Wednesday, February 15th, 2012...12:00 PM
45 Bold(ish) Predictions about the 2012 Baseball Season
45 BOLD PREDICTIONS ABOUT THE 2012 BASEBALL SEASON
Hey all, I’ve noticed that there has been a severe and troubling lack of enthusiasm for the upcoming baseball season, but what with the fact that Jeremy Lin was the one to finally put an end to all this Tim Tebow madness and this epic twitter war going on between Jim Irsay and Peyton Manning, which has made watching Sportscenter almost unbearable by the way, who can blame everyone? Eventually though Jeremy Lin will lose a game, the Colts will realize they need to keep their franchise quarterback and people will start to love baseball again. However, until that happens I have put together a list of predictions ranging in different levels of boldness and perhaps even stupidity, we’ll see. Hopefully, this will get you all as excited for the upcoming baseball season as I am (even though I am a Cubs fan). Also, please ignore all the spelling and grammar mistake, why are there so many ways to spell there?
- AL East Standings:
- New York Yankees
- Tampa Bay Rays
- Boston Red Sox
- Toronto Blue Jays
- Baltimore Orioles
The Yankees had the best offense in the league last year despite very little contributions from usual staples like Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada, now, all of a sudden they have one of the top 10 pitching staffs to go with it. It took me a very long time to decide between the Rays and the Red Sox but in the end I’m taking the team with the best pitching staff in the American League. The Blue Jays are an emerging team that did a great job improving their bullpen, but they have a lot of questions in their starting rotation. The Orioles will continue to be the Orioles.
- AL Central Standings:
- Detroit Tigers
- Kansas City Royals
- Cleveland Indians
- Minnesota Twins
- Chicago White Sox
I think that people are really overreacting to how good the Tigers will be this year, they still lack depth in their starting rotation after Verlander and Fister, and the lineup will certainly improve with the addition of Fielder but after the loss of Victor Martinez for the year he only offers a minor upgrade. Both the Royals and the Indians are solid teams with high upside who could possibly take out the Tigers but a lot of things would have to go right for them. The Twins and White Sox are both a year or two away from competing.
- AL West Standings: Spoiler Alert! The Angels are better then the Rangers!
- Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
- Texas Rangers
- Seattle Mariners
- Oakland Athletics
Yes, I am aware that the Rangers have been to the World Series two years in a row, but while the Angels made massive improvements to their team and now have enormous depth in both the outfield and the starting the rotation, they also made this great under-the-radar signing of this guy named Pujols, who some scouts have said has some solid upside. The Mariners and the Athletics will remain to be irrelevant.
- AL Wild Card winner: The Tampa Bay Rays: they have the best pitching and have a solid offense built around guys like Evan Longoria and Desmond Jennings. They will be a very exciting team all year.
- AL Pennant Winner: The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: They have 3 ace quality pitchers in Jered Weaver, Dan Haren and C.J Wilson and if they are able to find places for all of their best hitters to play they could be one of the top offenses in the league.
- AL MVP: Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays: Despite having an “off” year last year where he hit 30 home runs and drove in 100 runs, he really grew into a superstar player in the second half of the season when he became healthy. I predict he’ll hit over .300, hit 40 + home runs, and drive in at least 125 runs, oh and did I mention he’s a gold glove third basemen? Other candidates include, Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, Michael Young, Robinson Cano, and Eric Hosmer.
- AL Rookie of the Year: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels: This is really a toss up between Rays pitcher Matt Moore and Trout, both are very worthy but I believe the Angels will find a way to get Trout regular playing time and that he will flourish this year.
- AL Cy Young: Jered Weaver, Los Angeles Angels: I thought he was the best pitcher in the AL last year, and now he’s got the improved offense and defense provided by Albert Pujols to help get him to the next level, must also mature a bit.
- AL Comeback Player of the Year: Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins: He will become the first former MVP to win the award, Mauer is expected to be ready for the start of spring training and is expected to return to being the best catcher in MLB.
10. AL Manager of the Year: Joe Girardi, New York Yankees, he won’t deserve it, but the Yankees are going to win 105 games this year thanks to GM Brian Cashman, maybe they could share the award?
11. AL player most likely to take his game to the next level: Eric Hosmer, Kansas City Royals: He is one of the best young hitters in the game, he has great plate discipline and awareness and should flourish in his second season. He could easily start in the all start in the all star game this year if it weren’t for guys like Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder. Other candidates include: Austin Jackson, Desmond Jennings, Evan Longoria.
