By: William Robinson
I put off writing this up until the last possible minute because I always feel like these are the hardest articles to write. Invariably I crown a team the champion of 2018 and then their best player goes down the next day. Still with this type of article it’s my job to peer into the future and try to predict the unpredictable, so without further ado:
1.) The Brewers are not going to be as good as everyone thinks – The Brewers are a trendy team and many in the media are very quick to crown them a contender this upcoming season. Last season they had a very admirable year. They were competitive for much of the regular season but much of that was due to the inferno level of hotness that Eric Thames started the season off with. This year they are excited about the Brewers because they went out and got Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich in the offseason. For me I’m thinking those two players are above average baseball players, but they don’t pitch. And that’s where the Brewers are going to struggle. Plus, when I look at the Central I like the Cardinals and the Cubs better. Plus, the Reds are going to be much better than anyone is predicting and so there aren’t going to be that many easy victories except for the Pirates who are going to be dreadful. I think the Brewers and Reds are going to be battling for third place in the Central all season.
2.) The Twins aren’t going to be a playoff team either – I think that too many players played over their heads last season and there are things that I’m concerned about. Ervin Santana’s health and Sano’s head being the chief ones. Plus, with the Twins it feels like everyone gets all excited about them and then they never perform up to expectations. I’m sorry Twins fans but they are going to let you down this year.
3.) The White Sox are going to make the playoffs – This is my wildest prediction. I think that the White Sox are going to be a lot better than people think. I LOVE Jose Abreu and I love the way that they have rebuilt this team. They have a lot of talented pitchers on the roster (Fulmer, Rodon, Giolito) James Shields can’t pitch worse than he pitched last year and at some point I’m thinking Kopech gets called up and that’ll help too. They also have great talented players who underperformed last year in Anderson and Moncada who should be better this year, and Matt Davidson who hits a ton. I’m telling you know they are going to pick up a lot of wins vs. the Royals and Tigers who are tanking this year. Not to mention I like their roster better than the Twins.
4.) Aaron Judge bats leadoff a lot this year – this is the time and age of stats and I won’t be surprised if soon Aaron Judge is batting leadoff with Stanton batting right behind him. This will lead to more at bats and I think that he hits 60 home runs this year.
5.) Noah Syndergaard wins the NL Cy Young and leads the Mets to the playoffs – I love Syndergaard. I admit it fully. I think that he is the most exciting pitcher in baseball. Last year I had the Mets making the playoffs before he got hurt and I’m going to continue to ride that wave this year. I think the Nationals are going to disappoint everyone. Daniel Murphy is already hurt, Zimmerman is getting old, and Turner and Taylor constantly underplay. Add a Strasburg injury in there and I can easily see the Nationals underperforming to the tune of 85 wins or so. If they do that then they may not make the playoffs, and the Mets may do better.
6.) Ronald Acuna wins ROY – okay well this one is not a huge risk, but they can’t all be. This kid is the real deal PERIOD.
7.) The Astros repeat as World Series champs – guys I don’t see anything that can stop them. They only got better this offseason by adding Gerrit Cole. Add that to a complete season with Justin Verlander and I honestly believe that they can break the record for single season wins. This team may be something special that we tell our grandchildren about in the future.
8.) Manny Machado is traded to the Braves in the middle of the season – Call this my homer prediction but I think that the Orioles at some point are going to be desperate to unload him and get something in return. The Braves have the deepest farm system in baseball right now and have a huge hole at third base. I can see the Braves trading them some prospects for Manny Machado and then him signing a long-term extension there for the future.
9.) Somebody out west is going to falter – I had originally posted this as a statement that the Rockies weren’t going to make the playoffs. However, now that Bumgardner broke his hand I don’t feel comfortable crowning the Giants anymore. That being said this whole division is a bad injury away from sucking. So, somebody is going to go down this season. I think the only team that is safe is the Dodgers. But the Rockies would be terrible without Arenado, the Diamondbacks could easily falter as Grienke is getting older and usually the Giants are weak without Bumgardner. So, if I was a betting man I wouldn’t put money on any of those teams out west.