8 minute read
NightMoves Magazine April 2023
Every year I make my MLB predictions and this year is no di erent. Last year the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros played in the World Series and Houston took home the title. Can it happen again? I highly doubt it but you can never tell. Here are my team-by-team picks for the 2023 season:
AMERICAN LEAGUE
EAST DIVISION:
1) Toronto Blue Jays – I love this team! They have a great batting lineup and should score a ton of runs with Springer, Bichette, Merri eld, Belt, Vlad and others! They added longtime Tampa Bay star Kevin Kiermaier to play out eld but do they have enough pitching? I think they do!
2) Tampa Bay Rays – All this team does is win and I see the same here in 2023. I am excited to see Randy Arozarena & Wander Franco lead the Rays to a possible AL East Division championship! The Rays have the pitching but do they have enough bats? We will see …
3) New York Yankees – We all know the Yanks can hit but they always have a ton of injuries and no pitching. After Gerrit Cole who can pitch? You know Judge and Stanton can pop HR’s but the Yanks always have guys on the injured list.
4) Baltimore Orioles – The most improved team in baseball could shock everybody if they can nd a decent
pitching sta . I love their o ense and youngsters Adley Rutschman & Gunnar Henderson are for real. Look out everybody these birds are ready to y!
5) Boston Red Sox – Yes, I am picking the BoSox to nish last in the division. Losing Xander Bogaerts, JD Martinez, Nathan Eovaldi and others will hurt. Import Masataka Yoshida along with Justin Turner will help but this is baseball’s toughest division … sorry Boston fans.
CENTRAL DIVISION:
1) Chicago White Sox –Losing superstar Jose Abreu to Houston won’t help but the ChiSox are still a damn good team. Last year sucked but they have a nice combination of power, speed and pitching to win the division.
2) Cleveland Guardians – The Indians … oops … I mean Guardians had a great year in 2022 and they added 1B Josh Bell and ex-Ray Mike Zunino. Decent pitching, HR power and star 3B Jose Ramirez will keep them in the hunt all season long
3) Minnesota Twins –SS Carlos Correa staying put and the addition of catcher Christian Vazquez and OF Joey Gallo won’t hurt. Led by Sonny Gray & Joe Ryan the Twins pitching could be real good or could be real bad. I don’t think they can win the division but you never know.
4) Detroit Tigers – The Tigers need their young players to start playing
this year. Guys like Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene have to prove they are major league quality and Austin Meadows needs to stay healthy. The Tigers are a huge question-mark in 2023.
5) Kansas City Royals – The Royals have a way to go to challenge for the division but they will win a few games. SS/3B Bobby Witt, Jr. is a potential star and they added ex-Ray Ryan Yarbrough to their pitching sta . At least KC has a good NFL football team!
WEST DIVISION:
1) Houston Astros – The Astros will try to repeat but it won’t be easy. They lost star pitcher Justin Verlander and 1B Yuli Gurriel but added 1B Jose Abreu. Future HOF 2B Jose Altuve will start the season on the IL with a broken hand but the Stro’s are still the class of the division.
2) Los Angeles Angels – Shohei Ohtani is something! He can hit, pitch and steal bases! This is the season OF Mike Trout will nally make it to the playo s and the Angels could win the division if Houston slips up. They might win more games than their cross-town rivals LA Dodgers!
3) Seattle Mariners – Superstar OF Julio Rodriguez can lead the M’s to a huge season. Additions include 2B Kolten Wong, OF Teoscar Hernandez and OF AJ Pollock. These guys will be good but I don’t think they have enough to challenge Houston or LA.
4) Texas Rangers – The Rangers will also be an improved team in 2023 as they added pitchers Jacob DeGrom, Jake Odorizzi and Nathan Eovaldi. They could use a bounce-back year from SS Corey Seagar and another steady year from 2B Marcus Semien.
