By Josh:
The 2019 MLB season officially starts today and the Mariners are already 2-0. I have them winning 95 games and winning the World Series….in 2024. Even though I most likely won’t go to any MLB games in person (mentioned before the cost is just too much) I will be watching games like crazy on MLBTV. It should be a fun year of baseball (every year with baseball is fun) and here are my 2019 predictions.
AL West – Astros
The Astros could go into cruise control to start the season and would still win the West by at least 5 games if not 15 games. I don’t think the A’s and Mariners will just roll over but they also aren’t going to be able to keep up with the Astros. Oh and all this rebuilding the M’s have done has actually built a solid team for this year and a chance for a really good team in 2 or 3 years.
AL Central – Twins
The Indians have the better pitching staff but the Twins went out and improved their team in a number of ways and I think that will be the difference.
AL East – Red Sox
The Red Sox have earned this pick as the defending World Series Champions but I don’t count out the Yankees to win this division, nor do I count out the Rays in messing things up for everyone in this division.
AL Wild Cards – Yankees and Indians
I can already wipe out half of the American League when trying to figure out who will make the playoffs so after the process of elimination there is really only 4 teams I think have a chance at the Wild Card.
NL West – Dodgers
The Rockies will be competitive, the Padres will be better and even though the Diamondbacks and Giants aren’t playoff contenders in my opinion they can still play spoiler. In the end though the Dodgers are still a strong offensive team with plenty of pitching.
NL Central – Brewers
The Central might just be the most competitive division in all of baseball. The Reds got a lot better but still might end up in 4th place. The Cardinals and Cubs are going to be fighting all season long for the division but in the end I think the Brewers hold out to win the Central.
NL East – Braves
Everyone seems to be picking the Phillies to win the East, but I am not going to jump on that bandwagon. Harper was a big signing (contract wise) but I’m not sold that he will help the Phillies win. The Braves were young last year and played great. I have the Braves winning the East this year and my playoff predictions last year has the Braves being in the 2020 World Series. They are for real and they have a chance to win a lot.
NL Wild Card – Cardinals and Rockies
Unlike the American League I actually had a lot of teams to consider here. Each division had a couple teams I debated about and I was close to putting in the Padres, Cubs, Phillies and Mets. The NL races might be the most exciting ones to watch this year.
World Series – Astros vs Brewers
This would be an extremely fun match up to watch. Two teams that can pound the ball while also being a little scrappy. In the end though I think the Astros would win the Series in 6 games.
2019 Awards
AL ROY – Eloy Jimenez
NL ROY – Pete Alonso
AL Manager – Rocco Baldelli
NL Manager – Brian Snitker
AL Cy Young – Chris Sale
NL Cy Young – Max Scherzer
AL MVP – Mike Trout
NL MVP – Paul Goldschmidt