If you’re a baseball fan like myself, you probably had some STRONG opinions about how the National League would shake out this season. Well, we’re a third of the way through 2025, and it’s time to hand out some grades based on how these teams have actually performed compared to our preseason expectations. The beauty of baseball is how quickly narratives can flip – division favorites stumbling out of the gate, rebuilding clubs suddenly in playoff contention, and everything in between. These grades aren’t just about win-loss records; they’re about measuring performance against what we thought we’d see. Some front offices deserve gold stars while others might need to stay after class for some serious tutoring. Let’s dive into which clubs are acing the season so far and which ones need to hit the books before the All-Star break.
NL East
Atlanta Braves – C-
This might even be a bit of a generous grade. The Braves were a team who I thought would be challenging the Phillies & Mets at the top of the division. I give them a C- because they have been missing their best position player in Ronald Acuna & their best pitcher in Spencer Strider for most of the season so far. Take the two best players off any team & you’ll most likely watch them struggle. But there have been some legitimate disappointments.
Michael Harris despite his top notch defense has an OPS under .600 which is flat out bad. Ozzie Albies isn’t too far in front of him either. You’ve got guys like Alex Verdugo & Eli White plugging into the lineup every day. Just yesterday AJ Smith-Shawver went down with an injury that many are suspecting is very serious. Even with Acuna & Strider back it’s getting more & more difficult to believe they’re going to have enough to pull themselves out of the hole they’ve built for themselves in a strong National League.
Miami Marlins – C-
This is another grade that could’ve been lower, but if you consider the pre-season expectations the public had for this team, they’re actually meeting expectations. I thought there was a chance they could be the worst team in the league, but they’ve managed to be better than 5 other teams so far. Kyle Stowers has been great for them, leading the team in BA, HR, & RBI. Dame Meyers has also been impressive leading the team in WAR.
The starting has left a lot to be desired. Former ace stud Sandy Alcantara looks like a shell of himself which is sad because he was a prime trade target at the deadline for the fish to land a big return. Ryan Weathers, recently off IL, has looked very good through 15 innings. Overall I’m looking for silver linings here, but the team has been bad. Fielding very sloppy, pitching getting beat up. Another long hot summer in Miami.
New York Mets – B+.
This grade might be a little low considering their placement in the standings, but you always have a tendency to be overly critical of the team you love. What’s baseball without it? The truth is despite the Mets being 34-22, only 2.5 half games off the best record in baseball, it feels like there’s so much room for improvement. For starters, the pitching has been immaculate. Best team ERA in baseball & it’s not particularly close. People (once again) doubted David Stearns for relying on guys like Griffin Canning, Tylor Megill, & Clay Homes as the Mets entered the season.
Safe to say fans will never doubt a David Stearns pitching staff again, as they’ve all been great. The bullpen has also been nails, led by Edwin Diaz & Reed Garrett. Max Kranick has been a rookie surprise for the team as well. Pete Alonso & Francisco Lindor have paced an offense that has been very up & down. Juan Soto has been a bit of a disappointment, as his OPS hovers around .750 (not bad for others, not good for him). The team has one of the worst batting averages with RISP. If they could ever start up the timely hitting they could easily be the best team in baseball.
Philadelphia Phillies – A
Best record in the National League, leads the NL East by 2 games, they’re checking the boxes of an A grade for sure. This is a team who probably feels the pressure of their championship window closing & they’ve looked up to the task so far. Jesus Luzardo & Zack Wheeler have spearheaded an impressive rotation. The names you all know so well: Harper, Schwarber, Turner, Realmuto, Stott, Castellanos, have all been stellar as well. They only have a 13-12 record against teams above .500, but they’ve beaten the bad teams & the wins all count the same.
Washington Nationals – C+
I certainly did not think the Nationals would be “good” this year, but those who follow the team/division expected a level of competitiveness out of their young team. Not good but competitive has absolutely been a good description of this team’s season up to this point. James Wood & CJ Abram’s have been the young stars the team had hoped for. Jake Irvin & Mackenzie Gore have been a solid 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation. Dylan Crews, another expected future star for the team, was bad before getting injured & sitting out a bit, but there is time to get him right. At 27-30 in 3rd place of the NL East at the moment you can’t help but feel that there is a good team within this roster, it’s probably just a few years away.
Two-homer night for Lindor 👑@Delta | #LGM pic.twitter.com/HMGcCZeaIo
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 31, 2025
Kyle Schwarber - Philadelphia Phillies (19)
— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) May 29, 2025
pic.twitter.com/IJ3ni0ySsp
NL Central
Chicago Cubs – A
Tough to ask for more as a Cubs fan. Kyle Tucker has been everything the Chicago faithful could’ve hoped for and more. Pete Crow-Armstrong is taking the step from “strong fielder with good speed” to bonafide superstar. Catcher Carson Kelly being one of the best hitting catchers to start the season? Not on my bingo card! & veterans Nico Hoerner & Dansby Swanson have been steady up the middle as expected. Their middle of the road pitching (15th in MLB in ERA) has been masked by the fact that their lineup is top 5 in nearly every offensive category including stolen bases.
Cincinnati Reds – C+
It’s nice, after grading every team on a weekly basis, to take a step back & look at the big picture of a team’s season. I was honestly ready to give the Reds a bad grade because from week to week they haven’t given me much good to talk about. However, looking at the big picture: 5 of their everyday starters have OPS+ over 100 (above league average), they’re 5th in the MLB in stolen bases, they’re 12th in team ERA, but tied for 6th in the league in quality starts.
