MLB · 1 year ago

5 MLB Teams Surprising Everyone With Hot or Cold Starts

Grant White

Host · Writer

HOT - Detroit Tigers (20-12)
Swing for the fences with SportsGrid’s free MLB picks & prop bets — your winning lineup starts here!

For years, baseball fans have been waiting on the Detroit Tigers to return to their winning ways of old. That patience has finally paid off, with Detroit ranking as the premier team in the AL Central.

Detroit has shot to the top of the division, with a corresponding increase in their betting odds. The Tigers currently lead the way in the AL Central, priced as -155 favorites to claim their first division title since 2014.

The Tigers' offense is producing and their pitching staff is one of the best in the league. With that, it's time to recognize them as one of the hottest teams in the MLB.

2025 World Series Odds: +2000(Opening Odds: +4000)
COLD - Baltimore Orioles (12-18)
Slow Starts and Cold Bats: MLB’s April All-Bust Team 2025

This isn't how the Baltimore Orioles' season was supposed to unfold. The O's challenged the New York Yankees for the division lead last season and feature one of the most exciting young cores in baseball. Still, they have fallen flat on their collective faces to open the 2025 MLB season.

Sitting at just 12-18 and bringing up the rear in the AL East, Baltimore can't seem to get anything right. Their pitching has been some of the worst in the bigs, compiling the second-worst ERA through the opening month. Moreover, there's nothing the Orioles' bats can do to offset those limitations, producing the 10th-worst OPS.

If this is the way it's going to be, Orioles fans are in for a long season. Building character is a crappy consolation prize for a team that was expected to make the playoffs.

2025 World Series Odds: +3100 (Opening Odds: +1100)
COLD - Minnesota Twins (13-19)
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Everyone knew the AL Central was a wide-open race, but no one expected the Minnesota Twins to be this far back after the first month of the season.

Heading into May, Minnesota ranks fourth in the division, ahead of only the lowly Chicago White Sox. The Twins staff has been up to the task, but their offense continues to run cold. They sit in the bottom of the league in virtually every offensive category, punctuated by their 3.9 runs per game (T20th), .673 OPS (22nd), and 18 stolen bases (T25th).

These days, pitching only gets you so far in baseball. In that regard, the molehill is quickly turning into a mountain for the Twinkies.

2025 World Series Odds: +5500 (Opening Odds: +3000)
HOT - San Diego Padres (19-11)
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Granted, a 2-7 stretch may have tempered expectations. Still, the San Diego Padres are one of the most pleasant surprises of the season.

The NL West was projected to be a no-contest. The Los Angeles Dodgers were priced as chalky -550 favorites to reign atop the division, but that price has come down thanks to the Padres' hot start.

San Diego is doing a little bit of everything right. They have maximized run production, despite the limitations of their pitcher-friendly ballpark. More importantly, they have flexed their pitching muscles at every point this season, with a solid starting rotation and a lights-out bullpen that would make Shawne Merriman proud.

Heading into May, the Padres have become one of the hottest bets in baseball. Sharp bettors will recognize the value that is still available.

2025 World Series Odds: +2000 (Opening Odds: +1300)
COLD - Atlanta Braves (14-16)
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The Atlanta Braves continue to contend with injuries, but that doesn't excuse their lackluster start to the campaign. Just a month into the season, the Braves already face a seemingly insurmountable climb in the NL East.

Hotlanta has been anything but heating up. The Braves sit a distant third in the division, already 6.5 back of the New York Mets for the lead. With the Philadelphia Phillies sitting between the Braves and Mets, it is becoming increasingly unlikely that Atlanta can make a run up the standings.

Even a postseason berth seems less certain. The price on the Braves to make the playoffs continues to drop, albeit with Atlanta still sitting at -158 to earn a spot in the seven-team field. If they don't play their way out of this cold snap, this will be one of the most disappointing Braves' seasons in recent memory.

2025 World Series Odds: +1300 (Opening Odds: +800)
HOT - Detroit Tigers (20-12)
Swing for the fences with SportsGrid’s free MLB picks & prop bets — your winning lineup starts here!

For years, baseball fans have been waiting on the Detroit Tigers to return to their winning ways of old. That patience has finally paid off, with Detroit ranking as the premier team in the AL Central.

Detroit has shot to the top of the division, with a corresponding increase in their betting odds. The Tigers currently lead the way in the AL Central, priced as -155 favorites to claim their first division title since 2014.

The Tigers' offense is producing and their pitching staff is one of the best in the league. With that, it's time to recognize them as one of the hottest teams in the MLB.

2025 World Series Odds: +2000(Opening Odds: +4000)
COLD - Baltimore Orioles (12-18)
Slow Starts and Cold Bats: MLB’s April All-Bust Team 2025

This isn't how the Baltimore Orioles' season was supposed to unfold. The O's challenged the New York Yankees for the division lead last season and feature one of the most exciting young cores in baseball. Still, they have fallen flat on their collective faces to open the 2025 MLB season.

Sitting at just 12-18 and bringing up the rear in the AL East, Baltimore can't seem to get anything right. Their pitching has been some of the worst in the bigs, compiling the second-worst ERA through the opening month. Moreover, there's nothing the Orioles' bats can do to offset those limitations, producing the 10th-worst OPS.

If this is the way it's going to be, Orioles fans are in for a long season. Building character is a crappy consolation prize for a team that was expected to make the playoffs.

2025 World Series Odds: +3100 (Opening Odds: +1100)

5 MLB Teams Surprising Everyone With Hot or Cold Starts

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