Fewer teams disappointed more than theWhite Soxin 2022. It acted as his first full season of professional baseball, and yet he surged through Double-A and Triple-A and seemed very much ready for the big leagues. Why did you pick the Braves to win the NL East? And that bullpen is loaded with quality options. TheRaysmade the playoffs last year despite losing several key players for stretches of the season due to injuries. Rotation depth matters, as well as bullpen and lineup depth, and the Jays have it all. It's a mix of award predictions, individual milestones and even some trade deadline and extension talk, all of which is meant to set the stage for the second half. The model currently has theAngelsas one of the most likely wild-card teams, which should be music to most baseball fans' ears. They have more offensive firepower than Cleveland but they must catch the ball and keep the uber talented Eloy Jimnez from running into a fence. Acua Jr., the Braves superstar, is about to take things way past that. On the one hand, Logan Webb and Camilo Doval look like franchise fixtures on the pitching staff. Wait you picked the Jays to win the AL East but the Yankees to win the AL. Guys like Justin Steele, Marcus Stroman, Bryce Elder, Zac Gallen, Spencer Strider, Logan Webb and Mitch Keller will have something to say about it, but here's predicting that Snell will become just the seventh pitcher in MLB history to win a Cy Young in both leagues. But the model thinks it could still be a tough run in 2023. Add in expected big seasons from Tommy Edman, Tyler O'Neill and Team Japan standout Lars Nootbaar, and this St. Louis offense might be as dynamic as any in baseball. Add it all up, and -- even without Dansby Swanson -- this Braves team should be the favorite to win it all. MLB Playoffs Picks, Predictions, Odds Gabriel Moreno, who was at a point viewed as the top catcher in the minors, could be the franchise backstop the team has sought in recent years. Read on. Here are 7 early predictions for 2023 Anthony Castrovince looks at how the upcoming season might play out December 31st, 2022 Anthony Castrovince @ castrovince Baseball is unpredictable. Los Angeles Angels Seattle Mariners Philadelphia Phillies Chicago Cubs Boston Red Sox We are less than two days from Opening Day, so now's the perfect time for Sports Illustrated 's predictions. New York Mets (6), Philadelphia Phillies (1). How far Seattle goes will likely come down to how much production it can get from the rest of the lineup. So heres a bold one for ya: Ohtani clubs 62 home runs to match the American League record set last season by Aaron Judge but, of course, adds the sweetener of ace-level pitching every fifth day, too. Health has often been the question for the Twins, and could be the difference again between a tight AL Central and another disappointing season. Considering he missed the entire 2022 season and threw just 21.2 combined innings in 2020 and 2021, it's surprising how quickly he has shaken off the rust and returned to the front-line form he flashed during his time with the Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees. Then, it dropped to the bottom of the division in 2021 and moved slightly up to third in 2022. But the biggest reason why the model thinks this year will be different for the Angels is the rotation. -- Doolittle. He remains consistent in terms of his floor as a starter. Yoshida benefits in this voting from what we saw in the WBC -- the bat-to-ball skills, the power -- to the degree that we may all be wondering if he could constantly dent the Green Monster with that amazing swing. They needed offensive upgrades, notably from the left side, and added Brandon Belt and Daulton Varsho. TheMetsfinished tied with the Braves in the NL East a season ago with 101 wins, but finished second in the division on a tiebreaker before a disappointing wild-card round exit. Make the case for Atlanta. Did they hit the nail on the head or were they way off their mark? (5) Cal Raleigh is going to hit 35 home runs. If you extrapolate Strider's per-start innings average over 33 outings and he replicates the K rate, he'll strike out 271 batters in 177 innings. Atlanta Braves (10), New York Mets (5), Los Angeles Dodgers (1), Philadelphia Phillies (1). They might need to invent more awards to properly put into context what the great Shohei Ohtani is doing. Playoff Predictors. Not many teams have a young core as strong as Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino, MJ Melendez and Nick Pratto. 10 Bold Predictions for the 2nd Half of 2023 MLB Season Julio Urias (4), Spencer Strider (4), Sandy Alcantara (3), Max Fried (3), Justin Verlander (2), Max Scherzer (2), Joe Musgrove (1), Aaron Nola (1), Logan Webb (1). By our unofficial tally, weve never missed on a prediction yet. They might have found him in rookie shortstop Anthony Volpe, whose first live batting practice of spring training began with a home run over the batter's eye off Rodon. The model is wagering for something in the middle. Brandon Scott June 29, 2023 Tim Heitman/Getty Images Nearly halfway through the MLB regular season, there is a decent sense for teams and players who are either rising or falling. The 34-year-old finally made his Red Sox debut on May 12, and he has given a banged up starting rotation a huge boost, going 5-1 with a 2.73 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 64 strikeouts in 56 innings over 10 starts. Bowl projections: College Football Playoff picks, 2023 season New York Yankees (5), Houston Astros (4), New York Mets (2), Los Angeles Dodgers (1), Philadelphia Phillies (1), Toronto Blue Jays (1). And Kodai Senga is a rookie, too. Seiya Suzuki showed promise in 2022 and should build further in 2023. 1 team was the Astros. But for the rest of the season, fans will be playing the waiting game. The outfielder grew up in Seattle and attended a high school just 10 miles north of T-Mobile Park. -- Tristan Cockcroft, Who else got votes? Frankly, he could have won it last season, as he compiled more pitcher bWAR than Verlander, led the AL in strikeouts per nine innings and was fourth in ERA. Since he's hitting his age-30 season, it probably will be sooner rather than later. -- Jesse Rogers, Our pick: Gunnar Henderson (11 votes), Masataka Yoshida (11), Who else got votes? That said, at 33 years old and given the ups and downs he has experienced in his career, he could be more open to the certainty that an early extension would provide than most top-tier pitchers on the cusp of free agency. If the Red Sox wind up making the playoffs and Paxton stays healthy enough to make 12-14 more starts while continuing to pitch at such a high level, he could sneak onto the back end of a few AL Cy Young ballots. Toronto has its own fearsome foursome in the rotation with Kevin Gausman, Alek Manoah, Jose Berrios and Chris Bassitt, and the model likes the Blue Jays' offense more than New York's. Why do you think Soto will beat out Acua for NL MVP? Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. The model looks at New York's combination of a deep rotation, with a quartet of Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Nestor Cortes and Luis Severino, and a stout bullpen and sees the league's best pitching staff when they're all healthy. In fact, the model sees this as the closest division in baseball. Remember, the idea here was to be bold, not safe. Why will the White Sox beat out the Guardians for the division title? There often seems to be a surprise wild-card team, and the Rangers are atop that list for me. Below, you'll find our picks for the postseason, major awards and more, including a few . WS MVP: Mookie Betts. The results of the simulations are used to determine most likely records, division standings, playoff performances and World Series winners. The lineup features stars like Ronald Acuna Jr., Austin Riley and Matt Olson on top of NL Rookie of the Year Michael Harris II and offseason trade acquisition Sean Murphy. -- Kurkjian. 12 bold predictions for the 2023 MLB season - The Washington Post There are still plenty of good ones going into the 2023 season. Prior to the start of the regular season, we asked the VegasInsider MLB Experts for their futures predictions on which team will win the World Series, American and National League Pennants, plus Win Total picks for each division. Pitchers and catchers have reported to spring training in. Aside from his surface-level numbers, which include a .353 batting average overall that would lead the AL batting title race by 30 points over Yandy Daz if he had enough at-bats to qualify, Seager also has elite batted-ball metrics. The Brewers, at 6.2 percent, are seventh. 2023 MLB All-Star Game odds, prediction, picks, time: Expert reveals They have a terrific rotation, an elite closer, a great manager and potentially the best lineup in baseball. -- Paul Hembekides. Arizona Diamondbacks. Next: 30 greatest MLB players to never make the playoffs Published on 06/01/2023 at 04:01 AM ET Tuesday, FOX and FOX Sports App), Run line:National League -1.5 (+160, bet $10 to win $26 total); American League +1.5 (-189, bet $10 to win $15.33 total)Moneyline:National League -118favorites to win(bet $10 to win $18.50 total); American League +100underdogs to win(bet $10 to win $20 total)Total runs Over/Under: 7.5 (Over +105, bet $10 to win $20.50 total); Under (-125, bet $10 to win $18.70 total). Owner Peter Seidler will spend what is necessary to plug any hole that pops up on the San Diego roster, which is exactly the right thing to do, given their investments in older players. The Dodgers probably have more long-term sustainability -- largely because they've been more pragmatic about the long-term deals and the win-now trades that have made their NL West rivals a juggernaut -- but the Padres are better at the moment. Jake Cronenworth, Trent Gresham and Ha-Seong Kim being projected as outside the top four hitters shows why this lineup is projected to be as dangerous as any in the game. 2023 MLB Win Total Projections: Early Over/Under Picks - Just Baseball Few teams have big money available to add in July, but the Padres will be one of those. Last year, no division title was claimed by a team with fewer wins than the Guardians, who went just 92-70. Few would have believed it would have been the 87-win team. The All-Star Game will be broadcast on FOX and the FOX Sports App. Like usual. The 2023 MLB Season will begin on Thursday March 30 and is expected to conclude on Sunday, October 1 before the MLB Playoffs.. The model uses that data, along with park factors, to simulate the 2023 season 20,000 times and logs each team's record and postseason performance. Early predictions for 2023 MLB season Zack Gelof and Tyler Soderstrom could be rookies to watch make their debut in 2023. With the clock ticking on Shohei Ohtani and the longest playoff drought in MLB (tied with the Tigers), the Halos have to continue to capitalize on the opening that exists . Josh Jung of the Texas Rangers (19 homers, .835 OPS) is a big candidate; so is on-base machine Masataka Yoshida of the Boston Red Sox and Baltimores Gunnar Henderson. Milk in some regression from Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado and then note that the Brewers were second in the NL in home runs. MLB Season Predictions 2023 | Preseason Picks for World Series 2022 MLB playoff predictions: Picks for every round of the postseason The core of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, George Springer, Matt Chapman, Daulton Varsho and Alejandro Kirk is as dangerous as any in baseball. The Miami Marlins second baseman leads the majors with a .383 batting average at the All-Star break, and his elite contact skills have made his potential run at the .400 mark a popular talking point this year. TheRangersonce again made the biggest free agency splash of the offseason in landing Jacob deGrom to add to a roster that continues to make big signings each year. lvarez has a tougher road, even though hes having a better year. Veteran right-hander Sonny Gray is having a Cy Young-caliber season with the Minnesota Twins with a 2.89 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 101 strikeouts in 99.2 innings, and he was an All-Star for the third time in his career and with his third different team. Brad Crawford Jul 6th, 7:06 AM. FIFA World Cup - Best Goals from Every Angle, Draw for the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023, FIFA Women's World Cup - Best Goals from Every Angle. Unfortunately, Ohtani will not pitch due to a cracked nail on his pitching hand. If Rodon can pitch for most of the season, Cortes successfully stretches out as a starter and Severino can play his part, this rotation has the most potential in the division. And that's why it seems counterintuitive to pick them to win the NL East over the Braves, a younger team with better pitching depth and a deeper lineup. For fans of league favorites, that means savoring the lofty odds that give their teams higher chances of winning the World Series. Oct 7, 2022 at 2:46 am ET 4 min read. MLB The Show predicts the 2023 season Way-Too-Early 2023 MLB Playoff Predictions - Bleacher Report From 2018-22, there were three teams that allowed fewer than four runs per game -- the Dodgers, Astros and Rays. Over the last few years, shortstop has been a major weak point for the team, so just solidifying the spot with someone who could be anywhere from above average to an All-Star might change the dynamic of this offense dramatically. The bullpen is a force with Ryan Helsley, Giovanny Gallegos and Jordan Hicks, which still helps the pitching prognostication overall. That total has already been matched by Atlanta Braves superstar Ronald Acua Jr. and exceeded by Oakland Athletics rookie Esteury Ruiz, who has 43 steals in 85 games. Time to get the parade route on Marietta Street ready, if MLB The Show's crystal ball is correct. All UZR (ultimate zone rating) calculations are provided courtesy of Mitchel Lichtman. Oh well. After reaching the American League Championship Series last year, the Yankees are projected to be the top team in the AL East again in 2023. Perhaps he'll need to up the innings total slightly to stand alongside Alcantara, Burnes, Verlander and Scherzer, but Strider has taken care of the hard part -- dominating hitters -- already. And, at least for now, their rebuilt rotation is healthy. The Mets, with their two aging aces, appear to be built more for the rigors of a seven-game series than a 162-game regular season. If Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza can make the impact many expect out of them, New York is going to look all the scarier. -- Karabell. Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more, MLB - NL National League vs. AL American League - 07/12/2023, FOX SPORTS, SPEED, SPEED.COM & 2023 Fox Media LLC and Fox Sports Interactive Media, LLC. How will his season and the experience he had in Japan resonate with voters? But in the end, it was still a heavyweight favorite that came out on top of the baseball world as the Astros again reached the summit and won their first World Series since the controversial 2017 victory. After simulating the season, the game made predictions for 2023. The predicted standings shown in the article are the average wins and losses from the simulations. Top prospects like Ryan Pepiot, who will start the season in place of the injured Gonsolin, and Gavin Stone are waiting in the wings and are projected to pitch well when they get their chances. Kerry Miller April 20, 2023 New York's