10 predictions for the 2024 MLB season

Opening Day is upon us, and there's no better time than now to look ahead at what the new baseball season possibly has in store. With that in mind, here are 10 predictions for the 2024 MLB campaign. 

1. Pete Alonso will lead NL in HRs and be traded 

After two straight 40-plus home run campaigns, Alonso will again be on top of the home run mountain in the NL for the first time since hitting a league-best 53 bombs his rookie year in 2019. However, entering his final year under control with the New York Mets and no contract extension in sight, he'll also be on the move ahead of this year's trade deadline. 

2. A's will be historically bad again

With a payroll roughly $106M less than the league average ($152.9M), the A's will be even worse a season removed from posting the franchise's worst record in Oakland (50-112). Devoid of established MLB talent and boasting the 25th-ranked farm system, this John Fisher-made abomination might even challenge the modern-day loss record (120) set by the expansion New York Mets in 1962. 

3. Mike Trout will have a bounce-back season

Following a down, injury-shortened season, it's fair to wonder how the Angels star will fare in 2024. Though the last time an injury ended his season prematurely in 2021, the three-time MVP responded with a 40-homer campaign the following year. Expect the same bounce-back this season, especially with all the weight back on Trout's shoulders now that Shohei Ohtani wears Dodgers blue. 

4. Gerrit Cole will pitch fewer than 50 innings in 2024 

The latest update on the former Cy Young winner's injured elbow was that he'd avoided Tommy John surgery for now, with hope still alive that he can return at some point this season. However, a murky timetable and the MLB team's penchant for stretching the truth mean Cole's season is still very much up in the air. Likewise, the longer he goes without taking the hill, the odds that the Yankees ace doesn't even throw a pitch this season grow steadily. 

5. Remarkable Astros streak will come to an end 

The Astros have made a record seven straight appearances in the ALCS, but there won't be an eighth. The stars are still there, but they're all a little older and more fragile. The Astros lineup is deep, very deep, but there are still concerns over how Yordan Alvarez and Jose Altuve hold up throughout a full season. Meanwhile, nearly half of the rotation, including Justin Verlander, will start the season on IL, with Lance McCullers Jr. and Luis Garcia not expected back until late in the season at best. The Astros will be a contender in the AL, but their run of dominance is over. 

6. History will repeat itself for teams with the highest payrolls 

Despite boasting the two highest payrolls in baseball a season ago, the New York Yankees and Mets failed to make the postseason. Well, both teams' payrolls still sit atop the league, and with stiff competition in both the AL and NL East divisions, neither New York squad will be playing in October. 

7. Seattle's Julio Rodriguez will win AL MVP

In 2023, Rodriguez followed up his Rookie of the Year campaign by recording 32 home runs, 103 RBIs, and 37 steals. Entering 2024, he has a 40 home run/40 stolen base year in his sights. There may be stiff competition for AL's top individual honor, but, entering his prime years, the 23-year-old will earn MVP, perhaps the first of many. 

8. Shohei Ohtani will make even more MLB history

Ohtani will thrive with the Dodgers, even while the gambling saga involving former longtime friend and interpreter Ippei Mizuhara hangs over his head. Although he won't pitch in 2024, Ohtani will do enough with his bat to win NL MVP, joining Frank Robinson as the only player in MLB history to win the honor in both leagues. 

9. Three Braves will finish top five in the NL MVP voting 

Reigning MVP Ronald Acuna Jr. is a given to be back in the mix a season removed from becoming the first member of the 40 home run/70 stolen base club. However, first baseman Matt Olson and third baseman Austin Riley will join him in the race. Olson is coming off a fourth-place finish in the MVP voting after an NL-best 54-home run, 139-RBI season, while Riley just recorded his second consecutive season of 35-plus home runs and 90-plus RBIs. 

10. Dodgers will win it all 

Adding Ohtani to a lineup that already includes Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, and Will Smith makes it hard to see them performing at anything but a juggernaut level. Meanwhile, the starting rotation will bounce back behind offseason additions Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, with Clayton Kershaw waiting in the wings. Backed by overwhelming talent, L.A. is an obvious pick to win it all, and that's precisely why they will.