AL East fool's gold: Don't expect these players to keep up current pace

Some players are overperforming early in the Major League Baseball schedule and are due to regress. 

With roughly 10 percent of the season completed, here's our fool's gold team for the American League East.  (All statistics are through Monday.)

Baltimore Orioles | 3B Ramon Urias

Urias has been a surprisingly useful player, with a career .264 average and .737 OPS since debuting in 2020. 

31 years old in June, Urias' clock is already ticking as Orioles No. 2 prospect Coby Mayo, also a third baseman, is heating up in Triple-A. 

Mayo's emergence isn't the only factor at play, though: Urias is also unlikely to sustain his current .343/.410/.371 slash through his first 39 plate appearances. Regression is surely due and competition is also close behind. 

Boston Red Sox | 2B Kristian Campbell

Campbell is already an early contender for American League Rookie of the Year after winning a starting job with the Boston Red Sox out of spring training. 

The 22-year-old's .309/.409/.491 slash and .900 OPS are undoubtedly impressive through his first 66 big league plate appearances. However, the underlying metrics don't support a continued breakout at Campbell's current hitting clip.

His hard-hit percentage of 39 percent, for example, is considered below MLB average, which means he's not hitting the ball with much authority. And that's also reflected in his average exit velocity of 87.7 miles per hour. Over a long season, soft contact simply doesn't cut it.

New York Yankees | RHP Yoendrys Gomez

The Yankees seem to patch together an elite bullpen every season thanks to unexpected contributors who emerge, like right-hander Yoendrys Gomez.

Gomez, 25, entered 2025 as New York's 25th-ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline, and already sports a strong 1.29 ERA over his first four games pitched. 

That level of performance won't last long, however: Gomez's well-below average fastball velocity (92.1 miles per hour) strikeout rate (16.7 percent) and walk rate (26.7 percent) are all signs pointing to sharp regression as the right-hander gets more opportunities out of the bullpen. In simpler terms, walking batters at a higher clip than striking them out is not a formula for long-term success. 

But why not ride the wave while you can? 

Tampa Bay Rays | SS Jose Caballero

It's hard to ask for much more than what the Rays are getting out of Jose Caballero, who maintains a stout .333/.455/.556 slash and 1.010 OPS over 33 plate appearances so far in 2025.

However, a glance at Caballero's career hitting stats should temper your expectations for extended greatness this season, as he's never finished with a batting average higher than .227 or an OPS higher than .700. 

Not to mention, the Rays can expect veteran infielder Ha-Seong Kim, whom they signed as a free agent, to return from offseason shoulder surgery as early as May, which would relegate Caballero to more of a bench role. 

Toronto Blue Jays | RHP Yimi Garcia 

Garcia has been a dependable leverage reliever at times during his 11-year MLB career, but he's been particularly clean to start 2025 with no runs allowed over his first eight appearances out of the Blue Jays' bullpen. 

However, a 0.00 ERA is not feasible to maintain over a 162-game season, no matter how dominant Garcia might prove to be this season. The only question is how far he will regress at age 34. 

The good news for Toronto? Garcia's career ERA of 3.52 suggests a fairly stable floor, if nothing else.