> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://baseballthings.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Predicting the 2025 MLB season: Playoffs, Awards - URL: https://baseballthings.com/predicting-the-2025-mlb-season/ - Published: 2025-03-26T03:08:39.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-31T00:58:51.000Z - Description: No one is ever actually good at these, it's mostly guessing, but ... why not? - Author: Jason A. Churchill - Tags: Newsletter, #Migrated-1788137406209, #Import 2026-08-30 20:52 There is no legitimate reason to play the season because the Los Angeles Dodgers are far and away the best team and 100% guaranteed to win it all, so I don’t know what the point of anything is, really. Cancel everything, even the football season. But just in case, let’s generate some thought. And yes, these are guesses, and a legitimate attempt to avoid chalk selections. --- ## Standings, Playoffs, Champions ### National League #### West 1. Dodgers-x 2. Padres-w 3. Giants-w 4. Diamondbacks 5. Rockies Injuries could keep this division interesting, but there’s quality from 1-4 and not much difference in talent from 2-4. #### Central 1. Cubs-x 2. Brewers 3. Pirates 4. Cardinals 5. Reds This is the biggest piece of guesswork on this page. Seventeen games separated the last-place Pirates from the division champion Brewers, but there were just seven games between the second-place Cubs and the bottom of the division. #### East 1. Phillies-x 2. Braves-w 3. Mets 4. Nationals 5. Marlins I don’t like the Mets’ rotation much, but there is depth there, and the addition of a second MVP candidate to the lineup could push them over the top. For me, the Mets and Braves are interchangeable here, but it would take key injuries for the Phillies to fall from the top spot. --- ### American League #### West 1. Astros-x 2. Mariners-w 3. Rangers 4. Athletics 5. Angels This division got better over the winter, but it didn’t happen much with the top three rosters. Those three are fungible here, but considering the growth of the A’s and to a lesser extent the Angels, the division winner is likely to again struggle to win 90 games. #### Central 1. Guardians-x 2. Twins-w 3. Tigers 4. Royals 5. White Sox You could flip-flop the top four teams and it would surprise few, certainly not me. I buy the 26-and-40-man roster of the Tigers, Twins, and Guardians over the Royals — partly because I’m not convinced [Seth Lugo](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lugose01.shtml?utm%5Fmedium=linker&utm%5Fsource=www.midnightmariners.com&utm%5Fcampaign=2025-03-23%5Fbr) and [Michael Wacha](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wachami01.shtml?utm%5Fmedium=linker&utm%5Fsource=www.midnightmariners.com&utm%5Fcampaign=2025-03-23%5Fbr) will again combine for 8.0 fWAR and more than 370 innings — but this will likely come down to the team that suffered the least impact injuries. #### East 1. Orioles-x 2. Red Sox-w 3. Yankees 4. Blue Jays 5. Rays The bottom three teams in this division all have enough talent to win the division, but the Rays’ injury situation is worrisome. Boston’s hold on the No. 2 spot here is thin, but I like their offensive reinforcements ([Roman Anthony](https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=anthon000rom&utm%5Fmedium=linker&utm%5Fsource=www.midnightmariners.com&utm%5Fcampaign=2025-03-23%5Fbr), [Kristian Robinson](https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=robins000kri&utm%5Fmedium=linker&utm%5Fsource=www.midnightmariners.com&utm%5Fcampaign=2025-03-23%5Fbr), et al), better than the Yankees’ options to