A lot has been made of how, on paper, Los Angeles seems to have cornered the market on so many stars that it would be prohibitive favorites to win, or at least reach, this year’s baseball championship. But, as the saying goes, that’s why they play the games–or, in this case–simulate the games, as Strat-O-Matic (@strat-o-matic), the market leader in sports simulation games, today released its annual Opening Day projection of the 2025 baseball season. 

With 107 wins, Los Angeles breezed to the #1 seed in the N.L, but suffered a five-game defeat to Wild Card Milwaukee in the Division Series to end its season. Chicago, 91-game winners to take the Central, swept East champ Atlanta, then dispatched Milwaukee in six to reach the final, where the Chicagolanders swept A.L. winner Toronto (A.L. East champion, 92-70) for the title.

The other division winners in Strat-O-Matic’s simulation were Minnesota (92-70) and Seattle (94-68). The Wild Cards were New York (84-78), Houston (84-78) and Kansas City (84-78) in the American and New York (95-67) and San Francisco (88-74).
Major award winners in the American League are Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero (.321, 45 HR, 130 RBI, 1.024OPS), while Minnesota’s Pablo Lopez turns in a 16-8 mark with 3.23 ERA and 212 strikeouts to win the Cy Young. In the N.L., Shohei Ohtani of L.A. collected another MVP, at .298 with 38 HR and 124 RBI and .998 OPS, and his teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto earned the top pitching award by posting a 20-7 record and 2.96 ERA with 190 whiffs.