2016 Predictions

  2015 was an exciting year. There were some pretty extreme moments in it. The most memorable moment for me was Jose Bautista's bat flip in Game 5 of the ALDS, when he all but sent the Jays to the LCS with a three run home run. But things will be different in 2016. The various teams around baseball have seen the success of the Royals, and will try to mimic them. Gone will be the Steroid Era thinking of home runs must be hit to win. It would be about reducing strike outs, and putting the ball in play, hard. 

   Let's go division by division. In the NL west, the Dodgers are going to win. The Giants need to figure out their identity (their pitching) and the Padres just clumsily through together some sluggers. The Diamondbacks are set back by their one-man offense, and the Rockies can't win because of their stadium, which is so high it makes hitting impossible. 

    The NL Central will once again belong to the Cardinals, though the Pirates will fade, and the Cubs will at one point find themselves ahead. This is because The Cubs have better pitching than the Cards, and hitting. However, the Redbirds have way more experience, and they know how to win consistently. 

    The NL East will not be the Mets again. While they may have better pitching, they no longer have the offensive anchors of Daniel Murphy and Yoenis Cespedes. The Nationals don't have as good pitching, but it's solid enough to get by, and MVP Bryce Harper can anchor and offense as good as anybody. 

   The AL West will be within the Angels or the Astros. The Astros are a good young team who can deal with injury, and the Angels are anchored by the best player in baseball, Mike Trout. 

    The AL Central belongs to the dynasty of the Royals. They have their core players for at least two more years, and everyone else in that division sucks. The Tigers are in rebuilding mode, the White Sox are losing players to injury all of the time, and depend on Chris Sale. The Indians can't keep a lead, and the Twins are too old, so they can't deal with injuries. 

   The AL East is the most uncertain, as everyone in the division is bad. So I used the process of elimination. It won't be the Orioles, they're losing too many of their core players to free agency. The Yankees have the same problems as the Twins, they're too susceptible to injury. The Blue Jays no longer have their pitching anchor, David Price, to support their pitching, the Rays don't have any offense, and the Red Sox are a mess of injuries, reliance on home runs, and lack of starting pitching. However, I'm reasonably sure that if the Red Sox can grab a starter this winter, then they're in a good place to win the division.