The 2025 MLB season is right around the corner, and I'm going to give my predictions for standings this year. Let's start
NL East
1. (2) Philadelphia Phillies- 92-70
2. (4) Atlanta Braves- 91-71
3. (5) New York Mets- 89-73
4. Washington Nationals- 78-84
5. Miami Marlins- 65-97
The NL East is going to be a three-way dogfight between the Phillies, Braves and Mets, I think. The Phillies are looking to defend their NL East crown and hopefully, they show more of the team they were in the first half last year, and less of the team they were in the second half/playoffs. Bryce Harper isn't getting younger, and the Phillies need to build around him. The Braves regressed a lot last year, but they're getting Ronald Acuna back from injury, and Spencer Strider is an incredible pitcher. The Mets had the signing of the offseason, getting Juan Soto from the Yankees, and of course, they also have Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso. The Nationals are too young, I think, but I see them showing some talent. And I don't see the Marlins doing anything. They have no star players.
NL West
1. (1) LA Dodgers- 97-65
2. (6) San Diego Padres- 87-75
3. Arizona Diamondbacks- 85-77
4. San Francisco Giants- 81-81
5. Colorado Rockies- 61-101
The defending champions don't look like they're slowing down. The Dodgers added Roki Sasaki, the pitching phenom from Japan, as well as former Cy Young winner Blake Snell. World Series hero Freddie Freeman and reigning MVP Shohei Ohtani make the Dodgers a favorite to repeat. The Padres are a team that I think can make some noise, with Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado. The D-backs are an interesting team, but they're in a tough division, so it's gonna be hard to compete. The Giants are kind of a mediocre team, and nothing about them stands out to me. The Rockies are just bad, and I'd be shocked if they were good this year. I'd like to be proven wrong though.
NL Central
1.(3) Milwaukee Brewers- 88-74
2. Chicago Cubs- 84-78
3. St. Louis Cardinals- 80-82
4. Cincinnati Reds- 77-85
5. Pittsburgh Pirates- 75-87
The NL Central might be the most wide open. Anybody could win this, but right now, I'm going with the Brewers. Even though they didn't do much this off-season, they still have a talented roster, with Christian Yelich possibly coming back, and Rhys Hoskins being a decent 1st baseman. They have also added Nestor Cortes from the Yankees, which is a decent addition. The Cubs added Kyle Tucker from the Astros, who is a damn good outfielder. They also have Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner, two very talented infielders. Shota Imanaga had a great rookie year, but will he build on that? The Cardinals have had rumors of trading Nolan Arenado, their star third baseman. Those rumors have seemed to die down a bit, but the Cardinals could be dealers at the deadline. They're not a bad team, but they don't have a lot of standouts. The Reds are just kinda there, to be honest. They had a decent offseason, signing Brady Singer and Gavin Lux, and they have the very talented Elly De La Cruz, but other than that, they don't have a lot of star power. The Pirates are in the same boat. Sure, they have Paul Skenes, but other than that, nobody really stands out.
AL East
1. (1)New York Yankees- 95-67
2.(4) Baltimore Orioles- 89-73
3. Boston Red Sox- 84-78
4. Toronto Blue Jays- 80-82
5. Tampa Bay Rays- 79-83
The Yankees won the AL pennant last year, and they might be as good this year, if not better. They added Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt to a star-studded lineup that includes Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, and they added Max Fried to bolster their rotation. Look out for this team next year. The Orioles are good, but they had a bad offseason, losing Anthony Santander to their division rival in Toronto, and their ace Corbin Burnes to Arizona. They do have Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman and Cedric Mullins, three great hitters. The Red Sox acquired third baseman Alex Bregman, a huge addition, but Rafael Devers is already at 3rd, so we'll see what they do there. They have an infield consisting of Bregman, Devers, Triston Casas, and Trevor Story. That is a damn good infield. In the outfield, they have Jarren Duran and Masataka Yoshida. Let's see how that goes. The Blue Jays got the aforementioned Santander, as well as possible Hall of Famer Max Scherzer and Andres Gimenez. They could be decent this year. The Rays got Ha-seong Kim from San Diego, but that's really it. They didn't do much outside of that, and their roster is just meh.
AL Central
1. (2)Kansas City Royals- 90-72
2. (5)Cleveland Guardians- 88-74
3. Detroit Tigers- 85-77
4. Minnesota Twins- 81-81
5. Chicago White Sox- 51-111
This is a tough division to predict, as 3 teams from the AL Central made the playoffs last year, and one almost did. Right now, I'm going with the Royals, as Bobby Witt is a hell of a player. Salvador Perez, despite being 34, is probably the best catcher in the AL. He drove in 104 runs last year. And the Royals brought in infielder Jonathan India, a solid bat in the lineup. The Guardians went to the ALCS last year, and they have a good roster, but they didn't have a huge offseason, and I see them regressing a bit this year. The Tigers, like the Royals, had a Cinderella run to the ALDS, And then they got Jack Flaherty back after trading him away to the Dodgers, where he won a ring. The Tigers might be a sleeper team next year. The Twins had an embarrassing collapse in the final few weeks of the year, missing the playoffs. And despite having a decent off-season, the collapse might've shaken the Twins to a point where it'll be a tough rebound. The White Sox had a historically bad season, losing 121 games, most in modern MLB history. They're not going to be too much better this year.
AL West
1. (3)Houston Astros- 86-76
2. (6)Seattle Mariners- 85-77
3. Texas Rangers- 83-79
4. Athletics- 70-92
5. LA Angels of Anaheim- 65-97
This is another 3-way battle division, in my eyes. The Astros are tough to bet against. They've won the West 7 straight full seasons in a row, and only last year, they missed the ALCS for the first time since 2016. But it's hard to argue that they haven't regressed a little. They lost Kyle Tucker, and Jose Altuve, who usually plays second base, will be taking Tucker's place in left field, which isn't exactly a good thing. However, they added Christian Walker, who hit 26 home runs in 2024. The Mariners had a rough offseason. They didn't address their big needs, which is getting bats. They still have a solid roster, though. Julio Rodriguez and Randy Arozerena have great home run hitting talent. Cal Raleigh is another stud, hitting 34 homers and driving in 100 runs. We'll see what happens with them. The Rangers missed the playoffs a year after winning the World Series, and they are trying to make sure they don't do that again. They brought in Joc Pederson and Jake Burger, but didn't do much to help out their pitching. I think that'll come back to bite them. The Athletics said goodbye to Oakland after 56 years and four world championships. They are now going without a city name. They brought in Luis Severino with a three-year, $67 million deal, the largest in franchise history. They also brought in Gio Urshela and Jeffrey Springs. But I just don't think they'll be good enough to compete this year. I just don't. The Angels had a very quiet offseason, and Mike Trout isn't getting any younger. It doesn't look like they'll be competing next year.
Playoffs
AL Wild Card
(6) Mariners over (3) Astros
(4) Orioles over (5) Guardians
NL Wild Card
(6) Padres over (3) Brewers
(4) Mets over (5) Braves
ALDS
(1) Yankees over Orioles
Mariners over (2) Royals
NLDS
(1)Dodgers over Mets
(2) Phillies over Padres
ALCS
Yankees over Mariners
NLCS
Phillies over Dodgers
World Series
Yankees over Phillies
Those are my predictions for 2025. I doubt I'll be right, but who knows?
