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Five teams who have surprised Major League Baseball this season
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Photo credit: © Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Veronica Chung
Jul 20, 2024, 11:00 EDTUpdated: Jul 20, 2024, 12:00 EDT
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As the 2024 MLB season ramps up for the height of summer and fall, many events have transpired and there have been quite a few surprises around the league thus far. Some teams have experienced a rather unexpected boon while others have encountered misadventures along the way. Baseball seasons tend to be rather volatile and sometimes, that’s part of what makes the game fascinating and possibly fun. 
All in all, below are five teams who have surprised the league in the first half of the season…

Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs were favoured in some ways during the offseason to take away the National League Central division. This projection was buoyed by the team’s decision to bring in manager Craig Counsell from its rival Milwaukee Brewers. Counsell had a heavy burden to carry and so far in this season, the Cubs have largely underperformed in its division. Chicago was aiming for a playoff spot and possibly a division lead at the beginning of the season but things started falling apart more quickly as offence, defence and relief pitching all gradually regressed compared to the 2023 season. That said, the Cubs are only three and a half games away from securing the last Wild Card spot in the National League. Even with the chance to seriously compete for the playoffs, Chicago can still be considered a disappointment given the higher expectations from the past offseason. 

Kansas City Royals

At the start of 2024, the Kansas City Royals weren’t ranked high on PECOTA projection at all. While there was consensus around the upcoming Royals’ surge, the team has beaten expectations in every single way possible. With star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. at the centre, Kansas City has rallied to show their explosive potential throughout the roster despite some perceived weaknesses, especially around the outfield. By and large, the Royals have scored enough runs consistently and vastly improved their pitching from starting rotation to bullpen. It also doesn’t hurt that catcher Salvador Perez has bounced back to contribute to the younger, hungrier team. Kansas City has been one of the most inspirational success stories for the 2024 season. In fact, The Athletic’s writers Rustin Dodd and Zack Meisel have detailed how the Royals were able to build a new culture to rejuvenate the team. 

Milwaukee Brewers

Going into the 2024 season, most insiders considered the Milwaukee Brewers to take a step back. After losing manager Craig Counsell and Cy-Young-winning pitcher Corbin Burnes, the Brewers didn’t have the best projection. Neither did anyone expect the team to reign at the top of the National League Central. Nevertheless, Milwaukee is back on top once again and has successfully fended off its rivals from taking the lead. One thing everyone underrated is the strength of the Brewers’ system and their young players’ potential. So far, talents like Jackon Chourio, Joey Ortiz, Blake Perkins and Brice Turang have all contributed to the team’s offensive output and pitchers like Freddy Peralta and Colin Rea have pulled their weights to provide strong run prevention. With one of the most highly-regarded farm systems around the league, the Brewers will continue to thrive throughout the rest of the 2024 season and potentially beyond. 

New York Mets

After coming out of one the more disappointing seasons in 2022 and 2023, the New York Mets didn’t have any intention to compete for a playoff spot for the 2024 season. The team lived up to frustration at the start of the season. But ever since the team let Grimace throw out the first pitch, the Mets have been on the ups. New York now has solidly secured the last Wild Card spot in the National League, and its lineup has consistently contributed to the offensive explosion as the team continued to heat up. The Mets’ younger players like Francisco Alvarez and Mark Vientos have performed incredibly well for more than halfway through the season and that has certainly been part of the success story. The Mets have nicely surprised themselves by being more competitive a couple of seasons earlier, but they will have to reinforce their current success with wise and thoughtful trade deadline decisions. 

Toronto Blue Jays

With star players like shortstop Bo Bichette and first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the Toronto Blue Jays were never supposed to be the disappointment they are now. To be blunt, Toronto’s contention window was supposed to more much more successful. As the team became more competitive in 2020, the goal was to make deeper playoff runs much like the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Unfortunately, the Blue Jays haven’t won any playoff games since 2026 and the 2024 season has been unsatisfactory. There isn’t exactly one thing that doomed Toronto’s season. The Blue Jays’ offence regressed even more in their hitting power while the relief pitching core fell apart in its performance. Toronto’s starting pitching used to be pristine up to the 2023 season but that performance was also bound to regress as perfection isn’t something any team can keep up for the long term. The most detrimental factor of all was the growing number of injuries the team collected throughout the season. So far, Bo Bichette, Yimi García, Isaiah Kiner-Falefa, Alek Manoah, Jordan Romano and Daulton Varsho are all on the injured list and the team’s minor league players weren’t immune from injuries either. In short, this is a lost season for the Blue Jays as they look toward the 2025 season and beyond. 

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