Major League Players Club 2025 MLB Futures 1-5 Units (3/27/25)

MLB SHOP AROUND! FUTURES ODDS VARY DRASTICALLY BOOK TO BOOK.

1) Boston to Win AL East +300 (3 Units).

The Yankees are already dealing with the injury bug, and they just lost half their offense (Juan Soto) to the Mets. It’s Aaron Judge and company all over again. There's a mixture of Vets and young guys around him but there really isn't another reliable bat besides Cody Bellinger and the majority of his seasons have been unimpressive. Then there's the likelihood of Judge missing time and we'll get more into that later. As far as Baltimore goes they just lost their Ace and 44 homeruns (Anthony Santander) in Free Agency. Being small spending Baltimore, they're relying on the youth movement to replace them. They have plenty of young guys to plug in but that comes with inconsistency. The O's also played terribly defensively last year. Neither New York nor Baltimore has done enough to really cement themselves as the top dog in the AL East.

The value is just right on Boston. Devers and Duran are the key pieces of the lineup, but the addition of Alex Bregman and health of Trevor Story provide a couple other key veteran pieces. Connor Wong is a + bat behind the dish and Wilyer Abreu, a rookie last year, can certainly hit. They do start the season a little banged up pitching wise, but they'll be getting those guys back. The starting rotation also has sneaky elite potential. Garrett Crochet is a #1, Tanner Houck is coming off a career year, Brayan Bello was elite the majority of last season, and then there's Walker Buehler. He's the one that's going to really make or break this rotation. At the top of his game he's one of the best pitchers in baseball and he's still just 30 years old. He struggled in his return from Tommy John surgery last year but that isn't uncommon. He looks like his old self in spring and he doesn't need to be an Ace, just a quality starter. Boston also has a few of the best prospects in baseball and they're all knocking at the door. If even just one of them comes up and plays well this lineup gets incredibly dangerous.

2) Aaron Judge Under 47.5 Homeruns (3 Units).

Excluding his initial 27 game stint in 2016, Aaron Judge has played in 8 big league seasons. He's been "fully healthy” for exactly half of them. He's also only gone over this Home Run total 3 times in his career. He played in 155 games in 2017 and hit 55 Homeruns. In 2018 he played in 112 and hit 27. In 2022 he played in 157 games and hit 62 Homeruns. In 2023 he played in 106 and hit 37. He played in 158 games last year and hit 58 Homeruns. At 6'7 280 pounds it's just harder to stay healthy. There's simply more wear and tear on his body. He was also a later arrival to the MLB and is already 32 years old.

3) Rockies Win Total Over 58.5 (3 Units).

The Rockies have finished below this win total just once in their franchise's history and it was their 2nd year in existence. The Coors Field effect is real, and they simply win at Home. The 2024 and 2023 Rockies were as bad as a roster gets and they still won 37 games at Home each of the last two seasons. That's also in an NL West that's been stacked of late. Their starting rotation isn't great on paper, but it's headlined by longtime Rockies Veterans that know how to get outs at Coors Field. Both Marquez and Senzatela were out last year. The other 2 starters Austin Gomber and Ryan Feltner had strong seasons for the Rockies in 2024 too. Their bullpen's in great shape with the mixture of a couple proven Vets and young flamethrowers. Positionally they're led by 3B Ryan McMahon, CF Brenton Doyle, SS Ezequiel Tovar, and 1B Michael Toglia. They're all elite defensively and all bring a solid bat to the plate. Ya know what you're getting from McMahon offensively but the last 3 are all capable of making another offensive leap. Catcher Hunter Goodman also has ridiculous pop and he's been tearing it up in spring. They traded OF Nolan Jones to the Guardians for Tyler Freeman. For a team that doesn't spend it makes sense. Their OF is a position of strength. There are more than a few options and some will be forced to start at AAA. Tyler Freeman gives them a ton of versatility as he can play all over the diamond and could find an everyday home at 2B if his bat carries over from spring.

4) Mike Trout Over 23.5 Home Runs (4 Units).

