It’s been five months since Walker Buehler struck out Alex Verdugo to end the final game of the 2024 MLB season. Since then, much has happened in the world of baseball, but none of it on the field. Dozens of players have switched teams, changing the entire landscape of the league. Now we can finally start to see whether those moves will pay off. Will anyone dethrone the Los Angeles Dodgers as the reigning MLB Champions in 2025? Or will the Blue and White repeat their success from last season? Either way, here’s Sports Editor Max Forstein and Head Copy Editor Anna Thomas’ hottest takes as we begin the 2025 MLB regular season.

1: Brett Baty Has His Breakout Year (Anna)

Former first-round pick and Mets infielder Baty hasn’t quite managed to live up to the lofty expectations set when he homered in his first major league at-bat in 2022, netting a batting average of .229 and an OPS+ of 81 over 171 plate appearances last season. Despite consistent minor league success—including a 2022 award for Mets Minor League Player of the Year—he has struggled to find the power hitting tools for which he was drafted when faced with major league-caliber pitching.

There’s reason to think Baty could find success—à la teammate Mark Vientos’ 2024 breakout—after a sparkling spring training and a swap in which he gave his number, 22, to superstar Juan Soto in exchange for a new car. While Baty has had successful spring trainings in years prior, only to fizzle out once the regular season rolled around, this year’s Port St. Lucie outing was by far his most promising, with 11 RBIs, 4 home runs, a batting average of .353, and a mere 6 strikeouts in 59 plate appearances. Most importantly, it looked like he had made the changes clearly needed to elevate his game; he was more patient, drawing eight walks, and was lifting the ball more with a simplified, more athletic swing. These adjustments earned Baty a spot on the roster when everyday second baseman Jeff McNeil went down with an oblique strain in mid-March. Although, in the five games he’s played in 2025 thus far, Baty has only had one hit (a double during Monday’s win against the Marlins), I’m predicting that he’ll manage to shake off the new season jitters and put it all together in the 2025 season.

2: The Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks End With Top-Two Records in NL (Max)

You’d think that coming off a dominant World Series win, the Dodgers would regress a bit, but all they did was get better. They signed pitching phenom Roki Sasaki from Japan, pairing him with Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto and bolstering their case as “Japan’s favorite team.” Plus, they acquired two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell from their division rival San Francisco Giants and picked up All-Star reliever Tanner Scott. Add the fact that the Dodgers re-signed their Home Run Derby-winning outfielder Teoscar Hernández, and it’s clear that they are just as good, if not better, than they were last year. I expect them to cruise to a no. 1 seed and the best record in baseball at the end of September.

That’s not really the controversial part of this take, though. A year removed from their improbable World Series run, the Diamondbacks roster looks stronger than ever and has the potential to make some serious waves this season. Led by Ketel Marte, one of the most underrated players of this generation, Arizona has firepower up and down their lineup. Having achieved a strong young core and having replaced the loss of Christian Walker with the Guardians’ All-Star Josh Naylor, the Snakes’ hitting and defending skill cannot be denied. What truly sets them apart from previous years, though, is the addition of ace Corbin Burnes to a rotation that already has strong starters in Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly. With a much-improved roster in comparison to last season, the Diamondbacks will shock people by earning the second-best record in the National League.

3: Red Sox Win the AL East (Anna)

After losing out on the Soto sweepstakes, the Red Sox had quite the busy offseason, most notably trading with the White Sox to acquire young ace Garrett Crochet and signing former Astros third baseman Alex Bregman. This, coupled with the fact that the treasure trove of talent stashed in their farm system is finally beginning to reach the major leagues, leaves the Red Sox in a much better position than in past years to contend for the division (in spite of the Yankees and their torpedo bats). On top of this, as of Wednesday, the Sox have signed Crochet to a six-year/$170 million extension, and have also signed rookie second baseman Kristian Campbell to an eight-year/$60 million extension. These moves represent the earliest formations of a young, talented core that should be around for years to come, even without taking into consideration the other two members of the Big Three—no. 2-ranked prospect Roman Anthony and no. 11-ranked prospect Marcelo Mayer—who have yet to join Campbell on the club’s big league roster.

Though the Red Sox are currently fourth in a competitive AL East, expect them to turn things around quickly. Campbell’s success is a promising sign for the season, with the rookie slashing .400/.500/.750 in his first six games in the majors. Moreover, things appear to be looking up for the team as a whole, particularly after Wednesday’s 3–0 win over the Orioles, in which designated hitter Rafael Devers broke his 0–21 streak with an RBI double, shortstop Trevor Story hit a home run, and Crochet struck out eight in as many innings, all without allowing a run. Despite formidable competition, these Red Sox are a very real threat for the division crown.

