Five Bold Predictions for the 2025 MLB Season
As the MLB season just starts, let’s kick it off with my 5 Bold Predictions for the 2025 Season.
- Matt Shaw will win ROY (Rookie Of the Year):
Matt Shaw will have a shot. It’s slim, but it’s there. He will almost certainly break camp and be the Cubs’ starting 3B. He performed very well in the minors and if he carries it over he will probably be the National League ROY. He is projected to have a better OPS (.729) and WAR (2.2) than the other NL ROY candidate Dylan Crews. (OPS = .706, WAR = 1.4) There’s an outside shot he wins NL ROY. He’ll just have to live up to the hype.
- Roki Sasaki will not have a good Spring, and will spend most of the regular season in the minors:
There are a few concerns for Roki Sasaki coming into MLB. 1) His SO/9 (strikeouts per 9 innings) rate went from 13.4 in 2023 to 10.5 in 2024. That’s almost a 3 strikeout drop. His H/9 (hits per 9 inning) went up from 5.0 in 2023 to 6.7 in 2024. His ERA also went up from 1.78 in 2023 to 2.35 in 2024. WHIP went from 0.747 in 2023 to 1.036 in 2024. His SO, BB, HR allowed, ER allowed, runs allowed, and hits allowed all went up. The transition from Japan to the majors is tough. We have to see how he handles it.
- The A’s will contend for a playoff spot:
Go ahead and laugh at me. You can think what you want about the A’s. Here’s what I think. Luis Sevrino, Gio Urshela, Jeffery Springs, José Leclerc, re-signing T.J. McFarland, and extending Brent Rooker, and Lawrence Butler, are not some ol’ shabby additions. They are a legit playoff contender. They will also be playing in Sacramento and will likely draw more crowds and more revenue since a lot of people want to see them in Sacramento while they are there. And hey, can’t be worse than the White Sox.
- Juan Soto will not have a good year, and will not get a single MVP vote:
After blowing everyone’s mind with the largest contract in sports history, will Juan Soto fall flat? He might. Countless MLB players like Albert Pujos, Ryan Howerd, Jason Heyward, Bobby Bonilla, and Carl Crawford have all experienced down years after signing big contracts. Another thing to think about is his strikeouts. They’ve gone up significantly since last year. While he finished 3rd in MVP voting in 2024, he didn’t get a single vote in 2022, or 2018. Who knows. Maybe he’ll succumb to the pressure, in his first year in The Big Apple.
- Brent Rooker will win AL MVP:
Coming off his 5 year, $60 million dollar extension, 30 year old Brent Rooker is in his prime and is coming off his best season. He placed 10th in MVP voting in 2024 garnering one 7th place vote, three 8th place votes, ten 9th place votes, and seven 10th place votes getting 40 pts in total. All his stats are trending up. (AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, SB, HR, R, H, TB, RBI’s, 2B’s, and 3B’s.) He also had an All-Star appearance in 2023. Brent Rooker just needs to keep up these good numbers and that will make him a real threat to win the AL MVP.
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Thanks for reading!
