The regular season draws nigh, which means it's time for everyone's favorite activity: preseason predictions! The Talking Chop staff has weighed in with our predictions, and we're excited to share them with you. Here are the Talking Chop staffers polled:
- Ian Morris
- Ivan the Great
- Harris Nye
- Brad Rowland
- Kris Willis
- Dan Simpson
- Tony Almeyda
- Demetrius Bell
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The NL East was fairly cut and dry for our writers. 7 of 8 believe the Nationals will repeat as NL East Champs, 6 of 8 believe the Cards will repeat in the Central, and all 8 believe the Dodgers will repeat out west. However, there are plenty of interesting newcomers in the wild card picks, with the Marlins, Padres, and Cubs all earning multiple nods.
NL East Champions
Washington Nationals (7) - Ian, Ivan, Harris, Brad, Kris, Dan, Demetrius
Florida Marlins (1) - Tony
NL Central Champions
St. Louis Cardinals (6) - Ivan, Harris, Brad, Dan, Demetrius, Ivan, Tony
Pittsburgh Pirates (2) - Ian, Kris
NL West Champions
Los Angeles Dodgers (8) - unanimous
NL Wild Cards
Chicago Cubs (5) - Ivan, Brad, Tony, Dan, Demetrius
Miami Marlins (4) - Ian, Brad, Kris, Dan
San Diego Padres (2) - Harris, Tony
Pittsburgh Pirates (2) - Ivan, Harris
St. Louis Cardinals (2) - Ian, Kris
San Francisco Giants (1) - Demetrius
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Compared to the NL, the AL was wide open to our writers. The Red Sox were a consensus pick (7 of 8) in the East, but after that it was anyone's guess in the West, Central, and for the Wild Cards. That should make for a fun American League race this year!
AL East Champions
Boston Red Sox (7) - Ian, Ivan, Brad, Kris, Harris, Demetrius, Dan
Baltimore Orioles (1) - Tony
AL Central Champions
Cleveland Indians (4) - Ian, Harris, Brad, Dan
Detroit Tigers (4) - Ivan, Kris, Tony, Demetrius
AL West Champions
Seattle Mariners (5) - Ivan, Ian, Harris, Kris, Tony
Los Angeles Angels (3) - Brad, Demetrius, Dan
AL Wild Cards
Los Angeles Angels (5) - Ian, Harris, Kris, Demetrius, Tony
Detroit Tigers (3) - Ian, Harris, Brad
Seattle Mariners (3) - Demetrius, Brad, Dan
Cleveland Indians (2) - Ivan, Kris
Boston Red Sox (1) - Tony
Chicago White Sox (1) - Dan
Toronto Blue Jays (1) - Ivan
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Next, our writers picked their World Series matchups, and there was an incredible diversity of opinion.
World Series Matchups
Ivan: Cubs over Indians
Ian: Dodgers over Red Sox
Harris: Nationals over Mariners
Brad: Nationals over Indians
Kris: Dodgers over Red Sox
Tony: Cubs over Orioles
Demetrius: Dodgers over Mariners
Dan: Nationals over Angels
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We then turned to the individual player awards, where Mike Trout and Clayton Kershaw proved just what unifying figures they can be. That said, I imagine a healthy Jose Fernandez may have changed a few of our writers' minds - it certainly would have mine. Also of note is that the Cubs swept our Rookie of the Year votes - is there any question that the future is incredibly bright on the north side?
(Author's note: Kris did not make picks for the awards section, so that's why there are only 7 responses listed below)
NL MVP
Giancarlo Stanton (3) - Demetrius, Tony, Dan
Andrew McCutchen (1) - Ian
Bryce Harper (1) - Brad
Jason Heyward (1) - Harris
Buster Posey (1) - Ivan
NL Cy Young
Clayton Kershaw (7) - unanimous
NL Rookie of the Year
Jorge Soler (4) - Ian, Brad, Tony, Demetrius
Kris Bryant (3) - Ivan, Harris, Dan
AL MVP
Mike Trout (7) - unanimous
AL Cy Young
Felix Hernandez (4) - Ian, Harris, Brad, Tony
Chris Sale (2) - Demetrius, Dan
Phil Hughes (1) - Ivan
AL Rookie of the Year
Rusney Castillo (2) - Ivan, Harris
Alex Meyer (2) - Demetrius, Dan
Mookie Betts (1) - Brad
Daniel Norris (1) - Ian
DJ Peterson (1) - Tony
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If you've noticed one thing yet, it's that our lists have been (sadly) devoid of any Braves love anywhere. C'est la vie when you're rebuilding. But we didn't want to do predictions and not discuss the Braves at all, so we asked our writers to name their MVP and best pitcher for the Braves this year.
Braves MVP
Freddie Freeman (4) - Ivan, Ian, Demetrius, Dan
Andrelton Simmons (3) - Tony, Brad, Harris
Braves Best Pitcher
Alex Wood (5) - Ian, Brad, Harris, Tony, Dan
Julio Teheran (2) - Demetrius, Ivan
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So, what do you think? Are we all certifiable? Gurus? Somewhere in between? Let us know what you think of our picks in the comments, and give us your picks too!