MLB teams go to great lengths to improve their roster during the offseason with blockbuster trades and big-ticket free-agent signings.

However, sometimes the biggest impact can come from an in-house player taking a step forward in his development, or an under-the-radar addition who puts together a career year with a change of scenery.

Ahead we've highlighted one player from each team who has shown the most improvement so far in 2022. To be eligible for inclusion, a player has to have had MLB experience prior to this season, so no rookies who made their big league debut in 2022.

Off we go!

American League East

Baltimore Orioles: RHP Jorge Lopez

A top prospect in the Milwaukee Brewers system once upon a time, Lopez entered the 2022 season with a 6.04 ERA in 350 career innings. The 29-year-old went 3-14 with a 6.07 ERA in 121.2 innings last year, but a move to the bullpen has taken his game to another level. He has converted 11 of 13 save chances with a 0.79 ERA and 0.85 WHIP in 29 appearances.

Boston Red Sox: RHP Nick Pivetta

Pivetta has always had quality stuff dating back to his time with the Philadelphia Phillies, but command has been an issue. After a rocky start to the 2022 season that saw him post a 7.84 ERA in his first five starts, he has a 1.77 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and a .163 opponents' batting average with 61 strikeouts in 61 innings over his last nine outings.

New York Yankees: RHP Michael King

Clay Holmes might seem like the obvious pick, but he was excellent last season after joining the Yankees with a 1.61 ERA in 25 appearances. King has been a far bigger surprise stepping into a setup role. His strikeouts are up (8.8 to 12.2 K/9), his walks are down (3.4 to 2.3 BB/9), and he has a team-high 11 holds with a 2.35 ERA in 23 appearances.

Tampa Bay Rays: LHP Jeffrey Springs

Prior to this season, Springs hadn't started a game at the MLB level since 2018. The 29-year-old had a 3.43 ERA and 12.7 K/9 in 43 appearances out of the bullpen last year, but he's been even better this season. Since starting the season with 10.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen, he's pitched to a 2.47 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in 43.2 innings over nine starts.

Toronto Blue Jays: C Alejandro Kirk

Given a 60-grade hit tool during his time in the minors, Kirk is backing that up this season by hitting .307/.395/.487 for a 151 OPS+ in 220 plate appearances. The 23-year-old hit a less impressive .242/.328/.436 in 60 games last season, and now he's on track to start the All-Star Game for the American League.

American League Central

Chicago White Sox: OF Andrew Vaughn

The No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 draft, Vaughn flew through the minors as expected, but he hit just .235/.309/.396 with a 21.5 percent strikeout rate as a rookie. The 24-year-old is off to a far more impactful start at the plate this year, hitting .333/.382/.505 in 212 plate appearances while lowering his strikeout rate to 16.0 percent.

Cleveland Guardians: 2B Andres Gimenez

Gimenez hit .218 with a .282 on-base percentage in 210 plate appearances last season, and he entered the year with a tenuous grasp on the starting second base job. The slick-fielding former New York Mets prospect is hitting .304 with a 137 OPS+ in 196 plate appearances this year, and his 2.6 WAR trails only Tommy Edman (4.1) among all second basemen.

Detroit Tigers: LHP Tarik Skubal

After posting a 4.34 ERA with 164 strikeouts in 149.1 innings as a rookie last year, Skubal has taken another step forward with a 3.63 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 84 punchouts in 79.1 innings this year. The 25-year-old has done a much better job keeping the ball in the ballpark with just six home runs allowed after he served up 35 long balls a year ago.

Kansas City Royals: RHP Brady Singer

Singer began the season in the Kansas City bullpen before he was optioned to Triple-A to stretch out as a starter. Since returning to the majors, he has a 4.05 ERA and 1.15 WHIP in seven starts, but those numbers are skewed by a clunker against the Houston Astros (5.0 IP, 8 H, 7 ER). In his other six starts, he has a 2.83 ERA and 1.09 WHIP over 35 innings.

