2025 MLB Season Preview

Standings

AL EAST
x-Boston Red Sox 95-67
y-New York Yankees 86-76
y-Baltimore Orioles 85-77
Toronto Blue Jays 79-83
Tampa Bay Rays 70-92

AL CENTRAL
x-Kansas City Royals 90-72
y-Minnesota Twins 88-74
Detroit Tigers 84-78
Cleveland Guardians 73-89
Chicago White Sox 55-107

AL WEST
x-Texas Rangers 98-64
Houston Astros 84-78
Seattle Mariners 79-83
The Athletics 72-90
Los Angeles Angels 60-102

NL EAST
x-Atlanta Braves 93-69
y-New York Mets 90-72
y-Philadelphia Phillies 88-74
Washington Nationals 79-83
Miami Marlins 68-94

NL CENTRAL
x-Chicago Cubs 93-69
Milwaukee Brewers 83-79
Cincinnati Reds 82-80
Pittsburgh Pirates 71-91
St. Louis Cardinals 68-94

NL WEST
x-Los Angeles Dodgers 105-57
y-Arizona Diamondbacks 89-73
San Diego Padres 85-77
San Francisco Giants 75-87
Colorado Rockies 63-99

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Playoffs

ALWC	ALDS	ALCS	–
4 – Minnesota vs. (NYY in 3) 5 – NY Yankees	1 – Texas vs. (TEX in 3) 5 – NY Yankees
		1 – Texas vs. (KC in 7) 3 – Kansas City	Kansas City Royals AL Champions
3 – Kansas City vs. (KC in 3) 6 – Baltimore	2 – Boston vs. (KC in 5) 3 – Kansas City

NLWC	NLDS	NLCS	–
4 – NY Mets vs. (NYM in 3) 5 – Arizona	1 – LA Dodgers vs. (LAD in 4) 4 – NY Mets
		1 – LA Dodgers vs. (LAD in 4) 3 – CHI Cubs	Los Angeles Dodgers NL Champions
3 – CHI Cubs vs. (CHC in 2) 6 – Philadelphia	2 – Atlanta vs. (CHC in 5) 3 – CHI Cubs

WORLD SERIES:
Los Angeles Dodgers over Kansas City Royals in 6 games

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Team Projections

MVP: Bobby Witt Jr., KC
CY YOUNG: Jacob deGrom, TEX
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Kristian Campbell, BOS
COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jacob deGrom, TEX
MANAGER OF THE YEAR: Alex Cora, BOS

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Baltimore Orioles

Manager: Brandon Hyde
7th year
Career/Team record: 406-464, Career Playoff record: 0-5 – AGE: 51

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
SS	#2	Gunnar Henderson	23	L/R	.281 AVG, 37 HR, 92 RBI, .893 OPS
C	#35	Adley Rutschman	27	S/R	.250 AVG, 19 HR, 79 RBI, .709 OPS
1B	#6	Ryan Mountcastle	28	R/R	.271 AVG, 13 HR, 63 RBI, .733 OPS
RF	#9	Tyler O’Neill	29	R/R	.241 AVG, 31 HR, 61 RBI, .847 OPS – (BOS)
3B	#11	Jordan Westburg	26	R/R	.264 AVG, 18 HR, 63 RBI, .792 OPS
2B	#7	Jackson Holliday	21	L/R	.189 AVG, 5 HR, 23 RBI, 4 SB
LF	#17	Colton Cowser	24	L/R	.242 AVG, 24 HR, 69 RBI, .768 OPS
DH	#32	Ryan O’Hearn	31	L/L	.264 AVG, 15 HR, 59 RBI, .761 OPS
CF	#31	Cedric Mullins	30	L/L	.234 AVG, 18 HR, 54 RBI, 32 SB

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
C	#99	Gary Sánchez	32	R/R	.220 AVG, 11 HR, 37 RBI, .699 OPS – (MIL)
INF	#29	Ramón Urías	30	R/R	.254 AVG, 11 HR, 37 RBI, .745 OPS
OF	#13	Heston Kjerstad	26	L/R	.253 AVG, 4 HR, 14 RBI, .745 OPS
RF	#12	Ramón Laureano	30	R/R	.259 AVG, 11 HR, 33 RBI, .748 OPS – (CLE/ATL)

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
A	#24	Zach Eflin	30	RHP	10-9, 3.59 ERA, 134 Ks, 1.15 WHIP – (TB/BAL)
2	#30	Grayson Rodriguez	25	RHP	13-4, 3.86 ERA, 130 Ks, 1.24 WHIP
3	#50	Charlie Morton	41	RHP	8-10, 4.19 ERA, 167 Ks, 1.32 WHIP – (ATL)
4	#64	Dean Kremer	29	RHP	8-10, 4.10 ERA, 123 Ks, 1.24 WHIP
5	#32	Kyle Gibson	37	RHP	8-8, 4.24 ERA, 151 Ks, 1.34 WHIP – (STL)

POS.	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
CP	#74	Félix Bautista	29	RHP	DNP – Tommy John Surgery
SU	#78	Yennier Cano	31	RHP	5 SVs, 3.15 ERA, 65 Ks, 1.30 WHIP
RP	#56	Seranthony Domínguez	30	RHP	11 SVs, 4.45 ERA, 68 Ks, 1.24 WHIP – (PHI/BAL)
RP	#65	Gregory Soto	30	LHP	2 SVs, 4.42 ERA, 65 Ks, 1.57 WHIP – (PHI/BAL)
RP	#45	Keegan Akin	29	LHP	1 SV, 3.32 ERA, 97 Ks, 0.94 WHIP
RP	#39	Andrew Kittredge	35	RHP	1 SV, 2.80 ERA, 67 Ks, 1.13 WHIP – (STL)
LNG	#19	Tomoyuki Sugano (R)	35	RHP	DNP – Played in NPB
LNG	#49	Albert Suárez	35	RHP	9-7, 3.70 ERA, 108 Ks, 1.29 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
INF	#3	Jorge Mateo	29	R/R	Elbow surgery Potential return in May
SP	#38	Kyle Bradish	28	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Potential return in June
SP	#28	Trevor Rogers	27	LHP	Knee injury Potential return in May
SP	#68	Tyler Wells	30	RHP	Elbow surgery Potential return in July

DEPTH PIECES ON 40-MAN ROSTER:
Cade Povich – #37 (SP, Age: 24, LHP)
Bryan Baker – #43 (RP, Age: 30, RHP)
Roansy Contreras – #34 (RP, Age: 25, RHP)
Cionel Pérez – #58 (RP, Age: 28, LHP)
Colin Selby – #60 (RP, Age: 27, RHP)
Chayce McDermott – #59 (SP, Age: 26, RHP) – BAL Prospect Rank: #4
Coby Mayo – #16 (INF, Age: 23, R/R) – MLB Prospect Rank: #14
Dylan Carlson – #26 (OF, Age: 26, S/L)

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2025:
Samuel Basallo (C/1B, Age: 20, L/R) – MLB Prospect Rank: #13
Dylan Beavers (OF, Age: 23, L/R) – BAL Prospect Rank: #6

NOTABLE NON-ROSTER INVITES:
Matt Bowman (RP, Age: 33, RHP)
Corbin Martin (RP, Age: 29, RHP)
Nick Gordon (2B/CF, Age: 29, L/R)
Emmanuel Rivera (3B/1B, Age: 28, R/R)
Liván Soto (INF, Age: 24, L/R)
Jordyn Adams (OF, Age: 25, R/R)
Daz Cameron (OF, Age: 28, R/R)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:
MVP: SS Gunnar Henderson
Breakout Player: SP Tomoyuki Sugano
Addition: RF Tyler O’Neill
Grade: B
Lineup Rank: 1st
Rotation Rank: 11th
Bullpen Rank: 2nd

It has been a huge step in the right direction over the past two seasons for the Orioles, as we have seen a resurgence in Baltimore baseball. The big knock has been their playoff performance, as they have been swept in the first round in both 2023 and 2024. With a wide open American League, they’ll look to make another run in 2025, with a similar core. Anthony Santander and Corbin Burnes both left in free agency, leaving two big holes that they hope the young core can fill. Tyler O’Neill was signed to replace Santander in the OF, coming off of his best power year and a Gold Glove season in Boston. Henderson and Rutschman remain the stars of the team, with Jackson Holliday poised to be the Opening Day 2B. Veterans Gary Sanchez, Dylan Carlson, and Ramon Laureano were all added is bench bats for depth.

The rotation will have a new ace, with Zach Eflin becoming the headliner of the pack. Grayson Rodriguez, Dean Kremer, and Cade Povich are all youngsters that will see big innings this year, and veteran Charlie Morton was also added entering his age-41 season. A dark horse is 35-year-old rookie Tomoyuki Sugano, an NPB star who decided to come to the States and can be a reliable spot starter/bullpen arm. Felix Bautista will return from injury and reclaim his closer role with Cano, Dominguez, and Soto surrounding him. I like Baltimore, but with a few big losses, I see them taking a step back this year. I like the Yankees and Red Sox a bit more to finish with a better record. They’ll be a strong team in the mix for the 3rd Wild Card though.

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Boston Red Sox

Manager: Alex Cora
7th year (2nd stint)
Career/Team record: 521-451, Career Playoff record: 17-8 – AGE: 49

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
CF	#16	Jarren Duran	28	L/R	.285 AVG, 21 HR, 75 RBI, 34 SB
3B	#2	Alex Bregman	30	R/R	.260 AVG, 26 HR, 75 RBI, .768 OPS – (HOU)
1B	#36	Triston Casas	25	L/R	.241 AVG, 13 HR, 32 RBI, .800 OPS
DH	#11	Rafael Devers	28	L/R	.272 AVG, 28 HR, 83 RBI, .871 OPS
LF	#7	Masataka Yoshida	31	L/R	.280 AVG, 10 HR, 56 RBI, .765 OPS
RF	#52	Wilyer Abreu	25	L/L	.253 AVG, 15 HR, 58 RBI, .781 OPS
SS	#10	Trevor Story	32	R/R	.255 AVG, 2 HR, 10 RBI, .733 OPS
C	#12	Connor Wong	28	R/R	.280 AVG, 13 HR, 52 RBI, .758 OPS
2B	#28	Kristian Campbell (R)	22	R/R	MLB Prospect Rank: #7

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
C	#75	Carlos Narváez (R)	26	R/R	3/13 – (NYY)
UTIL	#3	Ceddanne Rafaela	23	R/R	.246 AVG, 15 HR, 75 RBI, 19 SB
INF	#17	David Hamilton	27	L/R	.248 AVG, 8 HR, 28 RBI, 33 SB
OF	#30	Rob Refsnyder	33	R/R	.283 AVG, 11 HR, 40 RBI, .830 OPS

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
A	#35	Garrett Crochet	25	LHP	6-12, 3.58 ERA, 209 Ks, 1.07 WHIP – (CWS)
2	#0	Walker Buehler	30	RHP	1-6, 5.38 ERA, 64 Ks, 1.55 WHIP – (LAD)
3	#54	Lucas Giolito	30	RHP	DNP – Tommy John Surgery
4	#66	Brayan Bello	25	RHP	14-8, 4.49 ERA, 153 Ks, 1.36 WHIP
5	#89	Tanner Houck	28	RHP	9-10, 3.12 ERA, 154 Ks, 1.14 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
CP	#31	Liam Hendriks	36	RHP	DNP – Tommy John Surgery
SU	#44	Aroldis Chapman	36	LHP	14 SVs, 3.79 ERA, 98 Ks, 1.35 WHIP – (PIT)
RP	#57	Greg Weissert	30	RHP	1 SV, 3.13 ERA, 58 Ks, 1.34 WHIP
RP	#32	Justin Wilson	37	LHP	2 SVs, 5.59 ERA, 51 Ks, 1.46 WHIP – (CIN)
RP	#63	Justin Slaten	27	RHP	2 SVs, 2.93 ERA, 58 Ks, 1.01 WHIP
RP	#76	Zack Kelly	29	RHP	56.2 IP, 3.97 ERA, 61 Ks, 1.25 WHIP
LNG	#22	Garrett Whitlock	28	RHP	18.1 IP, 1.96 ERA, 17 Ks, 1.15 WHIP
LNG	#50	Kutter Crawford	28	RHP	9-16, 4.36 ERA, 175 Ks, 1.12 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
SP	#43	Patrick Sandoval	28	LHP	Tommy John Surgery Potential return in August
RP	#72	Chris Murphy	26	LHP	Tommy John Surgery Potential return in May

DEPTH PIECES ON 40-MAN ROSTER:
Cooper Criswell – #64 (SP, Age: 28, RHP)
Josh Winckowski – #25 (RP, Age: 26, RHP)
Quinn Priester – #68 (RP, Age: 24, RHP)
Brennan Bernardino – #83 (RP, Age: 33, LHP)
Luis Guerrero – #99 (RP, Age: 24, RHP) – BOS Prospect Rank: #26
Zach Penrod – #67 (RP, Age: 27, LHP)
Richard Fitts – #80 (RP, Age: 25, RHP)
Blake Sabol – #18 (C, Age: 27, L/R)
Romy González – #23 (INF, Age: 28, R/R)
Vaughn Grissom – #5 (INF, Age: 24, R/R)
Nick Sogard – #20 (INF, Age: 27, S/R)

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2025:
Roman Anthony (OF, Age: 20, L/R) – MLB Prospect Rank: #2
Marcelo Mayer (SS, Age: 22, L/R) – MLB Prospect Rank: #12
Jhostynxon Garcia (OF, Age: 22, R/R) – BOS Prospect Rank: #6
Hunter Dobbins (P, Age: 25, RHP) – BOS Prospect Rank: #13

NOTABLE NON-ROSTER INVITES:
Bryan Mata (SP, Age: 25, RHP)
Matt Moore (RP, Age: 35, LHP)
Michael Fulmer (RP, Age: 32, RHP)
Austin Adams (RP, Age: 33, RHP)
Jovani Morán (RP, Age: 27, LHP)
Sean Newcomb (RP, Age: 31, LHP)
Seby Zavala (C, Age: 31, R/R)
Abraham Toro (UTIL, Age: 28, S/R)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:
MVP: 3B Rafael Devers
Breakout Player: OF Roman Anthony
Addition: 3B Alex Bregman
Grade: A-
Lineup Rank: 5th
Rotation Rank: 7th
Bullpen Rank: 13th

The Red Sox’s rebuild seems to be short-lived as they became one of the winners of the 2025 offseason. Sure they missed out on Juan Soto, but adding star 3B Alex Bregman, and top of the rotation arms in Garrett Crochet and Walker Buehler should be satisfying alternatives. The drama has already started on where everyone will play, with Rafael Devers taking exception to buzz of changing to a DH or 1B. Regardless, Bregman and Devers will headline the lineup with all-star Jarren Duran. Trevor Story, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Triston Casas will be favorites to round out the infield, with two of baseball’s best prospects Kristian Campbell and Roman Anthony as potential Opening Day starters. This offense is much improved, and if all goes right, can be one of the most loaded lineups in the game.

The rotation was the big issue last year, relying on Brayan Bello, Tanner Houck, and Kutter Crawford as the headlining arms. This year will be much different as the group will be built around all-star Crochet and Buehler, and Lucas Giolito set to return after missing all of 2024. Liam Hendriks will also return from a missed year, and should step in as the clear cut closer with Aroldis Chapman as the 8th inning man. The biggest thing that sticks out to me about Boston is their depth, compared to their extremely weak roster in 2024. Last year, they were scraping the bottom of the barrel to fill out a team, but this year should be much different. They’re still a step behind the Yankees, but they should be seen in the same class as Baltimore.

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New York Yankees

Manager: Aaron Boone
8th year
Career/Team record: 603-429, Career Playoff record: 22-23 – AGE: 52

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
2B	#13	Jazz Chisholm Jr.	27	L/R	.256 AVG, 24 HR, 73 RBI, 40 SB – (MIA/NYY)
CF	#35	Cody Bellinger	29	L/L	.266 AVG, 18 HR, 78 RBI, .751 OPS – (CHC)
RF	#99	Aaron Judge	32	R/R	.322 AVG, 58 HR, 144 RBI, 1.159 OPS
1B	#48	Paul Goldschmidt	37	R/R	.245 AVG, 22 HR, 65 RBI, 11 SB – (STL)
LF	#24	Jasson Domínguez (R)	22	S/R	.179 AVG, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 5 SB
C	#28	Austin Wells	25	L/R	.229 AVG, 13 HR, 55 RBI, .718 OPS
3B	#26	D.J. LeMahieu	36	R/R	.204 AVG, 2 HR, 26 RBI, .527 OPS
DH	#93	Ben Rice	25	L/R	.171 AVG, 7 HR, 23 RBI, .613 OPS
SS	#11	Anthony Volpe	23	R/R	.243 AVG, 12 HR, 60 RBI, 28 SB

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
C	#79	J.C. Escarra (R)	29	L/R	DNP – Played in AAA
INF	#91	Oswald Peraza	24	R/R	2/10, 1 HR, 1 RBI, .773 OPS
UTIL	#95	Oswaldo Cabrera	25	S/R	.247 AVG, 8 HR, 36 RBI, .661 OPS
OF	#12	Trent Grisham	28	L/L	.190 AVG, 9 HR, 31 RBI, .675 OPS

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
A	#54	Max Fried	31	LHP	11-10, 3.25 ERA, 166 Ks, 1.16 WHIP – (ATL)
2	#55	Carlos Rodón	32	LHP	16-9, 3.96 ERA, 195 Ks, 1.22 WHIP
3	#0	Marcus Stroman	33	RHP	10-9, 4.31 ERA, 113 Ks, 1.47 WHIP
4	#36	Clarke Schmidt	28	RHP	5-5, 2.85 ERA, 93 Ks, 1.18 WHIP
5	#59	Carlos Carrasco	38	RHP	3-10, 5.64 ERA, 89 Ks, 1.40 WHIP – (CLE)

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
CP	#38	Devin Williams	30	RHP	14 SVs, 1.25 ERA, 38 Ks, 0.97 WHIP – (MIL)
SU	#30	Luke Weaver	31	RHP	4 SVs, 2.89 ERA, 103 Ks, 0.93 WHIP
RP	#71	Ian Hamilton	29	RHP	1 SV, 3.82 ERA, 41 Ks, 1.35 WHIP
RP	#41	Tim Hill	35	LHP	67 IP, 3.36 ERA, 31 Ks, 1.43 WHIP – (CWS/NYY)
RP	#63	Fernando Cruz	34	RHP	66.2 IP, 4.86 ERA, 109 Ks, 1.34 WHIP – (CIN)
RP	#56	Mark Leiter Jr.	33	RHP	58 IP, 4.50 ERA, 86 Ks, 1.33 WHIP – (CHC/NYY)
RP	#61	Jake Cousins	30	RHP	1 SV, 2.37 ERA, 53 Ks, 1.05 WHIP
LNG		Ryan Yarbrough	33	LHP	1 SV, 3.19 ERA, 65 Ks, 1.03 WHIP – (LAD/TOR)

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
SP	#45	Gerrit Cole	34	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Will miss the entire season
SP	#81	Luis Gil	26	RHP	Lat strain Potential return in June
RP	#43	Jonathan Loaisiga	30	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Potential return in May
DH	#27	Giancarlo Stanton	35	R/R	Elbow injury Could miss the entire season

DEPTH PIECES ON 40-MAN ROSTER:
J.T. Brubaker – #34 (SP, Age: 31, RHP)
Will Warren – #98 (SP, Age: 25, RHP) – NYY Prospect Rank: #5
Clayton Beeter – #85 (RP, Age: 26, RHP) – NYY Prospect Rank: #22
Yoendrys Gómez – #94 (RP, Age: 25, RHP) – NYY Prospect Rank: #25
Scott Effross – #57 (RP, Age: 31, RHP)
Yerry De Los Santos – #73 (RP, Age: 27, RHP)
Brent Headrick – #97 (RP, Age: 27, LHP)
Braden Shewmake – #89 (INF, Age: 27, L/R)
Everson Pereira – #80 (OF, Age: 23, R/R) – NYY Prospect Rank: #14

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2025:
Spencer Jones (OF, Age: 23, L/L) – NYY Prospect Rank: #3
Cam Schlittler (P, Age: 24, RHP) – NYY Prospect Rank: #12

NOTABLE NON-ROSTER INVITES:
Tyler Matzek (RP, Age: 34, LHP)
Rob Zastryzny (RP, Age: 33, LHP)
Geoff Hartlieb (RP, Age: 31, RHP)
Colten Brewer (RP, Age: 32, RHP)
Pablo Reyes (INF, Age: 31, R/R)
Andrew Velazquez (UTIL, Age: 30, S/R)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:
MVP: RF Aaron Judge
Breakout Player: OF Jasson Dominguez
Addition: SP Max Fried
Grade: B
Lineup Rank: 3rd
Rotation Rank: 6th
Bullpen Rank: 9th

There’s no denying that after their first World Series appearance since 2009, the Yankees’ offseason was overshadowed by the departure of star Juan Soto to the rival Mets. A move that definitely left many Yankee fans in shambles, led to the front office deciding to blow past the budget and finally address some much needed depth. On the offensive side, the lineup was nothing without Judge or Soto last year, and Brian Cashman took charge in adding depth with the money he saved from not signing Soto. He traded for former MVP Cody Bellinger from the Cubs, while signing another former MVP Paul Goldschmidt to take over 1B. In doing so, they let Gleyber Torres, Anthony Rizzo, and Alex Verdugo walk in free agency, giving the LF reigns to top prospect, and finally healthy, Jasson Dominguez. The question lies in what the team can get out of veteran D.J. LeMahieu and former top prospect Anthony Volpe.

The rotation has begun to develop into one of the best in baseball, with Max Fried getting signed to a massive 8-year deal to be the 1-2 punch alongside Gerrit Cole. Rodon, Gil, Schmidt, and Stroman all return to bring depth to the rotation and duke it out for a solidified role. Devin Williams was also acquired from Milwaukee to become the new closer, as Luke Weaver, Ian Hamilton, Mark Leiter, and more will be looked at to anchor the middle relief innings for the bullpen. The Yankees are still the best team in the AL East, despite losing their star OF. The American League also remains extremely wide open, and a return to the World Series shouldn’t be counted out.

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Tampa Bay Rays

Manager: Kevin Cash
11th year
Career/Team record: 819-699, Career Playoff record: 15-19 – AGE: 47

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
1B	#2	Yandy Díaz	33	R/R	.281 AVG, 14 HR, 65 RBI, .755 OPS
2B	#8	Brandon Lowe	30	L/R	.244 AVG, 21 HR, 58 RBI, .783 OPS
LF	#24	Christopher Morel	25	R/R	.196 AVG, 21 HR, 60 RBI, 8 SB – (CHC/TB)
RF	#15	Josh Lowe	27	L/R	.241 AVG, 10 HR, 34 RBI, 25 SB
3B	#13	Junior Caminero	21	R/R	.248 AVG, 6 HR, 18 RBI, .724 OPS
DH	#74	Eloy Jiménez	28	R/R	.238 AVG, 6 HR, 23 RBI, .626 OPS – (CWS/BAL)
SS	#77	José Caballero	28	R/R	.227 AVG, 9 HR, 44 RBI, 44 SB
C	#19	Danny Jansen	29	R/R	.205 AVG, 9 HR, 24 RBI, .658 OPS – (TOR/BOS)
CF	#21	Jonny DeLuca	26	R/R	.217 AVG, 6 HR, 31 RBI, 16 SB

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
C	#30	Ben Rortvedt	27	L/R	.228 AVG, 3 HR, 31 RBI, .621 OPS
1B	#62	Jonathan Aranda	26	L/R	.234 AVG, 6 HR, 14 RBI, .737 OPS
UTIL	#1	Richie Palacios	27	L/R	.223 AVG, 5 HR, 21 RBI, 19 SB
UTIL	#6	Taylor Walls	28	S/R	.183 AVG, 1 HR, 14 RBI, 16 SB

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
A	#18	Shane McClanahan	27	LHP	DNP – Tommy John Surgery
2	#11	Shane Baz	25	RHP	4-3, 3.06 ERA, 69 Ks, 1.06 WHIP
3	#52	Zack Littell	29	RHP	8-10, 3.63 ERA, 141 Ks, 1.25 WHIP
4	#44	Ryan Pepiot	27	RHP	8-8, 3.60 ERA, 142 Ks, 1.15 WHIP
5	#45	Taj Bradley	23	RHP	8-11, 4.11 ERA, 154 Ks, 1.22 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
CP	#29	Pete Fairbanks	31	RHP	23 SVs, 3.57 ERA, 44 Ks, 1.17 WHIP
CP	#60	Garrett Cleavinger	30	LHP	6 SVs, 3.75 ERA, 31 Ks, 1.38 WHIP
RP	#57	Drew Rasmussen	29	RHP	1 SV, 2.83 ERA, 35 Ks, 1.08 WHIP
RP	#49	Kevin Kelly	27	RHP	1 SV, 2.67 ERA, 63 Ks, 0.96 WHIP
RP	#63	Edwin Uceta	27	RHP	5 SVs, 1.51 ERA, 57 Ks, 0.82 WHIP
RP	#39	Manuel Rodríguez	28	RHP	2 SVs, 2.15 ERA, 34 Ks, 1.06 WHIP
RP	#48	Mason Montgomery (R)	24	LHP	9.2 IP, 1.86 ERA, 17 Ks, 1.14 WHIP
LNG	#31	Alex Faedo	29	RHP	57.1 IP, 3.61 ERA, 55 Ks, 1.34 WHIP – (DET)

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
SS/2B	#7	Ha-seong Kim	29	R/R	Shoulder surgery Potential return in May

DEPTH PIECES ON 40-MAN ROSTER:
Joe Boyle – #36 (SP, Age: 25, RHP)
Jacob Waguespack – #40 (RP, Age: 31, RHP)
Cole Sulser – #71 (RP, Age: 34, RHP)
Eric Orze – #17 (RP, Age: 27, RHP)
Mason Englert – #59 (RP, Age: 25, RHP)
Hunter Bigge – #43 (RP, Age: 26, RHP)
Logan Driscoll – #41 (C, Age: 27, L/R)
Curtis Mead – #25 (INF, Age: 24, R/R)

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2025:
Carson Williams (SS, Age: 21, R/R) – MLB Prospect Rank: #9
Chandler Simpson (OF, Age: 24, L/R) – TB Prospect Rank: #7
Dominic Keegan (C, Age: 24, R/R) – TB Prospect Rank: #13

NOTABLE NON-ROSTER INVITES:
Jonathan Hernández (RP, Age: 28, RHP)
Joey Krehbiel (RP, Age: 32, RHP)
Jake Brentz (RP, Age: 30, LHP)
Tres Barrera (C, Age: 30, R/R)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:
MVP: 1B Yandy Diaz
Breakout Player: RP Mason Montgomery
Addition: 2B/SS Ha-seong Kim
Grade: C
Lineup Rank: 14th
Rotation Rank: 12th
Bullpen Rank: 4th

The Rays seem to be in a stall as they try to navigate one of the toughest divisions in baseball. Sure, it doesn’t help when the big markets are spending 5-times the amount you are, but the development on offense has not been there. Their pitching lab still remains elite, but offensive numbers have hit a huge decline in recent years. Plus, their only reliable hitters in Yandy Diaz and Brandon Lowe have been involved in trade rumors and are on expiring contracts. Tampa will need to see development from a few guys, and it starts with former top prospects Jose Caballero and Junior Caminero. Veterans Eloy Jimenez and Danny Jansen will look to turn around their dreadful 2024 seasons, while Ha-seong Kim becomes a main focal point after being signed to a wealthy deal. It’s going to be an uphill battle for the Rays to put up runs yet again in 2025.

