An ESPN Insider gives his early take on where the season is headed and which stars will shine the brightest
By Bradford Doolittle | May 27, 2025
With Memorial Day weekend behind us, the 2025 MLB season has taken shape. The exact outlines will change, but we’re past the point where teams and observers can dismiss anything with the “it’s early” wave of the hand.
That is true for the 30 teams at this first major traditional checkpoint of a baseball season, but it’s also true for players, many of whom have seen enough action that, from a statistical standpoint, their rates have stabilized.
That makes this a perfect time to take our first glimpse at how the awards races are shaping up.
So, as we check in with our initial Awards Watch rankings of the season, we see much that looks similar to where we left off in 2024. In fact, the AXE ratings that feed these rankings see a repeat in the American League MVP race and a back-and-forth battle for a repeat in the National League MVP race.
That’s no surprise, as the first weeks of the 2025 season have done little to change the lofty appraisals of Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, who continue to … Read More HERE
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