2023 MLB Award Predictions

In this life, three things are certain: death, taxes, and Vegas always wins. So, in the spirit of March Madness, let's make some predictions that will almost certainly not hold up. (Yes I picked Purdue to win my bracket).

The 2023 season brings a lot of excitement and change, but there are plenty of familiar favorites to win MLB's year-end awards. Juan Soto is the preseason favorite for NL MVP while Shohei Ohtani, of course, is the favorite in the AL. On the Cy Young front, it is a little less clear who the front runners are with names in the NL like Sandy Alcantara, Corbin Burns, and Justin Verlander leading the odds. In the AL, newcomer Jacob DeGrom and Gerrit Cole are the clear favorites, though Dylan Cease, Alek Manoah, and Carlos Rodon follow closely behind. But don't worry, if you are placing pre-season bets for the 2023 MLB Awards, look no further, the science backed predictions are in.

Max's Picks:

AL MVP: Aaron Judge ( I mean, duh.)

NL MVP: Kyle Schwarber (Formerly, a big victim of the shift and with a deeper Philadelphia lineup, Schwarber has a lot of upside. That notoriously low batting average increases with more base hits through the right side and his production is bound to increase with all that protection.)

Cyrus' Picks:

AL MVP: Corey Seager (He will benefit from the shift ban as much as anyone. He has already shown how good he can be, but after a year of familiarity in Texas and defenses not being able to shift on him, I expect a huge year out of Seager.)

NL MVP: Manny Machado (He finally gets his due hitting in the middle of a loaded order. Likely to bat 3rd giving him plenty of opportunity to drive in 120 and scoring over 100 runs while still playing gold glove caliber defense.)

Max's Picks:

AL Cy Young: Carlos Rodon (A Cy Young caliber arm pitching as a No. 2 in a rotation behind Gerrit Cole. Rodon will improve on his performance from last year and have the offense to make him a 20 game winner.)

NL Cy Young: Justin Verlander (I mean, duh.)

Cyrus' Picks:

AL CY Young: Luis Castillo (Finally on a good team in a pitcher friendly park. People are about to find out just how good Luis Castillo is.)

NL CY Young: Corbin Burnes (This guy is going to have an amazing year. He's not quite on a contract year, but he was just publicly upset with the Milwaukee Brewers over their arbitration hearing. And Burnes doesn't strike me as a guy to lay down. He's going to go out with even more of an edge than he typically has and show that he is worth more than what the Brewers are paying him.)

Max's Picks:

An ode to the caliber of baseball played in Japan, it is a little unfair that these seasoned veterans are "rookies" by MLB's definition. I don't make the rules, though, so consider these picks a lock to hit.

AL Rookie of the Year: Masataka Yoshida (His performance in the WBC and years of experience in Japan gives him an advantage over the traditional young rookies.)

NL Rookie of the Year: Kodai Senga (Experience can't be taught. Assuming he stays healthy, Senga will have a solid year in New York's rotation and be good enough to take home NL ROY.)

Cyrus' Picks:

AL Rookie of the Year: Anthony Volpe (Even if he doesn't start the year with the Yankees, I think he is up by May and raking like he has been all spring.)

NL Rookie of the Year: Corbin Carroll (He could be a rookie who hits 20 HRs and steal 30 bases. Yea that's all he will need.)

To wrap up the early Spring overviews, here are the final predictions for 2023. Let's see how this pans out come October!

AL East:

1. Blue Jays - Division winner

2. Yankees - Wild card spot

3. Rays -

4. Orioles

5. Red Sox

AL Central:

Guardians - Division winner

Twins

White Sox

Royals

Tigers

AL West:

1. Astros - Division winner

2. Mariners - Wild card spot

3. Rangers - Wild card spot

4. Angels

5. Athletics

NL East:

1. Mets - Division winner

2. Phillies - Wild card spot

3. Braves - Wild card spot

4. Marlins

5. Nationals

NL Central:

1. Cardinals - Division winner

2. Brewers

3. Cubs

4. Pirates

5. Reds

NL West:

1. Padres - Division winner

2. Dodgers - Wild card spot

3. Giants

4. Diamondbacks

5. Rockies

Finally, it will be the San Diego Padres over the Seattle Mariners in the World Series. I'm not Vegas, but lock that in!

-Max Beermann

-Cyrus Beermann