WAY-TOO-EARLY obervations so far: (all anecdotal)
1.) The Pirates are absolutely fucking horrible in every facet of the game from every on-field metric to the farm and the front office, and the Hayes injury just adds insult on top of it. I don't think the books realize yet just how truly bad they are. I'll tell you this: I'm blindly betting every opposing team's run line at ANY plus number, and any -2.5 line at +170 or better until they prove otherwise. Pirates under 58.5 (or whatever it was) looks like the stone nuts right now barring some huge injury issues in the rest of the division.
I fully expect the 119 losses by the Tigers in 2003 to be in play for this team. The 134 by the Cleveland Spiders in 1899 is probably safe though LOL.
2.) Don't sleep on the Royals. Merrifield would be a perennial MVP candidate in just about any other market, and I love the addition of Taylor, who seems like a perfect fit to roam that cavernous outfield. The rotation is serviceable, but they have to get the pen figured out. I've also been pretty underwhelmed by the rest of that division so far, and the Jimenez injury looms large for the White Sox.
3.) I mentioned earlier that I was skeptical of MLB's claim of a deadened baseball, and maybe it's just confirmation bias but I've seen nothing so far to change my mind. The 3-outcome game looks more prevalent than ever.