MLB Award Predictions 2025: Projecting MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year and more

The Boston Red Sox made several big moves this offseason, with the most significant being the Garrett Crochet trade. In 2024 with the Chicago White Sox, Crochet earned his first All-Star selection and was named the AL Comeback Player of the Year. Now the 25-year-old southpaw gets to pitch at the front of a rotation for a contender. Crochet already has the swing-and-miss stuff – MLB-best 35.1% strikeout rate in 2024 – to compete for the Cy Young Award. He also easily outperformed (2.53 SIERA) his ERA (3.58) last season. With a chance to win 13-plus games backed by a strong lineup, Crochet will deliver a sub-3 ERA with 200-plus strikeouts to take home the AL Cy Young award for the AL East champion Red Sox.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers have several other Cy Young Award candidates to choose from – Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto – but Blake Snell is our choice. He got off to an abysmal start in 2024 with the San Francisco Giants, having a 9.51 ERA, a .308 batting average allowed and a 1.94 WHIP in his first six starts. After returning from the IL, he held opponents to a .123 BAA with a 0.78 WHIP and 1.23 ERA, striking out 38.1% of batters faced across 80.1 innings pitched. While replicating those numbers is out of the question, Snell could be a 15-game winner with a sub-3.2 ERA and 200-plus strikeouts for the best team in baseball.

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The Boston Red Sox haven’t made the playoffs in three consecutive years, failing to even record a winning record during that span. Finally, the Fenway Sports Group invested money in the roster to build a team capable of winning the division and challenging for the top spot in the American League. Cora has always been an excellent manager and he’ll now have one of the best rosters in MLB, with high-end talent in the rotation and lineup to rely on. We believe it will lead to a 10-game improvement, with a 90-win Red Sox team easily helping Cora take home AL Manager of the Year.

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For whatever reason, the Arizona Diamondbacks seem to be flying under the radar in 2025. Even with a top-10 lineup and a rotation that added Corbin Burnes to pair with Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly, Arizona still seems to be underrated nationally. Diamondbacks manager Torrey Lovullo has helped deliver winning seasons in consecutive years and this is the strongest roster Arizona has had in years. We’re predicting a 90-win team that takes the top Wild Card spot with Lovullo rightfully earning his first Manager of the Year award since 2017.

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Detroit Tigers pitcher Jackson Jobe and New York Yankees outfielder Jasson Dominguez are great AL Rookie of the Year candidates, but we’re taking things in another direction. Jacob Wilson’s bat-to-ball skills are elite, so much so that he could hit .290 in his first full season. The Athletics strengthened their lineup this winter, which should give Wilson a shot at 70 runs scored, especially with half his games played in a minor-league ballpark.

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Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki will be a popular pick for NL Rookie of the Year, but the nod here goes to an everyday player. Dylan Crews is a star in the making and while his triple-slash line might only produce a .710 OPS in his rookie campaign, he can deliver 25-plus steals with 15-plus home runs. Paired with some strong defense in right field, Crews will join the growing list of MLB stars who won Rookie of the Year with the Washington Nationals.

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Tampa Bay Rays ace Shane McClanahan underwent Tommy John surgery in August 2023, depriving baseball of one of its best arms. From 2022-’23, McClanahan registered a 2.85 ERA with a 1.03 WHIP, striking out 10.1 per 9 innings with a 6.8 H/9. The two-time All-Star selection has shown some of his best stuff in spring training, which bodes well for him being close to elite form in the regular season. While he might be limited to 150 innings in his first season back post-TJS, a sub-3.5 ERA with 150-plus strikeouts will earn him Comeback Player of the Year in the American League.

Missing the first month of the season will hurt Ronald Acuña Jr’s chances of landing an All-Star selection, but he can still easily win Comeback Player of the Year in the National League. He suffered his first ACL tear in 2021 and posted a .764 OPS with 15 home runs and 29 steals in his first season back. He’s taken a new approach the second time around, which includes taking more time to rehab than he did last time. We expect the approach to pay off, with Acuna looking stronger in his return. With 50-plus combined steals and home runs for a playoff-bound team, he’ll land the award over teammate Spencer Strider.

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The early front-runner for AL MVP is Aaron Judge, who will be under even more pressure to carry the New York Yankees with Giancarlo Stanton, Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil out. We think the AL MVP will come from a playoff team, which the Yankees might not be at this point. Bobby Witt Jr. provides everything voters could ask for in an MVP candidate. He plays one of the most valuable positions in baseball (shortstop), won the Gold Glove Award in 2025 (95th percentile Fielding Run Value) and he had the second-best bWAR (9.4) in baseball last season. We’re predicting a career-best season for the Kansas City Royals superstar, with 30-plus home runs, 45-plus steals, a .900-plus OPS and the highest WAR in baseball that gets Kansas City into the postseason.

A player hasn’t won MVP in the same league in consecutive years since Miguel Cabrera took home AL MVP in 2012-’23. It’s only happened twice in the National League – Albert Puhols (2008-’09) and Barry Bonds (2001-’04) – in the 21st century. Shohei Ohtani will add his name to that list this season. Barring injuries, he’s a lock for 40-plus home runs and 200-plus runs and RBI combined. Throw in a .300 batting average with 35-plus steals and you have a top MVP candidate. That would still leave voter fatigue that Ohtani has to deal with. However, his return to the mound this season provides the added value needed for him to win the NL MVP as the driving force of a 100-win team.

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