Ten Bold MLB Predictions for 2023
One more sleep until baseball!
Phew, it was a looooong off-season, but we made it. Hallelujah, baseball is back tomorrow!!! Assuming no contests are canceled, we will soon embark on a 2,430-game, regular-season odyssey to determine who makes the playoffs. Then we will enjoy (endure?!) another few dozen games in a tournament to determine the World Series champion.
The best thing about this sport is that half the league has a legitimate shot at winning a championship this year. The worst thing about this sport is that half the league has a legitimate shot at winning a championship this year. The Nationals were left for dead in June of 2019, and roared back as the wild card to win it all. The Phillies finished third in their division last year and won the National League pennant.
Making bold predictions about a sport that can be so wonderfully (and brutally) random is a fool’s errand. Luckily, I am that fool! I spent the weekend massaging my crystal ball, and here’s what I learned:
No 10: The Angels Will Make the Playoffs
Ok, this is admittedly my wildest stab at fortune-telling the 2023 season, but if Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani and Anthony Rendon stay healthy, is it that crazy? The Angels have long needed an ace to step forward, and Reid Detmers could finally be that guy. The good news? Last night Detmers threw five fastballs that were harder than any fastball he’s ever thrown in his career. The bad news? Velocity spikes make me scared that an injury is around the corner. Still, scouts and execs I’ve spoken with tell me the former first-round pick has taken a step forward this year. The Angels also picked up starting pitcher Tyler Anderson in the offseason, who was dynamite for the Dodgers last year and had a terrific spring. Rookie closer-in-waiting Ben Joyce throws 100, and while he will begin the season in the minors, he could be who the Angels need to replace Carlos Estevez in that role should his spring struggles continue.
For Anaheim to make it to October for the first time in nine years, they will need to finish in the top six of AL teams, which will not be easy, especially since I think the Astros and Mariners will both make it from the West. The good news is MLB’s new schedule re-alignment means the Angels will play Houston and Seattle only 13 times each this season instead of 16 or 17 times each. In lieu of playing these tough division foes six more times, they will get to face the Nationals and the Pirates.
Also, come on, we need to manifest the Angels making the playoffs because we need Trout and Ohtani playing October baseball. Maybe this bold prediction is simply a wish-cast, but I’m ready to start manifesting the sport’s two best players on the sport’s biggest stage, because we deserve it.
No. 9: Shohei Ohtani Will Win the AL MVP
It’s no secret that Ohtani is the best baseball player in the world. If there were any doubt, we saw him prove it in the World Baseball Classic, where he was both the best hitter AND the best pitcher (lol). I suppose the bold prediction here is that he stays healthy for the third season in a row while pulling double-duty, and that Aaron Judge won’t win the Triple Crown.
8. Neither Jacob deGrom nor Gerrit Cole Will Win the AL Cy Young
According to Vegas oddsmakers, deGrom and Cole are the clear frontrunners to win this award, then comes everyone else. I don’t buy it.
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