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let's jump right into it. Welcome back beautiful people, it is another Thursday and another
episode. This time, following up on our last episode, if you haven't listened to it,
go listen to it. This is my predictions for the 2025 MLB season. I'm going to go division by division,
I'm going to go through the three wild card teams from each league, and then we're going to come
together and have a World Series favorite. Kenji talked about his last time, he had a couple of
crazy picks, I'm not going to air him out on here, you're going to have to go back and listen to it.
But this episode is my time to talk, he's going to react to it, and I'm thoroughly excited. We've
been talking about this the last couple of days, we're stoked for this episode, this is a fun little
thing. Kenji, what are your thoughts? Do you have any revisions to make from your last selections?
Do you still stand by them? I'm proud of the picks I made. I don't think you should be.
I've been thinking about the Astros, and I can't remember if last year I was low on them,
or if I was high on them. Because if I was low on them, I was right for about a third of the season,
and very wrong for the two thirds of the season. And I thought to myself, can I afford,
of course I can afford to do it, but it's smart for me to rule out a team, a dynasty for the past
10 years. And I have been thinking about the Astros, but besides that, I'm proud of what I
put out there. I would just say everybody get ready to read a horrendous list of full of wrongs.
Not really, but hear a horrendous list from Gabe about who's going to make the playoffs today.
It's not that hard to predict the playoffs. It's just the wild cards that are really hard.
Yeah, I feel pretty good about this list. From a very top down perspective, I feel good about
the six teams in each league that I have making it in general. I feel like these guys make sense.
I can talk myself into every one of them. It's just the order that gets a little hairy sometimes,
and I think that's where I'm going to get a little bit of a reaction. I try not to let my bias affect
me, but you'll probably see a little bias here. We're all a little biased here. It's sports.
Sports is personal. Yeah. I mean, we had the Kansas City Royals winning the AL Central.
So that was the last episode. Hey, hey, hey. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. I said I wasn't going to air out
your picks, but I did. I'm sorry. Hey, okay. Well, let's hear it. Who are you going to start off
with today? We always start out in the East, the American League East. I'm pretty sure everybody
can predict who I have there, but we'll get there in a second. I'm going to go with the AL West,
and this one is basically what we talked about last time when you spoke. I have the Texas Rangers
winning the AL West. I do think Houston is a really interesting team, but when it came down to it,
I looked at their lineup. I just didn't like the lineup. I didn't. I like Jordan Alvarez. I do. I
like Esauk Parades. I like him a lot. I like Christian Walker. I like bringing him in,
but you lose a bunch of playoff pedigree. They've got this transition with Altuva moving to the
outfield. I'm just not sold, honestly, that the Astros can do what they've been doing. And listen,
this is probably going to bite me in the butt. You can clip it because they're probably going
to go and do what the Astros always do, which is they're a dynasty at this point. They always
make the playoffs. Besides last year, they had what? Seven years in a row they were in the
championship series. It's tough to count the Astros out, but I think last year we saw the beginning
of this kind of fall off for them. And the more I look at the Rangers roster, a healthy year of
de Grom, of all these back, they've got some guys in the rotation that need to prove it. They've got
a bunch of young guys lying in the weight. I really like Texas. I love their lineup. I think
they've got the pop to win the division. That's my pick. Is this the easiest division you think?
I know, because I think if you tell me in September and you're like, the Astros are three
games up on Texas, I'm not shocked at all. I don't think I would be surprised in the slightest.
I mean, if you told me that the Mariners were making a run at it, I don't think I would be
surprised in the slightest because Mariners have a great rotation. So I think it's open, but not a
ton. I think that's a weird way to describe it, but that's kind of how I feel. Okay. I think,
I mean, it's the same one that I had, so I got nothing to say about it. I think it's the worst
division in baseball, but it could be also contend for one of the top ones if a few moves are made
and people break out. But yeah, I think the Rangers are a great pick and they definitely do
have the most complete roster and the most complete players and the most depth, in my opinion.
I totally agree. So Texas Rangers win the AL West. I think it's a good pick. I don't know
if they're favored officially from Fandl or DraftKings, but I feel good about the Rangers.
Moving along to the Central, the AL Mid, I have the Minnesota Twins winning the Central.
I know, listen, this might be a little offensive to Kenji and his Kansas City Royals lore, but
I like Minnesota. They didn't do much in the off season, but they had a bunch of young guys
come up last year. They had Rooks Lee. They had the third baseman, Miranda. They got, of course,
Carlos Correa. They still have their core of other players. I really like their rotation,
Bailey Ober, Joe Ryan, Pablo Lopez. I still think Joanne Duran on the back end is really good.
And in a division that I think is kind of up for grabs, I like Minnesota. I think Cleveland's
gotten us a hair worse. Kansas City really didn't do much to make me vault them up in the rankings.
