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Baseball is largely a self-sustaining entity; as players leave the stage, new ones stand ready to take their place. Veterans lose their spots to age or injury, but there’s a seemingly bottomless well of young talent to draw from (just look at the prospect lists that accompany each team preview in this magazine). But that doesn’t mean we don’t feel pangs of nostalgia and grief when our heroes depart for good. The past several months have been marked by the passing of some true legends of the game, and as we look ahead to another season, I’d like to pause and remember. In 2024, we lost arguably the greatest player in baseball history in Willie Mays, the ultimate five-tool talent whose flair and mastery of the game made him the…

2025 PREDICTION 1ST AL EAST 2024 FINISH: 1st (94-68) Oh, what twists the last part of the 2024 season and the winter took for the Yankees, who finally got back to the World Series only to have their fundamentals crater in one horrific inning in a Game 5 loss to the champion Dodgers. Then, after a bidding war to retain star Juan Soto, the generational hitter bolted for the Mets, adding caffeine to an already-fierce New York City rivalry. Unbowed, the Yankees plowed ahead with a busy offseason and just might have re-imagined themselves as a run-prevention juggernaut capable of contending for another Fall Classic berth. They’ve still got plenty of pop, which should help propel another fascinating season in the Bronx. ROTATION This should be their strength, thanks to…

2025 PREDICTION 5TH AL CENTRAL 2024 FINISH: 5th (41-121) Check back in 2026. Or maybe 2027. If you’re looking for an American League Central contender, you’ve come to the wrong space. If you’re looking for a team that could threaten to exceed the franchise-record 121 losses that the White Sox suffered last season, read on. The Sox will take the field this season without their best pitcher (Garrett Crochet). They also won’t get the four months they got last year from the pieces they dealt at the 2024 trading deadline. There is a new manager in Will Venable. But the management structure remains intact — and the Sox declined to spend more than $1.95 million on any player in the freeagent market. Their farm system is in MLB’s top 10,…

2025 PREDICTION 1ST AL CENTRAL 2024 FINISH: 2nd (86-76) Led by unanimous AL MVP runner-up Bobby Witt Jr., the Royals reached the playoffs ahead of schedule last season with the shortstop emerging as a generational talent and general manager J.J. Picollo rebuilding the rotation with some savvy signings. Manager Matt Quatraro’s club is hungry for more in 2025 — and should be. The top of Kansas City’s rotation is among the best in baseball, and the heart of its lineup returns, so the Royals should expect to compete for the AL Central title and October glory if the retooled bullpen holds up and a few positions — notably the corner outfield spots — bounce back from lackluster seasons. ROTATION Lefthander Cole Ragans (11-9, 3.14) and righthander Seth Lugo (16-9, 3.00)…

2025 PREDICTION 1ST AL WEST 2024 FINISH: 1st (88-73) Atransformative offseason altered the Astros’ core but not their championship aspirations. The lineup will look different with Kyle Tucker traded, Alex Bregman exiting in free agency and Christian Walker and Isaac Paredes added to the infield. Trading Tucker, a homegrown star, a year before his free agency deviated from the franchise’s approach over the past decade. But it still returns a promising starting rotation and a bullpen anchored by closer Josh Hader. The Astros had a streak of seven consecutive American League Championship Series appearances snapped in 2024 and might no longer be a prohibitive AL favorite, but they are built to contend for an eighth AL West title in nine years. ROTATION Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown are a formidable…

2025 PREDICTION 2ND AL WEST 2024 FINISH: 3rd (78-84) Figuring out what to expect from veteran starter Jacob deGrom is one reason why the Rangers’ hopes of fielding a strong contender in 2025 are shrouded in mystery. The righthander is a two-time Cy Young Award winner who has posted a 2.41 ERA and 0.85 WHIP in two seasons with the Rangers while striking out 13.0 batters per nine innings. He is also 36 years old and has made just nine starts for the Rangers in those two seasons, which were wrapped around his recovery from Tommy John surgery. The Rangers expect him to be healthy in spring training. They also expect many of their core players from their 2023 World Series-winning team to be at full strength this spring. But…