5) Oakland Athletics – It’s rebuilding time in Oakland! It’s like they are getting ready to say goodbye to the bay area and follow the Raiders to Las Vegas. Not many wins from this squad in 2023.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
EAST DIVISION:
1) Atlanta Braves – The Braves lost SS Dansby Swanson but this team is deep. Their pitching might be the best in the National League with both strong starters and solid bullpen. Look for a possible MVP year from Ronald Acuna.
2) New York Mets – The addition of pitcher Justin Verlander can’t hurt but losing closer Edwin Diaz in a stupid celebration during the World Baseball Classic will hurt a lot. The Mets will be solid this season and give the Braves all they want!
3) Philadelphia Phillies – The Phils made it all the way to the World Series last season and added SS Trea Turner and closer Craig Kimbrel in the o season. They will once again make a run with a good o ense and good pitching. This is one solid and tough division!
4) Miami Marlins – The sh will be a decent team in 2023. I like youngster 2B Jazz Chisholm and they are solid all around. This is maybe the best division in the National League and Miami will have their work cut out but stranger things have happened in baseball!
5) Washington Nationals – I bet you can get tickets to any Washington game this year at deep discount prices.
These guys will be lucky to win 55 games and need a help all over the diamond. It’s gonna be a long, hot, miserable summer in DC.
CENTRAL DIVISION:
1) St.Louis Cardinals – Is St.Louis the best baseball town in the USA? These guys are always in the thick of things and contending for a division crown and 2023 will be no di erent. Led by 1B Paul Goldschmidt, 3B Nolan Arenado and pitchers Adam Wainwright and Mike Mikolas the Cards are my pick to win the NL Central.
2) Milwaukee Brewers – The Brew Crew has great starting pitching with Corbin Burnes & Brandon Woodru . With big, injury-free years from Christian Yelich, Willy Adames and Rowdy Tellez they could easily overtake the Cards.
3) Chicago Cubs – The Cubbies added OF Cody Bellinger, SS Dansby Swanson and 1B Eric Hosmer in the o season. They will need big years from their pitching sta to try and contend in this division. OF Seiya Suzuki will be looking for an injury-free season to prove he is worth all the hype he received last year.
4) Pittsburgh Pirates - The Pirates are young but interesting. I like 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes, SS O’Neil Cruz and OF Jack Suwinski. The Bucs also added ex-Ray Ji-Man Choi but they are a long way from contending in this division.
5) Cincinnati Reds – The Reds do not look like a team that can contend in 2023. I do not see any way they nish with a record above .500 and the Reds might be the worst team in baseball.
WEST DIVISION:
1) San Diego Padres – It’s been a long time since the LA Dodgers have not been the pick to win this division but these Padres are for real! Their lineup reads like an All-Star game with Tatis, Soto, Machado & Bogaerts. Add in a pitching sta that includes Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, Nick Martinez and Joe Musgrove (who starts the season on the IL) and you see why they are the pick!
2) Los Angeles Dodgers – I know LA still has plenty of top-notch players with Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman leading the way but the injury bug has already touched this club in spring training with SS Gavin Lux out. The Dodgers will be good but I’m on the Padre bandwagon.
3) San Francisco Giants – The Giants made a few changes in the o -season and they will need all the help they can get trying to overtake the Padres and Dodgers in this division. They added OF’s Michael Conforto and Mitch Haniger along with SP Ross Stripling and Sean Manaea but I just don’t think they have the horses this season.
4) Arizona Diamondbacks – The only “cool” thing I can say about the Diamondbacks is the fact that ex-Ray Evan Longoria was signed in the o season. I do like rookie Corbin Carroll a lot but I can’t see this team challenging the top two teams.
5) Colorado Rockies – The Rocks will score a few runs in the Mile High city but their pitching sta is shaky at best. Maybe with a bit of luck they could nish third in the division but I can’t see much more than that.
The postseason eld will be expanded to 8 teams per league -- three division winners, three second-place teams and two additional teams with the next best record -and introduction of the best-of-three Wild Card Series as the opening round.
