Pre-Spring Training Picks

[waldo7239117]

Before spring training hits, I’m going to post my early season picks of division winners, World Series pick and awards. After spring training, I’ll have a new list of picks as I see how the team was performing, any injuries and late free agent pick-ups.

AL East
Boston Red Sox: 93-69
New York Yankees: 89-73
Tampa Bay Rays: 81-81
Baltimore Orioles: 75-87
Toronto Blue Jays: 69-93

AL Central
Detroit Tigers: 88-74
Cleveland Indians: 85-77
Kansas City Royals: 82-80
Chicago White Sox: 78-84
Minnesota Twins: 64-98

AL West
Texas Rangers: 95-67
Los Angeles Angels: 86-76
Oakland Athletics: 84-78
Seattle Mariners: 77-85
Houston Astros: 70-92

NL East
Atlanta Braves: 90-72
Washington Nationals: 87-75
Philadelphia Phillies: 79-83
New York Mets: 70-92
Miami Marlins: 64-98

NL Central
Cincinnati Reds: 87-75
St. Louis Cardinals: 85-77
Pittsburgh Pirates: 79-83
Milwaukee Brewers: 76-86
Chicago Cubs: 67-95

NL West:
Los Angeles Dodgers: 97-65
Arizona Diamondbacks: 90-72
San Diego Padres: 82-80
San Francisco Giants: 75-87
Colorado Rockies: 67-95

AL Wild Card game: Yankees over Angels
NL Wild Card game: Diamondbacks over Nationals

AL Division game: Rangers over Tigers
AL Division game: Yankees over Red Sox
NL Division game: Dodgers over Reds
NL Division game: Braves over Diamondbacks

AL Championship game: Rangers over Yankees
NL Championship game: Dodgers over Braves

2014 World Series: Dodgers over the Rangers in 6 games.

Awards
NL MVP: Catcher Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals
AL MVP: Outfielder Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
NL CY: Pitcher Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
AL CY: Pitcher David Price, Tampa Bay Rays
NL ROY: Pitcher Archie Bradley, Arizona Diamondbacks
AL ROY: Pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, New York Yankees
NL MOY: Don Mattingly, Los Angeles Dodgers
AL MOY: Ron Washington, Texas Rangers
NL EOY: Ned Colletti, Los Angeles Dodgers
AL EOY: Brian Cashman, New York Yankees
NL CPOY: BJ Upton, Atlanta Braves
AL CPOY: Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees

Those are my early picks and we’ll see what changes next prediction article once spring training concludes!

http://www.chicitysports.com/2014/01/31/pre-spring-training-picks/

 

[JosMin]

Cubs 162-0

 

[patg006]

I got the cubs with a 47-115 season and half of this board trying to rationalize it as a good thing.

Division Winners: St. Louis, LaD, Atlanta, Detroit, NYY, Rangers

WC: San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Oakland, Boston. SF beats Pitt and Boston beats Oakland.

St. Louis beats LA, SF beats Atlanta. SF beats StL. Rangers beat Boston, NYY beats Detroit. NYY beats Texas.

I got the Yankees beating the Giants in the WS in 7 games.

NL Cy Young - Matt Cain
AL Cy Young - Chris Sale or Yu Darvish
NL MVP - Paul Goldschmidt
AL MVP - Miggy
NL ROY - Eddy Butler (Rockies)
AL ROY - Jose Abreau (White Sox)

 

[JosMin]

Can't make any predictions until we get closer to Opening Day. We all know guys are gonna' get nicked up in spring training and that'll help/hurt some teams out of the gate.

 

[DewsSox79]

I got the cubs with a 47-115 season and half of this board trying to rationalize it as a good thing.

Division Winners: St. Louis, LaD, Atlanta, Detroit, NYY, Rangers

WC: San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Oakland, Boston. SF beats Pitt and Boston beats Oakland.

St. Louis beats LA, SF beats Atlanta. SF beats StL. Rangers beat Boston, NYY beats Detroit. NYY beats Texas.

I got the Yankees beating the Giants in the WS in 7 games.

NL Cy Young - Matt Cain
AL Cy Young - Chris Sale or Yu Darvish
NL MVP - Paul Goldschmidt
AL MVP - Miggy
NL ROY - Eddy Butler (Rockies)
AL ROY - Jose Abreau (White Sox)

finally someone see SFs potential


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[patg006]

finally someone see SFs potential


Sent from my Rotary Phone using Tapatalk

I don't see them being constantly dealt a bad hand the way they were in 2013. Pagan was hurt, Cain had a down year, Pence tried to do too much, Panda was a little banged up, but improved, and Vogelsong played hurt.

They got a lot of good arms coming up and Zito's cash coming off the books in a year.

I also stopped putting my faith in the DBacks. For the past 3 years I thought they would be big players, and each year they've disappointed me.

 

[nickofypres]

finally someone see SFs potential


Sent from my Rotary Phone using Tapatalk

I do too. No way that rotation will collectivity suck again this year. Plus Tim Hudon? :fap:

 

[nickofypres]

Can't make any predictions until we get closer to Opening Day. We all know guys are gonna' get nicked up in spring training and that'll help/hurt some teams out of the gate.

Plus you have to wait and see where Santana, Jimenez, Burnett and to an extent Cruz go.

 

[Boobaby1]

Plus you have to wait and see where Santana, Jimenez, Burnett and to an extent Cruz go.

.........and maybe Shark!

