EAST LANSING- With another month of the 2024 MLB season in the books, the bedlam surrounding all 30 Major League teams has only intensified after further action. 

In May, teams and players alike seemed to hit their stride, as fans caught a glimpse of who the real contenders and pretenders may shake up to be and which players are cementing themselves as true stars in the making. 

We are less than halfway through the season, so change can come quickly, but the return of America’s pastime has made for plenty of intrigues thus far. 

Two Tales, One City:

So far in 2024, New York sports fans have seen two vastly different seasons transpiring in two different boroughs of the Big Apple. 

In the Bronx, the Yankees are 45-20 and hold the best record in the American League. The driving factor behind the Yankees’ recent hot streak is Aaron Judge’s record-breaking May. 

On April 30th, Judge was amidst a cold streak, hitting a measly .207, but his bat heated up in significant fashion once the calendar turned to May. 

In 28 games in May, Judge, the 2022 AL MVP, batted .361 with 14 home runs and increased his on-base plus slugging to a league-leading 1.075 clip. In tandem with Judge, Juan Soto has only built on his sizzling start in Pinstripes. 

Judge and Soto weren’t the only Yankees who saw success at the dish. Giancarlo Stanton has also had an incredible bounce-back season in 2024. 

Anthony Volpe is in the midst of a breakout season that has seen the 23-year-old establish himself as the Yankees’ next franchise shortstop. The Bronx Bombers have lived up to the nickname, as the Yankees lead baseball in team OPS and are second only to the division-rival Orioles in homers. 

The Yankees lineup was not the only contributor to the sustained success at Yankee Stadium, as the Yanks rotation dazzled in May. 25-year-old rookie Luis Gil’s 1.82 earned run average is second in the MLB, as the youngster cemented himself as one of the best young pitchers in baseball who will be a fixture in Aaron Boone’s rotation. 

Behind the contributions of a bounce-back season in Pinstripes for Carlos Rodón, as well as strong starts from Nestor Cortes and free agent acquisition Marcus Stroman, the Yankees’ 2.80 ERA leads the MLB. 

Reigning Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole has yet to pitch in 2024, but is ramping closer to a return which will make an already-frightening Yankees rotation even more terrifying for opposing hitters. 

A short subway trip away at Citi Field, things didn’t go as swimmingly. After the Mets went 15-11 in April, real disaster began to strike in May. 

The Mets went a disastrous 9-19 in May, as the bullpen could not keep a sustained lead. Since his knee injury in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Edwin Diaz has struggled to return to form. Diaz has a 5.40 ERA in 2024 thus far, his worst rate since his first season in Queens. Diaz’s four-blown saves tie him for third among all relievers (44% blown save rate), as the former All-Star’s confidence seems to have suffered early in 2024. 

New Mets manager Carlos Mendoza surely did not expect this from a team that is just two years removed from a postseason appearance. 

While the pair got off to a slow start to the 2024 season, superstars Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso have improved as of late. Despite their improvements, the Mets sit at 27-36 and 17 games behind the division-leading Phillies. 

2022 National League batting champion Jeff McNeil is hitting a feeble .227 with a .616 OPS through 73 games in 2024, and is far from the biggest issue in the Queens.  

The Mets were not limited to on-field issues though. The Mets clubhouse faced intense internal turmoil after reliever Jorge López was ejected from a game against the Dodgers and threw his glove into the Citi Field stands. 

López was subsequently designated for assignment, as the Mets’ dysfunctional season only grew more tumultuous. The future in Queens might be bright due to prospects such as Mark Vientos and Christian Scott, but the present is anything but. 

Rookie Report: 

The youth movement across the MLB has only spread more rapidly in 2024, and there are already some youngsters turning heads in their inaugural campaigns in the majors. 

Flame-throwing rookie phenom Paul Skenes was considered a generational talent at LSU and was drafted No. 1 overall by the Pirates last summer for good reason. 

Skenes boasts a 3.00 ERA along with his masterful 12.7 strikeouts per nine innings, which would be first among all qualified starters. The 22-year-old has 38 strikeouts across 27 innings, which is no surprise to anybody aware of the damage Skenes’ fearsome fastball can do.

Staying in the NL Central, the St Louis Cardinals have a star in the making of their own. Shortstop Masyn Winn is reminding the Cardinal faithful that the future is bright at Busch Stadium. 

After making the Opening Day roster, Winn quickly showed why, going on an impressive 18-game hitting streak at the end of May where the rookie phenom hit for an immaculate .368 batting average. 

Winn is currently hitting a magnificent .303 on the young season, which slates the 22-year-old 11th among all qualified hitters. The most impressive aspect of Winn’s game thus far is his ability to hold his own at the dish, landing in the 91st percentile in whiff rate and the 77th percentile in strikeout rate. 

Shifting back to the American League, Red Sox rookie outfielder Wilyer Abreu has been among the most under appreciated rookies across the league, establishing himself as one of the most reliable hitters in Boston so far in 2024. 

Abreu is slashing .272/.344/.485 with the 24-year-old racking up a .829 OPS. Abreu, Rafael Devers, and David Hamilton are building a foundation as one of the most promising young cores in baseball while playing for the rebuilding Sox.  

Abreu has not only made an impact at the plate, he has been just as impactful in the field. Abreu is in the 85th percentile for fielding run value and the 92nd percentile for arm value, showing off his true capabilities in every aspect at Fenway Park. 

Quick Hits: 

• All five teams in the NL Central are within seven-and-a-half games of each other, in what could be anybody’s race. The Brewers are the current division leaders, behind catcher William Contreras hitting .309 with eight home runs and 46 RBIs.  However, the Reds have won seven games in a row and seem to be pushing Milwaukee behind the contributions of their young core.
• Corey Seager seemed to recover from his slow start, as the reigning World Series MVP hit eight homers in as many days. Seager’s batting average is up to .271, as the Rangers are gaining on the Mariners for the NL West lead. 
• The White Sox lost 14 games in a row, dating back to May 22. Despite the recent return of star outfielder Luis Robert Jr, the White Sox are dead last in batting average and OPS, and second to last in team ERA while having a -142 run differential. 
• Brent Rooker has been incredible for the Oakland A’s so far in 2024. Over his last 30 days, the 29-year-old hit for a slash line of .283/.367/.478 with the 26-40 A’s sitting at fourth in the AL West ahead of the Angels.
• The Los Angeles Dodgers have a new dynamic duo on their hands as they strengthen their grip on the NL West. Shohei Ohtani has gotten off to a blazing start as a Dodger, as both Ohtani and Mookie Betts are both hitting .311 with an OPS of over .920. 

While the fifth calendar month was loaded with enticing storylines, there will only be more to come in June as the season continues to unfold.