Academic Magnet High School - North Charleston, South Carolina.

THE TALON

Academic Magnet High School - North Charleston, South Carolina.

THE TALON

Academic Magnet High School - North Charleston, South Carolina.

THE TALON

2024 American League Predictions

Baseball Runs Through the AL East

As a biased Red Sox fan, I stand by the fact the AL is far superior to the NL. Until this past season, the NL had not won an All-Star game since 2012. From superstars like Juan Soto and Josh Hader joining the league, to guys like Shohei Ohtani, Matt Chapman, and Sonny Gray leaving, the AL is looking brand new this year. Will the AL East keep up their dominance? Will the Astros return to the World Series? Will John Henry sell the team before the Red Sox faithful commit a felony? In this article, I’ll detail everything; here are my 2024 MLB Season Predictions. (All Projected Lineups and Rotations come from rotochamp.com )

AL East

1. Baltimore Orioles 103-59

This team is ELITE. Gunner Henderson and Adley Rutschman are both top-five players at their position and Rutschman may be top-three. Son of former all-star Matt Holiday, top prospect Jackson Holliday is expected to make his debut this year which could add a huge bat to the lineup. The rotation is very good with the new addition of former Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes, former top-ten prospect Grayson Rodriguez, and solid depth guys like Dean Kremer, Cole Irvin, and Tyler Wells. Rising star and future ace Kyle Braddish is recovering from a torn UCL and will not be ready come season time but hopefully will return after the all-star break. 2020 all-star John Means also is not ready but should return mid-season. The top reliever of 2023, Felix Bautista, is tragically out for the season which is a huge blow to the Orioles as he is the best closer in baseball. This O’s team is very well-rounded and is my pick to win the best division in baseball.

Projected 2024 Lineup
Player POS AB HR RBI AVG
1 Cedric Mullins  OF 522 19 67 0.249
2 Adley Rutschman  C 515 19 70 0.270
3 Gunnar Henderson  SS 541 26 81 0.262
4 Anthony Santander  OF 560 29 89 0.250
5 Ryan O’Hearn  1B 375 17 57 0.259
6 Ryan Mountcastle  DH 487 23 74 0.263
7 Austin Hays  OF 516 17 68 0.256
8 Jackson Holliday  2B 444 9 52 0.257
9 Jordan Westburg  3B 384 12 50 0.250
Projected 2024 Starters
Player IP W L ERA
1 Corbin Burnes  187 12 9 3.61
2 Grayson Rodriguez  160 10 8 3.83
3 Dean Kremer  160 9 9 4.33
4 Tyler Wells  87 5 5 4.24
5 Cole Irvin  80 4 5 4.39

2. Toronto Blue Jays 90-70

Despite not getting Ohtani in free agency, this team is scary. If Alek Manoah can return to what he once was, this team will have a very competitive 1-5 rotation. Springer, Vladdy, Kirk, Bichette, and Varsho are elite returning bats and all are considered top-ten at their position at the least. They added Justin Turner and IKF to an already dangerous lineup setting the Jays up very well to compete in a very strong AL East.

Projected 2024 Lineup
Player POS AB HR RBI AVG
1 George Springer  OF 530 23 72 0.258
2 Vladimir Guerrero Jr.  1B 584 33 101 0.284
3 Justin Turner  DH 465 15 65 0.254
4 Bo Bichette  SS 596 23 86 0.292
5 Kevin Kiermaier  OF 375 7 41 0.243
6 Alejandro Kirk  C 318 10 42 0.264
7 Daulton Varsho  OF 509 24 73 0.234
8 Isiah Kiner-Falefa  3B 354 4 35 0.251
9 Cavan Biggio  2B 323 10 39 0.229
Projected 2024 Starters
Player IP W L ERA
1 Kevin Gausman  183 12 9 3.59
2 Jose Berrios  171 11 10 4.21
3 Chris Bassitt  182 12 10 4.10
4 Yusei Kikuchi  149 9 9 4.29
5 Alek Manoah  117 7 8 4.54

3. Tampa Bay Rays 87-75

While never the best roster on paper, the Rays produce. The pitching staff, while unfortunately losing Tyler Glasnow, has immense young talent in Shane Baz and Taj Bradley, while Aaron Civale and Zach Eflin add good veteran arms to the rotation. Despite their bullpen’s lack of big-money arms, it is typically one of the best in baseball and should continue to be. The lineup led by Yandy Diaz and Randy Arozarena is very scrappy as always and should remain competitive. This team should be a good wild card team.

