While there is still time to turn things around, these five MLB franchises have started the 2024 season off on the wrong foot.

It stinks to be negative, but on occasion in MLB, you just have to throw some shade. We’re six weeks into a new season and already, a big group of teams is flunking their preseason expectations and causing their fan bases heartache in the process.

This is not a ranking of the worst teams in baseball. You can head over to the weekly MLB power rankings if that’s your cup of tea. But we’re here to judge the magnitude of the disappointment teams are feeling and determine who have been the most colossal letdowns in baseball this season.

It’s one thing to be awful when you’re expecting it, but to come into the year with high hopes and have them doused with cold water is far, far worse. Without further ado, let us count down the biggest disappointments of the 2024 MLB season to date.

5. Toronto Blue Jays

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Think back to the build-up to the 2022 season, during which Vladimir Guerrero Jr. declared, of his exciting young Toronto Blue Jays squad, “Last year was the trailer. What you are going to see this year is the movie.” Well, it’s been 27 months since that memorable quote and we’re all still waiting for the opening credits.

The Jays failed to win a playoff game in their brief appearances in October the past two seasons and this year, they’ll be counting their lucky stars if they can even make it back. They’re 16-19, dead last in the AL East, and the stars of the team are failing to deliver in a huge way, right at the time in their careers when they’re playing to earn their biggest payday.

With Guerrero, Bo Bichette and George Springer all hitting well below league average, it’s almost a miracle the Jays are only three games under .500. But with one of the league’s most talented rotations and a top-ten payroll, this team was supposed to have already accomplished much more the past few years than they can realistically hope to achieve this MLB season. If it gets much worse, they might even have to consider selling at the trade deadline.

Disappointment meter: 8/10

4. San Francisco Giants

If we’re measuring disappointment on a scaled ratio for every dollar spent this MLB offseason, the San Francisco Giants would likely come out number one. They brought in Jung Hoo Lee, Matt Chapman, Jorge Soler and Blake Snell, only to rank 23rd in runs scored and 22nd in runs allowed. This was definitely not how the first year of the Bob Melvin managerial tenure was supposed to unfold.

What makes the Giants’ struggles so frustrating is that they thought they had found the solutions to all their problems. They were two or three bats short in their lineup, lacked power and needed someone in the rotation to compliment Logan Webb. Yet after adding three marquee bats and the reigning Cy Young winner, they’re still on pace to win fewer games than their disheartening 2023 season.

So what gives? Are Chapman and Soler just going to start hitting sometime soon? Are Kyle Harrison and Keaton Winn ready to pick up the slack behind Webb and Jordan Hicks? And is Snell going to return to the rotation and look like his normal self? Because if not, it’s going to be a blame-filled offseason on the shores of McCovey Cove.

Disappointment meter: 9/10

3. Arizona Diamondbacks

Not only were the Arizona Diamondbacks the surprise National League champs in 2023, but they seemed to be on a mission to prove it was no fluke. In adding Jordan Montgomery, Eduardo Rodriguez, Eugenio Suarez and Joc Pederson this winter, the D-Backs clearly hoped to infuse their young core with battle-tested vets in order to turn their magical run into sustainable long-term success.

But 35 games in, it’s turning out that perhaps that core wasn’t as solid as the team had previously hoped. Corbin Carroll has been one of the season’s most disappointing individual performers, following up a Rookie of the Year trophy with a sub-.600 OPS. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. has taken a step back as well, while Brandon Pfaadt has failed to measure up to his postseason self in the regular season. And it’s not their fault, but the D-Backs have also been plagued with injuries on both sides of the ball.

The main reason the D-Backs aren’t in contention for one of the top two spots is that they’ve been unlucky in addition to their struggles. Their expected win/loss record is 18-17 and they still have a positive run differential thanks to a handful of blowout wins. But the NL is stacked with dominant teams this season and if the Diamondbacks aren’t able to put some hot streaks together, they’ll be completely lost in the shuffle.

Disappointment meter: 9/10

2. Miami Marlins

Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Typically, you won’t see one of the three worst teams in the league on a list like this. That’s because typically, a team coming into the season with any sort of postseason aspirations won’t end up one of the three worst teams in the league. But the Miami Marlins, who won 84 games and snagged a Wild Card spot last season, are indeed one of the three worst teams in the league in 2024.

If you think you’ve had it bad as a fan this season, imagine rooting for the Marlins and being told in the moments before Opening Day that your beloved Fish would start the season 0-9, fail to win a series in April and trade Luis Arraez on May 3. And on top of that, throw in a devastating injury to star 20-year-old pitcher Eury Perez. Goodness, what a mess.

Yet in a way, it was also wholly predictable the Marlins would end up here because for whatever reason, they refused to bolster their roster. They watched Jorge Soler and his 36 home runs walk away without a fight and despite advanced notice Sandy Alcantara would miss the season, decided to tough it out with the arms they had in house. And often, the most bitter disappointment comes from knowing changes had to be made and having to watch as no one in the organization lifts a finger.

Disappointment meter: 9.5/10

1. Houston Astros

Everyone else was simply playing for second place. When a team has been to the league championship series seven years in a row and starts the year 10 games under .500, with the third-largest payroll in the sport, no less, they easily take the crown for the biggest disappointment.

In terms of name-brand MLB players who are failing to deliver, the Astros take the cake. Alex Bregman has been brutal, Jose Abreu was so bad he willfully accepted a minor league complex assignment and $95 million closer Josh Hader has been one of the worst relievers in baseball. On top of that, the rotation, which has been one of the main strengths of the organization for the past decade, has seen a bevy of injuries and ineffectiveness.

If there is any saving grace for Houston, it’s that neither the Seattle Mariners nor the Texas Rangers is running away with the AL West right now. That means for all the shenanigans the Astros have pulled during this brutal 12-22 opening stretch, their ship is not yet fully sunk. But if and when it does sink, this team will be remembered as one of the all-time preseason disappointments in MLB history.

Disappointment meter: 10/10