I wanted to do one of these threads at the beginning of the season, but alas it's midseason. Now that we can see where teams are at, let's see if we can make some predictions.
Keep in mind my predictions are purely for fun, so don't chastise me for my awful opinions. Instead make your own!
The hard part is we have to make these predictions before all the big deals go down. Will the Yankees trade Chapman? Who gets him? Etc.
So I'm going to start with the AL.
AL East
The Redsox are going all in. They just added some depth to their rotation with Drew Pomerenz, and I'm expecting David Price to go back to form in this second half. Baltimore is going to be on their tails, but I'm predictiong that Boston finishes on top with 97 wins, with Baltimore right behind them with around 92, and Toronto at 90. The Yankees end up dropping more and more because of dumb managing decisions like not bringing up Aaron Judge when they should have and letting him hurt his knee in the minors, and obviously Tampa Bay is dookie.
AL Central:
Cleveland is ahead right now, but I'm going to say that the Tigers have a big surge in the second half and end up taking the lead. They win the division at 93 games, while Cleveland ends up winning only 88 and missing the playoffs. The White Sox finish just above .500, and Kansas City around 85 games. Obviously Minnesota is out of it.
AL West:
For the west, I'd love to be a homer and say Seattle will come back and win it, but I think the Rangers have this one on lockdown. The Rangers finish with the AL's best 98 wins. Houston and Seattle both end up over .500, but neither makes the playoffs. Oakland and the Angels are obviously finished for the year.
AL Playoffs:
So we have the Blue Jays and Orioles facing off in the wild card match up with the winner taking on the Rangers, and then the Red Sox and Tigers do battle. I'm going to give the one game crapshoot to the Blue Jays simply because I like their bats better, both teams have a weak pitching staff in my opinion, but the Blue Jays have a stronger bullpen and I see them coming out on top. I'm going to say the Tigers end up upsetting the great Red Sox in five games, while the Rangers go on to sweep Toronto. So we get a Texas vs Detroit ALCS series, and I'm going to give the series to the motor city in 6 games.
NL East:
The Nationals are already going strong, and I see them getting stronger. They're going to go bold and trade for Chapman to stack up their bullpen even more. This will pretty much give them the NL East, finishing with 103 wins. The Mets end up finishing with 90 wins, while the Marlins end up with a weak second half and finish at 81-81.
NL Central:
The Cubs are fading, Jake Arrieta is off his power pellets, and all is finally right in the world. This isn't a slump, the Cubs are finally coming back down to earth. They won't fall as hard as the Brewers did a couple years ago, but I'm going to say they finish with 95 wins...which is NOT enough to win the division, because I'm going to say that the Pittsburgh Pirates come back with a huge second half and win it with 97 wins. Andrew McCutchen seems to be turning it on, and the Pirates have a huge young crop of talent about to emerge. Josh Bell has already shown what he can do, and with Glasnow and Taillon settling in I think the Pirates can be unstoppable. Depending on how well it takes Glasnow to get into form, the Pirates may end up stealing the show in the second half of this baseball season.
Meanwhile the Cardinals make a knock for the wild card spot, but don't get it at 84 wins.
NL West:
The Giants are looking pretty impressive, and they aren't going anywhere. They end up staying on top of their division with 98 wins, despite failing to acquire Chapman. The Dodgers are right there too, and earn the second wild card spot with 92 wins.
NL Playoffs:
So it's a Dodgers vs Cubs wild card game, Kershaw vs Arrieta. I'll take Hershaw over Arrieta anyday, and the Dodgers will too. They take this pitching duel and move on to face the tough Washington Nationals. Meanwhile the Giants and Pirates are facing off. The last three times the Giants made the playoffs they have won it all, and after another dominanting performance in Game 1 where Bumgarner outduels Cole, it looks like they do it again...however the Pirates end up shutting things down and winning the next three games to upset the Giants and move onto the NLCS.
The Dodgers and Nationals however have a much closer battle, going to five games where they Nats go on to win. So it's a Pirates vs Nationals NLCS, and it's a great battle. The young talent in Pittsburgh faces off against the experience of the Nationals. It comes down to Game 7, where the Nationals end up edging out the Bucs to move onto the World Series.
2016 World Series
It appears to be a great showdown between the Tigers and Nationals, but these teams aren't evenly matched whatsoever. Strasburg, Scherzer, Bryce Harper, and friends end up taking the Tigers by storm. They sweep them in four straight games to end up becoming World Series kings for the first time in franchise history. Anthony Rendon ends up taking the World Series MVP award, while Stephen Strasburg is the Playoff MVP.
