AL East
Both easts are tough calls, with four legit teams in each division. It seems easy to go with status quo (which I will do in NL, but not here):
- Rays
- Blue Jays*
- Yankees
- Red Sox
- Orioles
The Rays have it all: pitching, defense, and more than enough offense to win this division. They finally stay healthy and put it all together for a deep run into the playoffs. The Blue Jays are a bit of a reach, but I think they have plenty of talent, and they are able to stay healthier than the Red Sox and Yankees. Age and injuries take down the two beasts of the east this year and for the first time since 1993(?) there is a postseason with no Boston or New York teams.
AL Central
- Tigers
- Royals
- Twins
- White Sox
- Indians
- Angels
- Rangers*
- Mariners
- A’s
The Angels pitching carries the day. They have the deepest and nastiest staff in the AL. The Rangers take the second wild card, but I worry about the toll that the last two post-seasons have taken on the team…look for some injuries to slow them down. The Mariners are not as bad as it might appear, but the A’s are in for a dismal season.
NL East
The east has seen a lot of shifts, but it won’t make a difference in the end this season…the times are a changin’ but not quite yet…
- Phillies
- Braves*
- Nationals
- Marlins
- Mets
As I said earlier there are four legit teams in this division. The Phillies though will prevail one last time before they succumb to age and breakdown. The Braves have too much pitching to not compete and they take the second Wild Card. The Nationals will be good, but they are a year away from the Harper/Strasberg combo taking over the division. The Marlins have made some moves and they will hang around, but I don’t think they have enough of anything to hang with the Phillies. The Mets will be good…in 2015.
NL Central
- Cardinals
- Reds
- Brewers
- Pirates
- Cubs
- Astros
This is the one totally wide open division where anything could happen. The Cards lost Pujols, but we’ve seen teams lose stars again and again and keep on going, if not get better. They made some nice additions (Betlran) and have some rising stars (Freese), but most importantly got one of the best pitchers in the world back (Wainwright). They should be able to make it out of the central. The Reds will make it close, the Brewers are still dangerous even without Prince, and even the Pirates could make some noise if their young pitchers make the jump this year. Cubs and Astros have no shot. Sorry guys.
NL West
- Giants
- Diamondbacks*
- Dodgers
- Rockies
- Padres
I believe that every team in this division improved this offseason, even if only a little bit. Which means it will be competitive. At the end of the day, though, the Giants and the D-Backs have great pitching staffs from top to bottom and that is what wins the day. Given health for both teams, I can’t not pick the Giants staff, so they take the division and D-Backs have to deal with the one and done wild card system. The Dodgers will be better and the Rockies are always a little scary, but they go 3 and 4. The Padres will be tough too, but there’s just not enough there to move them out of the cellar.
Playoffs:
WC: Braves beat the D-Backs; Blue Jays beat the Rangers
DS: Giants beat the Cardinals, Braves beat the Phillies; Rays beat the Tigers, Angels beat the Blue Jays
LCS: Giants beat the Braves; Rays beat the Angels
WS: Giants beat the Rays
(-SB)
baseballmonk 