendoza said. “That’s the one thing with our offense because we’re deep and we’ve got guys who are going to get on and we’re going to create opportunities -- more times than not those guys will come through.”

Semien and the Mets will look to get going Friday night against the Giants. 

Well, that series against the Yankees exposed some of the lingering issues with the Mariners roster, as currently constructed. Left-handed pitching is going to be a huge problem for this extremely lefty-heavy lineup throughout the season, and there really isn’t much relief in sight — J.P. Crawford is back from his brief IL stint but bats left-handed and newly-extended Cole Emerson does too. It’s very early days so we shouldn’t put much stock into just seven games. Anyway, I’m sure this lineup will start hitting a bit better as soon as they hit the road. Speak of the devil Angels. The Mariners embark on the first road trip of the season with stops in Anaheim and Arlington.

Game	Time	Mariners Starter	Angels Starter	Mariners Win%	Angels Win%
Game 1	Friday, April 3 | 6:38 pm	RHP Bryan Woo	LHP Reid Detmers	55.6%	44.4%
Game 2	Saturday, April 4 | 6:38 pm	RHP Emerson Hancock	RHP Jack Kochanowicz	55.8%	44.2%
Game 3	Sunday, April 5 | 1:07 pm	RHP Luis Castillo	RHP Ryan Johnson	55.2%	44.8%

Overview	Angels	Mariners	Edge
Batting (wRC+)	92 (13th in AL)	113 (2nd in AL)	Mariners
Fielding (FRV)	-53 (15th)	-29 (12th)	Mariners
Starting Pitching (FIP-)	115 (14th)	100 (7th)	Mariners
Bullpen (FIP-)	110 (15th)	97 (10th)	Mariners

It’s so hard to parse who the Angels believe themselves to be. Are they trying to win? Gambling on bounce back seasons from guys like Grayson Rodriguez, Alek Manoah, and Josh Lowe isn’t a terrible idea if they’re looking to uncover some undervalued players but none of them are impact players in 2026. Are they building for the future? Signing four relievers with an average age of 36 and carrying Adam Frazier on the Opening Day roster instead of top prospect Christian Moore sends the wrong message. In an era where front office decision making has largely been homogenized by analytics, the Angels stand out as an outlier in the worst way possible. It’s easy to rag on them because things are so bleak for the franchise, but also, things are dire in Anaheim. Do you think the visitor’s clubhouse has air conditioning?

Player	Position	Bats	PA	K%	BB%	ISO	wRC+
Zach Neto	SS	R	554	26.9%	6.0%	0.217	116
Mike Trout	CF	R	556	32.0%	15.6%	0.206	120
Nolan Schanuel	1B	L	564	12.6%	10.5%	0.125	109
Jorge Soler	DH	R	315	29.8%	8.9%	0.172	88
Yoán Moncada	3B	S	289	26.0%	11.1%	0.214	117
Jo Adell	RF	R	573	26.4%	5.8%	0.249	112
Josh Lowe	LF	L	435	25.1%	7.6%	0.146	79
Logan O’Hoppe	C	R	451	30.8%	5.3%	0.158	72
Oswald Peraza	2B	R	265	30.2%	6.4%	0.219	32

For a brief moment during the first weekend of the season, Mike Trout was leading all of baseball in fWAR. He had a fantastic opening series against Houston, blasting two home runs, collecting six hits, and even stealing a bag. Then, he went hitless in three games against the Cubs to start this week. Zach Neto and Jo Adell are two of the most important players for the Angels’ future. The former has quietly developed into one of the best young shortstops in baseball over the last few years while the latter finally broke out last season after years of stalled development. Nolan Schanuel could be a core piece of the future if he could ever figure out how to hit for just a little more power. His bat-to-ball skills give him a decent floor, but right now, he’s profiling a bit too much like Casey Kochman.

Probable Pitchers 

Updated Stuff+ Explainer 

• Stuff+ scores for Mariners starters

Pitcher	IP	K%	BB%	HR/FB%	GB%	ERA	FIP
Reid Detmers	63.2	30.1%	9.4%	12.2%	44.6%	3.96	3.12
Bryan Woo	186.2	27.1%	4.9%	12.8%	40.8%	2.94	3.47

Pitch	Usage vRHB	Usage vLHB	Velocity	Stuff+	Whiff+	BIP+	xwOBA
Four-seam	51.4%	31.2%	95.8	114	141	96	0.300
Sinker	0.1%	6.9%	95.6
Curveball	25.2%	11.4%	73.6	102	71	69	0.286
Slider	23.3%	50.5%	88.3	126	123	99	0.294

Last year, the Angels moved Reid Detmers to the bullpen and he wound up seeing some high leverage work by the end of the season. Perhaps it was out of frustration with his slow development path despite possessing above average stuff, but that experiment lasted one season because a talented starter — even an inconsistent one like Detmers — is always going to be more valuable than a back-end reliever. If there’s one thing that he’ll carry forward from his time in the ‘pen, it’s a more aggressive approach that leans heavily on his two fantastic breaking balls to put batters away. He’s also added a splitter to his repertoire this spring in the hopes that it gives him a weapon to keep right-handed batters at bay.

