The yearly futility of making predictions about how the season will turn out continues. Here are my picks for which teams will finish where:
NL East | NL Central | NL West |
Braves | Cubs | Dodgers |
Phillies | Cardinals | Giants |
Mets | Brewers | Diamondbacks |
Marlins | Astros | Rockies |
Nationals | Reds | Padres |
Pirates |
Yes, I am a homer, and so I picked the Braves to win the East (and I'm serious). I think it will take some time for the Braves to come together and click, but by the end of the season they will be a hard team to beat. I pick them over the Mets and Phillies mainly because of depth. We have depth at just about every position, where the other teams in the division do not. I really think that the Mets and Phils are a key injury or two away from falling out of contention, but the Braves seem to be built to withstand several injuries.
The Cubs will be there in the Central and the Dodgers will easily win the West. I'll pick the Phillies for the Wild Card.
AL East | AL Central | AL West |
Red Sox | Twins | Angels |
Rays | Tigers | A's |
Yankees | Indians | Rangers |
Orioles | White Sox | Mariners |
Blue Jays | Royals |
I think it will be a good race in the AL East, but the Red Sox have a bunch of power pitchers making appearances on their roster half way through the season, and I think that will give them a good jolt without the need to make a trade. The Rays will win the Wild Card.
The AL Central is going to be tight, and I expect there to be four teams in a penant race right up to the end. The Angels have more than enough to win the West, but the A's will come on strong at the end.
Anyhoo, if anyone else cares to make any predictions feel free to put them in the comments section.