I think Minnesota has proved it. I like them to win the Central. I think they're like,
they're probably capped in my opinion though, like an 88, 89 win team. That's, I think,
their ceiling. But I think the ceiling for a lot of the other AL Central teams is below that. That's
why I have the twins winning the Central. Thoughts? I honestly, like if I wasn't a Royals fan,
I would have picked twins. I mean, I have the twins making the playoffs, I'm pretty sure next year.
And when you look at their lineup, it's hard to argue against it, right? I mean, I'll just read
off like their projected lineup. They got Matt Wallner, who I've heard great things about. I
heard he mashes, mashes balls. He projected a lead off, which is kind of strange to me.
I got Matt Wallner, Carlos Correa, who is like a Luis Arias when he stays healthy with a bit more
pop. Byron Buxton, who can't stay healthy, but when he does, he looks great. Last year, honestly,
he stayed healthy for the majority of it and he's a great player. Trevor Larnick, also I think he's
a bat first guy, isn't he? I can't remember him playing much last year. Yeah, I don't know too
much about Trevor Larnick, yeah, but he's in cleanup form. Right. So that means something,
right? Because we have Royce Lewis behind him, who has the potential to be probably like one of the
best players in baseball when he's hitting well. Will Castro, guy can play anywhere, good speed,
good defense. Ryan Jeffers had a lot of pop at the beginning of last year, really helped them out.
Kai France at first base, who knows? He was in Seattle, was in Cincinnati, who knows how he's
going to do this year? And then Brooksley, who splashed last year. And then they're, they're,
he kind of right off their, their starters for next year. They're great. We talked about their
bullpen a lot here. Also, I think it's a great pick. Yeah, I'm going to call out Griffin Jacks,
like kind of an underrated pick. I like Brock Stewart there in that bullpen as well. Oriole
legend Danny Coulombe back there. I really like their bullpen. I think if they can score a decent
number of runs a game, they're going to win a lot of games. Simeon Woods Richardson and Chris Paddock
being the back end of the bullpen. Simeon Woods Richardson, formerly a big prospect for the Blue
Jays. And I like him. We'll kind of see what happens with Simeon. But I mean, he's a good four.
Again, I really like their top three. I think it's a tough team to face in a playoff series.
I think you're going, wow, if they score four runs in a playoff game, like you're in trouble,
because that's a really good pitching staff. So I like the twins. I got them winning the central.
Awesome. Awesome. Now I'm going to move to the American league East. Yeah. Yeah. And you can't
see my video, but I have an O's hat on right now. Well, interesting. Interesting. Why is that?
And that's who I've got winning the American league East. Please state your case about that.
I have the O's winning the, yeah. Yeah. Go ahead. Everybody in the audience wants to know how you
have them winning that. I have the O's winning the East because they're only going to go as far as
their young core develops. And I think their young core is going to take them pretty far.
Okay. I think Gunnar Henderson is going to continue to be one of the best
top five players in baseball. I don't think like, like that's a non-negotiable. I think.
Top five. Top five.
Give me your top five baseball players and then we'll be right now.
Hold on. Top five? Top five best young players, I guess. I'll, I'll, I'll amend my statement to
best young players. I won't say the top five. I can accept that. But top five best young players.
I think Gunnar continues to do what he's going to do. I think Adley Rutchman has a bounce back
season. I think he learned a lot in that second half and whatever it was, injury, whatever,
he's going to be back. I think he'll be playing well. Like Jordan Westberg,
Tauser and Holliday to all take a step forward. I think that's the biggest key to the O's this season.
If they get their young core to take a step up, then they're going to be in great shape.
I think if Holliday does like half of what he did last year, or not half, double what he did last
year, the O's are going to be in phenomenal shape. He did nothing last year. He used half what
Holliday did last year. They're going to be in the dump. And Kirstad too. I think Kirstad is an
underrated piece of this. He's going to be in the middle of that lineup against Riteys especially.
He's got wicked power. I like the young core to take him. If Tyler O'Neill stays kind of consistent
with how much he's been playing, I also like him with enough pop from the right side. They're
bringing in that wall in right field. Mountcastle is going to have a bounce back season. Mullins
becomes a free agent at the end of the year. So he's going to have a good season. I feel good
about the young core. I do. And everybody's going to say, oh, well, Gabe, as I scroll down the page
to the rotation, well, Gabe, they lost Corbin Burns. What are they going to do? And you can't
replace Corbin Burns in the aggregate. You can't. I'd like to put that out there. You can't recreate
him with other players and statistics. You can't do it. However, Grayson Rodriguez has the stuff to
be a number one pitcher. Hasn't put it together yet, but he can. He's only 25. Zach Efflin is a
veteran anchoring right next to Grayson at the top of that rotation. He now gets a full year to kind
of full off season to prepare. He knows where he's going to be. He gets to work with Grayson. They
bring in Sagano. And if there's one thing we know, it's that older Japanese pitchers that can command
the baseball can have success in the big leagues. Look no further than Shotzi Minaga last year.
