By Joe Browne

Cleveland Guardians: A

2024 was a year to remember for Cleveland Guardians fans. They played good, consistent baseball the entire regular season after they were looked down on by many preseason. It was an impressive season that ended at the hands of the Yankees in a five game ALCS series. Throughout that series the Guardians battled every single night and were in every game. That was mainly in part to their bullpen which from the get-go this season established itself as the very best in all of baseball. That group gave this team a chance to win night in and night out. The one thing Cleveland lacked was some offensive firepower. They got big hits this postseason from deadline acquisition Lane Thomas and surprise breakout Jhonkensy Noel. As a group though, they could still use more. 2025 will mark a decade since Cleveland started to see consistent winning and in every season since then they have always seemed to lack that big hit when they needed it most. Now, they have to find a way to upgrade that offensive attack to pair with that always consistent pitching staff to stay a float in what will be a competitive AL Central in 2025. 

Detroit Tigers: A+

The first perfect grade handed out in these articles goes to the Tigers and for good reason. First, who would have thought the Detroit Tigers would not only make the playoffs after selling at the deadline, then beat the October mainstay Astros and then take Cleveland to five games in the division series. A disappointing ending albeit but they snapped their playoff drought in a big way this year. I certainly did not see that coming and I think that is pretty universally accepted in the baseball world. Next, Tarik Skubal is going to win the Cy Young in a few weeks and might just be the best pitcher in baseball. He established himself as a big game pitcher in 2024 and was as close as it gets to a guaranteed win every fifth day when he took the mound. They were not only legitimately good, they were a fun bunch to watch this season. The best part of it all is that they are only going to get better. This team has zero notable free agents, prospects coming up and money to spend this offseason. 2024 was only the trailer in Mo-Town which means that 2025 is going to be the movie.

Kansas City Royals: A

What a run for the Royals it was in 2024 they deserve this high mark. Bobby Witt Jr. established himself as one of the best in the game this year after a really promising 2023 campaign. The Bobby Wiit the Royals got this year was the one that they had hoped they would get when they picked him second overall in 2019. If it was not for yet another dominant and record breaking season for Aaron Judge, Witt would have easily taken home the AL MVP honor. They formed a three headed monster in the rotation with Ragans, Lugo and Wacha. All three were phenomenal but Lugo really sticks out here because of his story. Very solid reliever with the Mets for years but always wanted to be a starter. Kansas City gave him the opportunity to do so and he ran with it in 2024. They also made the most underrated move on this year’s trade deadline in acquiring Lucas Erceg who was lights out down the stretch and locked up some huge W’s. All of those factors played a huge role in them giving the Yankees a run for their money in the ALDS. They certainly could improve their offense as a whole. It was in the middle of the pack in all of the major stats this year. Who knows, maybe former Florida Gator superstar Jac Caglianone could be a big shot in the arm to this lineup in 2025 if they decide to make an aggressive call up. Nevertheless, an uber successful season for the Royals but they will have to continue improving to stay competitive in the Central in 2025.

Minnesota Twins: D+

Very disappointing season for the Twins who arguably could be the squad with the most talent in this division still. This lineup is good and Minnesota was able to score runs in 2024. It was the pitching that let them down in a big way. In particular my preseason Cy Young prediction, Pablo Lopez, who had had a pretty disastrous season. Lopez got hit harder this year after making his money on generating soft contact his entire year. They are going to need their ace to get back on track in order for the team to bounce back in 2025. Also, having Royce Lewis healthy next year would be huge if they can get it. He is the best hitter on this team when he’s on the field and he has proved it over and over again the past two seasons. There is still a boatload of talent on this team that can propel them right back into contention for the AL Central crown in 2025.

Chicago White Sox: F-

What else needs to be said about this team and this franchise other than they just had the worst season in the history of baseball. A season so bad that I invented a new grade to represent how truly terrible it was in the form of the “F-”. 121 loses in 2024 breaking the 1962 Mets record of 120 loses in a single season. An absolutely disgraceful performance all season long. At one point this summer they had not won a game in 26 days and in the month of July they won a grand total of three games. The White Sox only good player in 2024, Garett Crochet, is just a few weeks away from being traded away. The return will probably be some underwhelming prospects in true White Sox fashion. They are an embarrassment to the sport and owner Jerry Reinsdorf should be forced to give up the team because the White Sox are just a terrible look for the rest of the sport. Do not expect much spending this offseason if any at all 2025 is going to be another long and painful season on the southside of Chicago.

Sources:

Baseball Reference

Baseball Savant

FanGraphs

MLB Pipeline

MLB.com

Statmuse