Way-Too-Early World Series Predictions

Opinion posted March 30, 2023 in CommRadio, Sports by CommRadio Sports department

With Opening Day right around the corner, it’s time for us to accurately predict which team will end the season hoisting the Commissioner's Trophy.

Ben’s Prediction: San Diego Padres over the Seattle Mariners in five

The San Diego Padres made their first NLCS since 1998 last season. Following a five-game defeat to the Philadelphia Phillies, the brown and gold entered the offseason looking to improve an already deadly lineup.

Improve the lineup they did as the Padres inked Xander Bogaerts to an 11-year 280 million dollar contract. Bogaerts joins a star-studded lineup alongside Juan Soto, Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr.

Veterans Nelson Cruz and Matt Carpenter will look to be crucial contributors off the bench.

The Padres rotation is headlined by three stars: Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove and Blake Snell. While free agent acquisitions Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo are set to be the final two pieces in the rotation.

In the bullpen, Josh Hader is set to build off his 2022 postseason campaign, where he did not allow a run and had four saves.

There is too much star power on this Padres roster to not make a deep postseason run.

The Seattle Mariners last season ended a 20-year playoff drought before being swept by the eventual World Series champion Houston Astros in the American League Divisional Series.

The green and blue had a sneaky good off-season. The Mariners acquired two-time Gold Glove winner Kolten Wong from the Milwaukee Brewers and two-time Silver Slugger winner Teoscar Hernández from the Toronto Blue Jays

Julio Rodríguez will look to improve off his seventh-place MVP finish, while Ty France and J.P. Crawford will try to build off of breakout 2022 campaigns.

Luis Castillo and Logan Gilbert are set to spearhead a pitching staff with the depth to lead the Mariners to their first-ever pennant.

Jayson’s Prediction: Philadelphia Phillies over the Houston Astros in six

There is a lot of concern from the media about whether the Phillies’ World Series run last year was sustainable.

They were able to hit their way through the National League with home run after home run, but Houston was eventually able to silence Philadelphia’s bats.

The Phillies found their weakness at the end of last year and immediately addressed it by signing one of the best contact hitters in baseball, Trea Turner.

Philadelphia also made a big addition to the bullpen by trading for Gregory Soto, who had 30 saves in 33 opportunities last season. The Phillies’ bullpen proved itself last year, and adding Soto is a great move.

Outside of losing Justin Verlander, the Astros retained most of their talent. The pitching staff is still strong without Verlander and will remain one of the best in baseball.

Their lineup improved with the addition of José Abreu. He’ll bring more contact hitting to the Astros, as he had an average of .304 last season and hasn’t hit below .260 in his nine-year career.

Despite the Astros remaining at an elite level talent-wise, the Phillies are going to be a motivated team this year. They’ll want to prove that last year wasn’t a fluke.

Philadelphia has improved their roster all around, even with a banged-up team going into Opening Day. The Phillies can repeat last season’s performance and can even do better.

Jakob’s Prediction: Atlanta Braves over the Toronto Blue Jays in seven

Now almost two years removed from their World Series victory, the Atlanta Braves still boast one of the strongest rosters in the MLB, and they hope that this time around, they won’t have to rely on a group of overachieving backups.

The Braves entered the postseason as the No. 2 seed in the National League last year and looked like a potential repeat was in the cards before they ran into the red-hot Philadelphia Phillies en route to their World Series appearance.

Through masterful negotiating, Atlanta’s front office was able to lock up its nucleus of star players for the foreseeable future while still adding new assets to push them over the top, such as catcher Sean Murphy.

The key to this team, however, is the pitching staff led by their ace Spencer Strider, who currently holds the fifth-highest odds of winning the NL Cy Young award.

The Blue Jays are a team that has been on the rise in recent years, primarily due to the dominance of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., as well as their outstanding pitching staff.

With Whit Merrifield now getting a full season in Toronto alongside the additions of Kevin Kiermaier and Daulton Varsho to bolster the outfield, the Blue Jays seem poised to make noise in an American League that has seen plenty of turnover amongst the top teams

Robs Prediction: New York Yankees over the San Diego Padres in six

The fall classic hasn’t been played in the Bronx in quite some time. 2009 was the last go around, to be exact.

There’s been no shortage of heartbreak for Yankees fans recently, as the last six seasons have ended with devastating playoff losses, including three in the ALCS.

But with a newly named captain with more experience under his belt, this is sure to change.

Aaron Judge was named the 16th captain in the history of the Yankees this past offseason and is now looking to lead some new faces on the team.

Manager Aaron Boone recently confirmed star prospect Anthony Volpe would make the opening day roster while GM Brian Cashman got busy in the offseason bringing in lefty ace Carlos Rodon. 

The San Diego Padres have had a backseat view of the Los Angeles Dodgers for years.

But now, with all the star power a team could need, this trend will be no longer, and they will bring the Fall Classic to sunny San Diego.

In August of last season, the Padres acquired Juan Soto in a trade to try and help their playoff and World Series push. While they fell short of this goal, it is a move that will definitely pay off this year.

Soto will now have a full season to play alongside star third baseman Manny Machado and showstopping shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. once he finishes serving his final 20 games of a suspension.  

While injuries are a part of the game, I’ll assume both these teams will be healthy when they match up against each other, and for that reason, I’ll take the Yankees.

I think a one-two-three rotation in the playoffs of Cole, Rodon and Cortes is just too good with the bullpen the Yankees have.

Ben Palillo is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email bgp5079@psu.edu.

Jayson O’Connell is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jbo5216@psu.edu.

Jakob Schnur is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jks6463@psu.edu.

Rob Cardini is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email rvc5706@psu.edu.