SPECIAL 2018 MLB PREDICTION SPECTACULAR EXTRAVAGANZA
Was the title too much? At least it sums up what the article is without me having to write a redundant intro. By the time I'm done I won't remember the title anyway. I'm not going to go over every single team, just blurbs under the division standings. I'm @RSiembal28 if you feel enlightened/ offended by my genius/genius, let me know.
AL EAST
1. Yankees
2. Red Sox
3. Blue Jays
4.Orioles
5. Rays
Something would have to go very wrong for the Yankees to not win the division here. They have the best lineup, the best starting rotation, the best bullpen. Stanton and Judge will combine for 120 home runs, even accounting for a slump for Judge. The Red Sox I have taking a wild card spot, just as long as Porcello and Price remember they should be Cy Young contenders.
AL Central
1. Twins
2. Indians
3. White Sox
4. Royals
5. Tigers
I went back and forth and back and forth and decided I like the Twins better. They took noticable steps forward from their playoff appearance last year, adding Odorizzi, Lynn, Reed, and Rodney to their pitching staff, and LoMo to their already sneaky powerful lineup. The Indians will get the other wild card spot, mostly because I like their starting staff better than the Angels. The White Sox will make a huge step to third place thanks to the Tigers and Royals selling anything of value at the deadline, and the emergence of some of their top prospects.
AL WEST
1. Astros
2. Angels
3. Athletics
4. Mariners
5. Rangers
The Astros will the the best team in the American League. You can't argue with adding Garrett Cole to their already stacked rotation. They picked up Hector Rondon and Joe Smith for their bullpen, which was their only question mark at the end of the last season. The Angels revamped infield will carry them to the outskirts of the playoffs, but their lackluster rotation will keep them out. Keep an eye on the A's to make a surprise run towards the playoffs as well, they had a really good 2nd half of the season last year.
NL EAST
1. Nationals
2. Mets
3. Phillies
4. Braves
5. Marlins
All-in. This is a make or break season for the Nationals as they risk losing Bryce Harper to free agency, thus having to live with wasting 7 years of one of the best players on the planet. They better do whatever it takes to win now, so that just in case Harper walks, it'll sting less. All-in. The Marlins are a different sort of all-in, I genuinely think they will make it to 120 losses, and I also genuinely think winning 42 games would be overachieving.
NL CENTRAL
1. Cubs
2. Brewers
3. Cardinals
4.Pirates
5. Reds
The Cubs should run away with this division again. That isn't to say the Brewers won't give them a run for their money, they will, I just think they made a mistake not grabbing a starter in the loaded market. They will however, earn a wild card berth, because it was them or the Giants, and the Giants are having some health issues at the moment. Speaking of not grabbing things on the market, the Cubs would be my pick to win the whole thing, if they would've grabbed a closer. Maybe Brandon Morrow will change my mind. Maybe I'll hope they sign Greg Holland in June after the draft. (Full disclosure I'm a Cubs fan, don't get it twisted, I'm not one of those ride or die always pick the Cubs guys, nor am I a Cubs fan dating back to mid 2015, I have standards, I'm just happy after 22 years the Cubs started meeting them.)
NL WEST
1. Diamondbacks
2. Dodgers
3. Rockies
4. Giants
5. Padres
I talked myself into it. If I'm right I look like a genius though, that's reason enough for me. Although the D'backs starters were excellent last year, and their Archie Bradley led bullpen isn't half bad either. I think the Dodgers are due for a down year, albeit still taking a wild card spot. Alex Wood and Rich Hill duplicating their success from a year ago just doesn't sound as good to me as the D'backs starters doing the same. I wanted to put the Giants into the wild card spot, but the injuries to MadBum and Samardzija really turned me off, plus, yet again, they are looking to have a mediocre at best, disaster at worse bullpen, no thank you.
PLAYOFFS
WC-
BOS def CLE/LAD def MIL
LDS-HOU def BOS/NYY def MIN/WAS def LAD/CHC def AZ
LCS-NYY def HOU/WAS def CHC
WS- WASHINGTON NATIONALS def NEW YORK YANKEES
I really wanted to go Houston, but repeating is too uncommon, too difficult, and just ask the Cubs, you can still have a talent loaded roster, having 2 perfect seasons in a row, just doesn't happen. Like I said, the Nationals will be all-in. They will make deadline moves just like last year, plus, no Dusty Baker. They need this, they cannot let this one slip away, they need to go ALL-IN.
BONUS AWARD STUFF
MVPs- Trout and Harper
Harper is playing for a monster mega contract. Trout won the MVP on a much worse looking team than the one he has now, this should be cake for him.
CY YOUNG- Sale and Kershaw
It's been a while for Kershaw, and I'm going to keep picking Sale until he wins one, he is always right there.
ROY- Otani and Kingery
Otani will be very fun to watch, maybe the most fun thing to watch this season. He has the benefit of having pitching and batting stats to push him into the front of the pack. Kingery will explode once he becomes a full time starter, he made the roster, so he is halfway there already, i like Acuna, but don't like guessing when he will show up.
Thats's it for me, Happy Opening Day.
