Hello dear readers, it’s good to be back! It’s been 16 days since I have published anything on our site, the longest interval between pieces from yours truly. While there has been a breakdown sized hole in my heart, I’ve been busy filling it with other things, but more on that later. I had plans to do a series of MLB previews, but time just didn’t allow for it, as the MLB season has already started at the time of writing this preview, but it’s never too late to look ahead! So, without further ado, let’s preview the 2025 season!

MVP Award Winners

AL MVP: Aaron Judge – Call me biased but I will go with my guy in the American League. Aaron Judge is coming off of another ridiculous statistical regular season in 2024, and unfortunately a wildly disappointing postseason. Perhaps the latter makes for good motivation for a big 2025, but I think the injuries his Yankees have suffered in the spring will take care of that motivation. Soto may be gone, Cole and Stanton may be banged up, but I think number 99 will do what it takes to take the Yankees back to October baseball.

NL MVP: Kyle Tucker – Am I super confident in this one? No, not really, after all Shohei Ohtani exists. But I wanted to pick a little something different here, so I’ll go with one of the newest players to join the NL, Kyle Tucker. The big lefty outfielder traded in Texas barbecue for Chicago deep dish pizza. Now hopefully he doesn’t load up too much on pizza as it can weigh you down, and assuming he doesn’t, Tucker should be able to put up some big numbers on the Northside. The Cubs look primed to return to contention in 25′, in a weak NL Central division they’re likely the favorite, and a big reason for that is Tucker’s prospective production. He’s in a contract year, so look for a big campaign to help take the Cubs back to the playoffs!

CY Young Winners

AL CY Young: Garrett Crochet – Let’s keep it in the AL East for another award, but this time instead of “Yankeeland”, it’s time to take a trip to Red Sox Nation. The “BoSox” look primed for a return to contention in 2025, and a big reason for that is the acquisition of lefty ace Garrett Crochet from the White Sox. They gave up a haul to get him, but Crochet has the goods and his leadership in the pitching department should go a long way. Very few arms in the game have the stuff that Crochet does, setting him up in my eyes to be the Red Sox first CY Young winner since Rick Porcello in 2016.

NL CY Young: Paul Skenes – There is chalk, and then there is this pick, but how could I possibly go against Pirates ace Paul Skenes. Skenes burst onto the scene last year with electrifying stuff on display every five days. He helped to make the Pirates relevant last season and will seek to drag them further into contention in 2025 with the help of fellow young arm Jared Jones. He won’t get much run support, but that shouldn’t make or break the award for Skenes. He can add to his trophy case when all is said and done this year.

Rookies to Watch

It’s hard to narrow just one down in each league to win the Rookie of the Year award, as roles and playing time are tough to determine right now. So instead of making a pick I thought I’d give you a few names to watch. In the NL young Nationals star Dylan Crews figures to be very popular amongst fans in DC, while Matt Shaw patrols the hot corner at Wrigley Field. Meanwhile in the AL, the Red Sox have triplets Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell who may all play a part this season, while the Tigers add young flame thrower Jackson Jobe to their already talented staff. The freshman class should make for a lot of fun this summer as they introduce themselves to the baseball world.

Manager of the Year Awards

AL Manager of the Year: Bruce Bochy – I like the Texas Rangers a lot in 2025. That’s for three big reasons, the first being they are getting key contributors like Jacob deGrom healthy after missing a lot of time last year. The second reason is they went out and got a solid haul of players to bolster the roster, and the third and final reason is manager Bruce Bochy. The steady hand is back in the dugout once again, looking to continue his trend of winning a World Series every other year (like he did in San Francisco). This team responds well to him and with a newly assembled core, it feels like Boch should have a good chance to take home the hardware again.

NL Manager of the Year: Torey Lovullo – I really wanted to pick Terry Francona here as he makes his return to management in Cincinnati with a talented young core of players. But in a crowded National League it feels like Tito may have a tough time to winning this award, so I’ll go with Torey Lovullo, who for my money is top notch skipper. Lovullo, much like Bochy, gets the added benefit of a revamped roster that adds slugger Josh Naylor, and righty ace Corbin Burnes. This roster is pretty complete and should be hungry to return to the playoffs after a near miss in 2024, so keep your stock in the snakes folks!