Now the pitching is where the franchise always flourishes, and this will be their main pathway to a potential Wild Card spot. Top arms Shane McClanahan and Shane Baz are now fully healthy and ready to anchor the rotation once again. Zack Littell and Ryan Pepiot had great seasons last year and will be key pieces to round out the rotation. Pete Fairbanks, Garrett Cleavinger, and Drew Rasmussen should be the headliners for the back end of the bullpen, potentially serving as a closer-by-committee. There’s no doubt that the Rays will need their offense to flourish if they want to compete, and relying on their pitching to at least be solid should be a given. We always count the Rays out at the wrong time, so in a weak AL it isn’t far fetched to see them make a run. We’ll see what long-time manager Kevin Cash has up his sleeve.

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Toronto Blue Jays

Manager: John Schneider
4th year
Career/Team record: 209-189, Career Playoff record: 0-4 – AGE: 45

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
LF	#4	George Springer	35	R/R	.220 AVG, 19 HR, 56 RBI, 16 SB
SS	#11	Bo Bichette	26	R/R	.225 AVG, 4 HR, 31 RBI, 5 SB
1B	#27	Vladimir Guerrero Jr.	25	R/R	.323 AVG, 30 HR, 103 RBI, .940 OPS
DH	#25	Anthony Santander	30	S/R	.235 AVG, 44 HR, 102 RBI, .814 OPS – (BAL)
C	#30	Alejandro Kirk	26	R/R	.253 AVG, 5 HR, 54 RBI, .677 OPS
CF	#5	Daulton Varsho	28	L/R	.214 AVG, 18 HR, 58 RBI, 10 SB
3B	#22	Ernie Clement	28	R/R	.263 AVG, 12 HR, 51 RBI, 12 SB
RF	#36	Davis Schneider	26	R/R	.191 AVG, 13 HR, 46 RBI, 6 SB
2B	#0	Andrés Giménez	26	L/R	.252 AVG, 9 HR, 63 RBI, 30 SB – (CLE)

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
C	#55	Tyler Heineman	33	S/R	1/12 – (BOS/TOR)
INF	#7	Will Wagner (R)	26	L/R	.305 AVG, 2 HR, 11 RBI, .788 OPS
OF	#3	Myles Straw	30	R/R	1/4, 2 SB – (CLE)
OF	#38	Nathan Lukes (R)	30	L/R	.303 AVG, 1 HR, 10 RBI, .818 OPS

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
A	#34	Kevin Gausman	34	RHP	14-11, 3.83 ERA, 162 Ks, 1.22 WHIP
2	#17	José Berríos	30	RHP	16-11, 3.60 ERA, 153 Ks, 1.15 WHIP
3	#40	Chris Bassitt	35	RHP	10-14, 4.16 ERA, 168 Ks, 1.46 WHIP
4	#31	Max Scherzer	40	RHP	2-4, 3.95 ERA, 40 Ks, 1.15 WHIP – (TEX)
5	#44	Bowden Francis	28	RHP	8-5, 3.30 ERA, 92 Ks, 0.93 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
CP	#23	Jeff Hoffman	32	RHP	10 SVs, 2.17 ERA, 89 Ks, 0.96 WHIP – (PHI)
SU	#93	Yimi García	34	RHP	5 SVs, 2.70 ERA, 42 Ks, 0.80 WHIP
RP	#57	Chad Green	33	RHP	17 SVs, 3.21 ERA, 46 Ks, 1.03 WHIP
RP	#52	Nick Sandlin	28	RHP	1 SV, 3.75 ERA, 68 Ks, 1.27 WHIP – (CLE)
RP	#45	Tommy Nance	33	RHP	22 IP, 4.09 ERA, 19 Ks, 1.23 WHIP
RP	#43	Ryan Burr	30	RHP	32.2 IP, 4.13 ERA, 47 Ks, 1.26 WHIP
RP	#68	Richard Lovelady	29	LHP	2 SVs, 4.46 ERA, 26 Ks, 1.31 WHIP – (CHC/TOR)
LNG	#29	Yariel Rodríguez	27	RHP	1-8, 4.47 ERA, 85 Ks, 1.32 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
SP	#6	Alek Manoah	27	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Potential return in June

DEPTH PIECES ON 40-MAN ROSTER:
Jake Bloss – #39 (SP, Age: 23, RHP) – TOR Prospect Rank: #6
Zach Pop – #56 (RP, Age: 28, RHP)
Dillon Tate (RP, Age: 30, RHP)
Erik Swanson – #50 (RP, Age: 31, RHP)
Josh Walker – #21 (RP, Age: 30, LHP)
Nick Robertson – #33 (RP, Age: 26, RHP)
Easton Lucas – #62 (RP, Age: 28, LHP)
Addison Barger – #47 (INF, Age: 25, L/R)
Leo Jiménez – #49 (2B/SS, Age: 23, R/R)
Orelvis Martinez – #13 (SS, Age: 23, R/R) – TOR Prospect Rank: #3
Joey Loperfido – #10 (OF, Age: 25, L/R)
Jonatan Clase – #8 (OF, Age: 22, S/R)
Steward Berroa – #37 (OF, Age: 25, S/R)

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2025:
Alan Roden (OF, Age: 25, L/R) – TOR Prospect Rank: #5
Josh Kasevich (SS, Age: 24, R/R) – TOR Prospect Rank: #7

NOTABLE NON-ROSTER INVITES:
Jacob Barnes (RP, Age: 34, RHP)
Eric Lauer (RP, Age: 29, LHP)
Christian Bethancourt (C/INF, Age: 33, R/R)
Ali Sánchez (C, Age: 28, R/R)
Michael Stefanic (INF, Age: 29, R/R)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:
MVP: 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Breakout Player: INF Orelvis Martinez
Addition: RF Anthony Santander
Grade: C+
Lineup Rank: 6th
Rotation Rank: 4th
Bullpen Rank: 6th

In all honesty, it did not seem like a fun offseason for the Blue Jays despite landing a few solid pieces to push to compete in 2025. They missed out on all of their top targets, while settling for Anthony Santander and overpaying for Jeff Hoffman. Yes these aren’t terrible moves, but no where near what they wanted to add for Vlad’s and Bo’s expiring contract seasons. Both will hit the free agent market after the year and will demand a lot, making it likely that Toronto goes all in on one last run with this core before a shake up. When healthy, the lineup is solid. Springer has hit a decline but Vlad, Bo, Santander, Kirk, and Varsho are all solid middle of the order bats. Perennial gold glover Andres Gimenez was also added from Cleveland, giving them a sure glove at 2B and potential successor to Bichette at SS for the future.

The rotation will have a lot of what-if’s as one of the oldest groups in the league. Kevin Gausman had a down year in 2024 and Max Scherzer can’t be relied on to be a big game pitcher at 40-years-old. Still, Jose Berrios is elite and consistent, while Bowden Francis gave them hope to become a top of the line starter in the majors. Jeff Hoffman was signed in hopes to be converted to a starter, but it seems more likely he remains in the bullpen as the closer. Veterans Yimi Garcia and Chad Green are quality arms to shield Hoffman in the back end of the bullpen. On paper, the Blue Jays have had a great core for a while but can’t seem to get over the hump. They have star power and plenty of depth with young and solid big leaguers on the horizon. We’ll see if they can compete and justify not trading Vlad or Bo at the deadline, but it’ll be tough behind the Sox, Yanks, and Orioles.

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Chicago White Sox

Manager: Will Venable
1st year – AGE: 42

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
RF	#18	Mike Tauchman	34	L/L	.248 AVG, 7 HR, 29 RBI, .723 OPS – (CHC)
CF	#88	Luis Robert Jr.	27	R/R	.224 AVG, 14 HR, 35 RBI, 23 SB
1B	#25	Andrew Vaughn	26	R/R	.246 AVG, 19 HR, 70 RBI, .699 OPS
LF	#23	Andrew Benintendi	30	L/L	.229 AVG, 20 HR, 64 RBI, .685 OPS
C	#26	Korey Lee	26	R/R	.210 AVG, 12 HR, 37 RBI, 6 SB
SS	#83	Colson Montgomery (R)	22	L/R	MLB Prospect Rank: #39
DH	#15	Austin Slater	32	R/R	.209 AVG, 2 HR, 18 RBI, 3 SB – (SF/CIN/BAL)
3B	#5	Josh Rojas	30	L/R	.225 AVG, 8 HR, 31 RBI, 10 SB – (SEA)
2B	#20	Miguel Vargas	25	R/R	.150 AVG, 5 HR, 16 RBI, 3 SB – (LAD/CWS)

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
C	#29	Matt Thaiss	29	L/R	.204 AVG, 2 HR, 16 RBI, .622 OPS – (LAA)
INF	#27	Brooks Baldwin (R)	24	S/R	.211 AVG, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 4 SB
OF	#24	Michael A. Taylor	33	R/R	.193 AVG, 5 HR, 23 RBI, 12 SB – (PIT)
OF	#22	Oscar Colás	26	L/L	9/33, 0 HR, 4 RBI, .641 OPS

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
A	#54	Martín Pérez	33	LHP	5-6, 4.53 ERA, 107 Ks, 1.48 WHIP – (PIT/SD)
2	#48	Jonathan Cannon	24	RHP	5-10, 4.49 ERA, 91 Ks, 1.33 WHIP
3	#65	Davis Martin	28	RHP	0-5, 4.32 ERA, 47 Ks, 1.46 WHIP
4	#47	Bryse Wilson	27	RHP	5-4, 4.04 ERA, 82 Ks, 1.27 WHIP – (MIL)
5	#59	Sean Burke (R)	25	RHP	2-0, 1.42 ERA, 22 Ks, 1.00 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
CP	#52	Mike Clevinger	34	RHP	0-3, 6.75 ERA, 15 Ks, 1.94 WHIP
SU	#55	Fraser Ellard	27	LHP	1 SV, 3.75 ERA, 26 Ks, 1.25 WHIP
RP	#60	Justin Anderson	32	RHP	1 SV, 4.39 ERA, 57 Ks, 1.50 WHIP
RP	#71	Cam Booser	32	LHP	1 SV, 3.38 ERA, 43 Ks, 1.34 WHIP – (BOS)
RP	#63	Penn Murfee	30	RHP	DNP – Tommy John Surgery
RP	#58	Jairo Iriarte (R)	23	RHP	6 IP, 1.50 ERA, 6 Ks, 1.80 WHIP
RP	#37	Gus Varland	28	RHP	26.1 IP, 3.42 ERA, 27 Ks, 1.44 WHIP – (LAD/CWS)
LNG	#49	Jordan Leasure	26	RHP	2 SVs, 6.32 ERA, 26 Ks, 1.60 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
SP	#33	Drew Thorpe	24	RHP	Elbow surgery Potential return in May
SP	#57	Ky Bush (R)	25	LHP	Tommy John Surgery Will miss the entire season
RP	#66	Prelander Berroa (R)	24	RHP	Elbow strain Potential return in May
RP	#62	Jesse Scholtens	30	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Potential return in June

DEPTH PIECES ON 40-MAN ROSTER:
Nick Nastrini – #43 (SP, Age: 25, RHP) – CWS Prospect Rank: #27
Jared Shuster – #51 (SP, Age: 26, LHP)
Owen White – #57 (RP, Age: 25, RHP)
Tyler Gilbert – #40 (RP, Age: 31, LHP)
Brandon Eisert – #53 (RP, Age: 27, LHP)
Jake Eder – #46 (RP, Age: 26, LHP)
Jacob Amaya – #8 (INF, Age: 26, R/R)
Bryan Ramos – #44 (UTIL, Age: 22, R/R) – CWS Prospect Rank: #15
Lenyn Sosa – #50 (INF, Age: 25, R/R)
Dominic Fletcher – #7 (OF, Age: 27, L/L)

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2025:
Noah Schultz (P, Age: 21, LHP) – MLB Prospect Rank: #16
Kyle Teel (C, Age: 23, L/R) – MLB Prospect Rank: #32
Edgar Quero (C, Age: 21, S/R) – MLB Prospect Rank: #65
Chase Meidroth (P, Age: 23, RHP) – CWS Prospect Rank: #8
Mason Adams (P, Age: 25, RHP – CWS Prospect Rank: #12

NOTABLE NON-ROSTER INVITES:
Justin Dunn (SP, Age: 29, RHP)
James Karinchak (RP, Age: 29, RHP)
Jonathan Heasley (RP, Age: 28, RHP)
Dan Altavilla (RP, Age: 32, RHP)
Omar Narváez (C, Age: 33, L/R)
Bobby Dalbec (1B, Age: 29, R/R)
Brandon Drury (UTIL, Age: 32, R/R)
Corey Julks (OF, Age: 29, R/R)
Nick Maton (UTIL, Age: 28, L/R)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:
MVP: CF Luis Robert Jr.
Breakout Player: SP Sean Burke
Addition: SP Martin Perez
Grade: F
Lineup Rank: 15th
Rotation Rank: 15th
Bullpen Rank: 15th

I’ll be honest, there isn’t a ton to say about the White Sox who hit the deepest depths of a rebuild in 2024. The Sox finished 41-121, setting a new record for losses in baseball history. The only positives for the season have been traded away, with ace Garrett Crochet getting dealt to the Red Sox. Now they’ll try to piece together a team that won’t set a new record at 122 losses. Luis Robert is the one star caliber piece that still remains, but a trade seems imminent for him. Veterans Andrew Vaughn, Mike Tauchman, and Andrew Benintendi will all be summoned to carry the weight of the offense. Other vets in Joey Gallo, Brandon Drury, Omar Narvaez, and Bobby Dalbec will all attempt to crack the roster out of Spring Training. The positives will be the likely debuts of a few top prospects, with SS Colson Montgomery, C Kyle Teel, and P Noah Schultz likely to enter the bigs at some point.

On the pitching side, the rotation is fully up in the air, with not a single spot definite for any singular player. Veteran Martin Perez will likely get a spot, while some foursome of Jonathan Cannon, Davis Martin, Jared Shuster, Bryse Wilson, Nick Nastrini, Jordan Leasure, or Drew Thorpe should round it out. Mike Clevinger will likely move into a high leverage bullpen role after battling injuries in his mid-30s. The bottom line is that there is not much hope for Chicago, as they’ll likely be at the bottom of the league in standings, attendance, and all out hope.

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Cleveland Guardians

Manager: Stephen Vogt
2nd year
Career/Team record: 92-69, Career Playoff record: 4-6 – AGE: 40

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
LF	#38	Steven Kwan	27	L/L	.292 AVG, 14 HR, 44 RBI, .793 OPS
CF	#8	Lane Thomas	29	R/R	.237 AVG, 15 HR, 63 RBI, 32 SB – (WSH/CLE)
3B	#11	José Ramirez	32	S/R	.279 AVG, 39 HR, 118 RBI, 41 SB
1B	#41	Carlos Santana	38	S/R	.238 AVG, 23 HR, 71 RBI, .749 OPS – (MIN)
RF	#43	Jhonkensy Noel	23	R/R	.218 AVG, 13 HR, 28 RBI, .774 OPS
DH	#9	Kyle Manzardo	24	L/R	.234 AVG, 5 HR, 15 RBI, .703 OPS
C	#23	Bo Naylor	25	L/R	.201 AVG, 13 HR, 39 RBI, 6 SB
2B	#13	Gabriel Arias	24	R/R	.222 AVG, 3 HR, 15 RBI, 5 SB
SS	#4	Brayan Rocchio	24	S/R	.206 AVG, 8 HR, 36 RBI, 10 SB

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
C	#27	Austin Hedges	32	R/R	.152 AVG, 2 HR, 15 RBI, 2 SB
UTIL	#10	Daniel Schneemann	28	L/R	.218 AVG, 5 HR, 22 RBI, .671 OPS
RF/1B	#17	Will Brennan	27	L/L	.264 AVG, 8 HR, 30 RBI, .697 OPS
OF		Nolan Jones	26	L/R	.227 AVG, 3 HR, 28 RBI, 5 SB – (COL)

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
A	#28	Tanner Bibee	25	RHP	12-8, 3.47 ERA, 187 Ks, 1.12 WHIP
2	#39	Ben Lively	32	RHP	13-10, 3.81 ERA, 118 Ks, 1.25 WHIP
3	#24	Triston McKenzie	27	RHP	3-5, 5.11 ERA, 74 Ks, 1.56 WHIP
4	#32	Gavin Williams	25	RHP	3-10, 4.86 ERA, 79 Ks, 1.37 WHIP
5	#26	Logan Allen	26	LHP	8-5, 5.73 ERA, 79 Ks, 1.58 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
CP	#48	Emmanuel Clase	26	RHP	47 SVs, 0.61 ERA, 66 Ks, 0.66 WHIP
SU	#34	Paul Sewald	34	RHP	16 SVs, 4.31 ERA, 43 Ks, 1.13 WHIP – (ARI)
RP	#33	Hunter Gaddis	26	RHP	74.2 IP, 1.57 ERA, 66 Ks, 0.76 WHIP
RP	#36	Cade Smith	25	RHP	1 SV, 1.91 ERA, 103 Ks, 0.90 WHIP
RP	#29	Tim Herrin	28	LHP	65.2 IP, 1.92 ERA, 68 Ks, 0.97 WHIP
RP	#62	Erik Sabrowski (R)	27	LHP	1 SV, 0.00 ERA, 19 Ks, 0.79 WHIP
LNG	#16	Jakob Junis	32	RHP	1 SV, 2.69 ERA, 51 Ks, 0.85 WHIP – (MIL)
LNG	#45	Luis Ortiz	26	RHP	1 SV, 3.32 ERA, 107 Ks, 1.11 WHIP – (PIT)

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
C/1B	#6	David Fry	29	R/R	Elbow injury Potential return in May
SP	#57	Shane Bieber	29	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Potential return in July
SP	#47	John Means	31	LHP	Tommy John Surgery Potential return in September
SP	#66	Daniel Espino (R)	24	RHP	Shoulder surgery Potential return in May
RP	#37	Trevor Stephan	29	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Potential return in June
RP	#31	Sam Hentges	28	LHP	Shoulder surgery Will miss the entire season

DEPTH PIECES ON 40-MAN ROSTER:
Joey Cantillo – #54 (SP, Age: 25, LHP) – CLE Prospect Rank: #11
Slade Cecconi – #44 (SP, Age: 25, RHP)
Andrew Waters – #63 (RP, Age: 24, RHP) – CLE Prospect Rank: #12
Johnathan Rodriguez – #30 (OF, Age: 25, R/R) – CLE Prospect Rank: #13
Angel Martinez – #1 (OF, Age: 23, S/R)

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2025:
Travis Bazzana (2B, Age: 22, L/R) – MLB Prospect Rank: #10
Chase DeLauter (OF, Age: 23, L/L) – MLB Prospect Rank: #36
C.J. Kayfus (1B/OF, Age: 23, L/L) – CLE Prospect Rank: #8
Parker Messick (P, Age: 24, LHP) – CLE Prospect Rank: #14

NOTABLE NON-ROSTER INVITES:
Kolby Allard (RP, Age: 27, LHP)
Luis Frías (RP, Age: 26, RHP)
Dom Nuñez (C, Age: 30, L/R)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:
MVP: 3B Jose Ramirez
Breakout Player: 1B Kyle Manzardo
Addition: 1B Carlos Santana
Grade: B-
Lineup Rank: 9th
Rotation Rank: 10th
Bullpen Rank: 1st

The Guardians are coming off of one of their most successful seasons in a long-time with first year Manager Stephen Vogt and a new core. They ended up advancing in two rounds of playoffs, before getting knocked off by the Yankees in the ALCS. They attacked this offseason looking to get better, but also embracing the young core they have. They traded away perennial gold glover Andres Gimenez in favor for younger and more controllable prospects. They re-signed former farm hand 1B Carlos Santana who hasn’t missed a step at 38-years-old to replace Josh Naylor who was dealt with an expiring contract. The emphasis of the lineup will be on the development around Brayan Rocchio and Gabriel Arias, who will now be the everyday middle infield for Cleveland. Two of baseballs top prospects Travis Bazzana and Chase DeLauter should also add ammo sometime this season.

The pitching has always been a solid staple for Cleveland, and their rotation and bullpen still look solid. Depth came in re-signing Shane Bieber as well as signing former Oriole John Means who will miss time to start the season. Tanner Bibee should be the ace of the bunch, with Triston McKenzie and Logan Allen looking to have bounce back seasons. Emmanuel Clase had a historic season, leading the AL in saves once again, although his postseason performance wasn’t quite up to par. Personally, I see Cleveland taking a step back this year and having more trouble competing. Everything clicked in 2024, but with all these injuries, lack of consistency in the lineup, and questions in the rotation, it may be too much to predict them as repeat winners in the AL Central. This division has become extremely competitive, and the Tigers, Royals, and Twins will all be coming in hot looking to win the division.