2025 PREDICTION 5TH NL EAST 2024 FINISH: 5th (62-100) The Marlins have undergone quite the makeover since Peter Bendix took over as president of baseball operations in November 2023. The transitional period continues into 2025 with a new front office and coaching staff after a 100-loss season marred by injuries and turnover. Bendix swung eight trades leading up to the 2024 trade deadline and moved Jesús Luzardo and Jake Burger to revamp what had been one of baseball’s weakest farm systems. This upcoming season will focus on figuring out which prospects can be counted on as building blocks to execute Bendix’s vision of sustainable success. ROTATION Sandy Alcantara is expected to start on Opening Day in his return from Tommy John surgery, and Eury Pérez is slated to be back…

2025 PREDICTION 4TH NL EAST 2024 FINISH: 4th (71-91) A second straight 71-91 season in 2024 has the Nationals looking like a franchise treading water. But last season also saw the team take some major leaps forward. In shortstop CJ Abrams, left fielder James Wood, right fielder Dylan Crews and second baseman Luis García Jr. — none of whom will be older than 24 on Opening Day — the Nats have one of the more enviable young position-player cores in the majors, plus a rotation full of young arms still on the rise. In line with their recent track record, the Nationals picked around the edges of the talent market, re-signing Trevor Williams and Josh Bell to modest deals, taking a low-risk flyer on oft-injured starter Michael Soroka and trading…

2025 PREDICTION 2ND NL CENTRAL 2024 FINISH: 1st (93-69) The Milwaukee Brewers enter 2025 needing to replace not only their leading run producer in shortstop Willy Adames, who signed a $182 million free-agent contract with the San Francisco Giants, but also one of the game’s best closers in Devin Williams, who was traded to the New York Yankees in December in exchange for lefthander Nestor Cortes and infield prospect Caleb Durbin. It’s standard operating procedure these days in baseball’s smallest market, where despite the financial limitations, the Brewers have consistently punched above their weight class in winning three of the last four NL Central titles and advancing to the playoffs in six of the last seven years. There’s plenty of talent returning, too, and in a division without a clear…

2025 PREDICTION 3RD NL WEST 2024 FINISH: 3rd (89-73) The Arizona Diamondbacks are all in. They strode aggressively into the offseason by signing free-agent righthander Corbin Burnes and trading for first baseman Josh Naylor, moves that could nudge them toward the National League elite after a frustrating 2024 in which they missed the playoffs by losing two tiebreakers. Owner Ken Kendrick’s six-year, $210 million commitment to Burnes shocked the industry and addressed a need. Naylor will help compensate for the loss of free agent Christian Walker and others from an offense that led the majors in runs in 2024. Manager Torey Lovullo’s team has speed on the bases and can catch the ball, ingredients that always play well. After 84 and 89 wins the past two seasons, the D-backs appear…

2025 PREDICTION 2ND NL WEST 2024 FINISH: 2nd (93-69) The promise of a new season is going to come with considerable pain for the San Diego Padres and their long-suffering fans. They’ll be reminded of their epic collapse in the NL Division Series against the archrival Los Angeles Dodgers, when an unfathomable 24-inning scoreless streak ended their season. The Dodgers went on to win the World Series and continue to flex their considerable financial muscle, while the Padres appear to remain budget conscious. Nonetheless, Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill make the Padres a fun team to watch, and Petco Park is packed and loud every night. ROTATION The Padres planned to make a strong run at Japanese fireballer Roki Sasaki, who would go a long way in…

MARCH March 28 The Diamondbacks score 14 runs in the third inning against Colorado without hitting a home run, tied for the most by a team in an inning without a home run since 1900 (the Red Sox in the bottom of the seventh inning on July 4, 1948). Arizona wins 16-1, tied for the third-largest Opening Day win in MLB history. March 31 The Yankees become the seventh team to open a season with four or more straight wins after being tied or trailing in the sixth inning or later in each game. They join the 2015 Reds, 1982 White Sox, 1957 White Sox, 1914 White Sox, 1911 Highlanders (now Yankees) and 1901 Tigers. APRIL April 10 On National Siblings Day, Bo and Josh Naylor’s 10th-inning heroics mark the third…

