Five Bold and Fearless Predictions for the 2024 MLB Season
Don’t expect 100 wins from Dodgers, Padres promised playoffs
The winter will soon give way to spring, and that can only mean one thing — baseball.
With most teams' off-season business concluded, rosters are beginning to take shape.
With that in mind, everyone is starting to formulate their own opinions on the upcoming season. I am no different.
These are all only my humble opinion. I’m no secret baseball guru who has the script to the 2024 Major League Baseball season.
If I say something negative about your team, don’t take it to heart.
Without further ado, here are five bold predictions for the 2024 Major League Baseball season:
1. The Dodgers will win less than 100 games
It’s weird to say that predicting a team to win less than 100 games is bold.
But that’s just the kind of franchise the Los Angeles Dodgers are. They’ve splashed the cash once again, and they boast the most stacked roster in all of baseball.
Filled to the brim with top-tier talent across the board, the Dodgers look to be the team to beat in 2024.
In terms of hitting, the boys in blue added Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez, and Manuel Margot to an already loaded batting order.
And, on the pitching side, we all know they’ve been busy.
They’ve added two elite-level starters in Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow, and are reportedly still in on Dylan Cease.
In the bullpen, they’ve been extensively linked to Josh Hader of the San Diego Padres, who is arguably the best closer in baseball.
However, even with all this activity, I don’t think the Dodgers will pass the 100-win mark.
While I do think the Dodgers will be great again, I don’t see them quite getting to 100 — more like 92–95.
The loss of Clayton Kershaw is a big one. Not only will they miss his ability on the rubber, but also his presence in the clubhouse.
Kershaw has been Mr. Dodger for so long, and it’s my belief that, without the lefty, the Dodgers will have lost a little bit of their identity.
I think the starters will be good on the whole, but inconsistent. Yamamoto will be good, but will have starts where he gives up a lot of runs, as is to be expected with a rookie.
Following their starters, the Dodgers have a middle-of-the-road bullpen. They can get the job done, but I only fancy three arms to have standout seasons: Michael Grove, Evan Phillips, and Brusdar Graterol.
The other arms will be serviceable, but not enough to win 100 games.
The Dodgers may go on to win the World Series, but I don’t think they’ll reach the 100-win mark in the regular season.
2. The Yankees will win The AL East
There does seem to be a certain buzz around the Bronx right now doesn’t there?
The marquee signing is obviously the fearsome Juan Soto, who signed with the New Yankees back in December.
The young Dominican is expected to make waves in New York in his first season, with the short porch in right field being a massive help to the pull-heavy Soto.
Additionally, Alex Verdugo, whom the Yankees acquired just a week prior to Soto, will slot in the other corner outfield slot, alongside Aaron Judge in center.
Those three together form the best outfield in baseball, and they’re backed up by the capable Trent Grisham and Oscar Gonzalez.
Looking at the infield, the young Austin Wells will likely be the opening-day starter behind the plate. Wells really started to kick in the last few weeks of the season, and I expect him to be a top-10 catcher in 2024.
The ever-consistent D.J. Lemahieu will fill in at the hot corner, backed up by young utility man Oswald Peraza. Anthony Volpe, who showed glimpses of greatness in his rookie season, will be an everyday shortstop for the Bronx Bombers once again, and I fully expect him to make some noise in his sophomore season.
The Yankees have been tentatively linked with Marlins second baseman Luis Arraez, but I don’t see a deal happening. The powerful Gleyber Torres will retain his spot at second.
At first base, a healthy Anthony Rizzo will reclaim his starting spot. Rizzo has looked good in the cage during the off-season, and I envision the former Chicago Cub to pick up right where he left off.
The lineup looks frightening. But the pitching isn’t half-bad either.
The indomitable Gerrit Cole will retain his spot as ace and best pitcher in baseball, followed up by Carlos Rodon and Bronx newbie Marcus Stroman. Nestor Cortes, Jr. and Clarke Schmidt will round out the rotation.
Brian Cashman has also managed to keep the key pieces of the Yankees bullpen, which was the best in baseball last year.
I fully expect that trend to continue, especially when Loaisiga and Effross return from their respective injuries.
With a full season of Aaron Judge and all these new acquisitions, I predict the boys in pinstripes to win the AL East and somewhere around 103 wins.
3. The San Diego Padres will make the playoffs
I know this sounds crazy, but I believe the severe loss of star power in San Diego could actually be a blessing in disguise.
The loss of expectation could be a huge advantage, and they’ve done well this offseason, given the circumstances.
Woo-Suk Go looks like a capable replacement for the outgoing Josh Hader, and they bolstered their staff with three quality pitchers in the deal which sent Juan Soto to the Yankees. Those pitchers were Michael King, Randy Vazquez, and Jhony Brito.
King and Vazquez will likely find themselves in the rotation, having both done well there in pinstripes. Brito excelled in his role as a long reliever last season for the Yankees, and one would expect he slides into that spot in San Diego as well.
Additionally, they still have a capable lineup. Tatis, Bogaerts, Machado, and Kim all stayed put.
There’s enough firepower in that lineup to accompany a good pitching staff to at least a wild-card berth.
4. The Boston Red Sox will win less than 80 games
The ownership in Boston is ridiculous. The fact that a ballclub with such a storied history is unwilling to spend any real money is appalling.
The Boston Red Sox won’t be horrific, but they’ll be bad. I think they finish under .500, and I could see this being Cora’s last season at the helm.
The lineup is capable enough with hitters like Yoshida and Devers rounding out a solid batting order.
The real problems come from the pitching.
They replaced Sale with Giolito, which is fine.
But they haven’t done anything else. Their rotation is the same as last year.
The young Brayan Bello will have another good year, but Krawford, Houck, and Pivetta will all be average.
The bullpen is atrocious as well. The only change made has been the acquisition of Greg Weissert, a yo-yo pitcher from the Yankees.
Then, of course, there’s Kenley Jansen. He’ll have another solid year, but there’s not much he can do when they’ll be down by the ninth inning most of the time.
Hopefully, another year of mediocrity will kick start a change at Fenway.
5. Jackson Holliday will hit .300 in his first season in the majors
I’m all in on Jackson Holliday.
Projected to be the opening-day shortstop for the Baltimore Orioles, the 20-year-old is the far and away the favorite for the Rookie of The Year.
I think he’ll not only win that award, but also be in the conversation for the MVP, not too different from the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Corbin Carroll last year.
Holliday has all the tools to be a top-10 player in baseball one day, and I think that day will be sooner rather than later.
His disciplined approach at the plate and ridiculous hit tool project him to have an impact for a contending Orioles squad next season, and I think he’ll hit .300.
Not only that, I believe he’ll hit over .300 with power, popping at least 20 home runs and leading all rookies in doubles.
Scouts also project him to stick at shortstop, while Gunnar Henderson, last year’s rookie of the year, will move to the hot corner.
Those are my hot takes for this upcoming season, and I can’t wait for the return of the beautiful game. What do you think? What are your predictions?
Thanks for reading my story.