Projected 2024 Lineup
Player POS AB HR RBI AVG
1 Yandy Diaz  1B 523 18 70 0.291
2 Brandon Lowe  2B 422 22 66 0.237
3 Randy Arozarena  OF 558 24 81 0.260
4 Josh Lowe   OF 494 17 68 0.255
5 Isaac Paredes  3B 479 24 77 0.240
6 Jonathan Aranda  DH 178 6 24 0.253
7 Jose Siri  OF 441 20 61 0.222
8 Jose Caballero  SS 261 6 28 0.226
9 Rene Pinto  C 360 14 47 0.225
Projected 2024 Starters
Player IP W L ERA
1 Zach Eflin  164 12 9 3.57
2 Aaron Civale  140 8 8 4.11
3 Zack Littell  136 8 8 4.37
4 Ryan Pepiot  134 8 8 4.16
5 Taj Bradley  132 8 8 4.16
6 Shane Baz   90 6 5 3.90

4. New York Yankees 86-76

The lineup is star-studded; Soto and Judge are gonna be a major problem for the other twenty-nine major league teams, but I am NOT sold on this team. I think the rotation will struggle outside of Cole, and I think the Yankees will barely miss the playoffs. Go Sox.

Projected 2024 Lineup
Player POS AB HR RBI AVG
1 DJ LeMahieu  3B 472 11 51 0.256
2 Juan Soto  OF 533 36 101 0.280
3 Aaron Judge  OF 519 45 111 0.274
4 Anthony Rizzo  1B 455 21 67 0.235
5 Gleyber Torres  2B 561 25 81 0.271
6 Alex Verdugo  OF 469 13 57 0.267
7 Giancarlo Stanton  DH 390 26 68 0.231
8 Anthony Volpe  SS 526 20 69 0.232
9 Austin Wells  C 304 12 43 0.230
Projected 2024 Starters
Player IP W L ERA
1 Gerrit Cole  193 13 9 3.64
2 Carlos Rodon  146 11 8 4.01
3 Marcus Stroman  153 11 9 4.06
4 Clarke Schmidt  139 8 8 4.40
5 Nestor Cortes  131 8 7 4.05

5. Boston Red Sox 76-86

I DESPISE JOHN WILLIAM HENRY II. THIS IS BOSTON. BOSTON IS A BIG MARKET CITY SO WHY IS HENRY NOT SPENDING? Maybe it is because he is more focused on the Penguins, Liverpool, or the 3 BILLION dollars he put into the PGA. The whole team is hurt, this is gonna be painful for all Red Sox fans. Last place incoming. I do not even want to go over the team.

Projected 2024 Lineup
Player POS AB HR RBI AVG
1 Jarren Duran   OF 471 13 56 0.259
2 Rafael Devers  3B 579 35 103 0.282
3 Trevor Story  SS 495 20 69 0.238
4 Triston Casas  1B 505 27 83 0.257
5 Masataka Yoshida  DH 511 16 73 0.290
6 Tyler O’Neill  OF 464 23 71 0.254
7 Wilyer Abreu  OF 369 13 50 0.241
8 Enmanuel Valdez  2B 135 5 18 0.244
9 Connor Wong  C 321 11 39 0.243
Projected 2024 Starters
Player IP W L ERA
1 Lucas Giolito  170 10 10 4.66
2 Nick Pivetta  160 10 10 4.50
3 Brayan Bello  159 10 10 4.36
4 Kutter Crawford  141 8 9 4.60
5 Tanner Houck  129 8 9 4.40

AL Central

1. Twins 86-76

This is quite possibly the worst division in baseball so the Twins have a cakewalk. This roster is pretty good, however. Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan are a very solid one-two punch. The bullpen is decent but features one of the scariest relievers in Johan Duran. Duran has hit 105 on his fastest pitch. The lineup continues to get better with Julien, Buxton, Lewis, Correa, and Santana being very dangerous hitters.

