2023 MLB Season Preview -- Staff Predictions and Awards

The 2023 Major League Baseball season starts Thursday, so the FTN team (and a few visitors!) wanted to get our picks on the record. Today, we’re running through our picks for division winners, awards, and some key fantasy tidbits for the 2023 season.

Check below to see what everyone thinks. (Best viewed in landscape mode on mobile devices.)

League Leaders

	NL HR Leader	AL HR Leader	MLB SB Leader	MLB Save Leader
Vlad Sedler	Austin Riley	Aaron Judge	Esteury Ruiz	Josh Hader
Matthew Davis	Pete Alonso	Mike Trout	Ronald Acuña Jr.	Jordan Romano
Eric Cross	Pete Alonso	Aaron Judge	Esteury Ruiz	Jordan Romano
Michael Govier	Pete Alonso	Shohei Ohtani	Randy Arozarena	Ryan Helsley
Chris Meaney	Kyle Schwarber	Mike Trout	Bobby Witt Jr.	Jordan Romano
Jake Kucheck	Pete Alonso	Aaron Judge	Anthony Volpe	Devin Williams
Todd Whitestone	Kyle Schwarber	Yordan Alvarez	Jazz Chisholm Jr.	Emmanuel Clase
Adam Young	Kyle Schwarber	Aaron Judge	Anthony Volpe	Jordan Romano
Alex Blickle	Ronald Acuña Jr.	Yordan Alvarez	Ronald Acuña Jr.	Josh Hader
Phil Dussault	Pete Alonso	Vladimir Guerrero Jr.	Trea Turner	Jordan Romano
Steve Weimer	Kyle Schwarber	Vladimir Guerrero Jr.	Bobby Witt Jr.	Jordan Romano
Jenny Butler	Kyle Schwarber	Aaron Judge	Trea Turner	Jordan Romano
Alex Fast	Matt Olson	Mike Trout	Jazz Chisholm Jr.	Jordan Romano
Greg Jewett	Pete Alonso	Aaron Judge	Jose Siri	Josh Hader
Shelly Verougstraete	Matt Olson	Mike Trout	Corbin Carroll	Emmanuel Clase
Daniel Kelley	Austin Riley	Mike Trout	Esteury Ruiz	Jordan Romano
Nick Shlain	Pete Alonso	Mike Trout	Corbin Carroll	Emmanuel Clase
MLB Dream	Ronald Acuña Jr.	Yordan Alvarez	Ronald Acuña Jr.	Josh Hader
Kyle Murray	Kyle Schwarber	Aaron Judge	Cedric Mullins	Josh Hader

Fantasy Picks

	#1 Fantasy Hitter	#1 Fantasy SP	First-Round Fantasy Bust
Vlad Sedler	Ronald Acuña Jr.	Corbin Burnes	Bobby Witt Jr.
Matthew Davis	Kyle Tucker	Gerrit Cole	Bobby Witt Jr.
Eric Cross	Ronald Acuña Jr.	Corbin Burnes	Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Michael Govier	Trea Turner	Sandy Alcantara	Aaron Judge
Chris Meaney	Ronald Acuña Jr.	Spencer Strider	Mookie Betts
Jake Kucheck	Julio Rodríguez	Gerrit Cole	José Ramírez
Todd Whitestone	Julio Rodríguez	Spencer Strider	Juan Soto
Adam Young	Ronald Acuña Jr.	Corbin Burnes	Mookie Betts
Alex Blickle	Ronald Acuña Jr.	Jacob deGrom	Gerrit Cole
Phil Dussault	Ronald Acuña Jr.	Spencer Strider	Julio Rodríguez
Steve Weimer	Vladimir Guerrero Jr.	Gerrit Cole	Bo Bichette
Jenny Butler	Julio Rodríguez	Spencer Strider	Juan Soto
Alex Fast	Ronald Acuña Jr.	Gerrit Cole	Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Greg Jewett	Ronald Acuña Jr.	Gerrit Cole	Bobby Witt Jr.
Shelly Verougstraete	Ronald Acuña Jr.	Aaron Nola	Bo Bichette
Daniel Kelley	Mike Trout	Jacob deGrom	Aaron Judge
Nick Shlain	Ronald Acuña Jr.	Gerrit Cole	Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
MLB Dream	Ronald Acuña Jr.	Jacob deGrom	Bobby Witt Jr.
Kyle Murray	Ronald Acuña Jr.	Corbin Burnes	Bobby Witt Jr.

