The 2024 Major League Baseball season started with Opening Day exactly four weeks ago and it’ll officially hit the one-month mark here this weekend. Since this isn’t an official award or anything, we can, for fun, sort out who the best players have been in baseball for the first month right now.
These aren’t predictions for the rest of the season, the past doesn’t matter and this isn’t for fantasy baseball purposes. No, it is simply a team of the players who have been the best baseball players in each league during the course of the first four weeks. Team performance doesn’t matter, as we’re naming individuals.
With those sure-to-be-ignored parameters out of the way, let’s get to it.
Presenting the 2024 First Month All-Stars:
American League
Catcher – Salvador Perez, Royals
The venerable Sal! He turns 34 next month and there’s surely plenty of wear and tear on that body, but he’s still catching the majority of the games while hitting .348 with six homers and 23 RBI. Get this: He’s already more than doubled his WAR from last season.
In the mix: Cal Raleigh, Mariners; Adley Rutschman, Orioles; Logan O’Hoppe, Angels
First base – Josh Naylor, Guardians
His growth continues here in his age-27 season and he might be busting out as a full-fledged star. Naylor rarely strikes out and he’s upping his power numbers. At present, he’s slashing .306/.371/.576 with six homers and 20 RBI.
In the mix: Ryan Mountcastle, Orioles; Vinnie Pasquantino, Royals; Triston Casas, Red Sox
Second base – Jose Altuve, Astros
As noted, team performance doesn’t impact things here. Altuve is doing all he can to prevent the Astros from this downward spiral they’re undertaking. He’s hitting .350 with an OPS over 1.000 and has scored 17 runs. He looks like the MVP version of himself.
In the mix: Marcus Semien, Rangers; Andrés Giménez, Guardians
Shortstop – Gunnar Henderson, Orioles
This is neck-and-neck between two players who look capable of winning an MVP. I’ll go with Henderson by the slightest of margins but there’s no wrong answer. Gunnar is hitting .309/.373/.649 with eight homers, 20 RBI, 20 runs and five steals.
In the mix: Bobby Witt Jr., Royals; Anthony Volpe, Yankees
Third base – Jordan Westburg, Orioles
With so much attention on Henderson and Rutschman — in addition to Jackson Holliday and a few others — Westburg has kind of flown under the radar. He’s doing his best to make sure that doesn’t happen much longer, however, as he’s hitting .310 with a .571 slugging. In 84 at-bats, he has five doubles, a triple and five homers with 18 RBI.
In the mix: Isaac Paredes, Rays
Left field – Colton Cowser, Orioles
I wasn’t trying to stack Orioles, but they don’t leave much choice with this offense. Cowser is sitting with a robust .333/.406/.733 line. He’s homered six times with 17 RBI in 60 at-bats.
In the mix: Steven Kwan, Guardians; Riley Greene, Tigers; Tyler O’Neill, Red Sox; Daulton Varsho, Blue Jays
Center field – Mike Trout, Angels
It’s a low batting average, by his standards, so far, but Trout leads the majors with 10 homers along with two triples, five stolen bases and 16 runs scored. There isn’t a ton of competition at this position, either.
In the mix: Cedric Mullins, Orioles
Right field – Juan Soto, Yankees
With some other high-profile names struggling (hello, Aaron Judge), Soto has at times felt like he’s single-handedly holding up that Yankees offense. He’s walked more than he’s struck out with five doubles, six homers, 22 RBI and 17 runs while hitting .319 and leading the league in OBP.
In the mix: Adolis García, Rangers; Kyle Tucker, Astros; Amed Rosario, Rays
Designated hitter – Justin Turner, Blue Jays
Turner was productive for the Red Sox last season and got a one-year deal with the Jays at age 39. So far, he’s hitting .319 with a .414 OBP, seven doubles, two homers and 12 RBI.
In the mix: Mark Canha, Tigers
Starting pitchers – Kutter Crawford, Red Sox; José Berríos, Blue Jays
Crawford leads the majors with a 0.66 ERA. He’s struck out 30 in 27 1/3 innings while sporting a 0.99 WHIP. The Red Sox rotation as a whole has been one of the most pleasant surprises this season and Crawford leads the way.
Berríos had had quite the journey. He went from multi-time All-Star to Cy Young candidate to terrible (2022, when he led the AL in hits and earned runs allowed) to pretty good last year. And now he’s 4-0 with a 0.85 ERA in five starts.
In the mix: Ronel Blanco, Astros; Tarik Skubal, Tigers; Logan Gilbert, Mariners
Relief pitcher – Mason Miller, Athletics
This is absurdly difficult due to this position, by far, having the smallest sample of performance from which to judge. Plus, there are a number of relievers who have been insanely good so far this year. I’ll go with Miller because he’s got the most impressive stuff and that is truly a high bar with this group. If you haven’t watched him yet, try to rectify that. He’s well worth your time.
