Moller: 2023 MLB predictions

Nate Moller senior sports Writer

With m ajor League b aseball’s o pening d ay just a couple of days away, it’s time to predict each division and pick a preseason World s eries champion.

AL East

Predicted finish: Yankees, Blue Jays, Rays, Orioles, Red Sox

The AL e ast has the reputation of being the toughest division in baseball, and 2023 should be no different. The n ew York Yankees, Toronto b lue Jays and Tampa b ay r ays all made the postseason last year, and all three teams seemed poised to make a run at the division again. It seems likely they will all find the playoffs, as they have each improved their rosters in the offseason. o utside of the three favorites, the b altimore o rioles greatly exceeded expectations last year, and they will also look to make a playoff push with their young team. The r ed s ox are likely to lag behind with a roster lacking depth from top to bottom.

AL c entral

Predicted finish: Twins, Guardians, White Sox, Tigers, Royals

The last few seasons, the AL c entral has been won by mediocre teams, and this year will likely tell a similar story. Last season, the Twins and White s ox were plagued by injuries, allowing the Guardians to run away with the division in s eptember. The c entral figures to be a three-team race again as the r oyals and Tigers both have young, inexperienced rosters that won’t be ready to make a playoff push. The Twins were the most injured team in baseball last year, and if they are healthier, they should have a great chance to win the division. Their rotation has a bunch of mediocre pitchers, though, and they will likely need s onny Gray, Pablo Lopez or Joe r yan to emerge as a true ace. Although I’m taking m innesota, the Guardians and White s ox should be within five games of the Twins by the end of the season, making this one a real toss-up.

AL West

Predicted finish: Astros, Mariners, Rangers, Angels, Athletics

The Astros somehow improved their incredibly talented World s eries-winning team from last year by adding All- s tar Jose Abreu at first base. They should run away with the West again. b eyond the Astros, the m ariners, r angers and Angels will hope to make a playoff push. The m ariners made a great run at the end of last season on the backs of Julio r odriguez and Luis c astillo and this talented roster should allow them to make the playoffs again. o n paper, the r angers should be in the mix. After adding Jacob deGrom, n athan e ovaldi and Andrew h eaney to their rotation, they now possess one of the most talented rosters in baseball. The Angels are definitely on the outside looking in, butwith superstars m ike Trout and s hohei o htani, anything is possible. The Athletics will truly need a miracle if they are going to be in the mix.

NL East Predicted Finish: Phillies, Mets, Braves, Marlins, Nationals

The n L e ast may rival the AL e ast for the best division in baseball this year. The Phillies, m ets and b raves are all teams with World s eries aspirations, and this should be a backand-forth race all season. I am taking the Phillies to win the n L e ast after an amazing run to the World s eries last year, but the loss of r hys h oskins for the season due to injury is a tough blow. The m ets will look to keep pace behind the arms of m ax s cherzer and Justin verlander, and a talented lineup from top to bottom. The b raves still have most of the key pieces from their World s eries team two years ago, and they will look to win the division for a third year in a row. The m arlins and n ationals should find themselves at the bottom of the division throughout the season.

NL c entral

Predicted Finish: Cardinals, Brewers, Cubs, Pirates, Reds

The c ardinals have lost in the Wild c ard round in each of the last three seasons, and they will look to make a deeper run after adding Willson c ontreras behind the plate. s t. Louis will be the favorites to win the division ahead of the b rewers, who have a great starting rotation and bullpen but lack hitting. The c ubs find themselves in an interesting position after scrapping nearly their entire roster last year, but they added talent this offseason in d ansby s wanson, Jameson Taillon and Trey m ancini. They likely won’t contend this year, but they should be much improved. The Pirates and r eds, meanwhile, figure to be in the middle of a rebuild.

NL West Predicted Finish: Dodgers, Padres, Diamondbacks, Giants, Rockies p layoff p redictions

The Padres possess a star-studded roster that includes m anny m achado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Juan s oto and Xander b ogaerts. In theory, they should win the division. I am sticking with the d odgers, though. Although the d odgers were surprisingly quiet in the offseason, they still have Freddie Freeman, m ookie b etts and Will s mith in the field. The d odgers’ starting rotation has more depth than the Padres as well, with c layton Kershaw, Julio Urias and n oah s yndergaard. The d - b acks have some solid arms in Zac Gallen, m errill Kelly and m adison b umgarner to go along with some young talent in the field, and they should be much improved. The Giants struck out with c arlos c orrea this offseason and failed to make a splash elsewhere, so I expect further regression from them this year. The r ockies lack much pitching depth at all, which will make it difficult to win games at a home ballpark that heavily favors offense.