	This Year’s Yelich (post-60 ADP)	Top 250+ ADP Hitter	Top 250+ ADP Pitcher
Vlad Sedler	Taylor Ward	Yandy Díaz	Steven Matz
Matthew Davis	Tyler O’Neill	Yoán Moncada	Aaron Civale
Eric Cross	Jordan Walker	Oswaldo Cabrera	Hayden Wesneski
Michael Govier	Jonathan India	Kolten Wong	Eric Lauer
Chris Meaney	Jeremy Peña	Jake Fraley	Kyle Bradish
Jake Kucheck	Dansby Swanson	Logan O’Hoppe	Roansy Contreras
Todd Whitestone	Gunnar Henderson	Manuel Margot	Garrett Whitlock
Adam Young	Vinnie Pasquantino	Jurickson Profar	Sean Manaea
Alex Blickle	Max Muncy	Wil Myers	Clarke Schmidt
Phil Dussault	Gleyber Torres	Ha-Seong Kim	Steven Matz
Steve Weimer	Tyler O’Neill	Yandy Díaz	José Urquidy
Jenny Butler	Andrés Giménez	Vaughn Grissom	Carlos Carrasco
Alex Fast	Taylor Ward	Brendan Donovan	Brandon Pfaadt
Greg Jewett	Kris Bryant	Jake Fraley	David Peterson
Shelly Verougstraete	Ryan Mountcastle	Isaac Paredes	Brayan Bello
Daniel Kelley	Kris Bryant	Esteury Ruiz	Justin Steele
Nick Shlain	Tyler O’Neill	Jurickson Profar	David Peterson
MLB Dream	Max Muncy	Wil Myers	Kyle Bradish
Kyle Murray	Tyler O’Neill	Isaac Paredes	Eduardo Rodriguez

Award Winners

	National League
	MVP	Cy Young	Rookie of the Year
Vlad Sedler	Ronald Acuña Jr.	Corbin Burnes	Corbin Carroll
Matthew Davis	Pete Alonso	Max Scherzer	Miguel Vargas
Eric Cross	Juan Soto	Corbin Burnes	Corbin Carroll
Michael Govier	Trea Turner	Sandy Alcantara	Corbin Carroll
Chris Meaney	Ronald Acuña Jr.	Spencer Strider	Corbin Carroll
Jake Kucheck	Trea Turner	Max Scherzer	Jordan Walker
Todd Whitestone	Pete Alonso	Spencer Strider	Garrett Mitchell
Adam Young	Juan Soto	Corbin Burnes	Corbin Carroll
Alex Blickle	Ronald Acuña Jr.	Julio Urías	Jordan Walker
Phil Dussault	Mookie Betts	Spencer Strider	Corbin Carroll
Steve Weimer	Ronald Acuña Jr.	Spencer Strider	Miguel Vargas
Jenny Butler	Ronald Acuña Jr.	Max Fried	Jordan Walker
Alex Fast	Ronald Acuña Jr.	Brandon Woodruff	Corbin Carroll
Greg Jewett	Ronald Acuña Jr.	Aaron Nola	Kodai Senga
Shelly Verougstraete	Juan Soto/ Ronald Acuña Jr.	Aaron Nola	Corbin Carroll
Daniel Kelley	Manny Machado	Corbin Burnes	Jordan Walker
Nick Shlain	Pete Alonso	Corbin Burnes	Corbin Carroll
MLB Dream	Ronald Acuña Jr.	Julio Urías	Jordan Walker
Kyle Murray	Juan Soto	Corbin Burnes	Miguel Vargas

