“Bold Predictions for MLB 2025: Will Ohtani’s Magic Lead to a Shocking World Series Upset?”

Baseball fans, the moment we’ve all been eagerly waiting for is finally here—it’s time to celebrate the start of the baseball season! While the Cubs and Dodgers kicked off the festivities with a couple of exciting games over in Tokyo, it’s this Thursday that truly marks the moment when 28 of the 30 Major League Baseball teams will take the field for Opening Day. Not to be left out, the Rockies and Rays will join the action on Friday, adding to the thrill of baseball’s return.

To gear up for this much-anticipated season, I turned to the savvy experts at Yahoo Sports—Jake Mintz, Jordan Shusterman, Russell Dorsey, Jack Baer, and Jason Owens—who’ve shared their insights and predictions for the 2025 season. Expect everything from division champions and potential World Series victors to bold predictions like the first no-hitter of the year and how many home runs Shohei Ohtani will launch. So, grab your peanuts and crackerjacks, and let’s dive into the analysis!

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Rejoice, ball fans, because baseball season has officially arrived. Sure, the Cubs and Dodgers got things started with two games last week in Tokyo, but on Thursday, 28 of 30 MLB teams will take the field on Opening Day. The Rockies and Rays will join the fun on Friday.

To get you ready for Opening Day, Yahoo Sports’ MLB experts — Jake Mintz, Jordan Shusterman, Russell Dorsey, Jack Baer and Jason Owens — made their predictions for the 2025 season, from the division winners and World Series champion to the first no-hitter thrown, Shohei Ohtani’s home run total and everything in between.

Let’s jump in.

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Our experts are high on the Red Sox and Cubs to get back to the postseason this year. The AL Central looks to be wide open, but the one thing we can all agree on?

Picking the Dodgers to take the NL West crown once again.

MLB previews by division: NL East | NL Central | NL West | AL East | AL Central | AL West

Is this the year that Bobby Witt Jr. and Elly De La Cruz claim the MVP Award? Could be. How about Gunnar Henderson and Fernando Tatis Jr.? We won’t rule it out.

Or maybe it’ll be Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani taking home the trophies again.

2025 26-and-under power rankings: Nos. 30-26 | Nos. 25-21 | Nos. 20-16 | Nos. 15-11 | Nos. 10-6 | Nos. 5-1

Our experts are expecting Paul Skenes’ rapid ascent to continue in his sophomore season, with him possibly becoming MLB’s ERA champion and winning the NL Cy Young.

Most of the other awards are tough to forecast, but we can count on Aaron Judge to hit home runs, Luis Arraez to get on base a lot and Logan Webb to post.

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We’re can’t agree on who might throw the first no-hitter, who might disappoint and who’s still got it, but there’s a clear consensus about one thing.

Whether or not he’s traded from Toronto, Vlad Guerrero Jr.’s walk year is going to be a storyline worth following.

Read more: Paul Skenes is working on two new pitches. Does he really need them?

It seems safe to bet on the Dodgers to win more than 100 games and Ohtani to hit at least 40 home runs. But how many innings will he pitch? And which surprise team will miss the postseason?

Those are much tougher to predict. As the saying goes, that’s why they play the games.

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