2016 MLB Playoffs Divisional Round Predictions
1 Texas Rangers vs 4 Toronto Blue Jays
The Rangers have a solid lineup with Carlos Beltran, Jonathan Lucroy, Adrian Beltre, etc; but I think the place where they will go far is because of a number of veterans that could be desperate to win a ring. Shin-Soo Choo, Adrian Beltre, Jonathan Lucroy, Carlos Gomez, Ian Desmond, Carlos Beltran, etc. The lineup could be the difference between the Rangers winning it all and not coming close. However, I do worry about how well their starters can hold up. Their bullpen is very good, but they can't be using everybody in one game as that will provide some negative effects as the postseason escalates. If they can get a great start out of both Cole Hamels and Yu Darvish, that would be ideal for them as they have veterans in the lineup that I would assume are desperate to win a World Series.
The Jays have Josh Donaldson who is great of course. Josh can give you above average contact, great power, and he will find a way to get on base. Josh is great batting in the No. 2 spot for the Jays as the Jays have a pretty generic, prototypical lineup with the guys that you would want in certain places. Their lineup is solid and I think it can get it done to win it all. Their pitching is very solid with Aaron Sanchez, J.A. Happ, Marco Estrada, and Marcus Stroman in the postseason rotation. Their bullpen is very solid as well with Roberto Osuna, Jason Grilli, Brett Cecil, and Joe Biagini being the main guys. I do worry about their lack of a true ace in the rotation come postseason time as pitching, defense, and chemistry together does win championships.
With all of that, I leave my predictions:
Game 1; Toronto at Texas: Texas wining 5-2
Game 2; Toronto at Texas: Texas winning 4-3
Game 3; Texas at Toronto: Toronto winning 7-1
Game 4; Texas at Toronto: Toronto winning 5-4
Game 5; Toronto at Texas: Texas winning 7-6
2 Boston Red Sox vs 3 Cleveland Indians
The Red Sox lineup is full of terrific, young stars that I think will cause problems for any team facing them with Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Andrew Benintendi, and Sandy Leon. They also have veterans that performed at a high level with David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, and Hanley Ramirez. All of those guys mixed together provide a solid defense and a deadly offense. With all of this being said, I don't trust their pitching to get it done as David Price is coming off of a pretty mediocre season and the only guys I trust are Rick Porcello, Clay Buchholz, and maybe Eduardo Rodriguez. I'm also not liking their bullpen enough to get it done because pitching wins championships and pitching is something that I don't think the Red Sox have enough of to get it done in the postseason. This is just a step in the building process for the Red Sox as they try to get back on the map with their young studs.
Have things turned around in Cleveland sports? Well, for now, they have as the Indians have a good mix of contact, power, and speed in their lineup with Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez, Lonnie Chisenhall, Mike Napoli, Jason Kipnis, Carlos Santana, Tyler Naquin, and Rajai Davis. Even though Danny Salazar and Carlos Carrasco are out with injuries, I still think that the Indians pitching staff can get it done if they get a good 7-8 inning start from Corey Kluber and good 6-7 inning starts from the rest of their starters as their bullpen is great. The Indians have the type of pitching that can go far in the postseason and I think that will play as an advantage against the youth of the Red Sox.
Here are my Predictions:
Game 1; Boston at Cleveland: Boston winning 6-3
Game 2; Boston at Cleveland: Cleveland winning 4-1
Game 3; Cleveland at Boston: Cleveland winning 5-3
Game 4; Cleveland at Boston: Cleveland winning 7-4
2 Washington Nationals vs 3 Los Angeles Dodgers
Something has to give for the Nats at this point, right? Well, the Nats are a different team this year that has won the NL East and has a very good 1-2 Punch and pitching staff. One thing that hasn't been anything too special for the Nats is their offense as their usual main guy Bryce Harper has had a pretty rough year with only a .243/.373/.441 slash line and 24 Homers with 21 Stolen Bases. If Daniel Murphy, who has been their best hitter this season, is inactive for this round I don't know where their source of offense is going to come from unless Bryce steps it up, because power is not going to be a big reliable source against the Dodgers' pitching. The Nats pitching staff would be capable of shutting anyone down if the Nats are able to get a couple solo blasts to be able to win games. Dominant pitching will have to be the calling card for the Nats if they get minimal offensive production and I think they can be capable of that against a Dodgers offense that is respectable, but certainly doesn't scare pitching staffs of the Nats' caliber.
Will the Dodgers get over the hump finally? This is a team that is capable of making the World Series and winning it; the problem is that they are a team that can perform in the regular season but not as much in the postseason. We all know about the Puig drama that happened this season and it appears to be resolved, but the fact of the matter is that the Dodgers need to produce in the postseason and not just the regular season. The Dodgers have good power with Joc Pederson, Justin Turner, and Yasmani Grandal; good contact from Adrian Gonzalez; and a good all-around bat from Corey Seager that could be a good offense against a pitching staff like the Red Sox's; BUT the problem is that they are going up against a great pitching staff in the Washington Nationals. The Dodgers also have a solid pitching staff with arguably the best pitcher in baseball in Clayton Kershaw, but the question is if the staff around Clayton will be able to get it done in the postseason. I think they can, but I can't predict that they will yet.
Game 1; Los Angeles at Washington: Los Angeles winning 2-0
Game 2; Los Angeles at Washington: Los Angeles winning 4-1
Game 3; Washington at Los Angeles: Washington winning 6-3
Game 4; Washington at Los Angeles: Washington winning 5-4
Game 5; Los Angeles at Washington: Washington winning 1-0
1 Chicago Cubs vs 5 San Francisco Giants
Is it finally time to end the Cubs' drought? Well, I don't think so just yet; but what I do think is that the Cubs will go far this postseason and continue to take the right steps in the process of winning it all. Despite the awful performance of Jason Heyward this year, the Cubs lineup is the best lineup in baseball besides the Sox's lineup over in Boston. Full of young studs in Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Wilson Contreras, Addison Russell, Jorge Soler, Javier Baez, and Kyle Hendricks; and impactful veterans in Ben Zobrist, Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta, John Lackey, and Dexter Fowler; the Cubs are loaded and are ready to go in the postseason with a great pitching staff and a very high level offense. With all of that said, they are still young and need to learn before the win a WS, BUT I do think that they will travel as far as the Championship series at the very least this postseason.
Is the even year magic still present in the city by the bay? I sure hope so but I don't think it is. The Giants have a very good rotation, but the shaky pen isn't usually the issue for past Giants championships as the offense was usually the weak point and it wasn't even a weak point. The shaky pen will be a problem for the Giants and I think that the Cubs offense will be able to get going against the back end of the rotation and bullpen of the Giants and be able to exploit the Giants hitting by shutting them down like Syn did in the Wild Card game. The Giants have chemistry, heart, and talent, but the dynasty ends here.
Game 1; San Francisco at Chicago: Chicago winning 4-1
Game 2; San Francisco at Chicago: Chicago winning 3-2
Game 3; Chicago at San Francisco: San Francisco winning 3-2
Game 4; Chicago at San Francisco: Chicago winning 5-3
