What’s up, everybody! Welcome back to part two of my 2025 bold prediction series. Today, I give you one bold player prediction for each MLB team in both the AL and NL Central.
The criteria remain the same–think of player predictions that are adventurous yet don’t necessarily have an unrealistic chance of occurring during the 2025 season. Again, if I get one correct per division, I’ll be pretty happy. Let’s dive right in!
American League Central
Cleveland Guardians: Gavin Williams is their Ace
Gavin Williams’ 2024 campaign was unimpressive, to say the least. His ERA and WHIP skyrocketed, whiff%, K%, and BB% plummeted, and he got hit around quite a bit. Now in 2025, the 25-year-old has been one of, if not the best pitcher in baseball throughout a small sample size in spring training thus far. He’s allowed just one earned run in eight total innings while punching out sixteen batters.
The most impressive part? He’s generated a whopping thirty-eight whiffs over that span.
I’m expecting big things for #Guardians RHP Gavin Williams in 2025.
This spring: 8.0 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 1 ER, 16 K
He’s generated THIRTY-EIGHT WHIFFS thru that span!!
FF T98.3 mph. SL averaging far more HB.
Stock has been bought. ✅
🎥: @CleGuardPro
pic.twitter.com/8G9BJ7yFgT— G.G. 📊 (@ggeiss_PL) March 16, 2025
Williams’ fastball has sat 95-97 mph (T98.3) and his slider is averaging far more horizontal break (notably +6” and +8” in his first two starts) this spring.
With longtime Sp1 Shane Bieber rehabbing from Tommy John, Williams’ only real competition for the ace spot is veteran Tanner Bibee, who pitched last season pretty banged up with a shoulder injury and has only thrown 3.0 spring innings thus far.
Bottom line: it was only a matter of time before the Guardians’ pitching lab worked its miracles on Williams. With his vastly improved whiff-ability, I am all in on him taking over as the top dog in the rotation come 2025.
Chicago White Sox: Kyle Teel is a Top 8 Catcher in Baseball
The White Sox dealt away potentially the best left-handed pitcher in baseball, Garrett Crochet, to the Red Sox this winter. With that being said, they acquired a massive prospect haul in return, including catcher Kyle Teel.
Teel has raked at every level he’s played at, from college ball at the University of Virginia all the way to Triple-A Worcester:
| G (league) | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | XBH |
| 177 (College) | .343 | .433 | .547 | .979 | 80 |
| 138 (MiLB) | .301 | .404 | .444 | .848 | 44 |
| 12 (’25 ST) | .313 | .450 | .750 | 1.200 | 3 |
The most impressive part about Teel is his swing decisions. He takes plenty of walks (13.5% in 2024) and limits strikeouts (23%) at a premium. MLB catchers with elite hit tools are hard to come by, let alone ones who can both make major impacts in the batter’s box and behind the plate.
Teel, the 2nd-ranked prospect in Chicago’s system by MLB Pipeline, has some room to grow defensively but made significant strides with Boston’s player development last year. He has a good arm, makes quick and easy transfers, and I believe he could step into a major league role right now.
We saw one instance of what can happen when a budding superstar game-caller turns an organization around. Look at a couple of years back at Orioles’ catcher Adley Rutschman, who stepped in and changed the franchise’s trajectory almost instantly. While I don’t necessarily think the White Sox have all the pieces to do a complete 180, they have some pieces in the near future that tell me in time they will be competitive again.
Bottom line: if Teel gets enough run at the major league level, his bat will take off (per usual) and help jolt him into the top 8 catchers in baseball.
Kansas City Royals: Boast the Best Bullpen in the AL Central
Well, this is a wild one! The AL Central is home to two of the deadliest bullpens in all of baseball. Cleveland, by far the best last season, holds the best closer in baseball, Emmanuel Clase, as well as young phenoms Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis, and Tim Herrin. The Twins are headlined by flamethrowers Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Jorge Alcala, and Brock Stewart as well. But I think Kansas City can be better than both.
Lucas Erceg is the guy I want to talk about the most. The top of his savant page looks like the Red Sea, ranking in the top percentile of nearly every category. He broke onto the scene after a dominant 3.36 ERA/2.53 FIP, 1.05 WHIP, .212 BAA, 11 K/9 season between Oakland and Kansas City. A lot of that came thanks to the success of his 98th percentile average fastball velo combined with a lights-out slider (.123 BAA, .140 SLG, 37.5% whiff). Erceg is primed to take a major step forward in 2025 and I’m buying stock before it’s too late.
