The Detroit Tigers will finish in first place in the AL Central in 2024. That was discussed in my last post. Now, let’s get to the other five divisions.
AL East: New York Yankees
Alright, alright, I get it. But in all seriousness, there’s a strong argument to be made that no American League team improved more this offseason than the Bronx Bombers. Acquiring Juan Soto, Trent Grisham, and Alex Verdugo via trades shored up what could’ve been a shaky outfield situation, while signing Marcus Stroman completes the Yanks rotation. Do they have much depth in the pitching department? Thanks to the Soto trade, not really. But did they have an underachieving, injury-ridden team last year that can’t possibly suffer the same fate in 2024? I certainly hope so. The Orioles do scare me, but I have to go with my gut. Go Yanks.
AL West: Seattle Mariners
I’m taking the weird team out of the trident that is the top of 2023’s AL West standings (pun intended) and stating that it’s the Mariners’ time to shine. An offseason that saw them straddle their payroll doesn’t seem fortuitous, but an already-strong lineup and an even-stronger pitching staff (I mean, that rotation is STACKED) will help Seattle vault over the Rangers and Astros. Every year Houston gets worse, and I feel like Texas isn’t as strong as they were on the mound for their World Series run. This race could go in three different directions. Gimme the M’s.
NL East: Atlanta Braves
I usually don’t do repeats for these types of posts (and my awards predictions will certainly have no repeats), but the NL East and NL West are such easy predictions that it would be foolish to go in any other direction. In short, the Braves are the best team in baseball. I don’t care that the Dodgers completely transformed their rotation. The Braves just tied the record for the most home runs hit in a single season by a team and might have three Cy Young candidates in their starting rotation for 2024. They slug and pitch like a Hall of Famer. The Phillies, Marlins, and Mets will just have to fight for Wild Card spots like the rest of the National League.
NL Central: Cincinnati Reds
I’ll admit, I’m nervous about this prediction. While many people will agree with me that the Tigers and Mariners are primed for big seasons in 2024, I’m not sure if the Reds are in the same boat, at least nation-wide. Nonetheless, this young-and-fun lineup is sure to put butts in seats in the Queen City. You have to expect Elly de la Cruz to improve in his sophomore season, along with the rest of the rookie crop that made Cinci so much fun to root for last year. And they added Frankie Montas, so that’s cool. What scares me about this pick more than the others is that, while there’s a clear hierarchy of teams in the AL Central, the NL Central is the NL Mid because it’s SO wide open. The Cubs and Brewers are good-ish, the Cardinals just rebuilt their starting rotation in one offseason, and the pesky Pirates are a sneaky NL Wild Card team. I think the NL Central race in general will be the most fun to watch in 2024, but as for who ends up on top, I’ll take the Reds (as long as no other NL Central team signs Joey Votto).
NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers
Another shoo-in of a pick, gimme the Dodger blue to top the NL West yet again. In my opinion, this is the least-competitive division in baseball; I just think the Braves are better overall. Shohei, Yamamoto, and Glasnow will dominate the new crop of hitters on the Giants and Diamondbacks, the Padres don’t have a real pitching staff, and the Rockies are the Rockies. The Dodgers are so deep that they forced Mookie Betts to be a second baseman. Need I say more?
And just for fun, here are my full playoff predictions (organized by seed):
AL Division winners: Yankees, Mariners, Tigers
AL Wild Card winners: Orioles, Rangers, Astros
NL Division winners: Braves, Dodgers, Reds
NL Wild Card winners: Cardinals, Phillies, Brewers
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