MLB Preview
With the season starting today, here are some predictions as to how the 2018 MLB season will unfold.
Surprise team: Los Angeles Angels. Mike Trout is the best player in baseball, full stop. His two MVPs and three-second place finishes speak for themselves, but they mean very little without team success. This year, I anticipate the Angels turning a bunch of heads. The acquisitions of Ian Kinsler and Zach Cozart strengthen a lineup that already features Albert Pujols, Justin Upton, and Trout. Anything that Japanese rookie megastar Shohei Ohtani adds to the equation is gravy. Mike Scioscia, the longest tenured manger in baseball, will have an opportunity to claim his second World Series this season.
Team that will disappoint: New York Yankees. It pains me to say, but the expectations in New York are outlandish. Yes, they made it to the ALCS (a Game 7 I may add) and traded for slugger Giancarlo Stanton this offseason, but it just seems a bit premature to be crowning the Bronx Bombers. I expect Judge, Stanton, and Sanchez to clobber moonshots, but given the lofty expectations placed upon this Yankees team, it is World Series or bust. I just don’t see them attaining that type of success in 2018.
AL MVP: Manny Machado. The Orioles transitioned the 25-year old back to his natural position of shortstop and I expect him to really explode this season. His gold glove defense is already a given; if he can hit in the manner that he did in the second half of last season, there is no reason that Machado cannot claim the American League MVP while leading the Orioles to the postseason.
NL MVP: Bryce Harper. Had he not gotten hurt last season, the Nationals right fielder would have likely won the award after his scorching start. Given the Nationals lofty expectations and Harper’s importance to their lineup, I expect the slick-haired slugger to tee off on opposing pitchers.
AL Cy Young: Chris Archer. The Rays are going to be awful this season. That’s not up for debate. But I have the utmost faith in their ace, Chris Archer. He won’t receive adequate run support, but he won’t need it. Pitchers’ wins are an outdated metric anyways. The flamethrower has averaged over 240 punch outs the past two seasons. If he can reach that threshold again this season and keep his ERA below 3, Archer will firmly be in the conversation.
NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw wins this awards like I brush my teeth in the morning. It is habitual. The Dodgers southpaw is tracking to be one of, if not the best pitcher in the history of the sport.
World Series Prediction: Cleveland Indians over Washington Nationals. One could argue that the Indians were the best team is baseball last season. Terry Francona’s ball club had a run of 22 consecutive victories and 52 out of 61, but cooled off and ran into a buzz saw that was the New York Yankees. I anticipate Cleveland meeting the Nationals in the World Series, and I think the difference will be the Indians stout rotation led by Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, and Trevor Bauer.