The Royals also added veteran flamethrowing closer Carlos Estévez via free agency, who posted a 2.45 ERA/3.24 FIP, 0.91 WHIP, .191 BAA, and 8.2 K/9 with the Angels and Phillies last season. Adding him into the mix with funky right-hander John Schreiber (3.03 FIP, 52.6% GB rate, 3.9% barrel rate in 2024) and left-handed breakout candidate Angel Zerpa (1 baserunner / 0 ER allowed in 6.0 spring IP, 59.2% ground ball rate in 2024), things are looking really good.
As for their competition — Clase has scuffled in a very limited sample size, giving up four hits, two walks, and four earned runs in 4.1 spring innings. Duran has only given up one earned run in 6.0 IP, but the K% has dropped significantly (18.2%) and he’s coming off of a year where his ERA inflated by over one whole run.
Bottom line: if Estevez continues to dominate, Erceg takes the step forward I believe he can, and Schreiber/Zerpa can hold down the middle innings, Kansas City is well on its way to contesting the best bullpens in baseball for their crown.
Detroit Tigers: Dillon Dingler & Jake Rogers Form the Best Catching Duo in Baseball
I like taking a look at underrated catchers, and both Dingler and Rogers fit into that category.
Dingler, 26, destroyed minor league pitching last season (.308/.379/.559/.938) en route to a major league promotion where his bat scuffled a bit. He’s already looked to turn that around this spring, going 7-26 (.269 AVG) with two doubles, two home runs, and 2 BB/2 K with six RBI in 11 games.
No doubt about it!
Dillon's second dinger this spring 💥 pic.twitter.com/QRHsTBNQdt
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) March 14, 2025
Defensively, he is really solid, as MLB Pipeline handed him 60-grade arm and 55-grade glove ratings last time he had prospect status. He posted +4 blocks above average in just 27 games last season and will get even better as he gets more big-league experience.
Rogers, 29, isn’t much of a hitter but is one of the best defenders in baseball, boasting +8 blocks above average, +9 framing, +1 CS above average, and an upper-quartile pop time from behind the dish.
Bottom line: Taking both of their skillsets and meshing them together will create an elite two-headed monster behind the plate for Detroit as they look to make it to the postseason in back-to-back seasons.
Twins: Zebby Matthews Forces a Big Trade in the Rotation
24-year-old Zebby Matthews is another young budding star who I’ve bought a ton of stock on this spring. The right-hander has thrown 9.1 shutout innings, allowing just four hits and a walk while striking out 12 batters thus far.
His last time out on March 12 versus Boston’s loaded lineup, Matthews managed to throw three no-hit innings while only allowing one walk. His average fastball velo has seen at least a 1 mph jump, the slider looks intentionally tighter (more velo, less HB), and the cutter has been tremendous.
With that being said, there is a minor dilemma — Minnesota’s rotation is full, according to FanGraphs’ roster resource and Matthews is slated to start the year in Triple-A. Minnesota reportedly listened to trade offers for ace Pablo López this offseason, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they do the same at the trade deadline, pending the team’s performance.
If they are anything like what I believe they’ll be (a sub-.500 team), I think the Twins will look to cut back on payroll, recoup some value by dealing away Lopez, and let Matthews, Joe Ryan, and Bailey Ober take the reigns of the rotation moving forward.
Bottom line: Matthews has all the makings of a front-rotation starter. With the Twins potentially slashing payroll and their team’s playoff status in question going into 2025, I wouldn’t be surprised one bit if his performance forces a major trade.
National League Central
Pittsburgh Pirates: Paul Skenes Places Top 3 in NL MVP Voting
Call me crazy… Skenes is the best pitcher on the planet right now. There’s nothing I don’t like about him as an arm. In his rookie year, Skenes was the All-Star Game starter for the National League, won NL Rookie of the Year honors, finished 3rd in NL Cy Young voting, and 19th for the NL MVP award… all while posting video game numbers: 1.96 ERA/2.44 FIP, 0.95 WHIP, .197 BAA, and an 11.5 K/9 in 133.0 major league innings.
His humility and composure for being a 22-year-old superstar ace who has accomplished things people can only dream about is absurd. His work ethic? Even better. This offseason, Skenes wasn’t satisfied, adding not one but two new pitches to his already elite 6-pitch arsenal.
So far this spring, Skenes has punched out 12 batters in 10.0 innings with his fastball topping out at 100 mph in his last start versus the Yankees.
Paul Skenes, High Heat (Again). 🔥 pic.twitter.com/k4biXgjx7B
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 1, 2025
Bottom line: if 2024 was any indication of the player Skenes can be, then top 3 NL MVP finishes should become the norm for him in the future. Hell, if he wasn’t sharing the National League with Shohei Ohtani, he may be the first arm to win the MVP since Clayton Kershaw in 2014.
