Pirates, Mets, brawls, and collapses — here's your MLB week in review.
We're two and a half weeks into the 2026 MLB season and the early picture is already full of surprises. A sleeping giant woke up in Pittsburgh. The Mets are somehow getting worse. A pair of contenders are in freefall before May. And a Friday night in Anaheim ended with suspensions.
Let's get into it.
🏆 Team of the Week: Pittsburgh Pirates
Nobody's talking about the Pittsburgh Pirates, and that's exactly how they like it.
Through the first few weeks of the season, the Pirates are quietly sitting at 12-8 and leading the NL Central — and this doesn't feel like a hot streak that's about to cool off. Pittsburgh is playing complete baseball right now: pitching, defense, timely hitting. They're not beating themselves with mistakes and they're not relying on one guy to carry the load.
Let's be real about what this would mean if it holds. The Pirates haven't been to the playoffs since 2015. That's eleven years of watching October from the couch. The city of Pittsburgh has been waiting for something to believe in, and right now, this team is giving them a reason to pay attention.
It's April. Nobody's printing playoff tickets. But 12-8 through two and a half weeks is real, and the NL Central is absolutely there for the taking. Don't sleep on Pittsburgh.
📉 Worst Week: New York Mets
I already wrote about the Mets losing streak earlier this season when it hit five games. I thought they'd right the ship.
They did not right the ship.
The Mets have now lost 10 consecutive games. Ten. The losing streak that I thought was bad at five has somehow doubled, and there's no obvious end in sight. The pitching has been inconsistent, the offense has gone cold at the worst times, and the whole thing has the feel of a team that's pressing harder with every loss and making it worse.
The frustrating part is that this roster isn't bad. On paper, the Mets have the talent to compete. But baseball doesn't care what your payroll is, and right now the Mets are playing like a team that's completely lost confidence. Manager's seat is getting warm. Front office is watching the standings very carefully.
At some point this has to turn around. But after 10 straight, you've earned the dunce cap for the week.
📰 Around the League
The Blue Jays Hangover Is Real
Last year the Toronto Blue Jays came two outs away from winning the World Series. This year? They're 7-12 and buried in 5th place in the AL East. They got swept by the White Sox — one of the weaker teams in the league — and the offense has been largely absent. It's early, but the hangover from last year's heartbreaking loss appears to be real. Toronto needs to wake up fast before the AL East runs away from them.
Minnesota Twins: The AL's Best Kept Secret
While everyone watches the Yankees and Blue Jays, the Minnesota Twins have quietly been the best team in the American League. They became the first AL team to 11 wins this season, jumping from 24th all the way to 14th in the latest power rankings. Byron Buxton is hitting, the rotation is dealing, and nobody seems to be paying attention.
Sound familiar? See: Pittsburgh Pirates above.
Houston, We Have a Problem
The Houston Astros were supposed to be AL contenders in 2026. Someone forgot to tell their players. Houston dropped from 9th to 24th in the power rankings after losing nine of ten games. A narrow win over Colorado was their only bright spot in a stretch that has Astros fans seriously concerned. Is this a slump or a sign of things to come?
Braves and Angels Get Heated
Tuesday night in Anaheim went sideways in a hurry. Reynaldo López and Jorge Soler each received seven-game suspensions for their roles in a benches-clearing incident. The Braves, despite the drama, remain one of the hottest teams in baseball at 13-7. Sometimes winning and fighting go hand in hand.
🔮 Make Your MLB Picks
With the season already throwing curveballs — Pittsburgh leading the NL Central, the Mets in historic collapse mode, the Astros imploding — this is exactly the kind of start that makes MLB picks both maddening and fun.
Every game matters. Every week brings a new storyline. If you're not making your daily picks already, now's the time to get in on it.
Check out our daily MLB picks videos for the picks, and track your season in Crystal Ball Picks.
Check back next Sunday for another edition of The Week That Was. There's always a winner, always a loser, and always something that nobody saw coming.