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Detroit Tigers

Manager: A.J. Hinch
5th year in Detroit, 12th year overall
Career record: 877-793, DET record: 307-341, Career Playoff record: 32-25 – AGE: 51

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
CF	#8	Matt Vierling	28	R/R	.257 AVG, 16 HR, 57 RBI, .735 OPS
LF	#31	Riley Greene	24	L/L	.262 AVG, 24 HR, 74 RBI, .827 OPS
1B	#33	Colt Keith	23	L/R	.260 AVG, 13 HR, 61 RBI, 7 SB
DH	#30	Kerry Carpenter	27	L/R	.284 AVG, 18 HR, 57 RBI, .932 OPS
2B	#25	Gleyber Torres	28	R/R	.257 AVG, 15 HR, 63 RBI, .709 OPS – (NYY)
3B	#17	Jace Jung (R)	24	L/R	.241 AVG, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .665 OPS
SS	#28	Javier Báez	32	R/R	.184 AVG, 6 HR, 37 RBI, 8 SB
RF	#22	Parker Meadows	25	L/R	.244 AVG, 9 HR, 28 RBI, .743 OPS
C	#34	Jake Rogers	29	R/R	.197 AVG, 10 HR, 36 RBI, .607 OPS

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
C	#13	Dillon Dingler (R)	26	R/R	.167 AVG, 1 HR, 11 RBI, .506 OPS
UTIL	#39	Zach McKinstry	29	L/R	.215 AVG, 4 HR, 23 RBI, 16 SB
INF	#77	Andy Ibáñez	31	R/R	.241 AVG, 5 HR, 32 RBI, .652 OPS
OF		Manuel Margot	30	R/R	.238 AVG, 4 HR, 31 RBI, .626 OPS – (MIN)

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
A	#29	Tarik Skubal	28	LHP	18-4, 2.39 ERA, 228 Ks, 0.92 WHIP
2	#9	Jack Flaherty	29	RHP	13-7, 3.17 ERA, 194 Ks, 1.07 WHIP – (LAD/DET)
3	#21	Jackson Jobe (R)	22	RHP	4 IP, 0.00 ERA, 2 Ks, 0.50 WHIP
4	#12	Casey Mize	27	RHP	2-6, 4.49 ERA, 78 Ks, 1.47 WHIP
5	#45	Reese Olson	25	RHP	4-8, 3.53 ERA, 101 Ks, 1.18 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
CP	#68	Jason Foley	29	RHP	28 SVs, 3.15 ERA, 46 Ks, 1.18 WHIP
SU	#43	Tommy Kahnle	35	RHP	1 SV, 2.11 ERA, 46 Ks, 1.15 WHIP – (NYY)
RP	#87	Tyler Holton	28	LHP	8 SVs, 2.19 ERA, 77 Ks, 0.78 WHIP
RP	#19	Will Vest	29	RHP	2 SVs, 2.82 ERA, 63 Ks, 1.12 WHIP
RP	#4	Beau Brieske	26	RHP	1 SV, 3.59 ERA, 69 Ks, 1.26 WHIP
RP	#49	John Brebbia	34	RHP	2 SVs, 5.86 ERA, 67 Ks, 1.36 WHIP – (CWS/ATL)
RP	#73	Sean Guenther	29	LHP	21 IP, 0.86 ERA, 12 Ks, 0.52 WHIP
LNG	#18	Kenta Maeda	36	RHP	3-7, 6.09 ERA, 96 Ks, 1.38 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
SP	#38	Alex Cobb	37	RHP	Hip injury Potential return in May
SP	#65	José Urquidy	29	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Potential return in August
SP	#66	Sawyer Gipson-Long	27	RHP	Elbow surgery Potential return in May
RP	#55	Alex Lange	29	RHP	Lat surgery Potential return in June

DEPTH PIECES ON 40-MAN ROSTER:
Matt Manning – #15 (SP, Age: 27, RHP)
Keider Montero – #54 (SP, Age: 24, RHP)
Ty Madden – #36 (SP, Age: 25, RHP) – DET Prospect Rank: #15
Brenan Hanifee – #75 (RP, Age: 26, RHP)
Brant Hurter – #48 (RP, Age: 26, LHP)
Spencer Torkelson – #20 (1B, Age: 25, R/R)
Trey Sweeney – #27 (INF, Age: 24, L/R) – DET Prospect Rank: #11
Ryan Kreidler – #32 (INF, Age: 27, R/R)
Justyn Henry-Malloy – #44 (OF, Age: 25, R/R)
Wenceel Pérez – #46 (OF, Age: 25, S/R)

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2025:
Hao-Yu Lee (2B/3B, Age: 22, R/R) – DET Prospect Rank: #8
Troy Melton (P, Age: 24, RHP) – DET Prospect Rank: #13

NOTABLE NON-ROSTER INVITES:
Andrew Chafin (RP, Age: 34, LHP)
Matt Gage (RP, Age: 32, LHP)
Tomás Nido (C, Age: 30, R/R)
Brian Serven (C, Age: 29, R/R)
Akil Baddoo (OF, Age: 26, L/L)
Jahmai Jones (OF, Age: 27, R/R)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:
MVP: SP Tarik Skubal
Breakout Player: SP Jackson Jobe
Addition: SP Jack Flaherty
Grade: B
Lineup Rank: 10th
Rotation Rank: 1st
Bullpen Rank: 5th

The Tigers were one of the big surprises in 2024, emerging out of the bottom depths of a rebuild with a huge second half that earned them a Wild Card berth. The top half of their lineup performed all year, with Riley Greene emerging as the anchor, and Kerry Carpenter and Colt Keith having their signature moments. Now, they’ll insert former top prospect Jace Jung to man 3B as their infield looks to be solidified. Spencer Torkelson will likely be the odd man out as Colt Keith will likely move to 1B, giving the former top pick room to explore trades. Gleyber Torres was signed to help solidified the middle infield along with another former all-star in Javier Baez. The outfield will be the big question in what they can get out of a healthy Parker Meadows.

The rotation will be their strength with Triple Crown and Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal leading the way. Veteran Jack Flaherty was brought back after signing a 1-year deal with Detroit before last season, getting traded at the deadline, and winning a World Series with the Dodgers. Top prospect Jackson Jobe should be in the rotation as well from Opening Day with Casey Mize, Kenta Maeda, Reese Olson, and Matt Manning being the other options. Veteran relievers Tommy Kahnle and John Brebbia should help out a young core and aid closer Jason Foley who broke out in 2024. Alex Cobb will be sidelined to start the year, but can provide quality veteran innings down the stretch. Overall, I like Detroit’s chances to win the division, and although they aren’t the best on-paper team, that never seems to matter in the AL Central. Year after year I get this division wrong, but rolling with the Tigers to be a Wild Card team feels right.

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Kansas City Royals

Manager: Matt Quatraro
3rd year
Career/Team record: 142-182, Career Playoff record: 3-3 – AGE: 51

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
2B	#6	Jonathan India	28	R/R	.248 AVG, 15 HR, 58 RBI, 13 SB – (CIN)
SS	#7	Bobby Witt Jr.	24	R/R	.332 AVG, 32 HR, 109 RBI, .977 OPS
1B	#9	Vinnie Pasquantino	27	L/L	.262 AVG, 19 HR, 97 RBI, .760 OPS
C	#13	Salvador Perez	34	R/R	.271 AVG, 27 HR, 104 RBI, .786 OPS
LF	#1	MJ Melendez	26	L/R	.206 AVG, 17 HR, 44 RBI, .674 OPS
RF	#16	Hunter Renfroe	33	R/R	.229 AVG, 15 HR, 52 RBI, .689 OPS
CF	#28	Kyle Isbel	27	L/R	.229 AVG, 8 HR, 42 RBI, 11 SB
DH	#8	Drew Waters	26	S/R	3/16, 0 HR, 1 RBI
3B	#11	Maikel Garcia	24	R/R	.231 AVG, 7 HR, 58 RBI, 37 SB

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
C	#34	Freddy Fermín	29	R/R	.271 AVG, 6 HR, 36 RBI, .685 OPS
2B	#19	Michael Massey	26	L/R	.259 AVG, 14 HR, 45 RBI, .743 OPS
OF	#44	Dairon Blanco	31	R/R	.258 AVG, 4 HR, 13 RBI, 31 SB
OF/1B	#21	Mark Canha	36	R/R	.242 AVG, 7 HR, 42 RBI, 7 SB – (DET/SF)

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
A	#67	Seth Lugo	35	RHP	16-9, 3.00 ERA, 181 Ks, 1.09 WHIP
2	#55	Cole Ragans	27	LHP	11-9, 3.14 ERA, 223 Ks, 1.14 WHIP
3	#52	Michael Wacha	33	RHP	13-8, 3.35 ERA, 145 Ks, 1.19 WHIP
4	#24	Michael Lorenzen	33	RHP	7-6, 3.31 ERA, 97 Ks, 1.24 WHIP – (TEX/KC)
5	#50	Kris Bubic	27	LHP	30.1 IP, 2.67 ERA, 39 Ks, 1.02 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
CP	#53	Carlos Estévez	32	RHP	26 SVs, 2.45 ERA, 50 Ks, 0.91 WHIP – (LAA/PHI)
SU	#46	John Schreiber	30	RHP	2 SVs, 3.66 ERA, 46 Ks, 1.32 WHIP
RP	#35	Chris Stratton	34	RHP	4 SVs, 5.55 ERA, 44 Ks, 1.47 WHIP
RP	#73	Sam Long	29	LHP	1 SV, 3.16 ERA, 44 Ks, 1.20 WHIP
RP	#60	Lucas Erceg	29	RHP	14 SVs, 3.36 ERA, 72 Ks, 1.05 WHIP – (OAK/KC)
RP	#56	Hunter Harvey	30	RHP	1 SV, 4.44 ERA, 55 Ks, 1.32 WHIP – (WSH/KC)
RP	#61	Ángel Zerpa	25	LHP	53.2 IP, 3.86 ERA, 49 Ks, 1.45 WHIP
LNG	#41	Daniel Lynch IV	28	LHP	1 SV, 3.32 ERA, 39 Ks, 0.99 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
SP	#30	Kyle Wright	29	RHP	Hamstring injury Potential return in May
SP	#48	Alec Marsh	26	RHP	Shoulder injury Potential return in May
RP	#66	James McArthur	28	RHP	Elbow surgery Potential return in June

DEPTH PIECES ON 40-MAN ROSTER:
Jonathan Bowlan – #62 (SP, Age: 28, RHP)
Carlos Hernández – #43 (RP, Age: 27, RHP)
Steven Cruz – #54 (RP, Age: 25, RHP)
Nick Loftin – #12 (INF, Age: 26, R/R)
Nick Pratto – #32 (1B/OF, Age: 26, L/L)
Tyler Gentry – #27 (OF, Age: 26, R/R) – KC Prospect Rank: #25
Joey Wiemer – #22 (OF, Age: 26, R/R)

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2025:
Noah Cameron (P, Age: 25, LHP) – KC Prospect Rank: #5
Gavin Cross (P, Age: 24, LHP) – KC Prospect Rank: #6
Javier Vaz (2B/OF, Age: 24, L/R) – KC Prospect Rank: #13

NOTABLE NON-ROSTER INVITES:
Ross Stripling (SP, Age: 35, RHP)
Taylor Clarke (RP, Age: 31, RHP)
Thomas Hatch (RP, Age: 30, RHP)
Luke Maile (C, Age: 34, R/R)
Cavan Biggio (UTIL, Age: 29, L/R)
Harold Castro (UTIL, Age: 31, L/R)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:
MVP: SS Bobby Witt Jr.
Breakout Player: SP Kris Bubic
Addition: RP Carlos Estevez
Grade: B
Lineup Rank: 4th
Rotation Rank: 3rd
Bullpen Rank: 11th

The Royals had a huge year in 2024, developing into one of the leagues up and coming young cores. Bobby Witt Jr. has become the best SS in baseball, having a season that would normally earn a player MVP, if it wasn’t for Aaron Judge. He and Royal legend Salvador Perez are mashing in the middle of the order, surrounded by some good young pieces in MJ Melendez, Vinnie Pasquantino, and more. Jonathan India was acquired in a swap with the Reds for Brady Singer, a move that worked well for both teams as KC needed a bat/middle infielder and Cincy needed young pitching. The depth also looks solid with Michael Massey and Freddy Fermin projected to be backups.

The pitching was a surprising positive that has developed extremely well after having an abysmal rotation in 2023. Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha immediately made impacts after being signed before the season, anchoring the rotation. Cole Ragans developed into a high strikeout all-star and veteran Michael Lorenzen was added for more depth. Former 21-game winner Kyle Wright should return after missing all of last year, as he will look to regain his old form with the Braves. Carlos Estevez was signed to lead the back end of the bullpen and likely serve as the main closer. Veterans John Schreiber and Chris Stratton will compliment the young arms that shined in an efficient bullpen last year. I see the Royals as the best team in the AL Central and the likely division winners. They made some solid moves this offseason and as long as they stay healthy, they have a deep overall team.

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Minnesota Twins

Manager: Rocco Baldelli
7th year
Career/Team record: 457-413, Career Playoff record: 3-8 – AGE: 43

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
DH	#25	Byron Buxton	31	R/R	.279 AVG, 18 HR, 56 RBI, .859 OPS
LF	#9	Trevor Larnach	28	L/R	.259 AVG, 15 HR, 52 RBI, .771 OPS
SS	#4	Carlos Correa	30	R/R	.310 AVG, 14 HR, 54 RBI, .905 OPS
3B	#23	Royce Lewis	25	R/R	.233 AVG, 16 HR, 47 RBI, .747 OPS
RF	#38	Matt Wallner	27	L/R	.259 AVG, 13 HR, 37 RBI, .894 OPS
C	#27	Ryan Jeffers	27	R/R	.226 AVG, 21 HR, 64 RBI, .732 OPS
1B	#13	Ty France	30	R/R	.234 AVG, 13 HR, 51 RBI, .670 OPS – (SEA/CIN)
CF	#12	Harrison Bader	30	R/R	.236 AVG, 12 HR, 51 RBI, 17 SB – (NYM)
2B	#2	Brooks Lee	24	S/R	.221 AVG, 3 HR, 27 RBI, 3 SB

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
C	#8	Christian Vazquez	34	R/R	.221 AVG, 7 HR, 27 RBI, 3 SB
3B/1B	#64	José Miranda	26	R/R	.284 AVG, 9 HR, 49 RBI, .763 OPS
INF	#47	Edouard Julien	25	L/R	.199 AVG, 8 HR, 21 RBI, .615 OPS
UTIL	#50	Willi Castro	27	S/R	.247 AVG, 12 HR, 60 RBI, 14 SB

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
A	#49	Pablo López	28	RHP	15-10, 4.08 ERA, 198 Ks, 1.19 WHIP
2	#41	Joe Ryan	28	RHP	7-7, 3.60 ERA, 147 Ks, 0.99 WHIP
3	#20	Chris Paddack	29	RHP	5-3, 4.99 ERA, 79 Ks, 1.39 WHIP
4	#17	Bailey Ober	29	RHP	12-9, 3.98 ERA, 191 Ks, 1.00 WHIP
5	#24	Simeon Woods Richardson	24	RHP	5-5, 4.17 ERA, 117 Ks, 1.29 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
CP	#22	Griffin Jax	30	RHP	10 SVs, 2.03 ERA, 95 Ks, 0.87 WHIP
CP	#59	Jhoan Duran	27	RHP	23 SVs, 3.64 ERA, 66 Ks, 1.16 WHIP
RP	#66	Jorge Alcala	29	RHP	58.1 IP, 3.24 ERA, 58 Ks, 1.03 WHIP
RP	#54	Danny Coulombe	35	LHP	1 SV, 2.12 ERA, 32 Ks, 0.67 WHIP – (BAL)
RP	#39	Michael Tonkin	35	RHP	2 SVs, 3.63 ERA, 85 Ks, 1.26 WHIP – (NYM/NYY/MIN)
RP	#48	Justin Topa	33	RHP	2.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 2 Ks, 0.43 WHIP
RP	#44	Cole Sands	27	RHP	4 SVs, 3.28 ERA, 85 Ks, 1.00 WHIP
LNG	#37	Louis Varland	27	RHP	0-6, 7.61 ERA, 49 Ks, 1.69 WHIP

DEPTH PIECES ON 40-MAN ROSTER:
Zebby Matthews – #52 (SP, Age: 24, RHP)
David Festa – #58 (SP, Age: 24, RHP)
Brock Stewart – #61 (RP, Age: 33, RHP)
Kody Funderburk – #55 (RP, Age: 28, LHP)
Jair Camargo – #77 (C, Age: 25, R/R)
Diego Cartaya – #62 (C, Age: 23, R/R) – MIN Prospect Rank: #24
Mickey Gasper – #11 (INF, Age: 29, S/R)
DaShawn Keirsey Jr. – #21 (OF, Age: 27, L/L)
Austin Martin – #16 (OF, Age: 26, R/R)

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2025:
Emmanuel Rodriguez (OF, Age: 22, L/L) – MLB Prospect Rank: #37
Luke Keaschall (UTIL, Age: 22, R/R) – MLB Prospect Rank: #60
Marco Raya (P, Age: 22, RHP) – MIN Prospect Rank: #6
Andrew Morris (P, Age: 23, RHP) – MIN Prospect Rank: #9
Cory Lewis (P, Age: 24, RHP) – MIN Prospect Rank: #11

NOTABLE NON-ROSTER INVITES:
Huascar Ynoa (SP, Age: 26, RHP)
Erasmo Ramírez (RP, Age: 34, RHP)
Anthony Misiewicz (RP, Age: 30, LHP)
Randy Dobnak (RP, Age: 30, RHP)
Mike Ford (1B, Age: 32, L/R)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:
MVP: SP Pablo Lopez
Breakout Player: SP David Festa
Addition: RP Danny Coulombe
Grade: C+
Lineup Rank: 8th
Rotation Rank: 9th
Bullpen Rank: 8th

The Twins enter the new year with one thing in mind, looking to stay healthy. That will be the emphasis, as the team has had plenty of star power for several years but can’t seem to find consistent health. Byron Buxton and Royce Lewis will be the two key ones, a couple of stars in the league that get overlooked for the amount of time that they miss. They’re incredible talents both offensively and defensively when healthy. On top of that, Carlos Correa returned to all-star form, while Trevor Larnach and Matt Wallner have become good young OF options. The surprising retirement of Alex Kirillof and departure of Max Kepler opens up two gaps in the OF. Top prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez should fill that hole at some point this season.

The rotation for Minnesota is beginning to come along nicely with some young core pieces. Pablo Lopez remains the ace, with Bailey Ober and Joe Ryan having big seasons a year ago. David Festa is a sleeper candidate to have a big year as the teams fifth starter, showing signs of solid innings last year in some spot starts. Simeon Woods Richardson, Louis Varland, and Zebby Matthews should all provide depth to the rotation once injuries come around. The bullpen is solid, with no clear cut closer, as Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran will be the likely committee. Veterans Michael Tonkin, Danny Coloumbe, and Justin Topa should eat some big innings for the team. I like the Twins’ chances this year, as it seems they kind of surprise every one when they become competitive. I don’t think they’ll win the division, but a Wild Card is definitely in the mix.

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The Athletics

Manager: Mark Kotsay
4th year
Career/Team record: 179-307 – AGE: 49

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
RF	#4	Lawrence Butler	24	L/R	.262 AVG, 22 HR, 57 RBI, .807 OPS
LF	#22	Miguel Andújar	30	R/R	.285 AVG, 4 HR, 30 RBI, .697 OPS
CF	#33	J.J. Bleday	27	L/L	.243 AVG, 20 HR, 60 RBI, .762 OPS
DH	#25	Brent Rooker	30	R/R	.293 AVG, 39 HR, 112 RBI, .927 OPS
1B	#15	Seth Brown	32	L/L	.231 AVG, 14 HR, 44 RBI, .662 OPS
C	#23	Shea Langeliers	27	R/R	.224 AVG, 29 HR, 80 RBI, .739 OPS
3B	#13	Gio Urshela	33	R/R	.286 AVG, 9 HR, 52 RBI, .647 OPS – (DET/ATL)
SS	#5	Jacob Wilson (R)	22	R/R	.250 AVG, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .629 OPS
2B	#20	Zach Gelof	25	R/R	.211 AVG, 17 HR, 49 RBI, 25 SB

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
C	#64	Jhonny Pereda (R)	28	R/R	9/39, 0 HR, 4 RBI, – (MIA)
INF	#17	Luis Urías	27	R/R	.191 AVG, 4 HR, 16 RBI, .696 OPS – (SEA)
UTIL	#12	Max Schuemann	27	R/R	.220 AVG, 7 HR, 34 RBI, 14 SB
OF	#1	Esteury Ruiz	26	R/R	.200 AVG, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 5 SB

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
A	#40	Luis Severino	31	RHP	11-7, 3.91 ERA, 161 Ks, 1.24 WHIP – (NYM)
2	#59	Jeffrey Springs	32	LHP	2-2, 3.27 ERA, 37 Ks, 1.36 WHIP – (TB)
3	#38	J.P. Sears	29	LHP	11-13, 4.38 ERA, 137 Ks, 1.22 WHIP
4	#28	Mitch Spence	26	RHP	8-10, 4.58 ERA, 126 Ks, 1.38 WHIP
5	#45	Osvaldo Bido	29	RHP	5-3, 3.41 ERA, 63 Ks, 1.09 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
CP	#19	Mason Miller	26	RHP	28 SVs, 2.49 ERA, 104 Ks, 0.88 WHIP
SU	#37	José Leclerc	31	RHP	1 SV, 4.32 ERA, 89 Ks, 1.32 WHIP – (TEX)
RP	#48	T.J. McFarland	35	LHP	56.2 IP, 3.81 ERA, 39 Ks, 1.24 WHIP
RP	#54	Dylan Floro	34	RHP	68.2 IP, 3.80 ERA, 48 Ks, 1.19 WHIP – (WSH/ARI)
RP	#47	Michel Otañez	27	RHP	1 SV, 3.44 ERA, 55 Ks, 1.38 WHIP
RP	#44	Tyler Ferguson	31	RHP	2 SVs, 3.68 ERA, 62 Ks, 1.09 WHIP
RP	#60	Justin Sterner (R)	28	RHP	4 IP, 2.25 ERA, 4 Ks, 1.50 WHIP – (TB)
LNG	#36	Hogan Harris	28	LHP	4-4, 2.86 ERA, 61 Ks, 1.35 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
SP	#46	Luis Medina	25	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Likely to miss entire season
SP	#30	Ken Waldichuk	27	LHP	Tommy John Surgery Likely to miss entire season

DEPTH PIECES ON 40-MAN ROSTER:
J.T. Ginn – #70 (SP, Age: 25, RHP) – ATH Prospect Rank: #14
Joey Estes – #68 (SP, Age: 23, RHP)
Brady Basso – #66 (SP, Age: 27, LHP) – ATH Prospect Rank: #22
Grant Holman – #67 (RP, Age: 24, RHP)
Jacob Lopez – #57 (RP, Age: 26, LHP)
Brett Harris – #11 (INF, Age: 26, R/R)
C.J. Alexander – #26 (INF, Age: 28, L/R)
Tyler Soderstrom – #21 (1B, Age: 23, L/R)
Darell Hernaíz – #2 (INF, Age: 23, R/R)

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2025:
Colby Thomas (OF, Age: 24, R/R) – ATH Prospect Rank: #3
Mason Barnett (P, Age: 24, RHP) – ATH Prospect Rank: #4
Denzel Clarke (OF, Age: 24, R/R) – ATH Prospect Rank: #6
Max Muncy (SS, Age: 22, R/R) – ATH Prospect Rank: #7
Henry Bolte (OF, Age: 21, R/R) – ATH Prospect Rank: #9
Jack Perkins (P, Age: 25, RHP) – ATH Prospect Rank: #10
Daniel Susac (C, Age: 23, R/R) – ATH Prospect Rank: #12

NOTABLE NON-ROSTER INVITES:
Jason Alexander (RP, Age: 32, RHP)
Alejo López (UTIL, Age: 28, S/R)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:
MVP: LF Brent Rooker
Breakout Player: SS Jacob Wilson
Addition: SP Luis Severino
Grade: D+
Lineup Rank: 13th
Rotation Rank: 14th
Bullpen Rank: 14th

The A’s enter the new season hot on the trail of what was a somewhat successful season a year ago. Sure, they still finished well below .500, but some positives came out of their young core. Brent Rooker had a star studded season as the key bat in the middle of the lineup, while Lawrence Butler, J.J. Bleday, and Shea Langeliers proved their worth as big leaguers. This led the front office to make some moves this offseason, a move that shocked every fanbase in baseball. They locked up both Rooker and Butler to long-term deals as the key bats in the lineup. Of course, the Oakland days are now over, and the A’s are trying to bring new life to their franchise who will call Sacramento home for the next three years.

For the rotation, J.P. Sears, Mitch Spence, and Osvaldo Bido all had solid seasons last year and are the key young pieces of the staff. Jeffrey Springs was added from Tampa, and Luis Severino was given the wealthiest contract in A’s history to a free agent, with a 3-year deal to be the squad’s ace. Jose Leclerc was also signed to sure up the bullpen, which is headlined by young flamethrower Mason Miller and veterans T.J. McFarland and Dylan Floro. It was an extremely pleasant surprise to see the A’s actually make some free agent moves for a change. It was a good addition to their already solid young core that will grow a lot in 2025 with 7 of their top 15 prospects all likely to see a call-up at some point this year. I think the A’s could be a pleasant surprise this season, not like they’ll be a playoff team, but moreso not a team that should be dragged through the mud again.

