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BLB Preview 2031
Domestic League
Ale Division
Maine Guides - Y
Wilmington Wildcats - X
Hartford Whalers - X
Pittsburgh Millers
Syracuse Slammers
Pawtucket Patriots
Nothing too surprising here as the prediction follows last years division seeding. Hartford is the defending Brewmaster's Champion and while the roster looks very similar, it appears Maine and Wilmington might have got better. The Guides sent 3B Jamie Kitchen to Denver, OF Danny Garza to California and LHSP Scooter Nackers signed with New York. With the money saved, they brought in more RH pitching, and three RH hitters that defend their position with the best of them in SS Dave Ryman, OF Allistair Whaley and 1B Tom Lewis (re-signed). The Wildcats let a lot of players test the FA waters but the only one of note, CL Ron Kleinman, was brought back. They also signed SP Dave Koehler who oh by the way lead the Domestic League in in IP, strikeouts, BB/9 but also in HRs. Pittsburgh made a late run to the wild card after Matt took over GM duties last summer. However, the Millers lost a lot of talent to Free-Agency in order to cut some salary and will need a GM of the Year type effort to finish in the top three. Syracuse continues their rebuild after trading their three biggest names Zachary Bradley (to PHI), Hoon Park and Bill Roman (to MON). But they should be improve on their 58 wins with the emergence of 1B Tommy Davis and 2B Joey Pearson. They also had some notable signings of SP Edgar De Alba, OF Dave Bowne and 1B Dave Rizer. The last time the Patriots finished 6th (or worse) in the division was 2022. But their 69 win total from last season is their worst since, you guessed it, 2022. The Patriots did add some intriguing pieces via FA in SP Tony Castillo (from PIT), RP Ian McManus and 3B Genjo Umeda (from SEA).
Lager Division
Santo Domingo Rum Runners - Y
Miami Sharks - X
New Orleans Dukes - X
Montreal Exports
Indianapolis Clowns
Toronto Canadians
This is the most intriguing division in baseball because in the last five years the division winners have been: Miami, Montreal, New Orleans, Los Angeles (now in the Import League), and Indianapolis. The only certainty here is Toronto is going to finish last, right where they want to be. The Rum Runners let a lot of players leave in Free-Agency but the biggest departure of SP JDe Alba (to Syracuse) is covered up by the addition of SP Joey Maurer (from Seattle). The rotation is deep, the bullpen might be deeper and they still boast the best player in baseball in catcher Ian "Pickles" James. Last years Lager Champs, the Miami Sharks, didn't lose a ton of talent this off-season but were (I believe) the only team to not sign a single player during the FA period, BLB or minor leaguer. The roster is still talented but if they are to win the division again, the gap between them and the field is much, much closer. The Dukes have a GM situation in turmoil and a roster in flux. New Orleans lost big names SP Koehler (WIL), SP Johnny Martin (CAL) and SS Dave Ryman (MAI). However, the brought replacements in C Erik MacDonough (BAL), DH Tom Gluchowski (DEN), and SP Jimmy Hallam (PIT). No team has larger question marks surrounding the front office or the roster. After finishing 1st, 3rd, 2nd in the Lager the last three years and making the playoffs, the Montreal Exports went just 82-80 last year despite multiple block buster trades. Their follow up? Not signing a single BLB player in Free-Agency. The Clowns of Indy are in year five of their rebuild and boast a handful of good young players and a top farm system. At the BLB level however, they appear a few years away still. As mentioned at the top, the Canadians have made EVERY BLB PLAYER available. If they can find new homes for OFs Robby Lee and Gil Higgins, this team could lose 120 games.
Import League
Stout Division
Washington Bats - Y
Philadelphia Freedom - X
New York Knights - X
Baltimore Bulldogs
Batavia Red Jackets
Carolina Tobs
The Bats might have the best team in the division, but the Freedom added arguably the best pitcher in baseball in SP Dave Teel. Oh and New York won the Brewmaster's just a season ago, and they added SP Scooter Nackers (3.7 WAR in MAI). It's unclear who what the order will be but these three teams are a lock to finish 1-3 and make the playoffs. The Bats don't have the depth they have boasted in recent years but right now their 25 man roster might be the best in baseball. The biggest question mark in the division is whether the Bulldogs will end their post-season streak at 11 seasons (and 17 of 19). The roster is without SP Pat Goldsmith (SEA) and C Erik MacDonough (NO) but they did bring in C Landon McLelland (SEA). The Red Jackets continue their fourth season of a rebuild. Their previous three seasons were 64, 64 and 62 wins. With the additions of veteran SP Hoon Park (MON) and a few relievers, the expectation is they will be better. Depending on the play of some youngsters, this team could hover near .500. The Tobs boast one of the deepest farms in baseball but haven't had a winning season since 2025 and they project to finish nowhere near .500 this year.
