MLB Predictions

By Dan Rodgers

We're approximately 10 games into the Major League Baseball season and we have already seen a few surprising teams stand out. Below you'll find my predictions for final standings. I'm not doing playoff predictions just yet, but I'll include potential MVP/Cy Young candidates.

AL East

1. New York Yankees
2. Tampa Bay Rays
3. Boston Red Sox
4. Baltimore Orioles
5. Toronto Blue Jays
   

AL Central

1. Detroit Tigers (by a landslide)
   
2. Chicago White Sox
   
3. Minnesota Twins
   
4. Cleveland Indians/Kansas City Royals

AL West

1. Texas Rangers
   
2. L.A. Angels
   
3. Oakland Athletics
   
4. Seattle Mariners

NL East

1. Washington Nationals
   
2. New York Mets
   
3. Philadelphia Phillies
   
4. Atlanta Braves
   
5. Miami Marlins
   

NL Central

1. St. Louis Cardinals
   
2. Cincinnati Reds
   
3. Milwaukee Brewers
   
4. Pittsburgh Pirates
   
5. Houston Astros
6. Chicago Cubs

NL West

1. L.A. Dodgers
   
2. Arizona Diamondbacks
   
3. Colorado Rockies
   
4. San Francisco Giants
   
5. San Diego Padres

• As you can see, there might be a few surprises in there. A lot of people picked the Phillies to even reachthe World Series, but I have doubts that their offense can keep up because of injuries to Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. The pitching will really have to carry the team, which is possible, I just think they are in a good enough division for someone to overtake them.
  

• To go along with that, you might be shocked to see the Nats winning that division. They have put together a talented, yet possibly not very well-known lineup. They also have a very talented pitching staff, headlined by Stephen Strasberg. No one in the starting rotation is over 28 years old and all had an ERA under 4.00 last season. The Nats also brought in Brad Lidge and have a great young setup man in Tyler Clippard.
  

• As far as the AL East, the Yankees finally have some young pitchers that they are looking to build around. Michael Pineda and Ivan Nova should be staples in that rotation for the next 10 years and they are a great complement to C.C. Sabathia. There is no need to talk about the potent offense because we all know how consistently great they are each season.
  

• The AL Central is going to be a joke and I would be surprised if the Tigers didn't lead the division by 20-plus games at the end of the season.
  
  
• The AL West is an interesting division. It is clearly a race between the Rangers and Angels. A lot of people expect the Angels to run away with it because they added Albert Pujols and stole C.J. Wilson away from Texas. However, the Rangers still have a very dangerous offense, formidable rotation, and the addition of Joe Nathan allowed them to move Neftali Feliz, 72 saves in his first two full seasons, to his rightful place in the rotation.
  

• Even though the Cardinals lost Pujols, they still have a surprisingly good offense without him. David Freese established himself last postseason, and the addition of Carlos Beltran could be the most underrated move of the entire offseason. Unfortunately, I think losing Prince Fielder will cause the Brew Crew to slightly regress this season.
  

• The Dodgers solid pitching staff and surprisingly decent offense has them off to a great start this season. I think there is no reason they can't compete in this wide open division. San Diego is really the only team that doesn't stand a chance.

Likely MVP candidates (not in any order):
AL - 2B Robinson Cano, NYY; CF Curtis Granderson, NYY; 1B Miguel Cabrera, DET
NL - CF Matt Kemp, LAD; RF Justin Upton, ARI; LF Ryan Braun, MIL

Dark Horse candidates:
AL - CF Josh Hamilton, TEX; 3B Evan Longoria, TAM
NL - 3B David Wright, NYM; SP Roy Halladay, PHI

Check back later for Cy Young candidates...

Rodgers That