I was debating whether or not I would
do this, but someone asked and so I am obliging. I will be honest, I have not paid as much
attention this offseason because I was upset with the lockout and further upset
about how the powers that be continue to try and destroy the game. Suffice it to say, I do not like any of the
changes that have been made. But, it’s
still baseball, and so here’s my (largely uneducated) predictions:
American League
East
Toronto Blue Jays
In
my opinion, this is the most exciting team to watch. They should have made the playoffs last season,
and the definitely will this year, especially if they can get a full year from
Springer. Biggio also needs to have a
big rebound, but they have probably the best lineup even without him at full speed.
Tampa Bay Rays
They
may not look that great on paper, but this team just finds ways to win and so I
can’t pick against them. It’ll be
interesting to see just how good Wander Franco can be. I was surprised about them trading Meadows,
and I wonder how that might effect their offense.
New York Yankees
They
had some really interesting transactions this offseason and it’s really hard to
figure how good they will be. They don’t
have a lot of depth, especially in the outfield.
Boston Red Sox
Lots
of question marks with this team is why I have them below the Yankees. Can they piece together a decent
rotation? Will Trevor Story hit outside
Colorado? Can they win with Jackie Bradley
Jr. as a regular? (NO)
Baltimore Orioles
They
have some good pieces, and we should see Adley Rutschman and some of the other
prospects get a chance.
Central
Chicago White Sox
Though
they are the best team in the division on paper by far, they are not a slam
dunk to win it. They have more potential
holes than most people will admit, like second base, the outfield, and the
rotation.
Minnesota Twins
I
picked them to win last year, and they were easily the most disappointing team. They were very active in the offseason, adding
Gary Sanchez, Gio Urshela, and of course Carlos Correa. I think Alex Kirilloff is going to have a big
season. Can Byron Buxton stay healthy
and live up to his potential as one of the best overall players in the
game? Will they bring in some arms to
solidify the bullpen?
Detroit Tigers
The
Tigers were also quite active, adding Javier Baez and Austin Meadows among a
few others. They are perhaps the biggest
“if” team in baseball. Best case, they
are good enough to land a Wild Card spot.
Worst case, the rotation falls apart and they end up at the bottom of
the division.
Kansas City Royals
They
should have a solid offense but a very questionable pitching staff. I am very much looking forward to seeing what
Bobby Witt Jr. can do.
Cleveland Indians (err, Guardians)
I’m
not picking them last just because of their stupid new name (you want to change
from the Indians? Fine. Why not pick the Spiders, something with
history that all the fans wanted?) They’re
almost the opposite of the Royals. They should
have a solid rotation, but they’ll be hard-pressed to get any offense. I’m shocked they signed Ramirez to an extension.
West
Houston Astros
I
very nearly did not pick them to win the division, though most people have them
a lock. Will Verlander bounce back? Will LMJ ever be healthy for a full
season? The biggest problem is that
their weakness is up the middle (catcher, shortstop, centerfield), which you never
want to have as a weakness.
Seattle Mariners
They
seem improved and could be an exciting young team, but young teams have a
tendency to disappoint, it’s just a matter of how long that will be the case.
Texas Rangers
Kind
of out of nowhere they went all in on two big free agents for the double play
partners, Semien and Seager. There’s no
way Semien repeats his massive 2021.
Their pitching is also a massive question mark. They do look like they’re trying to win,
however, which is a sign of hope for the fans.
Los Angeles Angels
What’s
their biggest problem every season?
Starting pitching. What did they
do to fix that? Bring in Syndergaard who
pitching all of two innings last year and none in 2020. It’s another lost season for Trout, and part
of me can’t help but laugh.
Oakland Athletics
They
clearly are not even trying to win this season, and it’ll get even worse once
they trade Frankie Montas. They might
struggle to win 50 games, let alone 60.
National League
East
Atlanta Braves
The
defending champions are perhaps better than last year, or at least equal. Yes, there are still some questions about
their pitching. But they look to have a
full year from Ozuna and Rosario, Acuna should return soon, and Riley looks
like the real deal. I also think Freeman
for Olson is basically a wash.
New York Mets
They
added Scherzer and Starling Marte, two really good additions. The biggest question is how long deGrom will
miss, like last year.
Philadelphia Phillies
They
added Catellanos and Schwarber, two clear offense-only guys, so their lineup is
fairly strong. They also have two very
good starters. But the rest of the
rotation and the bullpen???
Miami Marlins
They
have the makings of a good team, but they’re still probably a year away. They have the potential of having one of the
best rotations in baseball. If their
offense clicks like it could, they will seriously contend for a playoff spot.
Washington Nationals
Yes,
Soto might be the best player in the National League, but if he wins the MVP
like some people are predicting that’s crazy.
This team looks really bad.
Central
Milwaukee Brewers
For
the first time…ever, the strength of this team might be the pitching. They have one of the best bullpens in
baseball, and some solid starters in Woodruff and Burnes. Yelich has to return to MVP form, and Hiura
needs to be the bat that they expect him to be.
--That’s
what I wrote last year, and it still holds.
They are slightly less dependent on Hiura, but they still need Yelich to
come back from wherever he’s gone the last couple of years.
St. Louis Cardinals
As
someone else said, if you do nothing in the offseason you’re going backwards. Signing Pujols was a nice sentimental move,
but he’s not going to add much, and their biggest hole is the pitching anyways.
Cincinnati Reds
The
bottom three in this division could be very bad. The Reds still have some good players, but
not a lot.
Chicago Cubs
Yes,
they brought in Seiya Suzuki and Marcus Stroman, but the rest of the roster is
nothing to write home about.
Pittsburgh Pirates
What’s
to say? I hate that they are keeping
Oneil Cruz in AAA. Bryan Reynolds is a
star, and I hope that Ke’Bryan Hayes gets most of the year healthy. That’s about it.
West
Los Angeles Dodgers
Overrated? Absolutely.
Best team in baseball? No. I hate that they have Trea Turner. Here’s hoping Cody Bellinger continues to be
terrible.
San Francisco Giants
Adding
Rodon makes up for losing Gausmann.
There’s no way they repeat the number of career years they saw last
year.
San Diego Padres
I
want to love this team. I want them to
win the division. Tatis will miss an
unknown number of games. Until they show
that they’re going to live up to expectations, I’m going to temper mine.
Arizona Diamondbacks
These
bottom two teams are basically a toss up and will probably both struggle to win
60 games given their division. I have
Arizona slightly higher because they do have some potentially decent pitching.
Colorado Rockies
Kris
Bryant signing here is one of the biggest head-scratchers since…Mike Hampton
signed in Colorado. They might have some
offense, but I don’t trust their pitchers outside Marquez.
There’s a dramatic change in the
playoffs this year and I 1: don’t like it and 2: don’t completely understand
it. Rather than trying to figure out who’s
playing whom, I will just list my playoff teams and my World Series matchup.
Playoffs:
AL:
Blue
Jays
White
Sox
Astros
Rays
Twins
Yankees
NL:
Braves
Brewers
Dodgers
Giants
Padres
Mets
World Series: Blue Jays over Brewers
Great
pitching versus great hitting, this time the hitting wins
AL MVP: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
AL Cy Young: Lucas Giolito
AL ROY: Bobby Witt Jr.
NL MVP: Matt Olson
NL Cy Young: Corbin Burnes
NL ROY: Oneil Cruz
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