3 underrated teams that will shock the MLB with an unexpected playoff run in 2025

Last week, I wrote about three teams pretending to be contenders entering the 2025 season. In this article, let's review three teams that are primed to outperform their 2025 expectations and make a trip to the postseason.

Washington Nationals

Since their World Series win in 2019, the Nationals have failed to finish a season with a winning record. Their projected 2025 Opening Day roster is full of youth, with only five players over 30.

The offense is headed by 2023 No. 2 overall pick Dylan Crews. He struggled in a limited rookie season, hitting only .218/.288/.353 over 119 at-bats, but he proved in the minor leagues that he can produce at the plate.

Last season, before his MLB call-up between AA and AAA, he hit .270/.382/.451 with 13 HRs, 68 RBIs, and 25 SBs. He is still considered a rookie based on service time and is the overwhelming favorite to win the NL Rookie of the Year next season.

Fellow rookie James Wood had more success in his limited first MLB season. Over 295 at-bats, he hit .264/.354/.427 with nine home runs and 41 RBIs. He and Crews will be slotted into the top of the batting order along with 24-year-old CJ Abrams, 29-year-old Nathaniel Lowe, recently acquired from the Texas Rangers, and 32-year-old Josh Bell, who signed with the team in free agency.

This looks like a formidable top half of the lineup with 24-year-old Luis García Jr. behind them. Last season, García Jr. found his power, hitting 18 HRs, doubling the most in a season over his five-year career.  

The Nationals' success will be tested by the starting rotation. Michael Soroka, signed in free agency this offseason, struggled in his only season for the Chicago White Sox. As a starter, he had a 6.39 ERA over 43.2 innings before being sent to the bullpen for the second half of the season. As a reliever, he shined, throwing 36 innings and recording a 2.75 ERA and 60 strikeouts.

The Nationals are banking on Soroka to bring that success along with his seven-year MLB experience to a rotation that saw ups and downs in 2024 from their young pitchers Mackenzie Gore (25), Jake Irvin (28), and Mitchell Parker (25).

Irvin and Parker completed their rookie seasons with sub-four ERAs, and Gore had a breakout season in his third year of MLB experience. His 3.90 ERA last season was heavily skewed by a cold streak in June (5.13) and July (7.62). There is no doubt that Gore is the ace of the rotation, and the Nationals will need him to perform as such, putting together a complete season of quality starts.

The team does not know what to expect from the bullpen next season, with four rookies projected to crack the Opening Day roster. Derek Law returns for his second season in Washington D.C. Last season, he posted a 2.60 ERA over 90 innings, and Jorge López, signed in free agency, posted a 2.89 ERA over 53 innings with the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets.

They will look to share their five and six years of MLB experience, respectively, with Jose A. Ferrer, who just completed his rookie season, and rookies Eduardo Salazar, Zach Brzylcy, Evan Reifert (Rule 5 pick from the Tampa Bay Rays), and Shinnosuke Ogasawara (international signing from Japan).

It will take a big turnaround to compete for a postseason spot in the NL East gauntlet, where the Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves, and New York Mets will still fight for the division title, but the pieces are in place the team to crash the party.

Athletics

The Athletics front office has made it known over the past 20 seasons and change that they will not pay veterans what they deserve and prefer to penny-pinch by finding young prospects they hope can produce.

Now that the team has moved to Sacramento while they await the construction of their future Las Vegas stadium, the front office's mindset has drastically changed in a way that feels like Owner John Fisher is taunting Oakland fans for some twisted reason.

They signed 30-year-old Luis Severino to a three-year $67 million contract, the largest guarantee in the A's franchise's history. They then traded for 32-year-old Jeffrey Springs from the Tampa Bay Rays and extended superstar Brent Rooker after his breakout season, when he hit .293/.365/.562 with 39 HRs and 82 RBIs. Rooker leads an offense that returns nine players who contributed to the 196 HRs the team hit last season, which ranked eighth in baseball.

Severino and Springs bring experience to the front-end of a starting rotation filled with youth. Rounding out the rotation is JP Sears, 28, who finished his second MLB season in 2024; Joey Estes, 24, and Mitch Spence, 26, just completed their first full seasons in the major leagues.

