World series predictions

Some of CommRadio’s baseball fanatics have given their pick for the World Series matchup and winner this season.

Dylan’s Pick: Dodgers vs. Guardians, Winner: Dodgers

While there hasn’t been a repeat champion since the Yankees in 1999 and 2000, it’s just too hard to pick against the Dodgers this year.

After winning their second World Series in the last five years, a team that already featured Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, and Mookie Betts, which many claimed were a “superteam,” got even better.

LA added Japanese sensation Roki Sasaki, along with marquee signings like Blake Snell and Tanner Scott. The team was also able to re-sign slugger Teoscar Hernandez. The team has 10 viable starting pitcher options, a deep bullpen, and endless lineup options.

As last year’s ALCS runner-up behind the Yankees, the Guardians spent the offseason retooling.

Cleveland traded away former all-star second baseman Andres Gimenez to the Blue Jays for various players, one being Luis Ortiz, who now has a spot in their rotation, while also opening up a spot for the potential call-up of Travis Bazzana, last year’s first overall pick in the Draft.

Other than that, they re-signed 2020 Cy Young winner Shane Bieber, who they hope will return to form if he stays healthy this year, while also trading for former prospect Nolan Jones, who finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting just two years ago.

The Dodgers seem like the most obvious pick to win the National League after they geared up even more this offseason, but the American League is wide open.

After wrestling between so many options like the Orioles, who have a stellar offense but not a ton of great pitching, or the Red Sox who added plenty of great pieces and have lots of great prospects but are relatively inexperienced.

The Guardians felt like the best option to make the World Series due to their experience, stellar pitching and scrappy but powerful offense.

That being said, no one is a match for the Dodgers. LA will defeat Cleveland in six games and go back-to-back.

Daniel’s Pick: Dodgers vs. Royals, Winner: Dodgers

Just five months ago, the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrated winning it all on the field of Yankee Stadium as Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” echoed through the silence of Yankees fans. As the season begins, the Dodgers can stay at the top.

What the Dodgers did in their offseason reminds me of the 1999 Yankees. After winning 114 games and sweeping the San Diego Padres in the World Series, cementing themselves as one of - if not the best - teams of all time, they didn’t just run it back. They added more pieces.

The ‘98 Yankees had a rotation that featured David Wells, who threw a perfect game that year, David Cone, Andy Pettitte and Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez. You would think that would be good enough for George Steinbrenner, right? Wrong.

What moves did the Yankees make that year? They sent Wells, Homer Bush and Graeme Lloyd to the Blue Jays for Roger Clemens.

The point I make by bringing that up is that after winning the World Series, while already having some of the best players in baseball like Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, the Dodgers continued to bolster their already stacked team.

The biggest move they made was the signing of Roki Sasaki, one of the most sought-after pitchers of the offseason, to replace Jack Flaherty, who returned to the Detroit Tigers.

Regarding the rotation, they get Ohtani back on the mound, Yamamoto, and also signed Blake Snell.

On the offensive side, they brought back Enrique Hernandez and Teoscar Hernandez, extended Tommy Edman, the NLCS MVP, and added another top piece from Japan in Hyesong Kim.

Even their bullpen features some of the better relievers in baseball over the years: Blake Treinen, Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates.

The biggest failure for the 2024 Dodgers team was that they didn’t win 100+ games. Not that it mattered, necessarily, because they won the World Series, but this team should be able to do so easily.

As for the American League, I see the Kansas City Royals going on a run and winning its first pennant since 2015 when they beat the Mets in the World Series.

Led by Bobby Witt Jr. - who has a very good chance of easily repeating his 30-homer/30-stolen base season, the Royals got a good taste of the playoffs last year. They swept the Orioles 2-0 in the Wild Card Series before falling to the Yankees 3-1 in the ALDS.

Overall, I think the Royals have a very underrated infield. Maikel Garcia at third, Witt at short, Vinne Pasquantino - who is a very fun follow on X - could probably give you 20 homers, and they were able to give up a piece of their rotation for Jonathan India to play second base.

Speaking of that retation, they gave up Brady Singer, but they still have good arms in Cole Ragans, who finished fourth in AL Cy Young voting last year, and Seth Lugo.

For the Dodgers, I can see them getting past the Phillies in the NLCS. As for the Royals, I think they’ll face the Yankees in the ALCS. I think that would be really fun to watch, especially if the Royals wear their powder blues. It reminds me of the late-70s rivalry between the Yankees and Royals, who met in the ALCS from 1976-1978 and 1980

Adam’s Pick: Dodgers vs. Red Sox; Winner: Dodgers

After defeating the Yankees in the 2024 World Series, Los Angeles saw ways to improve and did just that.

They signed starting pitchers Blake Snell and Roki Sasaki, relief pitchers Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates, infielder Hye-seong Kim and outfielder Michael Conforto.

