By: Dave Funnell Follow me on Twitter/X for more baseball content.
We are so close to the start of the 2024 season, and with it comes the excitement of it all. The sounds of a ball hitting a glove and a bat are two things that truly are unique and hit all the right types of feels. Watching the game itself is a perfect way to spend an afternoon or evening, and we get to do it for the next six months.
Very exciting.
All that being said, the prize at the end of this marathon is the World Series. Last year’s champions, the Texas Rangers, have reloaded their roster to make themselves good enough to be in the conversation? Will they be good enough to repeat as champions? We shall see. Here are my predictions:
American League East – Baltimore Orioles
The Orioles surprised many last season by dominating the competition in the regular season. After years of building with prospects and a vision, we saw their hard work come through with one of the league’s best records. While they ultimately failed in the postseason, they did upgrade their chances by trading for Corbin Burnes. Will that be enough to win it all? I’m not so sure. What I do know if that this team is still intact, is one year older and has a new owner who will want to make an impact.
American League Central – Cleveland Guardians
I’m going out on a limb here, but I absolutely love their pitching this season. They have one of the best rotations in baseball and are hopeful to capitalize on last year’s mistakes. This season sees what are (hopefully) a healthy Shane Bieber and Triston McKenzie alongside a more experienced duo of Gavin Williams and Tanner Bibee. There’s also talk of them wanting to incorporate more power in their plate approach, which is what’s been holding them back for years. It will be close, because the rest of the division is quite similar in talent level, but I’ll give the edge to the Guardians.
American League West – Houston Astros
This division will be a dogfight at the top of the standings. The Astros are the most talented team of the group, as their lineup looks lethal. While they failed to make it back to the World Series in 2023, they kept the core intact and have believed in their own. Last season, they saw down seasons from Jeremy Pena, Christian Javier, Hunter Brown while scuffling through many injuries as well. All are back and have made adjustments to be better. Not just that, they went out and signed Josh Hader, giving them arguably the best bullpen in baseball. This team is legitimate a title contender.
American League Wildcards – New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers
I think Juan Soto will be in the running for the AL MVP award and will absolutely love playing for the Yankees…..the Rays and the Rangers may not start the season on a healthy note, but they have some legitimate reinforcements on the way.
National League East – Atlanta Braves
The Braves are built to win, and they come into this season looking for revenge after a quick exit in last year’s postseason. Their lineup has the potential to be near impossible to stop from one through nine. Even more impressive is the fact that their rotation looks stacked, albeit with question marks. Their division is a lot less competitive this season, so they have a chance to be even better than they were in 2023. They have their own sets of questions, but for now, they’re the favorite to repeat.
National League Central – Cincinnati Reds
This division is the most fragile of them all, because there’s no clear “best team”. That being said, the Reds are most definitely in the conversation as such. Their offence is young, hungry and packed with a punch, while playing in the league’s best power-hitter ballpark. Combine that with their young pitching, and they have a real shot to run away with this thing. Their inexperience might come back to haunt them, but a healthy season is the first step for them to make this prediction come true.
National League West – Los Angeles Dodgers
Not much else needs to be said about this team, other than they are built for October. Hitting, pitching and depth are all keys to their success, and they should have their way with a lot of the bad teams that are in baseball this season. As it stands, it doesn’t necessarily matter that the final two spots in their rotation are question marks. Why? They have Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw and Dustin May as reinforcements later this season for depth. And if they struggle to stop runs from being scored on them, they’ll just beat their opponents with the bat, as their top seven hitters are incredible.
National League Wildcards – Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres
I liked the Phillies a lot last year, and I see them continuing their reign as one of baseball’s best teams…..the Diamondbacks surprised me and many others last season, and this year will be a good year to prove their legitimacy…..the Padres have the potential to be one of the sneaky good teams in baseball if they can put it all together.
Postseason
AL Wild Card:
Texas over Cleveland
Tampa Bay over New York
ALDS:
Houston over Texas
Baltimore over Tampa Bay
ALCS:
Houston over Baltimore
NL Wild Card:
Cincinnati over San Diego
Philadelphia over Arizona
NLDS:
Los Angeles over Cincinnati
Philadelphia over Atlanta
NLCS:
Los Angeles over Philadelphia
World Series:
Los Angeles over Houston
American League Cy Young: Corbin Burnes
The comeback of all comebacks, Burnes goes to his new team, the Orioles, and pitches gem after gem. His home field helps, but so too does his ability to keep runners off base al year.
National League Cy Young: Spencer Strider
I think he continues to roll and be an anomaly with regard to endurance, velocity and strikeouts. He should lead all pitchers in punch outs, get enough wins and continue to be the league’s best pitcher.
American League MVP: Bobby Witt Jr.
He was one of the best players last season, and now with Shohei Ohtani out of the picture, Witt will complete his quest. He, alongside the rest of the Royals, will surprise everyone with a record around .500 this season.
National League MVP: Mookie Betts
This year he is part of a lineup that includes the likes of Freddie Freeman AND Shohei Ohtani. I think he continues off of last year’s success and wins himself an MVP trophy as he should play every day when healthy.
American League Rookie: Wyatt Langford
I admittedly didn’t have a clue as to who would win this, but I look at how Langford is handling himself this spring, and I think he will not only make the roster but maintain his spot there.
National League Rookie: Jung Hoo Lee
His overall numbers won’t be flashy, but his impact on the field will be.