12. AL player most likely to have a disappointing season: Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers: He’s 32, he has yet to stay healthy for more then 140 games in a season, and he’s had some pretty serious off field issues this year. Playing for a team that has very real playoff aspirations will make his poor season more noticeable. Other candidates: Alex Rodriguez, Yoenis Cespedes.
13. AL team most likely to make a surprising playoff push: Kansas City Royals: Had they been in any other division I would have said the Toronto Blue Jays but that’s for another time. The Royals have very quietly put together one of the best lineups in the American league led by emerging superstars Eric Hosmer and Alex Gordon, had they had a little more pitching talent behind Jonathan Sanchez and Aaron Crow they would be a serious threat to the Tigers, if they can make a move at the deadline for someone like Matt Garza or Matt Cain they could make a very deep playoff push.
14. The Tampa Bay Rays will have four 15 game winners this season: Combine two aces is David Prive and James Shields with two potential aces in Jeremy Hellickson and Matt Moore this could potentially be one of the best pitching staffs of all time, if they all stay healthy they could easily win 15 games each, and that doesn’t even include the contribution from Wade Davis.
15. The Cleveland Indians will regret trading for Ubaldo Jimenez: The Indians traded away two potential aces in Alex White and Drew Pomeranz for a player who’s only had one really good half in his entire career. The Indians are really not in a great position to make a deep run this year and they will seriously regret trading away two great pitchers with ace potential.
Alright let’s move onto the National League for a little.
16. The Chicago Cubs will win the World Series!! Alright, I’m not that dumb, I know that this is incredibly unlikely to happen this year but as a die hard Cubs fan I feel like I should just throw that out there, plus, think how smart I’ll look if I’m right.
- National League East standings:
- Philadelphia Phillies
- Miami Marlins
- Washington Nationals
- Atlanta Braves
- New York Mets
This is going to be really entertaining division this year, both the Marlins and the Nationals improved significantly this offseason and even though the Phillies and Braves stayed pat for the most part they are both talented enough to continue to compete in this division. The Mets should be happy if they win 65 games this year.
18. National League Central
- Cincinnati Reds
- St. Louis Cardinals
- Milwaukee Brewers
- Chicago Cubs
- Pittsburgh Pirates
- Houston Astros
Both the Cardinals and Brewers got significantly worse on offense this season but with the return of Adam Wainwright to their rotation the Cardinals should still be able to make a run. The Reds did a great job improving their pitching this off season with additions like Matt Latos, Sean Marshall, and Ryan Madson, however, they are putting a lot of stock into players like Jay Bruce and Drew Stubbs which could come back to bite them. The Cubs and Pirates are probably both good for a couple tough series but that’s about it, there’s really no need to even mention the Astros.
- National League West:
- Arizona Diamondbacks
- Colorado Rockies
- San Francisco Giants
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- San Diego Padres
Very much like the NL East this projects to be a very exciting division to watch this year, this division is full of teams that have a ton of talent but are just missing a piece or two to be a truly great team. The Arizona Diamondbacks were the best team in the division by a wide margin last year and they got a huge upgrade in Trevor Cahill and Jason Kubel and could easily be one of the best teams in the NL. However, the Giants, Rockies, and Dodgers all have a ton of talent and upside and could easily sneak away with this division.
20. NL Wild Card winner: This is a really tough one this year but I’m going to go with the team that has the most upside and that is the Colorado Rockies. They have two pitchers in Alex White and Drew Pomeranz who could potentially both become ace quality pitchers, I also strongly believe that the Rockies will make a trade at the deadline for someone like Matt Garza or Zack Grienke which could put them over the top. The Miami Marlins and Washington Nationals will put up a good fight but I think in the end having two MVP candidates will put the Rockies over the top.
21. NL Pennant Winner: Arizona Diamondbacks: They have a great 1-2-3 punch at the top of the rotation in Daniel Hudson, Ian Kennedy, and Trevor Cahill, and they are able to play an above average player at every position to help compliment superstar Justin Upton. If they’re able to find a way to hold off the Rockies and Giants in their division and find a way to get past the Phillies and Reds in the playoffs, this team is very capable of beating whatever team meets them in the World Series.
22. NL MVP: Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies: Got off to a slow start last year, but proved that he is one of the best players in the league, and easily the best shortstop. He is a 5-tool players with elite talent at all 5 of them. Not only does he have a great shot at winning a gold glove but he is a very legit triple crown threat. Other candidates: Justin Upton, Ryan Zimmerman, Matt Kemp, and Buster Posey.
