The 2024 MLB season is about to begin, and what better way than to hand out 1 bold prediction for each team? Some of these predictions will certainly prove to be wrong, but what’s what makes this fun! From home run records to managers fired to players traded, let’s dive into our bold predictions for all 30 MLB squads.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Corbin Carroll is going to launch 30+ home runs, steal 50+ bases and hit over .300. Last year’s National League Rookie of the Year was a known commodity for fans who cheer for NL teams, but Carroll truly made a national statement in the postseason. Carroll led the Diamondbacks to the NLCS by hitting .412 with two home runs en route to sweeping both Milwaukee and Los Angeles. The fifth-place MVP finisher stole 54 bases, hit 25 HR and posted a .285 BA in the regular season. In 2024, Carroll will improve across the board and challenge for the NL MVP.
Atlanta Braves
Michael Harris II will hit 21 home runs before the All-Star break. A rising star, Harris’ career-high is currently 19 HR. The young outfielder experienced an up-and-down second season with the Braves. On June 6, he was hitting .163/.246/.244 with two HR and eight RBI. Harris was spectacular the rest of the season — slashing .335/.360/.552 with 16 HR the rest of the way. Projecting someone to surpass their current career-high in HR in the first half of the season is bold, but we are envisioning Harris becoming a superstar in ’24.
Baltimore Orioles
The Orioles will finish with the best team ERA. We already knew about Baltimore’s hitting depth. Now, the rotation has taken shape. The staff finished last season with a 3.89 ERA – good for 7th in the league. As a reminder, the team that finished first in team ERA in ’23 was the Milwaukee Brewers. Are we sensing any correlation? Baltimore traded for Milwaukee’s best pitcher and will pair the former Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes next to Grayson Rodriguez. Felix Bautista missing all of 2024 will hurt the bullpen, but the No. 8 all-time saves leader Craig Kimbrel is a competent replacement.
Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox will finish last in the AL East for the third year in a row. Boston should be a more interesting team than last year. A full season of Tristan Casas could result in a 40-HR campaign. The trio of Jarren Duran, Tyler O’Neill, and Ceddanne Rafael is likely the fastest outfield in the league. Masataka Yoshida should be even better in Year 2. However, it’s hard to imagine the Red Sox making much noise in the AL East. The competition is too fierce, and Boston is already dealing with injuries to its pitching staff (Lucas Giolito is expected to miss the entire season).
Chicago Cubs
Kyle Hendricks will post an ERA above 5.00. Hendricks has been a good pitcher for a long time. In 2016, Hendricks led the Majors with a 2.13 ERA and finished third for the National League Cy Young. Through 10 years, his career ERA sits at 3.48. However, all good things come to an end eventually. The veteran had a nice 2023 following two subpar seasons. After posting a 4.80 ERA in ’22, Hendricks finished ’23 with a 3.74 mark. The longtime Cub has given up 9.5 H9 in the past three years and that trend will continue this season. As the Cubs look to win the NL Central, Hendricks will see his spot in the rotation questioned.
Chicago White Sox
Luis Robert Jr. will be traded. Make no mistake about it, the White Sox are going to be terrible in 2024. This team looked like it was on the rise just a couple of years ago. Now, the roster has been stripped down and the franchise is staring at a rebuild. The best player on the team is center fielder Luis Robert Jr., who would command a ton of value on the trade market. With teams always having an empty spot for an additional outfielder, we would not be all that surprised if a contender struck a deal for the power-speed threat.
Cincinnati Reds
Matt McLain will be the starting second baseman for the National League at the All-Star Game. While Elly De La Cruz became the talk of baseball early last season due to his freakish athleticism, McLain was quietly one of the best rookies in baseball. McLain finished fifth for the NL Rookie of the Year despite playing only 89 games. In that time, the 24-year-old hit 16 home runs, notched 14 steals and slashed .290/.357/.507. The second-year Red will flourish in 2024 and earn a starting spot at the ASG.