They were also able to re-sign outfielder Teoscar Hernández, relief pitcher Blake Treinen and starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw, as well as extend outfielder Tommy Edman.

LA was busy, but a team just as busy as them was the Boston Red Sox. Boston signed third baseman Alex Bregman, relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman and starting pitcher Walker Buehler and traded for starting pitcher Garrett Crochet.

Buehler was the pitcher who closed out the 2024 World Series victory for the Dodgers.

These two high-quality offseasons lead me to believe LA and Boston will be the top teams in their respective leagues, and do what they need to do to get back to the Fall Classic. As for my winner, it’s hard to bet against the Dodgers hoisting the trophy again, but don’t expect Boston to make it easy on them.

Also worth mentioning, this would be a rematch of the 2018 World Series, when Boston won in five games.

Chase’s Pick:

Remember when the American League was under the Astros’ control for a better part of a decade and the National League was a revolving door of contenders year to year?

How the tables have turned.

The Dodgers have truly become the team to beat in the National League and it is really difficult to see a different team taking the pennant. The hitting and the pitching is top tier thanks to free agency acquisitions that left many baseball fans frustrated.

But if you are a major league team with the money, why wouldn’t you throw lucrative checks towards Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki, Teoscar Hernández and Tanner Scott.

Snell and Sasaki join a rotation boasting the likes of Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow and Hernández will run it back with playoff hero Tommy Edman and of course Shohei Ohtani.

They are the front runners of a National League that feels like a four team race. It would take a team firing on all cylinders in October to knock off LA.

Oh and don’t forget. Ohtani could be back on the mound by the time the playoffs start.

The American League feels much like the National League did before the Dodgers landed Ohtani. Wide open.

With Juan Soto going to the other New York team, the Yankees lost their edge on the AL and it feels like a surprise team could pop up to carry the banner into the Fall Classic.

Why not the Kansas City Royals?

This Kansas City team is by all accounts ahead of schedule after turning a 56-106 season in 2023 into an 86-76 record and an ALDS appearance last season.

Bobby Witt Jr. is one of the frontrunners for the AL MVP after hitting .332 with 32 homers and 109 RBI. All of which lead the team.

Luke’s Pick: Dodgers Vs Orioles Winner: Dodgers

It’s rare for a team to win a World Series and somehow manage to improve their roster. Yet somehow the Los Angeles Dodgers have reloaded for another run this year.

The Dodgers managed to retain postseason heroes Tommy Edman and Teoscar Hernandez. They re-signed franchise legend Clayton Kershaw to bolster the back-end of their rotation. Continuing to spend ludicrous amounts of money, the Dodgers acquired former Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, Japanese superstar Roki Sasaki and all-star closer Tanner Scott. LA has insane depth in its starting rotation, so deep that they could probably run a seven-man rotation without issue.

Superstars such as Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani are staples in the lineup. Max Muncy and Will Smith the homegrown stars hold down the hot corner and the plate respectively. If there ever was a team in the MLB to be dubbed a super team, this Dodgers team would still probably be the better squad.

The Phillies, Braves and Mets will probably present the only serious roadblocks in the way to the fall classic. But these teams don’t have the depth and star-power to take down this juggernaut.

Moving on to the American League we have the Baltimore Orioles

The O’s had a weird offseason, choosing not to focus on big-money names in their starting rotation. Instead, they signed 41-year-old Charlie Morton and 35-year-old Japanese import Tomoyuki Sugano.

These moves weren’t the most popular with fans, as the O’s elected to let ace Corbin Burnes sign with the Diamondbacks.

For their lineup, Baltimore acquired two-time Gold Glove winner Tyler O’Neill, but the O’s don’t need to acquire talent from other teams. They have a wealth of potential in their own organization.

Gunnar Henderson is one of the most exciting young players in the sport and has improved year-after-year. Jackson Holliday, although struggling last season, still has tremendous upside.

Other names such as Adley Rutschman, Jordan Westburg, and Ryan Mountcastle have performed at a high level for Baltimore in recent years.

Baltimore is the cream of a somewhat tainted crop in the American League. The Yankees are incredibly banged up, with Gerrit Cole out for the season and Giancarlo Stanton potentially joining him. The Red Sox are improving but aren’t in the level of contention yet. The same goes for the Royals of Kansas City. The Cleveland Guardians could be the biggest threat in the AL for Baltimore, but the Orioles lineup should power them past in a playoff series.

In short, a World Series matchup between the two would be exciting. But it would be futile for Baltimore. The Dodgers are too good, and I believe they will win the series in five games to repeat as world champions.

Adam Pietrzak is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email app5940@psu.edu.

Dylan Sechrist is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email dks5749@psu.edu.

Chase Fisher is a first-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email ctf5198@psu.edu.

Luke Stefanisko is a first-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email ljs6415@psu.edu.

Daniel Studer is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email dbs5866@psu.edu.