2023 MLB American League Predictions
The MLB season is now over, just a month into the 186-game season. And while many postseason predictions are looking quite bleak, some still hold, but few at that.
One of the predictions that has seemed to shock many is that of the New York Yankees. As of yesterday’s loss, to the Cleveland Guardians, the Yankees have fallen to last place in the AL East, at a record of 15 wins and 15 losses. The loss of Yankees’ slugger Aaron Judge to injury, for hopefully a short while, of course, has played a part, but at the end of the day, the Yankees are just not playing as many predicted they would this season.
On the other hand, the Tampa Bay Rays are off to a hot start, and carrying a majority of the AL East with them, minus the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, at the moment. The Rays are off to a 23-and-six start, with a winning percentage of .783 (the best in the entire MLB). One of the big surprises of the season thus far is the Baltimore Orioles, also in the AL East. They are off to a 19-and-nine start at a winning percentage of .679 (one of the best in the entire league).
This is particularly interesting, given that the past couple of years have seen the Orioles as consistently one of the worst teams in the league. That clearly has all changed this year. Now, I may have a little bit of a bias toward the AL East, but signs are looking good for either the Orioles or the Rays to make a deep run in the playoffs. Of course, it is still quite early, but if I had to give a very early prediction on the champion of the American League, it would have to be the Orioles.
Much of their strength in games is their bullpen, which is arguably the best in baseball, all crowned with arguably one of the, if not the best reliever in baseball, Felix Bautista. Bautista, a 27-year-old, had a breakout season last year in 2022, but in this season, even this early on, he is showing that he was no one-season wonder.
As of two days ago, he recorded his seventh save of the season in a perfect ninth inning, with one strikeout. Through the 13.2 innings he has played through April 30 of this year, he holds a 1.32 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and an absolutely crushing 43.1 percent strikeout rate against all batters he has faced. He is just a closer, so he only plays one to two innings at most in a game, just to close it out. So, the rest of the Orioles’ bullpen must also hold its own, but they have plenty of talent to do so.
Keeping that in mind, the season still has plenty of time to go; a time in which lots can change as we can see in the case of the Yankees. But with everything the Orioles have going for them, if I had to pick, it is them that will lead the American League.
The World Series is a different story entirely that could use an article in its own right. All in all, if nothing else, it is certainly an exciting time for any Baltimore Orioles fans out there.