Projected 2024 Lineup
Player POS AB HR RBI AVG
1 Edouard Julien  2B 451 15 55 0.242
2 Byron Buxton  OF 424 26 67 0.233
3 Royce Lewis  3B 517 25 83 0.265
4 Carlos Correa  SS 514 21 73 0.261
5 Max Kepler  OF 470 21 69 0.245
6 Carlos Santana  1B 415 15 56 0.229
7 Matt Wallner  OF 399 18 60 0.231
8 Ryan Jeffers  C 332 15 47 0.232
9 Alex Kirilloff  DH 348 12 49 0.259
Projected 2024 Starters
Player IP W L ERA
1 Pablo Lopez  182 12 9 3.61
2 Joe Ryan  166 11 10 4.01
3 Bailey Ober  150 9 8 4.08
4 Chris Paddack  119 8 7 4.31
5 Anthony DeSclafani   122 7 8 4.65

2. Guardians 82-80

This team is pretty average, nothing great outside of Beiber and Ramirez, and nothing bad. They are going to be a slightly above .500 team.

Projected 2024 Lineup
Player POS AB HR RBI AVG
1 Steven Kwan  OF 555 5 53 0.274
2 Andres Gimenez  2B 550 17 70 0.265
3 Jose Ramirez  3B 579 27 95 0.278
4 Josh Naylor  DH 515 22 85 0.280
5 Ramon Laureano  OF 414 15 54 0.234
6 Bo Naylor  C 367 15 52 0.229
7 Kyle Manzardo  1B 352 13 50 0.239
8 Brayan Rocchio  SS 365 6 41 0.249
9 Myles Straw  OF 385 2 31 0.249
Projected 2024 Starters
Player IP W L ERA
1 Shane Bieber  169 10 9 3.78
2 Triston McKenzie  146 8 9 4.07
3 Tanner Bibee  159 9 9 3.91
4 Logan Allen 137 8 8 4.20
5 Gavin Williams  139 8 8 4.08

3. Royals 72-90

This Royals team is honestly my pick for a team that could exceed expectations. Bobby Witt is ELITE and is surrounded by honestly a pretty good lineup. The pitching has also improved with the additions of Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo. I do not think their quite in the position to compete for the wildcard, but they will be much improved.

Projected 2024 Lineup
Player POS AB HR RBI AVG
1 MJ Melendez  OF 493 22 68 0.241
2 Bobby Witt Jr.  SS 608 29 92 0.281
3 Salvador Perez  C 510 25 82 0.255
4 Vinnie Pasquantino  1B 500 21 76 0.276
5 Hunter Renfroe  OF 414 18 59 0.244
6 Michael Massey  2B 407 14 53 0.248
7 Nelson Velazquez  DH 379 19 56 0.232
8 Kyle Isbel  OF 363 9 43 0.245
9 Maikel Garcia  3B 489 7 51 0.266
Projected 2024 Starters
Player IP W L ERA
1 Cole Ragans  157 10 9 4.01
2 Michael Wacha  138 8 9 4.63
3 Seth Lugo  147 8 9 4.47
4 Brady Singer  159 8 10 4.53
5 Jordan Lyles  131 6 10 5.50

4. Tigers 69-93

Javier Baez.

