As the halfway point of the 2025 MLB season nears, plenty of surprising statistics have emerged. From individual achievements to team-wide breakouts, this campaign has been packed with intrigue across both leagues.
While the MVP races look to be heading in a familiar direction with Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani as overwhelming favorites, there’s more to delve into elsewhere, including a historic season from a Seattle Mariners catcher.
Cal Raleigh Sets Home Run Records
Cal Raleigh has the most first-half home runs ever by a catcher and the most ever by a switch-hitter before the All-Star break. Monday night saw Raleigh clear the fences for a fourth straight game, taking him to an MLB-leading 32 home runs for the year.
Judge is the only hitter with a higher wRC+. Raleigh’s 193 is 19 points ahead of Ohtani.
This production is not the result of an overhaul in approach or a stretch of unsustainable batted-ball luck. His blueprint is much the same, including a high strikeout rate, plenty of walks, good bat speed, and a high barrel rate.
The difference is that his strengths have gone from great to elite. He ranks in the 98th percentile in barrel rate and the 95th percentile in xwOBA.
Ben Rice and Jonathan Aranda Are Top 10 in xwOBA
While Raleigh has emerged as a power leader, a few unexpected names have joined elite company in terms of underlying metrics.
The other names in the top 20 or so are who we would expect. It’s a string of perennial All-Stars, former MVPs, and a toolsy, high-upside young player in James Wood. Ben Rice and Jonathan Aranda, however, weren’t expected to be in that group.
Aranda has an .897 OPS. His relatively low bat speed helps him control the zone with a strong walk rate, high batting average, and solid barrel rate. Rice doesn’t walk quite as frequently, but he has excellent contact skills, and a 15.9 percent barrel rate puts him up with the sport’s very best power hitters.
While Rice has been the much-needed Robin to Judge’s Batman, Aranda has been the heartbeat of a Tampa Bay Rays lineup that looked flimsy at the start of the season. Both players are on course to play in October and deserve All-Star consideration at the very least.
Kris Bubic Is Fifth in ERA and Fourth in FIP
Below .500 and potentially forced into being sellers at the trade deadline, it’s been a disappointing first half for the Kansas City Royals. Various players on both sides of the ball have underperformed.
One of their few overachievers has been Kris Bubic. The southpaw had a 94 ERA+ between the rotation and bullpen coming into this season. As of June 24, he’s in the top five across all big-league starters in ERA and FIP and should be an All-Star after making just three starts in the majors since 2022.
Giants Bullpen ERA Over Half a Run Better Than Anyone Else
The San Francisco Giants have by far the best bullpen in baseball. Tied to this stat, the Giants also have the three relievers with the lowest ERAs, and that doesn’t include Ryan Walker or Camilo Doval.
Randy Rodriguez, Erik Miller, and Tyler Rogers have ERA marks between 0.79 and 1.24.
Walker was removed from the closer role early in the year. Doval, his replacement, is back to his dominant best after a down year in 2024. Spencer Bivens, primarily used in a mop-up role, has a 3.26 ERA, while Hayden Birdsong and Kyle Harrison were also excellent in brief bullpen stints.
Mets Own Best Rotation ERA
What began as a concern has turned into a clear strength for the New York Mets.
David Peterson, Clay Holmes, Kodai Senga, Griffin Canning, and Tylor Megill did not look like a contending-level rotation. Holmes was being converted from reliever to starter. Canning had a 92 ERA+ for his career. Senga was coming off a major injury.
Starting pitching looked like the biggest weakness for the Mets before Opening Day. It has somehow become their greatest strength, with Senga, Holmes, and Peterson dominating, while Canning and Megill provide solid back-of-the-rotation workloads.
White Sox Have Second-Best Run Line Cover Rate
Only the Toronto Blue Jays have covered the run line more frequently than the Chicago White Sox. Coming off the worst regular season in MLB history, Chicago has been a surprisingly profitable team to bet on.
This is not because of a return to contention. The White Sox have by far the worst record in the American League, but a 4-20 record in one-run games means they have reliably covered as an underdog. Sportsbooks may look to adjust their pricing on White Sox games going forward.
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