Wesley's National League Wild Card Picks

Greetings, baseball nerds! I'll be sharing my National League Wild Card predictions for the 2025 MLB season. If you would like to see my 2025 American League Wild Card predictions, the link will be found at the end of this story. Without further ado, let's go!

IN: Los Angeles Dodgers

What? The Dodgers being a Wild Card team in 2025? Say it ain't so. Coming off of a World Series title in 2024, the Dodgers are destined to repeat as champions and many people believe so, too. However, I hate to become the bearer of bad news, but I don't see that happening for a few reasons. First, the Dodgers spent over a billion dollars to sign several players, with one of them being Shohei Ohtani. I respect Shohei to the highest degree. I'll never take away the accolades he has accomplished in his career, including becoming the first player ever to be part of the 50/50 club. If you're not baseball savvy, this meant that he hit 50 home runs and stolen 50 bases in an entire season. He's great as a pitcher and a power hitter. Many people didn't know that he was originally a pitcher. Shohei started his MLB career with the Los Angeles Angels before signing with the Dodgers before the 2024 regular season. One criticism I did have of him was his large contract. He signed a 10-year, $800 million deal, with almost all of it being deferred. As I've stated in my previous stories, no player, regardless of what sport they play, needs to be paid that much. I don’t care how good a player is. That's just ridiculous and reeks of entitlement. Just like the controversial contract Juan Soto signed with the Mets in the offseason, both of those deals are outrageous and came under heavy scrutiny.

The second reason why they won't return to the World Series and win it all for the second time is because many of the players on that team are pure instigators. They love to antagonize their division rivals, such as the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres. During the NLDS last year against the Padres, a Dodgers fan threw something at Fernando Tatis, Jr. It's one thing to support your own team. It's another to throw objects at a player you don't like. Dodgers fans are one of the worst fanbases I've ever seen. They have zero class and downright cruel. Another example is Will Smith of the Dodgers calling Padres player Jurickson Profar "irrelevant." Profar has been in the league for longer than Will has, so I didn't know what he was talking about. Finally, the players on the Dodgers who I consider pure instigators are Pitchers Walker Buehler and Joe Kelly. Also, the aforementioned Will Smith and Max Muncy. Walker Buehler's attitude after the World Series rubbed me the wrong way. He's a joke and that's the reason why I don't like him. Currently, they are one of many teams trying to sign Japanese player Roki Sasaki. I accused them of trying to gatekeep Japanese talent from other teams or trying to selfishly pursue them. A large payroll doesn't impress me. They also need to slow down with these large contacts they're offering to these players. A salary cap needs to be put into place on all teams, especially on the Dodgers, because those large amounts are getting out of hand.

The only players I do have respect for is Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman. Speaking of Freddie, 2024 has been a spectacular, yet emotional year for him. The grand slam he hit during Game 1 of the World Series was amazing. Now a two-time World Series champion, Freddie is one of those players that everyone loves. Three years after winning his first World Series title with the Atlanta Braves, he's added another one to his resume, among his many accolades and I do see him as a future Hall of Famer. During the second half of the regular season last year, he dealt with a personal issue. His son, Max, was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome and had to take some time away from the team. When he returned to the team, he held a press conference talking about his son. He was in tears talking about him and it got me emotional. The Dodgers, the fans, and everyone else rallied behind him in his first game back from personal leave. Freddie received a standing ovation when he came up to bat. It was one of my favorite moments from the 2024 MLB season.

So how far do I think the Dodgers will go in the playoffs this year? At best, they'll reach the NLCS. Repeating as champs is always going to be difficult. As the defending World Series Champions, the expectations are even higher. Despite being favored to win it all again, I don't see it happening. I've made many Dodgers fans upset since the conclusion of the World Series, with the main point being their 2020 "championship" wasn't valid. It still isn't, because it was a pandemic year, and I still refuse to acknowledge it. They would attack me over this, and I'll continue to mention that fact for years to come. I know Dodgers fans will become even more pissed off at me for my opinions about them in this story. I'm content to receiving all the hate from them, but I stand firm in my stances.

OUT: Philadelphia Phillies

I apologize for my many thoughts about the Dodgers, but I had to get them all out. Getting back to the Phillies. They finished the 2024 regular season with a 95-67 record, winning the National League East title. They reached the NLDS before losing to the New York Mets. The Phillies are a mediocre team, because of their past Postseason failures. They lost the World Series to the Houston Astros in 2022, lost a crucial NLCS Game 7 to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2023 (the Phillies had a 2-0 lead in that series), and finally losing to the Mets in the 2024 NLDS. Don't get me wrong. They have some of the most amazing players on that team, such as Bryce Harper, Nick Castellanos, and Kyle Schwarber. Manager Rob Thomson will return to the Phillies for another year, so his job will be in jeopardy if they don't win the World Series. You can't have the same manager, coaches, and players, expecting to have different results. My biggest criticism of the Phillies is that the lack discipline at the plate. They swing at every pitch and aiming for home runs. I'd like to see them go for base hits. Not only that, but also RBI singles and doubles. Swinging for the fences every time isn't going to help them win games. We'll just to wait and see how things go for the Phillies in 2025, but I'm not very optimistic about their chances of making it back to the playoffs.

IN: San Francisco Giants

Three-time World Series Champion Buster Posey was named President of Baseball Operations during the offseason. He knows a thing or two about Postseason success, especially winning World Series titles. They finished the 2024 season with an 80-82 record, but with Posey in his new role, it might make a difference in the Giants making a deeper run in the playoffs. Their last World Series title was back in 2014, so the sky is the limit for them. I'm looking forward to seeing what Matt Chapman, Patrick Bailey, and Mike Yastrzemski, or Yaz, as he is called. If you aren't familiar with who the latter player is, he's the grandson of legendary Boston Red Sox player Carl Yastrzemski. Don't underestimate the talent of this team. With the addition of Willy Adames, who signed a 7-year, $182 million deal, we're looking forward to seeing what he can do. With the retirement of Brandon Crawford, the Giants will have to step up even more.

OUT: Arizona Diamondbacks

The 2023 National League Champions were on the verge of making it to the playoffs last season. I did predict that they would return to the World Series in 2024, but unfortunately, it didn't happen. They had one of the Wild Card spots near the end of the 2024 season, but they lost so many games down the stretch that they were eliminated from playoff contention. Even with an 89-73 record to end the season, they emotionally and physically ran out of gas. With Joc Pederson recently signed with the Rangers and Christian Walker with the Astros, it's going to be a hard climb for the Serpientes to overcome.

IN: Atlanta Braves

The 2021 World Series Champions will host the 2025 MLB All-Star Game this summer. In 2024, they dealt with a huge blow when Ronald Acuña, Jr. got injured and was out for the rest of the season. However, I believe that this will be his comeback year. With Max Fried recently signed to the Yankees, the Braves will come back 100 times stronger.

OUT: Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers have won the National League Central division two seasons in a row. They won 93 games to end the 2024 season, despite losing Christian Yelich to injury. However, they have been eliminated from the Wild Card round for two consecutive years. With Willy Adames recently signing with the Giants during the offseason, will the Brew Crew overcome their playoff struggles and go even further in the Postseason? We may never know, but under 2024 National League Manager of the Year winner Pat Murphy, anything is possible.

Which teams in the National League do you think will make it to the Wild Card round? Sound off in the comments below.

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