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Houston Astros

Manager: Joe Espada
2nd year
Career/Team record: 88-73, Career Playoff record: 0-2 – AGE: 49

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
LF	#27	José Altuve	34	R/R	.295 AVG, 20 HR, 65 RBI, 22 SB
DH	#44	Yordan Álvarez	27	L/R	.308 AVG, 35 HR, 86 RBI, .959 OPS
C	#21	Yainer Díaz	26	R/R	.299 AVG, 16 HR, 84 RBI, .766 OPS
1B	#8	Christian Walker	33	R/R	.251 AVG, 26 HR, 84 RBI, .803 OPS – (ARI)
2B	#15	Isaac Paredes	26	R/R	.238 AVG, 19 HR, 80 RBI, .739 OPS – (TB/CHC)
SS	#3	Jeremy Peña	27	R/R	.266 AVG, 15 HR, 70 RBI, 20 SB
CF	#6	Jake Meyers	28	R/L	.219 AVG, 13 HR, 61 RBI, 11 SB
3B	#9	Zach Dezenzo (R)	24	R/R	.242 AVG, 2 HR, 8 RBI, .648 OPS
RF	#14	Mauricio Dubón	30	R/R	.269 AVG, 4 HR, 47 RBI, .657 OPS

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
C/1B	#17	Victor Caratini	31	S/R	.269 AVG, 8 HR, 30 RBI, .744 OPS
1B	#28	Jon Singleton	33	L/L	.234 AVG, 13 HR, 42 RBI, .707 OPS
UTIL	#1	Cooper Hummel	30	S/R	0/8
OF	#20	Chas McCormick	29	R/L	.211 AVG, 5 HR, 27 RBI, 8 SB

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
A	#59	Framber Valdez	31	LHP	15-7, 2.91 ERA, 169 Ks, 1.11 WHIP
2	#56	Ronel Blanco	31	RHP	13-6, 2.80 ERA, 166 Ks, 1.09 WHIP
3	#58	Hunter Brown	26	RHP	11-9, 3.49 ERA, 179 Ks, 1.27 WHIP
4	#41	Spencer Arrighetti	25	RHP	7-13, 4.53 ERA, 171 Ks, 1.41 WHIP
5	#39	Hayden Wesneski	27	RHP	3-6, 3.86 ERA, 67 Ks, 1.14 WHIP – (CHC)

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
CP	#71	Josh Hader	30	LHP	34 SVs, 3.80 ERA, 105 Ks, 0.96 WHIP
SU	#52	Bryan Abreu	27	RHP	1 SV, 3.10 ERA, 103 Ks, 1.16 WHIP
RP	#50	Tayler Scott	32	RHP	68.2 IP, 2.23 ERA, 71 Ks, 1.17 WHIP
RP	#63	Kaleb Ort	33	RHP	24.2 IP, 2.55 ERA, 26 Ks, 0.81 WHIP
RP	#74	Bryan King	28	LHP	26.1 IP, 2.39 ERA, 32 Ks, 1.14 WHIP
RP	#47	Rafael Montero	34	RHP	38.1 IP, 4.70 ERA, 23 Ks, 1.41 WHIP
RP	#48	Steven Okert	33	LHP	1 SV, 5.09 ERA, 33 Ks, 1.50 WHIP – (MIN)
LNG	#60	Forrest Whitley (R)	27	RHP	3.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 5 Ks, 2.40 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
SP	#77	Luis García	28	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Potential return in June
SP	#43	Lance McCullers Jr.	31	RHP	Tendon damage Potential return in May
SP	#53	Cristian Javier	28	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Potential return in July
SP	#68	J.P. France	30	RHP	Shoulder surgery Potential return in July
RP	#66	Shawn Dubin	29	RHP	Shoulder injury Potential return in May

DEPTH PIECES ON 40-MAN ROSTER:
Luis Contreras – #73 (RP, Age: 28, RHP)
Nick Hernandez – #72 (RP, Age: 30, RHP)
Ryan Gusto – #67 (RP, Age: 25, RHP)
Bennett Sousa – #62 (RP, Age: 29, LHP)
Cesar Salazar – #18 (C, Age: 28, L/R)
Shay Whitcomb – #10 (INF, Age: 26, R/R) – HOU Prospect Rank: #17
Cooper Hummel – #1 (UTIL, Age: 30, S/R)
Taylor Trammell – #26 (OF, Age: 27, L/L)
Pedro León – #4 (OF, Age: 26, R/R) – HOU Prospect Rank: #22

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2025:
Brice Matthews (SS/3B, Age: 22, R/R) – HOU Prospect Rank: #2
Jacob Melton (OF, Age: 24, L/L) – HOU Prospect Rank: #3
Miguel Ullola (P, Age: 22, RHP) – HOU Prospect Rank: #6
A.J. Blubaugh (P, Age: 24, RHP) – HOU Prospect Rank: #11

NOTABLE NON-ROSTER INVITES:
Glenn Otto (SP, Age: 29, RHP)
Miguel Castro (RP, Age: 30, RHP)
Luis Guillorme (INF, Age: 30, L/R)
Brendan Rodgers (SS, Age: 28, R/R)
Zack Short (INF, Age: 29, R/R)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:
MVP: 2B/LF Jose Altuve
Breakout Player: RP Forrest Whitley
Addition: 1B Christian Walker
Grade: B
Lineup Rank: 7th
Rotation Rank: 8th
Bullpen Rank: 3rd

The Astros made some big changes, coming off of their first year under Joe Espada finishing 88-73 and getting swept in the 1st round of the playoffs. We saw the departure this offseason of two key pieces of their 2 World Series teams in Alex Bregman and Justin Verlander, as well as star OF Kyle Tucker being dealt to the Cubs. A handful of losses that are going to be incredibly hard to plug up, but luckily they play in one of the weakest divisions in baseball. Star and franchise legend Jose Altuve remains, as he’s likely to move to LF as he approaches his mid-30s. Yordan Alvarez still remains the powerful DH, and 1B Christian Walker and INF Isaac Paredes were added to sure up the lineup. A couple of top prospects are also on the horizon, with Zach Dezenzo and Brice Matthews being prime candidates to fill in the open 3B position.

The pitching is what is going to be interesting, with several key starters set to miss the start of the season. Luis Garcia and Cristian Javier both continue to work their ways back from TJ surgery, while Lance McCullers is inching towards his first MLB action in 2 years due to a plethora of injuries. Framber Valdez will remain the staff’s ace, with Ronel Blanco as his supporter. Spencer Arrighetti will be an X-Factor that will look to be relied on to start a bunch of games and eat innings in the meantime. Forrest Whitley finally saw the bigs in 2024, as the former top prospect has a chance to make the team and even potentially start. Josh Hader is the clear cut closer after Ryan Pressly was dealt, with Bryan Abreu and several plug-and-play guys filling out the rotation. I’m very hesitant to pick the Astros to win the West, especially as the Rangers finally look healthy and should return to competitiveness in 2025.

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Los Angeles Angels

Manager: Ron Washington
2nd year with Angels, 10th year overall
Career record: 727-710, LAA record: 63-99, Career Playoff record: 18-16 – AGE: 73

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
SS	#9	Zach Neto	24	R/R	.249 AVG, 23 HR, 77 RBI, 30 SB
RF	#27	Mike Trout	33	R/R	.220 AVG, 10 HR, 14 RBI, .867 OPS
LF	#3	Taylor Ward	31	R/R	.246 AVG, 25 HR, 75 RBI, .748 OPS
1B	#18	Nolan Schanuel	23	L/R	.250 AVG, 13 HR, 54 RBI, 10 SB
C	#14	Logan O’Hoppe	25	R/R	.244 AVG, 20 HR, 56 RBI, .712 OPS
DH	#12	Jorge Soler	33	R/R	.241 AVG, 21 HR, 64 RBI, .780 OPS – (SF/ATL)
2B	#2	Luis Rengifo	28	S/R	.300 AVG, 6 HR, 30 RBI, 24 SB
CF	#7	Jo Adell	25	R/R	.207 AVG, 20 HR, 62 RBI, 15 SB
3B	#5	Yoán Moncada	29	S/R	11/40, 0 HR, 0 RBI, .756 OPS – (CWS)

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
C	#25	Travis d’Arnaud	36	R/R	.238 AVG, 15 HR, 48 RBI, .739 OPS – (ATL)
INF	#19	Kyren Paris (R)	23	R/R	.118 AVG, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 1 SB
UTIL	#10	Kevin Newman	31	R/R	.278 AVG, 3 HR, 28 RBI, 8 SB – (ARI)
OF	#8	Mickey Moniak	26	L/R	.219 AVG, 14 HR, 49 RBI, 8 SB

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
A	#31	Tyler Anderson	35	LHP	10-15, 3.81 ERA, 142 Ks, 1.29 WHIP
2	#16	Yusei Kikuchi	33	LHP	9-10, 4.05 ERA, 206 Ks, 1.20 WHIP – (TOR/HOU)
3	#28	Kyle Hendricks	35	RHP	4-12, 5.92 ERA, 87 Ks, 1.45 WHIP – (CHC)
4	#48	Reid Detmers	25	LHP	4-9, 6.70 ERA, 109 Ks, 1.56 WHIP
5	#41	Jack Kochanowicz	24	RHP	2-6, 3.99 ERA, 25 Ks, 1.19 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
CP	#74	Kenley Jansen	37	RHP	27 SVs, 3.29 ERA, 62 Ks, 1.06 WHIP – (BOS)
SU	#44	Ben Joyce	24	RHP	4 SVs, 2.08 ERA, 33 Ks, 1.15 WHIP
RP	#46	Brock Burke	28	LHP	34 IP, 5.82 ERA, 41 Ks, 1.56 WHIP – (TEX/LAA)
RP	#65	José Quijada	29	LHP	19.1 IP, 3.26 ERA, 24 Ks, 1.50 WHIP
RP	#52	Hans Crouse	26	RHP	25.1 IP, 2.84 ERA, 34 Ks, 1.22 WHIP
RP	#70	Michael Petersen (R)	30	RHP	19.2 IP, 5.95 ERA, 14 Ks, 1.63 WHIP – (LAD/LAA)
LNG	#54	José Suárez	27	LHP	52.1 IP, 6.02 ERA, 56 Ks, 1.61 WHIP
LNG	#59	José Soriano	26	RHP	6-7, 3.42 ERA, 97 Ks, 1.20 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
RP	#24	Robert Stephenson	32	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Potential return in July
3B	#6	Anthony Rendon	34	R/R	Hip surgery Likely to miss entire season

DEPTH PIECES ON 40-MAN ROSTER:
Chase Silseth – #63 (SP, Age: 24, RHP)
Sam Aldegheri – #66 (SP, Age: 23, LHP) – LAA Prospect Rank: #5
Caden Dana – #36 (SP, Age: 21, RHP) – MLB Prospect Rank: #77
Sam Bachman – #40 (SP, Age: 25, RHP)
Victor Mederos – #58 (RP, Age: 23, RHP)
Ryan Zeferjahn – #56 (RP, Age: 27, RHP)
Chuckie Robinson – #33 (C, Age: 30, R/R)
Niko Kavadas – #20 (INF, Age: 26, L/R) – LAA Prospect Rank: #30
Scott Kingery – #13 (UTIL, Age: 30, R/R)
Ryan Noda – #49 (1B/OF, Age: 28, L/L)
Gustavo Campero – #51 (OF, Age: 27, S/R)

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2025:
Christian Moore (2B, Age: 22, R/R) – MLB Prospect Rank: #67
Matthew Lugo (OF, Age: 23, R/R) – LAA Prospect Rank: #13

NOTABLE NON-ROSTER INVITES:
Dakota Hudson (SP, Age: 30, RHP)
Victor González (RP, Age: 29, LHP)
Connor Brogdon (RP, Age: 30, RHP)
Shaun Anderson (RP, Age: 30, RHP)
Tim Anderson (SS, Age: 31, R/R)
J.D. Davis (1B/3B, Age: 31, R/R)
Carter Kieboom (3B, Age: 27, R/R)
Yolmer Sánchez (INF, Age: 32, S/R)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:
MVP: RF Mike Trout
Breakout Player: SP Caden Dana
Addition: SP Yusei Kikuchi
Grade: D
Lineup Rank: 12th
Rotation Rank: 13th
Bullpen Rank: 12th

It hasn’t been for the faint of heart rooting for the Angels since their only World Series win in 2002, and things don’t seem to be getting any better. They have some of the worst contracts in baseball (Anthony Rendon and maybe Mike Trout) while their farm system isn’t promising. They’ll enter 2025 with a hopeful return from their star Trout who will move to RF in hopes to cut down on injuries. Youngsters Zach Neto, Nolan Schanuel, and Logan O’Hoppe have all developed solidly and will look to become the backbone of the lineup. Veterans Travis d’Arnaud, Jorge Soler, and Yoan Moncada can provide some solid at bats and help develop the young guys.

Pitching will likely be an issue once again, despite Yusei Kikuchi being given a 3-year deal to help sure up the rotation. He’ll join Tyler Anderson as the main arms, while Reid Detmers will look to regain his old form. Prospects Chase Silseth and Caden Dana could be dark horses to join the rotation sometime during the year and possibly bring good young depth. Kenley Jansen was signed as he will become the clear cut closer as he chases to become only the third pitcher to ever reach 500 career saves. I don’t see the Angels doing very much this year, with the team looking decimated and very weak in many areas. The most interesting development will be seeing what they can get out of Mike Trout, if he can stay healthy, and if they can even possibly convince a team to take on his huge contract.

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Seattle Mariners

Manager: Dan Wilson
2nd year
Career/Team record: 21-13 – AGE: 56

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
SS	#3	J.P. Crawford	30	L/R	.202 AVG, 9 HR, 37 RBI, 5 SB
CF	#44	Julio Rodríguez	24	R/R	.273 AVG, 20 HR, 68 RBI, 24 SB
LF	#56	Randy Arozarena	30	R/R	.219 AVG, 20 HR, 60 RBI, 20 SB – (TB/SEA)
C	#29	Cal Raleigh	28	S/R	.220 AVG, 34 HR, 100 RBI, .748 OPS
1B	#20	Luke Raley	30	L/R	.243 AVG, 22 HR, 58 RBI, .783 OPS
DH	#18	Mitch Garver	34	R/R	.172 AVG, 15 HR, 52 RBI, .627 OPS
2B	#7	Jorge Polanco	31	S/R	.213 AVG, 16 HR, 45 RBI, 4 SB
3B	#39	Donovan Solano	37	R/R	.286 AVG, 8 HR, 35 RBI, .760 OPS – (SD)
RF	#10	Víctor Robles	27	R/R	.307 AVG, 4 HR, 28 RBI, 34 SB – (WSH/SEA)

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
C	#12	Blake Hunt (R)	26	R/R	DNP – Played in Minors
UTIL	#25	Dylan Moore	32	R/R	.201 AVG, 10 HR, 42 RBI, 32 SB
INF	#1	Ryan Bliss (R)	25	R/R	.222 AVG, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 5 SB
OF/1B	#17	Mitch Haniger	34	R/R	.208 AVG, 12 HR, 44 RBI, .620 OPS

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
A	#58	Luis Castillo	32	RHP	11-12, 3.64 ERA, 175 Ks, 1.17 WHIP
2	#68	George Kirby	27	RHP	14-11, 3.53 ERA, 179 Ks, 1.07 WHIP
3	#36	Logan Gilbert	27	RHP	9-12, 3.23 ERA, 220 Ks, 0.89 WHIP
4	#50	Bryce Miller	26	RHP	12-8, 2.94 ERA, 171 Ks, 0.98 WHIP
5	#22	Bryan Woo	25	RHP	9-3, 2.89 ERA, 101 Ks, 0.90 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
CP	#75	Andrés Muñoz	26	RHP	22 SVs, 2.12 ERA, 77 Ks, 0.96 WHIP
SU	#60	Tayler Saucedo	31	LHP	3 SVs, 3.49 ERA, 38 Ks, 1.37 WHIP
RP	#52	Collin Snider	29	RHP	41.2 IP, 1.94 ERA, 47 Ks, 1.18 WHIP
RP	#46	Trent Thornton	31	RHP	1 SV, 3.61 ERA, 77 Ks, 1.13 WHIP
RP	#55	Gabe Speier	29	LHP	23.2 IP, 5.70 ERA, 33 Ks, 1.39 WHIP
RP	#67	Cody Bolton (R)	26	RHP	18.2 IP, 4.34 ERA, 17 Ks, 1.45 WHIP
RP	#59	Troy Taylor (R)	23	RHP	1 SV, 3.72 ERA, 25 Ks, 1.14 WHIP
LNG	#81	Seth Martinez	30	RHP	1 SV, 3.59 ERA, 36 Ks, 1.27 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
RP	#47	Matt Brash	26	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Potential return in May
RP	#37	Jackson Kowar	28	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Potential return in June

DEPTH PIECES ON 40-MAN ROSTER:
Emerson Hancock – #26 (SP, Age: 25, RHP)
Gregory Santos – #48 (RP, Age: 25, RHP)
Carlos Vargas – #54 (RP, Age: 25, RHP)
Will Klein – #35 (RP, Age: 25, RHP)
Eduard Bazardo – #83 (RP, Age: 29, RHP)
Casey Legumina – #64 (RP, Age: 27, RHP)
Miles Mastrobuoni – #21 (UTIL, Age: 29, L/R)
Leo Rivas – #76 (INF, Age: 27, S/R)
Austin Shenton – #30 (1B, Age: 27, L/R)
Tyler Locklear – #27 (1B, Age: 24, R/R) – SEA Prospect Rank: #11
Dominic Canzone – #8 (OF, Age: 27, L/R)

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2025:
Cole Young (SS/2B, Age: 21, L/R) – MLB Prospect Rank: #49
Harry Ford (C, Age: 22, R/R) – MLB Prospect Rank: #64
Logan Evans (P, Age: 23, RHP) – SEA Prospect Rank: #10
Ben Williamson (3B, Age: 24, R/R) – SEA Prospect Rank: #13
Michael Morales (P, Age: 22, RHP) – SEA Prospect Rank: #15

NOTABLE NON-ROSTER INVITES:
Josh Fleming (RP, Age: 28, LHP)
Shintaro Fujinami (RP, Age: 30, RHP)
Trevor Gott (RP, Age: 32, RHP)
Drew Pomeranz (RP, Age: 36, LHP)
Jesse Hahn (RP, Age: 35, RHP)
Jacob Nottingham (C, Age: 29, R/R)
Rowdy Tellez (1B, Age: 30, L/L)
Samad Taylor (INF, Age: 26, R/R)
Cade Marlowe (OF, Age: 27, L/R)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:
MVP: CF Julio Rodriguez
Breakout Player: INF Ryan Bliss
Addition: INF Donovan Solano
Grade: C
Lineup Rank: 11th
Rotation Rank: 2nd
Bullpen Rank: 10th

The Mariners undoubtedly had a rough year in 2024, where they couldn’t seem to get anything going consistently. Down years on offense from practically every corner, including star OF Julio Rodriguez and SS J.P. Crawford. Randy Arozarena was added to help spark the bunch, but even he saw only a short-lived run when he first came over to Seattle. The front office seems to still like this core, as no significant moves were made this offseason. A full year of Crawford, Rodriguez, Arozarena, and Raleigh at the top of the lineup can’t be much worse than they performed a year ago. A couple top prospects are also on the horizon, in two of baseball’s top 100, SS Cole Young and C Harry Ford. A few interesting young prospects that could be candidates to burst are speedy INF Ryan Bliss, 1B Tyler Locklear, utility man Miles Mastrobuoni.

The pitching has always been their strong suit, as they enter the year with one of the most consistent 5-man rotations in the game. Castillo, Kirby, and Gilbert are studs, with Miller and Woo as established big league pitchers at this point. The bullpen is moreso the question, as they saw inconsistency last year. Andres Munoz is a flame thrower but becomes erratic at times, while the options around him aren’t impressive. Collin Snider and Tayler Saucedo had good years, and the rest of the ‘pen will be relied on by some young prospects to piece it together. It’s tough to say that this team is a real playoff threat, and even in a weak division, they’re still at best a 3rd place team. The Rangers and Astros are poised to finish ahead, but Seattle could have a shot at the last Wild Card if all goes right.

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Texas Rangers

Manager: Bruce Bochy
3rd year in Texas, 27th year overall
Career record: 2,171-2,185, TEX Record: 168-156, Career Playoff record: 57-37

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
2B	#2	Marcus Semien	34	R/R	.237 AVG, 23 HR, 74 RBI, 8 SB
SS	#5	Corey Seager	30	L/R	.278 AVG, 30 HR, 74 RBI, .864 OPS
1B	#21	Jake Burger	28	R/R	.250 AVG, 29 HR, 76 RBI, .760 OPS – (MIA)
RF	#53	Adolis García	32	R/R	.224 AVG, 25 HR, 85 RBI, 11 SB
DH	#4	Joc Pederson	32	L/L	.275 AVG, 23 HR, 64 RBI, .908 OPS – (ARI)
3B	#6	Josh Jung	27	R/R	.264 AVG, 7 HR, 16 RBI, .719 OPS
CF	#36	Wyatt Langford	23	R/R	.253 AVG, 16 HR, 74 RBI, 19 SB
C	#28	Jonah Heim	29	S/R	.220 AVG, 13 HR, 59 RBI, .602 OPS
LF	#32	Evan Carter	22	L/R	.188 AVG, 5 HR, 15 RBI, .633 OPS

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
C	#11	Kyle Higashioka	34	R/R	.220 AVG, 17 HR, 45 RBI, .739 OPS – (SD)
INF	#8	Josh Smith	27	L/R	.258 AVG, 13 HR, 62 RBI, .731 OPS
UTIL	#20	Ezequiel Durán	25	R/R	.246 AVG, 3 HR, 20 RBI, .609 OPS
OF	#3	Leody Taveras	26	S/R	.229 AVG, 12 HR, 44 RBI, 23 SB

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
A	#17	Nathan Eovaldi	35	RHP	12-8, 3.80 ERA, 166 Ks, 1.11 WHIP
2	#48	Jacob deGrom	36	RHP	10.2 IP, 1.69 ERA, 14 Ks, 1.13 WHIP
3	#51	Tyler Mahle	30	RHP	12.2 IP, 4.97 ERA, 10 Ks, 1.42 WHIP
4	#46	Patrick Corbin	35	LHP	6-13, 5.62 ERA, 139 Ks, 1.50 WHIP – (WSH)
5	#80	Kumar Rocker (R)	25	RHP	11.2 IP, 3.86 ERA, 14 Ks, 1.54 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
CP
SU	#77	Luke Jackson	33	RHP	53 IP, 5.09 ERA, 59 Ks, 1.47 WHIP – (SF/ATL)
RP	#55	Chris Martin	38	RHP	2 SVs, 3.45 ERA, 50 Ks, 1.13 WHIP – (BOS)
RP	#41	Hoby Milner	34	LHP	1 SV, 4.73 ERA, 64 Ks, 1.19 WHIP – (MIL)
RP	#71	Jacob Webb	31	RHP	2 SVs, 3.02 ERA, 58 Ks, 1.18 WHIP – (BAL)
RP	#43	Shawn Armstrong	34	RHP	1 SV, 4.86 ERA, 66 Ks, 1.53 WHIP – (TB/STL/CHC)
RP	#62	Robert Garcia	28	LHP	59.2 IP, 4.22 ERA, 75 Ks, 1.19 WHIP – (WSH)
LNG	#33	Dane Dunning	30	RHP	5-7, 5.31 ERA, 91 Ks, 1.44 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
SP	#22	Jon Gray	33	RHP	Fractured wrist Potential return in June
SP	#61	Cody Bradford	27	LHP	Elbow injury Potential return in May
RP	#66	Josh Sborz	31	RHP	Shoulder surgery Potential return in June

DEPTH PIECES ON 40-MAN ROSTER:
Jack Leiter – #35 (SP, Age: 24, RHP) – TEX Prospect Rank: #3
Walter Pennington – #52 (SP, Age: 26, LHP)
Cole Winn – #60 (RP, Age: 25, RHP)
Marc Church – #68 (RP, Age: 24, RHP) – TEX Prospect Rank: #23
Jacob Latz – #67 (RP, Age: 29, LHP)
Daniel Robert – #57 (RP, Age: 30, RHP)
Gerson Garabito – #58 (RP, Age: 28, RHP)
Justin Foscue – #56 (UTIL, Age: 26, R/R) – TEX Prospect Rank: #15
Jonathan Ornelas – #24 (INF, Age: 24, R/R)
Dustin Harris – #38 (OF, Age: 25, L/R)

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2025:
Emiliano Teodo (P, Age: 24, RHP) – TEX Prospect Rank: #6
Alejandro Osuna (OF, Age: 22, L/L) – TEX Prospect Rank: #8
Abimelec Ortiz (1B/OF, Age: 23, L/L) – TEX Prospect Rank: #14

NOTABLE NON-ROSTER INVITES:
Adrian Houser (SP, Age: 32, RHP)
J.T. Chargois (RP, Age: 34, RHP)
Matt Festa (RP, Age: 32, RHP)
Codi Heuer (RP, Age: 28, RHP)
Joe Barlow (RP, Age: 29, RHP)
Tucker Barnhart (C, Age: 34, L/R)
Chad Wallach (C, Age: 33, R/R)
Nick Ahmed (SS, Age: 35, R/R)
Kevin Pillar (OF, Age: 36, R/R)
Sam Haggerty (UTIL, Age: 30, S/R)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:
MVP: SS Corey Seager
Breakout Player: LF Evan Carter
Addition: 1B/3B Jake Burger
Grade: A-
Lineup Rank: 2nd
Rotation Rank: 5th
Bullpen Rank: 7th

Coming off their first World Series crown in franchise history, the Rangers struggled mightily in 2024 as they battled injuries. Their two stars Marcus Semien and Corey Seager were grab as usual, but the rest of the offense couldn’t get going. Josh Jung was sidelined for practically the whole season, while top prospects Wyatt Langford and Evan Carter weren’t as impactful as was hoped. I think this year is going to be poised for a bounce back, with newly added vets Jake Burger and Joc Pederson added as huge threats in a stacked lineup. Carter and Langford should see more consistent play as a lot of their pressure will be eased batting further down in the lineup. Josh Smith and Leody Taveras will be used more as bench pieces as well, two guys who shined in everyday role last year.

