2025 Season Predictions - Andy Singer

By Andy Singer

March 23rd, 2025

After a short offseason and a Spring Training that's been entirely too long for Yankee fans, the regular season is just around the corner. I have a busy week ahead of me, so I'm not sure I'll be able to post my full predictions at any point between now and the season opener, so I think it's fine to post my 2025 predictions a few days early. I know that it's been a tough few weeks around here, but I remain really excited for baseball games that count. Despite all of the bad news lately, I still think the Yankees are very much in the hunt in the AL East. As I'm sure you'll recognize shortly, my predictions clearly display that relative optimism.

Below, I'm going to work through each starting position around the diamond, the bench, the starting rotation, the bullpen, and the team's overall performance. Here it goes:

The Starting Lineup

C: Austin Wells will cement himself as an All-Star. Not only that, Austin Wells is likely the focus of my boldest prediction: pick your favorite flavor of WAR; Austin Wells will be the most valuable catcher in all of baseball by one of the major WAR metrics. I predict that Austin Wells will be excellent all year, batting .270/.365/.510, with 30 HR, 25 2B, 75 R, while playing excellent defense.

1B: Paul Goldschmidt does a solid job of solidifying 1B for the Yankees. He does miss games here and there, but he's solid overall. Goldy hits .270/.320/.480 with 24 HR in 135 games. The Yanks are able to cover for Goldy's missed games with a combination of Cody Bellinger and Ben Rice, and the team is just fine with that.

2B: Jazz Chisholm is inconsistent, but a lot of fun to watch. I think he finally puts together a 30/30 season, amassing 31 HR and 40 SB. He'll bat .255/.325/.495 with some wild hot streaks. I think he'll post a 5+ WAR season, as his personality was made for the bright lights of NY.

3B: A combination of Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza (and a player to be named later) are perfectly acceptable as a platoon at 3B. Not good enough to make fans question whether an upgrade is needed, but better than many fans are willing to admit. I think the Yankees will produce 2+ WAR at 3B in 2025. Oswaldo Cabrera reaches 450 PA, batting .245/.320/.420 with 18 HR while playing solid defense (his batting numbers tick up as he's asked to primarily handle right-handed pitching). At the very least, we're satisfied by having a good defender at the hot corner.

SS: Anthony Volpe finally takes some steps forward at the plate. His good defense continues, and he hits .240/.320/.440, with 23 HR and 35 SB. Volpe does a little of everything, and while he's not a top-5 SS, he will be a top-10 SS in baseball.

LF: Jasson Dominguez will win Rookie of the Year in the AL. He produces far better numbers from the left side of the plate than he does from the right side, leading to some grumblings about finding a platoon partner against tough lefties, but he's good enough in every other regard to impress. Dominguez will bat .258/.340/.485 with 30 HR and 35 SB (yes, the Yankees will have 2 guys with 30/30 seasons). He will also be just fine in LF, with flashes of greatness and some bad misreads early in the season.

CF: Cody Bellinger was made to play in Yankee Stadium. He plays solid CF defense and runs the bases well, with 15 SB. At the plate, he'll have a power surge, swatting 35 HR while batting .265/.330/.525. He'll also stay healthy all season.

RF: Aaron Judge slips a bit, but not by much. He has a good defensive season out in RF, and he hits .285/.400/.595, with 47 HR. Not quite Ruthian, but pretty close. He stays healthy enough to stay in the lineup consistently, an he'll get some DH days to help keep him fresh.

DH: Ben Rice does a pretty good job at DH in the early going, batting .240/.320/.470. He also moonlights at 1B and C, sitting almost entirely against left-handed pitching. Giancarlo Stanton makes 185 regular season plate appearances, struggling mightily during the regular season before coming up big in the playoffs.

The Bench

The Yankees have a really good bench. I know most Yankee fans have a problem with Trent Grisham, but he's significantly better than most believe. He continues to play good defense in CF, and covers 225 PA decently, with some random power surges that leads to 12 HR.

JC Escarra turns out to be a fantastic backup catcher who hits well enough to make some appearances at 1B and DH. The Yanks will field calls from other teams about Escarra. He's a keeper.

One of Oswaldo Cabrera or Oswald Peraza warms the bench, giving the Yankees options all over the diamond from the utility infield spot. Both guys are also good baserunners, so that's a plus.

I predict that Pablo Reyes will make the team. He eventually grabs starts against lefties with his high-contact approach with the platoon advantage. He can play all over the infield and outfield, and he fits this roster beautifully.

The Rotation

The rotation will have some struggles, but it will hold its own through mid-late May. It starts hot, but it becomes clear by early June that the team needs to make a move to acquire a starting pitcher.

Carlos Rodon is a steadying force, albeit one that has some clunkers tossed in. Rodon wlll toss 165 innings, producing a 3.65 ERA, with 195 strikeouts and a 1.15 WHIP. Yankee fans get a glimpse of peak Rodon with greater regularity.

Max Fried is the real ace of the staff in 2025. He'll toss 180 innings, producing a 2.95 ERA, with 170 strikeouts and a 1.08 WHIP. The Yanks bring it on days Fried starts, and he accumulates 19 wins.

Marcus Stroman will help shoulder some of the load in April and May, before tapering off badly in June and July. He'll produce a 3.65 ERA in April and May, before pitching to a 5.00+ ERA in June and July. He'll be out of the rotation in August.

Clarke Schmidt is excellent when he pitches...which isn't often, as he throws just 97 innings in 2025. Schmidt starts when he can, but he just can't get his body to do it often enough. I predict he'll have a 3.30 ERA, when healthy.

Carlos Carrasco has something of a renaissance. It isn't always pretty, but he tosses 125 really important innings for the Yankees both in the rotation and out of the bullpen, with a 4.05 ERA. It doesn't sound impressive, but the veteran gives the Yankees a chance to win during his starts.

Will Warren is up and down, but he has more ups than downs in his second try in the bigs. He'll pitch to a 3.95 ERA, with more strikeouts than innings pitched. He'll have some real clunkers, but he'll also have 4-5 truly dominant outings. He'll make the Yankees' playoff rotation over Clarke Schmidt.

Luis Gil never makes it all the way back, as shoulder issues linger. When he pitches, he doesn't show the magic from 2024.

The Yankees will acquire a good starter at the trade deadline.

The Bullpen

The Yankees go back to having a truly dominant bullpen. The major difference? The bullpen often has a true long reliever to help pick up innings for a starting staff that is severely lacking in innings eaters. Yoendrys Gomez, young starters from the shuttle, and Carlos Carrasco help soak up some really important innings.

On the backside, Devin Williams will amass 41 saves. Fernando Cruz, Luke Weaver, and Mark Leiter Jr. are all quite good in front of Williams. No one wants to hit against the Yankee bullpen.

Overall Predictions

The Yankees jump out to a hot start amidst some adversity before playing through a really tough June. Reinforcements come out in July, with some guys returning from the IL, while others are imported, including a good starting pitcher. The Yanks will win 92 games and win the AL East again.

They catch a heater, and the world gets a Dodgers vs. Yankees World Series rematch. The Yankees have a much better offense this time with a much tighter defense, and the Yanks win in 7 (I write for a Yankee blog; can I really not predict the team to win the World Series?!?!).