MLB Spring Predictions

Hello all!
After my long hiatus from the sports blogging world, I'm back and better than ever. As the Major League Baseball Season draws near, I think it important to voice my predictions for division winners, wildcards, award winners, and some thoughts on the upcoming season. The division predictions are listed in order from who I think will win it at the top to the worst team at the bottom

DIVISION PREDICTIONS:

American League WEST

Texas Rangers

Last season: 87-75 6 GB of division champ LAA

2010 is the year of the Ranger. The Halos lost a lot of talent this off season, and did not bring in much to make up for it. The Rangers' roster remains mostly in tact, and they add a big bat in the Aging DH, Vlad Guerrero. I look for their pitching to continue its upswing. The addition of Rich Harden may prove to be much more important in the playoff hunt if he remains healthy. There is no denying, that he has some filthy stuff, keeping him in the rotation is paramount to Texas' success.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Last Season: 97-65 1st place.

This season brings on a new set of challenges for the usually very successful Angels. Losing John Lackey will prove to hurt this team down the stretch. True he has not started the more recent season healthy, but he has come on late to secure the AL WEST when it mattered. I look for the Halos to miss bat of Vlad Guerrero and more so the multi-faceted Chone Figgins. What will hurt this franchise more is that both of those off season departures landed within their division at Texas and Seattle respectively.

Seattle Mariners

Last Season: 85-77 7 GB of 1st place LAA

The Mariners are the "sexy" pick this season for a lot of baseball analysts. And why not? With the addition of Cliff Lee, they have a one-two punch in their rotation possibly better than any in Major League Baseball. However, beyond King Felix and "I wasn't trying to hit him", their rotation is... well lack luster to say the least. Pair that with a bull pen that is unproven and undependable at best, and you've got yourself a recipe for disappointment. Don't get me wrong, I see the potential for vast improvement. I understand why a lot of people think they'll make the playoffs, but the most important thing to remember is that they are in the AL. That being said, the only way to post season play is winning the division. There are just too many good teams in the AL to think an AL WEST team will win the wild card.

Oakland Athletics

Last Season: 75-87 22 GB of 1st place LAA

The Athletics are a puzzling team this season. They have a core of good young pitching. Andrew Bailey may be one of the most overlooked closers in the league this year. However, youth is about all this team possesses. Their "Ace" is Ben Sheets, who could be just one outing away from washed up. Their lineup has promise, five years from now. And the bull pen short of Bailey is bunch of kids that no one has ever heard of. A special note on the A's is that usually this is the outlook of their team every year. And for a while it worked. They would surprise everyone by sneaking to the top of the AL WEST playing "Billy Ball" but in recent years the West has gotten pretty good, and I don't see that kind of performance from this group of youngsters.


AL CENTRAL

Chicago WhiteSox

Last Season: 79-83 7.5 GB of 1st place MIN

This is the year that all of least year's trade dealine moves pay off. GM Kenny Williams made it clear last July that while they were Buyers they were buying for 2010. They acquired the then injured Jake Peavy and under performing Alex Rios from San Diego and Toronto respectively. Peavy looked solid when he finally returned from injury in September. He started 3 games winning them all and pitching 20 innings with a 1.35 ERA. Perhaps the most impressive stat of his 09 campaign was his 8.1 K/9 which was just 1 strikeout per nine shy of his 2007 Cy Young Campaign. I look for Peavy to take a lot of pressure off of southpaw Mark Buerhle allowing him to return to the form we saw pre-perfect game last season. The offense can once again begin to play "Ozzie Ball" with the additions of Juan Pierre at LF and Rios in Center. If Gordon Beckham can put up 20 HR and 20 SB, this offense will be scary.

Minnesota Twins

Last Year:87-67 1st Place AL CENTRAL

It's safe to say that the Twins will miss Closer Joe Nathan. Over the last six seasons he has been within the top five saves leaders in the league. You cannot simply replace production like that. However, good news for the Twins is that Joe Mauer has been secured for the next 8 years on a gargantuan contract. The rest of the offense went through some changes, the most noticeable being the addition of Orlando Hudson and last year's trade deadline addition of Orlando Cabrera at SS. For the most part I don't see this team getting worse I just think that the WhiteSox will be noticeably better, and an 87-67 record will not be enough to win the CENTRAL this year.

Cleveland Indians

Last Year: 65-97 21.5 GB of 1st place MIN

This is less of a declaration of improvement in Cleveland, and more of a condemnation of Detroit's ability to contend this year. Each of the last two years, Cleveland has traded away a Cy Young winning by the deadline. The only thing Cleveland fans will know for sure this year is that that will not happen. Because an Indian did not win the CY Young last year, a Royal did. However, I think Jake Westbrook is a potential Cy Young candidate this year. Before you scoff, realize that Cleveland has been breeding quality pitchers as of late. Jake Westbrook has proven in the past to have pretty good stuff when healthy. That being said I think he's a dark horse candidate for comeback player of the year and Cy Young this year if he can stay healthy and win 15 games or so. Those are two pretty big "ifs" but I do love the Indians first three in the lineup and the bullpen could be a bit better than expected if RP Chris Perez keeps up his spring training production.

