It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Opening Day was today (although nobody really noticed), and it’s time to go on the record with some predictions.
The MLB season to me, is the hardest to predict. You cannot really predict injuries, and anything can happen over the course of 6 months. However, it’s always fun to try right?
Now that things are starting to settle, I feel I have a better idea of what I expect not only from the Mets, but also from the league.
Here are my brief predictions, and I’d love to see yours in the comments section as well!
I’ll predict my standings in order, win totals +/- 5, and a bold prediction for a player on the team.
AL East:
5th: Toronto Blue Jays, 85-77: Brandon Morrow will win 15 games.
4th: Baltimore Orioles, 87-75: Matt Wieters will finally live up to the hype, hitting .280 with 25 HR and 85+ RBI.
3rd: Tampa Bay Rays, 89-73: Evan Longoria will bounce back hitting 35 HR and driving in 100+ runs. Matt Moore will not win more than 10 games (Bonus prediction).
2nd: NY Yankees, 93-69: Alex Rodriguez will finish 4th in RBI in this lineup.
1st: Boston Red Sox, 98-64: Lester, Beckett, Buchholz will each win 15 games.
AL Central:
5th: Chicago White Sox, 69-93: Dayan Viciedo will hit 20 HR.
4th: Minnesota Twins, 72-90: Josh Willingham will lead the Twins in RBI.
3rd: Cleveland Indians, 78-84: Shin-Soo Choo will repay fans by leading the team in RBI.
2nd: Kansas City Royals, 82-80: Luke Hochevar will lead the team in Wins.
1st: Detroit Tigers, 85-77: Prince and Miggy will drive in more runs combined than Peralta+Avila+Boesch who will finish 3-5 in RBI for the team.
AL West:
4th: Seattle Mariners, 63-99: Jesus Montero will hit 20+ and drive in 80+.
3rd: Oakland Athletics, 71-91: Cespedis will drive in 80 runs, and no pitcher on the staff will win 10 or more games.
2nd: Texas Rangers, 83-79: Derek Holland and Colby Lewis will have more wins each than Yu Darvish.
1st: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 87-75: Albert Pujols will win the MVP, and be the only one on the team to hit 25+ HR, drive in 90+ RBI and hit above .285.
AL Champion: Tampa Bay Rays (2nd wildcard spot winner).
NL East:
NY Mets, 73-89: David Wright will edge out Davis, Bay, Duda for most HR on the team with 27.
Atlanta, 81-81: Brandon Beachy will lead the team in Wins.
Washington, 84-78: Edwin Jackson will have more wins than Stephen Strasburg.
Philadelphia Phillies, 90-72: John Mayberry will lead the team in HR and RBI.
Miami Marlins, 93-69: Giancarlo Stanton will lead the NL in HR, and Carlos Zambrano will have more wins than everybody on the staff.
NL Central:
Houston, 68-94: Livan Hernandez will not win 5 games. (Hardest team to make any kind of prediction for.)
Pittsburgh Pirates, 70-92: James McDonald will win 12 games, but with an ERA under 3.70.
Chicago Cubs, 71-91: Chris Volstad will have the 2nd most wins on the staff. (Another tough team to predict.)
St. Louis Cardinals, 86-76: Allen Craig will hit more HR than Carlos Beltran, and Jaime Garcia will lead the team in wins.
Cincinnati Reds, 91-71: Mat Latos will win 15+ games, and Sean Marshall will save over 30 games.
Milwaukee Brewers, 93-69: Aramis Ramirez will drive in 90+ runs, and Yovani Gallardo will win 17 games.
NL West:
San Diego Padres, 63-99: The Padres will have no qualified hitters bat over .270 by the end of the season.
Los Angeles Dodgers, 74-88: Dee Gordon will steal 35+ bases.
San Francisco Giants, 82-80: Madison Bumgarner will have as many or more wins than Tim Lincecum.
Colorado Rockies, 83-79: Drew Pomeranz will win 10 games.
Arizona Diamondbacks, 90-72: Trevor Cahill AND Daniel Hudson will win more games than Ian Kennedy, and Jason Kubel will finish in the Top 2 in Team RBI.
NL Champion: Philadelphia Phillies (2nd wildcard team)
World Series: Phillies over Rays.
Awards:
AL MVP: Albert Pujols, LAA
AL Cy Young: C.C. Sabathia, NYY
AL Rookie of the Year: Jesus Montero, SEA
NL MVP: Joey Votto, CIN
NL Cy Young: Roy Halladay, PHI
NL Rookie of the Year: Drew Pomeranz, COL
