With March Madness in full swing, it seems appropriate to present our predictions for the upcoming baseball season. In what has become a rite of passage, we're doing our best Zoltar impression... inevitably, we end up looking like fools 90% of the time but it's that 10% that keeps us coming back. Last year, Mc and I (OCP) picked five correct postseason participants and Hersh picked six... saying we did poorly would be an understatement... but it's all going to be different this year, right?
Mc's Predictions
NL East
1. Nationals
2. *Phillies
3. Braves
4. Mets
5. Marlins
I think this is largely a two team division for the NL
East. It's also very likely one of the Wilds will go to whomever doesn't
win the division. The Marlins just blew their team up so they're not
really going to compete much this year. The Mets are about a year or two
ahead of the Marlins in the rebuilding game, so they will also not factor in
too much in the East. The Braves are a team full of promise and
curiousity with the moves to get both Upton brothers. They, along with
Jason Heyward, make a formidable outfield. The problem with Atlanta is
starting pitching after Tim Hudson. If they can get the ball to Jonny
Venters and Craig Kimbrel, they'll be well off. The Phillies while older,
could put together a great season if all cylinders are healthy and
firing. You know you're getting 3 aces with Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and
Cole Hamels. Having Kyle Kendrick and John Lannan as your back end of the
rotation will be tough. That's where I think Washington may have
them. Although not quite as strong as the Phils in their front three, the
group of Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, and Jordan Zimmerman are a dynamic
trio. Add to that veteran Dan Haren and 10 game winner Ross Detwiler
gives them the pitching edge as a full rotation. The Nats had the most
runs scored in the East last year, and they'll continue to get top level
production.
NL Central
1. Reds
2. Pirates
3. Cardinals
4. Brewers
5. Cubs
The Reds added Shin-Soo Choo for some speed and power
production. They also have some good young arms in the rotation, although
some unclear questions will soon be answered regarding if Homer Baily has
turned a developmental corner and how does Aroldis Chapman segue from bullpen
to starter. The Pirates have some dynamite talent in Andrew McCutcheon,
Starling Marte, and Pedro Alvarez. Alvarez needs to be the offensive
juggernaut they thought he could. The pitching staff is made up of guys
that were decent a few years ago like A.J. Burnett, Wandy Rodriguez, and
Franciscio Liriano. This could be the year they finnish better than .500.
The Cardinals lost a big puzzle piece with Chris Carpenter being
out. Adam Wainwright is a year removed from missing an entire season.
Last year his ERA, along with several other Cardinal starters, ballooned into
the 3's. They also need Lance Lynn to not have a sophomore slump.
The Brewers lack pitching after Yovani Gollardo and the offense is missing
Prince Fielder after a full year without him. The Cubs didn't make many
significant moves in the offset to alter their path out of the basement.
NL West
1. Dodgers
2. *Giants
3. Rockies
4. Padres
5. Diamondbacks
The new Dodgers ownership clearly wanted to make a splash
and did so with blockbuster trades landing them Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford,
and Hanley Ramirez. Added to Matt Kemp who, when healthy, could be the
NL's best player, this team is stacked. The pitching is now stacked too
with the additions of Josh Beckett, Zack Greinke, and Korean pitcher Hyun-Jin
Ryu. The Giants have the arms to match up with the Dodgers, but will
undoubtedly fall short on offense. Even with MVP Buster Posey and Hunter
Pence, they just don't have the fire power of the LA. The Rockies lack
pitching to make a serious run, and apart from Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos
Gonzalez, they're rebuilding the offense as well. The Padres could
surprise but not enough to take the division. Beyond Chase Headley are
question marks on the field and in the rotation. Arizona is also
rebuilding and lacks pitching depth.
*NL Wild Cards - Phillies and
Giants
AL East
1. Blue Jays
2. *Yankees
3. Orioles
4. Rays
5. Red Sox
The Blue Jays loaded up similar to the Dodgers with MLB
ready talent acquiring Jose Reyes, R.A. Dickey, Josh Johnson, Mark Beuhrle, and
Melky Cabrera. Adding to both the lineup and rotation in the aging and
injury riddled AL East makes them a strong contender to win the division.
