AL East: Yankees. Always choose the team with more players from Massachusetts.
AL Central: Tigers. Tarik Skubal and Justin Verlander being on the same roster is fun.
AL West: Mariners. Just don’t try to shake Cal Raleigh’s hand.
AL wild cards: Blue Jays, Red Sox, Royals. Sox make the postseason two years in a row for the first time since 2017-18.
ALCS: Mariners over Red Sox. Seattle finally reaches its first World Series.
NL East: Mets. David Stearns assembled the rotation depth needed to win a tough division.
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NL Central: Cubs. Alex Bregman makes a difference in Chicago. Imagine that.
NL West: Dodgers. There’s no stopping them, again.
NL wild cards: Brewers, Phillies, Reds. The NL Central is loaded again this season.
NLCS: Dodgers over Cubs. Shohei Ohtani calls his shot at Wrigley Field.
World Series: Mariners over Dodgers. Seattle shocks the defending champs in six games behind Julio Rodriguez.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa, now with the Red Sox, and the Blue Jays came within literal inches of a World Series championship last Nov. 1.Chris Young/Associated Press
AL East: Blue Jays. With new additions Dylan Cease and Kazuma Okamoto joining Vladi Jr. and a talented holdover cast, the Jays are more equipped to recover from World Series heartbreak than, say, the 1987 Red Sox.
AL Central: Tigers. Look out for rookie shortstop Kevin McGonigle, whom MLB.com declares “arguably the best hitting prospect of the 2020s so far.”
AL West: Mariners. Honestly, I just hope Cal Raleigh and Randy Arozarena can be friends.
AL wild cards: Red Sox, Yankees, Guardians. Aaron Judge becomes just the third player to win four Most Valuable Player awards, joining Barry Bonds (seven) and Shohei Ohtani (four and counting). Red Sox budding superstar Roman Anthony — the real best hitting prospect of the 2020s — finishes second.
ALCS: Mariners over Red Sox. For the first time, the franchise which began play in 1977 makes the World Series. Win it for Ruppert Jones!
NL East: Mets. Here’s hoping Francisco Lindor isn’t hampered by offseason hamate bone surgery. Baseball is better when that guy is at his best.
NL Central: Reds. This would mark Terry Francona’s sixth division title of his managerial career, accomplished with three different teams. He can start writing a draft of his sure-to-be-hilarious Hall of Fame speech now.
NL West: Dodgers. Mookie Betts spent six seasons with the Red Sox. This will be his seventh with the Dodgers. That just doesn’t seem right, but it sure has worked out well for him.
NL wild cards: Brewers, Cubs, Phillies. I wrote in last year’s predictions that Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio would be in the mix for NL MVP. We’re gonna kick that can ahead to this season and predict he prevents Ohtani from winning a fifth.
NLCS: Dodgers over Brewers. So it turns out there were at least two future Hall of Fame managers in the dugout for the 2004 Red Sox.
World Series: Mariners over Dodgers. And win it for Alvin Davis, too!
Since moving from the Red Sox to the Dodgers, Mookie Betts has made four more All-Star teams and added three more World Series rings.Gregory Bull/Associated Press
AL East: Yankees. Aaron Judge clobbers 50 homers for an MLB-record fifth time in his career.
AL Central: Tigers. Detroit cashes in on ace Tarik Skubal’s free agent season before he does.
AL West: Mariners. Only the Yankees and Dodgers hit more home runs last year than Seattle.
AL wild cards: Blue Jays, Rangers, Royals. The Run Prevention Rangers led MLB in ERA last season and added Mackenzie Gore.
ALCS: Mariners over Tigers. The only MLB franchise to never play in a World Series ends that ignominy.
NL East: Mets. No epic collapse for the re-made Mets this year.
NL Central: Cubs. Alex Bregman is a human playoff guarantee.
NL West: Dodgers. Death, taxes, and the Dodgers making the playoffs. Book it for the 14th straight season.
NL wild cards: Phillies, Brewers, Braves. The NL East takes a page out of the book of the AL East in 2025 with three playoff teams.
NLCS: Dodgers over Phillies. The Dodgers aren’t bad for baseball if you like championship-driven teams.
World Series: Dodgers over Mariners. The only thing that can stop the Dodgers dynasty is the impending MLB salary cap that owners are agitating for in CBA negotiations.
AL East: Blue Jays. Is it a cop out to say this could go any of four ways? (Apologies to the Rays.)
AL Central: Tigers. The Bobby Witt Jr./Cole Ragans Royals will give them a run, though.
AL West: Athletics. As they always say, the fine fans of [checks notes] Sutter Health Park in [checks notes] West Sacramento, Calif., deserve playoff baseball. Separately, if the Mariners’ vibes are weird, blame Randy Arozarena and Cal Raleigh.
AL wild cards: Red Sox, Orioles, Yankees. Yes, it is mathematically improbable that the AL East snags all three wild card spots, but we’re going to roll with it. Give us Garrett Crochet versus Tarik Skubal in Games 1 and 5 of the ALDS.
ALCS: Blue Jays over Tigers. Max Scherzer versus Justin Verlander in Game 7. Winner gets to give his speech first when they are inevitably inducted into the Hall of Fame together.
NL East: Phillies. They brought back Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto, and they are the team to beat until proven otherwise.