Bock Division
Denver Baseball Club - Y
Seattle Pilots - X
Windy City Blues - X
Phoenix Roadrunners
California Kodiaks
Los Angeles Dinos
Denver is the talk of the league these days. Their payroll is now over $220M. For comparison, that's $80M+ more than the 2nd highest team, in Philadelphia. The 24th ranked payroll, Indy, is just $58M. According to the recent HTML Preseason Predictions, Denver has four of the top 10 pitchers in the Import League, and that doesn't count SP Enrique Bernardi. Ironically with a payroll that big, the team does still have a few question marks in the bullpen. The Pilots lost a lot of talent this off-season and were featured as the #1 trending down team in the Daily Keg. The roster is still talented but nowhere near compared to recent years. Behind those two teams are a lot of question marks. Windy City, Phoenix, California and Los Angeles all have playoff aspirations but there won't be enough spots. The Blues are the only team of the grouping to have a top 20 hitter and pitcher in CF Tom Stark and SP Hyuk Har. They didn't make any notable additions but they do get SP Dusty Orbon back from a year+ injury. The Roadrunners could be the most intriguing team in the entire league. They are under a rookie GM who has been very busy. They ran away with the most WAR added in the off-season with 14.2! On top of that, they have a very young roster and the #1 farm system in baseball. This team is going to be good but how good in 2031, remains to be seen. The Kodiaks continued their roster shuffle this off-season by trading or letting players walk in FA, eight total, and brought in five players via trade/FA. Most notable additions are SP Johnny Martin (NO) in FA and 3B Robby James/OF Danny Garza (DC/MAI) via trade. The Dinos haven't finished 6th in a division since 2022. However, following a 4th place finish last year, they lost five players to Free-Agency and the only "addition" was re-signing OF Jaiden Morgan after declining his arbitration number.
2031 BLB Playoff Predictions
Freedom over Blues (2)
Knights over Pilots (3)
Wildcats over Dukes (2)
Whalers over Sharks (3)
BC over Knights (3)
Freedom over Bats (5)
Whalers over Rum Rummers (5)
Guides over Wildcats (4)
Freedom over BC (6)
Guides over Whalers (7)
Domestic League
Ale Division
Maine Guides - Y
Wilmington Wildcats - X
Hartford Whalers - X
Pittsburgh Millers
Syracuse Slammers
Pawtucket Patriots
Nothing too surprising here as the prediction follows last years division seeding. Hartford is the defending Brewmaster's Champion and while the roster looks very similar, it appears Maine and Wilmington might have got better. The Guides sent 3B Jamie Kitchen to Denver, OF Danny Garza to California and LHSP Scooter Nackers signed with New York. With the money saved, they brought in more RH pitching, and three RH hitters that defend their position with the best of them in SS Dave Ryman, OF Allistair Whaley and 1B Tom Lewis (re-signed). The Wildcats let a lot of players test the FA waters but the only one of note, CL Ron Kleinman, was brought back. They also signed SP Dave Koehler who oh by the way lead the Domestic League in in IP, strikeouts, BB/9 but also in HRs. Pittsburgh made a late run to the wild card after Matt took over GM duties last summer. However, the Millers lost a lot of talent to Free-Agency in order to cut some salary and will need a GM of the Year type effort to finish in the top three. Syracuse continues their rebuild after trading their three biggest names Zachary Bradley (to PHI), Hoon Park and Bill Roman (to MON). But they should be improve on their 58 wins with the emergence of 1B Tommy Davis and 2B Joey Pearson. They also had some notable signings of SP Edgar De Alba, OF Dave Bowne and 1B Dave Rizer. The last time the Patriots finished 6th (or worse) in the division was 2022. But their 69 win total from last season is their worst since, you guessed it, 2022. The Patriots did add some intriguing pieces via FA in SP Tony Castillo (from PIT), RP Ian McManus and 3B Genjo Umeda (from SEA).
