Figured I’d throw together a predictions post of how I think the MLB season will go down, so that in October we can either a) Mock how bad these look or b) Marvel at how accurate they are. I think “a” is faaaaaar more likely than b :).

Anyway, here we go:

AL East:

Red Sox

Blue Jays

Yankees

Orioles

Rays

Comments – I think the Red Sox are still the team to beat in the division despite David Prices’ health issues.  The Jays need their starters to be good and healthy again this year to finish 2nd and contend for the wild card.

AL Central:

Indians

Tigers

Royals

Twins

White Sox

Comments – Indians should walk all over this division. The Tigers will make some noise but the other 3 teams are on the outside looking in.

AL West:

Astros

Mariners

Rangers

Angels

Athletics

Comments – This division will be close I think.  The Mariners are going all in on pitching and defense (especially in the OF) so it’ll be interesting to see how that plays out.

Wildcards – Jays and Mariners

Non-playoff team that could surprise and make the playoffs – Yankees (they have the young talent, their rotation will make or break the season for them)

NL East

Nationals

Mets

Braves

Marlins

Phillies

Comments – Nationals should win the division though the Mets could rival them if their young SP stay healthy.

NL Central

Cubs

Cardinals

Pirates

Brewers

Reds

Comments – Cubs should walk away with this one though the Cards always seem to find a way to win.

NL West

Dodgers

Giants

Diamondbacks

Rockies

Padres

Comments – I thought the Rockies were a bit of a sleeper team this year until recent injuries to Desmond, Bettis and to a lesser extent Murphy.  The Dodgers are stacked and should hold off the Giants.

Wildcards – Mets and Cardinals

Non playoff team that could surprise and make the playoffs – Diamondbacks (they had a lot of bad/injured seasons from key players last year; simple regression alone should improve them by a lot of wins not to mention the possibility of some of their young guys taking steps forward).

AL Champ – Boston

NL Champ – I’ll go with a surprise pick and say Mets on the strength of their SP

World Series Champ – Boston (sadly).

Awards:

AL MVP – Mookie Betts (tough to bet against Trout, but Betts is good and will be on a playoff team again)

Sleeper – Josh Donaldson (if the Jays make the WC he’ll likely be the main reason)

Dark Horse – Carlos Correa

NL MVP – Kris Bryant just edging out Bryce Harper

Sleeper – Yoenis Cespedes

Dark Horse – Yasiel Puig (make or break year for him I think; the talent is there)

AL Cy Young – Corey Kluber

Sleeper – Yu Darvish (health is the only question mark)

Dark Horse – Marcus Stroman (Jays fan here, but he legit made some changes in the 2nd half to his arsenal that I’m thinking could carry over into him having a big year)

NL Cy Young – Clayton Kershaw (never bet against him if healthy)

Sleeper – Noah Syndergaard

Dark Horse – Stephen Strasburg (only a darkhorse in the sense of health risks)

AL ROY – Andrew Benintendi

NL ROY – Dansby Swanson

Feel free to share your predictions/comments on my predictions in the comments!