If you can command the baseball, you can throw strikes, you can deceive the hitter, you can be
successful to some level. And I'm not saying Tomoyuki is going to go be an amazing pitcher in
the big leagues, but I think he can be serviceable as like a four or a five. Is that a question mark?
No. And the question marks, I mean, Dean Kramer, we need him, he needs to step up at least like
another notch, right? It was kind of, Dean Kramer started that game three against the Rangers a
couple of years ago, and that was kind of a joke. It was like, really? Dean Kramer is our guy,
but he's a serviceable and he'll be starter. He makes most of his starts, he pitches well,
gives us five solid innings. I like Dean Kramer. And then Charlie Morton, 41 year old Charlie
Morton. I don't really know how to feel about this, honestly. How much did you guys sign him for again?
Like 15 million or something with the kind of like the average pitchers.
Isn't that, does that ever blow your mind that he signed, I think before Verlander and Scherzer
for the same amount of money? I'm pretty sure he signed before them. Like does that blow your mind?
Like that's crazy. I don't hate it. Like I said, I like Morton because he's got kind of the,
if you look at the shape of his breaking ball, it's similar to that of Rodriguez.
And I like that about him. I like that he's kind of a five, six pitch guy. I like that he can,
there's so many young dudes in this road, in this, on this team and in the rotation.
Underrated part of the starting pitching staff, Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells will return during
the season from Tommy John surgery. Kyle Bradish started game one for us two years ago. Bradish
can be a one right alongside Grayson. So I think if they can hang around until Bradish comes back,
then you were looking at Bradish, Grayson, Efflin, and you're like, okay, that's a legitimate top
three. And I like that. If I'm an Oriole fan, I am an Oriole fan. I like the bullpen. I think
people underrate, you know, how they always had a losing record in one run games last year. They did
point blank. And that was because the backend of their bullpen was so horrendous, horrendous.
Craig Kimball, Craig Kimball closing games for the season was, it was just a tire fire. He was a
disaster getting Felix Bautista back healthy for 162 will do wonders for this team. And I think
people are like, well, you lose Kimball, you lose Santander, where are you going to make it up?
I think the sole edition of having Bautista as an anchor in the backend will help actually quite
a bit. I like the additions of Andrew Kichrig. I like that Keegan Aiken, sorry, not Aiken,
Serenity Dominguez and Gregory Soto get a full year to kind of prepare to be in that staff.
I like them as kind of setup pieces as role players. We'll see how they pan out. But I like them.
Albert Suarez is kind of a long guy. He's amazing in his role last year. And then if I'm looking at
the bench, he was very clutch for you guys last year. He was. I like Jorge Mateo coming off the
bench when he's back healthy. I like him as a utility guy when he goes and he's stealing bags,
the whole rest of the team, you know, gets picked up a notch when he's playing well. So I like Mateo
a lot. That's kind of that. That's my take on the O's. I know it's long winded. I have them winning
the East. It was never going to be anybody else that I was going to pick to win the East. I do
think the Red Sox. You just can't. Yes, I do think the Red Sox and Yankees are very strong and you're
going to see me pick talk about them in a minute. But I have the O's winning the American League. I
think it's going to be a really tight division. I think the O's get like 95, 94 wins and then
and then they finish only a game or two ahead of the teams I'm going to talk about in a minute.
OK, so since this is partially a Royals and Dodger and Baltimore Orioles podcast,
we talk about these players, I'm going to ask you who are your two X-Factors for Baltimore this year?
Because you know, let's have a couple names, right? But I want to know who you think it really
solely depends on. I mean, you've kind of touched about this before, but let me hear like your two
X-Factors that are going to actually take the O's back to winning that division to what it was
or from what it was last year. Great question. Grayson Rodriguez and
any of the young guys, dude, any Jackson Holliday. It's not Adley? You said so many times.
Yeah, I think Adley takes them. Yeah, I think Adley bounces back. So you're right. Yes,
it does hinge on Adley. So you're absolutely right. I think it's Rodriguez and Adley.
If I had to do a humble plug, I think Holliday having a bounce back would be huge. I think
Mullens being better than what he's been would be huge. But you're absolutely right. Two X-Factors,
one pitcher, one hitter, Grayson Rodriguez, because they need him to be the guy. They need him to be
the guy. Yeah. And Rutchman has to get back to what he was because if Rutchman's getting on base,
if he's slapping the ball the other way, those are in good shape. So I hope that answers your question.
