OC Register: 2023 MLB Predictions: SCNG staffers call their shots

[AngelsWin.com]

Members of the Southern California News Group try to predict how the 2023 baseball season will play out, from division races (in predicted order of finish) to the postseason and who will collect the key awards.

— JEFF FLETCHER (Angels beat reporter) —

AL West: Astros, Angels, Mariners, Rangers, A’s

AL Central: White Sox, Guardians, Twins, Royals, Tigers

AL East: Blue Jays, Yankees, Rays, Orioles, Red Sox

NL West: Padres, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Giants, Rockies

NL Central: Cardinals, Brewers, Cubs, Pirates, Reds

NL East: Braves, Phillies, Mets, Marlins, Nationals

AL wild-card teams: Yankees, Angels, Mariners

NL wild-card teams: Dodgers, Phillies, Mets

POSTSEASON

ALCS: Blue Jays over Astros

NLCS: Padres over Braves

World Series: Padres over Blue Jays

AWARDS

AL Cy Young: Luis Castillo (Mariners)

AL MVP: Shohei Ohtani (Angels)

AL Rookie of the Year: Gunnar Henderson (Orioles)

NL Cy Young: Zac Gallen (Diamondbacks)

NL MVP: Juan Soto (Padres)

NL Rookie of the Year: Corbin Carroll (Diamondbacks)

 

— BILL PLUNKETT (Dodgers beat reporter) —

AL West: Astros, Angels, Mariners, Rangers, A’s

AL Central: Guardians, White Sox, Twins, Royals, Tigers

AL East: Blue Jays, Yankees, Orioles, Rays, Red Sox

NL West: Padres, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Giants, Rockies

NL Central: Cardinals, Brewers, Cubs, Pirates, Reds

NL East: Braves, Phillies, Mets, Marlins, Nationals

AL wild-card teams: Yankees, Angels, Mariners

NL wild-card teams: Dodgers, Phillies, Mets

POSTSEASON

ALCS: Astros over Blue Jays

NLCS: Braves over Padres

World Series: Braves over Astros

AWARDS

AL Cy Young: Jacob deGrom (Rangers)

AL MVP: Mike Trout (Angels)

AL Rookie of the Year: Gunnar Henderson (Orioles)

NL Cy Young: Max Fried (Braves)

NL MVP: Manny Machado (Padres)

NL Rookie of the Year: Corbin Carroll (Diamondbacks)

 

— J.P. HOORNSTRA (MLB reporter/columnist) —

AL West: Astros, Mariners, Angels, Rangers, A’s

AL Central: White Sox, Guardians, Twins, Royals, Tigers

AL East: Blue Jays, Yankees, Rays, Orioles, Red Sox

NL West: Dodgers, Padres, Diamondbacks, Giants, Rockies

NL Central: Cardinals, Cubs, Brewers, Pirates, Reds

NL East: Mets, Braves, Phillies, Marlins, Nationals

AL wild-card teams: Yankees, Guardians, Mariners

NL wild-card teams: Padres, Braves, Phillies

POSTSEASON

ALCS: Blue Jays over Astros

NLCS: Mets over Dodgers

World Series: Blue Jays over Mets

AWARDS

AL Cy: Alek Manoah (Blue Jays)

AL MVP: Shohei Ohtani (Angels)

AL Rookie of the Year: Masataka Yoshida (Red Sox)

NL Cy Young: Julio Urias (Dodgers)

NL MVP: Austin Riley (Braves)

NL Rookie of the Year: James Outman (Dodgers)

 

— JIM ALEXANDER (Columnist) —

AL West: Astros, Angels, Rangers, Mariners, A’s

AL Central: Twins, Guardians, White Sox, Royals, Tigers

AL East: Blue Jays, Yankees, Orioles, Rays, Red Sox

NL West: Padres, Dodgers, Giants, Diamondbacks, Rockies

NL Central: Cardinals, Brewers, Cubs, Pirates, Reds

NL East: Phillies, Braves, Mets, Marlins, Nationals

AL wild-card teams: Yankees, Guardians, Angels

NL wild-card teams: Dodgers, Braves, Mets

POSTSEASON

ALCS: Yankees over Astros

NLCS: Dodgers over Padres

World Series: Dodgers over Yankees

AWARDS

AL Cy Young: Shohei Ohtani (Angels)

AL MVP: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Blue Jays)

AL Rookie of the Year: Gunnar Henderson (Orioles)

NL Cy Young: Joe Musgrove (Padres)

NL MVP: Nolan Arenado (Cardinals)

NL Rookie of the Year: Miguel Vargas (Dodgers)

 

— MIRJAM SWANSON (Columnist) —

AL West: Astros, Angels, Mariners, Rangers, A’s

AL Central: Twins, Guardians, White Sox, Tigers, Royals

AL East: Blue Jays, Yankees, Rays, Orioles, Red Sox

NL West: Padres, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Giants, Rockies

NL Central: Cardinals, Cubs, Brewers, Pirates, Reds

NL East: Braves, Mets, Phillies, Marlins, Nationals

POSTSEASON

AL wild-card teams: Blue Jays, Angels, Mariners

NL wild-card teams: Dodgers, Cubs, Mets

ALCS: Blue Jays over Astros

NLCS: Padres over Dodgers

World Series: Padres over Blue Jays

AWARDS

AL Cy Young: Gerrit Cole (Yankees)

AL MVP: Shohei Ohtani (Angels)

AL Rookie of the Year: Gunnar Henderson (Orioles)

NL Cy Young: Sandy Alcantara (Marlins)

NL MVP: Juan Soto (Padres)

NL Rookie of the Year: Miguel Vargas (Dodgers)

