Lake County Sentinel
2017 Major League Baseball Predictions By Justin Lada
American League
East
Boston Red Sox
Tampa Bay Rays*
Toronto Blue Jays
Baltimore Orioles
New York Yankees
This is probably the hardest division to pick because it could go so many ways. I'm pretty confident the Red Sox are still a notch above the rest here even without David Price...The Rays probably have the most pitching depth in this division and at some point they'll get Wilson Ramos back, so I like their potential to snag a Wild Card spot...I like the Blue Jays starting rotation but there's not a ton of depth in starters there and their bullpen leaves something to be desired as well...Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman are finally going to break out for the Orioles. The bullpen and offense are still good. But who starts in spots 3-5 in that rotation?...I know a lot of people are high on the Yankees young bucks but I don't think that whole rotation is ready for primetime. Aaron Judge still has a lot of swing and miss, they're still playing Chase Headley too. Not quite there yet.
Central
Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers
Kansas City Royals
Chicago White Sox
Minnesota Twins
Not too much to talk about with this division. Even with some injuries, barring anything significant, the Indians are more talented than everyone in this division...The Tigers have a solid pitching rotation with Verlander, Fulmer and Norris. If Zimmermann gives them ANYTHING, they'll have a Wild Card shot in them. If not, well, this team may look very different in September...The Royals are trying to hold on for one more run but between the death of Ventura and having to trade Wade Davis, I'm just not sure there's enough depth there to make it happen...The White Sox stunk with a talented paper roster last year. With an even worse one this year, it won't be much better but when they get a few prospects up and sell some other pieces off, they won't be down for long...The Twins still don't have pitching. Santana is OK, Berrios should be better. And hope they trade Brian Dozier before he has no value left.
West
Houston Astros
Texas Rangers*
Seattle Mariners
Los Angeles Angels
Oakland Athletics
This division isn't as tough to predict as I thought. The Astros pitching is far superior to the Rangers. Their lineups are about equal but I still think Texas has enough with Darvish and Hamels plus some prospects to cash in for another starter to make a Wild Card run...I like the Mariners lineup. A lot. Their bullpen is solid. Their pitching rotation doesn't inspire me to think they'll do anything more than be a few games short again. Smyly is hurt a bit, Felix is no longer King Felix, Paxton has never held up over a full season, Iwakuma is older and Gallardo? Gallardo?...The Angels are as good on paper as they've been since Mike Trout's arrival. But their rotation is still a question mark with health and depth. Same goes for the bullpen. But at least now Trout isn't the entire offense...The rotation the A's are building looks good. Even without Gray (which if they can flip him for prospects, it's even better) has Cotton, Manea, Triggs and Gravemen. I'm not sure how much they'll hit and their bullpen looks even a little more hit or miss
AL MVP: Mike Trout, Angels
AL Cy Young: Yu Darvish, Rangers
AL Rookie of the Year: Andrew Benintendi, Red Sox
Manager of the Year: AJ Hinch, Astros
American League Champs: Indians
National League
East
New York Mets
Washington Nationals*
Philadelphia Phillies
Miami Marlins
Atlanta Braves
Other divisions are a little harder but this two team race was difficult to think about. With the Mets depth of Syndergaard, deGrom, Harvey, Wheeler, Gsellman, Lugo, Montero, they have a deeper pool to play with than the Nationals. They'll hit enough, too...Washington has stars at all turns of the roster but their rotation lacks the Mets depth and I think that ultimately wins out here...Heck, the Phillies might have a better 1-5 rotation than the Nationals even if it lacks the star power of Scherzer and Strasburg. They're almost there...I'm really, really intrigued by the Marlins pitching plans. I'd love to see Jose Fernandez pitching still, but this C+ rotation and B/B+ bullpen combination could be interesting since they want to go bullpen heavy. Also, Christian Yelich and Giancarlo Stanton are fun to watch...The Braves have something old (Colon and Dickey), something new (ballpark that they conned tax payers into!), something borrowed (they'll hope to flip Colon and Dickey for prospects at the deadline or their careers are on borrowed time, whatever you prefer) and something blue (uniforms). However, the Braves aren't getting married. This is a talented division and they're finishing in last.
Central
Chicago Cubs
St. Louis Cardinals
Pittsburgh Pirates
Milwaukee Brewers
Cincinnati Reds
The Cubs, because, well, if you're reading this, you already know...Even sans Alex Reyes, the Cardinals rotation is pretty good and they boast a deep bench as well. In any other division, they're a division contender. In the NL Central right now, it's Wild Card or bust...The Pirates should have some pitching prospects to help them this year but the bullpen doesn't look as good as it used to. They're still a Wild Card contender, but it's a deep field...I love the Brewers offense. Villar, Broxton, Braun, Santana, and even Arcia and Perez. Maybe even Aguilar. When they aren't hitting, change the channel cause that pitching rotation looks like it might not be pretty...The Reds offense is weird. Hamilton and Perez can run but they hit in front of Votto, who you want to not risk being thrown out in front of. And after Votto, their offense is very bleh. The pitching rotation is young and possibly fun though. As far as last place teams goes, they might be rather fun to watch.
West
Los Angeles Dodgers
Arizona Diamondbacks*
San Francisco Giants
Colorado Rockies
San Diego Padres
Nobody has more pitching depth than the Dodgers...The Diamondbacks are my one little surprise. This is an overlooked team with good position players (Goldschmidt, Lamb, Drury, Tomas, Pollock, Peralta and some new catchers), a rotation that I think is going to rebound. With a bullpen arm breakout or two, they are a Wild Card team...It's not an even year, so the Giants, even with that proven pitching staff (and it's good) don't have the hitters to do it again this year...The Rockies have as much hitting as anyone but I still don't trust that rotation, the bullpen or anybody pitching at Coors Field...If you're trying to find a reason to watch the Padres this year, find a new activity.
NL MVP: Yoenis Cespedes, Mets
NL CY Young: Noah Syndergaard, Mets
NL Rookie of the Year: Dansby Swanson, Braves
NL Manager of the Year: Torey Lovullo, Diamondbacks
National League Champs: Cubs
World Series: Indians over Cubs
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POSTED 04/01/2017 16:00