	American League
	MVP	Cy Young	Rookie of the Year
Vlad Sedler	Shohei Ohtani	Jacob deGrom	Masataka Yoshida
Matthew Davis	Shohei Ohtani	Gerrit Cole	Triston Casas
Eric Cross	Shohei Ohtani	Shane McClanahan	Anthony Volpe
Michael Govier	Shohei Ohtani	Robbie Ray	Josh Jung
Chris Meaney	Vladimir Guerrero Jr.	Shane McClanahan	Masataka Yoshida
Jake Kucheck	Julio Rodríguez	Shane McClanahan	Anthony Volpe
Todd Whitestone	Shohei Ohtani	Luis Castillo	Anthony Volpe
Adam Young	Shohei Ohtani	Shane McClanahan	Anthony Volpe
Alex Blickle	Yordan Alvarez	Jacob deGrom	Gunnar Henderson
Phil Dussault	Shohei Ohtani	Gerrit Cole	Masataka Yoshida
Steve Weimer	Shohei Ohtani	Gerrit Cole	Masataka Yoshida
Jenny Butler	Shohei Ohtani	Kevin Gausman	Anthony Volpe
Alex Fast	Shohei Ohtani	Shohei Ohtani	Jordan Westburg
Greg Jewett	Shohei Ohtani	Gerrit Cole	Masataka Yoshida
Shelly Verougstraete	Shohei Ohtani	Kevin Gausman	Gunnar Henderson
Daniel Kelley	Mike Trout	Jacob deGrom	Gunnar Henderson
Nick Shlain	Shohei Ohtani	Gerrit Cole	Anthony Volpe
MLB Dream	Yordan Alvarez	Jacob deGrom	Gunnar Henderson
Kyle Murray	Shohei Ohtani	Cristian Javier	Oscar Colas

Division Winners and Postseason

	National League
	West	Central	East
Vlad Sedler	Dodgers	Cardinals	Braves
Matthew Davis	Dodgers	Cardinals	Mets
Eric Cross	Padres	Cardinals	Mets
Michael Govier	Padres	Brewers	Mets
Chris Meaney	Padres	Cardinals	Braves
Jake Kucheck	Padres	Cardinals	Mets
Todd Whitestone	Dodgers	Cardinals	Braves
Adam Young	Padres	Cardinals	Braves
Alex Blickle	Dodgers	Brewers	Braves
Phil Dussault	Dodgers	Cardinals	Mets
Steve Weimer	Dodgers	Cardinals	Braves
Jenny Butler	Padres	Cardinals	Braves
Alex Fast	Padres	Cardinals	Braves
Greg Jewett	Padres	Cardinals	Braves
Shelly Verougstraete	Padres	Cardinals	Braves
Daniel Kelley	Padres	Brewers	Mets
Nick Shlain	Padres	Cardinals	Mets
MLB Dream	Dodgers	Brewers	Braves
Kyle Murray	Padres	Brewers	Braves

	American League
	West	Central	East
Vlad Sedler	Astros	White Sox	Blue Jays
Matthew Davis	Mariners	White Sox	Blue Jays
Eric Cross	Mariners	Guardians	Blue Jays
Michael Govier	Mariners	White Sox	Blue Jays
Chris Meaney	Astros	Guardians	Blue Jays
Jake Kucheck	Mariners	Guardians	Yankees
Todd Whitestone	Astros	Guardians	Yankees
Adam Young	Astros	White Sox	Blue Jays
Alex Blickle	Astros	Twins	Blue Jays
Phil Dussault	Astros	Twins	Blue Jays
Steve Weimer	Astros	White Sox	Blue Jays
Jenny Butler	Astros	Guardians	Blue Jays
Alex Fast	Astros	Twins	Blue Jays
Greg Jewett	Mariners	White Sox	Blue Jays
Shelly Verougstraete	Angels	Guardians	Blue Jays
Daniel Kelley	Astros	Twins	Blue Jays
Nick Shlain	Mariners	Guardians	Yankees
MLB Dream	Astros	Twins	Blue Jays
Kyle Murray	Astros	Twins	Blue Jays

	NLCS Champ	ALCS Champ	World Series Champ
Vlad Sedler	Braves	Blue Jays	Braves
Matthew Davis	Dodgers	Blue Jays	Dodgers
Eric Cross	Padres	Blue Jays	Padres
Michael Govier	Mets	Blue Jays	Mets
Chris Meaney	Padres	Blue Jays	Blue Jays
Jake Kucheck	Mets	Mariners	Mariners
Todd Whitestone	Braves	Astros	Braves
Adam Young	Padres	Blue Jays	Padres
Alex Blickle	Padres	Astros	Astros
Phil Dussault	Cardinals	Blue Jays	Blue Jays
Steve Weimer	Braves	Blue Jays	Blue Jays
Jenny Butler	Padres	Blue Jays	Blue Jays
Alex Fast	Dodgers	Blue Jays	Dodgers
Greg Jewett	Padres	Mariners	Mariners
Shelly Verougstraete	Cardinals	Astros	Cardinals
Daniel Kelley	Padres	Blue Jays	Padres
Nick Shlain	Padres	Yankees	Yankees
MLB Dream	Padres	Astros	Astros
Kyle Murray	Padres	Astros	Padres