Shohei Ohtani did not pitch in 2024. You know this, of course. But it’s OK to admit that you occasionally forgot about his elite pitching prowess as he turned in one of the greatest offensive seasons in the history of baseball. Not only did he become the first player ever to hit at least 50 homers and steal at least 50 bases in a season — he was one swipe shy of going 50-60 — but he also helped lead his new team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, to the World Series title and was unanimously voted as the National League’s Most Valuable Player. “Obviously, my goal was to be able to pitch and contribute offensively,” Ohtani said in a conference call after winning the MVP, through interpreter Matt Hidaka. “The…

2025 PREDICTION 2ND AL EAST 2024 FINISH: 2nd (91-71) Simply making the playoffs is no longer acceptable in Baltimore after the Orioles emerged from an ugly rebuild. They were swept in their last two postseason rounds, and having the talent to try again doesn’t ensure better results. The good news, though, is that they will be in the running for a division title. The offense took a nosedive in the second half, but a collective slump doesn’t figure to carry over to 2025, especially with Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman and Rookie of the Year runner-up Colton Cowser in the lineup. The rotation should get a full season out of Zach Eflin, acquired from the Rays at the trade deadline, and Grayson Rodriguez, who didn’t pitch after July 31 due to…

2025 PREDICTION 4TH AL CENTRAL 2024 FINISH: 1st (92-69) The Guardians, surprise winners of the AL Central in 2024 under rookie manager Stephen Vogt, could be a postseason team again in 2025, but it depends on how healthy their reworked rotation can stay and how the best bullpen in the big leagues recovers from a year of heavy use. There’s no doubt that this is a postseason team. They’ve been there twice in the past three years but have been unable to get past the Yankees — losing to them in the ALDS in 2022 and the ALCS in 2024. The offense — particularly superstar José Ramírez — will miss the protection of first baseman Josh Naylor, who was traded to Arizona in December. As soon as the Guardians traded…

2025 PREDICTION 3RD AL CENTRAL 2024 FINISH: 4th (82-80) Halfway through a game in Texas on Aug. 18, the Twins looked like lead-pipe locks for the American League playoffs. They were 17 games clear of .500 already, with a chance to push for 95 wins and a division title with a strong finish. They led late in the game and turned the ball over to one of their key middle relievers, Jorge Alcala — who rapidly blew a fourrun advantage, resulting in a loss that became emblematic of the collapse it presaged. The Twins entered the offseason desperate to shake off the bad vibes resulting from their 12-27 stumble to the finish line but shackled by the prohibitive payroll constraints imposed by an ownership group readying itself to sell the…

2025 PREDICTION 5TH AL WEST 2024 FINISH: 5th (63-99) When Shohei Ohtani left the Los Angeles Angels, it was clear that dark days were ahead for the franchise. While Ohtani was winning his third MVP and first World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers, things got very dark indeed for his former team. The Angels plummeted to the worst season in franchise history (63-99). As their most recent winning season (2015) and playoff appearance (2014) retreat further into the rear-view mirror, there are few signs that things will turn around any time soon. The talent is simply not there — nor is it coming from a farm system considered to be among the bleakest in baseball. The only thing that can possibly make the Angels worth following in 2025 is…

NL EAST 1. PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES 2. ATLANTA BRAVES* 3. NEW YORK METS* 4. WASHINGTON NATIONALS 5. MIAMI MARLINS NL CENTRAL 1. CHICAGO CUBS 2. MILWAUKEE BREWERS 3. CINCINNATI REDS 4. PITTSBURGH PIRATES 5. ST. LOUIS CARDINALS NL WEST 1. LOS ANGELES DODGERS 2. SAN DIEGO PADRES* 3. ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS 4. SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS 5. COLORADO ROCKIES *WILD CARD NLCS DODGERS OVER PHILLIES WORLD SERIES DODGERS OVER YANKEES NL MVP 1. SHOHEI OHTANI, DH/SP, LOS ANGELES DODGERS 2. JUAN SOTO, OF, NEW YORK METS 3. BRYCE HARPER, 1B, PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES 4. FERNANDO TATIS JR., OF, SAN DIEGO PADRES 5. MOOKIE BETTS, SS/OF, LOS ANGELES DODGERS NL CY YOUNG 1. PAUL SKENES, RHP, PITTSBURGH PIRATES 2. ZACK WHEELER, RHP, PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES 3. CORBIN BURNES, RHP, ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS 4. HUNTER GREENE, RHP, CINCINNATI…

