MLB Season Preview

Another MLB season kicks off in the USA tonight with ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball featuring the Dodgers and Padres. If that match up sounds boring to you, well then I am sure you are not the only one. However there will still be countless others to watch the rest of the season which is about 5-6 months long and there will surely be great match ups, surely Red Sox vs Yankees, Braves vs Nationals, Cardinals vs Reds battles come to mind in terms of good rivalry games to mark on the calender.

This season also marks the last season for the New York Yankees Hall of Fame shortstop Derek Jeter who is retiring at the end of the season, so you can expect a farewell tour similar to Mariano Rivera’s for DJ when the season hits cities that will see him for the final time, which will probably start early in the season with inter league play starting as soon as the season starts since there is always at least one inter league series going at one time.

But here is how I see the seeing breaking down.

RED INDICATES WILD CARD TEAMS

AL Predictions

AL West

Oakland

L.A. Angels

Texas

Seattle

Houston

AL Central

Detroit

Cleveland

Kansas City

Chicago White Sox

Minnesota

AL East

New York Yankees

Boston

Tampa Bay

Baltimore

Toronto

---

I think the Yankees will come back strong, they went out and spent money on some good talent. The biggest concern for the Yankees could be injury with McCann and Ellsbury having injuries in the past, it could be an interesting season for them. If their big name signings stay healthy the Yankees could be a strong contender to win a World Series. The rest of the AL East did not do enough to compete with the Yankess, and that is in part due to the fact that the Yankess and Red Sox are two power house teams on paper and on the budget sheets.

In the Central it is easy to say that the Tigers will be the best team, but the rest is complicated because for some reason I still believe Kansas City  is good enough to be second in the AL Central if there young players lived up to their potential, but I had to put the Indians number two because they are so well coached and possibly a bit better than Kansas City right now.

Out West it seems to be Oakland lately and I don’t see any reason as to why that would change. As long as Oakland has good pitching (when don’t they?) they will be in contention. Another thing that the A’s have going for them is Pujols and Hamilton (more so Pujols) have yet to make that big of an impact on the end results. It isn’t fair to point out two high priced signings and not mention Seattle and Robinson Cano, that will be an interesting team to watch. Can Robby Cano be good enough to lift the Mariners to a playoff spot? I don’t believe so.

---

 

NL Predictions

NL West

LA Dodgers

Arizona

San Francisco

Colorado

San Diego

NL Central

St. Louis

Pittsburgh

Cincinnati

Milwaukee

Chicago Cubs

NL East

Atlanta

Washington

Philadelphia

New York Mets

Miami

---

Out West the Dodgers look to be the cream of the crop, and it is about time because they’ve spent half of a billion, yes with a B, over the last couple of years on their roster so it is easy to see how they could be the expected leaders of the NL West. Arizona and San Francisco will most likely end up fighting for a playoff spot come late in the season, and with the addition of Mark Trumbo the D-Backs line up got even scarier. The biggest question for Arizona could be the pitching, in particular the bullpen.

In the Central the Cardinals look to be the clear division winners, however teams like Pittsburgh and Cincinnati will compete for second and third in the division. I think the Brewers and Cubs will be far out of the race by seasons end. Though the young players for the Cubs will be fun to watch I think.

Out East is another story because I think this race will go down to the wire between the Nats and Braves, I have the Braves winning the division but I can see the Nationals making a strong push for a division crown, mainly because of heart even though the Braves have the skill down pat.

---

 

Awards

AL

MVP: Mike Trout

It will be hard to imagine the Angels having any success if Mike Trout fails to deliver another great year this season. If the Angels win the division or even make the playoffs it will most likely be because of Mike Trout’s outstanding talent. Probably the best player to play center field since a young Ken Griffey Jr back in his Seattle days.

Cy Young; Felix Hernandez

Felix is an amazing arm out there for the Mariners and while I see the Mariners struggling, I think they have a world class starting pitcher who doesn’t get enough help from the rest of the team. I have a hard time seeing the Mariners being that great even with the addition of Robinson Cano

NL

MVP: Jason Heyward

At the end of the season the Braves will need Heyward to be a leader, and I think he will be what the Braves want. Heyward is a very talented player who I still think has a high ceiling to reach which is saying a lot considering his current skill set.

Cy Young: Jose Fernandez

I was going to go with Clayton Kershaw but with him stating the season on the DL, it will be hard for him to bounce back I think. Plus I really like this Fernandez kid, he appears to have excellent stuff, he could put up some sick numbers this season.