What Are the Best Stories in Baseball Right Now?

Every week at Just Baseball, our team of writers covers everything we can that is going on in the game of baseball. Starting from the College level, with an eye towards the top draft prospects, to the top MLB prospects on the farm, and of course, everything going on in Major League Baseball.

Sometimes with so many stories getting published every day, it is easy to miss out on some of the best as we continue to cover the latest going on in the game.

Moving forward, our editorial team plans to update this page each week, giving our readers a place to go where they can catch up on all of the best stories in the game in one place, with links to the full articles if you want a deeper dive.

This page will be updated every Monday, so make sure to bookmark it or save the link, that way you never miss out on any of the best stories in baseball that we have published from the week before.

Now, without further ado, let’s dive into what has been going on in baseball over the past week.

Heat Check: Which MLB Hitters Are on Fire to Start 2025?

It would not have made since to start writing about who is hot in Major League Baseball after just one or two weeks of competition, but now that we enter the fourth week of April, sample sizes are beginning to grow to the point where we can start to take notice.

Here are some of the stories we did last week on the hottest hitters in baseball to start the 2025 MLB season.

Pete Alonso Has Entered 2025 as the Best Version of Himself

Written By: George Caratzas

There was a lot of talk about Pete Alonso during the months leading up to the season and rightfully so. Alonso, along with fellow Scott Boras client Alex Bregman, were the last two big fish that were left standing at the end of free agency.

After playing a game of chicken with the only team he has ever known, Alonso returned to the Mets on a two-year, $54 million deal. The contract pays him $30 million in 2025, which is the most any active first baseman will make until Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s extension kicks in.

This set up another platform year for Alonso, with the pillow of a $24 million player option in 2026. Through the first 20+ games of the season, it looks like Alonso will be taking a parachute right back in the open market next winter, as he is really enjoying hitting behind Juan Soto.

Through 22 games, Alonso is only trailing Aaron Judge in OPS across Major League Baseball, and he is leading the game in slugging. He is also leading MLB in average exit velocity right now at a whopping 96.6 MPH.

Again, that is an AVERAGE exit velocity of 96.6 MPH!

If that is not the definition of a hot hitter, I don’t know what is.

Ben Rice Is Cooking

Written By: Leo Morgenstern

In a Soto-less world, many wondered who would step up to fill the shoes of playing Robin to Aaron Judge’s Batman.

After picking up Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt in the offseason, and Jazz Chisolm Jr. at the trade deadline before, many thought it would take a collective approach to fill the void left by Soto.

What nobody expected however, was that Ben Rice would do a damn good Juan Soto impression for the first three and a half weeks of the season.

The Yankees newfound DH is hitting .292/.403/.600, with five home runs. Entering play today, he is one of 12 hitters who still has an OPS above 1.000.

Unfortunately, Rice was hit by a pitch over the weekend and is day-to-day with an elbow injury. The X-rays came back negative, so for now, it appears that he has avoided the worst news, but his status is still day-to-day with no clear timetable for return.

Corbin Carroll Is Doing It All

Written By: Leo Morgenstern

Another player who is off to a torrid start to begin the year is Corbin Carroll, who is looking a far-cry from the slow-starter he was a year ago.

Carroll is back to looking like the guy we saw win Rookie of the Year a few years ago, when he finished 5th in MVP voting and helped lead the D-Backs to the World Series in 2023.

Carroll is among the league leaders with seven home runs, 19 RBIs and 19 runs scored, all ranking within the top 10. His 1.039 OPS currently ranks fifth in MLB and third in the National League.

Heat Check: Which Pitchers Are Rolling to Start 2025?

Yoshinobu Yamamoto Looks Like the True Ace of the Dodgers

Written By: Zach Lutz

The Los Angeles Dodgers entered the season with a rotation that was supposed to be full of aces, with countless guys who could make the case of being the top dog. Yet with Blake Snell on the IL, Tyler Glasnow not quite reaching his peak level of dominance, and Roki Sasaki showing that he is still more of a project than a fully realized pitcher, one man has ascended to the top of rotation.

And it’s the guy who has the largest contract in MLB history for a pitcher. Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Yamamoto has been every bit the Dodgers ace to start the season, with a 0.93 ERA through five starts. He has racked up 38 strikeouts in 29 innings pitched, while issuing only seven walks.

It’s only five starts, but Yamamoto is looking like a Cy Young candidate, and is the currently the strongest member of an exciting yet, volatile rotation.

BREAKOUT ALERT: New Stars in the Making?

This might be a sub-section of another who’s hot category, but it is important to make this distinction because these are guys who have not yet made a name for themselves in MLB.

