Happy Opening Day baseball fans!
First off, apologies to Yankees fans for the cover image, but it is an unassailable fact that Juan Soto's first year with the New York Mets — and in the first year of his ludicrous 15-year contract — will be a huge storyline to follow in the 2025 MLB season.
Beyond him, there's a lot of familiar faces in new places, including Corbin Burnes' departure for the desert, Blake Snell's Kevin Durant-esque move to Los Angeles, and Kyle Tucker angling for an MVP in his first season in the National League.
Of course, there's other storylines governing the sport, such as the (favorable) chances of a Dodgers repeat, the emergence of a loaded class of prospects, and the transaction wire being dominated by the always-dreaded injury announcements.
Before the first (stateside) pitch of this season is thrown, let's review the biggest narratives in baseball.
Most interesting narratives to follow in 2025 MLB season
Can anyone stop the Dodgers?
The short answer? Probably not.
I hate writing that as much as you hate reading it, but the truth is that Los Angeles is simply a far better version of the team that curb stomped the Yankees in the World Series five months ago.
Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki, Michael Conforto, Tanner Scott, and Kirby Yates comprised the most impressive offseason haul of any team this winter, and they're joining one of the most stacked rosters in the league.
If you're looking for a more optimistic take on things: the Arizona Diamondbacks look tremendous, at least on paper, and would probably maul any other division. If someone is going to threaten the Dodgers' supremacy in the National League, it may just be their division rivals.
Will Juan Soto, Mets become the New York team to watch?
The Yankees are down pretty bad right now, as Gerrit Cole is set to miss the 2025 season with Tommy John surgery and reigning Rookie of the Year Luis Gil will be out for a while with a lat strain.
Aaron Judge will have limited support in a lineup that will be missing Giancarlo Stanton for at least a few months, and the depth of the pitching staff is going to be pushed to an extreme right from the jump.
Therefore, when one turns their attention from the Bronx to Queens, it's easy to get lost the in the luster of a Juan Soto-led lineup. The Mets should be able to out-hit nearly every opponent they see this season, with a core of bats that includes Soto, Francisco Lindor, Mark Vientos, Pete Alonso, and more.
The question remains if they have enough pitching to compete with the Phillies and Braves in the senior circuit's best division. Considering converted reliever (and fellow Yankees defect) Clay Holmes is taking the bump on Opening Day, the answer to that query seems to be a definitive "no".
On the bright side, if they can't keep opponents off the scoreboard, the Mets should offer high-scoring entertainment on a nightly basis throughout the summer.
Is Paul Skenes the most locked-in Cy Young ever?
Pitching injuries happen, especially to young arms with huge college workloads that throw 100+ miles per hour.
That aptly describes Skenes, the ace of the Pittsburgh Pirates who has a pretty good argument to be considered the "best pitcher in the world" despite a 133-inning track record in the big leagues.
Assuming his workhorse habits don't betray him in 2025, Skenes needs to be considered the resounding favorite for the NL Cy Young Award. According to BetMGM, Skenes is at +210 ahead of Opening Day; his next closest contemporary is Zach Wheeler at +700. No one else in the NL has better than +1000 odds.
In that small sample last year, Skenes had a comical 1.96 ERA and obscene 33.1% strikeout rate. He doesn't walk batters and he produces soft contact at a 70th percentile rate, despite having a fastball that averages nearly 97 MPH. It sounds like he'd be hard-pressed to improve on that effort, but he's 22 years old (he turns 23 in May). There's no telling where his ceiling is — if it even exists at all.
Who's going to win the World Series? MVP? Rookie of the Year?
It's a fool's errand to try and predict every major award and division race ahead of an MLB season.
Luckily, I am a fool, so I've compiled my predictions below. Feel free to disagree with me if you wish, but I must warn you: I'm 95% confident at least one of these picks will be right.
American League:
East: Red Sox
Central: Royals
West: Mariners
Wild Cards: Yankees, Orioles, Astros
Manager of the Year: Dan Wilson
Rookie: Jackson Jobe
Cy Young: George Kirby
MVP: Bobby Witt Jr.
National League:
East: Braves
Central: Cubs
West: Dodgers
WC: Phillies, Diamondbacks, Mets
Manager of the Year: Brian Snitker
Rookie: Bubba Chandler
Cy Young: Paul Skenes (see above)
MVP: Shohei Ohtani
World Series:
Dodgers defeat Royals in 5 games.
And there you have it, baseball fans. Welcome back. It's going to be a good season.