This year’s MLB season will be unlike any other year. With the shortened 60 game season, the landscape of baseball has shifted from the marathon that we know to a 100-meter sprint. Each game will carry more weight and teams cannot afford to have a slow start. While for the most part, I do not expect the games to change the end results of the season it is a storyline that will no doubt be talked about. Here are my predictions for this unique season:
NL East Standings:
1)Atlanta Braves
The race in the NL East may end up being the tightest division in baseball this year. The Braves won the division last year with a 97-65 record, but had a disappointing postseason performance and were sent home early by the hands of the Cardinals. Freddie Freeman is a star in the prime of his career and their core guys, such as Ronald Acuna and Ozzie Albies, are coming into their prime. The Braves surrendered the 5th lowest ERA in the MLB last year and also signed Marcell Ozuna to fill the void that Josh Donaldson has left. The Braves roster is the most complete in the division and they will be a tough team to beat this year.
2)Philadelphia Phillies
The Phils are heading in the right direction and have a ton of talent to be excited about. The addition of Zack Wheeler will help stabilize the pitching rotation and Didi Gregorius is an exciting new piece in the lineup. Andrew McCutchen is healthy again and Bryce Harper has been tearing the cover off the ball since training has picked back up. With the contract issues between the Phils and JT Realmuto still remaining unresolved, it should be expected that he plays like he has something to prove this year. The guy who will have the biggest impact on progressing the team is new manager, Joe Girardi. The failed Gabe Kapler experiment is finally over and the Phillies now have a legitimate baseball mind guiding the ship. Overall I expect the Phillies to have a very successful season this year and they will take more strides than people expect.
3)Washington Nationals
While it may be somewhat disrespectful to put the defending champions at 3rd in the division, I do not think they are as talented of a team as last year’s results should indicate. The rotation led by Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, and Patrick Corbin is certainly something they should feel confident about.
However, I think this may be the year Scherzer begins to fall off. Scherzer will be 36 in a few days and is coming off a season where he missed time (including game Game 5 of the WS) due to a back injury and he did not look sharp at all in his exhibition debut. Strasburg signed an extension with the Nats this offseason, but he is never a sure bet to stay healthy. Age is a lingering question for a good portion of the roster as Howie Kendrick and Kurt Suzuki are also 36 years old. While the Nats no doubt have some terrific young guys who will continue to grow, such as Juan Soto and Trae Turner, a lot will have to go right for the Nats to come close to the level of success that was seen last year.
4)New York Mets
The Mets have a chance to be a dark horse team this season. They showed great signs of improvement in the second half of the season last year and now have hired Luis Rojas as manager which should bring on a pleasant change in the organization. Led by Jacob deGrom, the Mets have a solid pitching rotation and decent offensive firepower as well. Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil will both make a major impact and overall the Mets are doing a good job putting pieces together. They are still the Mets and I expect them to find a way to come up short because of this, but they will be a team to keep an eye on this year.
5)Miami Marlins
Then there are the Marlins. Having the least talented roster in the division along with the toughest opponent schedule of any National League team is not a good combo. The team has not finished above .500 in over a decade and nothing about this year indicates that there will be a change in this. Jesus Aguilar was a nice signing and Brian Anderson is growing into one of the best players Miami has developed. Regardless there should not be very high expectations for this season and everyone should feel comfortable locking them in for a last-place finish.
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League Predictions:
AL East: New York Yankees
AL Central: Minnesota Twins
AL West: Oakland A’s
AL Wild Cards: Cleveland Indians and Houston Astros
NL East: Atlanta Braves
NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals
NL West: LA Dodgers
NL Wild Cards: Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs
Playoffs:
Unfortunately, I expect the Yankees to add another ring to their collection this year and beat to LA Dodgers in the World Series. The Dodgers probably have the deepest team in baseball and added to this by signing Mookie Betts this offseason. On paper, they are stacked and will be tough to beat. After getting knocked from the playoffs last year by the eventual-champion Washington Nationals, the Dodgers will get closer to a ring this year. The Yankees are fully in win-now mode. The addition of Gerritt Cole strengthened the Yankees pitching and may be enough to push them over the edge. Stanton and Judge will lead the charger at the plate and it is a scary lineup throughout.
As far as the Phillies go, I expect them to beat the Cubs in the Wild-Card round but ultimately get knocked out by the Dodgers. The team is in the right direction and I believe they will outperform many of the expectations that are set for them. If they are able to make the playoffs the season should be looked at as a major success that can be built on.
Awards:
NL MVP: Bryce Harper (Phillies)
AL MVP: Aaron Judge (Yankees)
With a hot start to the season, Bryce Harper has a legitimate chance to pave a path to being crowned MVP. If the Phillies are to make some noise this year he will need to play like the superstar that he is, and that is a role he is comfortable filling The Yankees are loaded this year and Aaron Judge seems ready to re-establish himself as the offensive threat that was seen in his 2017 season. Whoever wins this award will need to play their best right from the start due to the shortened season and a surprise name could pop up due to this.
NL Cy Young: Jack Flaherty (St. Louis Cardinals)
AL Cy Young: Lucas Giolito (Chicago White Sox)
NL Rookie of the Year: Carter Kieboom (3B Nationals)
AL Rookie of the Year: Luis Robert (OF White Sox)
Overall Thoughts:
While it has been teased for so long, the day is finally here where the sweet sound of the ball hitting the bat and calls of "Play Ball" can finally ring out. This is a unique season but it should be embraced for what it is. It is pretty certain there will never be a season with such extreme circumstances and whatever team comes on top this year will have accomplished an impressive feat. Expect for some surprise teams to come out of the woodwork and most importantly let's celebrate that we are finally through the dark days without baseball.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
