MLB Opening Weekend takeaways: Torpedo bats, undefeated Dodgers and Yankees doing just fine without Juan Soto

Major League Baseball’s Opening Weekend is now officially in the rearview mirror. There’s still some pomp and circumstance to come, as teams continue to open their home schedules across the league. But, for the most part, it’s time to dig in and embrace the day-to-day grind of a 162-game season.

Before we do so ourselves, let’s take one last look back at Opening Weekend by highlighting five observations and emerging storylines.

1. Torpedo bats are the talk of the league

The uproar of the weekend was the modified bats being swung by some members of the New York Yankees, including Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Anthony Volpe. The Yankees offense happened to go bonkers against the Milwaukee Brewers, with Aaron Judge (who is not using a new bat) staking out a claim as the extremely early favorite for the American League Most Valuable Player Award by homering four times and driving in 11 runs over the course of 11 at-bats.

These so-called torpedo bats stem from an idea that a former Yankees front office staffer (who now coaches for the Miami Marlins) had. It goes like this: they noticed that Volpe (among others) was more likely to make contact near the bat’s label rather than on the barrel. So, these new bats are modified in a way that shifts mass downward. In short, there’s a trade-off being made by anyone who uses the torpedo bat: they’re likely to generate more impressive contact closer to the knob but, in turn, they’re likely to make less authoritative contact when they connect with the barrel. For some players, that’s a worthwhile swap; for others, those who have better barrel-to-ball skills, it’s not a thrilling proposition.

To be clear: this is all legal. The bats fit within MLB’s sizing regulations, and it’s hardly the first time teams and players have experimented with bat modifications — lest anyone forget the axe handle and hockey puck knob bats of yesteryear. Besides, the Yankees aren’t the only team with the torpedo bats on hand. Some Boston Red Sox players tried them in the spring; a Tampa Bay Rays player used one on Sunday; the Atlanta Braves ordered some (with Drake Baldwin admitting he used one during last year’s Arizona Fall League); and so on. What can you say other than baseball is a copycat league. If someone stubbed their toe and went on a tear, you’d have half the league intentionally kicking things.

 By the way, St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras divulged that a sales rep from a bat manufacturer told him that a few Yankees were using them as early as last postseason. That no one noticed suggests the effects of these bats are almost certainly being conflated with and/or exaggerated by a hot three-game stretch — fueled by some players who aren’t even using the newfangled things.

2. …but league-wide home-run surge overstated

As noted above, the Yankees went nuts during Opening Weekend, tying MLB’s record for the most home runs hit in a team’s first three games (and nearly tying the record for the most home runs hit over a two-day span). Predictably, given this is a small sample size and whatnot, New York’s dominance has given off the impression that offense is soaring beyond the heights of recent seasons. That’s not the case — at least not so far.

Here’s a look at how this season’s stats stack up to those from March and April of recent years:

As you can see, OPS is up year-to-year, but only by a couple points — and certainly not to the levels experienced in 2023; batting average on balls in play is way down; home run per fly ball percentage is up a tick from the five-year high; and average exit velocity is also up a hair from the other years. Again, this is a very small sample and these numbers will change over the coming weeks. For now, though, it’s premature to proclaim that the league as a whole is experiencing an offensive surge, even if it feels like the balls are soaring.

3. Dodgers are still the gold standard

With all this talk about bats and offense, let’s not let the Dodgers’ hot start get lost in the shuffle. The defending World Series champions are off to a 5-0 start, having swept the Chicago Cubs in the Tokyo Series and then dispatched the Detroit Tigers as part of their three-game home-opening series. This is Los Angeles’ best start since 1981, when they opened with a 6-0 mark.

The Dodgers have been dominant in those wins, too. Their plus-14 run differential is the second best in the majors (behind the Yankees); six of their 12 batters used this season have an OPS+ of 140 or better; and their staff-wide ERA+ is 157. The scary thing? The Dodgers aren’t even at the height of their powers. Mookie Betts is still recovering from an illness that caused him to lose more than 20 pounds; Roki Sasaki hasn’t yet acclimated himself to a new league and ball; and Shohei Ohtani is still awaiting his return to the rotation. There’s a reason this team is considered the best in the league, by far.

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The Dodgers will try to match their 1981 selves — who, by the way, went on to win the World Series after a month-plus-long players’ strike — come Monday night, when they open a series against the (to date) winless Atlanta Braves in a potential preview of the National League Championship Series.

4. Yankees don’t miss Soto or Cole — yet

As you can tell, the Yankees played a prominent role throughout the Opening Weekend. We’ll keep this section brief: this is exactly what New York needed to ease some concerns about the state of the roster after losing slugger Juan Soto to the New York Mets and ace Gerrit Cole to Tommy John surgery.

So far, anyway, general manager Brian Cashman’s pivot after failing to retain Soto is paying off. Veteran lineup additions Paul Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger had good weekends, and there’s no doubt that lefty Max Fried and closer Devin WIlliams will be important pieces if the Yankees want to repeat as American League champions — and, perhaps, realize a World Series rematch with the Dodgers.

5. Central teams struggle against the coasts

We’ll wrap up here by noting that it was a bad Opening Weekend for the two Central divisions. As esteemed scribe Sam Miller noted Sunday night, those 10 clubs combined for 11 wins and went 5-17 when they were opposed by a team from either an East or West division. Ouch.

In fact, the only Central clubs with a winning record heading into the first full week of the season are the St. Louis Cardinals (3-0 after dismantling the Minnesota Twins) and the Cleveland Guardians (2-1 after taking care of the Kansas City Royals). Three of the Central’s reigning playoff teams — the Brewers, Royals, and Detroit Tigers — remain winless, with a combined 0-9 record.

Hey, on the bright side: there’s plenty of time to steer the ship back between the navigational buoys.