MLB predictions for 2023: Division winners, World Series

NEW YORK — The start of the MLB season is upon us, and it’s time for division predictions, wildcard teams and, while it may seem early, playoff and World Series predictions.

And just as a reminder, in case you’ve forgotten everything that happened in 2022, your AL division winners were the New York Yankees in the East, the Cleveland Guardians in the Central, and the Houston Astros in the West. Their AL wild cards were the Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays, and Toronto Blue Jays.

In the National League, the Atlanta Braves won the East, the St. Louis Cardinals the Central, and the Los Angeles Dodgers the West. The NL wild cards were the New York Mets, the Philadelphia Phillies, and the San Diego Padres.

After an exciting and surprising series of playoff games and series in which two heavily favored teams, the Mets and the Dodgers, were both beaten by the Padres in the Wild Card Round and Division Series respectively, and the Wild Card Phillies the National League won Championship Series against their wildcard counterparts, and the Astros won their second World Series title since 2017 in six games against the Phillies.

So what will happen this year? Locked On Diamondbacks Podcast Host Millard Thomas and Locked On MLB Podcast Host Paul Francis Sullivan go over their predictions for 2023 in the latest installment of the Locked On Diamondbacks Podcast. Spoiler alert: we’ll give you all of them.

The Locked On Podcast Network has a DAILY podcast for EVERY MLB team, find yours today on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts!

The AL East is always one of the toughest divisions in baseball, and 2023 will be no different, according to Thomas and Sullivan. Thomas singled out the Blue Jays, citing new additions to the roster like Chris Bassitt, Dalton Varsho and a catch-up season contender, starter Jose Berrios, who had a rough year in 2022.

Sullivan chose the Yankees, but he believes it will be a three-team race and that any of the top three teams — the Yankees, Rays and Blue Jays — can win. He even envisions a just three or four-game split between all three teams on the final day of the regular season. Still, he votes for the Yankees because he’s a Red Sox fan and believes in reverse psychology.

Thomas: Toronto Blue Jays
Sullivan: New York Yankees

The AL Central is not always easy to choose, but one thing is for sure. There aren’t too many options as the Royals and Tigers are out of the running before the season starts and don’t have a chance to do anything significant. That leaves the White Sox, who were a disappointment in 2022, the Twins, who were also a disappointment in 2022, and the Guardians, who made the Division Series and led the Yankees to five games.

Thomas is picking the Guardians to repeat their 2022 feat and he believes they will win the division over the White Sox and Twins. He cited their exciting young players as the reason.

Sullivan believes the Twins can return to glory and win the division over the Guardians. He said it was possible the young players Thomas cited as the reason the Guardians won the division could be their downfall if they step down in 2023.

Thomas: Cleveland Guardian
Sullivan: Minnesota Twins

This is child’s play. No one in their right mind will ever take action against the Astros. The team’s stranglehold on the AL West over the past six years shows no sign of easing.

Both hosts opted for the Astros, but Thomas believes the Mariners could win the division if things go well overall. Sullivan approved of the Astros’ choice, saying it would be foolish to pick anyone other than the Astros.

He added that the Mariners are a good team and if they were in AL Central they would probably win that division by at least three games, but being stuck with the Astros will find them at least 10 games behind.

Thomas and Sullivan: Houston Astros

Of all the divisions in Major League Baseball, Sullivan believes the NL East is the hardest to pick. As he said on the podcast, “You have four legitimate teams trying to win, and you have the Washington Nationals.” That’s fair, and Nationals fans would agree.

Both hosts picked the Braves to win the division, but Sullivan used a coin toss to determine his winner. It’s important to note that the Braves and Mets finished 2022 with the same record, but the Braves owned the tiebreaker, so they won the division, and the Mets had to play in the wild card round, where they lost to the 89 in shocking fashion – Victory Padres.

Thomas and Sullivan: Atlanta Braves

This division is the opposite of NL East as it is the easiest to predict. Both Thomas and Sullivan picked the Cardinals to win the division because, as Sullivan pointed out.

The Cards are the only team in the division not to rebuild. Some of the teams (the Cubs and Brewers) might be competitive, but the Reds and Pirates won’t be, and that’s no surprise.

Thomas and Sullivan: St. Louis Cardinals

The Los Angeles Dodgers have finished at the top of the NL West nine of the last 11 seasons. They’re the Astros of the National League, but they’ve been better. Sullivan believes this could be the season where the Padres finish the NL West on top.

He said: “I don’t think it’s an outlier. I think San Diego will be a high 90 win team, I think Los Angeles will be a high 90 win team. I think three or four games will separate them but I think the Padres will finish up front.

Thomas agreed with Sullivan. He believes the Padres will win the division, but he carefully emphasized that you can never rule out the Dodgers. Always.

Thomas and Sullivan: San Diego Padres

Thomas’ three AL wild card picks are the Yanks, sailorsAnd rays. He toyed with the idea of ​​maybe picking the Texas Rangers or the Los Angeles Angels for last, but ultimately chose the Rays because they’re ranked in the AL East and they’ll likely finish with a bunch more wins than Texas and Los Angeles Angels.

Sullivan’s three AL wild card picks are the blue jay, sailorsAnd rays. As he said earlier in the episode, he believes the Twins will win AL Central and he believes the Guardians will take a few steps back, so he chose the Rays for the final wild card spot.

Sullivan’s three NL wild card picks are the dodgers, meadsAnd marlin. That’s right. The Miami Marlins. Sullivan joked about the other teams he didn’t pick, but also said he thinks the Marlins will make it but get kicked out early.

Thomas’ three NL wildcard picks are the dodgers, meadsAnd Phillies. Thomas explained that he thinks his Diamondbacks could sneak in there if they could win 87 games, but he thinks they’re more of an 80-81 winning team, so he picked the reigning National League champion Phillies to play to land in the third wild card spot.

A RIDICULOUSLY EARLY PREDICTION OF THE WORLD SERIES:

Sullivan and Thomas believe it will be Astros vs. Padres in the World Series, with the Padres ultimately winning. Sullivan joked that it was a reunion for the 1987 Giants since managers Dusty Baker and Bob Melvin were part of that roster.

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