With the Super Bowl finally concluded, and the football season over with, baseball is next on the horizon! Today we dive into a few MLB 2023 Predictions from one of our writers!

American League MVP – Yordan Alvarez (Houston Astros)

Let’s start this pick off saying this was one of the hardest choices to make for me. I could see this award going to 4 or 5 different players including Alvarez. Some of my other candidates are Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Julio Rodriguez, and Adolis Garcia. I also believe a healthy Byron Buxton has a good chance to win American League MVP. Although all 5 of those players make good cases I still see Yordan Alvarez winning the American League MVP. I believe Alvarez is the best slugger in the American League not named Aaron Judge.

Now let’s get into why I picked Alvarez over the other 5 players listed. Alvarez is a young slugging outfielder and designated hitter for Houston launching 37 home runs last year in only 135 games. This season I could easily see him hitting at least 40 home runs while batting above .290. In 2022 Alvarez was named All-MLB First Team, All-Star, and took home the silver slugger. Alvarez really looks like an hitter with a bright future ahead, finishing 2022 with 68 extra base hits. His 68 extra base hits had him tied for 6th in the American League. This just shows how good of a slugger Alvarez really is.

I think Alvarez is easily the next player to hit 50 home runs behind New York Yankees 2022 MVP Aaron Judge. Alvarez proved he is one of the best power hitters in the league last year and still young I see him improving going into 2023. The only downside to Alvarez is the American League West having amazing pitchers. Here is the list of amazing pitchers in the ALW, Jacob deGrom, Shohei Ohtani, Robbie Ray, Nathan Eovaldi, Martín Pérez, and Jon Gray. But I don’t think Alvarez will struggle much and will still put up MVP numbers.

National League MVP – Austin Riley (Atlanta Braves)

Last year Atlanta Braves third baseman Austin Riley finished 6th in National League MVP voting. This year we see him jumping 5 spots and winning the award. Riley led the Braves in hits, homeruns, batting average, slugging percentage and ops. Riley’s 38 home runs were 3rd in the entire National League. Along with that he finished 2022 with a .878 ops which was 5th in the National League. Riley was named to the 2022 MLB All-Star game as an injury replacement for St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado.

Riley had an electric July be named the July National League player of the month. He finished July with splits of .423/.885/1.344, mashing 11 home runs to go along with his 15 doubles. Shortly after this on August 1st he extended his contract with Atlanta signing a 10 year $212 million extension.

This contract was the largest in franchise history surpassing teammate Matt Olson. On August 9th against the Boston Red Sox Riley hit his 30th home run becoming the joint fastest player to reach 30 doubles and 30 home runs in a season. He shares this franchise record with the late great Hank Aaron who passed away in 2021.

In the 2022 MLB postseason Riley was very disappointing in the National League Divisional Series. The Braves lost the series 3-1 while Riley only recorded 1 hit in 15 at bats. With Justin Verlander signing with division rival New York Mets it’s definitely getting harder for Riley in the National League East. I’m hoping Riley can put his lackluster playoff performance behind him and shine in 2023.

American League Cy Young – Dylan Cease (Chicago White Sox)

In the 2022 season Dylan Cease was unbelievable, posting a 2.20 ERA over 184 IP. In the months of July and August , Cease was almost unstoppable, with a 0.33 ERA in July and a 0.76 ERA in August. He also struck out 85 batters over this time allowing only 27% of the batters he faced to get on base. Cease also held opponents to under 3 runs 11 times in 2022. The White Sox ace finished the year pitching 184 innings, 115 of which were scoreless. Cease’s 2.20 ERA and 227 SO were both good for 2nd in the American League.
Some of Cease’s accomplishments during the 2022 season are being named AL Pitcher of the Month in both June and July. Becoming the first White Sox to ever win the award back to back. On September 3rd, 2022 Cease was 1 out away from his first career no hitter. He was named an MLB All-Star along with being named to the All-MLB second team. We’re very excited to see what Cease can do in 2023 and hopefully he can replicate his great 2022 campaign.