The pitching should also be much better, as Jacob deGrom returns from Tommy John looking as sharp as ever. Nathan Eovaldi was also brought back as he has turned his consistent game into consistent all-star caliber since joining the staff in Texas. Top prospects Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter will give depth to veterans Jon Gray and Tyler Mahle who both always battle injury issues. Long-time back end bullpen arm Jose Leclerc left, as well as 2024 all-star Kirby Yates, leaving the closer role up in the air. It’ll likely be a committee, with David Robertson, Luke Jackson, and Chris Martin as likely guys to get the first looks. I have high hopes for the Rangers this year, as I think they’ll return to form and even win the AL West. I’m also very excited to see deGrom’s return, as I think this new surgery could add years to his dominance.

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MVP: Juan Soto, NYM
CY YOUNG: Paul Skenes, PIT
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Matt Shaw, CHC
COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Spencer Strider, ATL
MANAGER OF THE YEAR: Craig Counsell, CHC

Atlanta Braves

Manager: Brian Snitker
10th year
Career/Team record: 735-582, Career Playoff record: 24-23 – AGE: 69

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
RF	#13	Ronald Acuña Jr.	27	R/R	.250 AVG, 4 HR, 15 RBI, 16 SB
2B	#1	Ozzie Albies	28	S/R	.251 AVG, 10 HR, 53 RBI, .707 OPS
3B	#27	Austin Riley	27	R/R	.256 AVG, 19 HR, 56 RBI, .783 OPS
1B	#28	Matt Olson	30	L/R	.247 AVG, 29 HR, 98 RBI, .790 OPS
DH	#20	Marcell Ozuna	34	R/R	.302 AVG, 39 HR, 104 RBI, .925 OPS
CF	#23	Michael Harris II	24	L/L	.264 AVG, 16 HR, 48 RBI, .722 OPS
LF	#7	Jurickson Profar	32	S/R	.280 AVG, 24 HR, 85 RBI, .839 OPS – (SD)
SS	#11	Orlando Arcía	30	R/R	.218 AVG, 17 HR, 46 RBI, 2 SB
C	#75	Drake Baldwin (R)	23	L/R	MLB Prospect Rank: #62

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
C	#45	Chadwick Tromp	29	R/R	.250 AVG, 0 HR, 6 RBI, .625 OPS
INF	#60	Nick Allen	26	R/R	.175 AVG, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .463 OPS – (ATH)
OF	#24	Jarred Kelenic	25	L/L	.231 AVG, 15 HR, 45 RBI, 7 SB
OF	#14	Bryan De La Cruz	28	R/R	.233 AVG, 21 HR, 68 RBI, 5 SB – (MIA/PIT)

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
A	#51	Chris Sale	35	LHP	18-3, 2.38 ERA, 225 Ks, 1.01 WHIP
2	#40	Reynaldo López	31	RHP	8-5, 1.99 ERA, 148 Ks, 1.11 WHIP
3	#56	Spencer Schwellenbach	24	RHP	8-7, 3.35 ERA, 127 Ks, 1.04 WHIP
4	#48	Ian Anderson	26	RHP	DNP – Tommy John Surgery
5	#32	A.J. Smith-Shawver (R)	22	RHP	4.1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 4 Ks, 1.15 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
CP	#26	Raisel Iglesias	35	RHP	34 SVs, 1.95 ERA, 68 Ks, 0.74 WHIP
SU	#49	Aaron Bummer	31	LHP	55.1 IP, 3.58 ERA, 69 Ks, 1.43 WHIP
RP	#38	Pierce Johnson	33	RHP	2 SVs, 3.67 ERA, 67 Ks, 1.30 WHIP
RP	#52	Dylan Lee	30	LHP	59.2 IP, 2.11 ERA, 76 Ks, 1.11 WHIP
RP	#97	Buck Farmer	34	RHP	1 SV, 3.04 ERA, 70 Ks, 1.20 WHIP – (CIN)
RP	#68	Ángel Perdomo	30	LHP	DNP – Played in AAA
RP	#66	Grant Holmes	28	RHP	68.1 IP, 3.56 ERA, 70 Ks, 1.19 WHIP
LNG	#55	Bryce Elder	25	RHP	2-5, 6.52 ERA, 46 Ks, 1.63 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
C	#12	Sean Murphy	30	R/R	Broken ribs Potential return in May
SP	#99	Spencer Strider	26	RHP	UCL surgery Potential return in May
RP	#77	Joe Jiménez	30	RHP	Knee surgery Potential return in September

DEPTH PIECES ON 40-MAN ROSTER:
Hurston Waldrep – #64 (SP, Age: 23, RHP) – ATL Prospect Rank: #4
Davis Daniel – #58 (SP, Age: 27, RHP)
Daysbel Hernández – #62 (RP, Age: 28, RHP)
Dylan Dodd – #46 (RP, Age: 26, LHP)
Amos Willingham – #50 (RP, Age: 26, RHP)
Nacho Alvarez Jr. – #67 (INF, Age: 21, R/R) – ATL Prospect Rank: #5
Eli White – #36 (OF, Age: 30, R/R)
Luke Williams – #65 (UTIL, Age: 28, R/R)

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2025:
Drue Hackenberg (P, Age: 22, RHP) – ATL Prospect Rank: #6

NOTABLE NON-ROSTER INVITES:
Chad Kuhl (SP, Age: 32, RHP)
Craig Kimbrel (RP, Age: 36, RHP)
Jesse Chavez (RP, Age: 41, RHP)
Héctor Neris (RP, Age: 35, RHP)
Enyel De Los Santos (RP, Age: 29, RHP)
Dylan Covey (RP, Age: 33, RHP)
Chasen Shreve (RP, Age: 34, LHP)
Curt Casali (C, Age: 36, R/R)
Sandy León (C, Age: 36, S/R)
Garrett Cooper (1B/OF, Age: 34, R/R)
Eddy Alvarez (INF, Age: 35, L/R)
Alex Verdugo (OF, Age: 28, L/L)
Jake Marisnick (OF, Age: 34, R/R)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:
MVP: RF Ronald Acuña Jr.
Breakout Player: C Drake Baldwin
Addition: LF Jurickson Profar
Grade: A-
Lineup Rank: 2nd
Rotation Rank: 8th
Bullpen Rank: 5th

In the eyes of many Atlanta fans, 2024 was an abysmal year for the Braves who were ravaged with injuries from beginning to end. They still snuck into a Wild Card and losing first round. Ronald Acuna had another season ending injury, Spencer Strider missed practically the whole year, and both Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley missed big chunks. They’ll enter the new year fully healthy and ready to make another run at a World Series. The core remains the same, as Acuna returns from injury to bolster the lineup. Sean Murphy is injured yet again, and with top prospect Drake Baldwin on the horizon, a split backstop could become consistent to keep him healthy.

It’ll be interesting to see what they can get out of their rotation, with top arms Max Fried and Charlie Morton both leaving in free agency. Chris Sale won the Triple Crown in a resurgent 2024, and will remain the ace of the staff with Reynaldo Lopez and soon to return Spencer Strider. Spencer Schwellenbach had a great rookie year and should be a permanent rotation piece. Top prospect A.J. Smith-Shawver should also see a pathway into the rotation will all of the departures that occurred. The bullpen will remain anchored by Raisel Iglesias as the closer, with Aaron Bummer and Dylan Lee as the supporting cast. A huge blow was losing Joe Jimenez for the season, a move that could cause Atlanta to look for bullpen help throughout the year. I think the Braves will return to dominance in 2025, and likely win the division. It’ll be between them and the Mets, but I give the slight edge to Atlanta as of now.

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Miami Marlins

Manager: Clayton McCullough
1st year – AGE: 45

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
SS	#9	Xavier Edwards	25	S/R	.328 AVG, 1 HR, 26 RBI, 31 SB
3B	#1	Connor Norby	24	R/R	.236 AVG, 9 HR, 20 RBI, .732 OPS – (BAL/MIA)
RF	#7	Jesús Sánchez	27	L/R	.252 AVG, 18 HR, 64 RBI, 16 SB
DH	#41	Jonah Bride	29	R/R	.276 AVG, 11 HR, 39 RBI, .818 OPS
1B	#36	Matt Mervis	26	L/R	3/26, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .302 OPS – (CHC)
2B	#6	Otto Lopez	26	R/R	.270 AVG, 6 HR, 39 RBI, 20 SB
LF	#28	Kyle Stowers	27	L/L	.208 AVG, 3 HR, 24 RBI, .601 OPS – (BAL/MIA)
C	#4	Nick Fortes	28	R/R	.227 AVG, 4 HR, 29 RBI, .577 OPS
CF	#3	Derek Hill	29	R/R	.241 AVG, 7 HR, 25 RBI, 6 SB – (TEX/SF/MIA)

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
C	#50	Agustin Ramírez (R)	23	R/R	MIA Prospect Rank: #4
UTIL	#63	Graham Pauley (R)	24	L/R	4/32, 2 HR, 5 RBI, .438 OPS – (SD)
OF	#54	Dane Myers	29	R/R	.263 AVG, 3 HR, 19 RBI, .775 OPS
OF	#18	Griffin Conine	27	L/R	.268 AVG, 3 HR, 12 RBI, .777 OPS

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
A	#22	Sandy Alcántara	29	RHP	DNP – Tommy John Surgery
2	#47	Cal Quantrill	30	RHP	8-11, 4.98 ERA, 110 Ks, 1.52 WHIP – (COL)
3	#35	Ryan Weathers	25	LHP	5-6, 3.63 ERA, 80 Ks, 1.18 WHIP
4	#27	Edward Cabrera	26	RHP	4-8, 4.95 ERA, 107 Ks, 1.37 WHIP
5	#23	Max Meyer	25	RHP	3-5, 5.68 ERA, 46 Ks, 1.42 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
CP	#38	Jesús Tinoco	29	RHP	3 SVs, 3.32 ERA, 42 Ks, 0.96 WHIP – (TEX/CHC/MIA)
CP	#53	Calvin Faucher	29	RHP	6 SVs, 3.19 ERA, 63 Ks, 1.40 WHIP
RP	#37	Anthony Bender	30	RHP	1 SV, 4.08 ERA, 59 Ks, 1.28 WHIP
RP	#55	Mike Baumann	29	RHP	58.1 IP, 5.55 ERA, 58 Ks, 1.49 WHIP – (BAL/SEA/SF/LAA/MIA)
RP	#62	George Soriano	25	RHP	1 SV, 6.75 ERA, 29 Ks, 1.36 WHIP
RP	#51	Declan Cronin	27	RHP	70.1 IP, 4.35 ERA, 72 Ks, 1.42 WHIP
RP	#59	Anthony Veneziano (R)	27	LHP	13.1 IP, 3.38 ERA, 14 Ks, 1.43 WHIP – (KC/MIA)
LNG	#32	Ronny Henriquez	24	RHP	19.1 IP, 3.26 ERA, 15 Ks, 1.29 WHIP – (MIN)

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
SP	#39	Eury Pérez	21	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Potential return in July
SP	#29	Braxton Garrett	27	LHP	Elbow surgery Likely to miss entire season
RP	#43	Andrew Nardi	26	LHP	Back tightness Potential return in May

DEPTH PIECES ON 40-MAN ROSTER:
Valente Bellozo – #83 (SP, Age: 25, RHP)
Adam Mazur – #60 (SP, Age: 23, RHP) – MIA Prospect Rank: #13
Lake Bachar – #84 (RP, Age: 29, RHP)
Brett de Geus – #44 (RP, Age: 27, RHP)
Connor Gillispie – #55 (RP, Age: 27, RHP)
Javier Sanoja – #46 (INF, Age: 22, R/R) – MIA Prospect Rank: #15
Eric Wagaman – #33 (INF, Age: 27, R/R)

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2025:
Robby Snelling (P, Age: 21, LHP) – MIA Prospect Rank: #8
Joe Mack (C, Age: 22, L/R) – MIA Prospect Rank: #9
Deyvison De Los Santos (INF, Age: 21, R/R) – MIA Prospect Rank: #12

NOTABLE NON-ROSTER INVITES:
Xzavion Curry (SP, Age: 26, RHP)
Janson Junk (RP, Age: 29, RHP)
Rob Brantly (C, Age: 35, L/R)
Albert Almora Jr. (OF, Age: 30, R/R)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:
MVP: SP Sandy Alcantara
Breakout Player: LF Kyle Stowers
Addition: SP Cal Quantrill
Grade: D-
Lineup Rank: 15th
Rotation Rank: 14th
Bullpen Rank: 15th

It’s safe to say the Marlins will be at the bottom of the National League this year, with very little to look forward to. They dealt all of their assets that were worth anything, loading up on prospects that they hope can bring them to relevance. After sneaking into the playoffs for the first time since 2003, Skip Schumaker followed it up with an abysmal year as the team let him go after 2024. It was a somewhat weird twist of events, but now Clayton McCullough will be tasked with developing the beginning of yet another rebuild. Xavier Edwards and Jesus Sanchez were the best returning bats from last year, with several plug and play guys looking to fill out the team. Kyle Stowers, Connor Norby, and Matt Mervis are all former top prospects that they hope they can get development from.

The pitching will see the return of Sandy Alcantara who will be the one reason to watch any Marlins baseball in 2025 every five days. Eury Perez will also likely rejoin the staff by midseason after he bursted onto the scene before going down for Tommy John Surgery. The team also does not have any top 100 prospects that are set to debut this year, with several of their team’s top 10 prospects close to the horizon. Miami will definitely get beat up this year, and until the franchise decides to embrace winning and spending money, it seems a rebuild will likely continue to happen every 5 or so years. It’s truly a shame, but this is the state of a few of the franchises in baseball who haven’t gotten with the times.

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New York Mets

Manager: Carlos Mendoza
2nd year
Career/Team record: 89-73, Career Playoff record: 7-6 – AGE: 45

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
SS	#12	Francisco Lindor	31	S/R	.273 AVG, 33 HR, 91 RBI, 29 SB
RF	#22	Juan Soto	26	L/L	.288 AVG, 41 HR, 109 RBI, .989 OPS – (NYY)
1B	#20	Pete Alonso	30	R/R	.240 AVG, 34 HR, 88 RBI, .788 OPS
LF	#9	Brandon Nimmo	31	L/R	.224 AVG, 23 HR, 90 RBI, 15 SB
3B	#27	Mark Vientos	25	R/R	.266 AVG, 27 HR, 71 RBI, .837 OPS
DH	#3	Jesse Winker	31	L/L	.253 AVG, 14 HR, 58 RBI, 14 SB – (WSH/NYM)
C	#4	Francisco Alvarez	23	R/R	.237 AVG, 11 HR, 47 RBI, .710 OPS
2B	#1	Jeff McNeil	32	L/R	.238 AVG, 12 HR, 44 RBI, 5 SB
CF	#19	José Siri	29	R/R	.187 AVG, 18 HR, 47 RBI, 14 SB – (TB)

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
C	#13	Luis Torrens	28	R/R	.229 AVG, 3 HR, 15 RBI, .665 OPS
INF	#7	Brett Baty	25	L/R	.229 AVG, 4 HR, 16 RBI, .633 OPS
RF	#6	Starling Marte	36	R/R	.269 AVG, 7 HR, 40 RBI, 16 SB
OF	#15	Tyrone Taylor	31	R/R	.248 AVG, 7 HR, 35 RBI, 11 SB

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
A	#34	Kodai Senga	32	RHP	5.1 IP, 3.38 ERA, 9 Ks, 0.56 WHIP
2	#59	Sean Manaea	33	LHP	12-6, 3.47 ERA, 184 Ks, 1.08 WHIP
3	#35	Clay Holmes	31	RHP	30 SVs, 3.14 ERA, 68 Ks, 1.30 WHIP – (NYY)
4	#23	David Peterson	29	LHP	10-3, 2.90 ERA, 101 Ks, 1.29 WHIP
5	#38	Tylor Megill	29	RHP	4-5, 4.04 ERA, 91 Ks, 1.31 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
CP	#39	Edwin Díaz	30	RHP	20 SVs, 3.52 ERA, 84 Ks, 1.04 WHIP
SU	#55	Ryne Stanek	33	RHP	7 SVs, 4.88 ERA, 67 Ks, 1.32 WHIP – (SEA/NYM)
RP	#33	A.J. Minter	31	LHP	1 SV, 2.62 ERA, 35 Ks, 1.02 WHIP – (ATL)
RP	#75	Reed Garrett	32	RHP	4 SVs, 3.77 ERA, 83 Ks, 1.40 WHIP
RP	#72	Dedniel Núñez	28	RHP	1 SV, 2.31 ERA, 48 Ks, 0.91 WHIP
RP	#70	José Buttó	26	RHP	3 SVs, 2.55 ERA, 79 Ks, 1.07 WHIP
RP	#32	Max Kranick	27	RHP	DNP – Played in AAA
LNG	#58	Paul Blackburn	31	RHP	5-4, 4.66 ERA, 59 Ks, 1.29 WHIP – (ATH/NYM)

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
INF	#11	Nick Madrigal	28	R/R	Torn shoulder Likely to miss entire season
SP	#47	Frankie Montas	31	RHP	Lat strain Potential return in May
SP	#45	Christian Scott	25	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Potential return in September
RP		Drew Smith	31	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Likely to miss entire season

DEPTH PIECES ON 40-MAN ROSTER:
Griffin Canning – #46 (SP, Age: 28, RHP)
Danny Young – #81 (RP, Age: 30, LHP)
Huascar Brazobán – #43 (RP, Age: 35, RHP)
Kevin Herget – #57 (RP, Age: 33, RHP)
Austin Warren – #44 (RP, Age: 29, RHP)
Luisangel Acuña – #2 (INF, Age: 23, R/R) – NYM Prospect Rank: #7
Ronny Mauricio – #10 (INF, Age: 23, S/R) – NYM Prospect Rank: #10
Jared Young – #29 (UTIL, Age: 29, L/R)
Alexander Canario – #25 (OF, Age: 24, R/R)
José Azocar – #30 (OF, Age: 28, R/R)

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2025:
Brandon Sproat (P, Age: 24, RHP) – MLB Prospect Rank: #46
Jett Williams (SS/OF, Age: 21, R/R) – MLB Prospect Rank: #57
Nolan McLean (P, Age: 23, RHP) – NYM Prospect Rank: #5
Drew Gilbert (OF, Age: 24, L/L) – NYM Prospect Rank: #11

NOTABLE NON-ROSTER INVITES:
Chris Devenski (RP, Age: 28, LHP)
Ty Adcock (RP, Age: 28, RHP)
Anthony Gose (RP, Age: 34, LHP)
Génesis Cabrera (RP, Age: 28, LHP)
Oliver Ortega (RP, Age: 28, RHP)
Joey Meneses (1B, Age: 32, R/R)
Donovan Walton (UTIL, Age: 30, L/R)
Rafael Ortega (OF, Age: 33, L/R)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:
MVP: RF Juan Soto
Breakout Player: SP Brandon Sproat
Addition: RF Juan Soto
Grade: A-
Lineup Rank: 3rd
Rotation Rank: 6th
Bullpen Rank: 4th

2024 will always go down as a special year for the Mets, after starting off 0-5 and even falling to well over 10 games under .500, they went on a run that saw them lose to the Dodgers in the NLCS. They had star studded years from their star SS Francisco Lindor and a breakout from top prospect Mark Vientos. On top of this, they retained practically all of their key offensive pieces (excluding Mr. OMG), while also adding the biggest fish on the market in superstar Juan Soto. It was a generational contract, but by giving this, the Mets mean business and will not accept anything less than consistent competitiveness. Pete Alonso was also brought back, while veterans Brandon Nimmo, Jesse Winker, and Starling Marte headline the outfield. Jeff McNeil will also look to bounce back to all-star form, while top prospects Luisangel Acuna and Ronny Mauricio should get into the mix.

Last year’s rotation was strung together by a band of solid veterans that had extraordinary years in Sean Manaea, Jose Quintana, and Luis Severino. The latter two have left in free agency, but Kodai Senga will return and will look to return to his 2023 all-star form after being sidelined most of last year. Clay Holmes was also signed to be converted into a starter, an experiment that has looked solid in limited opportunities during Spring Training. The bullpen is still headlined by Edwin Diaz as the closer, with Ryne Stanek re-signed and A.J. Minter brought in to back him up. Reed Garrett, Dedniel Nunez, Jose Butto, and Huascar Brazoban all had solid years in 2024 and will be relied upon to do the same in 2025. I think the Mets are a clear cut threat to win the division, but it won’t be easy as the Braves look to get back to full health. The Phillies will also be out for vengeance after falling to them in the NLDS. The Mets will have a target on their back, but I’m confident in the group they have put together and what they proved last year to be able to dodge the punches that other teams will throw.

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Philadelphia Phillies

Manager: Rob Thomson
4th year
Career/Team record: 250-185, Career Playoff record: 20-14 – AGE: 61

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
DH	#12	Kyle Schwarber	32	L/R	.248 AVG, 38 HR, 104 RBI, .851 OPS
SS	#7	Trea Turner	31	R/R	.295 AVG, 21 HR, 62 RBI, .807 OPS
1B	#3	Bryce Harper	32	L/R	.285 AVG, 30 HR, 87 RBI, .898 OPS
3B	#28	Alec Bohm	28	R/R	.280 AVG, 15 HR, 97 RBI, .779 OPS
RF	#8	Nick Castellanos	33	R/R	.254 AVG, 23 HR, 86 RBI, .742 OPS
C	#10	J.T. Realmuto	33	R/R	.266 AVG, 14 HR, 47 RBI, .751 OPS
LF	#17	Max Kepler	32	L/L	.253 AVG, 8 HR, 42 RBI, .682 OPS – (MIN)
2B	#5	Bryson Stott	27	L/R	.245 AVG, 11 HR, 57 RBI, 32 SB
CF	#16	Brandon Marsh	27	L/R	.249 AVG, 16 HR, 60 RBI, 19 SB

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
C	#21	Garrett Stubbs	31	L/R	.207 AVG, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 5 SB
INF	#33	Edmundo Sosa	29	R/R	.257 AVG, 7 HR, 31 RBI, .734 OPS
UTIL	#2	Kody Clemens	28	L/R	.219 AVG, 5 HR, 18 RBI, .706 OPS
OF	#18	Johan Rojas	24	R/R	.243 AVG, 3 HR, 32 RBI, 25 SB

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
A	#45	Zack Wheeler	34	RHP	16-7, 2.57 ERA, 224 Ks, 0.96 WHIP
2	#27	Aaron Nola	31	RHP	14-8, 3.57 ERA, 197 Ks, 1.20 WHIP
3	#44	Jesús Luzardo	27	LHP	3-6, 5.00 ERA, 58 Ks, 1.25 WHIP – (MIA)
4	#61	Cristopher Sánchez	28	LHP	11-9, 3.32 ERA, 153 Ks, 1.24 WHIP
5	#55	Ranger Suárez	29	LHP	12-8, 3.46 ERA, 145 Ks, 1.20 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
CP	#68	Jordan Romano	31	RHP	8 SVs, 6.59 ERA, 13 Ks, 1.46 WHIP – (TOR)
SU	#46	José Alvarado	29	LHP	13 SVs, 4.09 ERA, 63 Ks, 1.25 WHIP
RP	#50	Orion Kerkering	23	RHP	63 IP, 2.29 ERA, 74 Ks, 1.08 WHIP
RP	#25	Matt Strahm	33	LHP	3 SVs, 1.87 ERA, 79 Ks, 0.75 WHIP
RP	#66	José Ruiz	30	RHP	1 SV, 3.71 ERA, 52 Ks, 1.33 WHIP
RP	#58	Tanner Banks	33	LHP	2 SVs, 3.98 ERA, 78 Ks, 1.30 WHIP – (CWS/PHI)
LNG	#41	Joe Ross	31	RHP	3-6, 3.77 ERA, 66 Ks, 1.37 WHIP – (MIL)
LNG	#99	Taijuan Walker	32	RHP	3-7, 7.10 ERA, 58 Ks, 1.72 WHIP

DEPTH PIECES ON 40-MAN ROSTER:
Kyle Tyler – #57 (SP, Age: 28, RHP)
Michael Mercado – #63 (SP, Age: 25, RHP) – PHI Prospect Rank: #22
Tyler Phillips – #48 (SP, Age: 27, RHP)
Yunior Marte – #43 (RP, Age: 30, RHP)
Devin Sweet – #39 (RP, Age: 28, RHP)
Max Lazar – #60 (RP, Age: 25, RHP)
Rafael Marchán – #13 (C, Age: 26, S/R)
Buddy Kennedy – #19 (INF, Age: 26, R/R)
Weston Wilson – #37 (OF, Age: 30, R/R)
Cal Stevenson – #47 (OF, Age: 28, L/L)

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2025:
Andrew Painter (P, Age: 21, RHP) – MLB Prospect Rank: #8
Mick Abel (P, Age: 23, RHP) – PHI Prospect Rank: #8
Gabriel Rincones Jr. (OF, Age: 24, L/R) – PHI Prospect Rank: #10
Jean Cabrera (P, Age: 23, RHP) – PHI Prospect Rank: #11
Seth Johnson (P, Age: 26, RHP) – PHI Prospect Rank: #12

NOTABLE NON-ROSTER INVITES:
José Cuás (RP, Age: 30, RHP)
Nabil Crismatt (RP, Age: 30, RHP)
Christian Arroyo (INF, Age: 29, R/R)
Rodolfo Castro (INF, Age: 25, S/R)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:
MVP: SP Zack Wheeler
Breakout Player: SP Andrew Painter
Addition: SP Jesus Luzardo
Grade: A-
Lineup Rank: 4th
Rotation Rank: 2nd
Bullpen Rank: 2nd

The Phillies come off of a dominant year from start to finish, where their NL East division crown was never in jeopardy. They seemed like the closest thing to be able to compete with the Dodgers for the NL, but that was until they met the Mets in the NLDS. Now they’ll need to live down defeat from their division rival, while trying to return to dominance with the same core as last year. The big boppers of Harper, Turner, Schwarber, Realmuto, and Castellanos all return with a couple of them on expiring contracts and looking to make some noise. With top prospect Rafael Marchan on the horizon, rumors have circulated about Realmuto getting moved to the OF, but nothing will be set in stone this year. Max Kepler was signed to take over LF, as CF should see a platoon of Brandon Marsh and Johan Rojas. Kody Clemens was a positive utility piece during their late season run, and should see a primary bench spot as a backup.

