Written by Trevor Filkins
Edited by John Aidala
The MLB season is still over two months away but it is time to look at who may be a surprise this upcoming year. There are always a few teams that emerge and surpass the expectations to the surprise of many. In 2023, we had the National League Champion, Arizona Diamondbacks and the youthful sluggers in the Baltimore Orioles. In 2024, we saw the rise of the Royals, Guardians, and Brewers. Inevitably, we should see another team come to fruition. Let us delve into who and why.
The first team that may not necessarily be on most fan radars this season is that of the Athletics. Formally of Oakland, the A's look to play their first season in California's Capital, Sacramento. Sacramento will serve as the interim home of the Athletics as they eagerly wait the construction of their new home in Las Vegas. They had a record in 2024 of 69-93, however they had a solid second half record of 32-32 to end the year. They had the emergence of potential stars in Brent Rooker, Lawrence Butler, Mason Miller, J.J. Bleday, and Shea Langeliers.
Their players got well needed experience to build on with the likes of prospects Jacob Wilson and Tyler Soderstrom as well. The Athletics also have made some pretty significant moves to bolster these pieces with the addition of two solid starting pitchers in Luis Severino and Jeffrey Springs to help out their former ace J.P. Sears who had an underrated season in 2024. They added a solid veteran bat in Gio Urshela to sure up the infield as well as a veteran reliever presence in Jose Leclerc. They brought back their best lefty reliever in T.J. McFarland and have had no notable subtractions. Another bonus is that of the weakening of divisional opponents as it seems the Astros and Mariners have gotten worse roster wise. While the Athletics may not be guaranteed a playoff spot, I expect them to improve significantly this year and maybe even potentially shock the world by finding a wild card spot.
Another team that has made moves, yet I think is being overlooked is that of the Boston Red Sox. While they did lose a key bat in Tyler O’Neill and a signing free-agent reliever in Chris Martin, I would argue that their additions greatly trump their subtractions. With an offense that ranked inside the top 10 in OPS and runs it was far from the problem in 2024. With a middle of the pack team ERA in 2024, they looked to upgrade their pitching prior to the 2025 season. This offseason, the Red Sox sent shockwaves in the free agent market with not one, but two potential Cy Young starters in Garrett Crochet and later Walker Buehler.
To put the cherry on top, Beantown was able to add former Angels' starter, Patrick Sandoval, who has demonstrated flashes of what represents a dominant pitcher in Major League Baseball. Left-Handed relievers should not be a problem this season either as Justin Wilson, Jovani Moran and the "Cuban Missile", Aroldis Chapman are shipping up to Boston.
Lucas Giolito, another starter with plenty of experience looks to make his way back at some point as well. The most underrated addition might be that of defensive catcher Carlos Narvaez. The Red Sox ranked dead last in catcher metrics last season and it was a desperate need to get better. Their defense suffered as a result of poor catching and poor infield play which will inevitably get better with Narvaez and gold glover, Trevor Story, who will look to finally culminate his first healthy season on the east coast. The offense that showcased an abundance of rookies with Wilyer Abreu, Cedanne Rafaela, and David Hamilton looks to only be improved with three top prospects in the wings. Roman Anthony is the top hitting prospect and he is joined by Marcelo Mayer and Minor Leaguer of the Year Kristian Campbell. All have the potential to contribute in 2025.
Look out for the Sox this year, Just not the White ones. It is evident that Boston has taken drastic financial and personnel measures to fix their sinking ship. With the AL East being one of the most competitive divisions in professional baseball, the Red Sox needed to make some moves in hopes of keeping up with the Yankees, Orioles and Blue Jays.
The Washington Nationals are the final team that I'd like to shed some light on. Although I find Boston to have a good shot of being contenders in the American League, I find the Nationals as a longer shot, with glimpses of promise. While teams such as the Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs have notoriously gotten attention this season for their vast improvements, I feel that the Nationals are not talked about as much as they should.
It is easy for them to be overlooked, as they will be in what I believe to be the most difficult division in baseball this upcoming season. Although I do not suspect the Nationals to shock the world and place at the top of the NL East over the Phillies, Braves or Mets at the end of September, the Nationals could play spoilers.
I expect the Nationals to wreak havoc on the basepaths this upcoming season, as they are a very young team with minimal pressure to live up to. Last season, the Nationals led the league in stolen bases with attempting the more stolen bases than at least 90 percent of the league. Although the caught stealing percentage for the Nats was higher than desired last season, I expect this to improve with experience. They will be the second youngest roster in baseball coming into the year and with a lot of rookie seasons out of the way for the Nationals, the players can begin to settle in. With inexperience comes mistakes, and something Washington hopes to cope with better is their infield defense.
With more experience now under their belt after a mediocre 2024, their low strikeout rate combined, with that aforementioned speed, will be something to look out for. Their forte should be putting the ball in play and running wild. Dylan Crews and James Wood, two of the teams young superstars, hope to replicate and build off of last season. Jacob Young, a promising Center Field magician and middle infield duo of C.J. Abrams and Luis Garcia Jr bring some serious flares of youth and potential to this everyday lineup. With the additions of veteran first basemens, Nathaniel Lowe and Josh Bell, the Nationals hope these two former all-stars can serve as leaders to the younger players in the clubhouse.
They have also added another bat with potential .300 upside in Amed Rosario to compliment it. The additions of pitchers Michael Soroka and Jorge Lopez could be nice bullpen arms to add on to the underrated arms they have in Derek Law and Jose Ferrer. They brought back veteran starter, Trevor Williams, who quietly was among the best starters in baseball. When healthy last year, he sported a 2.03 ERA in 66 and 2⁄3 innings.
I am also a believer in their starting rotation for next year, despite the results from 2024. Returners such as Jake Irvin, Josiah Gray, and D.J. Herz are all solid arms. MacKenzie Gore, the ace of the staff, could make his way in the running for this year's Cy Young award. He has the ability to be dominant at times, but if he can improve his consistency, I expect improvement as time goes on for the young starting pitcher. During the month of September, he boasted a 1.26 ERA in five starts to end his year.
Members of the Nationals' farm system such as Jackson Rutledge and Cade Cavalli are prospects in the wings. I would not be suprised to see them breaking onto the scene as other options in the rotation or pen. The Nationals are not a team that anyone is giving a chance to, but I expect them to surprise this upcoming season. General Manger, Mike Rizzo has proven he knows how to build a roster and I trust his additions to improve them moving forward.
Look out for the Athletics, Red Sox, and Nationals this season. Each ball club might not be accumulating much interest in the eyes of fans, but they have made significant strides in necessary departments and could easily shock the world. Hell, maybe even one of them might be able to bring home the Commissioner's Trophy.