With reigning AL Cy Young winner Justin Verlander signing with the New York Mets in the National League East we see a few other candidates for this award. First is New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole who is a two time runner up.

Next is Texas Rangers new signing Jacob DeGrom who has won NL Cy Young twice, and been top ten in voting another three times. Our third and final candidate is Shane McClanahan of the Tampa Bay Rays, who was the AL leader in K/9.

National League Cy Young – Justin Verlander (New York Mets)

I think Justin Verlander winning the National League Cy Young is an easy pick. After winning the AL Cy Young last year Verlander signed a 2 year $86.7 million dollar deal with the New York Mets.

Sandy Alcantara won the NL Cy Young last year but comparing stats Verlander had a much better season. Verlander will be the ace on the better team which will help his case greatly. This would make Verlander the first pitcher ever to win AL Cy Young and NL Cy Young in back to back seasons. Also making him the 12th ever player to win the award back to back.

Although Verlander is 39 years old he has still been producing amazing numbers, showing age is just a number. In the last 2 seasons Verlander was able to play 2019 and 2022, he won Cy Young. Due to injury he was limited to just one game in 2020 and zero in 2021. Verlander underwent right groin surgery in March 2020 and Tommy John surgery in September 2020. However he came back and won Cy Young, having one of his best seasons ever.

Some other guys I wouldn’t count out are, Zac Gallen, Sandy Alcantara, Corbin Burnes, and Aaron Nola. I think out of those four Zac Gallen would be my second place favorite. Gallen is very young and plays for a questionable Arizona DiamondBacks team. But I think Justin Verlander finishes on top and wins his second Cy Young in a row.

American League MOTY – Brandon Hyde (Baltimore Orioles)

I think this award could very easily go to Brandon Hyde depending on what happens this season. Hyde finished 2nd in voting last year while managing a team who finished 4th in their division. I believe if his Baltimore Orioles make the playoffs Hyde absolutely wins this award. Don’t let the Orioles finishing 4th blind you from the fact the American League East is probably the hardest division in baseball. The Red Sox who finished last in the ALE ended the season 78-84. All 5 American League East teams finished top 17 league wide.

Let’s talk about why I see the Orioles making a playoff appearance this season. With the MLB’s new scheduling format teams will only have to play divisional opponents 52 times compared to the previous 76. This helps the Orioles because of how good the American League East is. Another helpful change is the interleague games jumping from 20 up to 46. This helps the Orioles greatly considering 3 of the worst 4 teams last season were National League clubs. Each team will have to play 4 games against their natural-rival , the Orioles being the Washington Nationals who finished last in the entire MLB last season.

Something to also look at is that the Orioles had the second hardest schedule last year and still finished above .500. With young stars Adley Rutschman(25) and Gunnar Henderson(21) making their major league debuts last season we are excited. Rutschman played 113 games in 2022 batting .254. Gunnar however only appeared in 34 games but hit an impressive .259. The Orioles offense will need to take a step up after finishing bottom half in runs scored. Their pitching is take it or leave it finishing right below the middle in runs allowed. I think we can expect a great season here and for Brandon Hyde to win American League Manager of the Year.

National League MOTY – Oliver Marmol (St. Louis Cardinals)

Some of you may question why I picked Marmol to win this award but once you read this you’ll understand why. The Cardinals play in the National League Central which is one of the MLB’s weaker divisions. Last season the NLC was really just a two team division between the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers. This can help explain why the Cardinals had the easiest schedule of all teams in 2022.

The Cardinals defense is amazing, having 5 gold glove winners in 2021, and having another 3 in 2022. They also have the best defensive third basemen in the league Nolan Arenado who has won 10 gold gloves in a row. Arenado has also won 6 platinum glove awards, and let me remind you he;s only been playing for 10 years. Focusing on their defense more, the Cardinals allowed only 637 runs in 2022 which was 9th in the MLB.

St. Louis also has an elite offense scoring 772 runs tying them for 5th in the league. With this you might be wondering why they only won 93 games with the easiest schedule in the MLB.

If I’m going to be honest I’m not really sure myself, there isn’t a good way to explain it. I think it’s easy to say the Cardinals will have another good season however. Which is why I think this award belongs to Oliver Marmol of the St. Louis Cardinals.

