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The Seattle Mariners took a bit of a step back last year, failing to make the postseason after seemingly being on the rise. Their offense struggled throughout the season. Here are five bold predictions about what they can do in 2025.
Bold predictions for the 2025 Mariners
5) Bryan Woo will break out
At age 24 and in just 22 starts, Bryan Woo had a good year, thanks to an absurd 2.8% walk rate and a 2.3 fWAR in 121.1 innings. He should be poised to post career highs across the board with 3.5 fWAR, 170 innings, 150 strikeouts and a 2.75 ERA.
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4) The Mariners will have two Cy Young finalists
The Seattle Mariners had two pitchers with more than 4.0 fWAR last year. Some teams didn't even have one such hurler. Logan Gilbert and George Kirby could both win a Cy Young.
One of them might, but they will both be among the finalists. The AL does have Tarik Skubal, Gerrit Cole, Framber Valdez, Max Fried and Garrett Crochet, but Kirby and Gilbert are as good as any of them.
3) Cal Raleigh will make an All-MLB team
To make an All-MLB team, a player has to essentially be top two at their position. Last year, Cal Raleigh had the most fWAR by a catcher. He was tied with William Contreras of the Milwaukee Brewers.
He did this off of solid offense and exceptional defense. Among qualified catchers, he led baseball with a 21.8 defensive rating. Assuming he doesn't take a step back, he will once again be one of the best and he'll be awarded as such.
2) The Mariners will win the AL West
The Mariners failed to take advantage of a weak AL West last year. The Texas Rangers were bad, the Los Angeles Angels and Oakland Athletics were much worse, and even the Houston Astros had a down year. Still, they couldn't make it to the playoffs.
This year, on paper, the Astros have gotten worse. The Mariners haven't gotten better, but they haven't gotten worse. The Rangers should be better, but there are few starting rotations better than the one Seattle has, which should be enough to carry them to a division title.
1) Julio Rodriguez will win MVP
Julio Rodriguez won Rookie of the Year in 2022 and had a good year in 2023, but failed to take a big step forward in 2024. Although he had a pretty down year, he's poised for a breakout. He recorded 5.8 fWAR in each of his first two seasons.
He had a 148 and then 128 wRC+ in those two seasons. Assuming he can bounce back and continue getting better at age 24, then there's no reason to think he can't improve on his career highs and win an MVP over Aaron Judge, Bobby Witt Jr., Jose Ramirez or any other individual.