Minnesota Twins: IF Luis Arraez

Already one of the best contact hitters in baseball, Arraez entered the season with a .313 career average, so his AL-leading .355 batting average is not a huge shocker. The bigger surprise has been his MLB-leading .433 on-base percentage thanks to an uptick in his walk rate from 9.0 to 11.4 percent. His 157 OPS+ ranks 10th among all qualified hitters.

American League West

Houston Astros: RHP Rafael Montero

Montero never lived up to expectations with the New York Mets, and after reinventing himself as a reliever with the Texas Rangers in 2019, he struggled to a 6.39 ERA in 44 appearances last year. Now in a contract year, he's thriving in Houston with a 1.95 ERA and 9.4 K/9 in 29 appearances while tallying three wins, four saves and 10 holds along the way.

Los Angeles Angels: OF Taylor Ward

Ward accumulated roughly one full season's worth of games (159) in parts of four seasons with the Angels prior to 2022, and he had a lackluster .230/.305/.388 line and 88 OPS+ to show for it. The 28-year-old has simply been a different player this year with a .310/.409/.569 line that includes 11 home runs and 29 RBI in 48 games.

Oakland Athletics: RHP Paul Blackburn

After five seasons as organizational depth in which he pitched to a 5.74 ERA in 138 combined innings, Blackburn has been one of the breakout pitchers of 2022. The 28-year-old has a 2.97 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 75.2 innings, and his success is built on a sinker-heavy approach that has yielded a 49.6 percent ground-ball rate.

Seattle Mariners: RHP Logan Gilbert

The No. 35 prospect in baseball at the start of the 2021 season, Gilbert took his lumps as a rookie last year with a 4.68 ERA in 119.1 innings. The 6'6" right-hander has taken a massive step forward in his second season with a 2.28 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in 83 innings while trimming his opponents' batting average from .241 to .208.

Texas Rangers: LHP Martin Perez

Perez broke into the big leagues shortly after his 21st birthday in 2012, and while he never developed into an ace, he has had a decade-long career as a back-of-the-rotation starter. After pitching to a 4.74 ERA in 114 innings with the Boston Red Sox last season, he rejoined the Rangers on a one-year, $4 million deal. He's pitching like a bona fide Cy Young candidate with a 1.96 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in an AL-leading 87.1 innings.

National League East

Atlanta Braves: RHP Kyle Wright

The No. 5 pick in the 2017 draft and a top-100 prospect three years in a row, Wright began the year with a 6.56 ERA in 70 MLB innings over the past four seasons. The 26-year-old has pitched to a 2.94 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 88 strikeouts in 79.2 innings, and a more curveball-centric approach has been the key to his newfound success.

Miami Marlins: 2B Jazz Chisholm Jr.

Chisholm had an 18-homer, 23-steal rookie season, but it was accompanied by a 28.6 percent strikeout rate and a middling .303 on-base percentage. The 24-year-old has raised his OPS more than 125 points this year thanks to an improved walk rate (+2.5%), and he's the front-runner to start the All-Star Game with a 137 OPS+ and a 14-homer, 11-steal start.

New York Mets: IF Luis Guillorme

A utility infielder with a career .262/.356/.328 line and 91 OPS+ over the last four seasons, Guillorme has broken out as a legitimate offensive threat. The 27-year-old is hitting .333 with a .410 on-base percentage in 158 plate appearances, and he has made multiple starts at second base, shortstop and third base.

Philadelphia Phillies: RHP Andrew Bellatti

This was a tough one. Bellatti debuted with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2015, but he didn't pitch in the majors again until last year, when he logged a 13.50 ERA in three games with the Miami Marlins. The 30-year-old has been a staple in the middle innings for the Phillies this year with a 3.74 ERA, 12.9 K/9 and three holds in 25 appearances.

Washington Nationals: SS Luis Garcia

Garcia was overmatched as a 20-year-old in 2020, and he didn't fare any better last season when he hit .242 with a .275 on-base percentage in 247 plate appearances. The 22-year-old began the year in the minors, but he was called up on June 1, and he's hitting .329/.341/.463 for a 131 OPS+ in 85 plate appearances as the new everyday shortstop.

