The 2024 MLB season is off to a hot start and in just a few weeks, a lot of superstars and powerhouse teams have separated themselves from the pack.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s way too early to be making predictions, but I’m doing it anyway.

The offseason saw a lot of big names change teams, and there was a lot of focus on those players in these first few weeks.

Guys like Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani are sporting new threads and quickly making a huge impact as the Yankees and Dodgers respectively have gotten off to crazy starts.

Another conversation at this point in the season has been the Houston Astros. Even with Ronel Blanco’s no-hitter less than a week in, they sit at 7-15 at the time this is being written, and they simply just don’t look good.

Houston usually gets off to a slow start and then finds their groove, but they’ve already been swept three times and they look sloppy. But let’s be real, they’ll probably be contenders in another couple weeks.

The Atlanta Braves, who had the best regular season record last year, look to do that again and they currently hold the best record in the league at 13-5 without even getting much contribution from reigning MVP Ronald Acuña. With Acuña coming off a record-breaking year, I’m looking for him to break into a crazy hot-streak very soon.

Right behind them are the Milwaukee Brewers at 13-6 and the LA Dodgers at 12-11. I’m shocked that the Brewers have held up like this despite the loss of Corbin Burnes, but it looks like former MVP Christian Yelich found his swing again after the past few sub-par years.

On the other side, the Cleveland Guardians lead the AL at 15-6, followed by the Yankees at 14-7, and the defending champion Texas Rangers lead the west at 11-10.

Although the Yankees are without Gerrit Cole for a couple months, the addition of Juan Soto’s bat has sparked a ton of energy to their lineup. The series against Cleveland was so much fun to watch, and the way things have been looking there’s a good chance they’ll be seeing each other in the playoffs.

Speaking of the Yankees, I’m really looking forward to watching the AL East division race. So far, every team has a winning record and the games between them have been really exciting to watch. Not to mention that division has produced contenders year in and year out.

As great as some of these teams have been, there are always teams at the bottom of the list, and this year there are two really, really, REALLY bad teams.

First there’s the Miami Marlins, who started the season by losing their first nine games in a row, and are currently 5-16.

Somehow worse than them are the Chicago White Sox, who are 3-16, and are ranked dead last in runs scored, batting average, on-base percentage and home runs.

They are horrible.

I usually can’t stand when people make MVP predictions this early into the season because stats are so skewed. Tons of people get off to hot starts every year and then drop off. Obviously, people aren’t going to maintain a .400 average for the whole year, and just because someone homered in each of their first four games doesn’t mean they’re gonna break Bonds’ record.

That being said, I’m gonna make some way-too-early awards predictions.

As much as I hate to say it, I think so far Jose Altuve is the front-runner for AL MVP. He has the best batting average in the whole league, he’s popped a handful of homers, and he’s proven to be the kind of guy who can sustain this kind of performance over the course of the season. The only thing that can kill him is the low number of RBI’s.

Enter Juan Soto. He’s been in the MVP conversation year-in and year-out, and this might be the year he does it. So far, he’s near the top of the league in batting average and RBI’s with a handful of homers, and again he’s proven to be the kind of a guy who can consistently hit.

What sells me on him is his move to the Yankees. As a lefty he could put one over that short-porch in right without even muscling it, so I’m expecting big home run totals out of him.

The NL is a lot more contested, but my pick is gonna have to be Mookie Betts for the same logic – he’s got the batting average and home runs, and he’s proven to be the type of guy who can sustain this level of play over the whole season.

For AL and NL Cy Young I’m going with Reid Detmers and Freddy Peralta respectively. They’re near the top of the league in strikeouts with ERA’s under 2, and they have both yet to tally a loss.

However, I wouldn’t be surprised if Detmers’ lack of offensive support hurts him and someone like Corbin Burnes takes it.