Back in April, I wrote the second article of my Daily Trojan career: a preview for three former USC baseball players who were set to start the 2025 MLB season on major league rosters. 

With more than 40 additional bylines to my name since then, however, I’m a completely different person from the one who wrote that piece. I’ve graduated from Sports writer to editor, I’m in my twenties instead of being a mere teenager … and I have the power of hindsight on my side.

With that in mind, it’s as good a time as any to look back at those preseason takes and see just how well our beloved Pro-jans ended up doing in 2025 — and how well I predicted their performances.

Lars Nootbaar — Outfielder, St. Louis Cardinals

Oh, Noot.

At the end of April, Nootbaar had a 0.400 on-base percentage and was on pace for almost 100 RBIs, while the Cardinals were in the mix for the National League Central crown. 

Needless to say, that didn’t last. 

Nootbaar batted just 0.225 the rest of the way, with an on-base percentage nearly 100 points lower than in April, and hit eight home runs in 105 games after smacking five in his first 30. The Cardinals — my beautiful, glorious Cardinals — finished at just 78-84, good for fourth place in the division with no playoff spot in sight.

My biggest mistake was calling Nootbaar a “dark horse candidate” for the NL MVP award — a take then-Editor-in-Chief Stefano Fendrich told me was “crazy.” Well, Stef, you win this time. Even without a historic season from Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, Nootbaar wouldn’t have been anywhere near MVP conversations.

I did get one thing right, though: I said Nootbaar needed to stay on the field more consistently in 2025, and he delivered on that front, playing in 135 games after maxing out at 117 over his past four seasons. If he can stay healthy and keep that pace going in 2026, he’ll be a crucial member of the Cardinals’ roster, even if he isn’t quite the MVP-caliber player I suggested he could be.

… What’s that? He underwent surgery and might miss the start of the season? Oh. In that case, maybe we shouldn’t get our hopes up. 

Tyler Gilbert — Relief Pitcher, Chicago White Sox

My main prediction for Gilbert — that he would be traded to a different team with actual playoff hopes — didn’t come true, as he was forced to stick with the 102-loss White Sox for another year. Poor guy.

In terms of his individual performance, however, it was another good year for Gilbert. The left-handed reliever notched 51 innings, the most of his career, while pitching to a 3.88 ERA and averaging nearly a strikeout per inning. He went scoreless in 33 of his 46 outings, a welcome sight for a pitching staff that gave up the 10th most runs in the league.

The key to unlocking Gilbert’s potential may still lie in a spot in the rotation, though. He gave up just one run and four hits total in 6.2 innings as an opener — and let’s not forget the no-hitter he threw in his first career start back in 2021. 

For now, Gilbert’s biggest priority should be finding a way off that Chicago roster and onto a team that’ll give him some more meaningful outings. A team like … I don’t know, the Cardinals. I hear they have a wonderful fanbase!

Kyle Hurt — Relief Pitcher, Los Angeles Dodgers

Well, this one’s a bit awkward. I was hopeful that Hurt would fully recover from Tommy John surgery in time to throw some innings for the Dodgers, but he didn’t quite make it back to the majors before the end of the season.

However, in the limited games he did play — for the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City, that is — he was fantastic, recording a 1.93 ERA across 9.1 innings with the Comets. 

As the Dodgers look to three-peat as World Series champions in the upcoming season, Hurt should be a critical piece of a bullpen that essentially consisted of reliever Roki Sasaki and nobody else in the 2025 postseason. All he needs to do is avoid getting … Hurt … again.

Get it? Hurt? Like “injured,” but also like his name? What a way to end my final column of the semester. I’ve still got it. See you all in the new year!

Bennett Christofferson is a junior writing about baseball’s biggest stories and controversies in his column, “Dugout Diaries,” which typically runs every other Thursday. He is also a sports editor at the Daily Trojan.