1st- Baltimore Orioles 94-68
2nd- Tampa Bay Rays 89-73
3rd- Toronto Blue Jays 87-75
4th- Boston Red Sox 86-76
5th- New York Yankees 82-80
This division will certainly be one of the toughest if not THE toughest. I feel Baltimore will click this year in every aspect. Offensively, they should have no problems scoring runs. Defensively, one of the best in the league. Pitching is the biggest question. Last season their staff had a down year. I see them turning it around this year and Kevin Gausman will be a large factor.
A little biased, but I truly believe the O's can get it done. I usually never pick them first, but I am confident in the birds this year. I see Tampa being a sleeper team this season. If Tampa won the division this year, they would be the 5th team different to win the division in 5 straight seasons. I don't see Toronto's starting pitching to do as well as they did in the second half of last season. I feel Boston's rotation is a step up from last year, but I don't see their offensive being intimidating as previous years. Boston is the popular pick to win the division this season. The Yankees did not do much in the off-season, except add a closer, when they already had one. The Yanks will need players to step up offensively like they did last season.
Potential Breakout Players
Orioles- Kevin Gausman, Jonathan Schoop, and Joey Rickard
Yankees- Luis Severino and Aaron Judge
Blue Jays- Marcus Stroman
Red Sox- Travis Shaw
Rays- Matt Moore and Steven Souza
AL Central
1st- Kansas City Royals 95-67
2nd- Minnesota Twins 85-77
3rd- Chicago White Sox 81-81
4th- Detroit Tigers 76-86
5th- Cleveland Indians 72-90
This division will probably be better than people will think. It is usually not too competitive as other divisions, but Minnesota is a young team on the rise, Kansas City will still be dominant, Cleveland's pitching rotation is very under-looked, and the White Sox and Tigers have the pieces to make a potential run to win their division crown as well. This is probably the Royals division, but don't count any team out.
Potential Breakout Players
Royals- Reymond Fuentes and Ian Kennedy
Twins- Jose Berrios
Indians- Tyler Naquin and Carlos Carrasco
White Sox- Carlos Rodon
Tigers- Daniel Norris
AL West
1st- Houston Astros 90-72
2nd- Los Angeles Angels 85-77
3rd- Texas Rangers 80-82
4th- Seattle Mariners 74-88
5th- Oakland A's 68-94
Houston has a young core of players that connected last year, and I feel they will connect again this season and win the West. The Angels had a down year last year, and I look for them to bounce back. People always think Seattle will contend each year, but I just do not see it. In the past seasons, they have had great offensive bats, but have just been too inconsistent. The Rangers had probably the best 2nd half finish, besides the Blue Jays and Mets, of any other team in the league, and won their division. They should be strong again this season, but I feel Houston and Los Angeles will out play them this year. And as for Oakland, I see small potential for a magical run, but I do not think it will happen.
Potential Breakout Players
Astros- Tyler White and Ken Giles
Angels- Andrew Heaney
Rangers- Delino Deshields Jr
Mariners- Taijuan Walker
Athletics- Billy Burns and Kendall Graveman
NL East
1st- New York Mets 92-70
2nd- Washington Nationals 90-72
3rd- Miami Marlins 77-85
4th- Atlanta Braves 71-91
5th- Philadelphia Phillies 69-93
The Mets probably have one of the best, if not the best, rotation in baseball. Their offense is lead by Yoenis Cespedes, who is one of the most streakiest players in the game, and what I mean by that is when he gets hot, he stays hot, for a while. Plus, BARTOLO COLON! The Nats will most likely be the only team to contend with the Mets. Don't be surprised if the Nats make a serious run towards the Mets sometime during the year. Even though they don't have Bartolo Colon, they are a scary team. The Marlins will be improved from last year, and could contend as long as Giancarlo Stanton and Jose Fernandez, their top two franchise pieces, stay healthy throughout the course of the season. Miami's rotation will be better than people expect too. This team has a chance to surprise people if they play their pieces correctly.
Philadelphia and Atlanta are young and rebuilding. I'd give them another year until they return for contention. Atlanta has the best farm system of talent in the minor leagues. Some players will be MLB ready by this year. Who knows, maybe their young talent will go on a run and win a couple of games. Philadelphia doesn't have the luxury of a strong minor league system, but do have some young stars that could make an impact this year and for the following years, such as Aaron Nola, J.P. Crawford, and Mark Appel.
