Quinn Campbell
Spring training is in full swing which means that the MLB season is upon us again. There is a lot to be excited about from a fan perspective this year with the amazing talent in the league and the balanced skill level of teams throughout the MLB. Obviously, the reigning World Series champion, the Dodgers, will be favorites to repeat again this year. They were able to retain their core group of position players from last year's team as well as make a splash in free agency by signing highly touted Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki and two-time Cy Young Award winner, Blake Snell. They also were able to sign two capable hitters in Hyeseong Kim and Michael Conforto. However, they lost arguably their two best pitchers in Walker Buehler and Jack Flaherty to free agncy. Hopefully for the Dogers, Sasaki and Snell will be able to live up to expectations and the losing of Buehler and Flaherty will not be a huge deal. As for the rest of the National Leauge, the expected top teams alongside the Dodgers are the Braves, Cubs, Mets, Phillies and Padres. The NL East is once again one of the top divisions in baseball with three teams competing for first place (Braves, Mets, Phillies). The NL West will also be very competitive, just like recent years, with the Padres and Diamondbacks giving the Dodgers a fight for first place. The Cubs made a huge accquisition in free agency with the signing of Kyle Tucker, who immediately will be the best hitter in the lineup and a very good defender as well. They are favorites to win the NL Central, which would be the first time they would so, since 2017.
Moving over towards the American Leauge, the Yankees are once again set up to have a championship run, although their roster will look a lot different. The Yankees lost Juan Soto to the cross-town rivals, the Mets, but were able to accquire Cody Bellinger via trade, as well as top tier free agent pitchers Max Fried and Devin Williams. The Yankees are by no means locks to win the AL East though, as the Orioles and Bluejays are up and coming teams looking to make a statement. The Minnesota Twins should be able to take the AL Central this year, assuming they stay healthy. The Twins have been robbed of wins the last couple seasons because of the injuries to Correa, Lewis, and Buxton, but when all three of them are healthy, they have one of the best lineups in baseball. Finally, let's not forget about the 2023 Champs, the Texas Rangers. They had a down year last year, but their two aces, Max Scherzer and Jacob de Grom missed nearly the entire season with injuries. After adding depth to the bullpen in free agency, signing Joc Pederson and accquring Jake Burger via trade, the Rangers are set up nicely to win the AL West and try to win another ring.
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