The rotation added another former all-star to their stacked core, as they traded for Jesus Luzardo from the Marlins. He joins the staff with one of the best 1-2 punches in the game in Wheeler and Nola, with Sanchez and Suarez right behind him. MLB top 10 prospect Andrew Painter should get the call up at some point this year, adding more depth for when injuries inevitably occur. The bullpen lost one of their best arms in Jeff Hoffman, but replaced him with former Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano. Jose Alvarado, Matt Strahm, and Orion Kerkering will back him up in the back end. With the Mets now reloaded and the Braves back to health, the Phillies look to be the odd men out for me. They’ll definitely land a Wild Card spot, but being atop the division will be a battle.

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Washington Nationals

Manager: Dave Martinez
8th year
Career/Team record: 463-569, Career Playoff record: 12-5 – AGE: 60

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
SS	#5	C.J. Abrams	24	L/R	.246 AVG, 20 HR, 65 RBI, 31 SB
RF	#3	Dylan Crews (R)	23	R/R	.218 AVG, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 12 SB
LF	#29	James Wood	22	L/R	.264 AVG, 9 HR, 41 RBI, .781 OPS
1B	#33	Nathaniel Lowe	29	L/R	.265 AVG, 16 HR, 69 RBI, .762 OPS – (TEX)
C	#20	Keibert Ruiz	26	S/R	.229 AVG, 13 HR, 57 RBI, 3 SB
2B	#2	Luis Garcia Jr.	24	L/R	.282 AVG, 18 HR, 70 RBI, 22 SB
DH	#19	Josh Bell	32	S/R	.249 AVG, 19 HR, 71 RBI, .725 OPS – (MIA/ARI)
3B	#14	Paul DeJong	31	R/R	.227 AVG, 24 HR, 56 RBI, .703 OPS – (CWS/KC)
CF	#30	Jacob Young	25	R/R	.256 AVG, 3 HR, 36 RBI, 33 SB

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
C	#15	Riley Adams	28	R/R	.224 AVG, 2 HR, 8 RBI, .629 OPS
INF	#8	José Tena	23	L/R	.267 AVG, 3 HR, 15 RBI, 6 SB – (CLE/WSH)
UTIL	#13	Amed Rosario	29	R/R	.280 AVG, 3 HR, 32 RBI, 13 SB – (TB/LAD/CIN)
OF	#17	Alex Call	30	R/R	.343 AVG, 3 HR, 14 RBI, .950 OPS

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
A	#1	MacKenzie Gore	26	LHP	10-12, 3.90 ERA, 181 Ks, 1.42 WHIP
2	#32	Trevor Williams	32	RHP	6-1, 2.03 ERA, 59 Ks, 1.04 WHIP
3	#27	Jake Irvin	28	RHP	10-14, 4.41 ERA, 156 Ks, 1.20 WHIP
4	#34	Michael Soroka	27	RHP	0-10, 4.74 ERA, 84 Ks, 1.38 WHIP – (CWS)
5	#70	Mitchell Parker	25	LHP	7-10, 4.29 ERA, 133 Ks, 1.30 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
CP	#67	Kyle Finnegan	33	RHP	38 SVs, 3.68 ERA, 60 Ks, 1.34 WHIP
SU	#39	Lucas Sims	30	RHP	1 SV, 4.38 ERA, 49 Ks, 1.44 WHIP – (CIN/BOS)
RP	#21	Jorge López	32	RHP	4 SVs, 2.89 ERA, 50 Ks, 1.23 WHIP – (NYM/CHC)
RP	#58	Derek Law	34	RHP	1 SV, 2.60 ERA, 76 Ks, 1.18 WHIP
RP	#47	José Ferrer	25	LHP	1 SV, 3.38 ERA, 25 Ks, 1.03 WHIP
RP	#16	Shinnosuke Ogasawara (R)	27	LHP	DNP – Played in NPB
RP	#62	Eduardo Salazar	26	RHP	29.1 IP, 2.76 ERA, 27 Ks, 1.64 WHIP – (LAD/WSH)
LNG	#79	Jackson Rutledge	25	RHP	8.1 IP, 3.24 ERA, 9 Ks, 1.20 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
SP	#40	Josiah Gray	27	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Likely to miss entire season
RP	#71	Mason Thompson	27	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Potential return in June

DEPTH PIECES ON 40-MAN ROSTER:
Cade Cavalli – #24 (SP, Age: 26, RHP) – WSH Prospect Rank: #8
D.J. Herz – #77 (SP, Age: 24, LHP)
Michael Rucker – #39 (RP, Age: 30, RHP)
Zach Brzykcy – #66 (RP, Age: 25, RHP) – WSH Prospect Rank: #22
Orlando Ribalta – #64 (RP, Age: 27, RHP)
Drew Millas – #81 (C, Age: 27, S/R)
Darren Baker – #10 (INF, Age: 26, L/R)
Trey Lipscomb – #38 (3B, Age: 24, R/R)
Nasim Nuñez – #26 (INF, Age: 24, S/R)
Juan Yepez – #18 (1B/OF, Age: 27, R/R)
Andrés Chaparro – #87 (INF, Age: 25, R/R)

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2025:
Brady House (3B, Age: 21, R/R) – WSH Prospect Rank: #4
Robert Hassell III (OF, Age: 23, L/L) – WSH Prospect Rank: #12
Tyler Stuart (P, Age: 25, RHP) – WSH Prospect Rank: #15

NOTABLE NON-ROSTER INVITES:
Colin Poche (RP, Age: 31, LHP)
Joan Adon (RP, Age: 26, RHP)
Konnor Pilkington (RP, Age: 27, LHP)
Andrew Knizner (C, Age: 30, R/R)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:
MVP: SS C.J. Abrams
Breakout Player: RF Dylan Crews
Addition: 1B Nathaniel Lowe
Grade: C-
Lineup Rank: 11th
Rotation Rank: 11th
Bullpen Rank: 12th

Just a couple of years removed from their impromptu rebuild, the Nationals seem to be putting together a solid core. They took major steps in 2024, including seeing SS C.J. Abrams become an all-star, and the debuts of top prospects James Wood and Dylan Crews. Those two should man the OF all year with speedster Jacob Young, creating one of the most exciting young OF groups in the game. Keibert Ruiz and Luis Garcia Jr. also had great seasons, establishing themselves as key pieces in the lineup. Veteran 1B Nate Lowe was added from Texas, giving them an established power hitter. Josh Bell, Paul DeJong, and Amed Rosario were all signed to give depth and quality veterans AB’s alongside the young core.

Although I’d say the lineup is a few steps ahead, the pitching seems to be looking decent too. MacKenzie Gore and Trevor Williams will be atop the rotation that will be missing all-star Josiah Gray who went down for Tommy John Surgery. Michael Soroka was signed and brought back to the NL East where he will look to revive his career that was sidetracked by injuries. The bullpen has some good pieces, with Kyle Finnegan re-signed to close, and veterans Jorge Lopez and Lucas Sims signed for the back end. I’m excited to see what the Nats can do in 2025, and although they won’t compete for a playoff spot, they can do some damage and will not be an easy beat. Davey Martinez’s team is beginning to come along a bit, and more prospect debuts will be on the horizon for this young core.

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Chicago Cubs

Manager: Craig Counsell
2nd year with Cubs, 11th year overall
Career record: 790-704, Cubs record: 83-79, Career Playoff record: 7-12 – AGE: 54

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
LF	#8	Ian Happ	30	S/R	.243 AVG, 25 HR, 86 RBI, 13 SB
1B	#29	Michael Busch	27	L/R	.248 AVG, 21 HR, 65 RBI, .775 OPS
RF	#30	Kyle Tucker	28	L/R	.289 AVG, 23 HR, 49 RBI, .993 OPS – (HOU)
DH	#27	Seiya Suzuki	30	R/R	.283 AVG, 21 HR, 73 RBI, .848 OPS
SS	#7	Dansby Swanson	31	R/R	.242 AVG, 16 HR, 66 RBI, 19 SB
3B	#6	Matt Shaw (R)	23	R/R	MLB Prospect Rank: #19
2B	#2	Nico Hoerner	27	R/R	.273 AVG, 7 HR, 48 RBI, 31 SB
C	#9	Miguel Amaya	26	R/R	.232 AVG, 8 HR, 47 RBI, .644 OPS
CF	#4	Pete Crow-Armstrong	22	L/L	.237 AVG, 10 HR, 47 RBI, 27 SB

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
C	#15	Carson Kelly	30	R/R	.238 AVG, 9 HR, 37 RBI, .687 OPS – (DET/TEX)
1B/3B	#3	Justin Turner	40	R/R	.259 AVG, 11 HR, 55 RBI, .737 OPS – (TOR/SEA)
UTIL	#5	Jon Berti	35	R/R	.273 AVG, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 5 SB – (NYY)
UTIL	#17	Vidal Bruján	27	S/R	.222 AVG, 2 HR, 16 RBI, 5 SB – (MIA)

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
A	#18	Shota Imanaga	31	LHP	15-3, 2.91 ERA, 174 Ks, 1.02 WHIP
2	#35	Justin Steele	29	LHP	5-5, 3.07 ERA, 135 Ks, 1.10 WHIP
3	#50	Jameson Taillon	33	RHP	12-8, 3.27 ERA, 125 Ks, 1.13 WHIP
4	#16	Matthew Boyd	34	LHP	2-2, 2.72 ERA, 46 Ks, 1.13 WHIP – (CLE)
5	#53	Colin Rea	34	RHP	12-6, 4.29 ERA, 135 Ks, 1.26 WHIP – (MIL)

POS.	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
CP	#55	Ryan Pressly	36	RHP	4 SVs, 3.49 ERA, 58 Ks, 1.34 WHIP – (HOU)
SU	#24	Caleb Thielbar	38	LHP	3 SVs, 5.32 ERA, 53 Ks, 1.56 WHIP – (MIN)
RP	#54	Ryan Brasier	37	RHP	28 IP, 3.54 ERA, 25 Ks, 0.96 WHIP – (LAD)
RP	#56	Nate Pearson	28	RHP	2 SVs, 4.48 ERA, 74 Ks, 1.33 WHIP – (TOR/CHC)
RP	#66	Julian Merryweather	33	RHP	15 IP, 6.60 ERA, 14 Ks, 1.80 WHIP
RP	#37	Porter Hodge	24	RHP	9 SVs, 1.88 ERA, 52 Ks, 0.88 WHIP
RP	#33	Eli Morgan	28	RHP	42 IP, 1.93 ERA, 34 Ks, 0.98 WHIP – (CLE)
LNG	#71	Keegan Thompson	30	RHP	2 SVs, 2.67 ERA, 36 Ks, 1.22 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
SP	#72	Javier Assad	27	RHP	Oblique injury Potential return in May

DEPTH PIECES ON 40-MAN ROSTER:
Ben Brown – #32 (SP, Age: 25, RHP)
Jordan Wicks – #36 (SP, Age: 25, LHP)
Caleb Killian – #45 (SP, Age: 27, RHP)
Tyson Miller – #49 (RP, Age: 29, RHP)
Daniel Palencia – #48 (RP, Age: 25, RHP)
Cody Poteet – #38 (RP, Age: 30, RHP)
Luke Little – #43 (RP, Age: 24, LHP)
Gavin Hollowell – #46 (RP, Age: 27, RHP)
Ethan Roberts – #39 (RP, Age: 27, RHP)
Kevin Alcántara – #13 (OF, Age: 22, R/R) – MLB Prospect Rank: #89

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2025:
Cade Horton (P, Age: 23, RHP) – MLB Prospect Rank: #51
Owen Caissie (OF, Age: 22, L/R) – MLB Prospect Rank: #53
Moises Ballesteros (C/1B, Age: 21, L/R) – MLB Prospect Rank: #68
James Triantos (2B/OF, Age: 22, R/R) – MLB Prospect Rank: #72
Brandon Birdsell (P, Age: 24, RHP) – CHC Prospect Rank: #8

NOTABLE NON-ROSTER INVITES:
Chris Flexen (SP, Age: 30, RHP)
Brad Keller (SP, Age: 29, RHP)
Trevor Richards (RP, Age: 31, RHP)
Phil Bickford (RP, Age: 29, RHP)
Brandon Hughes (RP, Age: 29, LHP)
Reese McGuire (C, Age: 30, L/R)
Nicky Lopez (INF, Age: 30, L/R)
Greg Allen (OF, Age: 32, S/R)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:
MVP: RF Kyle Tucker
Breakout Player: 3B Matt Shaw
Addition: RF Kyle Tucker
Grade: B+
Lineup Rank: 7th
Rotation Rank: 4th
Bullpen Rank: 9th

The Cubs had a great debut year of the Craig Counsell era, narrowly missing the playoffs finishing 83-79 due to a late season run. They followed up by trading star Cody Bellinger, and acquiring an even bigger star in Kyle Tucker from the Astros. This move should bolster an offense that already awaits some top prospects. The core of Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki, and Dansby Swanson all return, with former top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong sliding into everyday CF duties. Matt Shaw will likely become the everyday 3B, either to start the year or at some point early in the season. Veterans Justin Turner and Jon Berti should also fill out the bench and provide solid depth.

The rotation is sneakily one of the best in the game after Shota Imanaga bursted onto the scene in his first season coming over from Japan. Justin Steele and Jameson Taillon return, while veterans Matthew Boyd, Colin Rea, and Javier Assad will be the back end arms. Ryan Pressly was also acquired from the Astros to be the closer giving them a reliable late inning piece with a plethora of young arms. The Cubs are my clear cut favorite to win the NL Central, which has been notoriously weak over the last few seasons. The Reds and Brewers will also be atop the division, but it’ll likely be a one team playoff division with the powerhouses in the East and West.

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Cincinnati Reds

Manager: Terry Francona
1st year in Cincinnati, 24th year overall
Career record: 1,950-1,672, Career Playoff record: 44-34 – AGE: 66

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
2B	#2	Gavin Lux	27	L/R	.251 AVG, 10 HR, 50 RBI, .703 OPS – (LAD)
SS	#44	Elly De La Cruz	23	S/R	.259 AVG, 25 HR, 76 RBI, 67 SB
DH	#3	Jeimer Candelario	31	S/R	.225 AVG, 20 HR, 56 RBI, .707 OPS
LF	#7	Spencer Steer	27	R/R	.225 AVG, 20 HR, 92 RBI, 25 SB
1B	#33	Christian Encarnacion-Strand	25	R/R	.190 AVG, 2 HR, 16 RBI, .513 OPS
CF	#29	T.J. Friedl	29	L/L	.226 AVG, 13 HR, 55 RBI, 9 SB
3B	#4	Santiago Espinal	30	R/R	.246 AVG, 9 HR, 45 RBI, 11 SB
RF	#12	Austin Hays	29	R/R	.255 AVG, 5 HR, 20 RBI, .699 OPS – (BAL/PHI)
C	#35	José Trevino	32	R/R	.215 AVG, 8 HR, 28 RBI, .642 OPS – (NYY)

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
C	#38	Austin Wynns	34	R/R	7/19, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .979 OPS
INF	#9	Matt McLain	25	R/R	DNP – Shoulder surgery
OF	#27	Jake Fraley	29	L/L	.277 AVG, 5 HR, 26 RBI, 20 SB
OF	#17	Stuart Fairchild	28	R/R	.215 AVG, 8 HR, 30 RBI, 13 SB

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
A	#21	Hunter Greene	25	RHP	9-5, 2.75 ERA, 169 Ks, 1.02 WHIP
2	#51	Brady Singer	28	RHP	9-13, 3.71 ERA, 170 Ks, 1.27 WHIP – (KC)
3	#40	Nick Lodolo	27	LHP	9-6, 4.76 ERA, 122 Ks, 1.20 WHIP
4	#41	Andrew Abbott	25	LHP	10-10, 3.72 ERA, 114 Ks, 1.30 WHIP
5	#28	Nick Martinez	34	RHP	10-7, 3.10 ERA, 116 Ks, 1.03 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
CP	#43	Alexis Díaz	28	RHP	28 SVs, 3.99 ERA, 55 Ks, 1.30 WHIP
SU	#55	Taylor Rogers	34	LHP	60 IP, 2.40 ERA, 64 Ks, 1.25 WHIP – (SF)
RP	#15	Emilio Pagán	33	RHP	1 SV, 4.50 ERA, 44 Ks, 1.34 WHIP
RP	#58	Scott Barlow	32	RHP	2 SVs, 4.25 ERA, 68 Ks, 1.36 WHIP – (CLE)
RP	#50	Sam Moll	33	LHP	37.2 IP, 3.35 ERA, 38 Ks, 1.09 WHIP
RP	#64	Tony Santillan	27	RHP	30 IP, 3.00 ERA, 46 Ks, 1.00 WHIP
RP	#31	Brent Suter	35	LHP	2 SVs, 3.15 ERA, 50 Ks, 1.14 WHIP
LNG	#23	Graham Ashcraft	27	RHP	5-5, 5.24 ERA, 57 Ks, 1.50 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
C	#37	Tyler Stephenson	28	R/R	Back injury Potential return in May
SP		Brandon Williamson	26	LHP	Tommy John Surgery Likely to miss entire season
SP	#39	Julian Aguiar (R)	23	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Likely to miss entire season
SP	#25	Rhett Lowder (R)	23	RHP	Elbow injury Potential return in May

DEPTH PIECES ON 40-MAN ROSTER:
Carson Spiers – #68 (SP, Age: 27, RHP)
Lyon Richardson – #72 (SP, Age: 25, RHP)
Yosver Zulueta – #67 (RP, Age: 27, RHP)
Connor Phillips – #34 (RP, Age: 23, RHP) – CIN Prospect Rank: #15
Noelvi Marte – #16 (INF, Age: 23, R/R)
Will Benson – #30 (OF, Age: 26, L/L)
Blake Dunn – #59 (OF, Age: 26, R/R)
Rece Hinds – #57 (OF, Age: 24, R/R)
Jacob Hurtubise – #26 (OF, Age: 27, L/R)

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2025:
Chase Burns (P, Age: 22, RHP) – MLB Prospect Rank: #26
Chase Petty (P, Age: 21, RHP) – CIN Prospect Rank: #6

NOTABLE NON-ROSTER INVITES:
Wade Miley (SP, Age: 38, LHP)
Josh Staumont (RP, Age: 31, RHP)
Albert Abreu (RP, Age: 29, RHP)
Bryan Shaw (RP, Age: 37, RHP)
Alex Young (RP, Age: 31, LHP)
Ian Gibaut (RP, Age: 31, RHP)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:
MVP: SS Elly De La Cruz
Breakout Player: SP Brady Singer
Addition: 2B/SS Gavin Lux
Grade: B-
Lineup Rank: 10th
Rotation Rank: 12th
Bullpen Rank: 11th

The Reds seemed to be headed in a solid direction before fizzling out late in the season. They shocked a lot of people this offseason by hiring Terry Francona, who retired when leaving the Guardians after 2023, only to be brought back a year later. There’s definitely plenty of potential here for the legendary manager, with Elly De La Cruz as the star-studded centerpiece. Spencer Steer, Jeimer Candelario, and Tyler Stephenson will be relied upon to carry the middle of the lineup, as well as Gavin Lux who was acquired from the Dodgers. Matt McLain missed the entire season last year, and Noelvi Marte missed half the year, they should be two dark horses as former top prospects to break out in 2025.

The pitching definitely needed to get touched up a bit this offseason, and they did so by trading for Brady Singer from the Royals. He’ll be atop the rotation with young ace Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo. Guys like Andrew Abbott, Graham Ashcraft, Nick Martinez, and Carson Spiers should all get shots at starts as well, with Brandon Williamson and Julian Aguiar shelved for the entire year. The bullpen brings back Alexis Diaz as closer, with veteran Taylor Rogers as his supporting piece. I like the Reds to make a push this year, but the power of the Cubs and Brewers will probably be too much. Realistically they’re right around a .500 team at best this year.

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Milwaukee Brewers

Manager: Pat Murphy
2nd year in Milwaukee, 3rd year overall
Career record: 135-123, MIL record: 93-69, Career Playoff record: 1-2 – AGE: 66

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
2B	#2	Brice Turang	25	L/R	.254 AVG, 7 HR, 57 RBI, 50 SB
CF	#11	Jackson Chourio	21	R/R	.275 AVG, 21 HR, 79 RBI, 22 SB
LF	#22	Christian Yelich	33	L/R	.315 AVG, 11 HR, 42 RBI, .909 OPS
C	#24	William Contreras	27	R/R	.281 AVG, 23 HR, 92 RBI, .831 OPS
DH	#12	Rhys Hoskins	32	R/R	.214 AVG, 26 HR, 82 RBI, .722 OPS
SS	#3	Joey Ortiz	26	R/R	.239 AVG, 11 HR, 60 RBI, 11 SB
1B	#7	Tyler Black (R)	24	L/R	10/49, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 3 SB
3B	#14	Andruw Monasterio	27	R/R	.208 AVG, 1 HR, 16 RBI, 6 SB
RF	#10	Sal Frelick	24	L/R	.259 AVG, 2 HR, 32 RBI, 18 SB

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
C	#13	Eric Haase	32	R/R	.273 AVG, 5 HR, 14 RBI, .819 OPS
INF	#15	Oliver Dunn	27	L/R	.221 AVG, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 3 SB
OF	#5	Garrett Mitchell	26	L/R	.255 AVG, 8 HR, 21 RBI, .812 OPS
OF/1B	#9	Jake Bauers	29	L/L	.199 AVG, 12 HR, 43 RBI, 13 SB

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
A	#51	Freddy Peralta	28	RHP	11-9, 3.68 ERA, 200 Ks, 1.21 WHIP
2	#32	Aaron Civale	29	RHP	8-9, 4.36 ERA, 149 Ks, 1.30 WHIP – (TB/MIL)
3	#62	José Quintana	36	LHP	10-10, 3.75 ERA, 135 Ks, 1.25 WHIP – (NYM)
4	#65	Nestor Cortes	30	LHP	9-10, 3.77 ERA, 162 Ks, 1.15 WHIP – (NYY)
5	#33	Tyler Alexander	30	LHP	6-5, 5.10 ERA, 90 Ks, 1.25 WHIP – (TB)

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
CP	#29	Trevor Megill	31	RHP	21 SVs, 2.72 ERA, 50 Ks, 1.01 WHIP
SU	#45	Abner Uribe	24	RHP	3 SVs, 6.91 ERA, 14 Ks, 1.88 WHIP
RP	#31	Joel Payamps	30	RHP	6 SVs, 3.05 ERA, 59 Ks, 0.97 WHIP
RP	#59	Elvis Peguero	27	RHP	2 SVs, 2.98 ERA, 47 Ks, 1.54 WHIP
RP	#25	Nick Mears	28	RHP	57.2 IP, 5.93 ERA, 75 Ks, 1.47 WHIP – (COL/MIL)
RP	#35	Elvin Rodríguez	26	RHP	DNP – Played in NPB
RP	#47	Jared Koenig	31	LHP	1 SV, 2.47 ERA, 63 Ks, 1.24 WHIP
LNG	#52	Bryan Hudson	27	LHP	62.1 IP, 1.73 ERA, 62 Ks, 0.72 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
OF	#16	Blake Perkins	28	S/R	Fractured leg Potential return in June
SP	#53	Brandon Woodruff	33	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Potential return in May
SP	#36	Tobias Myers	26	RHP	Oblique strain Potential return in May
SP	#75	Robert Gasser (R)	25	LHP	Tommy John Surgery Potential return in September
SP	#26	Aaron Ashby	26	LHP	Oblique strain Potential return in May
SP	#37	DL Hall	26	LHP	Lat strain Potential return in June

DEPTH PIECES ON 40-MAN ROSTER:
Carlos Rodriguez – #00 (SP, Age: 23, RHP) – MIL Prospect Rank: #23
Grant Anderson – #56 (RP, Age: 27, RHP)
Vinny Capra – #18 (INF, Age: 28, R/R)
Caleb Durbin – #63 (INF, Age: 25, R/R) – MIL Prospect Rank: #22
Isaac Collins – #6 (OF, Age: 27, S/R) – MIL Prospect Rank: #30
Brewer Hicklen – #28 (OF, Age: 29, R/R)

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2025:
Jeferson Quero (C, Age: 22, R/R) – MLB Prospect Rank: #47
Jacob Misiorowski (P, Age: 22, RHP) – MLB Prospect Rank: #99
Mike Boeve (3B/1B, Age: 22, L/R) – MIL Prospect Rank: #5
Logan Henderson (P, Age: 23, RHP) – MIL Prospect Rank: #13

NOTABLE NON-ROSTER INVITES:
Deivi García (SP, Age: 25, RHP)
J.B. Bukauskus (RP, Age: 28, RHP)
Vinny Nittoli (RP, Age: 34, RHP)
Easton McGee (RP, Age: 27, RHP)
Jorge Alfaro (C, Age: 31, R/R)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:
MVP: CF Jackson Chourio
Breakout Player: INF Joey Ortiz
Addition: SP Jose Quintana
Grade: B
Lineup Rank: 9th
Rotation Rank: 7th
Bullpen Rank: 3rd

The Brewers did what they do best in 2024, surprised a ton of people and were dominant when they were least expected to be. It was the first year without Craig Counsell, but Pat Murphy was able to lead the squad to an NL Central title and narrowly missing a series win. Now in 2025, they shed a few more expiring contracts and will look to remain atop an easy division. Jackson Chourio bursted out, becoming a star in his rookie year as he will help aid the core of Christian Yelich, William Contreras, and Brice Turang. Willy Adames left via free agency, leaving a gaping hole in the middle of the lineup. Rookie Tyler Black should slot in as an everyday player, with Joey Ortiz moving to SS and Rhys Hoskins likely becoming the full-time DH.