It did. I appreciate it. All righty then. American League wild card. Now, this is when I had a little
bit of fun. Wait till you see my AL wild card three. AL wild card one, I have the Boston Red Sox
as the first wild card winner. OK, OK. I like them a lot. I like their lineup a lot. I really like
their rotation. The back of the bullpen still worries me a little bit, but I do. I'm a fan of
Roldis Chapman. I think he's solid there on the back end. I don't know what Liam Hendricks is
going to give them, but I like Chapman and I really like that rotation. So if Crochet can stay healthy,
if they can keep those arms healthy, I think the Red Sox are in phenomenal shape. If you tell me
that the Red Sox win the division and flip flop the O's with them, I don't have a problem with
that. I just was never going to pick anybody else besides the O's to win the division. Good point.
That's kind of my take on Boston. Like I said, we've talked about this at length. The top four or
five in their lineup is elite and their rotation is elite. So end of story. That's kind of how I
feel. Boston's in good shape. They've got a great young core kind of just waiting in the wings.
That's how I feel. I can't really complain. I think it's the best pick, especially if the O's
are already going to win a division in your head. And I think Boston definitely is that team.
But what gives Boston the edge over the Inks? Because the Inks have the second or the third
best player in baseball, Aaron Judge. They have Garrett Cole, who is a generational talent when
it comes to pitching. They have Max Freed, when he's pitching healthy, he is filthy. They got a
great back of the bullpen with Devin Williams and Weeby Boy. And they got just a great amount of
other players. And so what gives Boston the edge to you over the Inks?
I like their lineup. I will say they just came from the World Series.
I like their lineup and their rotation better. I do. I mean, the Yankees lineup is, to be honest
with you, is a little scary to me, like in a bad way. Like I look at that lineup and I think there's
a case where the Yankees could have, if Stanton misses, like on opening day. Now, bear with me for
a second. Opening day, I think, I don't know where the Yankees are playing. They're probably at home.
But opening day, I think that there could be a legitimate case that the Yankees have the fourth
best lineup in the AL East that they put out there on opening day. Wow, really?
I do. I think that, I mean, I don't have Toronto making the playoffs. Spoiler alert. Sorry.
But Toronto has a really good, you know, you could argue Toronto has a good top three, four players.
That's true. They'll have Bichette, Vlad, St. Ander somewhere in that lineup. I think that the Red
Sox have an amazing group. You've got Duran, you have Devers, you have Bregman, you have Casas.
The O's have Gunnar, Adley, Westberg, Mountcad, however you want to finesse those guys. But then
I look at the Yankees and I'm going Dominguez, Bellinger, Judge. And especially if Stanton's out,
I just, I don't know, man. Like you look at some of the rankings and projected stats for these
Yankees hitters and I think they had Bellinger hitting 18 homers this year. They had Goldschmidt
hitting like just over 20. That's what they said. That's what they had. I just don't know.
I just look at that lineup and I think it's hinging on a bunch of old guys.
And like, I don't know how much more they're going to get out of Volpi. Dominguez clearly has
his fair share of issues in left field. Now I'm hating on the Yankees. I'm a Yankee hater. We know
this. However, I do have them as the second wild card team. I do. Because I think they make it,
because they do have a strong rotation and they do have a phenomenal back end of the bullpen. So I do
think that they will make the playoffs. I think they have to go on the road to Boston, but I do
think they make the playoffs. That's kind of my take on the Yankees. It's not a World Series
contender, but it's a good team. Maybe they add something at the deadline. Maybe they get a
Renaissance out of Goldschmidt or Bellinger, but that's how I feel. Oh, they will. Trust me. Paul
Goldschmidt out there. Hey, I was wrong on every first baseman last year. I said Anthony Arizo. I
said Spencer Torkelson. And I said Tristan Kassas, all going to break out or bounce back. You did.
Anthony Arizo, I think was the worst first baseman in baseball last year. Tristan Kassas got hurt,
although he started off great, got hurt and missed pretty much the whole season. And Spencer Torkelson
forgot how to hit and was in the AAA and now is a bench player. So I was very wrong, but I will say
Paul Goldschmidt, I think deserves the benefit of the doubt. I think he's going to have a great
year and I think Goldie, I think Belly will have a great year as well. But we'll see. I'm excited to
see, but who's your third wild card team? No, hold on. Before I get there, I pulled up the Yankees
projected opening day roster. Stanton's not going to be ready for opening day, we know, so we can
take him out. But they have Jazz, Judge, Bellinger, Wells, Goldschmidt, Volpe, Dominguez,
Carrera. I don't know, man. I don't know. I mean, it just doesn't. I'm a biased Oriole fan. Okay.
Yeah, I look at it and I think the Red Sox lineup is better than this. The O's lineup is better than
this. That's how I feel when I look at this. And I don't have the Blue Jays pulled up. But I think
you could argue that the Blue Jays could have a competitive top of the order just like they do.
Like Yankees hinge on a lot of young guys popping or old guys finding lightning in a bottle.