All three struggled in 2024, with none having below a 4.30 ERA, although Sears's home and away splits drastically differed. At home, he had a 5.29 ERA over 80 innings; on the road, he had a respectable 3.67 ERA over 100.2 innings. It will be interesting to see how he performs away from Oakland Coliseum all season.

In the bullpen, the team added José Leclerc in free agency, bringing eight years of experience to a relief staff ranked 13th last season in ERA (3.83). Noah Murdock was also added after being selected in the Rule 5 Draft from the Kansas City Royals. Because of his selection, he must be on the 40-man roster for the upcoming season, which will be his first MLB experience. Last season, he had a combined 3.16 ERA between AA and AAA.

These additions hope to solidify a bullpen that looks to hold leads for young phenom Mason Miller, the team's closer who had a 2.49 ERA, 28 saves, and 103 strikeouts over 65 innings in 2024. If the pitching staff, comprised mostly of youngsters, can succeed in the upcoming season and Severino and Springs stay healthy, the Athletics could be a force in what should be a competitive AL West.

Cincinnati Reds

The Reds have been busy this offseason trying to add to their young, talented roster. They brought in Terry Francona, who has an excellent track record as a manager, signed Austin Hays in free agency, and acquired Brady Singer (Kansas City Royals), Jose Trevino (New York Yankees), Gavin Lux (Los Angeles Dodgers), and Taylor Rodgers (San Francisco Giants) via trade.

Hays and Lux get added to a batting order headlined by five-tool phenom Elly De La Cruz. Cruz hit .259/.339/.471 last season with 25 HRs, 76 RBIs, and 67 SBs. Matt McLain is another young star at the top of the lineup. He finished fifth in the 2023 Rookie of the Year voting after hitting .290/.357.507 with 16 HRs and 50 RBIs, but he missed the entire 2024 season due to shoulder surgery and a stress reaction in his rib cage.

McLain is expected to be 100% healthy for this upcoming season and adds power to a lineup that includes Tyler Stephenson, Spencer Steer, and Jeimer Candelario, who all hit 19 or more homers last season.

Adding Singer to a starting rotation that returns Hunter Greene, Andrew Abbott, Nick Martinez, and Nick Lodolo gives the Reds enough firepower to rank at the top of the league for production. All except Lodolo (4.76) had an ERA under 3.75 in over 135 innings in 2024. Lodolo's issue was that he could not stay healthy, and when he did return to the mound, he struggled to bounce back.

Staying on the mound has been a struggle for the 27-year-old in his short three-year MLB career. In 2023, he only made seven starts after missing time due to left calf tendinosis, and an MRI later revealed a stress fracture in his left tibia. In 2024, he was placed on the 15-day injured list four times with different injuries: left calf tenosynovitis, a left groin strain, a left index finger blister, and a sprained left middle finger.

Lodolo was not the only Reds pitcher to spend time on the IL last season. His four stints were among the 22 times a pitcher spent time on the IL, ranked the fourth most amongst teams.

The Reds' acquisition of Rodgers, who had a 2.40 ERA over 60 innings for the Giants, solidifies a bullpen that showed bright spots when not battling the injury bug. Sam Moll, Tony Santillan, and Brent Suter all had ERAs below 3.40, although Moll and Santillan missed about half the season on the IL.

Graham Ashcraft and Carson Spiers have struggled in the starting pitcher's role over their short careers, but with a full starting rotation, Fangraphs predicts they will make the Opening Day roster in the bullpen. However, if the staff is riddled with injuries again, they could serve as valuable starting depth.

The NL Central does not have a clear frontrunner, so if the Reds can stay healthy, they acquired the production they need to pair with their plethora of young talent to win the division title in 2025.

The Milwaukee Brewers are the reigning champs, but this offseason, they have lost more significant production than they have added. The St. Louis Cardinals look to be rebuilding, and the Pittsburgh Pirates have the pitching to contend but lack the offense. The Chicago Cubs have added some weapons, but they haven't been a serious competitor in the division since 2020.

It's clear that the Reds have a chance to strike and catch the rest of the division off guard in 2025.

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