MLB is back, baby! We’re kicking off roundtable season with some Boldies from the Gurus. I hope you enjoy!

Drew Klein (@drewgotigers.bsky.social) 

Javier Báez will win the 2025 AL Comeback Player of the Year. This is not a fan-boy prediction, in fact, I spent months hoping the Tigers would find a way to unload or eat that contract. But I’m buying in for several reasons. First, he’s healthy, and fully recovered from the hip surgery. Second, he’s having a good spring training. I know you can throw spring training stats right out the window, but as I write this he has a 13.8% walk rate. OK, that’s 3 walks in 22 plate appearances, but in all of last year he only had 12 walks in 289 plate appearances. He’s showing patience, and most of all, he’s listening to the coaches. He’s already said he’ll play third base or outfield if the Tigers want to keep Trey Sweeney at short. Finally, there are two things from last year that bring me to this conclusion. In a year when he hit .184, he hit .308 with runners in scoring position. The second is that I recall an interview before the Tigers went on their end-of-season run when he compared the team to the Cubs before they won the World Series, and he wants to be part of that. He’s talented, he’s healthy and he’s got the right attitude. He’s only 12% rostered in Fantrax, act quickly if he gets off to a hot start. 

 

David Gofman (@dgofman.bsky.social)

On July 30th, 2024 the Detroit Tigers suffered two losses; a more conventional loss in the form of a 5-0 shutout at the hands of the Cleveland Guardians, and the other in the form of a trade deadline sell-off that saw Andrew Chafin, Mark Canha, and coveted pitcher Jack Flaherty shipped out of town. At 52-57, it looked like another familiar season for Tigers faithful, who had only the lowly Chicago White Sox to thank for keeping them out of the cellar of the AL Central. But the 2024 Detroit Tigers weren’t going to go down quietly as it turned out. From that point on they put up the best record in the whole American League, going 34-19 and clinching a playoff berth in the process, before eventually losing in five games to the Guardians in the ALDS.

So maybe on the surface it isn’t so bold to say that Detroit will host a World Series game in 2025, but according to Fangraphs, the Tigers aren’t even favored to win their division. And boy there’s a lot to like about Detroit heading into 2025. I love the addition of Gleyber Torres, and the decisiveness with which the Tigers moved Keith to first base. They got the band back together by bringing Jack Flaherty back who, alongside 2024 Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, breakout pitcher Reese Olson, and top prospect Jackson Jobe, helps solidify a young and exciting rotation. And Detroit has one of the more exciting young outfields in all of baseball with Riley Greene, Parker Meadows, and Kerry Carpenter. We’ve also seen time and time again that once you make the playoffs anything can happen. So why not the Tigers in the 2025 World Series? Let the games begin and let’s find out!

 

Sam Wirsching (@samfbb1.bsky.social)

I have been haunted by a vision this off-season of a revival of a West Coast team that has been left for dead the last few years. Bumbling ownership directing a hamstrung front office towards train wreck after train wreck. This could be about the Mariners or the Angels, but my prodigious insights have been about the Sacramento A’s. Caught in the purgatory of being no one’s team and playing in a minor league stadium all expectations are gone. They will start 2025 slowly in April and then by May everything will be clicking, driven by their offense. By August they will be surging and come playoffs they will not only make it but win it all. Out of nowhere. I will be crushed (if you didn’t know I am an insufferable Mariners fan of the past 40 years.) and yet in some ways, it will be the perfect answer to last year’s LAD v NYY World Series as they defeat the upstart Tigers in the ALCS and then the Dodgers. 

 

Phil Barrington

Bailey Ober will finish as a top-three pitcher as he has improved every season and it all will culminate in his age-29 season. Corbin Burnes will finish as the top fantasy pitcher. Burnes set such a high bar that a 2.92 ERA, 181 Ks, and 22 Quality Starts (15 wins) was a disappointing season. This spring he has an 11.48 K/9, 1.35 BB/9, and 1.25 ERA in 13 innings. Mike Trout will hit 30 home runs…in 100 games. Wishful thinking? Maybe, but if the Angels and Trout himself prioritize the batters’ box, there is the potential for Trout to put up some big seasons after age 33. Shoot, Nelson Cruz averaged 40 homers from age 33-38 and he is no Mike Trout. Cody Bellinger will lead the league in RBI…or Runs. The Yankees lineup will do some shuffling, but Cody knocking in runs should remain consistent (or scoring them) either way, a bounceback is coming, again. Orion Kerkering will lead the NL in Saves. The Phillies signed Jordan Romano, with prior closers experience, but that should not matter, as Kerkering is the better pitcher and will be closing sooner rather than later. Richard Fitts will be the second-best Boston starter this season. This is a combination of being a fan of Fitts as a sneaky valuable SP at the end of drafts, and not being a fan of any of the other Boston starters. Take that as you will. Michael Busch will hit 30+ home runs; not really a miss by the Dodgers, as he is no Freddie Freeman, but Busch will solidify his position as the Cubs’ first baseman of the future. The same will happen to the Guardians’ Kyle Manzardo, the Athletics’ Tyler Soderstrom, and Triston Casas of the Red Sox (30+ homers, 1B of the future, and all that); leading a new wave of fantasy first basemen.