Pitcher	IP	K%	BB%	HR/FB%	GB%	ERA	FIP
Jack Kochanowicz	111	14.1%	11.3%	18.4%	51.9%	6.81	6.05
Emerson Hancock	90	16.6%	8.1%	15.2%	43.0%	4.90	5.08

Pitch	Usage vRHB	Usage vLHB	Velocity	Stuff+	Whiff+	BIP+	xwOBA
Four-seam	13.7%	21.9%	95.5	89	116	90	0.382
Sinker	52.2%	43.6%	95.5	97	104	93	0.366
Changeup	5.4%	19.7%	89.9	86	95	78	0.358
Slider	19.4%	11.6%	87.3	90	81	100	0.379
Sweeper	9.2%	3.1%	82.4	90	66	78	0.362

There’s a pretty serious disconnect between Jack Kochanowicz’s high velocity and extremely miniscule strikeout rate. Sure, he throws a sinker as his primary fastball, but his entire repertoire is simply too hittable. It’s really not a good thing when each of your pitches has an expected wOBA over .350. And when he pitches in the zone, batters run a contact rate over 90%, an outrageously high rate. That has forced him to start pitching out of the zone more often, but his secondary pitches just aren’t optimized to earn swings and misses. It’s a vicious cycle where his arsenal isn’t good enough to overpower batters, but not deceptive enough to get them to chase. Without those strikeouts, we’re left with a groundball specialist who doesn’t have great command and allows way too many balls in play. It’s not a great profile.

Pitcher	IP	K%	BB%	HR/FB%	GB%	ERA	FIP
Ryan Johnson (High-A)	57.1	29.7%	4.6%	6.7%	51.0%	1.88	2.38
Luis Castillo	180.2	21.7%	6.2%	10.5%	41.3%	3.54	3.88

Ryan Johnson is a perfect encapsulation of everything wrong with the Angels current player development philosophy. He was drafted in the second round in 2024 after dominating in college ball at Dallas Baptist. He made the Opening Day roster in 2025 as a reliever, skipping the minor leagues entirely. After a month and a half and a 7.36 ERA, the Angels pulled the plug and sent him to High-A to continue his development as a starter. He made 12 starts in the minors and looked really good. Fast forward a year and Johnson had a solid, but not outstanding, spring training and Los Angeles opted to start the season with Johnson on the big league roster again. His first start of the season did not go well; he lasted just 3.1 innings against the Cubs, allowing six runs on seven hits and four walks while striking out just two. It’s really too bad because Johnson has a really intriguing profile, and obviously has some raw talent, but the games the Angels have played with his development pathway have really hurt his ability to grow.

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The Big Picture:

Team	W-L	W%	Games Behind	Run Diff	Recent Form
Astros	5-2	0.714	—	+13	W-W-W-W-W
Rangers	4-2	0.667	0.5	+5	W-W-W-W-L
Mariners	3-4	0.429	2.0	+3	L-W-W-L-L
Angels	3-4	0.429	2.0	-4	L-L-L-W-L
Athletics	1-5	0.167	3.5	-10	L-L-L-W-L

The Astros swept the Red Sox earlier this week, pushing their early season win streak to five games. They’ll travel to Sacramento this weekend, starting a long road trip that culminates in Seattle next week. The A’s offense has started the season in a huge funk, but maybe returning to the friendly confines of Sutter Health Park will give them the spark they need. The Rangers won their series against Baltimore and will open up their home slate with a series against the Reds this weekend.

The New York Yankees have completed their first road trip of the 2026 season, and while it’s definitely too early to take any bit of data too seriously, these six games leave us with some important takeaways. The most important one is reflected in the standings, as the Yanks boast the best record in the American League. Still, here are five fun ones:

Cam Schlittler is the real deal

Well, we are running out of adjectives to describe Schlittler. Not only did he post a 2.96 ERA in his 73-inning cameo last year, but he also dominated in the postseason and is at 11.2 scoreless frames in the young 2026 campaign, with no walks and 15 strikeouts.

He is now throwing harder than last year, Wednesday’s start notwithstanding (it was cold in Seattle), and has developed three different fastballs with elite velocity, command, and movement profiles: a four-seamer, a cutter, and a sinker. We don’t want to use the “a” word yet, but Schlittler is well on his way to cementing his place as one of the finest young starters in the league.

The Yankees’ offense is more than just Aaron Judge

Many MLB squads have scored more runs than the Yankees’ 24 as of Thursday afternoon. However, even with Aaron Judge sporting a 52 wRC+, New York has been able to win five out of six games, and to do that, the offense has to come up with some big hits.