cover for the absence of [Gerrit Cole](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/colege01.shtml?utm%5Fmedium=linker&utm%5Fsource=www.midnightmariners.com&utm%5Fcampaign=2025-03-23%5Fbr). --- #### Wild Card **NL** Padres d. Braves Cubs d. Giants **AL** Twins d. Mariners Red Sox d. Astros --- #### Divisional **NL** Dodgers d. Cubs Phillies d. Padres **AL** Twins d. Orioles Guardians d. Red Sox --- #### LCS **NL** Phillies d. Dodgers **AL** Twins d. Guardians --- #### World Series Phillies. d. Twins --- ## Awards, Leaderboards ### National League **AVG:** [Trea Turner](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/turnetr01.shtml?utm%5Fmedium=linker&utm%5Fsource=www.midnightmariners.com&utm%5Fcampaign=2025-03-23%5Fbr), SS —PHI **OBP:** [Juan Soto](https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=sotoju01,soto--004jua&search=Juan+Soto&utm%5Fmedium=linker&utm%5Fsource=www.midnightmariners.com&utm%5Fcampaign=2025-03-23%5Fbr), OF — NYM **HR:** [Shohei Ohtani](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/ohtansh01.shtml?utm%5Fmedium=linker&utm%5Fsource=www.midnightmariners.com&utm%5Fcampaign=2025-03-23%5Fbr), DH — LAD **SB:** [Elly De La Cruz](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/delacel01.shtml?utm%5Fmedium=linker&utm%5Fsource=www.midnightmariners.com&utm%5Fcampaign=2025-03-23%5Fbr), SS — CIN **wRC+:** Ohtani **fWAR:** Ohtani **IP:** [Logan Webb](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/webblo01.shtml?utm%5Fmedium=linker&utm%5Fsource=www.midnightmariners.com&utm%5Fcampaign=2025-03-23%5Fbr), RHP — SF **SO:** [Paul Skenes](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/skenepa01.shtml?utm%5Fmedium=linker&utm%5Fsource=www.midnightmariners.com&utm%5Fcampaign=2025-03-23%5Fbr), RHP — PIT **SfWAR:** Sale **RfWAR:** RyanWalker, RHP — SF **MVP:** Ohtani **CY:** Sale **ROY:** Roki Sasaski, RHP — LAD There’s more chalk here than I want, but if Ohtani is healthy and both hits and pitches it’s difficult to see a more valuable impact in baseball. Skenes is a popular [Cy Young](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/y/youngcy01.shtml?utm%5Fmedium=linker&utm%5Fsource=www.midnightmariners.com&utm%5Fcampaign=2025-03-24%5Fbr) pick, so it felt a little less chalky to go with Sale repeating. --- ### American League **AVG:** [Vladimir Guerrero Jr.](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/guerrvl02.shtml?utm%5Fmedium=linker&utm%5Fsource=www.midnightmariners.com&utm%5Fcampaign=2025-03-23%5Fbr), 1B — TOR **OBP:** [Aaron Judge](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/judgeaa01.shtml?utm%5Fmedium=linker&utm%5Fsource=www.midnightmariners.com&utm%5Fcampaign=2025-03-23%5Fbr), OF — NYY **HR:** Judge **SB:** Jazz Chisholm, 3B — NYY **wRC+:** Judge **fWAR:** BobbyWitt Jr., SS — KC **IP:** [Logan Gilbert](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/gilbelo01.shtml?utm%5Fmedium=linker&utm%5Fsource=www.midnightmariners.com&utm%5Fcampaign=2025-03-23%5Fbr), RHP — SEA **SO:** [Tarik Skubal](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/skubata01.shtml?utm%5Fmedium=linker&utm%5Fsource=www.midnightmariners.com&utm%5Fcampaign=2025-03-23%5Fbr), LHP — DET **SfWAR:** Skubal **RfWAR:** [Emmanuel Clase](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/claseem01.shtml?utm%5Fmedium=linker&utm%5Fsource=www.midnightmariners.com&utm%5Fcampaign=2025-03-23%5Fbr), RHP — CLE **MVP:** [Gunnar Henderson](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hendegu01.shtml?utm%5Fmedium=linker&utm%5Fsource=www.midnightmariners.com&utm%5Fcampaign=2025-03-24%5Fbr), SS — BAL **CY:** Skubal **ROY:** [Jacob Wilson](https://www.baseball-reference.com/search/search.fcgi?pid=wilsoja05,wilsoja04,wilson016jac&search=Jacob+Wilson&utm%5Fmedium=linker&utm%5Fsource=www.midnightmariners.com&utm%5Fcampaign=2025-03-23%5Fbr), SS — ATH --- [Final Opening Day Roster ProjectionWe’re just a few days from the start of the 2025 season for the Seattle Mariners. Let’s give this roster projection thing one more shot.