 

Donovan Miller (@spittingseedsbb.bsky.social)

Big things are happening in Washington, and Mackenzie Gore is definitely part of that this year. Currently going outside of pick 200 in nearly every format, Mackenzie Gore is being slept on, even with his offseason push and Spring Training performance. He has provided steady improvement over his three seasons in Washington and this will be his breakout year. Gore also finished as a top 20 pitcher during the last month of 2024 and he has continued this into Spring with two starts, two wins over 8.1 innings, compiling 10 K’s and allowing four hits and four walks. More impressive is his steady improvement across the board. K-rate up, BB-rate down, ERA down, WHIP down, Ground Ball percentage up, Exit velocity down, Barrels allowed down, and the list goes on. I am looking for Mackenzie Gore to log 190 innings this season, striking out 220+ batters, dropping his ERA to a modest 3.40 and a 1.20 WHIP while winning 14 games for the Washington Nationals. This will make Mackenzie Gore the pitching gem of 2025, moving up from his #55 finish in 2024 into a top-10 pitcher overall. 

My 2025 overall leaders prdictions:

Runs – Francisco Lindor  123

Wins – Corbin Burnes 18

Home Runs – Brent Rooker  47

K’s – Zack Wheeler 242

RBI – Pete Alonso 126

Saves – Emmanuel Clase  47

Stolen Bases – Elly De La Cruz  78

ERA – Chris Sale 2.42

OBP –  Juan Soto .418

WHIP – Shota Imanaga 0.96

Rookie of the Year – Dylan Crews

 

Brandon Ring (@ringb39.bsky.social)

Nolan Schanuel is a young player that a lot of people seem to have written off. He was just drafted in 2023 and the Angels gave him all of 100 PA’s in the minors that year before deciding he should spend September in the Major Leagues. This is not normal.

Other college draftees from 2023: Matt Shaw, Kyle Teel, Chase Dollander…yes Paul Skenes, Wyatt Langford, and Dylan Crews, but unlike Schanuel they faced high levels of competition every single weekend in the SEC and dominated. Schanuel performed well, but typically was ranked as more of a 2nd round talent before the Angels selected him 11th overall. Why am I bringing this up? I think if he were drafted and developed more normally, he’d be making his debut this season rather than two years ago. He’s spent his professional career treading water against Major League pitchers trying to stay afloat and learning on the job. His development was abnormal, so why do we assume that “he just is what he is” after two professional seasons? After watching him this spring I think he challenges that notion.

Schanuel is stinging the ball this spring, hitting it harder than he ever has in the past. Statcast has registered multiple 104+ mph exit velocities so far and I would guesstimate his average EV is up a handful of ticks in this small sample. In other non-Statcast games I’ve watched online he’s shooting a lot of hard-hit baseballs all over the field, including a line drive home run to left-center field. He’s not lofting it as much as I’d like when I watch games, but I don’t think a season of 25 homers while hitting in the middle of the Angels lineup is out of the question given how much contact he makes. This also represents a logical step forward developmentally given he’s only entering his age-23 season. I think 2025 is going to be a breakout season for Nolan Schanuel, putting him into the upper tier in a very weak position group.

Division-winning picks for contrarians:

NL East – Phillies – The Braves seem to be the favorites, but the Phils are deeper and can address their bullpen easily at the trade deadline.

NL Central – Pirates – If I thought the Pirates would actually try to take on salary to add a bat, they might be the favorites. The Cubs are the preseason favorite in this mediocre but competitive division. 

NL West – Diamondbacks – The Dodgers are an obvious favorite, but if there’s a team properly constructed to hang with the Dodgers, it’s the DBacks. They run well, pitch well, defend well, and the offense should be good too. This roster feels similar to their 2023 World Series team, but with a MUCH better pitching staff to start the season.

AL East – Boston Red Sox – Nothing fancy here, I just think they’re the best team in the AL East right now. The Yankee rotation is crumbling, and the Orioles just decided not to bother putting a rotation together at all this offseason after losing Burnes.

AL Central – Detroit Tigers – Honestly just pick your favorite of the Royals, Guardians, Twins, and Tigers. They’re all mostly the same team as they were in 2024, and I don’t think any can truly be considered a big favorite. 

AL West – Texas Rangers – They’re off the World Series hangover and DeGrom is back. Houston took a step backward losing Bregman and the Mariners are the same team they were last year.

 

Joe Juliette (@joe.juliette.bsky.social)

If there is a team constructed to give the Dodgers a run for their money in the 2025 Fall Classic, it is the Seattle Mariners. And because this is a bold prediction article, I predict that the Mariners will not only make their first but win their first World Series in 2025. 

