It’s only mid-April, but two weeks into the MLB season and several MLB teams have begun to show cracks. For some teams, there’s plenty of time to figure out early struggles, but others have shown fundamental problems that could derail their seasons. Here is a breakdown of the six teams currently in last place, and who’s most likely to turn it around.
Boston Red Sox
Garrett Crochet getting lit up for 10 earned runs against the Twins made Boston’s situation go from bad to worse after a rough start to the year. The rotation, which was expected to be one of their strengths, has looked incredibly shaky, with Ranger Suarez and Brayan Bello facing similar struggles.
At the plate, Willson Contreras and Wilyer Abreu have had to carry the load while Jarren Duran, Trevor Story, and many of Boston’s top sluggers have yet to hit their stride. These struggles have buried the Red Sox at the bottom of the AL East and desperately need their stars to get it going before the rest of the division begins to run away.
Chicago White Sox
Expectations weren’t exactly high for the 2026 White Sox, and it hasn’t looked much better than the past few seasons. The addition of Japanese star Munetaka Murakami has looked solid, as the two-time MVP in Japan has given Chicago much-needed pop with five home runs. However, with just a .167 batting average, his production has mostly been all-or-nothing. The offense as a whole is still among the worst in the MLB, ranking last in batting average and on-base plus slugging percentage. Losing catcher Kyle Teel for a few weeks after an injury in the World Baseball Classic hasn’t helped either.
Their main bright spot is the rotation, with four of their five starters holding an ERA below four. A sweep of the Blue Jays proved the White Sox may not be total pushovers, but they must rely on their young hitters to figure it out for this team to be anything more than the bottom of the AL Central.
Houston Astros
An 8-game losing streak has sent Houston spiraling into last in the AL West, a seemingly disastrous start for a team looking to prove that missing the playoffs last year was a fluke. A 1-9 record on the road is a real point of concern, but perhaps some of that can be blamed on Houston’s injury woes. Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier being sidelined has led to the pitching staff hanging on by a thread, ranking last in the MLB in runs allowed.
On the other side, the Astros bats looked alive, ranking first in runs scored. Yordan Alvarez has once again been playing like one of the top hitters in the league, and Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, Christian Vazquez and the rest of the lineup have done nothing but score runs. If the pitching stabilizes, and maybe adds a few arms before the trade deadline, Houston could immediately be a playoff contender once again.
New York Mets
No matter how much the Mets spend on their roster, the narrative has largely stayed the same. Their biggest acquisition in Bo Bichette has struggled mightily, already drawing boos from a tough New York crowd. Aside from Francisco Alvarez, no one else in the lineup has put it together now that Juan Soto is out for a few weeks with a calf injury.
They’ve had to rely on the pitching staff to keep them in games, with Nolan McLean, Clay Holmes and Freddy Peralta looking like one of the best 1-2-3 punches in the league. It’s hard to imagine the high-end talent continues to struggle as much as they have, but that will be the difference between the Mets making it back to the playoffs, or once again falling short of expectations.
Chicago Cubs
They may be below .500 right now, but the Cubs have no reason to be concerned just yet. Despite sitting at the bottom of a surprisingly competitive NL Central, the numbers suggest they’re playing better than the record suggests. Nico Hoerner has looked like a legitimate all-star and Carson Kelly has been one of the best offensive catchers in the MLB.
Expecting progression to the mean from stars like Pete-Crow Armstrong and Alex Bregman, the Cubs are still in a solid position despite their slumps. Adding Edward Cabrera has bolstered an already strong rotation, led by Shota Imanaga, once again looking for Cy-Young caliber. It’s still a disappointing start for the north side, but it’s nowhere near time to panic.
Colorado Rockies
The Rockies didn’t come into 2026 with many expectations after posting the third-worst record in MLB history last season. That also means it likely can only go up, and Colorado has already shown an identity shift to start the year.
Most notably, they’ve become far more aggressive on the basepaths, with one of the highest rates of steal attempts despite one of the lowest on-base percentages. Essentially, they don’t get on base much, but when they do, they almost always try for an extra base.
Embracing their role as a scrappy underdog hasn’t exactly translated into wins, but they could still be a problem for opposing teams, proven by series wins over the Astros and Blue Jays. Colorado still has a long way to go, but things might at least be starting to look up.