Okay. Okay. It's true. It's true. There is a lot hinging on risky players. But I guess that's what
makes the Yankees kind of interesting this year. I like Jazz. I like Jazz Chisholm. I do. He kind
of wasn't what I thought. Well, when he was in Miami, I thought he was kind of like an, I don't
even know, an upper tier player. When he got traded to New York, he didn't quite perform to that
standard. Maybe he goes back up there. He played better. I don't know. Maybe he goes back up there
now that he's had a full off season. But he was on the fast track to Major League Superstar.
And then it never felt like he was on the cover of the show. He's got all these, like Miami was
making the playoffs. Like he's carrying Miami to the playoffs. It just doesn't, I don't know. Maybe
Jazz pops off, has a good year. They could make me eat my words. A lot of times Yankees do,
but that's how I feel. Okay. Okay. Well, now that we spent the entire show on the Yanks in Baltimore,
who's your third wild-call spot? I'm going to sit in my water for a second before I say this.
I'm going to catch your breath. Are you ready for this? Let's, let's hear it.
I have the Seattle Mariners. I hate you. The wild card is the third team.
You're insane. I like them. You're ridiculous. You're ridiculous. Over the Royals, the Tigers,
the Astros. I do. That's crazy, dude. I do. Do you know who's on offense?
Nobody. I looked at their lineup and that's when I made the call. I looked at the team.
I like a man. Like I do. Please explain to me. Me and God are going to try and understand your
reasoning here. You're getting your money's worth if you're listening to me talk. I'm
airing it out today. I like the lineup or sorry, not the lineup. I love, I love the rotation. I
absolutely love the pitching staff. And that's, that's true with every everything in Seattle,
but the, I think the lineup is serviceable. Julio Rodriguez bounce back season this year.
Bucket Julio is going to be the superstar. Everybody thinks he is Julio has to be in a row.
He has to be the guy. I like Julio to be the guy. Cal Raleigh phenomenal season last year. He's 28.
He's getting better. He's a switch hitting third. He's going to bat third in order. I like Cal Raleigh
quite a bit. Big dumper. I'm a big fan of the big dumper. Randy Rose Arena, who again, had a down
year last year, but it's a full off season to now prepare to be the starting left fielder in Seattle.
He's got the playoff Moxie. He's got this swagger. I think that that team needs a lot of swagger.
Julio kind of feels like the spark plug all the time and you can't rely on him to be the spark plug
all the time. I think Randy can provide some of that. I like Randy a lot in that order.
It kind of goes again. We know their lineup is not strong. It gets a little hairy after that with
like Luke Raleigh, Mitch Hanniger, JP Crawford. Please tell me who those people are. Mitch
Hanniger is a right handed bat. He's been he's 34. Luke Raleigh is 30. They got him from the
Rays. He has a little bit of pop. Jorge Polanco. I like bringing him back. He's a switch hitter at
the bottom of the order. And then on their bench, they've got like the Kanzoni kid. They got Mitch
Garver. But really, everybody's laughing when I'm talking about the lineup because the lineup is not
strong. I will be the first to admit that the lineup is not strong. I don't think the lineup is
strong in Detroit or Kansas City though, for that matter. Whoa, whoa, Kansas City. They have Bobby
Whitman. What else do they have? They got Salvi Perez. She put up 100 RBIs last year. You have
Vinny Pasquino. 100 RBIs last year. Old ass Salvador Perez. Sorry. Okay. But the real kicker
with this team is you look at the rotation and you realize how good it is. How phenomenal their
pitching staff is. Logan Gilbert, Luis Castillo, George Kirby, Bryce Miller, Brian Wu. Phenomenal.
Phenomenal. That bullpen is good. The back end is fantastic with Andres Munoz. They'll be in every
gate. It's can they score a few runs to give themselves a chance to win because they'll be in
every game. And the Mariners, this is a really risky pick because the Mariners for years have
bitten their fans in the back. They are known to disappoint. But I think because the expectations
are so low and because the motivation is higher because they didn't do much in the off season
because everybody's counting them out already. I think Julio and Randy and that pitching staff
go and they say, why not us? And I like that because they're the third wild card team. They'll
sneak in at the end. It'll be like the last week of the season they're playing for it. I like
Seattle to do it. I mean, I could be convinced. I mean, if it's Kansas City, sure. If it's Detroit,
I could see it. If it's Houston, I could see it. But I had to give something crazy going Seattle.
Third wild card team. But I feel like Seattle. I mean, you look at last year and there were
strictly teams who were just pitching only and they can only make it so far. It's great to have
five great starters, but in the playoffs you use three of them. You got to score runs in the playoffs.
I agree. And I don't know in the last two years they've been so close. But Julio Rodriguez gets
hot right before the end of the year. And that's great. But I mean, Jorge Polanco isn't going to
solve your problems. He's like the one guy they signed this off season. I don't know. It's just
the back half of our lineup is just gross. I get it. I totally understand. I think Colt
Nemberson is going to be a fine prospect. And I don't know if he comes up this year, but he's
going to be a great middle infielder. I don't know if they were to move Crawford to third.