Poised to have one of the most dominant rotations in baseball, the ability of the Mariners to suppress runs will be vital to a push in the playoffs. The ability of these starters to go deep into games and hand leads off to a scary bullpen spearheaded by Andrés Muñoz, Matt Brash, and Gregory Santos makes them a scary team to face come playoff time.

Many point to the lineup as a major weak point of the team, but I believe this is an overblown notion. While names like Luke Raley and Dylan Moore do not exactly inspire excitement, they are valuable run producers (both above league average with the bat in 2024) with positional flexibility. Both J. P. Crawford and Jorge Polanco are due some positive regression after down years in 2024. Additionally, Julio Rodríguez and Randy Arozarena have the upside to be among the league’s best when hot. A year of consistency could easily put Julio Rodríguez into the MVP discussion, and Randy Arozarena has shown an ability to show up in big moments across his playoffs and WBC performances. In part due to the pair’s streakiness, this lineup as a whole has proven that it can get scorching hot at the right time, putting up the second highest wRC+ in September in 2024. Lastly, if the front office decides to do so, the Mariners have the firepower to add impact bats at the deadline. The Mariners come into 2025 with the 5th-ranked farm system by both MLB and Baseball America. This is in large part due to the sheer depth of the system, which is remarkable considering they traded from this pool to acquire Arozarena at the deadline in 2024. With a plethora of enticing middle infield prospects and a penchant for developing pitching, it is not hard to imagine the Mariners dipping into this stockpile to support the MLB lineup during a playoff push in 2025. 

This prediction ultimately came from my attempt to cope with the Dodger’s newfound definition of “Moneyball”. I just love the idea of the Mariners’ rotation and bullpen keeping games within a swing’s distance for Arozarena and JRod. Off vibes alone, Luke Raley seems like the kind of guy to come up big in Game 7 of the World Series. My oh my, I’m already getting emotional just thinking about it.

 

Daniel Labude (@orcabaseball.bsky.social)

My bold prediction for 2025 comes down to taking a chance, so let’s go. Christian Encarnacion-Strand will outperform Triston Casas. This bold prediction is equal parts betting on an Encarnacion-Strand bounceback when healthy finally, along with not liking Casas’ profile as it currently looks. Let’s add another mini bold prediction that many won’t agree with and even more will not like it, but here we are…Triston Casas will lead baseball in strikeouts. Will it hinder his production? Some. It won’t slow down his home runs though, so be happy about that. Ultimately his strikeout rate has been increasing in between long injury stints the last few years. It went from 24.2% to 25.1% and finally up to 31.7% last season. For those who love Spring Training stats, he is hitting .167 with a 36.7% strikeout rate this spring. Maybe it doesn’t mean much, but to me, it shows he isn’t making enough contact like he was when he first came to the major leagues. He can definitely improve once the season begins, but I am predicting a ton of strikeouts to come for him. On the flip side, Encarnacion-Strand is looking pretty healthy this spring and has been launching balls with some top-end exit velocities. There we have it, Encarnacion-Strand will outperform Casas. Let the games begin!

 

Brian Labude (@polarbearbaseball.bsky.social)

Bold predictions time!

Jacob deGrom will be the best pitcher in baseball this year, culminating in him winning the AL Cy Young award. He is coming off of Tommy John surgery and was able to pitch in three games in 2024. He had a 1.69 ERA over 10.2 innings and had a strikeout rate of 31.8%. He spoke this offseason of wanting to not throw all out to hit 100 mph, instead he wants to sit around 97 mph and be able to have excellent command and control of his fastball. In his only spring training game thus far, he did just that. If he succeeds in vastly improving his command and control without losing much of the swing-and-miss stuff, he will potentially see an ERA below two and rise to the top of starting pitchers in 2025. 

Drew Thorpe will be a finalist for the AL Rookie of the Year award. Luis Gil won the award in 2024 with 151.2 innings pitched, a 3.50 ERA, 4.14 FIP, and a 1.19 WHIP. His K-BB rate was fairly good as well at 14.8%. Thorpe got a taste of the major leagues last year, but he still maintains rookie status and will be a solid starting pitcher for the Chicago White Sox this year. In 2024, he had a five-game stretch between the end of June and the end of July, where he had five quality starts. He finished that stretch with 30.1 innings pitched, a 1.48 ERA, 4.22 FIP, and only gave up 2.3 hits per game over the five games. He won’t have the K-BB rate that Gil had, because he doesn’t strikeout hitters. However, his groundball rate and ERA could be elite, if he takes a jump in his skills and can stay healthy this season. 

 

Brian Labude and Daniel Labude 

Jac Caglianone will be the best player from the 2024 MLB Draft. You heard it from us right after the draft and you are hearing it again. The Caglianone/Bonds comparisons will take over the airways by the end of the season. Mic drop!