23. NL CY Young: Ian Kennedy, Arizona Diamondbacks: He was a very strong candidate last year, and I see no reason why he won’t be any better this year. It would be easy to pick Roy Halladay to win his 37th CY young but this is bold predictions! Kennedy won 21 games last year and had an ERA of 2.8 in his first successful season of his career and at age 27 he still has a ton of room to improve. Do I really need to mention who the other candidates are?
24. NL Comeback Player of the Year: Josh Johnson, Miami Marlins: Made only 9 starts last year because of injuries but he is easily one of the best pitchers in the league, his success will determine how good the Marlins are this year. Hanley Ramirez is another great candidate.
25. NL Manager of the Year: Davey Johnson, Washington Nationals: Though I do not think that the Nationals will make the playoffs this year, I do believe that they will be a 90 win team who will just barely miss the playoffs this year. They have a ton of talent, but the fact that Steven Strasburg and Jordan Zimmerman’s will be limited due to injury this year will most likely prohibit them from making the playoffs for the first time.
26. NL Rookie of the Year: Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals: I strongly believe that he will open camp as the starting right fielder for the Nationals and will thrive if he is able to deal with all of the pressure that will be put on him as the “savior” of the nations capital. He has 5 tool talent and is a future super-duper-mega-extra spectacular superstar who’ll wind up with multiple MVP’s.
27. NL Player likely to take is game to the next level: Jay Bruce, Cincinnati Reds: He had a great first half last year and has a ton of great power hitting potential, I could see him hitting 45 home runs this years and he could very well be the difference in the Reds being a World Series contender or not. Other candidates include Starlin Castro, David Freese, and Vance Worley.
28. NL player most likely to have a disappointing year: There are a ton of candidates in the National league for this very prestigious award this year but I’m going with new Milwaukee Brewers third basemen Aramis Ramirez (and not just because he left the Cubs, I wanted him to leave) all he’s done in his career is put up big numbers un important situations, he isn’t clutch, and he has less range at third base then George Costanza. Other victims include Jayson Werth, Ryan Howard, and Hanley Ramirez.
29. The Team most likely to make a surprising playoff run: Washington Nationals: They have a ton of young players with seemingly endless potential, as well as a very good pitching staff, if they are able to get a bounce back year from Jayson Werth as well as successful and healthy seasons from Bryce Harper, Steven Strasburg and Danny Espinosa this could be a very dangerous team.
30. World Series Prediction: The Los Angeles Angels beat the Arizona Diamondbacks in 6 games. Both teams have improved dramatically over the last two years, both could win 100 regular season games, and both teams have multiple ace quality pitchers to carry them in the playoffs.
31. Matt Garza and David Wright will NOT be traded this season. Both teams feel that they have the prospects to compete in the next few years and will both hold on to their franchise cornerstones.
32. Troy Tulowitzki will win the National League Triple Crown. I’ve already written quite a bit about him so there is really nothing else for me write about him.
33. Starlin Castro will hit .330 this year. A fan can dream can’t he? But sadly he may make 30 errors this year……..
34. David Freese will put up better numbers then Albert Pujols did last year (.299 AVG, 29 HR’s and 99 RBI’s)
35. Steven Strasburg will win 20 games this year.
36. The Detroit Tigers will regret not trading for Matt Garza: the team appears to be just one good starting pitcher away from being the best team in AL, he is an ace caliber pitcher who is much more of a sure thing then prospect Jacob Turner.
37. Neither team that went to the World Series last year will make the playoffs this year. The Cardinals will not even win 80 games this year.
38. Yoenis Cespedes will be an all star in his first season
39. Andrew McCutchen will assert himself as one of the games elite center fielders
40. Mike Stanton will hit 50 home runs this year
41. Carl Crawford will have an even worse season this year then he did last year
42. Yonder Alonso will make the All Star team for the San Diego Padres this year.
43. Tony Plush will retire form professional baseball this year, not Nyjer Morgan, Tony Plush
44. The Baltimore Orioles will trade Adam Jones to the San Francisco Giants at some point this year
45. Carlos Zambrano will show up to camp in “great shape” and pronounce how he is going to have a huge comeback season, but a couple months into the season Zambrano and Ozzie Guillen will get so tired of each other that they will engage in Mortal Kombat in the brand new Miami Marlin stadium.
At the end of the year I will give myself one point for every correct prediction, half a point for every prediction that is close, and for the pretty frequent times that I am wrong I will get 0 points.
One side prediction, the 2012 MLB season will be far more entertaining then the 2012 NBA season.
I assume that many of you will have problems with some of my picks/predictions and I hope that you leave plenty of comments.
Alex Millon