 

[nickofypres]

hmy:

 

[Boobaby1]

hmy:

It was meant in that he could aid a team making the playoffs like Toronto, Baltimore, or Arizona. Not that he would win any individual awards. :cubspalm:

 

[Jntg4]

Cubs 162-0

Na, 161-0, get one non-made up rainout

 

[JosMin]

Not ready to take a stab at the team records/playoff outcome, but here's kinda' how I'm feeling about individual honors --

AL MVP -- Mike Trout, OF Angels. Look, I'm an admitted Mike Trout fanboy. I fucking love Mike Trout, absolutely, unequivocally love Mike Trout. Before he came up in 2011, I remember watching a long (like 20 minute) highlight packge of him and couldn't beleive how advanced his disposition on the field was. To this day, it still blows me away that a 22-year-old has such a mature presence at the plate. He impacts the game in every phase. He's a great teammate, he's hyper competitive and I feel like he should've been the AL MVP the last two years. I expect nothing short then another enormous year from Trout. The thing is, he definitely needs a healthy Albert Pujols and a somewhat-impactful season from Josh Hamilton in order for the team to be successful.

NL MVP -- Troy Tulowitzki, SS Rockies. The biggest issue with Tulo is health. When healthy, he's among the best all-around performers in the game. I've just got a feeling about him. A monster season from him (something like .315/.385/.530 with 30 homers, 100+ RBIs, 20 steals and Gold Glove defense) will keep the Rockies in the hunt all season. Again, this is all predicated on health, but fans can only hope he's healthy for 145+ games.

AL Cy Young -- Matt Moore, P Rays. My breakout AL East pitcher this year. Moore is one of those guys who's slowly improved during his two full seasons in Tampa. With David Price rumors swirling, I think Moore will step up to the challenge and become the de facto ace if Price gets dealt. His biggest hurdle is decreasing his walk rate. His stuff is electric, three plus pitches, easy velocity and the makeup to become a rotational workforce. 18-5, 2.88 ERA, 200+ innings pitched with a K/9 rate over 9 and he'll cut his BB/9 rate closer to 3.5.

NL Cy Young -- Clayton Kershaw, P Dodgers. I just can't bet against this guy. He's the best pitcher in baseball and is knee-deep into one of the greatest careers I've ever seen. I'm running out of superlatives to describe him. Another ERA title for Kershaw. This time, though, I think he's gonna' get 20 wins and 250+ Ks.

I'll do rookies later in the day.

 

[SilenceS]

Not ready to take a stab at the team records/playoff outcome, but here's kinda' how I'm feeling about individual honors --

AL MVP -- Mike Trout, OF Angels. Look, I'm an admitted Mike Trout fanboy. I fucking love Mike Trout, absolutely, unequivocally love Mike Trout. Before he came up in 2011, I remember watching a long (like 20 minute) highlight packge of him and couldn't beleive how advanced his disposition on the field was. To this day, it still blows me away that a 22-year-old has such a mature presence at the plate. He impacts the game in every phase. He's a great teammate, he's hyper competitive and I feel like he should've been the AL MVP the last two years. I expect nothing short then another enormous year from Trout. The thing is, he definitely needs a healthy Albert Pujols and a somewhat-impactful season from Josh Hamilton in order for the team to be successful.

NL MVP -- Troy Tulowitzki, SS Rockies. The biggest issue with Tulo is health. When healthy, he's among the best all-around performers in the game. I've just got a feeling about him. A monster season from him (something like .315/.385/.530 with 30 homers, 100+ RBIs, 20 steals and Gold Glove defense) will keep the Rockies in the hunt all season. Again, this is all predicated on health, but fans can only hope he's healthy for 145+ games.

AL Cy Young -- Matt Moore, P Rays. My breakout AL East pitcher this year. Moore is one of those guys who's slowly improved during his two full seasons in Tampa. With David Price rumors swirling, I think Moore will step up to the challenge and become the de facto ace if Price gets dealt. His biggest hurdle is decreasing his walk rate. His stuff is electric, three plus pitches, easy velocity and the makeup to become a rotational workforce. 18-5, 2.88 ERA, 200+ innings pitched with a K/9 rate over 9 and he'll cut his BB/9 rate closer to 3.5.

NL Cy Young -- Clayton Kershaw, P Dodgers. I just can't bet against this guy. He's the best pitcher in baseball and is knee-deep into one of the greatest careers I've ever seen. I'm running out of superlatives to describe him. Another ERA title for Kershaw. This time, though, I think he's gonna' get 20 wins and 250+ Ks.

I'll do rookies later in the day.

Trout is a juice monkey. That my position.

 

[nickofypres]

Trout is a juice monkey. That my position.

I would argue that wife beater Cabrera is more likely on roids than Trout.

 

[SilenceS]

I would argue that wife beater Cabrera is more likely on roids than Trout.

Why? Cabrera didnt gain 30 pounds in an off season.

 

[nickofypres]

 

[nickofypres]

Not to mention he's starting to break down more? Classic sign...

 

[SilenceS]

Lol I wouldnt doubt that both of them do it, but Cabrera isnt exactly the most in shape person. He is just the best hitter on the planet that plays in your favorite teams division.

 

[X]

Not to mention he's starting to break down more? Classic sign...

I'm not siding on either side of the fence, but...Cabrera missed all of 13 games last season -- which is his most missed ever since becoming a full-time starter. in 2011 and 2012, he played 161 games each season. :shrug: