Ryan Bautista | News Editor
March 27, 2025
Batter up! Baseball has finally returned! This season, teams will compete against each other, putting blood, sweat, and money on the line to become the best in the sport. Sports writers across the country try to help make sense of the jumbled mess, but their predictions are almost always wrong or boring. So, I’ve decided to help with that. Here are my early predictions for how this baseball season will go.
Before we start, here is a brief recap of the off-season: The Los Angeles Dodgers got whoever they wanted and let the players they passed on seek other opportunities. OK, here we go.
1. Mike Trout will not get seriously hurt.
Omitting the 2020 pandemic season, Mike Trout has not played a full season since 2019. Whether it is a calf strain, a hurt back, or a broken hamate (I don’t even know what that is), Trout has sustained several gruesome injuries over the past few years. This and Shohei Ohtani realizing how bad the Angels were, and then leaving them, have left the Angels in a rough spot. Their owner, Art Moreno, may be one of the worst in the MLB, and there was no bright spot left in the organization. That is, until Trout moved to right field. This should significantly help his aging body and keep him healthier while allowing his powerful bat to remain in the lineup. Junior McPhinneaus Holmes-Selby expressed how the “Angels aren’t looking too bad right now. They just beat the Dodgers, and there’s hope.” Comparing them to the Dodgers may be a little much, but I like the optimism! I’ll even throw in another prediction because of it: Trout will also win the Comeback Player of the Year and finish in the top-10 MVP voting.
2. There will be a large power gap between the top and bottom.
Widening our gaze to the entire league, it is clear to see the overall state of baseball. How you feel about it depends on your favorite team. If you are a fan of teams like the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies, congratulations, you have hope. These teams are spending money and building the best rosters they can. On the other hand, if you are a fan of teams like the Chicago White Sox and the Miami Marlins, I feel bad for you. It’s just sad, and I leave it at that. Putting all of this data together, I think I can sense what this season will look like. The West and the East in both AL and NL will have three teams each that are very good and will win around 100 games, while the other two compete to not be in last place. The Central divisions will all be mediocre and will lose in the first round of the playoffs. But no matter the team, at least they can all agree on one thing: The Dodgers are evil.
3. Keep your eyes on the youth.
Focusing on the AL East, I think two young teams will assert their place as the future of the MLB. The Boston Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles will play the tiebreaker Game 163 to decide who wins their division. I was going to pick a winner, but I couldn’t pick between these two powerhouses. The Orioles have the youthful core of shortstop Gunnar Henderson and catcher Adley Rutschman, who is due for a revamp after last season’s disappointment. The Red Sox are somehow even younger than them, with sensational players like outfielder Jarren Duran and second baseman Kristian Campbell. Both of these AL East teams are scary, so much so that I think the Yankees will not compete for the divisional crown. They may sneak into a wildcard, but even that is unlikely. I’m going to throw another bonus prediction in: Neither New York team will make it to the playoffs this season.
4. Who wins it all?
Last but not least, my World Series Champions are, drumroll please, the Los Angeles Dodgers!
…Why is no one clapping?
Fine, it may not be the most original pick, but I have to have a safe bet somewhere. After winning the World Series last year (Thanks Freddie Freeman and the Yankees’ defense!), they still signed everyone they wanted. Best relievers in baseball, check. Fan favorite outfielder, check. Another Japanese phenom pitcher, check. And, by the way, they already had the best roster in baseball. On paper, they should easily win the World Series. Honors World History teacher Alexander Salgado, who described himself as “not a Dodger fan,”exhaustedly said, “This is what happens when you buy baseball…I hate the Dodgers.” However, he did begrudgingly admit that this superteam “lures people in as it builds baseball’s fanbase.”
Putting all that unwanted anger aside, I will go as far as to say that a Dodger player will win MVP, Rookie of the Year, and Cy Young Award. Exactly who will? I don’t know, their roster is too elite. They are destined to win the World Series, but that’s part of the problem. They have struggled in the playoffs before last year, but honestly, who cares? They are the “Evil Empire,” but unlike in the movies, the bad guys will win in the end.
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