I think it’s a little foolish to project who will win each division, and even more so to project the postseason. When was the last time a team finished the year with the same roster they started with? It just doesn’t happen. Injuries, trades, surprises, failures all happen. We can try to take these things into account when projecting, but even the most knowledgeable analysts aren’t any more accurate. With that said, here are my picks!!
NL East
1 Atlanta
2 Philadelphia (wc)
3 Florida
4 New York
5 Washington
Comments: Heading into the season, I think the Braves have the best 25 man roster in the National League; I seriously considered putting the Marlins ahead of the Phillies, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.
NL Central
1 Cincinnati
2 Chicago
3 Milwaukee
4 St. Louis
5 Houston
6 Pittsburgh
Comments: I don’t like picking repeat division winners, but I just there is another team that can finish above the Reds; I’m just not as sold on Milwaukee as other seem to be; I can see the Cubbies making a playoff run this year. Although, a lot of things will have to go right for that to happen
NL West
1 San Francisco
2 Colorado
3 Los Angeles
4 San Diego
5 Arizona
Comments: The Giants offense is a concern, as it was last year. But that didn’t stop them from winning it all; I like the Rockies to finish a very close second, I really like the Tulo and CarGo combo; The Dodgers may be the toughest to project. I can see them finishing 1st or 4th, but I’ll go with 3rd; After looking at San Diego’s “projected lineup”, I still can’t seem to find the middle of the order.
AL East
1 Boston
2 New York (wc)
3 Tampa Bay
4 Baltimore
5 Toronto
Comments: Boston just has way too good of a roster to not make the playoffs. They’d really have to have injuries like last year, which is very unlikely; Tampa Bay’s offense will score more runs this year than last and their bullpen will surprise; If the Yankees miss the post season, we’ll see another offseason like we did with CC, Burnett, and Teixeira
AL Central
1 Chicago
2 Detroit
3 Minnesota
4 Kansas City
5 Cleveland
Comments: The top 3 may be the most evenly matched 3 in any division. I wouldn’t be surprised if it came down to the final days; I really worry about Mauer and Morneau’s injuries, so I can’t pick them higher than 3rd; I’m really excited to see Moustakas and Hosmer this year in Kansas City
AL West
1 Oakland
2 Texas
3 Los Angeles
4 Seattle
Comments: The A’s remind me a lot of the Giants across the bay (Great pitching, suspect offense). But they should score enough runs to win the division; Father time won’t be nice to the heart of the Angels order. I also think they’d really like to take back that Kazmir trade (How can a guy be a part of 2 lopsided trades for opposite reasons?); I really hope King Felix is still a Mariner at the end of the season, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they had Montero and Banuelos instead.
World Series: Atlanta over Oakland
NL MVP: Troy Tulowitzki
AL MVP: Robinson Cano
NL Cy Young: Josh Johnson
AL Cy Young: John Lester
NL ROTY: Freddie Freeman
AL ROTY: Jeremy Hellickson