The Most Impressive Teams of the 2023 MLB Season

October 9th, 2023

There are a handful of teams that surprised a lot of people this season. For this list, I’m going to leave out some teams and narrow it down to my top 3 based on many different factors that I find important. Some honorable mentions include the Braves, Rangers, and Diamondbacks.

The Marlins: They have been a much more impressive team this year compared to last year. In 2022 they were 25th in the league in hits and 27th in the league in batting average. This year, they finished 6th in the league in hits and 4th in the league in batting average. Some key factors for their success include great offensive performances from Soler, Berti, and Chisholm. They also reeled in players who have made a significant impact, such as Arraez who won the NL batting title with a .354 batting average. Their trade deadline pickups include Jake Berger who posted an .860 OPS, and Josh Bell who posted an .818 OPS. Both of these players improved greatly after being traded and made an immediate impact. Pitching was an interesting area that needed improvement after Sandy Alcantara was underperforming and missed some time, but he was backed up by Luzardo, Garret, Cabrera, and 20 year old Eury Perez (Until Perez also missed time due to injury). Their bullpen overall looked sustainable with some exceptions. All while having the first female GM in MLB history in Kim Ng, and a first-year manager in Skip Schumaker. They were matched up against a tough Phillies offense and lost the best-of-3 series, but I’d still say the Marlins had a very successful season.

The Reds: The 10th youngest team in the league surprised a lot of fans. They had a pretty good offense, ranking 9th in the league in runs scored and 1st in stolen bases. Their biggest bat was second year first baseman Spencer Steer who led the team in just about every offensive category. Steer was complimented well by Friedl and Benson who finished with over an .800 OPS. This was a young, fast, energetic team who showed some phenomenal displays of talent, especially with the prodigy Elly De La Cruz, who gave the Reds a big spark when he was finally called up on June 6th. Unfortunately for the Reds, this spark didn’t last all year. De La Cruz struck out in 37% of his at bats. Overall their rotation and bullpen struggled with exceptions of Abbott and Alexis Diaz. However, the bigger picture has more to it. They won 20 more games than they did last year and finished with the same record as the Padres and the Yankees but they did it by spending around $150 million less. They made a run at the end of the season and fell just two games out of reach for a wild card spot. This is an exciting team to pay attention to next season. They need some more experience, but I think adding a few more veteran pieces to this roster could make them a playoff team.

The Orioles: The Orioles finished last season in 4th place in the AL East, just barely over .500. This year they got the #1 seed for the playoffs as they broke the 100-win mark. Their core consists of some young studs in Adley Rutschman and ROY candidate Gunnar Henderson who both hold the highest OPS on the team. They are also getting a lot of production from Santander, Mountcastle, Hays, Mullins, O’Hearn, and deadline pickup Aaron Hicks, who came alive after a rough stretch in New York. Hitting wise, this team is good but they are nothing special as they are around the middle of the pack in most statistical categories. They have an exciting lineup that can get the job done consistently. Their rotation isn’t great but it has been good enough, given that their bullpen is terrific. Kyle Bradish finished with a 2.83 ERA as he was really the only consistent starter. The thing that has really tied this team together is their bullpen. They have the 7th lowest ERA in the league at an impressive 3.89. They are 5th in the league in saves with 49, they are 8th in the league in WHIP and 6th in the league in BB/9 innings. Their bullpen has really been their bread and butter. Yennier Cano had a dominant year with a 2.12 ERA over 72 innings pitched, the most in this Baltimore bullpen. Felix Bautista posted an insane 1.48 ERA over 61 innings pitched, including 110 strikeouts from the closer before his season was cut short due to a partial UCL tear. This team isn’t necessarily dominant in many categories, but they aren’t weak in many categories either. They are extremely well rounded and have invested in arguably the most important of a team which is the bullpen. They are currently down in the series 2-0 against the Rangers, needing to win three straight to advance. Whether they win or lose, there is no debating the fact that they had a very impressive season and completely turned their franchise around.