by Al McMordie
Tuesday, Mar 19, 2024With the Major League Baseball season starting tomorrow, in Seoul, South Korea, with a two-game series between the Dodgers and Padres, it's time for my annual MLB Futures prediction. This season, I'm going to go with the Atlanta Braves. In my opinion, the Braves were the most accomplished team in MLB last year. Obviously, they didn't win the World Series but they had an amazing campaign in 2023 that included a League-best 104 wins, an MLB all-time team record (tied with the 2019 Twins) 307 home runs, the best overall player in the game (Ronald Acuna), a first baseman that led MLB with 54 of those HRs, and an ace that had 281 strikeouts at a time when it's hard to reach 200 in a season. Not needing more than some tweaks in the off-season, the Braves added veteran LHP Chris Sale to their rotation and all indications are -- based on the Spring he's having -- that Sale is 100% and ready to contribute in a big way.
It's hard to believe that despite winning 104 games, the Braves will not be the team that most people will have their eyes on as we begin the 2024 season. That distinction will belong to the Dodgers and it's not even close. Although there will be pressure on the Braves to go deeper into the post-season come October, it pales in comparison to the microscope that Freddy Freeman, Mookie Betts, Clayton Kershaw and new arrivals Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto will be under in Tinseltown. In the NL East division, the Phillies will once again keep the Braves honest over 162 regular season games. But at the end of September, almost everyone expects that Atlanta will be Division Champs once again. While the Dodgers and Padres should be formidable, there are so many questions to be answered with the changes both teams have undergone, it's hard to tell where they will end up. But it's steady as she goes for the Braves -- as long as they can stay healthy. Take Atlanta at +550 (at MGM Sportsbook) to win the 2024 MLB World Series. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.