Detroit Tigers


Last year: 86-77 1 GB of 1st place MIN

The Tigers have lost a lot of pop this season. Their outfield will be questionable at best. Johnny Damon is far from his prime and we must assume that his offensive productivity will be down from last season after moving to Comerica from HR happy New Yankee Stadium. The pitching staff has the ability to be great. Verlander is a top 10 pitcher in the AL, and Porcello had a stellar rookie campaign last season. I do think that Scherzer is a downgrade from last year's Edwin Jackson, but Bonderman at full strength may nullify that loss. The Bull Pen is full of questions as well this year, but the addition of RP Jose Valverde at closer should at least solidify the back end.

Kansas City Royals

Last Season: 65-97 21.5 GB of 1st place MIN

This is not the Royals breakout season. Yes Greinke had a coming out part of sorts last season winning the AL Cy Young award with a stellar 16-8 2.14 ERA 242 strike out performance. However, the biggest issue with this year's team is the same as last, the rest of the rotation. And with the same giant weakness I cannot believe that the additions of OFs Scott Podsednik, Rick Ankiel, and C Jason Kendall will make any difference in this teams final standing.


AL EAST

New York Yankees


Last Year: 103-59 1st place AL EAST

The Yankees will repeat as AL EAST Champs next season. This off-season the Yankees were not nearly as aggressive as last. But can you blame them? If it ain't broke, don't fix it! They won the World Series last season with a great offense in a HR happy ballpark and solid pitching staff headed by C.C. Sabathia. There is no reason to believe that losing Melky Cabrera and Johnny Damon will result in a worse record, especially considering the additions of OF Curtis Granderson and DH/1B Nick Johnson. This lineup has pop and speed. The pitching staff has dominating stuff and the best closer in the AL. Add it up and you've got another favorite for the AL rep at the World Series.

Tampa Bay Rays


Last Year: 84-78 19 GB of 1st place NYY

The Tampa Bay Rays will overtake the Boston RedSox for 2nd place and the AL Wild Card this year. Evan Longoria is my pick for AL MVP this season. His third big league season big league season is going to lead to crushing power numbers as the third batter in a relatively stacked lineup. I believe he is a sure fire hit for 40 HRs and 130 RBI this season. The starting rotation leaves a lot to be desired, but I think their offense will over power the Sox in the regular season.

Boston Red Sox

Last year: 95-67 8 GB of 1st place NYY, AL Wild Card.

Boston takes a step back this season. Their inability to add another big bat to the lineup will ultimately be their demise. Big Papi has seen his better days come and go, and to think that he will produce well enough to maintain is DH role is laughable. Losing LF Jason Bay will also prove costly, especially considering their only "big" addition to the lineup this year is 3B Adrian Beltre. IF they make another blockbuster deal at the deadline like last year adding 1B/C Victor Martinez then maybe they make a run at the Wild Card, but the offense is not going to be able to keep up with the Yankees or the Rays for that matter without it.

Baltimore Orioles

Last Year: 64-98 39 GB of 1st place NYY

The Orioles make the move past the Blue Jays this season into fourth place in the AL EAST. The Orioles have done a lot to work on a lack luster lineup from last season. They have a solid outfield with Adam Jones, Nick Markakis and newcomer Nolan Reimold. And they have brought back a former stable to the Orioles Lineup in SS Miguel Tejada, so as long as C Matt Weiters lives up to the hype, they should have no problems putting up some runs. The pitching staff on the other hand is still in the cellar. The debut of rookie SP Brian Matusz definitely gives you something to watch if you're an Orioles fan, but beyong that they will struggle against the potent lineups of the AL EAST.

Toronto Blue Jays

Last Year: 75-87 28 GB of 1st place NYY

The Blue Jays enter this season after dealing away long time ace and fan favorite SP Roy Halladay this off-season. They did manage to bring in some excellent prospects in the deal, so I don't expect them to remain cellar dwellers in the AL EAST for too long, but they will not crawl out this season. The offense should remain relatively potent if OF Adam Lind and 2B Aaron Hill repeat their performances from last year and OF Vernon Wells comes back strong after injury. But it will not be enough to compete with this fantastically strong division.


AL Award Winners:

AL MVP:
As I said previously 3B Evan Longoria from the Tampa Bay Rays is my pre-season AL MVP. I look for him to put up monster numbers as he grows comfortable in his third season as the "franchise" player in Tampa Bay. The lineup around him remains largely the same and with Carl Crawford leading off he should have plenty of opportunities to drive in runs.

AL Cy Young:
My AL Cy Young winner this season is SP Felix Hernandez from the Seattle Mariners. I expect he'll win around the same amount of games as last year's 19 which will most likely lead the American League. I expect to see him perform with much less pressure most likely resulting in a lower ERA and similar Strike Out numbers.

AL Come Back POY:
This year's Come Back POY will go to SP Jake Peavy from the Chicago Whitesox. He spent most of last season on the DL going 9-6 with the San Diego Padres and the Chicago Whitesox. I expect him to put up number comparable to his Cy Young season of 2007. Somewhere around 18 wins and and over 200 strikeouts would definitely merit this award and contend against King Felix for the Cy Young.


Playoff Predictions:

The ALDS will look as follows

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Chicago White Sox----- Rays in 5
Texas Rangers vs. New York Yankees------ Yankees in 4

ALCS
Tampa Bay Rays vs. New York Yankees--- Yankees in 6


I'll be hitting up the National League tomorrow so make sure to check it out.

Leave comments, I want to know what you think!