Chicago Cubs: Matt Shaw Wins NL Rookie of the Year
Shaw is ranked the #1 overall Cubs prospect heading into 2025 (according to MLB Pipeline) and is expected to break camp as Chicago’s starting third baseman in 2025.
He’s what you call an absolute demon in the batter’s box, raking at every level he’s played at:
| G (league) | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | XBH |
| 167 (College) | .320 | .413 | .623 | 1.036 | 102 |
| 159 (MiLB) | .303 | .384 | .522 | .906 | 65 |
Additionally, Shaw has gone 5-16 (.313 AVG) with a double and 3 BB/1 K in six spring training exhibitions. He’s looked phenomenal and playing on a Cubs team who is poised to return to the postseason will only boost his chances.
In January, MLB executives were polled about Rookie of the Year odds. Matt Shaw came in at 18.8% (2nd) behind Washington’s Dylan Crews. Yet, he isn’t even listed as a top 10 betting favorite according to FOX Sports’ latest article.
Bottom line: Assuming Shaw does indeed become the Cubs’ starting 3B, the rest will take care of itself. He’s an absolute gamer and given consistent PAs, I’m expecting him to shock a lot of people in 2025.
St. Louis Cardinals: Iván Herrera is a Top 5 Catcher in Baseball
For all my fantasy baseball GMs, remember Iván Herrera’s name. He’s my sleeper pick at catcher to break out in the biggest way in 2025.
Herrera, 24, slashed .301/.372/.428/.800 with 18 XBH in just 72 games last season. He doesn’t strike out (20.5% in 2024), takes walks (9.7%), and is a career 117 wRC+ hitter at the major league level.
Not to mention, he’s also already off to a scorching hot start in spring training, with five of his first six hits going for extra bases and taking walks at a 24.1% clip.
As for his defense, it’s improved every year. He was in the 63rd and 61st percentiles in Blocking and Framing, a step up from his unqualified below-average ranks the past two years. Herrera’s arm behind the dish is legit, he has a quick pop time, and was so impressive that the St. Louis Front Office bumped longtime veteran catcher Willson Contreras over to first base for the foreseeable future.
My projected Top 5 Catchers by Winter:
- William Contreras (MIL)
- Cal Raleigh (SEA)
- Gabby Moreno (AZ)
- Iván Herrera (STL)
- Shea Langeliers (ATH)
https://twitter.com/herrera_ivan01/status/1879918754223796393
Bottom line: if Herrera continues to post top-tier offensive numbers and the defense takes a step forward as advertised, the Cardinals have found their long-term Yadier Molina replacement and a top 5 catcher in baseball.
Milwaukee Brewers: Jackson Chourio Joins the 30/30 Club in Year 2
At just 21 years old, Chourio burst onto the scene with the Brewers, slashing .275/.327/.464/.791 with 21 HR (54 total XBH) and 22 SB last season, and there is plenty more left in the tank.
His lethal 97th percentile sprint speed (29.7 ft/sec) makes it so easy to swipe bags… he was only caught 7 times in 29 attempts last season. He also started to showcase a lot more power in the second half of the year (12 HR in final 63 G / 9 from August-October) compared to his first half (9 HR in 82 G).
https://twitter.com/lanceallan/status/1892032817036423198
Not to mention, Chourio is slashing .419/.471/.581/1.051 with five XBH and five SB in just 11 spring games thus far…
Bottom line: Chourio will eventually follow the young 5-tool superstars of this generation like Bobby Witt Jr. and Ronald Acuña Jr… it’s a matter of when.
Cincinnati Reds: Hunter Greene Strikes Out 200+ Batters
Greene is coming off of his best season as a major league starter where he posted a 2.75 ERA/3.47 FIP, 1.02 WHIP, and .179 BAA in 150.1 innings. He amassed 169 strikeouts over that span… so how the heck is he going to top that and go for 200?
Greene’s K/9 (10.1) and K rate (27.7%) were both the lowest of his career. He averaged 6.5 Ks per start last season (169/26). Let’s put it this way… Greene needs to see that number ever so slightly tick up and stay healthy. It’s that simple.
He needs to strike out just over that 6.5 number in 30 starts (or 6.25 for a full 32 GS) to punch out 200+ batters in 2025. There, it doesn’t seem as unachievable as before, right?
Bottom line: Greene’s whiff-ability isn’t in question —he’s tied for 1st in Stuff+ (113) in spring training—it’s all about making consistent starts and throwing the innings he needs to strike out 200 men. And I think he’s fully capable of doing so in 2025.
Matt Shaw is so good, he can win ROY for a league he doesn’t play in. (Typo in subheader).