Lincoln Zdunich
With Opening Weekend coming to a close for the 2026 season, plenty of teams have tested their mettle thus far and been off to encouraging starts to the year.
But not all of those teams had top prospects debuting. Of the 30 teams across MLB, five had young players getting off to a red-hot 2026. Here’s a look at each one’s start to the year:
Munetaka Murakami, Chicago White Sox
Though the White Sox got swept by the Milwaukee Brewers this weekend, it was not due to Murakami’s lack of trying.
The former two-time KBO Central League MVP showed Chicago exactly why they signed him this offseason, slugging a home run in each of his first three games with the club.
The more encouraging thing, however, is that Murakami has been taking his walks. He’s walked four times in 13 plate appearances, giving him a .538 OBP to start the year.
There was concern about his high strikeout numbers in the KBO, and that’s still warranted given his four strikeouts. But it’s safe to say that he’s managed to put those worries to bed thus far.
Chase DeLauter, Cleveland Guardians
Adding another slugger to this group (with an historic four home runs in his first three games), DeLauter spent Opening Weekend destroying the Seattle Mariners‘ pitching staff.
Although his streak finally came to an end, it still marks an impressive debut that has only been done one other time (Trevor Story, 2016).
Through four games, DeLauter has a ridiculously insane .353/.353/1.059 slash line with an OPS of 1.412. That level of production likely won’t continue (and already tapered off slightly in game four versus Seattle), but Cleveland will need him to produce in order to take the AL Central crown once again.
Kevin McGonigle, Detroit Tigers
McGonigle marks a departure from the first two due to his lack of slug thus far (though not without effort).
After torching the San Diego Padres‘ pitching staff with a magical four-hit Opening Day, McGonigle sought to do the same the next evening. In his first at-bat against starter Michael King, he lifted a fly ball to center that was sure to go out…until it wasn’t.
Padres’ center fielder Jackson Merrill managed to just snag it, denying McGonigle his first MLB home run.
But McGonigle would have the last laugh. Later he grinded out a 10 pitch at-bat against Wandy Peralta that ended with a decisive two-run single. The Tigers wouldn’t relinquish the lead after that.
McGonigle has started off the year second in batting average (.417) and slugging percentage (.583), and third in on-base percentage (.462) among Detroit hitters.
There were concerns this offseason about the Tigers’ ability to produce. Those have largely been assuaged with the star rookie’s performance this series.
Owen Caissie, Miami Marlins
The only one to already make his MLB debut, Caissie made his Marlins debut this year after being the headliner in the Edward Cabrera trade with the Chicago Cubs.
He rewarded Miami immediately.
In three games, he’s gone 5-for-10 with two doubles and a walk-off home run against the Colorado Rockies Sunday night.
The Marlins are seeking to be competitive this year after (surprisingly) narrowly missing the playoffs in 2025. With star left fielder Kyle Stowers injured for the start of the year, Caissie will be relied upon to perform.
JJ Wetherholt, St. Louis Cardinals
The starting second baseman for St. Louis, Wetherholt homered in his MLB debut on Opening Day. He’s had a fantastic .308/.333/.538 slash line through the weekend with a solid .917 fielding percentage in the infield.
As if his debut home run wasn’t enough, he singled to walk it off Saturday against the Tampa Bay Rays.
After trading away most of their stars this offseason, the Cards are focusing on rebuilding. The predominant belief is that they will not be competitive this year. But watching this young star perform has got to be fun for St. Louis fans.
