Swings and Takes: April Showers, Rookies Flower

Stats referenced in this column are as of the start of play on 4/22/2025

We are currently in one of the most fun, and most difficult, times to be a baseball analyst, as we're smack in the middle of Small Sample Reaction Season (as we named it right around this time last year). We have enough of a sample, roughly 100 PAs for most players who have played every day, to feel like we have some signal within 2025 performance. This bit of signal, like a siren call from the distance, is dangerous, however, as even within process types of metrics we are still at a point where a great or terrible game can massively shift the data.

Because of this, instead of reviewing changes for established hitters in process and results, we will follow the...