Wild Card

(6) Tampa b ay r ays def.

(3) m innesota Twins

(4) s eattle m ariners def.

(5) Toronto b lue Jays

(6) Atlanta b raves def. (3) s t. Louis c ardinals

(5) s an d iego Padres def.

(4) n ew York m ets

Divisional Series

(1) h ouston Astros def.

(4) s eattle m ariners

(2) n ew York Yankees def.

(6) Tampa b ay r ays

(5) s an d iego Padres def.

(1) Los Angeles d odgers

(6) Atlanta b raves def. (2)

Philadelphia Phillies

Championship Series

(1) h ouston Astros def.

(2) n ew York Yankees

(6) Atlanta b raves def. (5) s an d iego Padres

World Series

(1) h ouston Astros def.

(6) Atlanta b raves student pitcher Payton Tidd then added a pair of rb Is of her own with another single, capitalizing off of a bases-loaded opportunity.

The American League side was fairly straightforward. The Yankees and Astros have the most talented rosters, and they seem set to meet in the AL cs again. o nce again, I anticipate the Astros eliminating the Yankees behind superior pitching and home field advantage. The national League, on the other hand, doesn’t really have a true favorite right now. Although I picked the d odgers and Phillies to win their divisions, the Padres and b raves have the talent to catch fire at the right time and pull off some upsets to meet in the n L cs . I expect the b raves to prevail in that series behind their starting pitching, but ultimately fall to the Astros in a rematch of the 2021 World s eries.

The Astros won the World s eries pretty easily last year, and with an improved roster, they should repeat as World s eries champions in 2023.

Contact Nate Moller at nmoller2@nd.edu.

The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

A sacrifice fly by sophomore infielder Jane Kronenberger chased Jaguar starter Isabelle Waggner out of the game, but the damage wasn’t done. s enior outfielder m acie e ck laced an rb I single to right field to push the lead to five.

Junior catcher c arlli Kloss then cleared the bases with a standing triple into the left corner, sparking a string of self-inflicted wounds by the Jaguars. o n a routine ground ball, Kloss scored on a high throw that could have ended the inning. m itchell, who hit the ground ball that scored Kloss, would come home for the final Irish run of the inning on a wild pitch.

Though the Irish offense slowed down after its first-inning explosion, it never fully ceased until the game’s end. n otre d ame would push their lead to double digits in the second inning by means of another wild pitch. In the third, junior infielder m ac v asquez belted her first career home run to make it a c atcher r achel Allen would expand the lead further in n otre d ame’s final turn at the plate. With runners on first and second and two outs, the sophomore slammed a threerun shot to center field. The Irish left m elissa c ook s tadium having scored in all four innings that they came to the plate.

12-0 ballgame.

A combination of Tidd, sophomore s hannon b ecker and freshman m icaela Kastor in the circle pitched a complete game shutout. Tidd worked the first two innings, allowing 3 hits onjust 26 total pitches. b ecker then entered for the next two, holding the Jaguars hitless while throwing 28 total pitches. Kastor then slammed the door shut in the fifth, closing out the run-rule win with a 1-2-3 inning.

The Irish will now look ahead to another set of A cc games, with Pittsburgh visiting for a weekend series.

The Panthers are currently 0-6 in conference play and should provide an opportunity for n otre d ame to boost their record heading into a major road test against fourth-place Louisville the following weekend.

Irish softball will be back in action at m elissa c ook s tadium this weekend against Pittsburgh. First pitches are set for 6 p.m. on Friday, 1 p.m. on s aturday and noon on s unday. All three games will be broadcast on A cc n etwork e xtra.

