Docs Website

53 Years Strong! A Trusted Leader In Sports Picks, Best Bets and Predictions Since 1971.

Main Menu

2025 Cleveland Guardians Predictions with World Series Odds and Season Win Total Picks

by Ryan Cobbett - 2/18/2025

Cleveland Guardians predictions Jose Ramirez

The Cleveland Guardians had a solid campaign last season, making it all the way to the ALCS. They finished 92-69, which was good enough to win the AL Central. They finished 6.5 games better than the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals. The Guardians excelled at winning close games, as they went 10-3 in extra innings and 26-19 in one-run games, which led to them finishing a game better than their expected record of 91-70. Cleveland would escape the ALDS series after the Tigers squandered a 2-1 series lead, but their magic would run out as they were dominated by the New York Yankees, losing the ALCS in five games.

Jose Ramirez continues to be the anchor of this Guardians lineup. Ramirez finished with a team best 6.8 WAR, which also ranked ninth in the MLB. He ranked inside the Top 10 in the league in runs (114), homeruns (39), stolen bases (41), and RBIs (118) while also leading his team in OPS (.872). Ramirez was one homerun away from the 40/40 club last season. Josh Naylor had himself a year for Cleveland, as the slugger clubbed 31 homeruns and recorded 108 RBIs. Andres Gimenez finished second on the roster with a 4.0 WAR after stealing 30 bases and tallying 63 RBIs. Steven Kwan finished right on the heels of Gimenez, posting a 3.9 WAR, which was the third best mark on the Guardians.

They had one of the best pitching staffs in baseball last season, even after losing Shane Bieber early on. The Guardians ranked third in the MLB in ERA while also ranking fifth in WHIP and 12th in the homeruns allowed. Tanner Bibee led the starting rotation with a 2.7 WAR, as he led the way with 173.2 innings pitched, a 3.47 ERA and a team best 187 strikeouts. Ben Lively performed better than expected, as he plugged holes in the roster left by injury. Lively finished second on the team in innings and posted a 3.81 ERA across 29 starts. The best arm for the Guardians is reliever Emmanuel Clase. Clase finished with a 4.5 WAR as a closer after recording 47 saves and posting a 0.61 ERA across 74.1 innings. Clase finished third in the AL Cy Young voting last season.

Doc’s Sports offers MLB expert picks for every game on our baseball predictions page.

Cleveland Guardians Key Additions/Losses

After the season’s end, the Guardians lost a few key depth options for their rotation. Alex Cobb and Matthew Boyd became free agents, and the team outrighted reliever James Karinchak to the minors before he elected to become a free agent. In separate deals, the Guardians also shipped off relievers Eli Morgan, Nick Sandin, and Peter Strzelecki, while also trading away Andres Gimenez, Josh Naylor, and Myles Straw.

Their offseason moves caused some big holes in their lineup, as they lost their two best bats behind Ramirez. However, they did bring back Shane Bieber while also adding some key prospects in the Gimenez deal. Cleveland brought in starting pitcher Slade Cecconi in the Naylor deal and signed Carlos Santana to replace him at first base. The Guardians also added pitching depth by taking fliers on veteran arms like Kolby Allard, Paul Sewald, Vince Velasquez, Jakob Junis, and John Means.

Cleveland Guardians Prospect Outlook

Cleveland has the 11th ranked farm system in the league, as they have four prospects listed in MLB’s Top 100 Prospect rankings. Former No. 1 overall pick, second baseman Travis Bazzana, is listed as the 10th rated prospect in the Top 100 rankings and is the highest rated prospect in the Guardians system. He is expected to be a part of the Guardians roster at some point this season and could form a nice 1-2 punch with Ramirez in the lineup. Behind Bazzana is outfielder Chase DeLauter, who is ranked 36th overall, and he is also expected to add some pop to the lineup this season. Outfielder Jaison Chourio is the third prospect internally for the Guardians and the 60th ranked prospect, while infielder Angel Genao rounds out the Guardians Top 100 prospects as he is the 62nd rated prospect.

Cleveland Guardians X-Factors

Trade Deadline- This lineup is weak. Outside of Ramirez, the lineup is not going to scare anyone. After trading away Gimenez and Naylor, Cleveland will be relying on young, unproven bats to produce consistently and keep this club in the playoff picture. The AL Central has become one of the most competitive divisions in the league with Detroit and Kansas City stepping up their game, so the Guardians will need these youngsters to produce. If they can for the first half of the season, Cleveland has a deep enough system where they can make some moves and add some veteran bats before the deadline. That is the only way this team can make it back to the ALCS.

Pitching Staff- Bieber is out for the first couple of months of the regular season, which means the Guardians will be relying on the likes of Triston McKenzie and Gavin Williams to improve behind Bibee. Lively proved to be reliable, and the depth features Logan Allen and Cecconi, who have the potential to be reliable backend starters. However, without Bieber, this rotation lacks the star power you would want to see out of a club who is heavily reliant on their pitching success.

Cleveland Guardians Expectations

Cleveland has shaped their roster in a way to remain competitive for a playoff spot once again this season. Their rotation has the potential to be one of the most underrated units in the league. And if some of their unproven bats can produce, they may be able to form a solid lineup around Ramirez or be able to ship off the youngsters for some more veteran options. The Royals, Tigers, Twins and Guardians will all be in a dog fight not only for the division crown, but they will all likely be competing with each other for the available wild card spots, which should give us a pretty entertaining storyline to follow this season. However, though the ceiling is a playoff berth, the Guardians floor sits around a .500 record unless they make some moves to strengthen their lineup.

Cleveland Guardians Notable Odds:

Win Total: 82.5

World Series Champions- +3500

Pennant Winners- +1400

Division Winners- +290

AL MVP- Jose Ramirez +1800

AL MVP- Steven Kwan +10000

AL Cy Young- Tanner Bibee +3300

AL Rookie of the Year- Chase DeLauter +3500

2025 Cleveland Guardians Predictions

With Shohei Ohtani gone to the NL, Ramirez is a solid option to consider for AL MVP. He is still one of the most under-appreciated players in today’s game and produces at a high-level year in and year out. At +1800, he has the eighth best odds to take the award home, but there is great value there for a guy who ranked in the Top Five in a lot of major categories. They also deserve a flier for the AL Central crown as the aforementioned teams in this division will be close at the top, with the White Sox far, far behind. At +290 they deserve some couch change, and this number is one to follow if they make any moves to strengthen their lineup. The win total here is also a wild card. On paper, they are about a .500 ball club. One strong move or an emerging player or two could be enough to get them above .500 and hitting the over on the projected win total of 82.5. However, if they fall out of the race early, they may be inclined to sell. However, I believe they want to win now, and they will hit the over on the win total.

Get MLB picks on every single game, or if you want our very best bet premium picks by the experts, sign up for your free $60 account with a guarantee.

 

Most Recent Baseball Handicapping

One E-mail A Week Is All You Need!
Our weekly newsletter is loaded with exclusive free picks,insight and advice from our expert handicappers