Takeaways From Opening Weekend Around MLB

There’s nothing quite like overreaction Monday following the first weekend of baseball. With 3-4 games down and 150 something to go, it’s hard not to get too into the weeds of what we just saw after five months with no action on the field. So, that’s exactly what we’ll be doing today.

The first few days of the season were filled with radical on-field changes, plenty of dramatic moments and some outcomes that might have some reconsidering their preseason narratives. Much of it is broken down below.

The ABS Experience

The biggest on-field storyline heading into this year was the implementation of the automatic ball-strike, or ABS system at the major-league level.

After years of being tested out in the minor leagues and during spring training, batters, pitchers and catchers now have the ability to challenge ball and strike calls from home plate umpires.

ABS does certainly add some dramatic flare to the baseball viewing experience. When your team benefits from a borderline strike three call, there’s an awkward pause as the batter contemplates tapping his helmet before celebrating the punchout.

A feeling of relief rushes over you as you watch him motion toward the dugout. It’s an awkward and rather humorous part of the transition.

Overall, 54% of all ABS challenges across the league have resulted in overturns, with fielders being more successful than hitters. 63% of pitcher and catcher challenges have changed the call on the field, while only 42% of batter challenges have worked.

Cincinnati Reds hitters and Kansas City Royals, Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox fielders have benefitted the most from the rule change so far.

ABS has given fans some interesting moments in the early goings of this season, including this one from Cincinnati on Saturday:

This sequence with Eugenio Suarez came in a big spot. Bases loaded, two outs and a two-strike count, Suarez was punched out on consecutive outside pitches that would have ended the threat. Instead, he was given new life thanks to ABS.

The crowd pops during these challenges were some of the most electric moments of the weekend. Although Suarez went on to bounce out to second base, that feeling of new hope the Reds fans experience in that moment is one that is now afforded to us thanks to the new rules.

The automated system also allows players to flex their knowledge of the strikezone. These moments with Salvador Perez on Friday and Randy Arozarena on Saturday were largely born out of close-to-call pitches. It gives fans a chance to see this strike zone awareness in a better perspective.

The current version of ABS doesn’t take away the human element of the game, but it does reduce the number of poor ball and strike calls dictating key moments in games.

Rookies Raking

Forget the Rookie of the Year — could 2026 be the Year of the Rookie? Several newcomers to the scene have immediately hit the ground running and have been major contributors to their respective teams.

Rookie hitters across the league are hitting .309 with a 1.003 OPS, and have accounted for 24.5% of fWAR from position players around the league. As things currently stand, three of the top seven players on the position player fWAR leader board and seven of the top 28 are rookies.

Leading the way is Cleveland outfielder Chase DeLauter, who slapped four home runs in his first three career regular season games, including a go-ahead home run in extra innings against Andres Munoz on Saturday.

DeLauter, Just Baseball’s No. 20 overall prospect, wrapped up with weekend hitting .357 with a 1.571 OPS and became the first player to collect five hits and four home runs in his first three career regular season games. He also became the first Cleveland hitter with four home runs in the first three games of any season.

Despite the industry-wide skepticism that seemed to plague his free agency over the winter, Munetaka Murakami showed off the power this weekend in Milwaukee. The White Sox first-baseman homered in each of his first three career games, silencing the doubt that had been placed upon him.

Murakami and DeLauter joined Trevor Story and Kyle Lewis as the only players to hit home runs in each of their first three games. With a 1.871 OPS in the early goings in 2026, it’s the third-highest mark ever in a three-game stretch to begin a career for a left handed hitter (min. 10 plate appearances).

Kevin McGonigle immediately made his presence known in Detroit by going 4-for-5 with two doubles in his MLB debut. At 21 years and 220 days old, McGonigle became the youngest player since 1990 to record four hits in their MLB debut.

McGonigle finished the three-game set in San Diego hitting .417 with a 1.045 OPS. He currently sits with a .450 xwOBA, .712 xSLG and 16% whiff rate.

Sal Stewart picked up where he left off in 2025 with the Reds. The Cincinnati first baseman slashed .700/.769/1.300/2.069 in 13 plate appearances over the weekend. He became the second Reds hitter to hit .700 in the first three games of a season, joining Chris Stynes in 1997.

Following opening weekend, Stewart ranks in the 98th percentile or higher in xBA (.609), xSLG (1.198), and xwOBA (.754).

Owen Cassie made a big first impression with the Miami faithful over the weekend. In his opening act with his new team, the prized prospect acquired for Edward Cabrera hit .500 with a 1.500 OPS, capped off by a walk-off home run on Sunday.

Caissie is the third Marlins player to record a home run, stolen base and 1.500 OPS in the first three games of a season.

Lastly, JJ Wetherholt stole the show in St. Louis during the Cardinals series win against Tampa Bay. Wetherholt took a Drew Rassmussen fastball to dead center field in the first plate appearance of his career, and followed it up with a walk-off single on Saturday.

Throughout the weekend, Wetherholt hit .308 with a .871 OPS. His 1.0 Defensive Runs Above Average also ranks tied for first among all position players.

Is Mike Trout back?

Remember the social media trend when everyone was reminiscing on 2016 earlier this year? It looks like that years’ AL MVP got the memo.

As if we’re still in the 2010s, Mike Trout currently stands as the fWAR leader throughout the league. The three-time MVP slashed .462/.650/.923 for a 327 wRC+ and two home runs during the four-game series in Houston.

The older gen-z baseball fans who grew up on Trout’s peak yearn for just one more MVP-caliber season from the best player of a generation. He’s qualified for a batting title once since 2019, and hasn’t posted a 3.0 fWAR season since 2022. Even if it’s just four games, this small sample of success incites so much hope.

By all accounts, 2025 felt like the official end to any belief that Trout had another one of these seasons in him. He finally stayed on the field for the full season, but his level of production was nothing close to our best memories of him. His 120 wRC+ was his lowest since 2011, and his 1.8 fWAR was his lowest ever in a full season by far.

Of course, you can’t make a real evaluation about this success with only four games to look over, but another dominant season from Trout would make for one of the best feel-good stories around the majors this year.

Can the Cardinals Be Fun?

The St. Louis Cardinals are coming off a 2-1 weekend against the Tampa Bay Rays in games that featured a six-run comeback on Thursday and a walk-off on Saturday. For the first time in a while, the Cardinals seem to be clear about the future of the franchise.

After trading Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado and Brendan Donovan this winter, this team loudly announced that they are rebuilding. They probably won’t be a good team, but can they be watchable?

Take a look at some of the highlights from the team’s 9-7 win on Opening Day. Look at the emotions exhibited by the players and ask yourself: does this look like a team that is projected to lose 90-plus games?

This team has nothing to lose, and they are playing like it. Even if the team doesn’t win a lot, getting to watch guys like Wetherholt, Masyn Winn and Ivan Herrera on a daily basis is something the fans can look forward to.

In the grand scheme of things, why does this matter? Who cares how animated a team is if they aren’t going to contend? The answer is that this team, no matter their expectations, still has something to prove to their city. They need to convince the fans to show up to Busch Stadium.

Attendance has become an increasingly serious issue for the Cardinals. Total home attendance in St. Louis dropped from 3.3 million in 2022 to 2.2 million in 2025, a 33% drop in just three years.

An average of 13,000 fewer fans are walking through the gates per game in this span, and the team needs to find a way to bring these people back. The offseason sale of some of the teams’ stars makes it harder to do that, but a team with this kind of energy might cause some to reconsider that maybe it’s worth checking out.

This past weekend was a glimmer of hope that there could be reason to give this team your time.