In the mix: Emmanuel Clase and Hunter Gaddis, Guardians; Craig Kimbrel, Orioles; Jason Foley, Tigers; Clay Holmes, Yankees; Justin Slaten, Red Sox; Kirby Yates, Rangers
National League
Catcher – William Contreras, Brewers
The younger of the stud Contreras catchers is putting up MVP offensive numbers (.359/.439/.543 with 21 RBI and 20 runs) while handling what looks like an overachieving pitching staff in Milwaukee. Not too shabby for a throw-in on a three-way trade, huh? He bests his brother here, even if slightly.
In the mix: Willson Contreras, Cardinals; Patrick Bailey, Giants; Will Smith, Dodgers; Travis d’Arnaud, Braves
First base – Michael Busch, Cubs
He had been toiling behind Freddie Freeman in the Dodgers’ system before the Cubs took him off their hands. Now, Busch tied a club record earlier this season by homering in five straight games and is hitting .280 with a .560 slugging and 16 RBI.
In the mix: Christian Walker, Diamondbacks; Pete Alonso, Mets; LaMonte Wade Jr., Giants
Second base – Mookie Betts, Dodgers
Do we really need an explanation? Mookie is the MLB MVP right now.
In the mix: Ketel Marte, Diamondbacks; Brice Turang, Brewers
Shortstop – Elly De La Cruz, Reds
He took the league by storm last year right as the Reds were getting hot enough to make a run for first place in the middle portion of the season. Then he struggled down the stretch and faced far too much scrutiny for it (welcome to being a pro athlete in the internet era, Elly!). This season, he’s been utterly spectacular. He’s slashing .313/.412/.651 while putting up seven homers, 18 RBI, 23 runs, and an MLB-best 15 stolen bases. The stats do not do him justice, either. Just watch him on the bases or in the field. He needs to be an All-Star Game starter.
In the mix: Willy Adames, Brewers; CJ Abrams, Nationals; Trea Turner, Phillies
Third base – Alec Bohm, Phillies
It’s a lackluster position so far (you’ll note the absence of an “in the mix” category), but Bohm is a worthy winner. He’s driven home 21 runs with a .337/.430/.558 slash line.
Left field – Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Diamondbacks
Fresh off his first All-Star Game and a trip to the World Series, Gurriel signed a new deal to stay in Arizona and it’s paying off thus far. Through 23 games, he’s hitting .300 with five doubles, five homers, 22 RBI and 18 runs.
In the mix: Spencer Steer, Reds; Brandon Marsh, Phillies; Jesse Winker, Nationals
Center field – Michael Harris II, Braves
After a 3 for 5 game Wednesday night, Harris is hitting .330 with 15 runs scored and five stolen bases.
In the mix: Jackson Merrill, Padres
Right field – Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres
He hasn’t been phenomenal or anything, but the position was a bit lacking. And Tatis has been very good with six homers, 15 RBI, 18 runs and three steals.
In the mix: Teoscar Hernández, Dodgers; Ronald Acuña Jr. Braves
Designated hitter – Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers
Take a look at these two beasts who are lapping the field.
Player A: .371/.433/.695, 39 H, 14 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 16 RBI, 22 R, 5 SB
Player B: .344/.416/.678, 31 H, 3 2B, 0 3B, 9 HR, 29 RBI, 18 R, 0 SB
Player A is Ohtani. Player B is …
Marcell Ozuna of the Braves.
Pick your poison. I’ve got Ohtani with Ozuna relegated to “in the mix.”
Starting pitcher – Ranger Suárez, Phillies; Logan Webb, Giants
Suárez is 4-0 with a 1.36 ERA and already has a shutout. He’s struck out 32 against just five walks in 33 innings. He leads the majors with a 0.70 WHIP.
Webb leads the majors with 38 2/3 innings pitched and 153 batters faced. He has a 2.33 ERA in that workload. It’s a stupid-small sample, but he’s already up to 1.5 WAR.
In the mix: Dylan Cease, Padres; Jordan Hicks, Giants; Tyler Glasnow, Dodgers; Zack Wheeler, Phillies; Shota Imanaga, Cubs
Relief pitcher – Reed Garrett, Mets
It’s only 12 2/3 innings, but Garrett has a 0.71 ERA and 0.87 WHIP. He’s struck out 25 of the 50 batters he’s faced. Yes, you read that correctly. He’s struck out exactly half the batters he’s faced.
In the mix: Robert Suarez, Padres; Fernando Cruz, Reds; Mark Leiter Jr., Cubs
