The Spire

Jake Ruderman ’26

Sports Editor

With the 2024 MLB season finally upon us, let’s take a look at some of the most interesting storylines, rapid fire style. 

The most interesting storyline, as it is every year, is attempting to surmise which teams have a realistic shot at contending for the World Series. Over the last few seasons, a surprising trend has developed of wild card teams making improbable playoff runs. Last year, both World Series teams, the Arizona Diamondbacks and the eventual champion Texas Rangers, made the playoffs as wild card teams – Texas as the #5 seed in the American League, and Arizona as the #6 seed, with a whopping 84 wins (statistically one of the ‘worst’ teams to ever reach the Fall Classic). So, in discussing this upcoming season, the question remains: will we continue to see wild card teams make runs to the World Series? Or will baseball’s most stacked rosters finally prove themselves when it matters most? 

With the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros, and Atlanta Braves (all perennial division winners) each improving this offseason, these juggernauts are as poised as ever to make deep playoff runs, but will have to prove themselves in October before anyone takes their regular season success seriously. Aside from the favorites, the Rangers, Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, and Philadelphia Phillies are all in prime position for potential World Series success. But, it’s important to remember that teams come out of the woodwork every single year, so there are undoubtedly multiple playoff contenders that have yet to reveal their true natures – for that, we’ll have to wait and see.

In terms of award races, there are multiple players who seem to be on the rise. As has been a trend across all major sports in the 21st century, constructing a compelling narrative is essential to taking home the hardware. Will Mike Trout have a monster ‘revenge’ season after he was abandoned by Shohei Ohtani? Will Juan Soto return the struggling Yankees to their former glory? Will an AL West player, like Yordan Alvarez, Julio Rodriguez, or Adolis Garcia, lead his team to the division title? Will any pitcher’s dominance put them in contention for the MVP award? All of these are compelling narratives that are crucial for garnering awards voting. But outside of these narratives, players like Corbin Carroll, Mookie Betts, and Matt Olson loom as potentially dominant threats, not to mention last year’s runaway winners, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Shohei Ohtani. 

For the Cy Young, it’s always more or less a shot in the dark. The most dominant pitching seasons typically surprise the league, save for future Hall of Famers (most of whom are injured this season). In recent years, the Cy Young award has also gone to those pitchers who remained the healthiest, and were consistently able to produce when their teams needed them. Pitchers like Corbin Burnes, Dylan Cease, and Shota Imanaga are all poised for strong years on new teams, while Zack Wheeler, Luis Castillo, and Zac Gallen will look to stay healthy and helm their teams’ rotations. Plus, there’s always lesser-discussed players like George Kirby, Cole Ragans, and Justin Steele that could have sneaky good chances.

Across the league, it’s also going to be exciting to watch how the plethora of new baseball players from the Korean Baseball Organization and Nippon Professional Baseball Organization adjust to the MLB game. Players like Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shota Imanaga, Jung Hoo Lee, and Yuki Matsui all are in the midst of highly anticipated debut seasons, and all have shown flashes of great promise. Watching how these players adapt their skill sets to a slightly different version of the game they know will be fascinating, especially for teams that are in serious playoff contention.

Another one of the staples of this upcoming season will be top prospects being called up (or not) and the impact they have. The Orioles, one of the league’s top teams, also currently sport the league’s strongest farm system. Their top prospects, including Jackson Holliday and Heston Kjerstad, have been absolutely tearing up the Minor Leagues, and loom as potential call-ups at some point later this year. Top prospects Jackson Merrill, Jackson Chourio, and Wyatt Langford all got the call out of Spring Training, and have, for the most part, gotten off to strong starts; how they manage their rookie campaigns will be fun to watch, especially as they compete for the Rookie of the Year award down the stretch.

Finally, there’s the looming Shohei Ohtani gambling scandal, as well as the slew of recent pitcher injuries; both of these storylines are in their earlier stages and will continue to play out throughout the season.

Like every year, this MLB season is poised to be a strong one, with tons of exciting teams in the mix for contention and a boatload of talented players performing at their peaks. Should be another strong ride, so hop on while it’s still early!