Baseball is so close that we can almost taste it. The Tokyo Series is upon us and Opening Day is not far away. There is so much to be excited about and to look forward to and the fun part is making predictions! We are doing an award series, that’s touched on the CY Young and Rookie of the Year. Up next is the MVP.

AL MVP: Corey Seager

This one is really interesting to me. If the Yankees make the playoffs and it’s on the back of Aaron Judge, it’ll be hard to deny him the award given the lineup outlook. Let’s also not forget there is Bobby Witt Jr, who is destined to win this award and deservedly so. As bold as this might be, I am going to pick Corey Seager to win the AL MVP.

Last year was a disastrous season for the Texas Rangers. They had players such as Adolis Garcia and Marcus Semien take steps backward after being monumental pieces towards the Rangers capturing the World Series. Furthermore, the biggest downturn was the teams injury list.

Nobody could stay healthy and if this team is healthy (especially the lineup) the Rangers are going to be a team to watch. It all starts with Seager though.

Seager was far and away the clubs best hitter in 2024. Seager had the highest numbers for every batting category for the Rangers and his wRC+ was 20 points better than the next closest batter.

Seager hit 30 home runs for the third straight season. While even his own numbers were a step backward from 2023, they were still good enough. If he can return to 2023 form and lead the way for the Rangers, there’s no reason to think he shouldn’t be in the MVP conversation let alone win it.

NL MVP: Juan Soto

Is this really a surprise to anyone? It very well might be because of the league he’s in and shares it now with the unicorn of baseball in Shohei Ohtani. Personally, I picked Juan Soto to win the AL MVP last season and call me crazy but he may have won it if not for his partner in crime in Aaron Judge having a season for the ages.

Soto has now taken his talents to Queens and it would surprise nobody if he had a monstrous season for his first one with the Mets. Soto hit .288 last season and with a .989 OPS. His wRC+ was top five in the entire league with 180, being 80% better than the league average bat.

The Mets have a lineup that can do damage and actually could be one of the best ones in baseball. Soto is projected to hit .279 with a .952 OPS. Absurdly enough, he’s hitting .417 with a 1.462 OPS in 24 at bats this spring.

Yeah, big year for Soto incoming.

Up Next: Comeback Player of the Year