Predictions for the 2023 MLB season
Jaxon’s quick notes and thoughts for the brand new season
American League:
AL East: Blue Jays, Red Sox, Yankees, Rays, Orioles
I think this division will be mostly the same as it doesn’t seem to change all that much. Toronto is the heavyweight, while the Yankees are dealing with a heavy rotation problem. The Red Sox I think will be the surprise team in this division with this supposedly being a “bridge” year. It wouldn’t shock me if the Rays made some noise, as they are one of the very well-run lower-budget teams in the league. The O’s also might make some noise. Maybe the prospects they have been waiting on for years now are finally here.
Al Central: Twins, Guardians, White Sox, Royals, Tigers
This division is so bad it almost makes it the most entertaining. To me, it’s pretty much a three-way coin toss between the Twins, Guardians, and the Sox. The Twins have made some good trades in the past few years, bulking their pitching staff which makes me give them the edge. The Guardians are on the rise, and the White Sox are too good to not be good, but they’ll find a way to be bad. The Royals and Tigers are not going to be making any noise this season.
AL West: Astros, Mariners, Angels, Rangers, A’s
I think both the Wests are the toughest divisions in Major League Baseball, and I had to think about this one. Houston is a dynasty and will continue to do dynasty shit. The Angels are the Angels, and they love to get in their own way. I don’t understand how you have possibly the two greatest players to ever play this game and you still cannot figure out a way to turn that into long playoff runs. Also, I believe there is a world that the Mariners win the division, just not this one. I am not counting them out, but I think they will be a larger speed bump for the Astros. The Rangers just don’t do it for me. I love their additions, but I don’t think they’re ready, and the A’s I don’t even have to talk about them.
MVP: Shohei Ohtani
Cy Young: Alek Manoah
Manager of the Year: John Schneider
Rookie of the Year: Triston Casas
Comeback Player of the Year: Chris Sale
National League:
NL East: Phillies, Mets, Braves, Marlins, Nationals
Another tough division, but I got the Phillies pulling it out in the end. Much like the Angels, the Mets can’t get out of their own way. I do hope the best for them though, as their owner, Steve Cohen has dumped a whole bag into the team. The Braves will closely follow, possibly overtaking the Mets in the end. It will be interesting to watch and also to see how toxic each fanbase gets on Twitter once again this year, The Marlins are trying to build something and might make some noise, but in a few more years and they could be at the top of this division. I have no thoughts on the Nationals, they are in a prospect wait.
NL Central: Cardinals, Brewers, Cubs, Pirates, Reds
One of the more exciting divisions in the League, as much as I love what the Brewers have been doing and how good their rotation is, I don’t think their offense can compete with St. Louis. The Cards make me feel something right now, and I think they’ll go far. As far as the Brewers go, they’ll probably do just as much as they did last year. Their most concerning storyline right now is keeping Corbin Burnes around after he just hired Scott Boras. The Cubs are in a rebuild, although I don’t think it will be a very long one.
NL West: Dodgers, Padres, Giants, Diamondbacks, Rockies
Since I started following Baseball in 2018, I don’t think there has been a bigger biggest dick contest than that between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres. The Dodgers have obviously been the powerhouse juggernaut of the West for a long time now, as they have won their division 10 times since 2013. They have fired on all cylinders in every department it seems. They keep having rookies come up and dominate, apparently have some voodoo lab in their basement that turns has been players into what they looked like in their prime, and are almost obviously gearing up so they can go after Shohei Ohtani next offseason. As of the past few years, They have had some competition with the Padres. San Diego has proven that they can go toe to toe with the best, and are hungry to continue that next October. The Giants definitely missed out this offseason, I think Correa put a wrench into their master plan. People forget this ball club won over one hundred games just two seasons ago. Between the Rockies and the DIamondbakcs, I think it’s the Snakes that will have a playoff team first. One of the things I enjoy most in the MLB is seeing bad teams turn into great ones, and I really hope these franchises among a few others make smart baseball moves and build that next great team.
MVP: Mookie Betts
Cy Young: Corbin Burnes
Manager of the Year: Rob Thomsen
Rookie of the Year: Corbin Carroll
Comeback Player of the Year: Andrew McCutchen
*Please note that these predictions were made before the start of the season.
Follow Jaxon on Twitter @JaxonLahner
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