MLB 2023: First-month grades for all 30 teams - ESPN

Do. Not. Panic. It's one month out of six. Long season and all that. Except ...

Except April does tell us something. In checking last year's standings after the first month (using May 7, since the season started late because of the lockout), eight of the 12 eventual playoff teams were in a playoff position at that point of the season.

As we roll into May, the Rays are in first place in a stacked American League East and possess the best record in the majors, so it's no surprise they top our list of grades for the month of April. But for some squads that are accustomed to sitting atop their division, this month brought a very different reality.

Let's check in on all 30 teams and hand out grades — weighed against preseason expectations, factoring in how and whom they've played and zeroing in on some key players.

Jump to a team:

AL East: BAL | BOS | NYY | TB | TOR AL Central: CHW | CLE | DET | KC | MIN AL West: HOU | LAA | OAK | SEA | TEX

NL East: ATL | MIA | NYM | PHI | WSH NL Central: CHC | CIN | MIL | PIT | STL NL West: ARI | COL | LAD | SD | SF

The Rays began the season with a record-tying 13-game winning streak. They won their first 14 at home. They've outhomered their opponents by a staggering 61 to 19 and outscored them by a staggering 103 runs. That's a 3.55 run differential. The Dodgers won 111 games last season with a 2.06 per-game differential. Yes, the schedule has been soft, but it's still one of the greatest Aprils in MLB history.

The Rays are getting a breakout season from Wander Franco, and perhaps from Josh Lowe, and they're swatting home runs like they're taking batting practice at Coors Field. Impressively, they've done this without Tyler Glasnow and now Jeffrey Springs. Glasnow should return soon, and