Contact J.J. Post at jpost2@nd.edu through the fourth inning, when the i rish opted to make a pitching change. To start the fifth inning, the i rish brought in graduate left-handed pitcher a idan Tyrell, who would work the next four innings. i n the sixth inning, b ulldog head coach b lake b eemer turned to c olin d avis out of the bullpen to face the top of the i rish lineup. a fter getting Prajzner to ground out, d avis worked himself into a jam. h e hit Zyska with a pitch, issued a walk to graduate infielder c arter Putz, and then hit another batter— graduate outfielder b rooks c oetzee iii — to load the bases.

The b ulldogs, meanwhile, went with a different approach. s ubstituting in a new pitcher at the beginning of each inning, b utler was able to stymie the i rish offense for a short time. r elief pitchers d awson Taylor, c ole g raverson, g abe Pancratz and n ick m iketinac combined for six strikeouts and only allowed one hit over their four innings of work.

That gave junior catcher d anny n eri the chance to double the i rish lead. n eri made good on his opportunity, sneaking a sharply hit ground ball through the hole between first and second bases to drive in two. d avis would bring an end to the i rish scoring chance by inducing a line out to short from junior outfielder TJ Williams, who was pinch-hitting, and striking out freshman infielder e stevan m oreno. The two insurance runs proved to be all n otre d ame would need, though. b utler falls to 5-19 with the loss, while n otre d ame improves to 13-9. The i rish now turn their attention to a looming weekend series against n o. 13 n orth c arolina. The Tar h eels will travel to s outh b end to play the i rish in a three-game set beginning f riday, with first pitch set for 6 p.m.

With Tyrell dealing on the hill, b utler was unable to generate any offense in response. Tyrell gave up only two hits and struck out four while working from the fifth inning to the the end of eighth. h e gave way to freshman c aden s pivey, who sat the top of the b ulldogs lineup down in order to seal the victory in the ninth.

Contact Ryan Murphy at rmurph22@nd.edu

Hockey

con Tinued from Page 14 r olston departs early for Original Six franchise

(22) and shots (95). i n Jan., he scored a highlight-reel goal against f rozen f our qualifier m innesota, spinning off a check and roofing a shot on elite goaltender Justen c lose. With his ability to move between center and wing, Janicke will be a key piece. h e could anchor a number one line with current sophomore Justin Janicke and junior Landon s laggert, forming a unit that could be lethal at its full potential.

Junior forward r yder r olston opened the offseason by signing with the nh L’s c hicago b lackhawks.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound b oston native will begin his professional career with c hicago’s ah L affiliate, the r ockford i ce h ogs. The terms of the entry-level deal are three years at an $895,000 cap hit through 2025-26. i f you do the math, that means the contract’s duration won’t begin until next year. h owever, r olston will be on a professional tryout through the end of this season, rendering him eligible for the ah L postseason. The ice h ogs currently hold the c entral d ivision’s last playoff spot with nine games remaining. Whether or not r olston heals up in time for the postseason is still unclear. h is junior season concluded abruptly when he suffered a broken collarbone against Wisconsin at the end of Jan. e ven so, he finished third on the i rish with seven goals, 13 assists and 20 points. d uring the year, he earned three different four-game point streaks, including one right before his injury. The rebuilding b lackhawks, who traded with the c olorado avalanche for r olston’s draft rights in a pril 2021, are excited to see how his speed translates to the next level. r olston wraps up his i rish career with 53 points in 93 games played. h is father, b rian, played 17 nh L seasons, tallying 761 career points and winning a s tanley c up in 1995.

Bakich, Primeau head to E ch L

Two more i rish forwards have inked professional deals over the past 10 days. s enior s olag b akich and graduate c hayse Primeau have both moved on to the e ast c oast h ockey League. b akich agreed to an amateur tryout contract with the r eading r oyals, an affiliate of the nh L’s Philadelphia f lyers, and has already played three games. Known for his tenacious playing style, b akich logged 33 points in 108 games at n otre d ame. The d allas native led all i rish forwards with 39 blocked shots in 2022-23 and registered two points in the b ig Ten quarterfinal round. m eanwhile, Primeau journeyed south on his first professional contract with the f lorida e verblades, a Panthers’ affiliate. Like b akich, he has already played three games with his new team, registering three shots in his debut. a skilled face-off man and netfront presence, Primeau played four collegiate seasons at o maha before transferring to n otre d ame. i n his final year, he led the i rish with 23 points on eight goals and 15 assists. Primeau’s 53.3 faceoff win percentage also paced the team.