Standings Predictions

Now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for, it’s time for the Broadway Breakdown’s playoff predictions. We’re using a different method this year, as I decided to rank the 30 clubs in a tier list first to help define how I see them. If you find your team in the bottom tiers, please know it’s nothing personal, strictly business folks.

First up in the 50 feet of crap tier, we have a lot of the usual suspects. The White Sox, Angels, Marlins and Rockies are an absolute mess with not much to look forward to in 2025. Sadly, joining their ranks are the once proud Cardinals, who feel rather aimless as an organization and the Rays, who are without a home in 2025 with the Trop destroyed and Steinbrenner field serving as home base. Hopefully some of them, heck even one of them prove me wrong, but I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for it.

Next up we have the mid-tier, comprised of squads that are mostly stuck in neutral for the upcoming year. The Guardians and Brewers both lost a lot of talent while the Mariners and Pirates didn’t really add any at all. The Giants were able to make some additions, but they’re trapped beneath the Dodgers, D Backs and Padres in the loaded NL West. The only teams in this tier to feel good about are the A’s and Nationals, who look to be improving with a nice mix of young players and solid signings heading into the season.

Our in the hunt tier is made up of five teams that are a bit of an enigma/are stuck in very crowded divisions. The young Reds are very exciting, especially with Terry Francona at the helm, but it may be too big of an ask to get in the playoff field in the crowded NL. The talented Padres are the opposite of the Reds from an age perspective but are hamstrung by a frustrating offseason where ownership didn’t invest in the roster. The Twins, Jays, and O’s all figure to be on the AL playoff bubble after somewhat underwhelming offseasons. Now, let’s talk about our playoff teams and where they’ll finish.

NL East – Phillies	AL East – Yankees
NL Central – Cubs	AL Central – Royals
NL West – Dodgers	AL West – Rangers
NL Wild Card 1 – Diamondbacks	AL Wild Card 1 – Red Sox
NL Wild Card 2 – Braves	AL Wild Card 2 – Astros
NL Wild Card 3 – Mets	AL Wild Card 3 – Tigers

My playoff picks above are reflective of our top two tiers on in the list. I see the Phillies, Dodgers and Rangers as the top contenders this year with complete rosters, an understatement in LA’s case, and a whole lot of star power and experience. Despite their injuries, I still like the Yankees to find their way to the top of the AL East, in a tight race with the much-improved Red Sox who I see in the field as well. I also like the Royals to capture the Central division crown, while the Tigers snag a Wild Card spot, and Astros join the fray as well. In the NL, aside from Philly and LA, I’ll go with the much-improved Cubs in the Central, while the Diamondbacks, Braves and Mets round out a loaded NL playoff field. It should be an awesome season no matter what so let’s go have some fun!

A Life Update

So, I’ve been a bit busy during my hiatus from writing for the site. Fortunately, it’s been the best kind of busy there is, as life has been happening in a big way! If you read along with us long enough, you’re probably aware of the fact that my girlfriend Briana pushed me to start this site and has backed me the whole way. We wouldn’t be here going on two years later without her inspiration and I am beyond thankful for it. We have enjoyed a lot of great times in our relationship so far, but right now is definitely the high point…that’s Mrs. Broadway Breakdown to you all! Love you Bri!

On Twitter you can find Mike @Mike_Sheerin, Tyler @TMon_19 and Sean @SeanMartinNFL. Subscribe to the site by hitting the follow button in the bottom right corner and entering your email address. Check out our Instagram feed @thebroadwaybreakdownsports for special gameday and promotional content. Our podcasts are available on Spotify. Visit the Rangers Ed Shop by clicking the link on our homepage. Check out our mailbag page to join the conversation here on the site and on our partners show, The Rangers Ed Podcast! We’ll be back with more soon!