Granted, the pitching has been doing most of the heavy lifting, but some of the non-Judge hitters are showing up. Four of them deserve a special mention: Giancarlo Stanton, Ben Rice, Cody Bellinger, and Paul Goldschmidt. Stanton is hitting .500 and slugging .750, Rice is sporting a .765 slugging percentage and a 19 percent walk rate, Bellinger has stolen two bases already and boasts a .400 OBP, and the Yankees don’t win on Wednesday without Goldschmidt’s huge three-run jack against George Kirby.

The pitching staff has a chance to be elite

Most teams have allowed more than 20 runs by now. The Atlanta Braves, the second-best pitching staff to this point, have conceded 12 runs. The Yankees, however, lead the league with just six runs allowed.

The starters have a 0.53 ERA, a 0.68 WHIP, and 35 punchouts in 33.2 innings. Only David Bednar, Camilo Doval, and Paul Blackburn have allowed runs among relievers. A couple of pitchers on the roster bubble this spring, Jake Bird and Brent Headrick, have looked amazing. And the Yankees still have Carlos Rodón, Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil, and Clarke Schmidt due back at some point. In terms of quality and depth, the pitching staff has a chance to be elite.

Giancarlo Stanton still has it

Stanton has already hit his first home run of the season and boasts a 1.250 OPS. He might not be able to open a bag of chips, but he sure can swing a bat and murder a baseball. The veteran slugger leads the Yankees’ position players in fWAR with 0.4, and he hasn’t set a foot in the outfield. As long as he is healthy, he will be among the most productive players on the field. Staying in one piece has proven to be a challenge, though.

The Yankees know their strike zone

The Yankees, through Wednesday, rank second in baseball with 81.3 percent of ABS challenges won, only behind the Baltimore Orioles’ 85.7 percent. New York is a perfect 100 percent in challenges initiated by pitchers and catchers, and ranks fourth in MLB in challenges initiated by hitters, with a 72.7 percent success rate according to ESPN. Their 13 successful challenges overall are second behind the Minnesota Twins’ 16.

The Yankees sure do know their strike zone. They were even 5-for-5 on Monday with Mike Estabrook as the home plate umpire, the day in which manager Aaron Boone was this close to being ejected.

To spice things up for a new season of The Notes, there will be a new dedicated section called “Sequence of the Week”. This section will break down a fun pitching or hitting sequence that happened during the week.

I’ve done some video breakdowns in the past on TheGoodPhight but this section will be weekly and a bit smaller. Maybe there are plenty of other people doing it, but I haven’t seen many, so it seems like an original idea.

Sequence of the Week: Andrew Painter’s strikeout on James Wood

There were many impressive signs with Andrew Painter’s outing against the Nationals. His fastball command was great, the changeup became a huge weapon the second time through the Nationals lineup, and his composure seemed top-notch for someone making their big league debut.

But if there was one highlight that summed up so much of what Painter did well against the Nationals, it was what he did against James Wood to finish off the fifth inning.

He missed a four-seam fastball up in the zone, an uncompetitive take from Wood. However, it does help him with dropping a steal-a-strike curveball. Painter dropped several of those against a heavy left-handed Nationals lineup but a high four-seam fastball can keep hitters slightly off balance.

The backdoor and backfoot slider played like a weapon on Tuesday night. He struck out Keibert Ruiz earlier in the game on a backfoot slider, but he mostly used the pitch to backdoor it to left-handed hitters.

Wood swung at this one because Painter tried throwing one earlier to him. The movement and late reaction because of the high heater still gets him a whiff.

Because Wood took the curveball for a strike and just saw a backdoor slider that started above the zone, he will have to respect the outside part of the plate. JT Realmuto goes back to the high fastball and Wood can’t layoff.

Best outfield ever (except for Otto Kemp)?

It’s not but the outfield showed up for the first six games in a big way. Justin Crawford flashed some solid early count swing decisions, especially on his walk-off Wednesday afternoon. Brandon Marsh has worked the best at bats overall and is hitting the ball hard.

Then there’s Adolis Garcia, who worked great at bats against the Nationals and has shown an early spike in his bat speed. It is early, and it might be hard for him maintain for him because of his age but Garcia’s average bat speed is the highest it’s been since 2023.

Through the first week of 2026, the Phillies outfield ranks 9th in wRC+ and 4th in strikeout rate. Will it hold? Probably not but still a good sign.

The defense has been more impressive than at the plate, and more sustainable. This sliding play by Garcia had a 20% catch probability, and he made it with ease. This is the kind of play Nick Castellanos was never making as a Phillie because of his very limited range and straight line speed.

Justin Crawford flashed some leather in the second game of the season and has generally looked fine in the field otherwise.

Marsh, Crawford, and Garcia have plus speed and range for their positions. This could end up being the best all-around outfield defensively the Phillies have put together under Dave Dombrowski.

Except for Otto Kemp.