4. Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers
Projected fWAR — 5.9
Projected slash line — .269/.352/.492 with 31 home runs and 85 RBI
The 30-year-old Betts continues to be the gift that keeps on giving for the Dodgers, with two top-5 NL MVP finishes in his three seasons playing in Los Angeles.
Betts is coming off a season where he hit 35 homers and drove in 82 runs, his best numbers since coming over from the Boston Red Sox in a lopsided trade. After arriving in L.A., Betts inked a 12-year, $365-million extension then played a big role in the Dodgers winning the World Series in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.
This season, Betts will be one of the key pieces for a Dodgers team that was relatively quiet in the offseason. Los Angeles believes it has the talent on the roster to once again compete for a World Series, and Betts will be looked to as one of the leaders in that chase.
3. Julio Rodríguez, Seattle Mariners
Projected fWAR — 5.9
Projected slash line — .276/.342/.496 with 32 home runs and 85 RBI
Last year’s American League Rookie of the Year is poised for another eye-popping season in 2023, just in time for the All-Star Game (and Home Run Derby) to be in Seattle this summer.
After posting a 28-homer, 75-RBI season in 132 games last season, Rodríguez is projected to up those numbers this year. If the 22-year-old phenom can do that, the excitement that surrounded the Mariners last season will continue well into 2023.
Can Seattle get more than one home postseason game this year? The production from Rodríguez could have a lot to do with that answer.