National League Central

Chicago Cubs: RHP Keegan Thompson

Thompson had a solid rookie season in 2021 with a 3.38 ERA in 53.1 innings spanning six starts and 24 relief appearances, and he has settled into a starting role this year. The 27-year-old has gone 7-2 with a 3.10 ERA and 1.15 WHIP in 61 innings, and his four-seam fastball has been more effective with a higher whiff rate and a .200 batting average against.

Cincinnati Reds: IF Brandon Drury

Drury hit 16 home runs in 134 games as a rookie in 2016 while playing all over the field defensively, but he failed to take a step forward in the years that followed. The 29-year-old joined the Reds on a minor league deal during the offseason, and he's hitting .267/.329/.511 for a 121 OPS+ with 12 doubles, 14 home runs and 35 RBI in 59 games.

Milwaukee Brewers: LHP Hoby Milner

Milner has scrapped his four-seam fastball in favor of a sinker, and after posting a 6.65 ERA in 56 appearances over the past four years, he has a 2.10 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in 31 appearances. The 31-year-old ranks among MLB leaders in average exit velocity (98th percentile), barrel rate allowed (96th percentile) and hard-hit rate allowed (85th percentile).

Pittsburgh Pirates: 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes

Despite a 2.4-WAR season in 2021, Hayes hit just .257/.316/.373 for an 87 OPS+ in 396 plate appearances. The 25-year-old has taken a step forward this season offensively with a .265/.342/.372 line and 104 OPS+, raising his walk rate from 7.8 to 9.9 percent. That said, he still has even more untapped potential at the plate.

St. Louis Cardinals: RHP Ryan Helsley

Helsley has been one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball this season with just seven hits, seven walks and one earned run allowed in 27 innings. The 27-year-old has struck out 37 of the 94 batters he has faced, posting a 0.33 ERA, 0.52 WHIP and 12.3 K/9 in 22 appearances. He had a 4.56 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 8.9 K/9 in 51 games a year ago.

National League West

Arizona Diamondbacks: LHP Joe Mantiply

Mantiply had a solid 2021 season with a 3.40 ERA in 57 appearances, but it came with a 1.56 WHIP and a .292 opponents' batting average. The 31-year-old has limited opposing hitters to a .216 average this year while posting a 0.34 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and a 26-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 29 appearances.

Colorado Rockies: OF Yonathan Daza

Daza hit .282 and played solid outfield defense last year, but it was a relatively empty offensive season with a 78 OPS+ in 331 plate appearances. The 28-year-old has slashed his strikeout rate from 18.1 to 11.8 percent this year, and he's hitting .330 with a .385 on-base percentage and 110 OPS+ while playing his way into the starting center field job.

Los Angeles Dodgers: RHP Tony Gonsolin

With a 2.85 ERA in 142.1 innings over the past three seasons, Gonsolin always had significant upside, but his 68.1 innings this year already represent a career-high. The 28-year-old is 9-0 with a 1.58 ERA and 0.82 WHIP in 13 starts, and his breakout performance has been all the more important with Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler both missing time.

San Diego Padres: C Jorge Alfaro

A top prospect during his time with the Texas Rangers and Philadelphia Phillies, Alfaro had an 18-homer season in 2019, but he has taken his offensive game to another level this year. The 29-year-old is hitting .289/.326/.500 with six home runs and 18 RBI in 38 games, raising his OPS more than 100 points over his career mark entering the year.

San Francisco Giants: RHP Jakob Junis

A slider specialist who throws his signature breaking pitch more than 50 percent of the time, Junis had a 4.82 ERA in 515.1 innings with the Kansas City Royals before joining the Giants on a one-year, $1.75 million deal. The 29-year-old has a 2.63 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in 48 innings, though he is currently on the injured list with a hamstring strain.

All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs, and accurate through Wednesday's games.