2025 PREDICTION 3RD NL EAST 2024 FINISH: 3rd (89-73) The Mets expect to win the World Series. If that mandate seemed a bit hazy for a year or two, it’s not anymore. After a slow start, the Mets raced through the summer, rolled through two playoff rounds and pushed the Dodgers to six games in the NLCS. Then they signed Juan Soto to the richest contract in sports history. The boundless payroll and ambition of superfan owner Steve Cohen are just what the fans want, but the path to a parade is never easy. The Mets face strong competition in the NL, and their pitching staff will need to improve to survive it. ROTATION The Mets got 94 starts out of Sean Manaea, Luis Severino and Jose Quintana last season…

2025 PREDICTION 1ST NL EAST 2024 FINISH: 3rd (83-79) After two straight 83-79 seasons that felt like losing ones, the Cubs entered the winter hunting big game. The centerpiece of their offseason was the acquisition of Kyle Tucker, who now becomes the focus of their offense and of their narrative for a pivotal 2025 campaign. Fans are impatient for a return to the playoffs, and neither they nor the organization will accept another year of treading water without making big changes. To that end, the team also focused on significantly improving their pitching depth, and the Cubs enter the season as a newlook club — despite fairly familiar pillars in the clubhouse and across the roster. ROTATION Fronted by a pair of lefties who fall just shy of true ace…

2025 PREDICTION 4TH NL CENTRAL 2024 FINISH: 5th (76-86) The Pittsburgh Pirates are hoping that an interesting group of young starting pitchers can return them to relevance. Righthanders Paul Skenes and Jared Jones will lead the rotation after making their major-league debuts in 2024. Skenes was the National League Rookie of the Year and finished third in the NL Cy Young Award voting while looking like a generational-type player. The Pirates haven’t been to the postseason since 2015 or had a winning season since 2018, posting only four winning campaigns in the past 32 years. To get back to the playoffs or even reach .500, the Pirates will need more than Skenes and good starting pitching. They ranked 20th in the major leagues in fielding percentage last season, 24th in…

2025 PREDICTION 5TH NL WEST 2024 FINISH: 5th (61-101) The Rockies believe the worst is over after losing 101 games last year and 103 in 2023. Their rotation, finally healthy, should have a more veteran presence, with at least one stellar prospect likely to debut during the season. Several rookie relievers showed promise in the final weeks of last season, but how they will hold up and perform over a full season is a huge unknown. A lack of power and too many strikeouts plagued the offense. But a core of young players has emerged and, with more experience, may show more strike-zone discipline. The Rockies likely won’t be relevant in the formidable NL West. But notable progress is possible this season. ROTATION Last season, the Rockies used 12 different…

2025 PREDICTION 4TH NL WEST 2024 FINISH: 4th (80-82) Buster Posey’s acumen and leadership abilities were never in doubt when he was behind the plate while the Giants won three World Series championships from 2010-14. Now he’ll try to apply those skills in another level of the arena as a rookie baseball executive. Just three years after playing his last game and subsequently buying into the team as a minority investor, Posey was installed as president of baseball operations in October. His leadership style is expected to be a departure from the roster churn and short-term commitments that marked six seasons under Farhan Zaidi. That much was apparent in December, when Posey made his first major transaction, signing shortstop Willy Adames to a seven-year, $182 million contract with a full…

See, the thing about fantasy baseball drafts? You have to draft 25-plus players in most leagues. While championships are often lost on account of early-draft missteps, they are rarely won without lightning-in-a-bottle catches much further down the draft queue. Identifying up-and-coming and undervalued talent that can provide crucial stats on the cheap is every bit as critical a component for a championship run as the stars at the top of the list. Here are players at different points outside of your draft’s top 150 who can return strong value relative to their current draft positions. For ADP, we are using data provided by National Fantasy Championship (NFC). ADP 151-200 SETH LUGO, SP, KC A year after successfully converting to the rotation in San Diego, Lugo emerged as a surprise 200-inning…

