Welcome back to another edition of Is It Legit? Wow, there are a lot of players who are really turning it on to start the season. Many of them have plenty to prove, as they’re trying to establish themselves as part of the great players in the game today. We could probably pump out one of these every day, at least for the opening month, as one game can drastically shift a season’s stats.

Taj Bradley, SP, MIN

I’ve been a big fan of Taj Bradley for quite some time. In fact, I took a 7-hour road trip a couple of summers ago to watch him pitch at Yankee Stadium. To me, he’s always been must-see television. This is unfortunately true even when he is struggling, as the volatility of his profile has meant that something is going to happen, whether it’s that day’s slate’s best outing or a parade of runs. With that said, he wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t been performing pretty dang well.

Now, Taj opens his first full season with the Twins. Last year was a rough one, as the Rays traded him away to the Twins in exchange for Griffin Jax following a surprise demotion. Plenty of song and dance was made about his quote regarding scouting reports, but it appears that he, the Rays, and the Twins are all looking to put that behind them now. Thus far, Taj has an ERA and FIP under 2 and has the highest strikeout rate and lowest walk rate of his career. There is likely to be regression to this, but he’s getting strikes at the right time to put batters away. His most recent game in particular was pretty impressive, as while he did allow more hits than in the other outings, he notched double-digit strikeouts while not giving away any free passes. I do understand that he faced some struggling lineups, but these statlines so far are pretty special.

Verdict: Possibly Legit. One thing that’s important to note is that stretches of performances like these have been commonplace with Taj. When he entered the big leagues, he was shattering all kinds of strikeout/walk ratio records across a pitcher’s first few starts before the young arm struggles began. In 2024, the month of July won him pitcher of the month, as he churned out ace-like performance after ace-like performance, mowing down competitive lineups until a spotty outing against the Marlins derailed the rest of his season. He’s a hot-and-cold pitcher, so we shouldn’t read too much into a start like this, as scorching as it is. However, there is plenty to like with the slight changes made to his arsenal. His fastball looks a bit better, up in average velo, vertical movement, extension (slightly), and flatness of attack angle. His splitter has also regained the drop it had in 2024, when he last looked on the verge of breaking out. He’s also seemingly been attacking the zone a bit more, at least with his two most used pitches (the cutter hasn’t gotten strikes with frequency). At the very least, we are seeing some minor but tangible differences to his profile that could mean he’s a new man, so I’ll say there’s a chance he sticks as a top 30 starter for the season.

Drake Baldwin, C, ATL

More like… RAKE Baldwin.

After a very impressive debut season, where he took home the Rookie of the Year honors in the National League, Baldwin has his sights set higher. He’s trying to, and is quickly becoming one of the more feared players in a stacked National League East. The guy already has five bombs, is OPSing over 1.000 and is hitting over .320. This is a fantasy player’s dream, especially at the catcher position. He doesn’t give managers any sort of baserunning production, but that’s okay, as he hits ball over fence good. It’s also great to see him hitting second in a lineup surrounded by guys who need little introduction. His counting stats are bound to increase with this kind of protection, as it all seems like a recipe for his success in fantasy, real-life, and for his team’s title chances (if they can get the pitching health sorted).

Verdict: Legit. We are looking at one of the more talented hitters in the game in Baldwin, who also has catcher eligibility in fantasy leagues. He’s likely to primarily DH for Atlanta, which will allow him to get more overall playing time. Baldwin combines bat speed and contact skills incredibly well, not sacrificing one for the other. His swing decisions are a bit questionable, though they certainly aren’t an anchor like they can be with many other players with his strengths. Still, I think that there is a chance he gets some MVP votes if his skills continue to translate to the production he has opened the season with.

TJ Rumfield, 1B, COL

Here’s a player some of you may not have heard of. I’ll be honest, I was also behind the curve on him. When I saw he was one of the top rookies in OPS, I was taken aback a bit, especially considering how torrid a start rookies got off to this year. Rumfield has been a bit of a journeyman in the minor league systems, as he was drafted by the Phillies but was sent to the Yankees a year later. He performed solidly but not spectacularly with the Yankees, climbing up their ranks by showing solid plate discipline, decent pop, and some contact skills. He got traded to Colorado in the offseason, put together a decent spring and now here he is, a key contributor to a Major League lineup. Rumfield hit his first home run in Miami, which is always good to see, as it shows he can do it outside his home ballpark.

Verdict: Possibly Legit. There is a lot to like about a hitter who plays half their games at Coors. There is also a lot to dislike about a player who plays half their games outside of Coors, yet is accustomed to the way the balls move in that thin-air ballpark. I’m really on the fence about this one, as we see stretches like this early in the year often, and it is always a bit suspicious when it comes from a player that was on few people’s radar. With that said, he has a solid set of skills and is good at keeping the ball off the ground and in the air. Not striking out often and putting the ball in the air is a great recipe for success at Coors, especially as even when the balls don’t always get out of the park, the massive outfield can also lead to it dropping more, something that was exemplified by his first career triple which he hit against Houston. This could be a fun pickup, but also be ready to move on quickly once the cold streaks in road games hit.