It’s one of my favorite days of the year: Major League Baseball Opening Day. This day marks the start of the 162 game MLB season between all 32 teams in the league. There are many big events marked on the calendar for this season and it all begins now.
This past offseason was full of wild trades and free agency signings that shook the league. There are a lot of new players that will be starting this season wearing new logos across their chests and playing in new cities. As the season gets underway, let’s highlight a few of the best players in the league and some who will be repping new teams on Opening Day.
Shohei Ohtani: Los Angeles Dodgers
To state the obvious, Ohtani was the free agent of the year and when he signed with Los Angeles, it had a dominant effect on the league’s marketing, branding and team development of the Dodgers. Ohtani had offers from teams across the league, but he always knew he wanted to stay in California. One of the major reasons for that is due to California’s proximity to Japan on the west coast of the United States. He signed a record 10-year, $700 million contract; however, he will not be pitching in his first season with the Dodgers due to an elbow surgery he underwent last September. Ohtani is still one of, if not the best, players in the league. He won’t have his two-way dominance this season, but still expects to see him launching rockets out of Dodger Stadium.
Juan Soto: New York Yankees
Soto is now on his third team in three seasons and this year he will be repping the Yankee pinstripes. For a hitter like Soto, it is out of the norm for him to be so young and have played for multiple different teams. But there is a lot of excitement building up in the Bronx with Soto joining a lineup with Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. Last season with the San Diego Padres, Soto hit a career-high 35 home runs and for the third time in his six-year career, he led the majors in walks with 132. Soto is already a three-time All Star, four-time Silver Slugger Award winner and the batting champion of the 2020 season. A new chapter is opening for the 25-year-old star, and he is classified as one of the league’s most elite hitters.
Ronald Acuña Jr. – Atlanta Braves
Now we have the reigning NL MVP. In 2022, he had a .764 OPS with 15 home runs and 29 steals in 119 games after getting a late start. He joined the Braves at the end of April due to recovering from surgery to repair a torn ACL. But in his comeback season, Acuña made history. He put together a season for the ages as he became the first player in MLB history to hit 20 or more home runs (41) and steal 70 more bases (73) in the same season, leading to him being named NL MVP in a unanimous vote. He has a power and speed combination like no other player in the league, making him the most electric player in today’s game. Season after season, the possibilities and capabilities of the young star are endless.
Mookie Betts – Los Angeles Dodgers
Betts is not a new member of this Dodgers squad, but this season, he will see a new side of the field. Betts will be moving to shortstop full-time this season after primarily playing right field in all his first 10 seasons. He is one of the premier all-around players in the league and he is coming off the best season of his career since winning the AL MVP Award with the Boston Red Sox in 2018. The Dodgers have a stacked roster full of many diverse and versatile players and Betts is one of the many. In 2023, Betts launched a career-high 39 home runs with a .987 OPS to finish runner up to Acuña in the NL MVP race. His defense has been outstanding throughout his career, and now that he will play at shortstop, there is a strong possibility that he will add some Gold Glove Awards from his new position after already having a collection of six from fielding the outfield.
Corey Seager – Texas Rangers
After signing with the Rangers two years ago in free agency, Seager became a world champion in his second year in his new uniform. However, he has always been a player that struggled with injuries. In 2023, he missed a quarter of the season and only played 119 games, but still managed to belt a career-high-tying 33 home runs and lead the American League with 42 doubles while posting a .327/.390/.623 slash line. If he can manage to stay healthy this season, this could be an MVP-caliber season for the shortstop after he finished runner-up for the award last year.
There are so many players to keep your eye out for in the major leagues this season, and this list could go on and on. Baseball is just beginning and there is a long season ahead of us. 162 games lie ahead that will all lead to one team being crowned the World Series Champions at the end of October. Any early predictions?