It felt like the season would never happen. The season will be totally unlike anything we have had before. Only sixty games. I am happy to have baseball even if it is a shortened season. The cool thing is that almost anything can happen. Making predictions will be hard, but here it goes.
AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST
Yankees
Rays
Blue Jays
Red Sox
Orioles
The Yankees are still the best team in the division and the time off actually helped them. The Rays will need to start off hot in order to keep up with the Yankees. My crazy prediction here is that the Red Sox start slow and never really click and they have almost zero pitching. The Blue Jays have plenty of young talent and if they can get anything out of their pitching, they could end up being okay. The Orioles…well they still suck.
AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL
Twins
White Sox
Indians
Tigers
Royals
The Twins added more power with Donaldson and in a short season like this, I think power will help overcome a weak rotation. The White Sox look to be the team on the rise and if players progressed how they hoped, then they should push the Twins this year. Will the Indians trade Lindor? I cannot imagine a team offering too much for such a short period of time. They are just not as formidable as they once were with that dominant pitching staff. The Tigers and Royals will still be bad.
AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST
Angels
Astros
Rangers
A’s
Mariners
The Angels need to start off hot and with Rendon and Trout, plus Ohtani that should not be a problem. If the season had started as regular, my prediction would have been that the Astros would start off very slow and the booing would get to them. However, without fans it may end up being easier for them. I feel like the A’s and Rangers are a toss up. The Mariners are going to finish last, but I doubt they will be as bad as the other last place teams.
NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST
Phillies
Nationals
Braves
Mets
Marlins
Some people may think I am crazy taking the Phillies here. The Nationals still have great pitching, but their lineup is definitely lacking without Rendon. I think the Phillies can jump out of the gate and just dominate the division. The Braves are good too, but I wonder how things will go without Freddie Freeman for a bit. The Mets are going to need plenty to happen for them to compete with those top three. The Marlins will be very bad.
NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL
Brewers
Reds
Cardinals
Cubs
Pirates
I will start with the Pirates. They suck. Like, not so bad that they compete with the Marlins or Orioles, but still bad. They have no starting pitching. The hope is that Josh Bell can be as good as he was for half a season last year. I am excited about Kevin Newman and Bryan Reynolds. The Brewers and Cardinals are the two best teams, but I think the Reds are the surprise team. I think they could sneak up and steal that second spot from someone. The Cubs…I don’t know what they are doing.
NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST
Dodgers
Padres
Diamondbacks
Rockies
Giants
The Dodgers should win the division easily. I would imagine they could forfeit the first ten games and still end up winning it. I honestly have no clue how the rest of the division will go. I feel like all four teams are basically the same. They have some good players, a bunch of holes and maybes, and a decent amount of hope.
PLAYOFFS
AL WILDCARD: Astros defeat White Sox
AL DIVISION SERIES: Yankees defeat Astros, Angels defeat Twins
AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: Yankees defeat Angels
NL WILDCARD: Braves defeat Nationals
NL DIVISION SERIES: Dodgers defeat Braves, Phillies defeat Brewers
NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: Dodgers defeat Phillies
WORLD SERIES: Yankees defeat Dodgers
I think this will be the Yankees year. Even if some players cannot stay healthy, they are so loaded that it may not matter.
AWARDS
NL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Gavin Lux
AL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Luis Robert
NL CY YOUNG: Max Scherzer
AL CY YOUNG: Gerrit Cole
NL MVP: Ronald Acuña
AL MVP: Mike Trout
PIRATES RECORD: 26-34
FINAL THOUGHTS
This short season will have drastic ramifications for the next few years. Think about players who have contract years coming up, if they start off slow, then they may completely screw themselves. Or look at some of those aging vets, they have a chance to explode out of the gates and maybe earn a little more money in the next year or two. Think about rookies, who may have needed a little time to adjust to the majors, that may not happen now. Then you have the guys in the minors, yikes, what happens there?
Some people think that a season like this does not count. I am sure that people will claim whoever wins did not really earn that World Series ring. Screw that! This will be unlike any other season, the players and teams who can adapt to the changes will have shown that they are the best of the best.
