On March 27th, America’s Pastime will be renewed for its 150th official season. Thirty teams across the U.S. and in Toronto will begin the 162-game journey toward crowning a World Series Champion in the fall. From the anticipation of spring to the freshly manicured grass and damp clay, the 2025 season is packed with young talent and returning veterans that will make for an eventful finish. However, only one team can win it all. Despite the sheer number of acquisitions this offseason, I’ll attempt to predict the top five records of the season—as well as the eventual World Series Champion.
The New York Mets will finish with the 5th best record in MLB. Despite having one of the most eventful off-seasons in the sport’s history—acquiring Juan Soto for $765 million in the largest sports contract ever recorded, and signing Clay Holmes, Frankie Montas, A.J. Minter, Jose Siri, and Griffin Canning, among others—they also impressively retained Sean Manaea, Pete Alonso, Jesse Winker, and Ryne Stanek. The Mets’ offense rivals anyone: Lindor, Soto, Alonso, Vientos, and Nimmo form a top five that can compete with even the Dodgers on paper. So, why do I only project the Mets to win 88 games? Because the Mets simply don’t dominate the regular season. Since 2007, they’ve had just two seasons with 90+ wins—I simply do not see them eclipsing 90 this year.
Coming in at 4th place are the Arizona Diamondbacks. After an 89–73 campaign and narrowly missing the playoffs in 2024, Arizona is back with a refurbished Corbin Carroll and the solid additions of Josh Naylor and Corbin Burnes. After their magical run to the World Series in 2022, the D-Backs struggled offensively in ’24, with Carroll batting just .231 and posting a .686 OPS, despite an impressive second half. Carroll, Ketel Marte, and Corbin Burnes all have MVP potential. Their rotation—featuring Burnes, Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, and Justin Martinez—ranks top five in the league and can carry them to October. I predict they’ll improve slightly and finish 91–71.
The team with the third-best record in 2025 will be the Philadelphia Phillies. Retaining Alec Bohm and Nick Castellanos while adding Jordan Romano and Jesús Luzardo makes this strong team even stronger. Their pitching rotation is now one of the best in the league: Zack Wheeler, Jesús Luzardo, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sánchez, and Ranger Suárez. Simply put, each of these five would be the ace on almost any MLB team. Returners Trea Turner, Bryce Harper, and Kyle Schwarber provide extreme power and elite on-base ability that makes the Phillies lineup brutal to face. Barring injuries, they’re capable of winning 93 games, throwing a complete-game shutout, and hitting a 488-foot home run in the same game (yes, their players have done this before).
The Atlanta Braves are back—and they’re dangerous. There are plenty of reasons to believe in the Braves, but none bigger than their 2024 season: they won 89 games without their two best players. In their last six full seasons, they’ve topped 90 wins four times—including two 100+ win seasons. Seven current Braves rank in MLB’s Top 100, and their rotation features Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale and flamethrower Spencer Strider, along with several other 2024 standouts. The Braves are a force in both the NL East and the wider MLB. Only one team might be able to stop them. I’m predicting 95 wins for Atlanta.
Yes, the best team in MLB is the Japan Dodgers—I mean the Los Angeles Dodgers. With Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Roki Sasaki, the Dodgers boast the top three Japanese stars in the game. Their lineup includes Ohtani (possibly the best player in MLB history, 3x MVP), Mookie Betts (8x All-Star, MVP), Freddie Freeman (8x All-Star, WS MVP), and Teoscar Hernández (2x All-Star, HR Derby Champ)—which, in layman’s terms, is unfair. Their pitching? Equally absurd. Blake Snell, Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, Dustin May, and yes, Shohei Ohtani. Their current fifth starter has a 3.10 career ERA and throws over 100 mph. Their sixth? The best two-way player in baseball history, besides perhaps Babe Ruth, with a 3.01 career ERA. Since 2013, the Dodgers have won 90+ games every full season. In the shortened 2020 season… they won the World Series. The 2025 Dodgers may be the best team ever. Final record: 108–54.