The Yankees will need their myriad injuries to shore up for another title
run. Baltimore played above their potential last year but still lack the
pitching to take the division. The Rays have a good young pitching staff
and Evan Longoria. After finishing in last place last year, the Red Sox
did very little to rectify that beyond getting rid of some bad clubhouse
guys.
AL Central
1. Tigers
2. White Sox
3. Royals
4. Indians
5. Twins
I see this division finishing the exact same as last
year. The only team that really got better was Detroit by adding Torii
Hunter and getting back Victor Martinez. They still have the best
pitching in the division as well. The White Sox aged another year and
didn't add much to their roster. The Royals may benefit from another year
of maturing their young players, but still lack the power and pitching to
surpass the Tigers. The Indians and Twins are not close at all to
contending.
AL West
1. Angels
2. *Rangers
3. Athletics
4. Mariners
5. Astros
The Angels have two players in the argument for best in
baseball with Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton. They also have arguably
the best from 2012 in Mike Trout. Further, they added servicable arm
Tommy Hanson to complement Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson. The Rangers lost
Hamilton and Michael Young, and replaced them with veteran journeyman Lance
Berkman. They didn't improve, but they didn't fall off too much in the
West. Oakland didn't add much and they're still a middle of the pack
team. The Mariners added some role players in Kendrys Morales, Raul
Ibanez, and Michael Morse, but not enough to contend.
*AL Wild Cards - Rangers and
Yankees
NL Champs - Dodgers
AL Champs - Tigers
WS Champ - Tigers
Hersh's Picks
NL East
1. Nationals
2. Phillies
3. Braves
4. Mets
5. Marlins
Nationals are the favorites of this division and pressure will be on them to repeat. They have the talent and the manager to get it
done. Phils are better than people think. Braves aren't as good as people think. They have a young team that strikes out a lot. Mets
are rebuilding and did the right thing trading Dickey for prospects. Marlins are a mess.
NL Central
1. Reds
2. *Cardinals
3. Brewers
4. Pirates
5. Cubs
Can the Reds come back from a 3 game collapse in the NLDS? I think
so and with a goal to go farther. Can Chapman be a starter? I
think so. Cards are always trouble and Brewers still have a good
offense. Pirates are improved, but not enough. Cubs are a mess.
NL West
1. Dodgers
2. *Giants
3. Diamondbacks
4. Padres
5. Rockies
Dodgers have spent money and improved all over. Giants will be hard pressed to repeat. Rest of division is weak.
*NL Wild Cards - Cardinals and Giants
AL East
1. Blue Jays
2. Rays
3. Yankees
4. Orioles
5. Red Sox
Blue Jays made a lot of moves and some good ones. Picked up Dickey, Josh Johnson and Buehrle. Bautista should be healthy and Reyes
should help. Rays have the best manager and will always contend.
Yankees are not only old, but not healthy. Orioles are not good enough to repeat last year. Red Sox are a mess.
AL Central
1. Tigers
2. Indians
3. White Sox
4. Royals
5. Twins
Tigers are the class of the division and should repeat. Indians got
a new manager and some new players to go with him. Should be
better. White Sox will struggle. Royals are slowly improving and wouldn't
be surprised if they finish higher. Twins made some trades I don't understand.
AL West
1. Angels
2. *A's
3. *Rangers
4. Mariners
5. Astros.
Pressure will be on the Angels to get it done this year after last year's failure. I think they do. Hamilton will help take some pressure off Albert. A's are a good young team and I expect them to
repeat last year. Rangers had their chance the last 3 years and
blew it. Mariners and Astros have a long way to go.
*AL Wild Cards - A's and Rangers
NL Champion-Reds
AL Champion-Tigers
WS Champ-Tigers
OCP's Picks
NL East
1. Phillies
2. *Nationals
3. Braves
4. Mets
5. Marlins
Last year was a mulligan for
the Phillies… they’ll be determined to prove that their window hasn’t
closed. They’re only one year removed from boasting the best record in
baseball in back to back seasons and if they’re healthy, they’ll compete with
the up-start Nationals (who are the odds on favorite to win this
division). The Braves will have a tough time matching up with the
pitching in this division and while the Mets are moving in the right direction
(Matt Harvey could be a Rookie of the Year candidate), they’re probably a
couple years away.