Chasing the shiny new object is a natural human proclivity. And yet focusing on the Next Big Thing often blinds us to another important group of players: the Next Big Things of seasons past. Here are some “post-hype” guys who still have a whole lot of talent, but for one reason or another haven’t been able to fully tap into it just yet. Their prices are lower — in some cases a lot lower — as a result, and that makes them interesting options as your draft moves along into the middle and later stages. JACKSON HOLLIDAY, 2B, BAL Holliday was downright awful in his first couple cracks at MLB pitching, and the struggles have tumbled him down past the 200th pick in early drafts this year. It’s a good…

Paul Skenes was transcendent as a rookie for the Pirates in 2024. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft made wily veterans and rising young superstars look equally silly at the plate, contrasting his incendiary fastball with an explosive slider and a pitch that he made famous — the splinker, a combo splitter and sinker. But the big righthander was nowhere to be found in October. The other Pirates, as you probably know, were not very good, and the only impact Skenes made on the playoff race was when he faced one of the teams vying for a spot in October. This wasn’t Skenes’ fault, of course, but it was disappointing for fans of the sport. What wasn’t disappointing was the performance of rookies who forced their…

2025 PREDICTION 3RD AL EAST 2024 FINISH: 3rd (81-81) The exasperating rebuild is over. After five years of ownership-mandated retrenchment that resulted in both a restocked farm system and a resentful fan base, the Red Sox are finally ready to make their move. They swung a blockbuster deal with the Chicago White Sox for burgeoning ace Garrett Crochet, and their most coveted prospects are on the verge of arrival. It’s long overdue that the Sox act like a big-market team again, and if owner John Henry aggressively pursues in-season improvements, they should compete in a wide-open American League East. ROTATION Tanner Houck made his first All-Star team, and fellow righthanders Brayan Bello and Kutter Crawford established themselves as reliable big-leaguers, but management recognized the glaring absence of Nos. 1 and…

2025 PREDICTION 2ND AL CENTRAL In the first year of the post-Miguel Cabrera era, a blistering 31-13 closing stretch vaulted the Tigers into the playoffs for the first time in a decade and altered the trajectory of a rebuild that as recently as midseason felt interminable. Along the way, lefty Tarik Skubal blossomed into a Cy Young-winning ace, left fielder Riley Greene became an All-Star-caliber lineup anchor and the outline of a sustained contender began to take shape. The next step, however, is the difficult one: filling in that outline and turning the potential into the actual. At minimum, the Tigers needed to add a veteran starter and a veteran bat over the offseason, but the signings of righthander Alex Cobb and second baseman Gleyber Torres to one-year deals felt…

2025 PREDICTION 4TH AL WEST 2024 FINISH: 4th (69-93) It’s a brand new world for the Athletics. They are no longer in Oakland, and they are three years (at least) away from being the Las Vegas A’s. They’re simply the Athletics, sharing a minor league stadium in Sacramento. Six years removed from their last postseason appearance, the A’s may be ready to move up in a weakened AL West. For once, they spent more money by setting a club record on a three-year, $67 million deal to sign righthander Luis Severino. They then traded for lefthander Jeffery Springs to bulk up a starting rotation that had a 4.76 ERA, 14th in the AL. The Athletics also hope to have filled their opening at third base with the signing of Gio…

2025 PREDICTION 3RD AL WEST 2024 FINISH: 2nd (85-77) Back on Sept. 30, 2022, when Cal Raleigh smashed a walk-off homer at T-Mobile Park to send the Seattle Mariners back to the postseason for the first time since 2001, it seemed like better days and seasons were ahead for the franchise. The roster was young, the farm system was loaded and baseball in the Pacific Northwest was rejuvenated. Instead, the Mariners missed qualifying for the postseason by the slimmest of margins the following two seasons. Can they find their way back in 2025? They will have to do it with roughly the same roster and will need bounce-back or breakout seasons from several position players and minimal regression from the starting rotation ROTATION Seattle’s starting pitchers combined to lead MLB…

