2025 Predictions… From the GMs Themselves
We’ve heard the pundits.
We’ve heard the podcasters.
We’ve heard the writers.
Everybody has a different opinion on how teams will place this upcoming season. One group of people that haven’t been discussed are the GMs themselves. We sent around an anonymous survey to the GMs to see how they think teams will place this upcoming season.
Without a long prior write up (I’m sure that you all want to see the predictions, but at this point I’m just wasting your time, and I’m not really certain anything else needs to be said), here are your predictions from the GMs of the CBA.
(Note – we asked GMs to not do their own leagues. This should give an honest reflection without personal bias)
Premier League
| Standings: | DAL | FLA | DET | MID | CHI | DEN | ARZ | CIN | SAC | POR |
| 1 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Points | 116 | 97 | 102 | 59 | 63 | 77 | 21 | 60 | 38 | 27 |
What we can tell from those rankings:
Dallas is a consensus top team: Shouldn’t be a surprise here. They’ve won the most games of any team over the past 5 seasons, and it shouldn’t be a surprise if they repeat here again.
Top 3 will consist of Dallas/Detroit/Florida: Only 4 of the 36 votes for the top 3 teams went to a team not from Dallas, Detroit, or Florida.
Denver and Chicago should play into the middle of the pack: Denver’s got a great rotation, and Chicago somehow keeps on winning. People are confident in their ability to stay in the PL this season.
Promoted teams (again) don’t predict to do well: Sacramento and Portland finish 8th and 10th in points, respectively, as the SL to PL jump takes at least one victim this season.
Midwest is the hardest team to predict: A vote for 2nd place. 2 votes for 9th place. People have them in the middle, but really, nobody has a clue how the season will shake out for them.
Arizona has no hope: 7 of the 12 votes for last place went to Arizona. They appear to be the only team in true rebuild mode in the PL this season.
Silver League
| Standings: | Philadelphia | DC | Atlanta | LA | Austin | Mexico | Oklahoma | Miami | GL | New York |
| 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| Points | 98 | 111 | 101 | 68 | 30 | 62 | 66 | 103 | 27 | 49 |
What we can tell from these rankings:
DC is (supposedly) headed to a promotion: They took a huge hit when Justin Jordan went down during Spring Training, and with Aaron Hannah’s injury concerns, it would be a longshot to call them a safe winner. However, people are confident that they will at least play for a promotion spot – with 10 of 13 votes landing them in the top 3.
Don’t look! Miami is up there as well: Same number of 1st place votes. Same number of 2nd place votes. One less 3rd place vote. People think it’s a toss up.
Atlanta is strong this year: In a SL that has top teams prioritizing offense rather than defense, their pitching staff may be just what they need to get over the hump.
Philadelphia could finish anywhere: A whole bunch of votes in the top 3, as they look to repeat. However, 5 of the 13 votes say that they won’t finish in the top 3. They could finish anywhere in the top 6 this season, but people don’t know where (they just think top 3).
LA will either do really good… or really bad: LA has 5 of 13 votes for 4th place. LA also has 4 votes to finish in the bottom third, and 3 say they’ll be playing in a relegation series. Nobody knows how that stadium will play in the SL, but it will either help or hurt.
Austin and Great Lakes appear to be on a downward spiral: Of the 13 votes for last place, Austin and Great Lakes nabbed 9 of them. They also took home 11 of the 13 for 9th place, leaving them with 20 of 24 votes for 9th and 10th place.
Status Quo for Oklahoma, Mexico City… but dangerously close: They appear to be headed toward a middle-of-the-pack finish, but both have a large number of those votes in the 7th slot – one spot out of a relegation series. Both of them would be sure favorites to a repromotion after the next season, however.
New York on the edge: New York has a large chunk in the 8th place row – ripe for a relegation series. There’s a shot that they could pass Oklahoma and Mexico City for a 7th, but people don’t see them as contenders.
Bronze League
| Standings: | Iowa | Brooklyn | Boston | Houston | SLC | Bay Area | Indy | SD | Wichita | Carolina |
| 1 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 2 |
| 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11 |
| —- | —– | —- | —- | —- | —- | —- | —- | —- | —- | |
| Points | 124 | 118 | 98 | 75 | 80 | 69 | 67 | 30 | 39 | 15 |
What we can tell from these rankings:
It’s a two pony race: Brooklyn and Iowa nab 23 of 26 first and second place votes. Both teams vied for promotion last season, and with a weaker BL than last year, they look to capitalize and move to the SL for the first time.
Boston isn’t a furlong behind: Boston nabbed 6 of 13 3rd place votes. They seem to be the other team in a promotion series.
The top 3 is well defined: Only 4 of 39 votes landed any other team than Boston, Brooklyn, and Iowa in the top 3.
Does it really matter after that? – There’s no relegation, but hey, we’ve got draft picks to look after.
Well, alright. – Houston, SLC, and Bay Area look to be in the middle of the pack this season – but Bay Area has the brighter future of these teams.
Indy is anywhere: With votes ranging from 3rd to 8th, they’re the team that’s good but not good enough.
And the first overall selection goes to… (Please tell me it’s not Carolina, Please tell me it’s not Carolina, Please Te) Carolina! – 11 of 13 last place votes went to Carolina in what appears to be another dismal season. Wichita and San Diego fight for scraps in the alley afterward.