It’s all about availability for Mike Trout but he's never stopped mashing homeruns. He hit 10 Home runs in 29 games last year, 18 in 82 in 2023, 40 in 119 in 2022, and 8 in 36 in 2021. Outside of 2022 he’s done that battling and working around injuries and not 100%. He finished up spring training with a 1.026 OPS. We don't need a full season out of him to get over this number. To try and keep him healthy they moved him over to Right Field and it's been a smooth transition. He'll also be penciled in as DH quite a bit. He's been in the league for what feels like forever but he's 33 years old. Part of his health issues have come from trying to get back on the field too soon. His last regular season baseball game came on April 29th of last year. It's a gamble banking on his health but with the extended time to heal and new approach to it, we like him to get enough games in. 5) Dodgers Under 105.5 Wins (3 Units).

The Dodgers are as stacked as it gets but so much has to go right in order to win this many games. The players have to play up to their potential and they need to stay healthy on top of that. Every team outside the Rockies in the NL West are legitimate playoff contenders too. The Padres and Diamondbacks have both been good the past couple seasons and that will continue. Then there's the Giants who went 80-82 last year and made a couple big Free Agent additions. Logan Webb, Justin Verlander, Robbie Ray, and Jordan Hicks could very well be one of the best rotations in baseball. Their 5th spots also in good shape. Kyle Harrison was just sent down to Triple A and he had a 4.54 ERA in 24 starts for the Giants last year. The Rockies also get theirs at Home, even against the Dodgers.

6) Hunter Brown to Win AL Cy Young +2,500 (1 Unit).

Hunter Brown posted a 3.49 ERA in 31 Games and 170 innings pitched for the Astros last year. Post-All Star Break he posted a 2.26 ERA in 12 starts. 2024 was his 2nd full year in the rotation. Of the 66 earned runs he allowed, 32 of them came in just 5 combined starts. He allowed 2ER or less in 22 of his appearances. In 2024 his Hard Hit % was in the top 3% and his average exit velo was in the top 5%. He gets plenty of strikeouts and with the Astros bolstering the roster he can also record plenty of wins. He throws 6 different pitches and at 26 years old entering his 3rd full big-league season, he's set up to put it all together. He's throwing to the same catchers as last year and the AL West is also among the weaker divisions in baseball. If he can eliminate the big outings, he'll be right there in the mix. Learning how to pitch and record outs without your best stuff is something that takes time and he's had that.

7) Jordan Lawlar NL Rookie of the Year +2,100 (1 Unit).

Lawler's starting his 2025 season at Triple A as he's stuck behind Perdomo at SS. He's an elite defensive prospect and has been MLB ready defensively for a couple years. He also has an OPS above 1.000 at AAA in his career. Health was an issue for him last year or he would have found himself in the big leagues. He's already started getting work at 3B and will start getting some at 2B. He's a better player than the Diamondbacks current back-ups, it's just about the regular at bats. If anyone goes down or even struggles, he's going to get called up. His most likely path is 3B. The 33-Year-Old Eugenio Suarez is currently holding that spot on a 1-year deal. He's had his fair share of rough cold spells and there's nothing tying him to Arizona's Future. Lawlar also has blazing speed and swiped 36 and 39 bags in his two full minor league seasons. He's a stat sheet stuffer if he finds some big-league time. The Dodgers Roki Sasaki is the betting favorite, and he should be but it's hard for pitchers to win these awards over a good position player. They have to be so dominant for so long. Sasaki's never experienced a full MLB workload. He also likely won't as the Dodgers deploy a 6 Man rotation with Ohtani. That's as of right now with both Kershaw and Gonsolin still on the IL.

8) Alex Cora AL Manager of the Year +500 (1 Unit).

Cora won a World Series in his first year with Boston and has consistently outperformed expectations. He finally has an MLB roster he can do something, and they have elite prospects to call up. If Boston takes the AL East this award’s likely his but even if they don't, he could claim it. Both the Yankees and Baltimore are capable of 100 wins if things go right and if Boston punches a playoff ticket with 90+ he'll be in good shape. The Red Sox never stay down for too long and they're just poised to Boston it up this year.

9) (7/21/25) Royals to Make Playoffs +710 (4 Units).

Currently 5.5 games back from a wide open AL wildcard race. They have the 2nd best ERA in baseball and likely Buy and Sell at the deadline. Already acquired Adam Frazier during the All-Star Break. They have Veteran arms they can afford to sell to help bolster their offense without trading away their future. Bobby Witt Jr poised for a better 2nd half and he's capable of carrying an offense on his own. Per quality of contact they're the 4th unluckiest team in baseball.