Next week, we will begin a new MLB Monday miniseries: players who should have won Gold Gloves and did not, for whatever reason. But this week, we’re taking a break to look at the start of the 2025 regular season. We aren’t claiming any major insight here, but there some funny things to observe after three-plus weeks of baseball action, and we know the standings will be very different in mid-July and late September, too.

AL EAST

The New York Yankees have the best record in the American League, but it’s just 14-8 right now—barely ahead of the 13-9 Detroit Tigers and the 13-9 Texas Rangers. The worst AL team is 5-16, and that’s the Chicago White Sox, probably doing better than expected. But 13 of the 15 teams in the junior circuit have at least nine wins so far, showing there is a lot of bunching in the standings right now. That will change soon.

AL CENTRAL

The gap between the Tigers and the White Sox (7.5 games) is the biggest in any AL division. But the Cleveland Guardians are just a half game behind Detroit in the standings, so perhaps these two teams will separate themselves from the other teams which are all at least four games behind Cleveland. The other three teams have 21 wins combined, so the chance exists for the top two teams to really move out ahead.

AL WEST

Just three games separate the Rangers from the last-place Athletics (10-12). This is shaping up to be the most competitive division in the sport as a whole. Perhaps the most surprising thing here is that the Los Angeles Angels are in third place and above .500 right now; the team hasn’t reached the postseason since 2014 and has just that single playoff berth since 2009. That’s odd considering the TV market in place.

NL EAST

It’s odd to see the Atlanta Braves in last place, while we did suspect the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies would be up top, in general. Sometimes these rough starts can be overcome by talented teams, and Atlanta fits that bill. Still, you’d rather be the 15-7 Mets right now instead of the 8-14 Braves, for sure. Atlanta doesn’t want to bury itself in a deep hole too soon, lest the mountain be too hard to climb later.

NL CENTRAL

This might be the division that has been most true to form, with the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers over .500; the Cincinnati Reds at .500 even; and the St. Louis Cardinals wallowing below .500 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Oddly, the Cubs’ .583 winning percentage right now (14-10) is the worst of any NL division leader. That projects out to a 94-victory season, which is nothing to sneeze at over 162 games.

NL WEST

This may be the best division in baseball with four teams already with at least 13 wins. The poor Colorado Rockies have just four victories so far, however, and are 11.5 games behind the first-place San Diego Padres. No one expects San Diego to keep playing at a .727 clip; no one expects the San Francisco Giants to finish with a .636 winning percentage, either. Even the Arizona Diamondbacks are on pace for 95-plus wins. Ha!