NL Central
1. Reds
2. Cardinals
3. Pirates
4. Brewers
5. Cubs
This division should be
really fun to watch – there are a lot of exciting lineups and not a lot of
pitching in the NL Central. The Reds have built an offensive juggernaut –
you won’t find a hole in their lineup – but the question is do they have the
pitching? If Aroldis Chapman can successfully transition into a starting
role, they’ll have a really nice rotation. If not, they still might have
the best rotation but they will have to lean heavily on Homer Bailey. The
Cardinals have to find pitching somewhere – in 2012, returning from Tommy John
surgery, Adam Wainwright had a much better second half but still didn’t exactly
light the world on fire. Their lineup should carry them but they had a
lot of guys play above expectations last year so you’d think that a return to
the mean is likely. I’m was going to give the Cubs a little love… with a
full season of Anthony Rizzo and a new-look rotation which includes some
dependable arms, you’d think they would be better but if Matt Garza is not
right, they don’t stand a chance. The Pirates are expecting a lot out of
a lot of guys... when it comes to projecting how things will go, if you have to
say “if” more than three times, you’re probably in trouble and I think that’s
where the Pirates are.
NL West
1. Dodgers
2. *Diamondbacks
3. Giants
4. Padres
5. Rockies
The Dodgers are seemingly
trying to buy a championship which doesn’t typically work… I don’t see anyone
in the NL stopping them in 2013. Their rotation is really strong, they
have a great bullpen, they have three MVP candidates… I know that these things
don’t usually work out but I don’t see how it can’t with the Dodgers. I
could be a year too early with this Diamondbacks wild card pick but they have
some really nice young players and their starting pitching should hold up in
this division. All that being said, the Giants will likely win this
division because that’s what they do… they come out of nowhere.
*NL Wild Cards - Nationals and Diamondbacks
AL East
1. Orioles
2. *Blue Jays
3. Yankees
4. Red Sox
5. Rays
Best division in baseball…
every team has a chance in the AL East. The Yankees seem to have the
steepest hill to climb but they are the Yankees and that means they’ll be in
it. The Blue Jays are the popular pick right now and I am certainly
intrigued but I’m not sold. They obtained a huge haul from the Marlins
and acquired two of the biggest free agents available in an attempt to be
relevant but there are some holes in their lineup and R.A. Dickey did normalize
over the second half of last season. Behind Dickey, their rotation is
average with the potential to be pretty good. If Josh Johnson’s arm holds up
and if Ricky Romero can figure things out, they’ll be fine but those are two big
question marks. The Orioles have a lot of really good young talent and a
couple of big arms on the farm in waiting; with Showalter at the helm, they can
overcome a lot. Adam Jones and Matt Wieters are both super stars and
their bullpen is lights out. Everything sort of came together for them last
year and they earned a postseason berth; some might think that was a fluke but
I think it was the progression of a good team realizing its talent.
AL Central
1. Tigers
2. Royals
3. White Sox
4. Indians
5. Twins
I don’t see anyone taking
down the Tigers. Add Victor Martinez to the mix and this team has the
look and feel of a champion. The Royals and Indians could both make some
noise in 2013 but I see more holes in the Indians roster and it seems less
likely that they would be able to make the postseason.
AL West
1. Angels
2. *Mariners
3. Rangers
4. Athletics
5. Astros
Yep, I'm picking the Mariners to finish second in this division AND earn a Wild Card berth. If
you look at what they’ve done with their team and their lineup, they have a
unique mix of young talent, big league veterans and high ceiling
prospects. Right now, without the potential minor league additions, there
aren’t many holes in their lineup. Their rotation might not seem great
but Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma form a nice 1-2 punch. They might
not have a legitimate super star to hang their hat on but they have a lot of
really good players with breakout potential and with one more year at the helm,
I think Eric Wedge will have the Mariners playing great baseball in 2013.
The Rangers let too much get away from them and I’m not sure they have the
right mix of players to get into the postseason. I could be very wrong
but their rotation wasn’t good enough last year and I don’t think it will be
good enough this year and they will miss Josh Hamilton and Michael Young.
*AL Wild Cards - Blue Jays and Mariners
NL Champs – Dodgers
AL Champs – Tigers
WS Champs – Dodgers
