Memorial Day Weekend has come and gone, which means the first unofficial measuring stick of the 2025 season is upon us.
With a two-month sample size, it's a decent barometer for teams and players alike -- and those who are off to underwhelming starts have work to do.
Here are nine players who need to turn it around in order to propel their team into the thick of the postseason hunt.
All stats are updated through Sunday's games.
Anthony Santander, OF/DH, Blue Jays
The Blue Jays inked Santander to a five-year contract in the offseason with the hopes that he could replicate last year's 44-homer campaign with the Orioles. To date, Toronto is still waiting for that sort of power surge. Santander, 30, has just six home runs and is slugging a mere .324 with his new club, a far cry from his .506 SLG last season. His underlying metrics include a barrel rate (5.0%) that has suffered the third-largest decline from '24 to '25, among qualified hitters. With Santander struggling, Toronto's lineup lacks thump: The Blue Jays have just 45 home runs, the fifth-fewest of any team in the Majors.
Michael Harris II, OF, Braves
Atlanta is still working to climb out of its early-season hole, having recently reached the .500 mark in historically quick fashion following an 0-7 start. To get back into the thick of the race, the Braves will need more from the likes of Harris, who has a .588 OPS. His contact quality is poor, with a 5.9% barrel rate and a 40.5% hard-hit rate -- both would be career-worst marks. On the bright side, Harris has shaken off slow starts before: Last year, he posted a 125 wRC+ in the second half after running an 80 wRC+ before the All-Star Break. A similar turnaround would help Atlanta lengthen its lineup as it looks to reassert itself in the NL East.
Christian Yelich, OF, Brewers
The good news is that Yelich, 33, is healthy again after a back injury truncated an MVP-caliber season last July. The bad news? The three-time All-Star hasn't quite looked like himself at the plate. A year after posting a 153 wRC+ -- the 14th-best mark among hitters with at least 250 PA -- Yelich has an 83 wRC+ heading into Memorial Day. The drop-off in production stems from poor underlying metrics, including a high strikeout rate and decreased sweet-spot rate. But perhaps a breakout is around the corner: Yelich posted seven hits, including a multi-homer game, over the weekend against Pittsburgh, the best that he's looked at the dish this season.
Zac Gallen, RHP, D-backs
Pitching woes continue to befall the D-backs, whose 4.67 staff ERA is the seventh-worst in the Majors. That's surprising, considering Arizona's cavalry of arms includes a number of proven veterans -- among them Gallen, just two seasons removed from an All-Star appearance. His 5.25 ERA is the third-worst among qualified starting pitchers, above only two pitchers who call Coors Field home, Antonio Senzatela and Kyle Freeland. Among his bugaboos, Gallen is allowing exceptionally loud contact, inducing a barrel rate in the 20th percentile. As they tread water in an uber-talented NL West, the D-backs could certainly use Gallen at his best.
Trevor Story, SS, Red Sox
Injuries to Triston Casas and Alex Bregman have tested Boston's infield depth, with a number of mainstays left to pick up the slack. Enter Story, whose fourth year with the Red Sox is leaving much to be desired. Despite flashing some of his trademarked power in April, Story hasn't hit a home run since May 10, with his slugging percentage down to .325. The underlying metrics paint a similar picture, with his .388 xSLG ranking in the 31st percentile. That's because he isn't hitting the ball in the air often enough, instead running a career-worst ground ball rate (49.3%). If there's ever a time for Story to rekindle his old self, it's now, amid the news that Bregman is expected to miss significant time with a quad injury.
Marcus Semien, 2B, Rangers
Everything's bigger in Texas except for the offense, with Rangers hitters combining for a mere .650 OPS -- that's better than only the White Sox, Pirates, and Rockies. Among the culprits is Semien, still fighting to get going in the fourth year of a seven-year, $175 million contract. The three-time All-Star has hit 20+ home runs in four consecutive seasons, but he has just three homers with a .176/.230 BA/SLG combination this year. If there's a silver lining, it's that Semien has some encouraging underlying metrics, which indicate that he's been one of the unluckiest hitters in the league; he has the fifth-highest differential between SLG and xSLG among qualified hitters. Any sort of upturn in production from Semien would help Texas close ground in an AL West that looks wide open.
Gunnar Henderson, SS, and Adley Rutschman, C, Orioles
It's getting late early for the Orioles, who will need every last bit of production from their franchise cornerstones to get back into the pennant race. Henderson (119 wRC+) isn't struggling, but he's also not replicating his fantastic 2024 season (155 wRC+) in which he finished fourth place in AL MVP Award voting. Then there's Rutschman, whose extended struggles date back to last season: Since the 2024 All-Star Break, Rutschman is hitting .207 with a .585 OPS and a 70 wRC+. The sooner both stars can get back on track, the more likely it is that the Orioles will resemble the team that won 90+ games in each of the last two seasons.
Matt McLain, INF, Reds
Health is a rarity for McLain, who missed all of the 2024 season with a shoulder injury following a strong rookie campaign in '23. After a brief stay on the IL this year with a hamstring strain, the 25-year-old McLain is finally in the lineup on a daily basis. But this year, that's only part of the problem: McLain is still looking to produce, hitting just .188 with a .217 xBA. On a positive note, he's making better contact than league average, with a barrel rate (10.5%) and hard-hit rate (45.7%) on par with his rookie season. Plus, he's unfazed by the difficult start, as the Reds hover around the .500 mark in the NL Central.