What to Watch for This MLB Season

The best time of the year has finally arrived. After the Dodgers were crowned champion, the winter came and went, and MLB Spring Training was back in a flash. Now, Opening Day looms large and the MLB regular season will soon be back in full swing. In the 125th season of the modern MLB era, here are the teams and players to look out for.

Dodgers Set to Make More History?

It’s no secret that the Los Angeles Dodgers, both historically and recently, are incredibly good. However, with big money acquisitions over the past two years, “The Blue Crew” have entered a league of their own. Adding Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Teoscar Hernandez last year proved fruitful. Now, the Dodgers have thrown Roki Sasaki and Blake Snell into the mix, eclipsing the $2 billion mark of guaranteed money delved into their roster. Simply put, the Los Angeles Dodgers are the best team in baseball as a result of their gargantuan spending. The true question behind it all is what is their ceiling?

After securing the top seed in the National League postseason and winning a World Series last year, a similar fate should be on the horizon. Even further, there is a legitimate chance that LA can break the single-season wins record set at 116 wins by the 1906 Chicago Cubs and 2001 Seattle Mariners. In order to do so, Los Angeles will need to avoid injuries, especially to its pitching staff. With Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Shohei Ohtani all unable to pitch at times last year due to injury, the starting rotation looked significantly different by season’s end. A pristine bill of health would go a long way for Los Angeles to etch its name in the record books once more.

Miguel Rojas on the 2025 Dodgers potentially breaking the single-season wins record:

“I don’t think it’s a goal. It’s an expectation” pic.twitter.com/whDekuocWn

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) February 3, 2025

A Dominant NL East

When wondering if any other team can possibly catch the Dodgers, the task is hard but certainly possible. If anyone can do it, it will most likely be at the hands of an NL East team. The Philadelphia Phillies landed only three wins behind the Dodgers and will perhaps rival them once more this season. However, the bullpen has changed drastically, losing Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez in free agency. If Philadelphia wants any chance at coming close to the Dodgers and vying for a championship, it’ll need in-house talents Orion Kerkering and Jose Alvarado to step up and outperform their past marks.

Another team that gives chase are the Atlanta Braves, coming off a nightmare of a season and looking to bounce back. Within the first two months, Atlanta lost Spencer Strider to Tommy John surgery and Ronald Acuña Jr. to another ACL tear. The recipe for disaster still ended with the Braves achieving 89 wins and advancing to the playoffs yet again. Strider is projected to return towards the end of April and Acuña Jr. back a month later. A much better campaign is in order if the Braves can stay level in the first 40 games. However, if the Braves’ strategy of relying on Chris Sale to lead their pitching corps until then falters, a rude awakening may be in store.

Lastly, the New York Mets had a busy offseason fresh off a shocking postseason run to the NLCS. New York bolstered its roster with strongarms Frankie Montas, Clay Holmes, and AJ Minter while also retaining 2024 breakout Sean Manaea. On the offensive side, the Mets nabbed Juan Soto from the crosstown rival Yankees’ clutches and brought back clubhouse leader and Gators great Pete Alonso. The moves straight from Steve Cohen’s checkbook brought a National League pennant even closer into view and propelled the Mets into the upper echelon of baseball. Through a 1-2-3 punch of Lindor-Soto-Alonso and a bevy of hurlers to choose from, the team from Queens can make waves in the National League this season.

It's time to play the game.

IT'S TIME TO PLAY THE GAAAAMEEEEEE!

Presenting the final Power Rankings before the 2025 season begins! pic.twitter.com/IWLU1CsU6G

— MLB (@MLB) March 15, 2025

A Potential Dark Horse

Year after year, underdog teams shatter expectations and makes a surprise in the postseason. Last year, it was the Mets in the National League and the Tigers in the American league. This year, a historic franchise will become the belle of the ball like the aforementioned teams. It’s the Chicago Cubs’ time to shine.

The season may not have started on the best note, as the Cubs were swept by the Dodgers in the two-game MLB 2025 Tokyo Series. However, better and brighter prospects are in store for Wrigleyville. Chicago had a solid offseason despite trading Cody Bellinger and losing out on Alex Bregman. The aggressive move to acquire All-Star right fielder Kyle Tucker was a boon to the Cubs lineup. On the other side of the ball, adding closer Ryan Pressly bolsters the relief side of pitching greatly.

Last season, Cubs left-handed hitters had only 3 opposite-field hits over 104 MPH — all singles, no extra-base hits.

In other words, Kyle Tucker, in just his first series with the Cubs, has already shown opposite-field power we didn’t see at all in 2024. https://t.co/dDEioj2Yeo

— Brendan Miller (@brendan_cubs) March 24, 2025

What will be key for the Cubbies is to improve their offensive output through their young hitters’ performance. Guys like Pete Crow-Armstrong, Matt Shaw and Michael Busch will be crucial to the result of Chicago’s season. An improvement in hitting from their middle-infield duo of Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner is also necessary for a team that scored the sixth fewest runs last season. If all these things fall into place, the Cubs will make their first postseason since 2020.

The Race to Opening Day

Spring Training has ceased and there’s nothing more to do than wait in excitement. Preseason predictions are now by the wayside and the season is nearly underway. On March 27th, 28 of the 30 teams will take the field to kick off the season. No words better describe the feeling right before the start of the season than Brad Pitt in “Moneyball”: “It’s hard not to be romantic about baseball.”