Ladies and gentlemen, baseball is back. We are less than one week away from the official stateside start to the MLB season (the Dodgers and Diamondbacks played two regular season games in Australia last weekend), and with a new season comes new expectations.
With practically every team in first place (sorry Arizona), it is only fitting that we here at Eutaw Street Report project which teams stay there and which teams fall back to the pack.
So, without further ado…
NL East
Washington
Philadelphia
Atlanta
New York
Miami
Analysis
Washington has the best pitching in baseball. Their starting four of Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmerman, and Doug Fister make up one of the best rotations in recent memory. Pair the stellar pitching with a lineup that featured five players with 20+ home runs in 2013 and Wilson Ramos, who blasted 16 in just 78 games, and the Nationals could win close to 100 games in 2014.
Philly is finally healthy and once Cole Hamels returns in late April to go along with Cliff Lee and A.J. Burnett, the Phillies will be in it all year, though they will miss the playoffs. Atlanta, much like Texas, just has too many injuries and will see a decline in 2014.
NL Central
St. Louis
Pittsburgh (WC)
Cincinnati
Milwaukee
Chicago
Analysis
St. Louis is one of the best teams in baseball year-in and year-out. They are led on offense by Yadier Molina, Matt Holiday, and Matt Carpenter and have two aces in Adam Wainwright and Michael Wacha. There is no reason not to expect the Cardinals to win the division again.
The Pirates return four-fifths of a starting rotation that pitched to a 3.50 ERA in 2013 and boast the reigning National League MVP in Andrew McCutchen. After missing the playoffs for 20 straight seasons, the Pirates will make their second consecutive trip to October baseball in 2014. Cincinnati, while solid, will miss the playoffs in 2014, mostly due to league-wide improvement.
NL West
Los Angeles
San Francisco (WC)
Arizona
San Diego
Colorado
Analysis
The NL West is a two-horse race in 2014. If not for the Nationals, the Dodgers would boast the best rotation is the league with Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Chad Billingsley, and Hyun-Jin Ryu . With a lineup that features Hanley Ramirez, Matt Kemp, Adrian Gonzalez and Yasiel Puig, the Dodgers will run away with the division for the second straight season.
The Giants will prove that 2013 was a fluke and return to playoff form as pitchers Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, and Tim Lincecum will lead San Francisco to a Wild Card berth. In Arizona, the acquisitions of Bronson Arroyo and Mark Trumbo simply will not be enough for the D-Backs to overtake the Dodgers or the Giants. Even with MVP candidate Paul Goldschmidt, the team just does not have enough pitching to win much more than 81 games.
San Diego returns a solid bullpen, but the Padres will need big years from the likes of Chase Headley and Carlos Quentin to make up for a shaky rotation. The Rockies have Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez and not much else.
NL MVP
1. Hanley Ramirez (LAD)
2. Paul Goldschmidt (ARI)
3. Andrew McCutchen (PIT)
NL Cy Young
1. Clayton Kershaw (LAD)
2. Jose Fernandez (MIA)
3. Stephen Strasburg (WAS)
NL Rookie of the Year
1. Billy Hamilton (CIN)
2. Oscar Taveras (STL)
3. Kolten Wong (STL)
NL Comeback Player of the Year
1. Ryan Howard (PHI)
2. Chase Headley (SD)
3. Adam LaRoche (WAS)
*Note-If Howard can return to 80% of the player he was from 2006-11 when he averaged 44 HR, 133 RBI and 153 games per season, he could be a dark horse MVP candidate. LaRoche was the only player on this list to play a full season in 2013, but he dropped from .271 with 33 HR and 100 RBI in 2012 to .237/20/62 in 2013. With a healthy Bryce Harper and Jayson Werth around him, look for LaRoche to rebound in 2014.
Playoffs
Wild Card
SF over PIT
NLDS
WAS over SF
LAD over STL
NLCS
WAS over LAD
World Series
WAS over DET
As always, this is one journalist’s opinion and open for debate, discussion, and interpretation. Let me know how you feel about it, and contact me on Twitter @PaulValleIII.
3 Responses
Dam dude, you are getting worse and worse with this, Strassburg for one will be on the disabled list most of the year and Fister was just a middle of the road pitcher for Detroit last year, the Worlds Series will be Boston over LA Dodgers remember were you seen that first, I love the O’s but i dont think they are World Series contenders.
You’re probably a Boston fan. No way they’re winning twice in a row… O’s have a better chance then most for the World Series. Boston is going to be lucky if they even get a wildcard spot at all. Keep dreaming.
Why? Because he had Tommy John surgery three years ago? Strasburg has been dominant his entire career and you could make the case that the nationals were ousted from the playoffs in 2012 because he was shut down. Also, there’s a reason no team has repeated as world champion since the ’99-00 Yankees. It is really hard to do. Nationals have the best pitching in baseball and solid enough of an offense to win a lot of games. Dodgers will choke just like last year.