You get Dylan Moore out of there. They just cut him. Yeah. I don't know what they're going to do.
I just love their pitching staff and I'm buying Seattle stock. It's probably the wrong thing to
do, but I'm buying Mariner stock because they have the pitching staff to do it. When they say,
what do you need in baseball to be successful pitching, pitching and more pitching, they have
it. They have it in droves. So it's like, guys, just score four runs a game, just score five runs
a game and you're going to win more often than not. And I don't know. Their division is not easy.
Oakland, sorry. The athletics are going to be better. Texas is going to be better. Who knows
what Houston is going to bring. So their division is not necessarily easy, but I got Seattle.
Okay. How much time have we spent in the AL? I'm talking too much, man. I feel like we've been here
forever. Do we need to do this a part time series? I'm talking too much. I'll go a little bit faster
for the national league. We'll go a little bit faster with the national league. We'll start with
the national league west. This should be, no, we'll say that for that. Actually, no. The west? This is
the Dodgers. Okay. Yeah. Okay. This is the Dodgers. Why the Dodgers? Because they spend
$70 million more in the next closest team because they've got a number one starter pitching in their
fifth spot in their rotation because Tony Gonsolin, who would be like top two guy on
any other rotation is like fighting for a rotation spot for them because Dustin May, who's in the
same spot is fighting for a rotation spot because they signed Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates to go at
the back end of the bullpen because they've got the best top three in the order in the history of
baseball potentially. Like the Dodgers are fantastic. The Dodgers win the division. End of story.
Okay. All right. We'll go to the national league central. Who you got there?
I got another crazy one for you. What's that? Cincinnati Reds. I knew it. Cincinnati Reds. I
looked at the rotation. I like it. I like their lineup. I'm buying some red stock. I'm buying
some red stock. Elie De La Cruz is popping off in spring training. It means absolutely nothing,
but Matt McLean is back this year. Spencer Steer doesn't have as much pressure on him.
I really like Austin Hayes as an addition to that outfield. I really do. Like in the right system,
Hayes was an all star. He started the all star game in 2023. Hayes is legitimately good big
leaguer. He just was forced out of Baltimore and then he got traded to Philly where he was fighting
for playing time anyway. He gets regular playing time. I like Hayes a lot in Cincinnati. Gavin Lux
goes over to that squad. He's going to be a good bottom of the order serviceable bat. And we know
that they have good prospects. We know that they have the Noel Di Marte kid. We know that they have
Elie De La Cruz. We know that they've got Christian Encarnacion on strand. They've got so much talent
just sitting in that infield and they just don't know what to do. They have to trade it.
They have to use it. They have a ton of talent. I guarantee you that Lubebob trade was about to
happen. Probably had CES or Noel Di Marte or Spencer Steer mixed in there somewhere because,
or maybe one of their outfielders, they have what? Jake Fraley and whoever the other guy is.
They have Fraley. They have Friedl. Fridel. There you go. And Hayes. Yeah. Like the Reds could really,
if they play this right, because set themselves up for so much success in the future, they just
can't hog these prospects and waste them. I agree. I understand what you're saying with the Reds.
They're a fun team. I'm buying, I'm drinking the Reds juice. I mean, look at the rotation. I think
Brady Singer is a really good addition. I do. Ending's luncher, man. Yeah. I like Hunter Green
a lot. He's the ace. He's the guy. Brady Singer is your number two. Andrew Abbott is your number
three. Who's a good starter by no means is Andrew Abbott a bad starter. That guy's got a surprising
belly. You've seen that before? I haven't seen his belly. Why? Why did you, why do you know that?
It's all, dude, they were broadcasting it last year, like zooming in his stomachs and like
for a starting pitcher who's younger than he is. That's crazy. He's got kind of a belly.
It's kind of funny. Anyway, Nick Martinez is your fourth guy. Whatever. Nick Lodolo, high end,
a lot of potential, tons of potential, he's oozing with potential. I need Nick Lodolo to be healthy
and have a good season. And then of course, I mean that bullpen Scott Barlow, who is long time
Kansas City Royal and then Alexis Diaz on the back end. Alexis Diaz is great. He's fantastic.
So I'm drinking the Reds Kool-Aid. Give it to me. All right. Okay. Then we'll go to the East
National League East. Now this is arguably one of the best divisions, if not the best division
in baseball. Who you got? The Phillies. Okay. I like that. I did not expect that from you. I
got to be honest. I thought you were going to go Mets or Braves. I can't do the Mets. I don't like
the rotation and I like the Braves, but I just think the Phillies have the pedigree for it.
