NL EAST:
This division is greatly improved over recent years. Each team here should be a legitimate playoff contender (outside of the Mets). Will the Phillies get any offense outside of Hunter Pence? Can Heyward return to rookie form this season for Atlanta, will they rally around Chipper’s retirement to win the division? How effective will Strasburg be after Tommy John surgery, and how soon does Bryce Harper come to the big leagues? Will Miami actually be competitive, or just an entertaining reality show? Will the Mets lose 120 games? I happen to think that Miami will crash and burn in flames at some point this season, but at least it will be interesting (like their new stadium). The dugout is not big enough for Guillen, Rameriez, and Zambrano to co-exist. Also, I think Hanley will do his usual pouting technique as soon as they start losing or when he doesn’t like 3rd base. The Phillies have the best rotation in baseball, with one of the worst offenses to begin the season. I don’t know if it will recover in time to win the division. Can they win enough 1-0, 2-1 games to stay in contention? The Braves are looking like a team on a mission right now, and why wouldn’t they be? I would want to win for one of the best teammates too. I think Jair Jurjens will take another developmental step in the rotation, and then Freeman and Heyward carry the offense enough to be a playoff team. That leaves the Nationals. While they are making progress to get better (similar to the Blue Jays), there is just too much depth ahead of them in this division to make a playoff push.
Final Standings Prediction:
Atlanta
Philadelphia
Washington
Miami
New York
NL CENTRAL:
Can Michigan Man, Mike Matheny, pick up where LaRussa left off? I don’t think the Cardinals can even begin to replace Albert Pujols in this lineup. Likely they all would need career years in order to break even from what Big Al brought to the table. Currently their pitching staff is in shambles and nobody knows when they are going to be at full strength. The Cincinnati Reds should be the team to beat this season in the Central. They are the most balanced team overall. Can Joey Votto get back to MVP form this season and anchor the offense in their hitter friendly park? It will be interesting to see the Cuban fireballer, Chapman, in the rotation. Is he a legitimate starter? Tigers fans might hope that they tank the division though and be shopping Brandon Phillips at the trade deadline (it would make the Tigers a World Series favorite in my book). The Cubs will be in rebuild mode this year as they try to drop Soriano’s contract from the books and replace him with younger talent. I think the Cubs will be a team that plays hard and that becomes a MLB fan favorite, but I just don’t think they can really compete with the best teams in this division. The Brewers should be another very good team, but it will be interesting to see Braun play with less protection in the lineup now that Prince is gone. I think their pitching staff will keep them in the playoff hunt down the stretch, but I don’t know if they have the offensive support around the MVP to win the division. There likely will not be 2 teams that make the playoffs in this division. That leaves us with the Pirates and the Astros. I am always pulling for Pittsburgh to break their streak of losing seasons, but I am not confident that this will be the year for that. The Astros, well they might be worse than some AAA teams.
Final Standings Prediction:
Cincinnati
Milwaukee
St. Louis
Pittsburgh
Chicago
Houston
NL WEST:
Another division race that should come down to the wire will be in the West. All of the teams besides San Diego could be in the running for the playoffs. This race might come down to injuries and trade deadline moves. The Dodgers finally have new owners, and with Magic Johnson as part of that, I think he will bring his competitive personality to the table and want to win soon (I think they will be one of the teams to beat next season). Arizona surprised everyone last season by winning the division and making the playoffs. They will not surprise people this year. The Diamondbacks didn’t make a big splash with offseason moves, but they should be a solid team again led by star pitcher Kennedy. San Francisco gets Buster Posey back from the broken ankle. I doubt he will be able to catch as much as he did before the injury. Will they put him somewhere else in the field or just have to give him more days off. The Giants offense is bad, and its only improvement is getting Posey back. Can he carry the load by himself? I think SF will still score the fewest runs in baseball, but the pitching staff could keep them relevant into September. Colorado is always interesting. They have one of the best players in Tulowitski, but after trading Jimenez last season they don’t have much to help him out. I think the Rockies can win some games this year, but they will likely be on the outside looking in come seasons end. This leaves us with San Diego. The Padres are bad and after dumping a lot of their talent last year, there isn’t much hope for this season either.
Final Standings Predictions:
Arizona
San Francisco
Los Angeles
Colorado
San Diego
NL Playoff Picture
If the Giants and Phillies meet in the one game playoff, it will definitely be a pitchers duel. Possibly they first team to 1 wins. The Phillies are the better team, that is pretty obvious, but some reason I will go with the Giants to find a way to win.
NLDS
Braves over Giants in 5
Cincinnati over Arizona in 4
NLCS
Braves over Cincinnati in 7
This leaves the Angels vs the Braves in the World Series. If this seems like a huge mismatch to you, well that’s because it is. The AL will have 6 of baseball’s best 7 or 8 teams and likely 8 in the top 10. The World Series trophy should be heading back to the American League at the end of this season.
World Series
Angels over Braves in 6
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