Lager Division
Santo Domingo Rum Runners - Y
Miami Sharks - X
New Orleans Dukes - X
Montreal Exports
Indianapolis Clowns
Toronto Canadians
This is the most intriguing division in baseball because in the last five years the division winners have been: Miami, Montreal, New Orleans, Los Angeles (now in the Import League), and Indianapolis. The only certainty here is Toronto is going to finish last, right where they want to be. The Rum Runners let a lot of players leave in Free-Agency but the biggest departure of SP JDe Alba (to Syracuse) is covered up by the addition of SP Joey Maurer (from Seattle). The rotation is deep, the bullpen might be deeper and they still boast the best player in baseball in catcher Ian "Pickles" James. Last years Lager Champs, the Miami Sharks, didn't lose a ton of talent this off-season but were (I believe) the only team to not sign a single player during the FA period, BLB or minor leaguer. The roster is still talented but if they are to win the division again, the gap between them and the field is much, much closer. The Dukes have a GM situation in turmoil and a roster in flux. New Orleans lost big names SP Koehler (WIL), SP Johnny Martin (CAL) and SS Dave Ryman (MAI). However, the brought replacements in C Erik MacDonough (BAL), DH Tom Gluchowski (DEN), and SP Jimmy Hallam (PIT). No team has larger question marks surrounding the front office or the roster. After finishing 1st, 3rd, 2nd in the Lager the last three years and making the playoffs, the Montreal Exports went just 82-80 last year despite multiple block buster trades. Their follow up? Not signing a single BLB player in Free-Agency. The Clowns of Indy are in year five of their rebuild and boast a handful of good young players and a top farm system. At the BLB level however, they appear a few years away still. As mentioned at the top, the Canadians have made EVERY BLB PLAYER available. If they can find new homes for OFs Robby Lee and Gil Higgins, this team could lose 120 games.
Import League
Stout Division
Washington Bats - Y
Philadelphia Freedom - X
New York Knights - X
Baltimore Bulldogs
Batavia Red Jackets
Carolina Tobs
The Bats might have the best team in the division, but the Freedom added arguably the best pitcher in baseball in SP Dave Teel. Oh and New York won the Brewmaster's just a season ago, and they added SP Scooter Nackers (3.7 WAR in MAI). It's unclear who what the order will be but these three teams are a lock to finish 1-3 and make the playoffs. The Bats don't have the depth they have boasted in recent years but right now their 25 man roster might be the best in baseball. The biggest question mark in the division is whether the Bulldogs will end their post-season streak at 11 seasons (and 17 of 19). The roster is without SP Pat Goldsmith (SEA) and C Erik MacDonough (NO) but they did bring in C Landon McLelland (SEA). The Red Jackets continue their fourth season of a rebuild. Their previous three seasons were 64, 64 and 62 wins. With the additions of veteran SP Hoon Park (MON) and a few relievers, the expectation is they will be better. Depending on the play of some youngsters, this team could hover near .500. The Tobs boast one of the deepest farms in baseball but haven't had a winning season since 2025 and they project to finish nowhere near .500 this year.
Bock Division
Denver Baseball Club - Y
Seattle Pilots - X
Windy City Blues - X
Phoenix Roadrunners
California Kodiaks
Los Angeles Dinos
Denver is the talk of the league these days. Their payroll is now over $220M. For comparison, that's $80M+ more than the 2nd highest team, in Philadelphia. The 24th ranked payroll, Indy, is just $58M. According to the recent HTML Preseason Predictions, Denver has four of the top 10 pitchers in the Import League, and that doesn't count SP Enrique Bernardi. Ironically with a payroll that big, the team does still have a few question marks in the bullpen. The Pilots lost a lot of talent this off-season and were featured as the #1 trending down team in the Daily Keg. The roster is still talented but nowhere near compared to recent years. Behind those two teams are a lot of question marks. Windy City, Phoenix, California and Los Angeles all have playoff aspirations but there won't be enough spots. The Blues are the only team of the grouping to have a top 20 hitter and pitcher in CF Tom Stark and SP Hyuk Har. They didn't make any notable additions but they do get SP Dusty Orbon back from a year+ injury. The Roadrunners could be the most intriguing team in the entire league. They are under a rookie GM who has been very busy. They ran away with the most WAR added in the off-season with 14.2! On top of that, they have a very young roster and the #1 farm system in baseball. This team is going to be good but how good in 2031, remains to be seen. The Kodiaks continued their roster shuffle this off-season by trading or letting players walk in FA, eight total, and brought in five players via trade/FA. Most notable additions are SP Johnny Martin (NO) in FA and 3B Robby James/OF Danny Garza (DC/MAI) via trade. The Dinos haven't finished 6th in a division since 2022. However, following a 4th place finish last year, they lost five players to Free-Agency and the only "addition" was re-signing OF Jaiden Morgan after declining his arbitration number.
2031 BLB Playoff Predictions
Freedom over Blues (2)
Knights over Pilots (3)
Wildcats over Dukes (2)
Whalers over Sharks (3)
BC over Knights (3)
Freedom over Bats (5)
Whalers over Rum Rummers (5)
Guides over Wildcats (4)
Freedom over BC (6)
Guides over Whalers (7)
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