NL Central: Cubs. Finally, in Year 3, Craig Counsell’s Cubs beat out Pat Murphy’s Brewers. Credit Alex Bregman.
NL West: Dodgers. Did you know they won the division by only three games last year?
NL wild cards: Braves, Brewers, Mets. The Braves need to bounce back. The Brewers always beat projections. The Mets take their playoff fate down to the last day of the season for a third year in a row.
NLCS: Phillies over Dodgers. And thus the baseball world is saved from a Los Angeles three-peat going into the labor fight next offseason.
World Series: Phillies over Blue Jays. Bryce Harper is up there with Aaron Judge as the most accomplished active player without a ring. This will further bolster his case for Cooperstown.
Kyle Schwarber hit 56 home runs last season with the Phillies, then returned to Philadelphia in free agency.Jae C. Hong/Associated Press
AL East: Yankees. Walpole’s Cam Schlittler wins AL Cy Young.
AL Central: Tigers. Added Framber Valdez and brought back 101-year-old Justin Verlander.
AL West: Mariners. Inspired by the Seahawks’ rout of the Patriots.
AL wild cards: Blue Jays, Astros, Red Sox. The sixth-best record in the AL again gives the Sox the illusion of contention.
ALCS: Yankees over Mariners. Ichiro throws out the first pitch, and Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone are awarded lifetime contracts. (Didn’t they already have ‘em?)
NL East: Phillies. Why can’t we get GM’s like Dave Dombrowski?
NL Central: Cubs. Alex Bregman wins NL MVP.
NL West: Dodgers. Mookie Betts finishes second to Bregman, with Rafael Devers third.
NL wild cards: Brewers, Phillies, Padres.
NLCS: Cubs over Dodgers. Bregman is the MVP here, too. Sox president Sam Kennedy takes the moment to remind everyone, “If Alex Bregman wanted to be in Boston, he’d be in Boston.”
World Series: Cubs over Yankees. The lockout begins minutes after the final pitch. See you in 2028.
AL East: Rays. I’m pretty sure I’ve been wrong about the AL East winner (and, for that matter, nearly everything else) every year I’ve done this. So, in a season where a path for the other four teams to win the division is visible, I’ll lean into the opaque sorcery of the Rays and a celebration of our epistemic limitations. Huzzah!
AL Central: Tigers. All-in with Tarik Skubal in his walk year.
AL West: Mariners. Randy Arozarena and Cal Raleigh will celebrate victories with congratulatory handshakes.
AL wild cards: Red Sox, Yankees, Orioles. In a World Cup year, at least one AL East team will fall prey to the Group of Death. Sorry, Blue Jays.
ALCS: Mariners over Tigers. At some point, the Mariners — now entering their 50th season — have to reach the World Series. Don’t they?
NL East: Mets. Bo Bichette’s walkoff homer against the Phillies on Sept. 20 clinches the division.
NL Central: Brewers. There are things in this world that we can see and understand. And then there is the relentless success of the Brewers.
NL West: Dodgers. Duh.
NL wild cards: Phillies, Cubs, Pirates. One can only hope that the pairing of Paul Skenes and Konnor Griffin does not turn into a sequel to the Mike Trout/Shohei Ohtani “how did a team with those two guys never make the playoffs?” exercise.
NLCS: Phillies over Dodgers. A last hurrah for a wonderful core trying to rage against the dying of the light.
World Series: Mariners over Phillies. I was going to suggest it will be canceled amidst a labor dispute, but that’s too dark. Instead: Jamie Moyer, 63, will come out of retirement to pitch all seven games for both teams.
Even ignoring baseball’s looming labor fight, Tarik Skubal’s future after this season is a major question.Nick Cammett/Getty
AL East: Blue Jays. World Series heartbreak still stings, but a loaded roster wins out.
AL Central: Tigers. Might be the franchise’s last chance to win behind Tarik Skubal.
AL West: Mariners. Forget the WBC drama. From one win short of the World Series, it’s back to the playoffs for Cal Raleigh et al.
AL wild cards: Red Sox, Yankees. Royals. Get ready for another epic wild-card walkoff between the Yanks and Sox. The rivalry that keeps on giving.
ALCS: Yankees over Blue Jays. Aaron Judge, Cam Schlittler, and the return of Gerrit Cole. Too much for the rest of the league.
NL East: Phillies. The window stays open for Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and Co.
NL Central: Cubs. Adding Alex Bregman can only help an already solid team.
NL West: Dodgers. They remain the pick until proven otherwise, and with four straight division crowns (and 12 of 13), that’s not happening anytime soon.
NL wild cards: Mets, Brewers, Padres. Major Mets moves take a bit to jell, but they will be for real.
NLCS: Dodgers over Mets. The New York overhaul only goes so far against the well-oiled Dodgers machine, which is out to make history.
World Series: Dodgers over Yankees. The last team to three-peat can’t stop the next one to do it, with the Dodgers repeating their 2024 mastery of their cross-country rivals.
Peter Abraham can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Bluesky at peteabeglobe.bsky.social. Chad Finn can be reached at [email protected]. Christopher L. Gasper is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @cgasper and on Instagram @cgaspersports. Tim Healey can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @timbhealey. Dan Shaughnessy is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @dan_shaughnessy. Alex Speier can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @alexspeier. Tara Sullivan is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @Globe_Tara.
