We have finally made it! The best day of the year, Opening Day in Major League Baseball, has finally arrived for the 2025 season. The Nationals are set to take on the NL East rival Philadelphia Phillies to kick off the season, and MacKenzie Gore will draw the first Opening Day start of his young career.
Every year here at District on Deck, we as a staff like to set aside some time to make our own personal predictions. We use these as reference points throughout the season, as they can serve as bragging points later on if someone nails a take before the season begins.
With that being said, I asked each member of the staff to make their selections for 9 different categories relating to the Nationals, and another 6 categories that relate to the league as a whole. Once this gets posted, these takes will be set in stone, so hopefully they do not age as poorly as some takes have in previous years.
But enough with the introduction, let's jump right into our staff predictions!
Nationals Team MVP
Arthur: James Wood
Bennett: James Wood
Brandon: James Wood
JJ: James Wood
Nick: Dylan Crews
Reese: James Wood
Stephen: James Wood
Talkin Nats: James Wood
Nationals Team Cy Young
Arthur: MacKenzie Gore
Bennett: MacKenzie Gore
Brandon: Jake Irvin
JJ: MacKenzie Gore
Nick: MacKenzie Gore
Reese: Jake irvin
Stephen: MacKenzie Gore
Talkin Nats: MacKenzie Gore
Nationals Biggest Breakout
Arthur: Jose A. Ferrer
Bennett: Michael Soroka
Brandon: Jose A. Ferrer
JJ: Michael Soroka
Larry: Jose A. Ferrer
Nick: Luis Garcia Jr.
Reese: Brad Lord
Stephen: Jose A. Ferrer
Talkin Nats: Jose A. Ferrer
Nationals Biggest Regression
Arthur: Jake Irvin
Bennett: Trevor Williams
Brandon: Trevor Williams
JJ: Trevor Williams
Nick: Paul DeJong
Reese: Trevor Williams
Stephen: Trevor Williams
Talkin Nats: Luis Garcia Jr.
Nationals Breakout Prospect
Arthur: Luke Dickerson
Bennett: Seaver King
Brandon: Cayden Wallace
JJ: Brad Lord
Nick: Robert Hassell III
Reese: Elijah Green
Stephen: Robert Hassell III
Talkin Nats: Brady House
Nationals Most Disappointing Prospect
Arthur: Seaver King
Bennett: Andry Lara
Brandon: Brady House
JJ: Brady House
Nick: Brady House
Reese: Brady House
Stephen: Yohandy Morales
Talkin Nats: Brad Lord
Nationals Final Record
Arthur: 71-91
Bennett: 75-87
Brandon: 78-84
JJ: 80-82
Nick: 83-79
Reese: 77-85
Stephen: 76-86
Talkin Nats: 78-84
Nationals All-Star Representative(s)
Arthur: James Wood, Jose A. Ferrer
Bennett: MacKenzie Gore
Brandon: James Wood, Dylan Crews
JJ: Nathaniel Lowe, James Wood
Nick: James Wood, Dylan Crews, Kyle Finnegan
Reese: James Wood, Jake Irvin
Stephen: James Wood
Talkin Nats: MacKenzie Gore, Kyle Finnegan
Nationals Bold Prediction
Arthur: Jose A. Ferrer establishes himself as one of the best relievers in the game, and is named an NL All-Star.
Bennett: MacKenzie Gore finally breaks out and finishes Top 10 in NL Cy Young voting while making his first All-Star team.
Brandon: James Wood has a 30/30 season.
JJ: Jacob Young will cement himself as the future everyday outfielder with at least a league-average season offensively.
Nick: Dylan Crews has a breakout rookie year and finishes Top 10 in NL MVP voting.
Reese: Brad Lord remains on the active roster for the entire season.
Stephen: Nationals lead the league in stolen bases again, and 5 players steal 20+ bases (Abrams, García, Young, Crews, and Wood).
Talkin Nats: Mitchell Parker will be the Nationals' most reliable starting pitcher.
World Series Matchup:
Arthur: Dodgers over Red Sox in 5
Bennett: Dodgers over Red Sox in 6
Brandon: Rangers over Mets in 6
JJ: Phillies over Rays in 5
Nick: Mets over Red Sox in 6
Reese: Yankees over Dodgers in 6
Stephen: Red Sox over Mets in 6
Talkin Nats: Rangers over Dodgers in 6
MVP Winners
Arthur: Shohei Ohtani & Jose Ramirez
Bennett: Shohei Ohtani & Bobby Witt Jr.
Brandon: Juan Soto & Bobby Witt Jr.
JJ: Shohei Ohtani & Bobby Witt Jr.
Nick: Juan Soto & Bobby Witt Jr.
Reese: Shohei Ohtani & Bobby Witt Jr.
Stephen: Juan Soto & Bobby Witt Jr.
Talkin Nats: Elly De La Cruz & Mike Trout
Cy Young Winners
Arthur: Paul Skenes & Logan Gilbert
Bennett: Paul Skenes & Garrett Crochet
Brandon: Corbin Burnes & Garrett Crochet
JJ: Paul Skenes & Cole Ragans
Nick: Paul Skenes & Garrett Crochet
Reese: Paul Skenes & Tarik Skubal
Stephen: Paul Skenes & Garrett Crochet
Talkin Nats: Zach Wheeler & Tarik Skubal
Rookie of the Year Winners
Arthur: Matt Shaw & Roman Anthony
Bennett: Dylan Crews & Jacob Wilson
Brandon: Dylan Crews & Coby Mayo
JJ: Roki Sasaki & Jackson Jobe
Nick: Dylan Crews & Coby Mayo
Reese: Dylan Crews & Jackson Jobe
Stephen: Matt Shaw & Jackson Jobe
Talkin Nats: Dylan Crews & Jasson Domínguez
Managers of the Year
Arthur: Terry Francona & Alex Cora
Bennett: Terry Francona & Mark Kotsay
Brandon: Torey Lovullo & Alex Cora
JJ: Carlos Mendoza & Mark Kotsay
Nick: Carlos Mendoza & Alex Cora
Reese: Brian Snitker & Dan Wilson
Stephen: Terry Francona & Alex Cora
Talkin Nats: Brian Snitker & Bruce Bochy
MLB Bold Prediction
Arthur: The Red Sox are the best team in the AL and cruise to a World Series appearance
Bennett: The Red Sox make the World Series behind new additions Alex Bregman and Garrett Crochet, while getting prospect infusions like Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell, and maybe even Marcelo Mayer. Also, the Athletics sneak into a Wild Card spot.
Brandon: Shohei Ohtani gets hurt from pitching and experiences regression.
JJ: The Athletics make the postseason.
Nick: The Dodgers get upset with NLDS exit to a Wild Card team.
Reese: The Dodgers struggle to make the Postseason.
Stephen: The Royals make it to the ALCS.
Talkin Nats: Elly De La Cruz will have a 40/40 season and win NL MVP.
What do you think of our predictions? Who's takes do you align with the most? Please follow us on our X page, @DistrictOnDeck.