They’re also sitting at .500 only 3 games out of a wild card spot. Is it a dream start to the season? Far from it. The lineup at times has looked like a top heavy lineup & it’s appeared painfully difficult to score runs through certain stretches. But with veteran manager Terry Francona at the helm, and considering their ability to stay afloat despite stretches of poor play, the Reds show some underlying statistics that would make you believe their best baseball hasn’t been played yet.
Milwaukee Brewers – C-
You’re probably asking “how are the 29-29 Reds a C+, but the 30-28 Brewers are a C-???” The simple answer is these grades are on a team-to-team basis based on how I felt about them coming into the season. I expect more out of this Brewers team than they’ve given so far. The starting pitching has held up enough, as 3 of their top 5 guys have posted sub 3 ERA’s. The team ERA is around league average, which is probably a result of guys who started the season on the team, like Nestor Cortes, getting shelled early in the season before fading off the roster.
Relievers Koenig, Payamps, & Alexander have simply not been as good as they need to be. The main issue is the hitting though. They are bottom 10 in most categories and their inability to hit for power is the largest concern. The Brewers (in my opinion) are a team that’s built to hit singles, draw walks, & make pitchers work hard to get outs. With their on base % at 18th in the league though, they’re not good enough at that to hit as few homers as they do. The lineup needs to pick things up soon or this team could quietly be a seller as the deadline approaches.
Pittsburgh Pirates – F
Time to enter the land of bad teams. Let’s start off the field. The team has a halfway decent pitching staff led by maybe the best pitcher in the game in Paul Skenes. Their inability to put a lineup around him is simply an unwillingness to spend any money to put a competitive product on the field. Owner Bob Nutting should be ashamed of himself. He also removed a Roberto Clemente tribute from the outfield wall and replaced it with a Surfside advertisement. A fan also plummeted nearly to his death from the right field wall at a game this season. That somehow was not the most gruesome event of the spring in Pittsburgh as nothing has been worse than watching the team take at-bats. The people of Pittsburgh deserve so much more.
St. Louis Cardinals – A-
I’m not sure if the Cardinals will remain competitive all season, but their first third of the season deserves an A grade. They don’t hit a ton of homers, but their offense is 3rd in the big leagues in batting average & naturally 6th in OBP as well. It’s not sexy longball baseball but it’s effective. Brendan Donavan has led the charge batting .333. Their pitching is simply average. 14th in team ERA, starters ERA’s mostly in the upper 3’s, bullpen ERA 16th. Like I said, not too many individuals to highlight here, just a team that is 7 games over .500 and keeping pace with the Cubs (so far) in the division race.
GONNEEEEE
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 25, 2025
SEIYA. SUZUKI. pic.twitter.com/pLFOOpGXe3
Two home runs tonight for Shohei Ohtani and 22 on the year 🤯#FridayNightBaseball pic.twitter.com/aEn9Jp1v2k
— MLB (@MLB) May 31, 2025
NL West
Arizona Diamondbacks – D
The Snakes have disappointed through the first half of this season. They’re currently 3 games under .500 and 8 games off the NL West leading Dodgers. Let’s be abundantly clear: this team has been a pitching disaster. The offense has been great. 5th in the MLB in runs scored, 4thin OPS, 5th in homers.
No matter what way you slice it the offense is a top 5 offense. Corbin Carroll, Josh Naylor, Eugenio Suarez, Geraldo Perdomo, Pavin Smith, and Ketel Marte ALL have OPS’ over .800. The starting pitching has been worse than advertised, as their 4.33 ERA is good for 25th in the league. Merrill Kelly & Zac Gallen where have you gone? The bullpen ERA is right down there in the cellar with a 5.51 ERA (27th in baseball). I want to say the offense is good enough to keep them in the wild card race, but pitching is tough to fix, and it needs to be fixed fast.
Colorado Rockies – F
They are the worst team ever. They make last year’s White Sox look like the 1927 Yankees. I’m not even sure how they suit up everyday, it’s a tough watch daily.
Los Angeles Dodgers – A+
The Dodgers have not only maintained their spot as top dogs, but they have fought through a ton of adversity to do so. They currently have 14 (!) in their system injured, many of them key pieces to the team. Yet, just last night, Shohei Ohtani belted 2 homers (he is the league leader once again) in a gritty comeback win against the AL leading Yankees. This organization is just solid, they have incredible depth to withstand injury situations that would cripple other teams. Freeman is still one of the best hitters in the game, Ohtani will most likely win MVP, and Yamamoto has a legitimate chance to win a Cy Young with a 1.97 ERA. It hasn’t been all roses in Los Angeles this spring, but their current record and sustained success is a testament to their organizational management.
San Diego Padres – A
The Padres have managed to hang around the Dodgers at the top of the NL West and that is enough to earn them an A grade for their spring. They recently went on a 6 game skid against AL teams which probably hurt some of their season statistics but the bottom line is this: any lineup with Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill, Manny Machado, Luis Arraez at the top is going to be in great shape. Pair that with quality role player performances like Gavin Sheets and Jake Cronenworth, as well as a team ERA good for 10th in the league, and you’ve got yourself a competitor. I will admit, their 11-18 record against teams above .500 is concerning. It will be interesting if that 6 game losing streak was a sign of things to come as they continue to play divisional games against tough teams down the stretch.
San Francisco Giants – A
Three A grades for the best division in baseball! The Giants have been a stellar team this year. Their starters have been solid, led by Logan Webb & Robbie Ray, and the bullpen has been lockdown. The offense doesn’t rank too well statistically, but they’ve provided enough pop to sit 7 games above .500 through the first third of the season. Led by Matt Chapman, the lineup sports 5 players with an OPS above .725. They will lean on their modest but effective roster as they scrap for a chance to win the NL West crown as the dog days of summer approach.
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