Potential Breakout Players
Mets- Steven Matz and Zach Wheeler
Nats- Trea Turner and Joe Ross
Marlins- Tom Koehler
Braves- Freddie Freeman and Matt Wisler (PLZ open the Freeman link)
Phillies- Jeremy Hellickson and Aaron Nola
NL Central
1st- Pittsburgh Pirates 95-67
2nd- Chicago Cubs 93-69
3rd- St. Louis Cardinals 90-72
4th- Cincinnati Reds 77-85
5th- Milwaukee Brewers 67-95
The Pirates have fallen short of the division crown for the last 3 seasons. I think this will fuel them to finish first place, and they will put all of the piece together to do so. Their bullpen looks stellar, and should be at the top of the league once again. The NL Central is the toughest division on paper in the National League. Last season, the Cardinals, Cubs, and Pirates were in the top 5 in best records in the MLB, and they were all in the same division! How crazy is that? A lot of fans of the game are saying this is the Cubs year, but I feel like their year will come next year for some reason. They certainly have the tools to win it all, but I'd give it another year. St. Louis is always in contention and they look to have a strong team this year as well. A healthy Adam Wainwright and the addition of Mike Leake makes their rotation even more scary than it already is.
Cincinnati and Milwaukee are in the middle of "keeping some veteran players and rebuilding at the same time" stage. Both teams rotation's cannot contest with the other 3 teams rotations. The Reds have a sleeper offensive with Devin Mesaraco and Zach Cozart coming back from injuries, missing the majority of last season.
Potential Breakout Players
Pirates- Cory Luebke and Juan Nicasio
Cubs- Kyle Hendricks
Cardinals- Tommy Pham
Reds- Adam Duvall, Zach Cozart, and Devin Mesaraco
Brewers- Taylor Jungmann
NL West
1st- San Francisco Giants 96-66
2nd- Los Angeles Dodgers 89-73
3rd- Arizona Diamondbacks 83-79
4th- Colorado Rockies 75-87
5th- San Diego Padres 69-93
This is the Giants season, right? They've won the World Series every even numbered year since I was in 8th grade (2010). They have all the pieces, if the pitching staff stays consistent and healthy, to at least win the division, and perhaps be the best team in baseball. Plus, Hunter Pence is an American hero^. The Dodgers will contest closely with the Giants. The two longtime rivals match-up pretty well, almost equally, on paper. The Diamondbacks made some bold moves in this off-season, upgrading their rotation and bullpen. Their offensive is lead by MVP hopeful Paul Goldschmidt, followed by other key components to their roster. They could certainly make enough noise this year to win the NL West.
The Rockies, I feel, as well does my good friend Paul Schnorenberg does, could also be a potential sleeper team. Their offensive is electrifying, especially with the "Story" of their new rookie short-stop, who, in his first couple of games, looks like he will replace Tulo just fine. Last but not least, the Padres. Their big off-season last season blew up in their faces, and they look to turn it around this season. Wil Myers, Matt Kemp, and James Shields should all have better seasons than last. The Padres have some nice pieces, but I still do not see them competing with the big dogs of the division, unless those three players mentioned above have career years along with some other key players on the team. Maybe their new color scheme will give them an extra boost.
Potential Breakout Players
Giants- Kelby Tomlinson
Dodgers- Corey Seager and Kenta Maeda
Diamondbacks- Shelby Miller and Jean Segura
Rockies- Trevor Story and Jon Gray
Padres- Wil Myers and Andrew Ca$hner
Playoffs
AL NL
Quarterfinals
1) Royals vs 4) Rays/Blue Jays 1) Giants vs 4) Cubs/Nationals
2) Orioles vs 3) Astros 2) Orioles vs 3) Astros
Semifinals
1) Royals vs 3) Orioles 4) Nationals vs 2) Pirates
AL Champs: Orioles NL Champs: Nationals
World Series: The Beltway Brawl
Nationals defeat Orioles in 7 games
MVP: Bryce Harper
This was tough to pick. At first I had the Astros over the Pirates. Then, after some thinking, I had the Pirates over the Orioles. Finally, I came to the conclusion it would be the Nationals over the Orioles. It was VERY HARD to choose against the Orioles, but I think this is finally the year for the Nats. They have had championship caliber teams for the last several seasons. This will be the season they will make noise in the playoffs, and Harper and company lead the way to a World Series title.
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