Bumper 2025 MLB Predictions Roundtable!

MLB Substack Assemble! Some of the leading voices in baseball on this platform came together to give their takes on the upcoming season, including award winners and their World Series picks...

A lot of our baseball experts predict that Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers will rule the baseball world once again in 2025 (📸: Kirby Lee - IMAGN IMAGES)

Happy Opening Day Eve!

The most wonderful time of the year is nearly upon us with the 2025 Major League Baseball Season set to get underway on Thursday.

Opening Day is, in my opinion at least, the best and certainly the most special day of the entire year. There is just something special about all the pageantry, all the hope and all the glorious sights and sounds of the ballpark that make this time of year truly magical.

Opening Day should be a national holiday. Period.

So, to celebrate the euphoric return of baseball, I enlisted the help of some of Substack’s best baseball writers to help get you all in the mood for Opening Day.

What star will shine brightest in 2025? Will the Dodgers prove to be unstoppable? Which rookies will take the sport by storm? And who will win the World Series?

You can find the answers to those questions - and many more - below. Now, some quick housekeeping. Each of our experts gave their picks for the award winners in each division, before selecting their division winners, wild card teams and the eventual World Series winner. They have also each provided the one thing that has them the most excited about the 2025 MLB season.

I have included my predictions at the bottom, but I will be going into each pick in more detail in separate newsletters later tonight and tomorrow, so keep an eye out for those.

Let’s dive right in!

---

Jeffrey Bellone | Mets Fix

Playoff / World Series Picks:

National League:

• NL East - Braves

• NL Central - Cubs

• NL West - Dodgers

• NL Wild Card - Mets, Phillies, D-Backs

American League:

• AL East - Orioles

• AL Central - Royals

• AL West - Mariners

• AL Wild Card - Red Sox, Yankees, Rangers

World Series

DODGERS OVER Orioles

AWARDS:

NL:

• MVP - Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers)

• Cy Young - Blake Snell (Dodgers)

• ROY - Dylan Crews (Nationals)

AL:

• MVP - Bobby Witt Jr. (Royals)

• Cy Young - Logan Gilbert (Mariners)

• ROY - Kristian Campbell (Red Sox)

What Jeffrey Is Excited For In 2025 - The 2025 season should be a fun one. While the Dodgers will get plenty of attention as the heavy favorites, I think the tier behind them is as deep as ever. You could make a case for 10 or 11 teams to have magical seasons that end in the World Series. And it’s basically a coin flip who will win each division outside of the NL West (where you can’t completely count out Arizona).

---

Neil Paine | Neil’s Substack

Playoff / World Series Picks

National League:

• NL East - Braves

• NL Central - Cubs

• NL West - Dodgers

• NL Wild Card - Mets, Phillies, D-Backs

American League:

• AL East - Orioles

• AL Central - Twins

• AL West - Mariners

• AL Wild Card: Yankees, Rangers, Red Sox

World Series:

Orioles OVER Dodgers

AWARDS:

NL:

• MVP - Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers)

• Cy Young - Paul Skenes (Pirates)

• ROY - Roki Sasaki (Dodgers)

AL:

• MVP - Gunnar Henderson (Orioles)

• Cy Young - Tarik Skubal (Tigers)

• ROY - Jasson Domínguez (Yankees)

What Neil Is Excited For In 2025 - I love the summer rhythms of baseball, watching it in the background every night and having it provide structure to my daily routine for the 7 months from April through October. No other sport really can claim to be that much of a part of people's lives in quite the same way. So I am mainly excited to have that back in my life again!

---

Michael Barron | Just Mets

Playoff / World Series Picks:

National League:

• NL East - Mets

• NL Central - Cubs

• NL West - Dodgers

• NL Wild Card - D-Backs, Braves, Phillies

American League:

• AL East - Yankees

• AL Central - Tigers

• AL West - Rangers

• AL Wild Card - Red Sox, Astros, Blue Jays

World Series

DODGERS OVER Rangers

AWARDS:

NL:

• MVP - Juan Soto (Mets)

• Cy Young - Zack Wheeler (Phillies)

• ROY - Dylan Crews (Nationals)

AL:

• MVP - Corey Seager (Rangers)

• Cy Young - Logan Gilbert (Mariners)

• ROY - Jackson Jobe (Tigers)

What Michael Is Excited For In 2025 - I never have a singular reason why I get excited for the baseball season. There is never one individual thing I want to see or can’t wait for before Opening Day. The excitement for me is that baseball is back, it’s a sign of spring and the end of our winter hibernation, and for me, this is what I do whether I am watching, coaching, or sometimes playing. Of course, I am excited to see how the Mets start and finish and how they evolve in between. They are one of the more intriguing stories in baseball thanks to Juan Soto and whether or not they have the ability to build on their magical 2024 season. But generally speaking, I am just happy the game that’s in my blood is finally back in games that count, and I am looking forward to that first pitch thrown by Framber Valdez to Francisco Lindor on Thursday afternoon.