4: Athletics’ Outfielder Lawrence Butler Blossoms into a Superstar (Max)

You may not know his name now, but Lawrence Butler is a superstar waiting to bloom in 2025. The third-year right fielder from Burlington, N.J. began to emerge as a rising star last season, hitting .262/.317/.490 for a young Athletics team still reckoning with leaving Oakland. With the A’s now in Sacramento for the year and nothing much expected from them, Butler has a chance to turn some heads out West. And no, I don’t just think this because we grew up in the same county in New Jersey or because he had a three-home run game against my beloved Phillies last year. He’s got the makings to be a real game-changer.

As the leadoff guy for a sneakily good A’s team at the plate, Butler often gets on base, allowing sluggers like Brent Rooker and Shea Langeliers to drive him home. While he may not have the reputation Rooker has in the home run department, his 22 home runs in 125 games last year show real improvement in his power, especially when you consider that 10 of them came in the month of July alone. His post-All-Star-break progression into the everyday right fielder for the A’s showed the organization enough to sign him to a long-term contract extension. This should provide some security to Butler, knowing he’ll be safe wherever the Athletics play in the future. With things trending in the right direction for the New Jersey native, I predict he’ll earn his first All-Star appearance and emerge as one of the best outfielders in the American League.

5: Rangers Make Playoffs Thanks to Successful Season From Jacob deGrom (Anna)

Jacob deGrom is easily one of the best pitchers in the sport…when he’s healthy, that is. The two-time Cy Young winner has a lifetime 2.51 ERA and led the league in strikeouts in 2019 and 2020. But since signing his five-year/$185 million contract with the Rangers in 2022, he’s pitched a measly 10 total games, with 6 being the most starts he’s made in a season in his Rangers tenure thus far. (This was in 2023, the year in which the Rangers would ultimately go on to win the World Series, mostly without the help of deGrom, who was unable to pitch due to an April elbow injury that ultimately required Tommy John surgery.)

Now, deGrom is back on the mound following a successful spring training, in which he not only managed to stay healthy but also issued just three walks in three starts. Another notable storyline from deGrom’s spring? He’s regrowing his iconic long hair, a style he hasn’t rocked since the earlier days of his tenure as a New York Met, in 2017. The Rangers can only hope that the new look will bring back some of the magic of that 2017 season, in which deGrom started 31 games, only one fewer than his career high.

deGrom opened the 2025 season on Saturday against the Red Sox, throwing five scoreless innings and ultimately leading the Rangers to a 3–2 win and, with it, a series victory. Bolstered by core players from 2023 like Corey Seager and Marcus Semien as well as new acquisitions, including designated hitter Joc Pederson and first baseman Jake Burger, the Rangers, led by a healthy deGrom, could very well make another deep playoff run following last year’s post-World Series slump.

6: The St. Louis Cardinals Finally Blow It Up and Start Over (Max)

Four years ago, the St. Louis Cardinals were considered a pennant contender in the National League. They had just acquired generationally talented third baseman Nolan Arenado and, pairing him with future MVP Paul Goldschmidt in the infield and a strong rotation, they were poised for a couple of playoff runs. Fast forward to now, and the Cards are declining rapidly as younger teams in the NL Central are on the rise. Goldschmidt is gone, the rotation is significantly weaker, and Arenado is wasting valuable years of his prime on a lackluster St. Louis roster. As every other team in their division has a foreseeable future, St. Louis does not, and in order to start forming one, they will move on from their current core at the trade deadline.

Arenado deserves to take his talents elsewhere and compete for a title, which he hasn’t been able to seriously do in either Colorado or St. Louis, his two previous teams. While catcher Willson Contreras may be a valuable successor to Yadier Molina, I could see the front office moving on and trading him for up-and-coming prospects. Masyn Winn and Jordan Walker are young, formidable bats to build around for the future, and the Cards can even keep Brendan Donovan as a slightly older piece. However, Sonny Gray and Ryan Helsley have solid trade value, and contending teams could always use another solid starter or an elite closer. The writing is on the wall in St. Louis and, barring a surge from their elder statesmen, I expect them to clean house at the deadline.

Max Forstein can be reached at mforstein@wesleyan.edu.
Anna Thomas can be reached at asthomas@wesleyan.edu.