ALCS MVP – Adolis Garcia (Texas Rangers)

Before we dive into this, yes I think the Texas Rangers are going to win the pennant. From the outside you might think I’m crazy but let’s look at their team which has a few stars. Some of their most notable players are Corey Seager, Jacob deGrom, Marcus Semien, Adolis Garcia, and Mitch Garver. In case you forgot deGrom is one of if not the best pitcher when healthy. Along with that Seager was the 2020 World Series MVP and Semien hit 45 home runs in 2021.

I think with the additions of Nathan Eovaldi and Jacob deGrom this team can be very good in 2023. Pitching was definitely the Rangers biggest problem last with a team average 4.22 ERA. When you compare that to their new signings there is definitely a difference. Eovaldi and deGrom had an combined ERA of 3.475 which is almost a whole run less than the team average. Also the addition of Andrew Heaney will help this pitching staff even more.

Now let’s get into why I picked Adolis Garcia over all the other stars I listed. For me it’s simple, he is a great hitter with elite speed. Garcia finished 2022 with 101 RBI’s and 25 stolen bases, both of which he finished top 11 among all players in. Also Garcia’s had an impressive 34 doubles and 27 home runs. I think he is really the spark the Rangers need especially with their new and improved pitching staff.

NLCS MVP – Manny Machado (San Diego Padres)

Another pick people might be questioning is me picking the Padres to win the National League pennant. With the Dodgers losing star shortstop Trea Turner their team is much weaker, leading me to predict the Padres to win the National League West. The Padres have three of the league’s premier players in Juan Soto, Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, and Fernando Tatis Jr. I think their biggest competition in the postseason is last year’s NL champions, the Philadelphia Phillies. However I think San Diego comes out on top in a 7 game playoff series.

The biggest question for this team is how good will their pitching hold up against great offenses. I think even if they are giving up 3-4 runs a game their amazing offense can get them the win. The Padres finished top 11 in the MLB in all major pitching categories(ERA, WHIP, BAA, and QS). With the extension of pitcher Yu Darvish that helps this Padres pitching staff for sure.
Another big question for this franchise is what they are going to do with Fernando Tatis Jr.

The addition of shortstop Xander Bogaerts almost confirms Tatis will be playing outfield this season. The rumor is they are looking for trades for the superstar, which could have a big negative impact. Without Tatis the Padres have a much greater chance of not winning the pennant.

In my opinion without Tatis the Padres won’t even win the division. I think Manny Machado wins the NLCS MVP mainly because of his great hitting and pretty strong defense.

World Series MVP – Xander Bogaerts (San Diego Padres)

Xander Bogaerts is a proven winner, winning 2 World Series in 2013 and 2018. Along with that Bogaerts has reached the postseason 3 other times in his 9 year career. Xander is one of the league’s best offensive shortstops winning 5 silver sluggers, including 2021 and 2022. During the Red Sox 2013 World Series run Bogaerts played 14 games hitting .296.

During the 2018 World Series run Bogaerts batted in 7 runs and drew 7 walks. Last year he finished batting .307 with 74 RBI’s while drawing 57 walks for the Boston Red Sox.
With this signing I suspect Fernando Tatis completely moving to the outfield or being named the Padres designated hitter.

This will lock up the shortstop job for Xander Bogaerts which will give him many opportunities. With the change of scenery going from Boston to San Diego I see Bogaerts having a rough start. However once he settles in I have him having one of his best seasons yet. I think we could expect Xander to hit above .300 with 20+ home runs and 90+ runs batted in.

This will help lead the San Diego Padres to the postseason where they win the World Series. The Padres pitching staff should get them far in the postseason with starters Yu Darvish and Blake Snell. Also San Diego has one of the best closers in the league Josh Hader. I think this team matches up very well against the Texas Rangers and wins the 2023 World Series.

I see Bogaerts batting over .300 and having 4+ RBI’s against the Rangers this series winning him his first World Series MVP.

*Photo courtesy of MLB.com*

-Liam Olson