American League West

* – indicates new to team

+ – indicates injury

1. Oakland Athletics

With their pipeline of pitching on the way they will be hard to contend with in the dog days of summer.

2. Los Angeles Angels

Assuming Shohei Ohtani is back to his old self from his rookie season and Trout and Rendon are playing at an All-Star level, they should be in the Wild Card hunt.

3. Houston Astros

The loss of George Springer in free agency is going to hurt, but not having Justin Verlander in the rotation will be more damaging.

4. Seattle Mariners

They have some intriguing pieces in place for a possible run at a Wild Card spot.

5. Texas Rangers

The growing pains will continue, but their new ballpark looks nice.

Player to Watch: P/DH Shohei Ohtani – Los Angeles Angels

Best Acquisition: P Raisel Iglesias – Los Angeles Angels

New Kid on the Block: OF Jarred Kelenic – Seattle Mariners Continue reading →

2020 MLB World Series & Awards Predictions

MLB Awards

NL MVP – SS Javier Baez – Chicago Cubs

AL MVP – OF Mike Trout – Los Angeles Angels

NL Cy Young – Mike Soroka – Atlanta Braves

AL Cy Young – Mike Clevinger – Cleveland Indians

NL Rookie of the Year – 3B Carter Kieboom – Washington Nationals

AL Rookie of the Year – OF Luis Robert – Chicago White Sox

NL Manager of the Year – Mike Shildt – St. Louis Cardinals

AL Manager of the Year – Bob Melvin – Oakland Athletics Continue reading →

American League West

* – indicates new to team

+ – indicates injury

1. Oakland Athletics

They certainly have the most upside at numerous positions, but will it translate into good things in October?

2. Houston Astros

Their GM and Manager have both been fired from the sign stealing investigation. Can Dusty Baker keep them as contenders?

3. Los Angeles Angels

Bringing in Joe Maddon was the smart move and signing Anthony Rendon was nice, but their pitching staff is still suspect.

4. Texas Rangers

With the opening of a new ballpark who will be the player that takes this team to the next level?

5. Seattle Mariners

The direction is pretty straight forward, but when will they finally say it’s time to become contenders?

Player to Watch: OF Mike Trout – Los Angeles Angels

Best Acquisition: 3B Anthony Rendon – Los Angeles Angels

New Kid on the Block: OF Jo Adell – Los Angeles Angels Continue reading →

2019 MLB All-Star Teams

For the 90th year of the Midsummer Classic, baseball turns its sights to Progressive Field (formerly Jacobs Field or “The Jake”) in Cleveland, Ohio. The last time the mid-summer classic was played in Cleveland was in 1997. Now every year there is always a lot of discussion and some of it a little dated about how the teams are put together. No system will ever be perfect. Fans don’t always get it right and managers won’t either, nor the commissioner’s office. The fact that the players are able to vote for participants was a great choice and they know who is deserving. Regardless of who should or shouldn’t be in the game lets just accept that the best players will always be involved one way or another. Here are my all-stars keeping with the rules that every team be represented and a total of 32 players for each league.

AVG – Batting Average

ERA – Earned Run Average

HR – Home Runs

RBI – Runs Batted In

SV – Saves

BAA – Batting Average Against

WHIP – Walks/Hits Per Innings Pitched

K – Strikeouts

Stats are accurate as of July 5

* – asterisk indicates starter Continue reading →

2019 MLB World Series & Awards Predictions

MLB Awards

NL MVP – 1B Paul Goldschmidt – St. Louis Cardinals

AL MVP – OF Mike Trout – Los Angeles Angels

NL Cy Young – Aaron Nola – Philadelphia Phillies

AL Cy Young – Gerrit Cole – Houston Astros

NL Rookie of the Year – OF Victor Robles – Washington Nationals

AL Rookie of the Year – OF Eloy Jimenez – Chicago White Sox

NL Manager of the Year – Craig Counsell – Milwaukee Brewers

AL Manager of the Year – Rocco Baldelli – Minnesota Twins

Postseason Projections

NL Division Winners – Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers

NL Wild Card Winners – Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals

AL Division Winners – Houston Astros, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians

AL Wild Card Winners – Boston Red Sox, Minnesota Twins

NLCS – Dodgers over Brewers

ALCS – Yankees over Astros

World Series – Dodgers over Yankees in 6 games