The Phillies didn't do much in the off season, but I like that young core. They've still got a couple
guys under 30, but they've got a lot of aging players too. I think like Trey Turner, Harper,
Schwaber, this is like a, like do you still have it? You think this is it for them? I think this is
the end of their window. And this is maybe not this year, but like the next two years, this is
the end of their window. I feel like this is the last year they have a really good chance to push
it until I think cause Nick Castellanos, I don't think can stay next year. I think they're going
to have too much money and they're just going to need to get a culture shift. They need to get a
bunch of more young guys in there. So I kind of do think this is it for the Phillies. And yeah,
sorry. Go ahead. I just meant to ask you that question. Yeah. No, I think they're older,
but I mean, I still think that they have the talent to be successful. I think Harper's still
great. Turner, Schwaber, Castellanos, Raul Mutu. Like they have to do something. They're old. They
have to do something. But I like Alec Bohm and Brandon Marsh are under 30. They got to make
something happen. Stott's under 30. They got to make something happen. I love their rotation.
Hazel's, Lazzardo is there five. That's fantastic. They do lose Carlos Estavez in free agency to your
Kansas City Royals, but I still like the backend. I mean, they got Joe Ross, Tywan Walker, Jose
Alvarado, Kirk Haring, Strom and Romano. I like all those pieces. Romano at his best is an all-star
closer and Strom we saw what he could do last year. Alvarado like they got dudes there in Philly. And
I think this is like the last big year for them because I do think the Braves are coming and the
Mets are coming. So I have the Phillies winning it because they like put the pedal to the metal.
This is their time to do it. So Phillies won the end at least. I love it. I think they need to make
a mid-season trade for another reliever because it seemed like their bullpen is what has blown a lot
of big games in the last couple of years of the playoffs. I mean, look at Estavez. I know Alvarado
had a huge bomb that he let off. Strom a hoard last year, I think in the playoffs. The only thing I
remember about the Phillies last year was their bullpen sucked. So I think they needed before they
tried deadline, picks up that bullpen, get some more guys. If Stott's not playing up today,
could he play pretty bad last year, get that figured out? But besides that, I agree with you.
They really do have what it takes to win that division. Yeah. I like Philly. And a wild card one.
Arizona. Okay. Okay. I love it. I love it. Arizona man. That line up or not even that line up or
that rotation, that roster is awesome. That roster is incredible. And they're overshadowed
because the Dodgers are in their division and the Dodgers have the best roster ever assembled.
But that Diamondbacks team is really, really good. They get Corbin Burns, of course. I mean,
he's their number one. He's amazing. Wild, but they got him. Zach Galin on a contract year,
he's going to have a great season. He's a guy who's going to go prove it that he deserves to make big
money. I love Zach Galin. I like the other pieces in that rotation. They're kind of like force. I
mean, there was a big deal last spring training was Jordan Montgomery signs. They're late and
he is fighting for a spot, but he's probably not going to get one at this point because they
got a lot of pieces in that rotation. I like the rotation a lot. And Wander Rodriguez is like a
three or four for them. He was seen as a top guy a couple of years ago for Detroit and he got hurt
last year. But I mean, I would love to take him as a three or four any day in any rotation.
Yeah, I love him. I like Mero Kelly coming back full season. Brandon Flott kind of like a year
removed from his playoff starts. I like him. They have AJ Puck who sticks around in the bullpen.
Justin Martinez, who is their big time closer. Kevin Ginkle, big time setup man. They signed
Kendall Graveman who's been known to he has some juice left in the tank. And Jordan Montgomery is
their long reliever who two years ago he was pitching like massive. He was the ace for the
Rangers. Yeah, he was pitching huge games. And then you go to their lineup and you're like,
this is a really good team. Corbin Carroll, Katel Marte. They bring in Josh Naylor,
Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Jake McCarthy, Gino Suarez, Pavin Smith, Gabby Marino, Coraldo Perdomo,
who they just signed to a massive extension. They got dudes. The Diamondbacks have dudes.
They're the number one wildcard team. They got guys who played their roles and they don't play
bigger than themselves, you know, because like we talked about last time, like they have guys,
but they're not like crazy names like the Dodgers or the Padres, you could say,
but they got players who can do their job and do it well and play as a team. And that's what makes
the Diamondbacks so awesome. And that's why they made the World Series on a couple of years ago
is because they played as a team. They had an identity and they got hot and they believe in
each other. And so absolutely Diamondbacks completely deserve that number one spot.
Yeah. So D-backs are number one. I have the Atlanta Braves as wildcard number two.
Okay. They'll get Acuna back mid season. They'll get Strider back mid season. They bring in Jurek
and Profar. I think all their young guys continue to get better. Michael Harris, Austin Riley does
it again. And they bring in Brian Day-Lakruz, who is just kind of a serviceable outfielder.
The one question mark for the Braves for me is Chris Sale's health. Phenomenal last year,
but if you look at it in the scope of his last few seasons, it's kind of this one-off where you're
like, how, like he just doesn't pitch that much in the last five years. He just doesn't throw that
much. So you're kind of worried that maybe the health is a concern this year because he pitched
a full season last year. It's like when you're playing blackjack and you hit a couple hands in
a row and you're like, well, at some point, like the deck's going to flip and I'm going to start
losing. That's kind of how it feels with Chris Sale. But if he's healthy, he's great. They have
Renato Lopez again. Hopefully he stays healthy. Spencer Schwellenbach really showed something
last year. Dog. I like him quite a bit. Fantasy sleeper, by the way. Ian Anderson will come back.
