Post by Deleted on Feb 2, 2017 16:54:32 GMT -5
Hey guys, with FA winding down and most of the big offseason moves made, I figured we have a pretty good idea of what rosters will look like for the 2017 season. That, combined with the fact that I'm desperate to talk baseball in some capacity during this excruciatingly long off-season, I figured it would be fun to make some predictions for the upcoming season. I think we should all pick the division winners and WC teams for each league. Without further ado, here are my picks!
AL West: Houston Astros
1) Astros: I may be biased, but I see the Astros defending their 2016 division title with another division championship in 2017. Houston won the division with relative ease in 2016 and has strengthened their MLB roster (acquired Chris Sale, Jose Altuve, Francisco Lindor, John Lackey, Matt Shoemaker, and Marcell Ozuna). However, Houston did deal 2nd overall pick from the inaugural draft, Bryce Harper, which could come back to haunt the organization for many years to come. With the SP being the main reason for the late season struggles in Houston (only had 4 healthy SP at the end of 2016), look for Houston to bounce back after greatly strengthening their rotation (Sale, Shoemaker, Lackey), as well as getting several pitchers back healthy (Lance McCullers, Lance Lynn, and Wei-Yin Chen).
2) Royals: Like the Astros, the Royals have made some HUGE moves to strengthen their squad. After a slow start to the off-season, the Royals shocked the league by agreeing to a blockbuster trade with AL East rival, New York Yankees. As a part of the deal, the Royals dealt top prospects Albies, Sheffield, and Ray in a ‘win now’ move to acquire perennial all star catcher Buster Posey and super star 2B Robinson Cano. Posey and Cano will join a squad of aging stars (Miguel Cabrera, Todd Frazier, Tulo, Ryan Braun, Matt Kemp, Brett Gardner) in Kansas City to help make a run at a championship. While the acquisition of Cano and Posey is no doubt a big move and should be one that propels the Royals to another playoff appearance in 2017, time will tell if it's enough to overcome the 29 games that separated them from the Astros in 2016. With the Royals' squad filled with players inching toward their mid 30's, it's hard to envision the team staying healthy enough to overcome Houston. However, this team does have the talent to win the West - don’t count them out.
3) Mariners: The Mariners 2016 season started off about as horribly as it could after Kyle Schwarber sustained a season ending injury in the first game of the year. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Mariners went on to lose the following players over the course of the year: David Wright (neck) and Matt Harvey (season ending surgery) for the majority of the season. Led by the best player in the MLB, Mike Trout, this team is a tough matchup for any team, on any given week. While there are legitimate concerns with Seattle’s starting rotation (very little depth), they did make some moves to help alleviate those concerns by bringing in Cole Hamels and Henry Owens (both via trade) and the FA signing of Marco Estrada. If Matt Harvey, David Wright and Kyle Schwarber can bounce back from their injuries, the Mariners have a legitimate shot at competing for a championship.
4) Athletics: The Athletics suffered through a brutal 2016 season, finishing dead last in the AL West (and with the 3rd worst record in the Field of Dreams). Thankfully, 2016 is in the past and things are looking up for the fans in Oakland. The acquisition of Jason Kipnis (via trade) may not look like a super sexy move on paper, but it was an important one. Kipnis’ solid and consistent production will help shore up a weak spot in the A’s lineup. When you factor in a full season of production from rookie phenom Corey Seager and an OF led by near AL MVP Mookie Betts, this lineup has potential to be one of the stronger lineups in the AL. IF Michael Brantley can get healthy and play like he did a few seasons ago and Jake Lamb can figure out how to hit lefties (a paltry .164 AVG vs lefties in 2016), then this team will have a shot at playoffs. However, if they don’t, it’s difficult to imagine a path to the playoffs for Oakland due to their average rotation.
5) Rangers: While the Rangers had a pretty good season in 2016 (narrowly missed the playoffs), it’s hard to envision them improving on those results. While the Rangers made some moves via FA (signed Wily Peralta, Leonys Martin, Hazelbaker, and Friedrich), none of those moves are likely to make up for the loss of one of their franchise’s best players - Jose Fernandez (RIP). While there is serious potential on this squad, there are a lot of question marks. Will Carlos Gomez bounce back and start playing at an all star level again? Will Corey Dickerson hit as well in Tampa Bay as he did in Colorado? Is Scott Schebler a serviceable starting OF? If the Rangers want to compete in 2017, they will have to lean heavily on stud 1B Anthony Rizzo and the 2 headed pitching monster of Max Scherzer and Carlos Carrasco (one of the best 1-2 punches in the league). If the question marks I mentioned earlier play like they’re capable of playing, Texas can compete. However, it’s tough to see everything working together well enough for Texas to make it to the dance this year. Having said that, with exciting top prospects like Brendan Rodgers, Manuel Margot and Raimel Tapia waiting in the wings, this team could get A LOT better in the next year or 2.