Aaron Judge AP Photo/John Minchillo With a little over 10 percent of the 2023 MLB regular season finished, the time has come for updated postseason. MVP finalist Yordan Alvarez again looks to be one of the league's best bats and Kyle Tucker should keep making improvements. All Win Expectancy, Leverage Index, Run Expectancy, and Fans Scouting Report data licenced from TangoTiger.com. Spoiler alert: I'm selling the idea of Luis Arraez hitting .400 this year. Will Jarred Kelenic finally live up to the hype? Kansas City Royals. Our voters are tied between the Padres and Braves winning it all. -- Brad Doolittle. -- Kiley McDaniel. Milwaukee's top three starters of Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff and Freddy Peralta each would likely be the ace of the Cardinals, and most teams for that matter. There would be no shortage of interested teams if the three-time All-Star and 2021 NL Cy Young winner were made available, including several major-market contenders, but don't count out an upstart Arizona Diamondbacks team as a potential landing spot. Oh, and he wont be traded, either. This season, the Jays will take the AL East over the Yankees and Rays. They certainly are. Carroll can hit for average, slug, play elite defense and run with the best of them. The Cincinnati Reds pulled the trigger on trading Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle last summer when they both had one year of arbitration remaining, and they were able to maximize their prospect return in both deals as a result. OK, maybe were trying to write this one into existence, since his chase was one of the most entertaining storylines of the first half, but here goes: Luis Arraez of the Miami Marlins does indeed become the first player to bat .400 in a season since Ted Williams in 1941. The countdown has begun for the start of college football season and with that, preseason bowl projections for 2023 are coming out in rapid succession this month . But the issue for the Royals in 2022 is still a problem in 2023. What is the Blue Jays' path to winning the division? Colorado did not get what it expected from Kris Bryant in 2022, due in large part to injuries, and while the model expects a rebound, it will likely still be shy of his MVP form. That would make this season the first time since 1991 that two players have stolen at least 70 bases, with Marquis Grissom (76) and Otis Nixon (72) battling it out for the National League lead that year. MLB September predictions - Playoff races, MVP and Cy Young - ESPN 100 NAMES TO KNOW: Baseball's top young players to watch for in 2023 Bob Nightengale AL East winner : Blue Jays AL Central : Guardians AL West : Astros AL wild cards: Mariners, Rays, Yankees NL. Last season, Michael Harris II debuted on May 28 and Spencer Strider made his first start on May 30. tout 'progress' on Camden Yards vision, Astros' Alvarez set to begin rehab assignment, Dodgers-Padres to open 2024 season in Seoul, Bush reunites with Rangers on minor league deal, Oakland mayor shared plan with MLB to keep A's, Luis Arraez is chasing .400 -- here's how others have fared. But the model still loves the trio of Max Scherzer, Verlander and Kodai Senga in the rotation and sees them helping lead a dangerous pitching staff. TheBraves'rotation might not be Maddux, Smoltz and Glavine, but Spencer Strider, Max Fried, Charlie Morton and Kyle Wright is an enviable top four. Instead, it finished at an even .500 record and 11 games behind Cleveland. But Alvarez was neck-and-neck with Aaron Judge for the award last season before the latter player pulled away in the second half. The start of the 2023 MLB season is right around the corner, which means it's prediction and projection time. There is a very real possibility that Brandon Crawford will throw out a runner to end the 2021 World Series and my first thought will be, as it has been all year, "Oh, the Dodgers are still going to win this.". (2) They upgraded at positions that were offensive black holes last season (Teoscar Hernandez, Kolten Wong). Nifty narrative alert: Codys dad, Clay, won rings as a bench player with the 1999-2000 Yanks. He's already earned one AL MVP award, and now it is time for him to take the top pitcher award, too. Casey Mize, the team's ace of the future, had Tommy John surgery and is likely to miss most, if not all of 2023. The Rays have made it to the postseason the last four years, and you and 16 other voters are predicting a fifth. Getty Images. The NL MVP race has been fairly wide open in recent seasons, and I just don't see any way that Betts doesn't win another. The Blue Jays were plenty dangerous last season until facing the Mariners in October. Editor's Picks. On the other, this is a team that is continuing to get older with Cobb at age-35, and key bats like Mike Yastrzemski, Brandon Crawford, Michael Conforto, Mitch Haniger, Joc Pederson and Wilmer Flores on the wrong side of 30. Best MLB lineups in 2023 predictions - MLB.com 2023 MLB Playoff Predictions: World Series, League Winners While I think Henderson is a slightly better prospect long-term, Volpe's frame and style of play lends itself slightly more to an immediate impact. Here's what you need to know.