Projected 2024 Lineup
Player POS AB HR RBI AVG
1 Parker Meadows  OF 464 13 52 0.231
2 Riley Greene  OF 535 17 67 0.269
3 Spencer Torkelson  1B 559 30 88 0.245
4 Kerry Carpenter  DH 480 21 71 0.256
5 Mark Canha  OF 443 12 54 0.260
6 Colt Keith  2B 446 15 59 0.256
7 Javier Baez  SS 507 15 62 0.241
8 Giovanny Urshela  3B 298 7 36 0.275
9 Jake Rogers  C 327 15 46 0.214
Projected 2024 Starters
Player IP W L ERA
1 Tarik Skubal  151 9 9 3.46
2 Jack Flaherty  144 8 9 4.50
3 Kenta Maeda  132 8 9 4.30
4 Matt Manning  111 6 8 4.70
5 Reese Olson  128 7 9 4.29
6 Casey Mize  102 5 7 4.68
5. White Sox 68-94

Dylan Cease will be traded by the deadline. This team is awful.

Projected 2024 Lineup

Player POS AB HR RBI AVG
1 Andrew Benintendi  OF 517 10 54 0.269
2 Yoan Moncada  3B 511 18 64 0.249
3 Luis Robert OF 567 30 90 0.265
4 Eloy Jimenez  DH 503 24 78 0.274
5 Andrew Vaughn  1B 551 23 79 0.261
6 Dominic Fletcher  OF 366 8 40 0.240
7 Paul DeJong  SS 315 13 39 0.210
8 Nicky Lopez  2B 345 2 27 0.241
9 Martin Maldonado  C 254 9 28 0.185
Projected 2024 Starters
Player IP W L ERA
1 Dylan Cease  175 10 10 4.06
2 Erick Fedde 141 8 11 4.98
3 Michael Kopech  131 7 10 5.08
4 Mike Soroka  113 6 7 4.54
5 Chris Flexen  102 5 7 5.12

AL West

1. Rangers 99-63

While their rotation has taken a step down from last year with the loss of current free-agent Jordan Montgomery, the reigning World Series champions should be right back at first this year. The lineup from 1-9 is incredible and has zero holes. Nathan Eovaldi still is a great ace and should maintain his elite work. This team is scary.

Player POS AB HR RBI AVG
1 Marcus Semien  2B 607 27 86 0.265
2 Corey Seager   SS 504 29 89 0.296
3 Adolis Garcia  OF 574 32 95 0.242
4 Evan Carter  OF 485 15 66 0.254
5 Josh Jung   3B 554 26 85 0.256
6 Nate Lowe  1B 577 21 80 0.269
7 Jonah Heim  C 448 18 65 0.243
8 Wyatt Langford DH 418 17 63 0.254
9 Leody Taveras  OF 458 13 57 0.255
Projected 2024 Starters
Player IP W L ERA
1 Nathan Eovaldi 153 9 8 4.18
2 Jon Gray  154 9 9 4.38
3 Andrew Heaney  129 8 8 4.53
4 Dane Dunning  160 9 10 4.50
5 Cody Bradford  71 4 5 4.56
6 Jake Odorizzi  48 3 3 5.06
7 Max Scherzer   87 6 5 3.93

2. Astros 98-64

The Astros are reloading. Astros-Phanatic, Mr. Cosgrove had this to say about his team,

“Houston has quietly made excellent moves since Manager Dusty Baker’s retirement at the end of last year. Joe Espada is now the manager after being a long-time bench coach. Espada was an excellent hire, with the addition of Josh Hader and a trio of young talent coming in. Young, hard-hitting outfielder Trey Cabbage, a 30 HR guy in AAA was picked up by the Astros after he was DFAed by the Angels, super utility-man Joey Loperfido, and right-handed pitcher Spencer Arrighetti. I expect Houston to win the division and be a prime contender for a World Series reappearance.”

While I disagree with Houston winning the division, I think everything else is a great take.