The rotation took a few hits, with Frankie Montas and Collin Rea signing elsewhere, and a few injuries to Robert Gasser and Tobias Myers. Brandon Woodruff should return at some point early in the season, giving them an all-star arm again. Freddy Peralta remains the ace with veterans Jose Quintana, Nestor Cortes, and Tyler Alexander all being brought in for depth. The bullpen took a big blow by trading closer Devin Williams to the Yankees. This should lead to Trevor Megill and Joel Payamps as two options for the 9th inning. The Brewers are going to be solid again and above .500, but it’ll be likely they take a step back from what they did last year. Now that many look at them as the favorites in the division, the regress should happen. It’s a vicious cycle for Milwaukee.

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Pittsburgh Pirates

Manager: Derek Shelton
6th year
Career/Team record: 294-414 – AGE: 54

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
DH	#22	Andrew McCutchen	38	R/R	.232 AVG, 20 HR, 50 RBI, .739 OPS
LF	#10	Bryan Reynolds	30	S/R	.275 AVG, 24 HR, 88 RBI, .791 OPS
CF	#15	Oneil Cruz	26	L/R	.259 AVG, 21 HR, 76 RBI, 22 SB
3B	#13	Ke’Bryan Hayes	28	R/R	.233 AVG, 4 HR, 25 RBI, 11 SB
RF	#28	Tommy Pham	37	R/R	.248 AVG, 9 HR, 39 RBI, 7 SB – (CWS/STL/KC)
1B	#2	Spencer Horwitz	27	L/R	.265 AVG, 12 HR, 40 RBI, .790 OPS – (TOR)
SS	#7	Isiah Kiner-Falefa	29	R/R	.269 AVG, 8 HR, 43 RBI, 11 SB – (TOR/PIT)
C	#32	Henry Davis	25	R/R	.144 AVG, 1 HR, 5 RBI, .453 OPS
2B	#39	Nick Gonzales	25	R/R	.270 AVG, 7 HR, 49 RBI, .709 OPS

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
C	#14	Joey Bart	28	R/R	.265 AVG, 13 HR, 45 RBI, .799 OPS
INF	#19	Jared Triolo	27	R/R	.216 AVG, 9 HR, 46 RBI, 8 SB
UTIL	#26	Adam Frazier	33	L/R	.202 AVG, 4 HR, 22 RBI, 3 SB – (KC)
OF	#65	Jack Suwinski	26	L/L	.182 AVG, 9 HR, 26 RBI, 9 SB

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
A	#30	Paul Skenes	22	RHP	11-3, 1.96 ERA, 170 Ks, 0.95 WHIP
2	#37	Jared Jones	23	RHP	6-8, 4.14 ERA, 132 Ks, 1.19 WHIP
3	#23	Mitch Keller	28	RHP	11-12, 4.25 ERA, 166 Ks, 1.30 WHIP
4	#0	Andrew Heaney	33	LHP	5-14, 4.28 ERA, 159 Ks, 1.25 WHIP – (TEX)
5	#6	Bailey Falter	27	LHP	8-9, 4.43 ERA, 97 Ks, 1.29 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
CP	#35	Colin Holderman	29	RHP	51.1 IP, 3.16 ERA, 56 Ks, 1.31 WHIP
SU	#51	David Bednar	30	RHP	23 SVs, 5.77 ERA, 58 Ks, 1.42 WHIP
RP	#18	Tim Mayza	33	LHP	42.2 IP, 6.33 ERA, 28 Ks, 1.62 WHIP – (TOR/NYY)
RP	#62	Justin Lawrence	30	RHP	2 SVs, 6.49 ERA, 45 Ks, 1.78 WHIP – (COL)
RP	#66	Kyle Nicolas	26	RHP	54.2 IP, 3.95 ERA, 55 Ks, 1.50 WHIP
RP	#64	Caleb Ferguson	28	LHP	1 SV, 4.64 ERA, 67 Ks, 1.49 WHIP – (NYY/HOU)
RP	#60	Dennis Santana	28	RHP	3 SVs, 3.89 ERA, 69 Ks, 1.09 WHIP – (NYY/PIT)
LNG	#34	Joey Wentz	27	LHP	1 SV, 4.68 ERA, 73 Ks, 1.47 WHIP – (DET/PIT)

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
SP	#24	Johan Oviedo	27	RHP	Elbow and lat strain Potential return in June
RP	#36	Dauri Moreta	28	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Potential return in July
RP	#63	Hunter Stratton	28	RHP	Torn patellar tendon Potential return in June

DEPTH PIECES ON 40-MAN ROSTER:
Carmen Mlodzinski – #50 (RP, Age: 26, RHP)
Peter Strzelecki – #44 (RP, Age: 30, RHP)
Chasen Shugart – #84 (RP, Age: 28, RHP)
Mike Burrows – #53 (RP, Age: 25, RHP) – PIT Prospect Rank: #15
Endy Rodríguez – #5 (C, Age: 24, S/R)
Jason Delay – #55 (C, Age: 30, R/R)
Nick Yorke – #38 (INF, Age: 22, R/R) – PIT Prospect Rank: #5
Liover Peguero – #31 (INF, Age: 24, R/R)
Billy Cook – #25 (INF, Age: 26, R/R)
Enmanuel Valdez – #94 (INF, Age: 26, L/R)
Ji-Hwan Bae – #3 (UTIL, Age: 25, L/R)
Joshua Palacios – #77 (OF, Age: 29, L/R)

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2025:
Bubba Chandler (P, Age: 22, RHP) – MLB Prospect Rank: #15
Thomas Harrington (P, Age: 23, RHP) – MLB Prospect Rank: #79
Braxton Ashcraft (P, Age: 25, RHP) – PIT Prospect Rank: #6

NOTABLE NON-ROSTER INVITES:
Tanner Rainey (RP, Age: 32, RHP)
Yohan Ramírez (RP, Age: 29, RHP)
Carson Fulmer (RP, Age: 31, RHP)
Ryan Borucki (RP, Age: 31, LHP)
Darick Hall (1B, Age: 29, L/R)
Nick Solak (UTIL, Age: 30, R/R)
D.J. Stewart (OF, Age: 31, L/R)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:
MVP: SP Paul Skenes
Breakout Player: INF Nick Yorke
Addition: SP Andrew Heaney
Grade: C
Lineup Rank: 13th
Rotation Rank: 9th
Bullpen Rank: 13th

The Pirates will look to build on their 2024 successes with another year that provides growth and reason to start spending on winning. Paul Skenes was the big storyline as the pitching became much improved, while the lineup still remains lackluster. Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz remain the stars, as Cruz will likely move to the OF to give more flexibility for young pieces in the infield. Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Tommy Pham, and Spencer Horwitz were all brought in to potentially provide some depth to the lineup. They will also look for some development from some young pieces, including former #1 pick Henry Davis who hasn’t been able to figure out hitting in the bigs yet.

The pitching is what’s going to drive this team if they become any bit competitive in 2025. The young duo of Paul Skenes and Jared Jones are atop the rotation, with veterans Mitch Keller and Andrew Heaney right behind them. The bullpen also looks sharp, with Collin Holderman and David Bednar as the high leverage back end pieces. Two top 100 prospects will also likely make their debuts in Bubba Chandler and Thomas Harrington. Chandler is baseball’s #15 prospect, and the team will hope he can join the rotation and make an impact immediately. I like the Pirates development and their mix of young pieces and veterans, but I still think they are a few years away from dominance. The clock has begun to tick on Paul Skenes, so it will be interesting to see if Pittsburgh will finally get with the times and start paying some free agents. Or else we’ve seen this before, and Skenes could end up a Dodger, Yankee, or Met.

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St. Louis Cardinals

Manager: Oliver Marmol
4th year
Career/Team record: 247-239, Career Playoff record: 0-2 – AGE: 38

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
LF	#33	Brendan Donovan	28	L/R	.278 AVG, 14 HR, 73 RBI, .759 OPS
DH	#41	Alec Burleson	26	L/L	.269 AVG, 21 HR, 78 RBI, .735 OPS
1B	#40	Willson Contreras	32	R/R	.262 AVG, 15 HR, 36 RBI, .848 OPS
3B	#28	Nolan Arenado	33	R/R	.272 AVG, 16 HR, 71 RBI, .719 OPS
C	#48	Iván Herrera	24	R/R	.301 AVG, 5 HR, 27 RBI, .800 OPS
SS	#0	Masyn Winn	22	R/R	.267 AVG, 15 HR, 57 RBI, 11 SB
2B	#16	Nolan Gorman	24	L/R	.203 AVG, 19 HR, 50 RBI, .671 OPS
RF	#21	Lars Nootbaar	27	L/R	.244 AVG, 12 HR, 45 RBI, .758 OPS
CF	#22	Michael Siani	25	L/L	.228 AVG, 2 HR, 20 RBI, 20 SB

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
C	#43	Pedro Pagés	26	R/R	.238 AVG, 7 HR, 27 RBI, .657 OPS
1B/OF	#26	Luken Baker	28	R/R	7/40, 2 HR, 10 RBI, .686 OPS
INF	#15	José Fermín	25	R/R	.155 AVG, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 2 SB
OF	#18	Jordan Walker	22	R/R	.201 AVG, 5 HR, 20 RBI, .619 OPS

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
A	#54	Sonny Gray	35	RHP	13-9, 3.84 ERA, 203 Ks, 1.09 WHIP
2	#12	Erick Fedde	32	RHP	9-9, 3.30 ERA, 154 Ks, 1.16 WHIP – (CWS/STL)
3	#39	Miles Mikolas	36	RHP	10-11, 5.35 ERA, 122 Ks, 1.28 WHIP
4	#53	Andre Pallante	26	RHP	8-8, 3.78 ERA, 94 Ks, 1.30 WHIP
5	#36	Michael McGreevy (R)	24	RHP	23 IP, 1.96 ERA, 18 Ks, 0.78 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
CP	#56	Ryan Helsley	30	RHP	49 SVs, 2.04 ERA, 79 Ks, 1.10 WHIP
SU	#88	Phil Maton	31	RHP	3 SVs, 3.66 ERA, 60 Ks, 1.11 WHIP – (TB/NYM)
RP	#47	John King	30	LHP	60 IP, 2.85 ERA, 38 Ks, 1.20 WHIP
RP	#64	Ryan Fernandez	26	RHP	2 SVs, 3.51 ERA, 71 Ks, 1.35 WHIP
RP	#62	Kyle Leahy	27	RHP	1 SV, 4.07 ERA, 33 Ks, 1.03 WHIP
RP	#59	JoJo Romero	28	LHP	1 SV, 3.36 ERA, 51 Ks, 1.15 WHIP
RP	#52	Matthew Liberatore	25	LHP	86 IP, 4.40 ERA, 76 Ks, 1.27 WHIP
LNG	#32	Steven Matz	33	LHP	1-2, 5.08 ERA, 33 Ks, 1.44 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
RP	#57	Zack Thompson	27	LHP	Lat strain Potential return in May

DEPTH PIECES ON 40-MAN ROSTER:
Gordon Graceffo – #44 (SP, Age: 25, RHP) – STL Prospect Rank: #16
Chris Roycroft – #58 (RP, Age: 27, RHP)
Riley O’Brien – #55 (RP, Age: 30, RHP)
Roddery Muñoz – #35 (RP, Age: 24, RHP)
Ryan Loutos – #68 (RP, Age: 26, RHP)
Thomas Saggese – #25 (INF, Age: 22, R/R) – STL Prospect Rank: #5
Victor Scott II – #11 (OF, Age: 24, L/L)
Michael Helman – #13 (OF, Age: 28, R/R) – STL Prospect Rank: #29

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2025:
Quinn Mathews (P, Age: 24, LHP) – MLB Prospect Rank: #45
Tink Hence (P, Age: 22, RHP) – MLB Prospect Rank: #76
Jimmy Crooks (C, Age: 23, L/R) – STL Prospect Rank: #4
Cooper Hjerpe (P, Age: 24, LHP) – STL Prospect Rank: #6
Tekoah Roby (P, Age: 23, RHP) – STL Prospect Rank: #12
Sem Robberse (P, Age: 23, RHP) – STL Prospect Rank: #14

NOTABLE NON-ROSTER INVITES:
Nick Anderson (RP, Age: 34, RHP)
Chance Sisco (C, Age: 30, L/R)
Jose Barrero (INF, Age: 27, R/R)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:
MVP: 3B Nolan Arenado
Breakout Player: SP Michael McGreevy
Addition: RP Phil Maton
Grade: C-
Lineup Rank: 12th
Rotation Rank: 13th
Bullpen Rank: 8th

The Cardinals saw their worst season of the 21st century in 2024, helping lead them to try to offload some veterans and embrace somewhat of a rebuild. I wouldn’t call it a complete rebuild, but guys like Dylan Carlson, Paul Goldschmidt, and Tommy Edman were all set free in exchange for young pieces. Nolan Arenado was a guy that the team wanted to move, but is coming off of a down year and is still owed a hefty contract. They’ll hope he returns to form in 2025 and can potentially be moved ASAP. The big move will be Willson Contreras becoming Goldschmidt’s successor at 1B, as Ivan Herrera slides in as the everyday catcher. Former top prospects Masyn Winn, Jordan Walker, and Victor Scott will be the X-Factors, needing big improvements from all of them to become established MLB starters.

The rotation still has a couple of veterans atop it, with Sonny Gray and Miles Mikolas as remaining pieces under contract. Guys like Erick Fedde, Andre Pallante, Michael McGreevy, and Gordon Graceffo are the young arms that they hope can continue to take next steps as reliable pieces. They also have two top 100 prospects that can potentially be up in their rotation this year in Quinn Matthews and Tink Hence. Ryan Helsley still remains the closer and will be an early candidate to get moved at the deadline. Overall, I’m not a fan of this Cards team and I don’t think many MLB writers are either. Their division is wide open, but they are far behind the Cubs and Brewers, with very little promising young pieces that can make an impact.

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Arizona Diamondbacks

Manager: Torey Lovullo
9th year
Career/Team record: 584-610, Career Playoff record: 11-10 – AGE: 59

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
RF	#7	Corbin Carroll	24	L/L	.231 AVG, 22 HR, 74 RBI, 35 SB
2B	#4	Ketel Marte	31	S/R	.292 AVG, 36 HR, 95 RBI, .932 OPS
LF	#12	Lourdes Gurriel Jr.	31	R/R	.279 AVG, 18 HR, 75 RBI, .757 OPS
1B	#22	Josh Naylor	27	L/L	.243 AVG, 31 HR, 108 RBI, .776 OPS – (CLE)
3B	#28	Eugenio Suárez	33	R/R	.256 AVG, 30 HR, 101 RBI, .788 OPS
DH	#15	Randal Grichuk	33	R/R	.291 AVG, 12 HR, 46 RBI, .875 OPS
SS	#2	Geraldo Perdomo	25	S/R	.273 AVG, 3 HR, 37 RBI, .718 OPS
C	#25	Adrian Del Castillo (R)	25	L/R	.313 AVG, 4 HR, 19 RBI, .893 OPS
CF	#31	Jake McCarthy	27	L/L	.285 AVG, 8 HR, 56 RBI, 25 SB

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
C	#14	Gabriel Moreno	25	R/R	.266 AVG, 5 HR, 45 RBI, .734 OPS
INF	#10	Jordan Lawlar (R)	22	R/R	DNP – Played in AAA
OF/1B	#26	Pavin Smith	29	L/L	.270 AVG, 9 HR, 36 RBI, .896 OPS
OF	#5	Alek Thomas	24	L/L	.189 AVG, 3 HR, 17 RBI, 4 SB

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
A	#39	Corbin Burnes	30	RHP	15-9, 2.92 ERA, 181 Ks, 1.10 WHIP – (BAL)
2	#23	Zac Gallen	29	RHP	14-6, 3.65 ERA, 156 Ks, 1.26 WHIP
3	#57	Eduardo Rodríguez	31	LHP	3-4, 5.04 ERA, 47 Ks, 1.50 WHIP
4	#29	Merrill Kelly	36	RHP	5-1, 4.03 ERA, 63 Ks, 1.17 WHIP
5	#32	Brandon Pfaadt	26	RHP	11-10, 4.71 ERA, 185 Ks, 1.24 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
CP	#37	Kevin Ginkel	30	RHP	5 SVs, 3.21 ERA, 77 Ks, 1.20 WHIP
CP	#63	Justin Martinez	23	RHP	8 SVs, 2.48 ERA, 91 Ks, 1.31 WHIP
RP	#49	Kendall Graveman	34	RHP	DNP – Shoulder surgery
RP	#33	A.J. Puk	29	LHP	3 SVs, 3.15 ERA, 88 Ks, 1.11 WHIP – (MIA/ARI)
RP	#81	Ryan Thompson	32	RHP	2 SVs, 3.26 ERA, 52 Ks, 1.19 WHIP
RP	#35	Joe Mantiply	34	LHP	1 SV, 3.92 ERA, 53 Ks, 1.17 WHIP
RP	#40	Bryce Jarvis	27	RHP	59.1 IP, 3.19 ERA, 38 Ks, 1.43 WHIP
LNG	#52	Jordan Montgomery	32	LHP	8-7, 6.23 ERA, 83 Ks, 1.65 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
INF	#9	Blaze Alexander	25	R/R	Oblique strain Potential return in May
SP	#48	Blake Walston (R)	23	LHP	Tommy John Surgery Will miss entire season

DEPTH PIECES ON 40-MAN ROSTER:
Ryne Nelson – #19 (SP, Age: 27, RHP)
Yilber Díaz – #45 (SP, Age: 24, RHP) – ARI Prospect Rank: #4
Cristian Mena – #64 (SP, Age: 22, RHP) – ARI Prospect Rank: #13
Kyle Nelson – #24 (RP, Age: 28, LHP)
Drey Jameson – #99 (RP, Age: 27, RHP)
Tommy Henry – #47 (RP, Age: 27, LHP)
Jose Herrera – #11 (C, Age: 28, S/R)
René Pinto – #50 (C, Age: 28, R/R)
Grae Kessinger – #16 (INF, Age: 27, R/R)
Jorge Barrosa – #1 (OF, Age: 24, S/L) – ARI Prospect Rank: #21

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2025:
Yu-Min Lin (P, Age: 21, LHP) – ARI Prospect Rank: #11

NOTABLE NON-ROSTER INVITES:
Shelby Miller (RP, Age: 34, RHP)
John Curtiss (RP, Age: 32, RHP)
Jeff Brigham (RP, Age: 33, RHP)
Scott McGough (RP, Age: 35, RHP)
José Castillo (RP, Age: 29, LHP)
Aramis Garcia (C, Age: 32, R/R)
Trey Mancini (1B/OF, Age: 33, R/R)
Ildemaro Vargas (UTIL, Age: 33, S/R)
Garrett Hampson (UTIL, Age: 30, R/R)
Cristian Pache (OF, Age: 26, R/R)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:
MVP: SP Corbin Burnes
Breakout Player: SS Jordan Lawlar
Addition: SP Corbin Burnes
Grade: B+
Lineup Rank: 6th
Rotation Rank: 3rd
Bullpen Rank: 7th

Coming off of their 2023 World Series loss, the D-Backs started off last season very slow before putting things in gear. They ended up missing the playoffs by a little bit, but positioned themselves to be a serious contender to be worried about. Ketel Marte had an MVP level season, with Corbin Carroll, Lourdes Gurriel, and Eugenio Suarez as his supporting cast. They lost Christian Walker in free agency, but followed it by trading for former Guardian Josh Naylor who is on an expiring contract. Jordan Lawlar still remains on the horizon as one of baseball’s top prospects and can be utilized big time in 2025. Adrian Del Castillo will likely slot into the everyday catcher role after a strong debut last year.

The rotation got strong once again, and unlike last year, they are relatively healthy to start the season. Corbin Burnes was signed to a massive deal to become the co-ace alongside Zac Gallen. Eduardo Rodriguez was never truly healthy last year but looks sharp for 2025. Jordan Montgomery’s drama with the franchise could make him a trade candidate, but for now he’ll come out of the bullpen in favor of Brandon Pfaadt and Merrill Kelly. Paul Sewald left in free agency, so closer duties will likely be split with Kevin Ginkel, Justin Martinez, and A.J. Puk as the likely top line options. I like Arizona a lot this year, and if it wasn’t for playing in the hellish AL West, they should win more than just the mid-80’s. They should be a strong Wild Card threat though, alongside the Mets, Phillies, and Padres.