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f2/85/f285ce72-40e3-409f-ae3b-2ef371936c02/content/images/2026/08/4e72e8b8-c29c-4529-af39-54e97dc9b564_1200x1200-52.png)Mariners After MidnightJason A. Churchill![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f2/85/f285ce72-40e3-409f-ae3b-2ef371936c02/content/images/2026/08/eb61b277-afc2-44ef-b307-8a0c17e01359_1396x930-jpeg.jpg)](https://www.midnightmariners.com/p/final-opening-day-roster-projection?ref=baseballthings.com) [2025 Mariners Prospect RankingsThe Seattle Mariners have had a strong farm system for years, and it’s paid off at the big-league level since 2021 in the form of impact, homegrown talent, and trade acquisitions making a difference, including![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f2/85/f285ce72-40e3-409f-ae3b-2ef371936c02/content/images/2026/08/4e72e8b8-c29c-4529-af39-54e97dc9b564_1200x1200-53.png)Mariners After MidnightJason A. Churchill![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f2/85/f285ce72-40e3-409f-ae3b-2ef371936c02/content/images/2026/08/c8cb055b-5db5-4959-9726-0cee93c32743_4096x2732-jpeg-6.jpg)](https://www.midnightmariners.com/p/2025-mariners-prospect-rankings?ref=baseballthings.com) [Projected 2028 Lineup, Rotation, Bullpen, BenchHere’s how this works:![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f2/85/f285ce72-40e3-409f-ae3b-2ef371936c02/content/images/2026/08/4e72e8b8-c29c-4529-af39-54e97dc9b564_1200x1200-54.png)Mariners After MidnightJason A. Churchill![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f2/85/f285ce72-40e3-409f-ae3b-2ef371936c02/content/images/2026/08/667c0c5d-abcb-4b12-8e79-3a6e5ee3e0b4_1400x933-jpeg-3.jpg)](https://www.midnightmariners.com/p/projected-2028-lineup-rotation-bullpen?ref=baseballthings.com) [Projecting the Mariners 2026 Top 10 Prospects Unlike the 2028 roster projection, I will make the best guess on 2025 prospect graduations and MLB Draft selections to project the Top 10 Mariners prospects a year out.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f2/85/f285ce72-40e3-409f-ae3b-2ef371936c02/content/images/2026/08/4e72e8b8-c29c-4529-af39-54e97dc9b564_1200x1200-55.png)Mariners After MidnightJason A. Churchill![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f2/85/f285ce72-40e3-409f-ae3b-2ef371936c02/content/images/2026/08/8a6bca01-db2a-4661-ad5b-d8c1add9ea00_1400x1013-jpeg-3.jpg)](https://www.midnightmariners.com/p/projecting-the-mariners-2026-top?ref=baseballthings.com) [Prospects: Best Tools, Sleepers, The Next 16While rankings and player grades are subjective, it still means worthy players left off the Top 50\. I’ll share a group of names that just missed the list and deserve similar consideration this season.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f2/85/f285ce72-40e3-409f-ae3b-2ef371936c02/content/images/2026/08/4e72e8b8-c29c-4529-af39-54e97dc9b564_1200x1200-56.png)Mariners After MidnightJason A. Churchill![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f2/85/f285ce72-40e3-409f-ae3b-2ef371936c02/content/images/2026/08/0a48e243-7a71-40dc-af0e-2a061ce44d37_1440x810-jpeg-3.jpg)](https://www.midnightmariners.com/p/prospects-best-tools-sleepers-the?ref=baseballthings.com) ---