I’ll try to get to predictions for the 3 other divisions over the next week or so, but this is all I have for now. I would love to hear everyone else’s predictions!
AL West: Houston Astros
1) Astros: I may be biased, but I see the Astros defending their 2016 division title with another division championship in 2017. Houston won the division with relative ease in 2016 and has strengthened their MLB roster (acquired Chris Sale, Jose Altuve, Francisco Lindor, John Lackey, Matt Shoemaker, and Marcell Ozuna). However, Houston did deal 2nd overall pick from the inaugural draft, Bryce Harper, which could come back to haunt the organization for many years to come. With the SP being the main reason for the late season struggles in Houston (only had 4 healthy SP at the end of 2016), look for Houston to bounce back after greatly strengthening their rotation (Sale, Shoemaker, Lackey), as well as getting several pitchers back healthy (Lance McCullers, Lance Lynn, and Wei-Yin Chen).
2) Royals: Like the Astros, the Royals have made some HUGE moves to strengthen their squad. After a slow start to the off-season, the Royals shocked the league by agreeing to a blockbuster trade with AL East rival, New York Yankees. As a part of the deal, the Royals dealt top prospects Albies, Sheffield, and Ray in a ‘win now’ move to acquire perennial all star catcher Buster Posey and super star 2B Robinson Cano. Posey and Cano will join a squad of aging stars (Miguel Cabrera, Todd Frazier, Tulo, Ryan Braun, Matt Kemp, Brett Gardner) in Kansas City to help make a run at a championship. While the acquisition of Cano and Posey is no doubt a big move and should be one that propels the Royals to another playoff appearance in 2017, time will tell if it's enough to overcome the 29 games that separated them from the Astros in 2016. With the Royals' squad filled with players inching toward their mid 30's, it's hard to envision the team staying healthy enough to overcome Houston. However, this team does have the talent to win the West - don’t count them out.
3) Mariners: The Mariners 2016 season started off about as horribly as it could after Kyle Schwarber sustained a season ending injury in the first game of the year. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Mariners went on to lose the following players over the course of the year: David Wright (neck) and Matt Harvey (season ending surgery) for the majority of the season. Led by the best player in the MLB, Mike Trout, this team is a tough matchup for any team, on any given week. While there are legitimate concerns with Seattle’s starting rotation (very little depth), they did make some moves to help alleviate those concerns by bringing in Cole Hamels and Henry Owens (both via trade) and the FA signing of Marco Estrada. If Matt Harvey, David Wright and Kyle Schwarber can bounce back from their injuries, the Mariners have a legitimate shot at competing for a championship.
4) Athletics: The Athletics suffered through a brutal 2016 season, finishing dead last in the AL West (and with the 3rd worst record in the Field of Dreams). Thankfully, 2016 is in the past and things are looking up for the fans in Oakland. The acquisition of Jason Kipnis (via trade) may not look like a super sexy move on paper, but it was an important one. Kipnis’ solid and consistent production will help shore up a weak spot in the A’s lineup. When you factor in a full season of production from rookie phenom Corey Seager and an OF led by near AL MVP Mookie Betts, this lineup has potential to be one of the stronger lineups in the AL. IF Michael Brantley can get healthy and play like he did a few seasons ago and Jake Lamb can figure out how to hit lefties (a paltry .164 AVG vs lefties in 2016), then this team will have a shot at playoffs. However, if they don’t, it’s difficult to imagine a path to the playoffs for Oakland due to their average rotation.
5) Rangers: While the Rangers had a pretty good season in 2016 (narrowly missed the playoffs), it’s hard to envision them improving on those results. While the Rangers made some moves via FA (signed Wily Peralta, Leonys Martin, Hazelbaker, and Friedrich), none of those moves are likely to make up for the loss of one of their franchise’s best players - Jose Fernandez (RIP). While there is serious potential on this squad, there are a lot of question marks. Will Carlos Gomez bounce back and start playing at an all star level again? Will Corey Dickerson hit as well in Tampa Bay as he did in Colorado? Is Scott Schebler a serviceable starting OF? If the Rangers want to compete in 2017, they will have to lean heavily on stud 1B Anthony Rizzo and the 2 headed pitching monster of Max Scherzer and Carlos Carrasco (one of the best 1-2 punches in the league). If the question marks I mentioned earlier play like they’re capable of playing, Texas can compete. However, it’s tough to see everything working together well enough for Texas to make it to the dance this year. Having said that, with exciting top prospects like Brendan Rodgers, Manuel Margot and Raimel Tapia waiting in the wings, this team could get A LOT better in the next year or 2.
I’ll try to get to predictions for the 3 other divisions over the next week or so, but this is all I have for now. I would love to hear everyone else’s predictions!