Cleveland Guardians
Brothers Josh and Bo Naylor will both be All-Stars. Josh has come a long way since he debuted for the Padres in ’19. The powerful lefty is coming off his best year where he posted a .308 BA and 97 RBIs. Josh’s younger brother, Bo, made 67 appearances with the Major League club last season and mashed 11 HR. Only five pairs of brothers have ever started an MLB All-Star game together. It will be tough for Bo to knock Adley Rutschman out of a starting spot. However, if both Naylor’s are given a starting nod, they’d be the first siblings who are also teammates to start the Midsummer Classic together since Mort and Walker Cooper did so in ’42 and ’43.
Colorado Rockies
Kris Bryant will play in more than 115 games. While that may not sound bold, Bryant has failed to play more than 80 games in the past two years. The former MVP has seen his production fall off a cliff since joining the Rockies and his health has a lot to do with it. In his debut season with Colorado, Bryant was hitting .306 through 42 games before his season came to an end. Last year, Bryant appeared in 80 games and was a shell of himself — struggling to a .233 BA with 10 HR and a .367 SLG. Bryant has struggled in Spring Training, but we are predicting a healthier season for him in ’24.
Detroit Tigers
Javier Báez will not be a Tiger by season’s end. A breakup appears to be on the horizon, in some fashion or another. It’s been an absolute disaster ever since the team signed him in 2022. Báez has been among the worst hitters in baseball during that span. In his last 280 games, Báez has a .230 BA and has struck out 272 times. Detroit could stomach his poor play because it hasn’t been terribly interested in winning. But, that should change in ’24. The Tigers enter the year with a legitimate chance at the division. Báez has been beyond miserable in Spring Training (1-for-22). If that keeps up early on in the season, the team will look to move on.
Houston Astros
Jeremy Peña taps into his World Series MVP run and has his best year to date. Peña’s ’23 left Astros fans disappointed. The 26-year-old hit below league-average and saw his power zapped. He hit just 10 HR after mashing 22 homers as a rookie. There was an expectation that Peña was going to take a huge leap after helping the Astros win the World Series as a first-year player. However, there were obvious holes in his game that still needed ironing out. And, he worked out some of the issues. Peña saw his OBP jump 35 points from the year before as he exhibited a better eye and more patience at the dish. We know about the physical tools. This year, he’ll put it all together and have a strong campaign.
Kansas City Royals
Bobby Witt Jr. will join the 40-40 club. The Royals’ rising star didn’t have nearly enough pop to make his way into that exclusive group last year. He finished the season with just 30 HR but had plenty of speed on the base paths with 49 steals. With another year of experience, Witt Jr. should be capable of pushing to that 40-homer mark. And, if he keeps up on the bases he will join Ronald Acuña Jr. as the only player to hit over 40 homers and steal over 50 bases in a single season.
Los Angeles Angels
Mike Trout returns to the MVP conversation. And, we’re not expecting the Angels to be any good. Trout, like he’s done so many times before, will put up big numbers for a team that will struggle to maintain a .500 record. The all-time great has missed extended time in each of the last three seasons. He’s coming off his worst year as a pro in ’23. That being said, we’re not counting out a huge year from the 11-time All-Star. Trout will do everything to help the fanbase forget about losing Shohei Ohtani. If that means delivering his first 50 HR season, that’s what Trout will try to do.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Mookie Betts will hit 46 home runs and win the National League MVP. Last year’s runner-up will benefit from hitting in front of Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman. His gaudy numbers from last year — .307 BA with 39 HR and 107 RBI — could see an uptick due to the type of pitches he will now be afforded with Ohtani/Freeman behind him. Betts finished last year with 39 HR and only hit one over his final 25 games. This year, Betts will set a career-high with 46 dingers en route to his second MVP — and first with the Dodgers.