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Colorado Rockies

Manager: Bud Black
9th year in Colorado, 17th year overall
Career record: 1,186-1,370, COL record: 537-657, Career Playoff record: 1-4 – AGE: 67

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
2B	#39	Thairo Estrada	29	R/R	.217 AVG, 9 HR, 47 RBI, 2 SB – (SF)
SS	#14	Ezequiel Tovar	23	R/R	.269 AVG, 26 HR, 78 RBI, .763 OPS
3B	#24	Ryan McMahon	30	L/R	.242 AVG, 20 HR, 65 RBI, .722 OPS
CF	#9	Brenton Doyle	26	R/R	.260 AVG, 23 HR, 72 RBI, 30 SB
DH	#23	Kris Bryant	33	R/R	.218 AVG, 2 HR, 15 RBI, .623 OPS
RF	#13	Zac Veen (R)	23	L/R	COL Prospect Rank: #8
1B	#4	Michael Toglia	26	R/L	.218 AVG, 25 HR, 55 RBI, .767 OPS
LF		Tyler Freeman	25	R/R	.209 AVG, 7 HR, 32 RBI, 11 SB – (CLE)
C	#15	Hunter Goodman	25	R/R	.190 AVG, 13 HR, 36 RBI, .645 OPS

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
C	#25	Jacob Stallings	35	R/R	.263 AVG, 9 HR, 36 RBI, .810 OPS
INF	#6	Kyle Farmer	34	R/R	.214 AVG, 5 HR, 25 RBI, 3 SB – (MIN)
OF	#16	Sam Hilliard	31	L/L	.239 AVG, 10 HR, 27 RBI, .812 OPS
OF	#12	Sean Bouchard	28	R/R	.187 AVG, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 4 SB

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
A	#21	Kyle Freeland	31	LHP	5-8, 5.24 ERA, 85 Ks, 1.41 WHIP
2	#48	Germán Márquez	30	RHP	4 IP, 6.75 ERA, 3 Ks, 2.25 WHIP
3	#49	Antonio Senzatela	30	RHP	12.1 IP, 6.57 ERA, 7 Ks, 1.86 WHIP
4	#26	Austin Gomber	31	LHP	5-12, 4.75 ERA, 116 Ks, 1.31 WHIP
5	#18	Ryan Feltner	28	RHP	3-10, 4.49 ERA, 138 Ks, 1.34 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
CP	#40	Tyler Kinley	34	RHP	12 SVs, 6.19 ERA, 72 Ks, 1.47 WHIP
SU	#38	Victor Vodnik	25	RHP	9 SVs, 4.28 ERA, 65 Ks, 1.48 WHIP
RP	#59	Jake Bird	29	RHP	1 SV, 4.50 ERA, 31 Ks, 1.70 WHIP
RP	#52	Scott Alexander	35	LHP	38.2 IP, 2.56 ERA, 31 Ks, 1.19 WHIP – (ATH)
RP	#0	Jaden Hill (R)	25	RHP	10.2 IP, 5.06 ERA, 6 Ks, 1.13 WHIP
RP	#41	Luis Peralta (R)	24	LHP	12.1 IP, 0.73 ERA, 14 Ks, 0.97 WHIP
RP	#57	Angel Chivilli	22	RHP	1 SV, 4.55 ERA, 28 Ks, 1.29 WHIP
RP	#54	Seth Halvorsen (R)	25	RHP	2 SVs, 1.46 ERA, 13 Ks, 0.81 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
RP	#46	Jeff Criswell	26	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Will miss entire season

DEPTH PIECES ON 40-MAN ROSTER:
Bradley Blalock – #64 (SP, Age: 24, RHP) – COL Prospect Rank: #25
Tanner Gordon – #29 (SP, Age: 27, RHP)
Jimmy Herget – #44 (RP, Age: 31, RHP)
Lucas Gilbreath – #58 (RP, Age: 29, LHP)
Anthony Molina – #43 (RP, Age: 23, RHP)
Evan Justice – #56 (RP, Age: 26, LHP)
Drew Romo – #3 (C, Age: 23, S/R) – COL Prospect Rank: #11
Adael Amador – #1 (INF, Age: 21, S/R) – COL Prospect Rank: #7
Jordan Beck – #27 (OF, Age: 23, R/R)
Greg Jones – #2 (OF, Age: 27, S/R)

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2025:
Chase Dollander (P, Age: 23, RHP) – MLB Prospect Rank: #25
Yanquiel Fernandez (OF, Age: 22, L/L) – COL Prospect Rank: #6
Carson Palmquist (P, Age: 24, LHP) – COL Prospect Rank: #9
Ryan Ritter (SS, Age: 24, R/R) – COL Prospect Rank: #13

NOTABLE NON-ROSTER INVITES:
Diego Castillo (RP, Age: 31, RHP)
Jake Woodford (RP, Age: 28, RHP)
Austin Nola (C, Age: 35, R/R)
Keston Hiura (1B/2B, Age: 28, R/R)
Nick Martini (1B/OF, Age: 34, L/L)
Owen Miller (UTIL, Age: 28, R/R)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:
MVP: 3B/2B Ryan McMahon
Breakout Player: OF Zac Veen
Addition: INF Thairo Estrada
Grade: D
Lineup Rank: 14th
Rotation Rank: 15th
Bullpen Rank: 14th

The Rockies enter the new year in typical Rockies fashion, not a real prominent path back to winning. I can’t remember a time that Colorado was projected to go far, and the years they do are surprises that not too many see coming. Their offense has lost all it’s luster, and with long-time team icon Charlie Blackmon retiring, they don’t really have a face. Kris Bryant has fallen off a cliff since signing a massive deal with them, playing very little and not producing when he does. Ezequiel Tovar had a good year and is becoming the best bat in the lineup. Ryan McMahon still remains, and both Brenton Doyle and Michael Toglia developed well into everyday players in 2024. Thairo Estrada and Kyle Farmer should help out the infield depth with Zac Veen looking to make his debut after a hot spring.

Getting and attracting hitting is never an issue in the bandbox at Coors Field, it’s the pitching that’s always the issue. For the first time in a few years, their starting 5 of Freeland, Marquez, Senzatela, Gomber, and Feltner look to all be healthy to start the year. This is really not a terrible rotation, and part of me likes to think that if these guys played in a ballpark where the ball doesn’t fly, they may put up quality numbers. Tyler Kinley should see the most action as closer, with Victor Vodnik giving them good innings a year ago while gaining trust from Bud Black. The only real excitement to look forward to as a Rockie fan this year is some of their young bats and the potential debut of baseball’s #25 prospect P Chase Dollander. Sadly, he may be destined for a rough 5-6 years before he is dealt off somewhere with better pitching development.

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Los Angeles Dodgers

Manager: Dave Roberts
10th year
Career/Team record: 851-505, Career Playoff record: 56-44 – AGE: 53

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
SS	#50	Mookie Betts	32	R/R	.289 AVG, 19 HR, 75 RBI, .863 OPS
DH	#17	Shohei Ohtani	30	L/R	.310 AVG, 54 HR, 130 RBI, 59 SB
1B	#5	Freddie Freeman	35	L/R	.282 AVG, 22 HR, 89 RBI, .854 OPS
LF	#37	Teoscar Hernández	32	R/R	.272 AVG, 33 HR, 99 RBI, .840 OPS
C	#16	Will Smith	29	R/R	.248 AVG, 20 HR, 75 RBI, .760 OPS
CF	#25	Tommy Edman	29	S/R	.237 AVG, 6 HR, 20 RBI, .711 OPS
3B	#13	Max Muncy	34	L/R	.232 AVG, 15 HR, 48 RBI, .852 OPS
RF	#23	Michael Conforto	32	L/R	.237 AVG, 20 HR, 66 RBI, .759 OPS – (SF)
2B	#8	Kiké Hernández	33	R/R	.229 AVG, 12 HR, 42 RBI, .654 OPS

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
C	#15	Austin Barnes	35	R/R	.264 AVG, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 3 SB
INF	#72	Miguel Rojas	36	R/R	.283 AVG, 6 HR, 36 RBI, .748 OPS
UTIL	#3	Chris Taylor	34	R/R	.202 AVG, 4 HR, 23 RBI, 5 SB
OF	#44	Andy Pagés	24	R/R	.248 AVG, 13 HR, 46 RBI, .712 OPS

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
A	#7	Blake Snell	32	LHP	5-3, 3.12 ERA, 145 Ks, 1.05 WHIP – (SF)
2	#18	Yoshinobu Yamamoto	26	RHP	7-2, 3.00 ERA, 105 Ks, 1.11 WHIP
3	#31	Tyler Glasnow	31	RHP	9-6, 3.49 ERA, 168 Ks, 0.95 WHIP
4	#85	Dustin May	27	RHP	DNP – Tommy John Surgery
5	#11	Roki Sasaki (R)	23	RHP	MLB Prospect Rank: #1
6	#17	Shohei Ohtani	30	RHP	NO STATS – Didn’t pitch in 2024

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
CP	#66	Tanner Scott	30	LHP	22 SVs, 1.75 ERA, 84 Ks, 1.13 WHIP – (MIA/SD)
SU	#38	Kirby Yates	37	RHP	33 SVs, 1.17 ERA, 85 Ks, 0.83 WHIP – (TEX)
RP	#45	Michael Kopech	28	RHP	15 SVs, 3.46 ERA, 88 Ks, 1.15 WHIP – (CWS/LAD)
RP	#49	Blake Treinen	36	RHP	1 SV, 1.93 ERA, 56 Ks, 0.94 WHIP
RP	#57	Luis García	38	RHP	4 SVs, 4.88 ERA, 53 Ks, 1.29 WHIP – (LAA/BOS)
RP	#51	Alex Vesia	28	LHP	5 SVs, 1.76 ERA, 87 Ks, 0.99 WHIP
RP	#43	Anthony Banda	31	LHP	2 SVs, 3.08 ERA, 50 Ks, 1.25 WHIP
LNG	#78	Ben Casparius (R)	26	RHP	8.1 IP, 2.16 ERA, 12 Ks, 1.56 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
SP	#22	Clayton Kershaw	37	LHP	Leg injury Potential return in June
SP	#80	Emmet Sheehan	25	RHP	Elbow surgery Potential return in June
SP	#35	Gavin Stone	26	RHP	Shoulder surgery Likely to miss entire season
SP	#26	Tony Gonsolin	30	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Potential return in May
RP	#59	Evan Phillips	30	RHP	Rotator cuff strain Potential return in May
RP	#48	Brusdar Graterol	26	RHP	Labrum surgery Potential return in July
RP	#77	River Ryan (R)	26	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Likely to miss entire season
RP	#63	Kyle Hurt (R)	26	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Likely to miss entire season
RP	#29	Michael Grove	28	RHP	Shoulder surgery Likely to miss entire season
RP	#60	Edgardo Henriquez (R)	22	RHP	Foot injury Potential return in May

DEPTH PIECES ON 40-MAN ROSTER:
Bobby Miller – #28 (SP, Age: 25, RHP)
Landon Knack – #96 (SP, Age: 27, RHP)
Justin Wrobleski – #70 (RP, Age: 24, LHP) – LAD Prospect Rank: #11
Matt Sauer – #64 (RP, Age: 26, RHP)
Jake Dreyer – #86 (RP, Age: 26, LHP)
Hunter Feduccia – #67 (C, Age: 27, L/R)
Hyeseong Kim – #6 (INF, Age: 26, L/R)
James Outman – #33 (OF, Age: 27, L/R)

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2025:
Dalton Rushing (C/OF, Age: 24, L/R) – MLB Prospect Rank: #30
Alex Freeland (SS, Age: 23, S/R) – MLB Prospect Rank: #71
Nick Frasso (P, Age: 26, RHP) – LAD Prospect Rank: #13

NOTABLE NON-ROSTER INVITES:
Giovanny Gallegos (RP, Age: 33, RHP)
David Bote (UTIL, Age: 32, R/R)
Eddie Rosario (OF, Age: 33, L/R)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:
MVP: DH/SP Shohei Ohtani
Breakout Player: SP Roki Sasaki
Addition: SP Blake Snell
Grade: A+
Lineup Rank: 1st
Rotation Rank: 1st
Bullpen Rank: 1st

The Dodgers suffered from an embarrassment of riches in 2024 in their first year with Shohei Ohtani, walking their way to a World Series in dominant fashion. Everything clearly clicked, as the offense as expected was dominant, but the pitching saw breakouts from unlikely pieces amidst many injuries. The lineup will feature the same stars in Shohei, Betts, Freeman, Smith, Teoscar, and Edman. Michael Conforto was added to take over RF duties while a breakout debut from Andy Pages last year should give him more reps this season. Top prospects C Dalton Rushing and INF Alex Freeland could also make their debuts and get vaulted into the mix if injuries start to become prevalent. The amount of depth on this team is ridiculous.

The rotation added a couple of more star pieces to the arsenal with the signings of Blake Snell and Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki. They’ll join a core with Yoshi Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Dustin May to start the season. The pitching injuries have stockpiled, just proving how much depth they have. Franchise legend Clayton Kershaw should be back mid-year, while Emmet Sheehan and Tony Gonsolin should also see early season returns. Gavin Stone, Michael Grove, River Ryan, and Kyle Hurt will all be sidelined for the season, all falling victim to elbow injuries. The bullpen added Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates, two of the game’s best closers in 2024 to add to an already dominant back end with Evan Phillips, Michael Kopech, and Blake Treinen. The overall depth and dominance of this roster on paper is just laughable, as they remain the clear cut favorites to win it all yet again this year. We could be seeing the beginning of a monster, and whether or not it’s good for baseball doesn’t really matter. The Dodgers are creating a clinic of dominance and it will be up to the other 29 franchises to knock them off.

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San Diego Padres

Manager: Mike Shildt
2nd year in San Diego, 5th year overall
Career record: 345-268, SD record: 93-69, Career Playoff record: 8-12 – AGE: 56

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
DH	#4	Luis Arráez	27	L/R	.318 AVG, 4 HR, 41 RBI, .744 OPS
RF	#23	Fernando Tatis Jr.	26	R/R	.276 AVG, 21 HR, 49 RBI, .833 OPS
2B	#9	Jake Cronenworth	31	L/R	.241 AVG, 17 HR, 83 RBI, .714 OPS
3B	#13	Manny Machado	32	R/R	.275 AVG, 29 HR, 105 RBI, .797 OPS
CF	#3	Jackson Merrill	21	L/R	.292 AVG, 24 HR, 90 RBI, .826 OPS
SS	#2	Xander Bogaerts	32	R/R	.264 AVG, 11 HR, 44 RBI, 13 SB
1B	#30	Gavin Sheets	28	L/L	.233 AVG, 10 HR, 45 RBI, .660 OPS – (CWS)
C	#12	Luis Campusano	26	R/R	.227 AVG, 8 HR, 40 RBI, .642 OPS
LF	#22	Jason Heyward	35	L/L	.211 AVG, 10 HR, 37 RBI, .700 OPS – (LAD/HOU)

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
C	#17	Elías Díaz	34	R/R	.265 AVG, 6 HR, 39 RBI, .695 OPS – (COL/SD)
INF	#7	José Iglesias	35	R/R	.337 AVG, 4 HR, 26 RBI, .830 OPS – (NYM)
UTIL	#14	Tyler Wade	30	L/R	.217 AVG, 0 HR, 8 RBI, 8 SB
UTIL	#24	Connor Joe	32	R/R	.228 AVG, 9 HR, 36 RBI, .688 OPS – (PIT)

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
A	#84	Dylan Cease	29	RHP	14-11, 3.47 ERA, 224 Ks, 1.07 WHIP
2	#34	Michael King	29	RHP	13-9, 2.95 ERA, 201 Ks, 1.19 WHIP
3	#27	Nick Pivetta	32	RHP	6-12, 4.14 ERA, 172 Ks, 1.13 WHIP – (BOS)
4	#61	Matt Waldron	28	RHP	7-11, 4.91 ERA, 133 Ks, 1.26 WHIP
5	#98	Randy Vásquez	26	RHP	4-7, 4.87 ERA, 62 Ks, 1.51 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
CP	#75	Robert Suárez	34	RHP	36 SVs, 2.77 ERA, 59 Ks, 1.05 WHIP
SU	#58	Wandy Peralta	33	LHP	38.1 IP, 3.99 ERA, 22 Ks, 1.20 WHIP
RP	#50	Adrian Morejón	26	LHP	2 SVs, 2.83 ERA, 71 Ks, 1.32 WHIP
RP	#40	Jason Adam	33	RHP	4 SVs, 1.95 ERA, 81 Ks, 0.86 WHIP – (TB/SD)
RP	#78	Bryan Hoeing	28	RHP	53.2 IP, 2.18 ERA, 43 Ks, 1.06 WHIP – (MIA/SD)
RP	#1	Yuki Matsui	29	LHP	62.2 IP, 3.73 ERA, 69 Ks, 1.16 WHIP
RP	#56	Jeremiah Estrada	26	RHP	1 SV, 2.95 ERA, 94 Ks, 1.07 WHIP
LNG	#76	Jhony Brito	27	RHP	43.2 IP, 4.12 ERA, 29 Ks, 1.35 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
SP	#11	Yu Darvish	38	RHP	Elbow injury Potential return in May
SP	#44	Joe Musgrove	32	RHP	Tommy John Surgery Likely to miss entire season

DEPTH PIECES ON 40-MAN ROSTER:
Sean Reynolds – #20 (SP, Age: 26, RHP) – SD Prospect Rank: #17
Tom Cosgrove – #59 (SP, Age: 28, LHP)
Alek Jacob – #37 (SP, Age: 26, RHP)
Kyle Hart – #68 (RP, Age: 32, LHP)
Stephen Kolek – #32 (RP, Age: 27, RHP)
Ron Marinaccio – #97 (RP, Age: 29, RHP)
Eguy Rosario – #5 (3B/OF, Age: 25, R/R)
Mason McCoy – #82 (INF, Age: 30, R/R)
Brandon Lockridge – #28 (OF, Age: 28, R/R)

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2025:
Braden Nett (P, Age: 22, RHP) – SD Prospect Rank: #9
Tirso Ornelas (OF, Age: 25, L/R) – SD Prospect Rank: #11
Bradgley Rodriguez (P, Age: 21, RHP) – SD Prospect Rank: #14
Tyson Neighbors (P, Age: 22, RHP) – SD Prospect Rank: #15

NOTABLE NON-ROSTER INVITES:
J.B. Wendelken (RP, Age: 32, RHP)
Austin Davis (RP, Age: 32, LHP)
Logan Gillaspie (RP, Age: 27, RHP)
Martín Maldonado (C, Age: 38, R/R)
Mike Brosseau (INF, Age: 31, R/R)
Yuli Gurriel (1B, Age: 40, R/R)
Niko Goodrum (UTIL, Age: 33, S/R)
Oscar Gonzalez (OF, Age: 27, R/R)
Forrest Wall (UTIL, Age: 29, L/R)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:
MVP: RF Fernando Tatis Jr.
Breakout Player: INF Eguy Rosario
Addition: SP Nick Pivetta
Grade: B+
Lineup Rank: 5th
Rotation Rank: 5th
Bullpen Rank: 6th

After looking like they were going to take a step back in 2024, San Diego saw dominance under new manager Mike Shildt having a dominant season at 93-69. Their lineup saw the breakout of ROY finalist Jackson Merrill and a great season by Manny Machado. Fernando Tatis Jr. battled injuries and will look to regain dominance and return to health this year. A few veterans were added in Gavin Sheets who will see time at 1B and DH, Jose Iglesias who will be the backup infielder, Jason Heyward who will become the everyday LF, and Connor Joe who will become the super utility man. Elias Diaz was also retained to provide some offense from the backstop, backing up Luis Campusano.

The rotation will be without two key arms this year, with Joe Musgrove slated to miss the whole season after Tommy John Surgery and Yu Darvish battling injuries as he enters his age-38 season. Dylan Cease will step in as the ace, with Michael King slated to become even more important after a breakout season coming over from the Yankees. Nick Pivetta was also signed to sure up the rotation, and guys like Randy Vasquez, Matt Waldron, Jhony Brito, and Sean Reynolds will get starts in place of these injured pieces. The bullpen retains closer Robert Suarez who became an all-star last year in his first year in his new role. Adrian Morejon had a great year, and Jason Adam will help sure up things in the back end as well. The Padres will definitely be a playoff contender, although it doesn’t seem like anyone will be a true threat to beating out the Dodgers for the division crown. Regardless, San Diego should see the playoffs as a Wild Card.

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San Francisco Giants

Manager: Bob Melvin
2nd year in San Francisco, 22nd year overall
Career record: 1,597-1,507, SF record: 80-82, Career Playoff record: 16-23 – AGE: 63

POS.	NO.	LINEUP	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
CF	#51	Jung Hoo Lee	26	L/R	.262 AVG, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 2 SB
LF	#17	Heliot Ramos	25	R/R	.269 AVG, 22 HR, 72 RBI, .792 OPS
3B	#26	Matt Chapman	31	R/R	.247 AVG, 27 HR, 78 RBI, .790 OPS
SS	#2	Willy Adames	29	R/R	.251 AVG, 32 HR, 112 RBI, 21 SB – (MIL)
C	#14	Patrick Bailey	25	S/R	.234 AVG, 8 HR, 46 RBI, .637 OPS
DH	#41	Wilmer Flores	33	R/R	.206 AVG, 4 HR, 26 RBI, .595 OPS
1B	#31	LaMonte Wade Jr.	31	L/L	.260 AVG, 8 HR, 34 RBI, .761 OPS
2B	#49	Tyler Fitzgerald	27	R/R	.280 AVG, 15 HR, 34 RBI, .831 OPS
RF	#59	Jerar Encarnacion	27	R/R	.248 AVG, 5 HR, 19 RBI, .702 OPS

POS.	NO.	BENCH	Age	B/T	2024 Season Stats
C	#23	Sam Huff	27	R/R	0/3 – (TEX)
INF	#10	Casey Schmitt	26	R/R	.252 AVG, 6 HR, 16 RBI, .760 OPS
RF	#5	Mike Yastrzemski	34	L/L	.231 AVG, 18 HR, 57 RBI, .739 OPS
OF	#29	Luis Matos	23	R/R	.213 AVG, 5 HR, 25 RBI, .584 OPS

–	NO.	ROTATION	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
A	#62	Logan Webb	28	RHP	13-10, 3.47 ERA, 172 Ks, 1.23 WHIP
2	#38	Robbie Ray	33	LHP	3-2, 4.70 ERA, 43 Ks, 1.14 WHIP
3	#35	Justin Verlander	42	RHP	5-6, 5.48 ERA, 74 Ks, 1.38 WHIP – (HOU)
4	#12	Jordan Hicks	28	RHP	4-7, 4.10 ERA, 96 Ks, 1.45 WHIP
5	#60	Hayden Birdsong	23	RHP	5-6, 4.75 ERA, 88 Ks, 1.39 WHIP

–	NO.	BULLPEN	Age	R/L	2024 Season Stats
CP	#75	Camilo Doval	27	RHP	23 SVs, 4.88 ERA, 78 Ks, 1.58 WHIP
SU	#71	Tyler Rogers	34	RHP	1 SV, 2.82 ERA, 51 Ks, 1.04 WHIP
RP	#74	Ryan Walker	29	RHP	10 SVs, 1.91 ERA, 99 Ks, 0.85 WHIP
RP	#68	Erik Miller	27	LHP	67.1 IP, 3.88 ERA, 87 Ks, 1.31 WHIP
RP	#76	Spencer Bivens	30	RHP	1 SV, 3.14 ERA, 37 Ks, 1.19 WHIP
RP	#64	Lou Trivino	33	RHP	DNP – Tommy John Surgery
LNG	#73	Randy Rodríguez	25	RHP	52.1 IP, 4.30 ERA, 53 Ks, 1.24 WHIP
LNG	#65	Landen Roupp	26	RHP	50.1 IP, 3.58 ERA, 47 Ks, 1.37 WHIP

POS.	NO.	INJURED LIST	Age	B/T	Injury
C	#19	Tom Murphy	33	R/R	Herniated disk Potential return in May

DEPTH PIECES ON 40-MAN ROSTER:
Kyle Harrison – #45 (SP, Age: 23, LHP)
Keaton Winn – #67 (SP, Age: 27, RHP)
Tristan Beck – #43 (RP, Age: 28, RHP)
Mason Black – #47 (RP, Age: 25, RHP) – SF Prospect Rank: #12
Sean Hjelle – #64 (RP, Age: 27, RHP)
Tyler Fitzgerald – #49 (INF, Age: 27, R/R)
David Villar – #32 (1B, Age: 28, R/R)
Brett Wisely – #0 (UTIL, Age: 25, L/R)
Oslevis Basabe – #1 (INF, Age: 24, R/R)
Grant McCray – #58 (OF, Age: 24, L/R)
Marco Luciano – #37 (OF/SS, Age: 23, R/R)
Wade Meckler – #53 (OF, Age: 24, L/R) – SF Prospect Rank: #14

TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD MAKE THEIR DEBUTS IN 2025:
Carson Whisenhunt (P, Age: 24, LHP) – SF Prospect Rank: #2
Trevor McDonald (P, Age: 24, RHP) – SF Prospect Rank: #10
Trent Harris (P, Age: 26, RHP) – SF Prospect Rank: #11

NOTABLE NON-ROSTER INVITES:
Joey Lucchesi (RP, Age: 31, LHP)
Miguel Díaz (RP, Age: 30, RHP)
Enny Romero (RP, Age: 34, LHP)
Justin Garza (RP, Age: 31, RHP)
Max Stassi (C, Age: 34, R/R)
Jake Lamb (UTIL, Age: 34, L/R)

PAUL’S THOUGHTS:
MVP: SP Logan Webb
Breakout Player: SP Hayden Birdsong
Addition: SS Willy Adames
Grade: C+
Lineup Rank: 8th
Rotation Rank: 10th
Bullpen Rank: 10th

The Giants developed a bit in 2024 under new manager Bob Melvin and will look to make a surprise run with their solid core of young pieces and veterans. Matt Chapman remains the centerpiece in the lineup, with 2024 all-star Heliot Ramos, Tyler Fitzgerald, and Jung Hoo Lee returning from injury. Willy Adames was signed to a 7-year deal to become the SS and provide some depth alongside Chapman in the middle of the order. Young infielders Casey Schmitt, Brett Wisely, and Marco Luciano will all try to add some depth and make names for themselves, despite having some established guys ahead of them in the lineup.

The rotation is still headlined by all-star Logan Webb as the ace, with veterans Robbie Ray and Jordan Hicks as the supporting cast. Future first ballot Hall-of-Famer Justin Verlander was also signed for his age-42 season, and will look to provide more this year than he was able to for the Astros last season. The bullpen will be very up in the air, with a few good arms in the back end in Camilo Doval, Ryan Walker, and Tyler Rogers. San Fran will have an uphill battle to be a true playoff team this year, as they look to be decent but not in the same cut as the top Wild Card contenders. They’ll have to prove their worth in their own division first, with Arizona and San Diego looking much better to start the year.