---

Matt Musico | MLB Daily Dingers

Playoff / World Series Picks:

National League:

• NL East - Braves

• NL Central - Cubs

• NL West - Dodgers

• NL Wild Card - Phillies, Mets, Padres

American League:

• AL East - Orioles

• AL Central - Royals

• AL West - Rangers

• AL Wild Card - Yankees, Astros, Tigers

World Series

DODGERS OVER Rangers

AWARDS:

NL:

• MVP - Fernando Tatis Jr. (Padres)

• Cy Young - Zack Wheeler (Phillies)

• ROY - Dylan Crews (Nationals)

AL:

• MVP - Bobby Witt Jr. (Royals)

• Cy Young - Garrett Crochet (Red Sox)

• ROY - Jackson Jobe (Tigers)

What Matt Is Excited For In 2025 - While I’m picking the Dodgers to win the World Series again, I’m also interested in seeing which other teams try to rise to the occasion when it comes to knocking them off their current pedestal. I don’t see it being smooth sailing from start to end for LA (it wasn’t easy all year in 2024!), so I want to see which teams could test them the most.

---

Joe Butter | The Bat Boy

Playoff / World Series Picks:

National League:

• NL East - Braves

• NL Central - Cubs

• NL West - Dodgers

• NL Wild Card - D-Backs, Phillies, Padres

American League:

• AL East - Red Sox

• AL Central - Royals

• AL West - Rangers

• AL Wild Card - Yankees, Astros, Tigers

World Series

BRAVES OVER Yankees

AWARDS:

NL:

• MVP - Elly De La Cruz (Reds)

• Cy Young - Corbin Burnes (D-Backs)

• ROY - Roki Sasaki (Dodgers)

AL:

• MVP - Bobby Witt Jr. (Royals)

• Cy Young - Logan Gilbert (Mariners)

• ROY - Jasson Domínguez (Yankees)

What Joe Is Excited For In 2025 - Growing up in the late '90s, early '00s, the shortstop position was loaded with talent. There's a reason why every kid I knew wanted to play shortstop for their Little League teams. We grew up with Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Nomar Garciaparra, Miguel Tejada, etc. It was the most exciting position in the sport. It appears we are now witnessing the re-emergence of the shortstop position with superstars like Bobby Witt Jr., Gunnar Henderson, Elly De La Cruz, Mookie Betts, Francisco Lindor, Corey Seager, etc. I'm excited to watch the budding superstardom of many of these guys, as they bring the position back to the forefront of baseball! They're making the position fun again with flashy defense, ridiculous power, and elite speed. MLB recently released their top 100 players of 2025, and 4 of the Top 10 were shortstops. It's something ya really love to see!

---

Logan Gilbert headlines what is a deep and impressive starting rotation staff for the Seattle Mariners (📸: Rick Scuteri - IMAGN IMAGES)

Jordan Stankovich | Jordan’s Substack

Playoff / World Series Picks:

National League:

• NL East - Phillies

• NL Central - Brewers

• NL West - Dodgers

• NL Wild Card - Braves, Mets, D-Backs

American League:

• AL East - Yankees

• AL Central - Twins

• AL West - Rangers

• AL Wild Card - Tigers, Royals, Astros

World Series

DODGERS OVER Rangers

AWARDS:

NL:

• MVP - Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers)

• Cy Young - Paul Skenes (Pirates)

• ROY - Dylan Crews (Nationals)

AL:

• MVP - Gunnar Henderson (Orioles)

• Cy Young - Garrett Crochet (Red Sox)

• ROY - Jasson Domínguez (Yankees)

What Jordan Is Excited For In 2025 - There are many young teams loaded with young bucks that are rising stars such as the Mets, Tigers, Royals, and Orioles. They have enormous hearts and I believe whether you like or dislike those teams, baseball fans will fall in love with those team’s demeanors.