Miami Marlins
Jesús Luzardo earns a spot on the National League All-Star team and becomes the most sought-after pitcher at the trade deadline. Dating back to his time with the Oakland Athletics, Luzardo has been a tantalizing player. His talent is evident each time he takes the mound and he has improved over the past two years. The lefty threw a career-high 178.2 innings in ’23 and struck out 208 batters. Luzardo will flirt with a sub-3.00 ERA through the summer months and contending teams will come calling. We are not convinced Miami will go through with a trade, but it wouldn’t be shocking.
Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers will opt for the future and trade their aging star. Corbin Burnes is an Oriole, Brandon Woodruff is out for the season as he recovers from shoulder surgery and All-Star reliever Devin Williams is set to miss time with multiple fractures in his back. Milwaukee has a group of exciting young players, so now may be the time to take a slight step back and load up for the future. As a result, Christian Yelich will be a surprising name on the market at the trade deadline. While Yelich is still under contract for a while, a contending team will take a shot by adding the iconic Brewer.
Minnesota Twins
Pablo López will start for the American League in the All-Star Game. With both Gerrit Cole and Kevin Gausman on the mend, López enters as the odds-on favorite to lead the AL in strikeouts. He was unhittable at times for the Twins last season. López seems to get better every year and is constantly adding to his arsenal. He was named an All-Star for the first time in his career last season and will make the start for the AL in the Midsummer Classic in ’24.
New York Mets
Pete Alonso will hit 50 home runs in his final season with the Mets. Alonso made a name for himself as a rookie when he led baseball with 53 HR. While he hasn’t topped 50 dingers in a season in the past four years, Alonso is coming off back-to-back 40+ HR seasons — including 46 in 2023. Alonso was the focus of trade rumors for much of the offseason and we believe he is going to find a new home following the season (if not by the deadline). Before he departs Queens, however, the Polar Bear will smack 52 HR.
New York Yankees
The Yankees will have the winner and runner-up for the American League MVP. With Shohei Ohtani leaving for the National League, the AL MVP race just got a whole lot more interesting. The Yankees have the two guys who should be considered favorites to win the award. The ’22 winner Aaron Judge is always a contender as long as he can stay on the field. Juan Soto is going to love hitting in Yankee Stadium. It will be a back-and-forth all year long, as the teammates consistently try to one-up each other. And, the Yankees will need all the offense they can get with Gerrit Cole on the mend to start the season.
Oakland Athletics
The A’s smash the record for most losses in a season during the Modern Era. The record is 120 losses set by the 1960 New York Mets — though they only played 160 games that year. Anybody who has followed the A’s recently can see the trend forming. They won 60 games two years ago and 50 last year. We have them at 40-122 in ’24. Oakland has the worst roster in baseball and will struggle to stay competitive even against the other bad teams.
Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies will add an impact starting pitcher and hitter at the deadline. A year after making some serious noise in the offseason, Philadelphia largely took a back seat this past winter and didn’t make any big additions. However, we expect the team to go for it at the trade deadline. Trying to keep pace with the division rival Atlanta Braves and juggernaut Los Angeles Dodgers, the Phillies will go all-in at the trade deadline by acquiring an All-Star caliber pitcher and a hitter (Yelich?).
Pittsburgh Pirates
Oneil Cruz will be in the MVP race entering August. After missing all but nine games in 2023 due to an ankle injury, Cruz may not be a familiar name to most of America. He will be soon, however. Cruz is one of the best athletes in baseball — he possesses immense power and speed. As a rookie in ’22, the towering shortstop hit 17 HR in 87 games and stole 10 bases. Cruz has looked incredible in Spring Training and we fully expect him to continue to shine once the regular season begins. Pittsburgh will contend in the NL Central entering the final months of the season and Cruz will be a factor in the MVP race.
San Diego Padres
In a strong National League West, the Padres will finish in fourth-place. The West is home to two of the league’s top teams — the Dodgers and reigning NL champion Diamondbacks. San Diego and San Francisco both enter the year with playoff aspirations, but we envision the Padres finishing the season behind all three rivals (and ahead of the lowly Rockies). San Diego has a handful of star players so a run to the playoffs is not out of the question. Compared to its division rivals, however, San Diego comes up short. 84 wins will not cut it in 2024.
