Cal Raleigh, Aaron Judge, Paul Skenes Headline 2025 Post-All-Star Break Bold Predictions

The unofficial second half of the 2025 MLB season will begin Friday. With that in mind, there are several storylines to keep an eye on during the final 11 weeks of the regular season.

I will cover several of them with my bold predictions.

As the saying goes, go big or go home. Here are four bold predictions for the second half of the 2025 MLB season:

Mariners' Cal Raleigh and Yankees' Aaron Judge Push for 60 Home Runs

Baseball fans have been treated to a pair of incredible first halves from catcher Cal Raleigh and outfielder Aaron Judge. So, let's start the list with a really bold prediction and say each hitter takes a shot at 60 home runs.

How bold is that? Well, only three players in American League history have hit 60 homers in a campaign. All of them were New York Yankees -- Roger Maris, Babe Ruth and Judge in 2022.

With 17 home runs, Raleigh will set a new record for most homers from a switch hitter in a single season. Yankees outfielder Mickey Mantle holds the record with 54 in 1961.

Judge hit 29 homers during the second half in 2022. With 29 more dingers this season, Judge would finish with 64 homers.

Don't count out either hitter resetting the record book this September in what should be a highly entertaining AL MVP race.

Will Smith Won't Win the National League Batting Title

I've touted multiple times this week that Smith could see a decline in production because of the wear and tear catchers take. With that in mind, it's difficult envisioning Smith continuing to hit .323 and lead the NL in batting average.

Who will win the title instead, though, is difficult to predict. No other NL hitter held a .300 batting average at the All-Star break. Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman and St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan were tied for second in the league in average with a .297 mark.

In his seven-year career, Smith owns a batting average 37 points higher in the first half than after the All-Star break.

It is a little hypothetical that I'm expecting a strong second half from Raleigh, another catcher, but not one from Smith because he's a catcher. But keep in mind Raleigh gets some rest as a designated hitter. Raleigh is also a little younger than Smith (28 versus 30).

Paul Skenes Will Reach 10 Wins

Given that Skenes is a NL Cy Young candidate, this isn't exactly a bold prediction. But despite a NL-leading 2.01 ERA, Skenes entered the break with a 4-8 record.

The Pittsburgh Pirates just simply don't give him any run support. As a result, Skenes hasn't won a game since May 28. The right-hander doesn't have a win in his last eight outings despite posting a 1.77 ERA.

But that bad luck has the change sometime, right? Skenes, at least, will pitch well enough to give himself the chance to win more games during the second half of this season.

He will have to win six of his last 12 or 13 outings to finish with 10 victories. But even if Skenes reaches 10 wins, will that be enough to win the NL Cy Young award?

Jeff Hoffman Will Lead the American League in Saves

Hoffman's 5.03 ERA jumps off his stat sheet. The right-hander has such a poor ERA because of nine home runs allowed in just 39.1 innings.

But besides his ERA, the rest of Hoffman's statistics are at least average, and some are well above average. He has registered a 4.28 FIP with a 12.1 K/9 rate and 1.119 WHIP.

His fly ball rate hasn't increased all that much either. Hoffman has simply had some bad luck, posting a 22% HR/FB rate. Hoffman owns a 14.1% HR/FB rate in his career.

With better luck giving up homers in the second half, Hoffman could be more dominant and convert more save opportunities. Despite the long ball problems, he converted 22 of 26 save chances in the first half.

He trails Kansas City Royals closer Carlos Estévez by three saves, but Hoffman actually has fewer blown saves (four versus five).

Houston Astros closer Josh Hader will also be involved in the AL saves race. Hader has converted 25 of 26 saves and should be considered the favorite to lead the league in the category.