---

Smayan Srikanth | Sports Square

Playoff / World Series Picks:

National League:

• NL East - Mets

• NL Central - Cubs

• NL West - Dodgers

• NL Wild Card - Brewers, Phillies, D-Backs

American League:

• AL East - Red Sox

• AL Central - Royals

• AL West - Rangers

• AL Wild Card - Guardians, Yankees, Athletics

World Series

RED SOX OVER Dodgers

AWARDS:

NL:

• MVP - Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers)

• Cy Young - Paul Skenes (Pirates)

• ROY - Dylan Crews (Nationals)

AL:

• MVP - Bobby Witt Jr. (Royals)

• Cy Young - Garrett Crochet (Red Sox)

• ROY - Kumar Rocker (Rangers)

What Smayan Is Excited For In 2025 - The 2025 season is here, and everyone here might be talking about a singular person, but I want to press on the Boston Red Sox pitching staff. This is going to be an unbelievable season. The additions of Garrett Crochet, Walker Buehler, Patrick Sandoval, and Aroldis Chapman show the Red Sox's determination to improve the pitching staff. I mean look at this rotation. Crochet, Houck, Buehler, Bello, and Sandoval? I mean that has to be one of the best in the league for sure! Another thing I’m excited about would be the Dodgers. I’m waiting to see this offense and pitching explode after another bajillion-dollar offseason. Roki Sasaki and Blake Snell are going to be interesting to watch, but Shohei Ohtani coming back to the mound, new additions and a Max Muncy trade (?) are all really interesting to watch.

---

Nationals outfielder Dylan Crews is attracting a lot of buzz for the National League Rookie Of The Year Award - and rightly so (📸: Sam Navarro - IMAGN IMAGES)

Griffin Olah | SID Sports

Playoff / World Series Picks:

National League:

• NL East - Mets

• NL Central - Brewers

• NL West - Dodgers

• NL Wild Card - Phillies, Braves, D-Backs

American League:

• AL East - Red Sox

• AL Central - Guardians

• AL West - Mariners

• AL Wild Card - Yankees, Royals, Astros

World Series

DODGERS OVER Red Sox

AWARDS:

NL:

• MVP - Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers)

• Cy Young - Paul Skenes (Pirates)

• ROY - Roki Sasaki (Dodgers)

AL:

• MVP - Gunnar Henderson (Orioles)

• Cy Young - Cole Ragans (Royals)

• ROY - Cam Smith (Astros)

What Griffin Is Excited For In 2025 - The biggest thing I’m excited to see this baseball season is the race in each Central Division. Sure, the Easts are fun and loaded, but the Centrals should provide some must-watch chaotic baseball. On the AL side, the teams are all honestly pretty close (except the White Sox). Kansas City and Cleveland will be a tight, pitching-focused race the entire way, but the Twins and Tigers could make the race a four-way battle. The same formula exists in the NL side with the Cubs and Brewers factoring to be a great rivalry race. Plus, with the Buccos’ pitching and the Reds’ position players, who knows how that race will turn out?

---

Andrew Steele | The Steele Sports Bar

Playoff / World Series Picks:

National League:

• NL East - Braves

• NL Central - Cubs

• NL West - Dodgers

• NL Wild Card - Mets, Phillies, Padres

American League:

• AL East - Orioles

• AL Central - Royals

• AL West - Rangers,

• AL Wild Card - Yankees, Red Sox, Tigers

World Series

DODGERS OVER Orioles

AWARDS:

NL:

• MVP - Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers)

• Cy Young - Paul Skenes (Pirates)

• ROY - Dylan Crews (Nationals)

AL:

• MVP - Gunnar Henderson (Orioles)

• Cy Young - Tarik Skubal (Tigers)

• ROY - Roman Anthony (Red Sox)

What Andrew Is Excited For In 2025 - So many things! Juan Soto in a Mets uniform. Shohei Ohtani back on the mound. The juggernaut Dodgers going for a two-peat. Paul Skenes. A (hopefully) healthy bounce-back season for Mike Trout. Elly De La Cruz, Gunnar Henderson, Bobby Witt Jr., Mookie Betts. More Freddie Freeman postseason heroics. Boston’s Big Three. Dylan Crews and the on-the-come Nationals. An epic three-horse race for the NL East. Tarik Skubal. The talent-laden Orioles finally putting it all together and taking that next giant leap. Baseball being back in our lives every single day for the next several months. I love this sport deeply, and I am beyond happy and excited that Opening Day is finally upon us.

---

Thank you so much to

Jeffrey Bellone

,

Michael Baron

,

Neil Paine

,

Matt Musico

,

Smayan Srikanth

,

Jordan Stankovich

,

Griffin Olah

and

Joe Butter

for taking the time to share their predictions for the 2025 MLB season.

Please take the time to subscribe to their newsletters and help support the great work they all do - they will have you covered when it comes to baseball this season.

Finally, and as I mentioned at the top of this newsletter, I will be providing a more detailed version of my postseason & awards picks, so keep an eye out for those coming up.

Happy Baseball Season!