San Francisco Giants
Logan Webb will win the National League Cy Young. Even with Corbin Burnes now in the American League, the National League Cy Young race is stacked. Spencer Strider, Max Fried, Zack Wheeler, Zac Gallen, Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are just a few aces that we could see winning the award. However, we are predicting Webb will take home the hardware. In 2023, Webb led baseball with 216.0 IP and paced the NL in SO/W (6.26) and BB9 (1.3). His elite control makes him one of the game’s top pitchers. Last year’s Cy Young runner-up will not be denied in 2024.
Seattle Mariners
Jorge Polanco will become the eighth switch hitter in league history to hit 40 HR in a single season. The Seattle’s new second baseman has plenty of pop. He mashed 33 HR for the Twins in ’21 but has been mired by injuries over the last two years. A healthy season for Polanco would be huge for Seattle. He’s a much-needed bat in the middle of that lineup. We could see him going ballistic for the M’s if all things click. Polanco would join Mickey Mantle, Lance Berkman, Chipper Jones, Mark Teixeira, Carlos Beltran, Todd Hundley, and Ken Caminiti as the only switch hitters to mash 40 homers in a single season.
St. Louis Cardinals
Manager Oli Marmol will be fired before the season ends. Marmol made a splash during his first season managing the Cardinals. 93 wins were good enough to win the NL Central. However, Year 2 was an absolute disaster and Marmol may now be on the heat seat ahead of 2024. The Cards won 71 games in ’23 and finished at the bottom of the division. With the Cardinals battling to stay out of last-place in the Central for the second year in a row, St. Louis’ front office will sack Marmol in hopes of generating a spark in the clubhouse.
Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays will miss the postseason for the first time in six years. All good things must come to an end. The Rays have made the postseason in each of the last five seasons. The team’s previous longest streak was just two playoff appearances in a row. They’ve found ways to stay competitive even when the roster didn’t match up as well against other contenders on paper. However, it feels like 2024 is the year that the rest of the league finally catches on. The team will be without ace Shane McClanahan. The division will likely be the most competitive in the league. Baltimore and New York made significant improvements this offseason, and we don’t expect the Blue Jays offense to be as bad as it was last year. Not to mention three strong teams in the AL West means two of them will be fighting for the Wild Card spots. The Rays are on the outside looking in by the regular season’s end.
Texas Rangers
The Rangers will lead the league in runs scored. They finished third last season and missed Corey Seager for over 40 games. Coming back after winning the championship should only add confidence to one of the most stacked lineups in baseball. Seager and Marcus Semien form the league’s most potent middle infield. And, the youth movement is underway with Evan Carter and Wyatt Langford set to make major contributions. Good luck to any pitcher that has to face off against this group.
Toronto Blue Jays
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hits over .300 and leads the league in RBI. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has seen his numbers dwindle over the last two years. In fact, Vladdy Jr.’s MVP runner-up campaign in 2021 is starting to look more like an outlier than anything. He was a force that season, leading the league in HR (48), OBP (.401), and SLG (.601). Since then, Guerrero Jr. has just a .804 OPS and has come nowhere near the home run numbers. Still, we’re talking about a blue-chipper who is still just 25 years old. He’s always had an excellent hit tool and hasn’t struggled to put his bat on the ball. The Blue Jays will be better offensively in ’24 after a down year.
Washington Nationals
The Nationals will win 78 games and introduce the league to two of the most promising prospects in baseball — Dylan Crews and James Wood. Washington was surprisingly competitive last year en route to 71 wins. We expect an uptick this year, as well as the debuts of Crews and Wood. Wood was one of the prospects acquired from San Diego in the Juan Soto trade and he projects to be a star in centerfield. Crews was the No. 2 overall pick in last year’s draft. Also an outfielder, Crews is elite at the plate and should be a mainstay in the Majors for years to come.