 

— KEVIN MODESTI (Staff Writer) —

AL West: Astros, Rangers, Mariners, Angels, A’s

AL Central: Guardians, White Sox, Twins, Royals, Tigers

AL East: Blue Jays, Yankees, Rays, Red Sox, Orioles

NL West: Padres, Dodgers, Giants, Diamondbacks, Rockies

NL Central: Cardinals, Brewers, Cubs, Pirates, Reds

NL East: Braves, Phillies, Mets, Marlins, Nationals

AL wild-card teams: Yankees, Rays, Rangers

NL wild-card teams: Phillies, Mets, Dodgers

POSTSEASON

ALCS: Astros over Blue Jays

NLCS: Padres over Braves

World Series: Padres over Astros

AWARDS

AL Cy Young: Jacob deGrom (Rangers)

AL MVP: Shohei Ohtani (Angels)

AL Rookie of the Year: Anthony Volpe (Yankees)

NL Cy Young: Spencer Strider (Braves)

NL MVP: Juan Soto (Padres)

NL Rookie of the Year: Kodai Senga (Mets)

 

— TODD BAILEY (MLB Editor) —

AL West: Astros, Angels, Mariners, Rangers, A’s

AL Central: Guardians, Twins, White Sox, Tigers, Royals

AL East: Blue Jays, Yankees, Rays, Orioles, Red Sox

NL West: Padres, Dodgers, Giants, Diamondbacks, Rockies

NL Central: Cardinals, Brewers, Cubs, Pirates, Reds

NL East: Braves, Mets, Phillies, Marlins, Nationals

AL wild-card teams: Yankees, Angels, Mariners

NL wild-card teams: Dodgers, Mets, Phillies

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POSTSEASON

ALCS: Astros over Yankees

NLCS: Padres over Braves

World Series: Padres over Astros

AWARDS

AL Cy Young: Cristian Javier (Astros)

AL MVP: Shohei Ohtani (Angels)

AL Rookie of the Year: Hunter Brown (Astros)

NL Cy Young: Zac Gallen (Diamondbacks)

NL MVP: Manny Machado (Padres)

NL Rookie of the Year: Corbin Carroll (Diamondbacks)

View the full article

[Inside Pitch]

Kevin Modesti does NOT like the Angels chances!

[PattyD22]

I got to see Corbin Carroll of the Diamondbacks play.  The kid can hit, and flat out fly around the bases.

He is a legit candidate for NL rookie of the year.

[beatlesrule]

3 hours ago, Inside Pitch said:

Kevin Modesti does NOT like the Angels chances!

Harsh for sure but he's the outliner. I think some bias does come into play though with 5 of them thinking Angels will finish in 2nd. I'm very curious how the rest of the USA writers think. I'm sure the majority have the M's in 2nd and I think there is very good reason for that. It's a long season of course and the Angels might finish in 2nd but the M's do have a better team on paper at least and a better farm to bring in injury replacements or for a deadline trade.

[AngelsMetsWS]

Not a lot of love for the mariners.  I think they overtake the astros this year. 

[Pancake Bear]

6 hours ago, Inside Pitch said:

Kevin Modesti does NOT like the Angels chances!

Modesti clearly has a huge Texas bias. Must be from there. Rangers will be 4th unless a miracle happens. Would need good health and ideal performance from their starters, a huge improvement from the lineup, and teams in front of them to falter. Unlikely all of that happens.

2 hours ago, AngelsMetsWS said:

Not a lot of love for the mariners.  I think they overtake the astros this year. 

Disagree. Almost everyone has them as a playoff team. Hoornstra has them second. I think what you mean is that there is a lot of love for the Astros, but that is to be expected after last year. Although personally, I think all three - Astros, Angels, Mariners - are really close. End result will depend a lot on depth and how much goes wrong. I actually think Houston could easily finish third in the West this season. I'm not saying they will, only that it wouldn't shock me. I think the most likely result is Seattle is third, though. Angels look as good to me as any team in the AL on paper, and they seem like they have better depth than most, but I'm a homer, so I may be unrealistic. 

8 hours ago, AngelsWin.com said:

AWARDS

AL Cy Young: Shohei Ohtani (Angels)

AL MVP: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Blue Jays)

Also, this makes no sense to me. How would Ohtani be good enough to win CY and yet lose MVP? Feels like a beyond bold prediction. Or, more precisely, a prediction with little thought behind it. 

[Docwaukee]

3 hours ago, beatlesrule said:

Harsh for sure but he's the outliner. I think some bias does come into play though with 5 of them thinking Angels will finish in 2nd. I'm very curious how the rest of the USA writers think. I'm sure the majority have the M's in 2nd and I think there is very good reason for that. It's a long season of course and the Angels might finish in 2nd but the M's do have a better team on paper at least and a better farm to bring in injury replacements or for a deadline trade.

Kinda feel the opposite.  If they asked Angelswin to do this then I could see the bias toward picking the Angels because they're fans.  These guys likely aren't fans but they do pay closer attention to what the Angels have done this offseason vs. other teams in the division.  Most of the national writers will write the Angels off because they didn't make any big splashes.  People closer to the team know this is the most complete and well rounded squad they've had in a decade.  

[beatlesrule]

2 hours ago, Docwaukee said:

Kinda feel the opposite.  If they asked Angelswin to do this then I could see the bias toward picking the Angels because they're fans.  These guys likely aren't fans but they do pay closer attention to what the Angels have done this offseason vs. other teams in the division.  Most of the national writers will write the Angels off because they didn't make any big splashes.  People closer to the team know this is the most complete and well rounded squad they've had in a decade.