2025 PREDICTION 2ND NL EAST 2024 FINISH: 2nd (89-73) Making the playoffs is the floor for the Atlanta Braves, who have reached the postseason seven straight seasons and 24 of the past 33 postseasons. They enter 2025 with the expectation of challenging for the NL East title with high-end options in the rotation and a lineup capable of reestablishing itself as one of the most feared in the NL. The Braves are rightfully among the leaders in the early odds to win the World Series. ROTATION The Braves will need to replace two mainstays from last year’s five-man unit in Max Fried and Charlie Morton, who combined for 59 starts. But one major piece will return from injury. Spencer Strider is expected to miss most of April as he recovers…

2025 PREDICTION 1ST NL EAST 2024 FINISH: 1st (95-67) The 2024 Phillies won 95 games, second-most in MLB, and claimed their first NL East title since 2011. They return an expensive, star-studded core, and expectations remain as high as the light towers at Citizens Bank Park. But it’s reasonable to wonder about this team. Is it the club that sprinted out to a majors-best 45-19 record by the second week of June last season? Or the one that was a mediocre 51-51 the rest of the way and had a painfully quick playoff exit? “This is a championship roster,” manager Rob Thomson insists. There’s no doubt the Phillies have the personnel, but can their offense avoid the sudden droughts that have scuttled the last two postseasons? Can a slightly tweaked…

2025 PREDICTION 5TH NL CENTRAL 2024 FINISH: 2nd (83-79) During a decade spent chasing a return to the World Series and maintaining their brand as a perennial division favorite, the Cardinals insisted that their model and their fanbase could not “stomach” a step back, even in an attempt to move forward. Time to test that theory. The Cardinals are “going young” and investing in a plan to prioritize development for the future as they near a leadership change. Longtime president of baseball operations John Mozeliak will step aside at season’s end after guiding a “reset.” The Paul Goldschmidt-Nolan Arenado super team-up ended with as many MVP awards (one) as playoff wins (one), while the minor-league infrastructure eroded. A transition year is underway, complete with a new sales pitch. It’s no…

2025 PREDICTION 1ST NL WEST 2024 FINISH: 1st (98-64) One is no longer the loneliest number in Los Angeles. For 11 seasons (2013 through 2023), the Dodgers were the winningest team in baseball, capturing 10 division titles and three National League pennants. But they had only one World Series title to show for it — and that came in the truncated pandemic season of 2020, a fact that was pointed out to them often enough to cause chafing. That changed in 2024. Fueled by the signing of Shohei Ohtani (who won his third MVP award in his first season with the franchise), the Dodgers won a second World Series in this run, their first full-season championship since 1988. They aren’t satisfied. Ohtani joked in the euphoria of a post-World Series…

Here is the Athlon Sports big board for 2025 fantasy baseball, including a Top 150, designed to balance “true talent” with current ADP trends to provide a guide for your draft. These rankings assume a 15-team standard league and chart a course for navigating the first 10 rounds of a draft. We use a standard of 20 games played for position eligibility. Let’s do this! TOP 150 1. SHOHEI OHTANI, UT/SP, LAD The reigning three-time MVP, world champion and founder of the 50-50 Club would like to remind you that not only will he once again be hitting between two other future Hall of Famers at the top of LA’s stacked lineup, but he’s also a borderline top-20 starting pitcher who should be clear to throw 130 innings to boot.…

PARKER MEADOWS, OF, DET A dreadful start and subsequent demotion, injury and then: .296/.340/.500 with 6 HR, 5 SB, and a wildly reduced strikeout rate over the final two full months of the season. Meadows made discernable strides contacting the baseball more frequently and with better launch angles over the course of the season, and he’s a former second-rounder with an everyday job who is a good bet to lead off. A 20-20 season highlighting balanced five-category production is there for the taking. MICHAEL TOGLIA, 1B, COL Toglia hit 25 HR in 116 games in 2024 but finished only 30th among 1B in standard-league value on account of a poor AVG and low counting stats. A whole lot moved markedly in the right direction last year — EV, barrel rate,…