Grant Holmes, they have a really good back end to the bullpen. Acuna will come back.
He's a, he's one of the best players in baseball when healthy. I like the brace. I like them a lot.
And honestly, as I'm going through this, I think I like their roster better than Philly,
but I think Philly just has that extra to them this year where they have to get it done. I think
they can add it to, I think they come out of the gate faster than the Braves do. And I think that's
what sets them apart when you get to September and October. I like it. I got nothing to say. I'm a,
I said the Braves were going to win the division just because of their roster. So good. I do worry
about, I don't know much about their bullpen. Cause I'm not a big bullpen guy, especially not
for the Braves, but I mean, it's the Braves. So I believe in them, but who's number three,
please tell me it's the Rockies. Please give me a case for how the Rockies are going to make
the wild card number three for the national league. No Rockies. And this one is, it's kind of,
it's not that surprising, but it's a good San Diego Padres make it as a card team. I like them.
I think they had their stuff in the off season, whatever, but they still have an incredible young
core. They still have a couple of the best players in all of baseball. Their rotation is still
incredibly strong, still have a solid back end of the bullpen. They still have Ethan Solis,
the 18 year old catcher coming up through the system. I still really like them. I don't like
him as much as Arizona and the Dodgers, of course, but I still really like it. I mean, if you, I got
their lineup up Arise, Tatis, Merrill Machado. That's phenomenal. That's fantastic. Top four.
Then you go what? Vanderbilt after that. Yeah, you get Xander behind him. Elias Diaz,
who was an all star with the Rockies. They have Jake Cronenworth. You have Jason Hayward,
who they brought in. All of them can be like serviceable big leaders.
Just got to play, just got to do your job. Like Bill Belichick said, just got to do your job.
For those back end players, like they're stars in the beginning. They got great pitching. They got
great back and bullpen. Just do your job. Don't play it ahead of your, what did Inga used to say?
Don't play or play within yourselves or something like that. I don't know. Yeah, definitely.
Play within themselves, they're a great team. Yeah, they're a great team. Now that's the picture as I
have it. I'll read them off one time and then I'll go World Series. So, ALE East, Baltimore Orioles,
ALE Central, Minnesota Twins, ALE West, Texas Rangers, ALE Wildcard, 1, 2, and 3, Red Sox,
Yankees, Mariners, NL East, Phillies, NL Central Reds, NL West Dodgers, Wildcards for the National
League, D-backs, Braves, Padres. Now, in this fantasy scenario, I have, let me think about this.
This is crazy. I can't believe I want to say what I want to say.
I'm afraid of what you're going to say.
And you shouldn't say it. Don't say it. I have the Arizona Diamondbacks beating the Boston Red Sox
in the World Series. Wow. Really? Yeah. So it looks like you and me are both putting it down that
the Boston Red Sox are going to make it to the World Series next year. Oh, I forgot you put it down.
Plus $2,200. I need to change that. Plus $2,200. Damn it. I need to change that. That can't be
right. We're going to be walking out next year as a rich man.
I look at it and that's what I think happens. I don't know what else to tell you. I can't blame
you. I can't blame you. They're such as in the playoffs, the Boston. Boston has what you want.
A great top three. Great lineup. I like Arizona to come out of the National League. I do. It
could flip flop between Red Sox and O's for me coming out of the AO. I said it. I said it.
He said it. He said it. Walk away, drop the mic. Those are my books. That was Gabe's list
for who's going to make the playoffs and who's going to be in the World Series next year.
For those of you who have stuck with us to this point, please let us know somehow whether, I
don't know where all this stuff reaches. I don't know if they can even comment anywhere or maybe
even send Gabe a DM of who you think has the better list. Just let us know. Just make us feel
better by DMing Gabe. Comment on Spotify if you listen on there or comment anywhere else you can.
Send me a freaking email. Let us know. Let us know.
Let us know. Tell us how delusional we are.
Tell me that Gabe's picks are way better than Kenji's. Tell me that.
Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I know they're paying 20 bucks to do that. But thank you for tuning in.
We had a great time doing this. This was awesome. This is great. Hopefully next week we'll think of
some more interesting content to throw out for you guys. We will. No, that's such a bad promotion.
Sorry, sorry. We are going to have some amazing content next for you guys next week. Maybe next
week we'll think of something. You better be tuned in and be on high alert for that podcast
notification drop to be coming out. You betcha. Short form content coming soon. Thanks CJ and your
sister. Word. Word. Word. That's all I got. That's all I got. Thank you people.
Thank you. We'll see you on Saturday.