The boys of summer are finally back! What better way to get ready for a new year of baseball than to read through my bold predictions for the 2025 MLB season? I’ve got five bold predictions for you, including a dark horse World Series pick and NL Cy Young winner. You can use these picks to help place an MLB bet or crush your fantasy baseball draft. With that in mind, let’s dive into my 2025 MLB bold predictions.
Bold Prediction 1: The Red Sox Win the World Series
The Red Sox had the best offseason in the American League. Let’s start with the rotation. Boston acquired the next Chris Sale in Garrett Crochet, who is coming off an elite 2.53 SIERA season. Then you add in a bounce-back candidate in Walker Buehler — who looked better in the playoffs last year — to a group that includes Tanner Houck, Brayan Bello, and Lucas Giolito.
On top of that, the Red Sox bolstered their bullpen by bringing in a flame-thrower Aroldis Chapman to go along with Liam Hendriks, who is making his return. The lineup was strengthened with veteran Alex Bregman to join the likes of Jarren Duran and Rafael Devers. In other words, this team should thrive in both run prevention and run-scoring.
As a cherry on top, this team has two of the best prospects in baseball on the way, Roman Anthony and Kristian Campbell. There are more assets in the farm system to upgrade the team at the deadline as well. When you put each of these factors together, you have a viable threat in this Red Sox team as my World Series bold prediction.
Bold Prediction 2: Luis Robert Jr. Goes 40-40
Luis Robert Jr. is coming off a disappointing season, where he slashed .224/.278/.379 with 14 home runs and 23 stolen bases in 425 plate appearances. It seems that playing for one of the worst teams in MLB history took a toll on Robert in 2024. But this is a five-tool player who is one year removed from a 38-homer, 20-steal season.
The White Sox outfielder can hit the ball hard (15.4% barrel rate in 2023) and run with the best of them (88th-percentile sprint speed). It’s also worth noting that Robert Jr. stole 23 bases in only 100 games last year. If we see him rediscover the barrel rate from 2023 while running at a similar rate as last season, a 40-40 season is within reach.
It’s also worth noting that this is a player who is likely to be traded at some point. There were rumors that the Reds were interested in acquiring Robert Jr. earlier this offseason. Joining a new team would mean playing in a better lineup, which would help Robert Jr. put up better numbers. Don’t sleep on this bold prediction of Robert Jr. bouncing back in a big way.
Bold Prediction 3: Michael King Wins NL Cy Young
Michael King is fresh off his first full season as a starter after converting from the bullpen. The Padres’ ace put up a 2.95 ERA and 1.19 WHIP with 63 walks and 201 strikeouts in 173.2 innings. But if we dive in a little deeper, we come away feeling optimistic that King will be even better in 2025.
Once King got settled into life as a starting pitcher, he began to dominate. From May 4-onward, King posted a 2.42 ERA and 1.12 with a 28.5% strikeout rate and 7.4% walk rate in 137.2 innings. The former Yankee flashed what he can do in one of his playoff starts, where he threw seven shutout innings with 12 strikeouts against the Braves.
Now in his second full year as a starter, we could see even better results. King has a diverse arsenal, including four pitches with a 26+% whiff rate, highlighted by a dominant changeup (36.2% whiff rate) and sweeper (34.5% whiff rate). Don’t count out King as an NL Cy Young bold prediction this year. If you’re looking at the American League, Pablo Lopez is a value pick for AL Cy Young.
Bold Prediction 4: Ronald Acuña Jr. Steals Fewer Than 20 Bases
Ronald Acuña Jr. stole an astounding 73 bases in the 2023 season, so you may be wondering why I’m so pessimistic on his speed upside this year. The answer is simple: this is a player coming off his second torn ACL in his last four seasons. It would be risky to run wild on the bases.
We’ve already heard Acuña Jr. state publicly that he plans to “take it easy” on the base paths this year. Add in the fact that we’re unlikely to see Acuña Jr. until May 1 as the team eases him back to action, and you can see why the stolen base output could be lower than what we’re used to.
When you look at this Braves’ lineup — stacked with Matt Olson, Marcell Ozuna, and Ozzie Albies — you ask yourself: does Acuña Jr. even need to run? The answer is no, it’s simply not worth the risk. With that in mind, there’s a legitimate chance that we see fewer than 20 steals as my bold prediction for the Braves’ dynamic outfielder this season.
Bold Prediction 5: Masyn Winn Steals More Than 40 Bases
Masyn Winn is coming off a solid rookie season, boasting an 84th-percentile outs above average. In other words, Winn’s glove should keep him in the lineup every day, giving him more plate appearances to rack up stolen bases. There’s a good chance that Winn is going to easily surpass last season’s total of 11 steals.
While 40 is a bold number, it’s important to note that Winn has 87th-percentile sprint speed, so he’s got the wheels to run wild on the base paths. We saw the Cardinals’ shortstop steal 43 bases across all levels in the minors back in 2023, so he’s got a track record of being prolific in stolen bases.
Lastly, Winn made an interesting public remark during the Cardinals’ Winter Warm-Up fan event back in January, stating that he wants to steal 30-40 bases. The fact that the second-year shortstop is on record expressing a willingness to run more makes me even more confident in this bold prediction.