So those are my big bold predictions. What do you think will happen?
Keep in mind my predictions are purely for fun, so don't chastise me for my awful opinions. Instead make your own!
The hard part is we have to make these predictions before all the big deals go down. Will the Yankees trade Chapman? Who gets him? Etc.
So I'm going to start with the AL.
AL East
The Redsox are going all in. They just added some depth to their rotation with Drew Pomerenz, and I'm expecting David Price to go back to form in this second half. Baltimore is going to be on their tails, but I'm predictiong that Boston finishes on top with 97 wins, with Baltimore right behind them with around 92, and Toronto at 90. The Yankees end up dropping more and more because of dumb managing decisions like not bringing up Aaron Judge when they should have and letting him hurt his knee in the minors, and obviously Tampa Bay is dookie.
AL Central:
Cleveland is ahead right now, but I'm going to say that the Tigers have a big surge in the second half and end up taking the lead. They win the division at 93 games, while Cleveland ends up winning only 88 and missing the playoffs. The White Sox finish just above .500, and Kansas City around 85 games. Obviously Minnesota is out of it.
AL West:
For the west, I'd love to be a homer and say Seattle will come back and win it, but I think the Rangers have this one on lockdown. The Rangers finish with the AL's best 98 wins. Houston and Seattle both end up over .500, but neither makes the playoffs. Oakland and the Angels are obviously finished for the year.
AL Playoffs:
So we have the Blue Jays and Orioles facing off in the wild card match up with the winner taking on the Rangers, and then the Red Sox and Tigers do battle. I'm going to give the one game crapshoot to the Blue Jays simply because I like their bats better, both teams have a weak pitching staff in my opinion, but the Blue Jays have a stronger bullpen and I see them coming out on top. I'm going to say the Tigers end up upsetting the great Red Sox in five games, while the Rangers go on to sweep Toronto. So we get a Texas vs Detroit ALCS series, and I'm going to give the series to the motor city in 6 games.
NL East:
The Nationals are already going strong, and I see them getting stronger. They're going to go bold and trade for Chapman to stack up their bullpen even more. This will pretty much give them the NL East, finishing with 103 wins. The Mets end up finishing with 90 wins, while the Marlins end up with a weak second half and finish at 81-81.
NL Central:
The Cubs are fading, Jake Arrieta is off his power pellets, and all is finally right in the world. This isn't a slump, the Cubs are finally coming back down to earth. They won't fall as hard as the Brewers did a couple years ago, but I'm going to say they finish with 95 wins...which is NOT enough to win the division, because I'm going to say that the Pittsburgh Pirates come back with a huge second half and win it with 97 wins. Andrew McCutchen seems to be turning it on, and the Pirates have a huge young crop of talent about to emerge. Josh Bell has already shown what he can do, and with Glasnow and Taillon settling in I think the Pirates can be unstoppable. Depending on how well it takes Glasnow to get into form, the Pirates may end up stealing the show in the second half of this baseball season.
Meanwhile the Cardinals make a knock for the wild card spot, but don't get it at 84 wins.
NL West:
The Giants are looking pretty impressive, and they aren't going anywhere. They end up staying on top of their division with 98 wins, despite failing to acquire Chapman. The Dodgers are right there too, and earn the second wild card spot with 92 wins.
NL Playoffs:
So it's a Dodgers vs Cubs wild card game, Kershaw vs Arrieta. I'll take Hershaw over Arrieta anyday, and the Dodgers will too. They take this pitching duel and move on to face the tough Washington Nationals. Meanwhile the Giants and Pirates are facing off. The last three times the Giants made the playoffs they have won it all, and after another dominanting performance in Game 1 where Bumgarner outduels Cole, it looks like they do it again...however the Pirates end up shutting things down and winning the next three games to upset the Giants and move onto the NLCS.
The Dodgers and Nationals however have a much closer battle, going to five games where they Nats go on to win. So it's a Pirates vs Nationals NLCS, and it's a great battle. The young talent in Pittsburgh faces off against the experience of the Nationals. It comes down to Game 7, where the Nationals end up edging out the Bucs to move onto the World Series.
2016 World Series
It appears to be a great showdown between the Tigers and Nationals, but these teams aren't evenly matched whatsoever. Strasburg, Scherzer, Bryce Harper, and friends end up taking the Tigers by storm. They sweep them in four straight games to end up becoming World Series kings for the first time in franchise history. Anthony Rendon ends up taking the World Series MVP award, while Stephen Strasburg is the Playoff MVP.
So those are my big bold predictions. What do you think will happen?