We are looking into the surprisingly hot starts of players who look to have some real staying power as top performers in this league. The sample size still needs to grow, but here are some breakout candidates who are well on their way to establishing themselves as forces in the game.

What’s Behind Tyler Soderstrom’s Hot Start for the A’s?

Written By: Clay Snowden

If you would have told a baseball fan prior to Opening Day that an Athletics’ player was going to be leading the league in home runs, you would have thought Brent Rooker was having himself a great year. Well, instead of Rooker, the A’s are watching Tyler Soderstrom blossom before their eyes.

In the first 105 games played of Soderstrom’s career, he hit a total of 12 home runs across 2023 and 2024. Now here is in 2025 with nine home runs in 22 games. A wild start, but is it sustainable?

Kris Bubic Is Establishing Himself as a Top Arm for the Royals

Written By: Caleb Moody

It may be time to acknowledge that the Kansas City Royals know how to find pitching. A rotation that features Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha, and it is Kris Bubic who is leading the team with a 1.88 ERA through four starts.

Clearly maintaining that ERA is not sustainable, but it does appear that the Royals have another top left-handed arm who they can rely on in an already deep rotation.

Struggle Bus: Who’s Going Through it?

The Brewers Need To Find a New Solution at Third Base

Written By: Joey Peterson

The Milwaukee Brewers are moving on with life without Willy Adames and that has created a real hole on the left side of their infield. With Joey Ortiz now shifted over to play shortstop, the Brewers have been left with trying to piece together a rotation of struggling players at the hot corner.

The Pirates Don’t Have a Single Good Hitter Right Now

Written By: Jay Staph

Paul Skenes is in his prime and the Pittsburgh Pirates cannot hit!

When this article was written, the Pirates had a team wRC+ of 63, without a single above-average hitter being featured in their lineup everyday. Simply put, the Pirates are not scoring runs and there may be no end in sight.

Injury Updates: The Good

Spencer Strider Won’t Save the Braves Himself, But He Will Help

Written By: Taylor Greenhut

When Spencer Strider stepped on the mound on April 16th, the Atlanta Braves were sitting with a 5-12 record to start the season. Strider didn’t help matters immediately, as he gave up two runs in five innings and lost his first start, but his presence on the mound did seem to remind his team how long of a season it is, and how talented they truly are.

The Braves swept the Twins over the weekend, as the lineup finally started to turn a corner. Clearly none of that can be attributed to Strider, but looking at the Braves future outlook, it is hard not to see a prettier picture now that he is back in the fold.

Injury Updates: The Bad

Without Justin Steele, the Cubs Must Rely on Their Depth

Written By: Ryan Herrera

On the other side of the ace coin, the Chicago Cubs got devastating news last week, as Justin Steele went down with a UCL injury. The good news is that Steele did not need to undergo Tommy John surgery, as they elected for UCL revision repair.

Reports are that the procedure was successful, and the initial timetable for return is one year.

In the meantime, the Cubs have a huge hole to fill atop their rotation. Our own Cubs writer, Ryan Herrera broke down the Cubs’ rotation outlook without Steele in the piece linked above.

Top Prospect Watch: What’s Happening on the Farm?

Which Top 100 Prospects Have Looked the Best in MLB So Far?

Written By: Jay Staph

Top 100 prospects have reached the show and are already making an impact. Kristian Campbell of the Boston Red Sox and Jacob Wilson of the Athletics stand out as the two rookies who have gotten out to the best start, while some others that we highlight in the article are still enduring the growing pains of facing big league pitching on an extended basis for the first time.

How Dropping the Bat Unlocked Nolan McLean’s Powerful Arm

Written By: Daniel Curren

Last week, we sent our own Daniel Curren out to Binghamton to check in on one of the most exciting arms in the Mets’ farm system, Nolan McLean.

The former two-way player has dropped the bat and is a full-time pitcher for the first time this season. This has unlocked the potential for an arm that could very well be featured on our top 100 upon the next update.

Curren spoke with McLean in the piece linked above, getting his take on how things have opened up for him as a pitcher since he gave up on trying to be a hitter.

College Corner: What’s New in NCAA?

Can Texas A&M Still Win a National Championship?

Written By: Will Mossa

Once considered the top team in the nation, Texas A&M has been one of the bigger disappointments in the NCAA.

They are 23-16, putting them on the hot seat to pick things up in the second half, or risk missing out on the playoffs altogether.

We take a look behind the curtain on what has gone wrong so far this year, and what path the Aggies need to take to get back in the hunt towards a championship run this year.

College Baseball News & Notes – Week 9

Written By: Jared Perkins, Peyton Sower

Each week, we publish an update that tells you about all of the latest in College Baseball, with top news and notes straight from the experts on our College/MLB Draft team.