By: Mike Carter
1.) Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will underperform the prognostications. Young players, despite the pedigree and the obvious talent, can struggle initially at the MLB level. No doubt he will be a bone fide talent, but let’s get him into the league before we anoint him as the batting champion.
2.) The surprise American League team this year will be the Minnesota Twins. With astute additions like Nelson Cruz and Jonathan Schoop, this team is poised to take a big step forward in 2019. With the Cleveland Indians appearing to operate like a small market team and not make any additions, the AL Central is prime for a surprise team to win the division. The health and return to form of Byron Buxton (please, please, please) and Miguel Sano make this a potent lineup. Don’t forget budding ace Jose Berrios, either. He’s almost to that elite level.
3.) The surprise National League team this year might make you scratch your head. It’s the Washington Nationals, who flew under the radar this offseason. Yes, they lost their biggest chip in Bryce Harper to the rival Philadelphia Phillies. But wait, going back to early winter, they signed Patrick Corbin to add to the already formidable Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg. In my opinion that gives them the best top three starters in the game. If you don’t know about Juan Soto and Victor Robles yet, get an education on them. Both are going to be outstanding players that will make the sting of the Harper loss seem less for fans. And Anthony Rendon will be a sleeper MVP candidate this year.
4.) The best starting pitcher in the NL West will not be named Kershaw or Bumgarner. Or Buehler or Greinke. It will be German Marquez. Yes, I know he pitches for the Colorado Rockies, and that roughly half of his games will be pitched in Denver. But he really opened eyes last year, especially in the second half, where he won six games with a 2.61 ERA and a whopping 124 strikeouts in 93 innings. He looks like he has figured it out and could put a great season together.
5.) Looking for a sleeper hitter for your fantasy team? You can argue for several people, surely. Here is mine for this year that I will be looking to roster in multiple formats: Tyler White. The Astros added Michael Brantley to their mix but lost Marwin Gonzalez to free agency and let Evan Gattis move as well. I see Yuli Gurriel moving to the utility role vacated by Gonzalez, and White slotting into first base and designated hitter at bat. Very quietly last year, he had a tremendous second half, hitting ten home runs with an OPS over .900, very under the radar. The upside is there. Others I like here as well are Austin Meadows in Tampa Bay and Jesse Winker in Cincinnati.
6.) This year will belong to the New York Yankees. They have incredible depth this year and will acquire what they need at the trade deadline to augment their roster. Watch Miguel Andujar hit more home runs than Aaron Judge or Giancarlo Stanton. He is that kind of talent, especially if Judge and Stanton are around the 30-35 mark. The Boston Red Sox, for reasons no one can adequately determine, refused to address their bullpen. My best guess is that at some point, they trade for another starter and move Nathan Eovaldi to the closer role.
7.) You want to talk about award winners? Let’s do it. People tend to look at the usual suspects, with names like deGrom, Scherzer and Kluber. We don’t have to move too far away from Corey Kluber to find this year’s AL Cy Young winner. It will be rotation mate Carlos Carrasco. Yes, this is the year his elbow holds up, the zip is regained on the fastball, and he becomes an efficient 20 game winner with an ERA under 3.00. Not bold enough for you? Let’s shift to the NL Cy Young Award. Think of all the dominant pitchers you can in the National League. You’re not going to see this one coming. Kyle Hendricks becomes the ace of the Chicago Cubs staff, posting 15 wins and seeing a major increase in his strikeout rates, and wins the NL Cy Young in the process. I hope so; I have him on several fantasy teams and am predicting a breakout for him. He is going to be featuring his curveball more this year to go along with an already wicked sinker and changeup.
8.) With a move to the Cincinnati Reds, and assured a full-time role, this is the year Yasiel Puig breaks out and becomes the five-tool superstar he seemed destined to become years ago. Can you believe he’s only 28? He’s in his prime and finally has nothing standing in his way. I would not be surprised at all if he hit .275 and approaches 30 home runs and 20+ stolen bases. Remember while Cincy is a great town, it’s also not rife with the distractions and bright lights of Los Angeles. I think the Reds just got a budding superstar. Time will tell.
9.) My last bold prediction is that none of these predictions will be accurate. We call them bold for a reason; all are a reach but in your spring daydreams, all are things that could happen this year. Stay tuned. We are about to get started on another journey, and the one thing we do know is that everyone starts 0-0 next week. What are your bold predictions for this year? I would love to hear them. Thanks for reading!