Projected 2024 Lineup
Player POS AB HR RBI AVG
1 Jose Altuve  2B 550 24 75 0.273
2 Yordan Alvarez  DH 509 39 108 0.299
3 Alex Bregman  3B 563 23 88 0.265
4 Kyle Tucker  OF 575 31 103 0.280
5 Jose Abreu  1B 533 19 79 0.259
6 Yainer Diaz  C 419 20 67 0.272
7 Chas McCormick  OF 460 20 67 0.252
8 Jeremy Pena  SS 559 16 67 0.259
9 Jake Meyers  OF 334 10 41 0.240
Projected 2024 Starters
Player IP W L ERA
1 Framber Valdez  183 13 8 3.44
2 Cristian Javier  160 10 8 4.39
3 Hunter Brown  152 12 9 3.97
4 Jose Urquidy  117 7 6 4.62
5 Ronel Blanco  61 3 3 4.43

3. Mariners 85-77

This team is another sleeper team in my opinion. The young rotation is in my opinion a top-five rotation in baseball and honestly could be better. The bullpen is solid as always. The lineup is the biggest question for this team and it depends on how guys not named Julio Rodriguez perform this year. The Mariners are a bubble team in my opinion and are a sneaky wild-card, hopeful team.

Projected 2024 Lineup
Player POS AB HR RBI AVG
1 J.P. Crawford  SS 543 12 58 0.252
2 Julio Rodriguez  OF 600 32 94 0.282
3 Jorge Polanco  2B 493 21 70 0.243
4 Mitch Garver  DH 395 21 60 0.235
5 Cal Raleigh  C 470 27 75 0.228
6 Ty France  1B 545 15 67 0.261
7 Luke Raley  OF 368 17 52 0.231
8 Mitch Haniger  OF 429 20 62 0.233
9 Josh Rojas  3B 287 6 30 0.237
Projected 2024 Starters
Player IP W L ERA
1 Luis Castillo  187 12 9 3.56
2 Logan Gilbert  182 11 10 3.86
3 George Kirby  179 12 9 3.62
4 Bryce Miller  138 8 8 4.17
5 Bryan Woo  132 8 8 4.02

4. Angels 72-90

Mike Trout. That’s about it.

Projected 2024 Lineup
Player POS AB HR RBI AVG
1 Mickey Moniak  OF 386 16 50 0.233
2 Nolan Schanuel 1B 424 12 51 0.264
3 Mike Trout  OF 485 34 90 0.262
4 Anthony Rendon  3B 408 13 57 0.257
5 Taylor Ward  OF 485 21 71 0.266
6 Brandon Drury  DH 501 23 75 0.250
7 Luis Rengifo   2B 487 17 62 0.259
8 Logan O’Hoppe  C 421 23 66 0.254
9 Zach Neto  SS 495 19 67 0.248
Projected 2024 Starters
Player IP W L ERA
1 Reid Detmers  157 9 9 4.36
2 Griffin Canning  142 8 9 4.31
3 Patrick Sandoval  154 9 10 4.15
4 Tyler Anderson  154 8 9 4.85
5 Chase Silseth  114 7 7 4.42

5. Athletics 58-104

Embarrassment to Major League Baseball.

Projected 2024 Lineup
Player POS AB HR RBI AVG
1 Ryan Noda  1B 437 18 53 0.215
2 Zack Gelof  2B 533 18 64 0.236
3 Brent Rooker  DH 467 25 69 0.229
4 Seth Brown  OF 424 21 63 0.233
5 Shea Langeliers  C 401 19 55 0.222
6 JJ Bleday  OF 411 15 50 0.214
7 Esteury Ruiz  OF 451 8 42 0.246
8 Abraham Toro  3B 304 8 35 0.240
9 Nick Allen  SS 272 3 23 0.235
Projected 2024 Starters
Player IP W L ERA
1 JP Sears  161 8 11 4.36
2 Paul Blackburn  134 6 9 4.57
3 Alex Wood  123 6 9 4.54
4 Ross Stripling  129 6 8 4.40
5 Luis Medina 121 6 9 4.69
6 Osvaldo Bido  38 2 3 4.74
7 Joey Estes 40 2 3 4.73
8 Drew Rucinski  48 3 4 5.06

 

Leave a Comment
More to Discover

Comments (0)

All THE TALON Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *