2018 MLB Predictions – American League and Post-Season

First Dahday CEO Michael Collazo took a swing at the National League:

Excited for #MLB baseball this year? Here is CEO @MCollazo215 ‘s predictions for what to expect in the National League: https://t.co/9e2FY45mro #LGM #BeBold #Mets #Phillies

— Dahday (@DahdayCom) April 2, 2018

Now check out his American League and post-season predictions. What do you think? Tweet @Dahday.com or @mcollazo215 and let your voice be heard! Sign up for Dahday’s email list for future baseball offers.

Happy Opening Day!

AL East | AL Central | AL West | Postseason Predictions

AL East:

The Sawwx: Boston ironically may have made little noise in the off-season compared to their Evil Empire rivals but I think they still win this division. Last year, Chris Sale was good as advertised but the rest of the rotation didn’t come together. Still, Rick Porcello and David Price are Cy Young-caliber arms. These top three still can be as good as any top of the rotation in baseball. Eduardo Rodriguez and Drew Pomeranz can be a solid fourth and fifth starter combo. That talented outfield of Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley, Jr. and Andrew Benintendi can only get better. Young Rafael Devers playing the entire 2018 season improves an already potent lineup. Craig Kimbrel and company have a competitive bullpen. So despite the buzz in the Bronx, I will pick Boston to finish atop the AL East.

Los Yanquis: There is no question this club has World-Series-or-bust expectations after a 2017 ALCS appearance. Giancarlo Stanton was brought in. Aaron Judge aims to repeat his special rookie season. But do we assume the veteran starters – after surprising last year – will perform the same way? Could C.C. Sabathia and Masahiro Tanaka underwhelm this year? Will Greg Bird ever remain healthy? The talent in the bullpen is unmistakable and they will bash, but I don’t think the Yankees have a huge talent advantage. This should be a classic Sox Nation vs. Yankees Universe race all season.

The Weeknds: Toronto may be hard to figure. They could fall at either extreme. Like the Mets in the NL, the starting staff suffered some devastating injuries, namely Aaron Sanchez. Marcus Stroman is a top of the rotation talent when healthy, too. J.A. Happ was a Cy Young candidate in 2016, but wasn’t as effective in 2017. So that trio could be tremendous if they pitch to their potential. Not the Bomb Squad they once were with Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, but Josh Donaldson still leads an offense with some intriguing pieces like Aledmys Diaz, Devon Travis and Kevin Pillar up the middle and the suddenly resurrected Justin Smoak at first. Roberto Osuna throws fire coming out the bullpen, too. So there could be either wild card contender excitement North of the Border if the starters hold up – or Rogers Centre could be pretty empty by late August.

The O’s: Always an over-achieving club, this year Buck Showalter’s Orioles may be simply outmanned this time around. The lineup will hit homeruns – Machado, Chris Davis, Trey Mancini, Pedro Alvarez, etc. – but the arms always come up short, despite an always solid bullpen. Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman could take a next step up and Andrew Cashner and Alex Cobb could help, but that roster of arms can’t compete with the top of this division. That weakness – starting pitching – has always been the difference between them and the playoff caliber clubs so sadly that fact is no different this year. This could be the last O’s fans see of Manny Machado on the Inner Harbor so this organization could look at lot different by July if they get buried.

Ybor City: If MLB were like the English Premiership, this club would be under constant threat of relegation. Constantly cash strapped, constantly working with short windows, always trying to stay above water in a tough baseball market, this year is going to again test the organization. Not much talent to grow with right now. Chris Archer has been over-rated the last two years. His stuff is so good but his ERA has hovered around 4.50-5.00 the last couple of seasons. He is very likely to be in another uniform by the end of the summer. No more Evan Longoria and no more sluggers like Corey Dickerson and Logan Morrison,Tampa needs to eek out runs with Mallex Smith,  Kevin Kiermaier, Wilson Ramos, Carlos Gomez, C.J. Cron… not much there. Possibly a more interesting storyline will be how far along a plan to have a new ballpark in Ybor City moves forward. If taxpayers don’t get ripped off and a pretty stadium settles in that artsy, Latino historical district in Tampa City, the franchise may re-gain some momentum.

AL Central:

#TheLand: I will keep picking Cleveland until I get this wrong. Another World-Series-or-bust organization, the offensive and defensive talents of Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez, Jason Kipnis, Michael Brantley and a young Bradley Zimmer should produce elite numbers. Yonder Alonso replaces Carlos Santana at first. Their pitching is as good as anyone’s in baseball. It is built to win now. Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer and Mike Clevinger match up well with any club. Andrew Miller and Cody Allen dominate late in games. The Twins are improving but I don’t see them catching up with Cleveland just yet.

Twinkies: Minnesota can win this division, no doubt. I think Minnesota would need one more pitcher but based on its minor league and major league talent, that “one more pitcher” could be on the roster or could be got via trade. Jose Berrios is the key to the season. Like Aaron Nola in Philly, if the Puerto Rican Berrios pitches like an ace – and he has the stuff to do it – the Twins could compete with Cleveland for the crown. Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario, the improving Byron Buxton, Max Kepler, Joe Mauer and Brain Dozier lead this good lineup. The Twins brought in the under-rated Lance Lynn and Jake Odorizzi to help Berrios and Kyle Gibson in the rotation. Veterans Fernando Rodney and Addison Reed lead the bullpen. These top two teams should make this AL Central race fun.

Pale Hose: The South Side won’t see a playoff team just yet but it should be fun to see how the young roster plays out. The White Sox are in wait and see mode – which young guys will play their way into Chicago’s future plans. Could Tim Anderson hit enough to be the solution at shortstop? Is Yoan Moncada going to be a superstar, a franchise foundation piece? Does Avisail Garcia start in the White Sox outfield long term? I wonder if GM Rick Hahn moves Jose Abreu (now 31 years old) to bring in younger prospects. I wonder what they get out of Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez. I wonder will we see Michael Kopech – known as the 107 MPH Man – with the big club at all this season. Lots of reasons for watch this year.

Royals: This is a rebuilding season for the Royals but in a weaker division, the Royals still have a decent shot to hold the middle. KC lost Eric Hosmer and Lorenzo Cain but kept champion holdovers like Mike Moustakas and Salvador Perez who is hurt but likely would return at some point. Danny Duffy and Ian Kennedy man the top of the rotation, which isn’t saying much. Kelvin Herrera used to dominate the 6th inning but now is the closer. The Royals have an interesting outfield with Jon Jay, potentially Alex Gordon, the Brazilian Paulo Orlando and Cuban Jorge Soler, who didn’t put it together with the Cubbies but he is still just 26. The front office may trade some vets during the season which could sink them further down this division.

Motown: Detroit is going to be bad this year. Even Miguel Cabrera might not resemble the hitting machine he has always been. I like Michael Fulmer, who despite his age gets his name in the papers as part of trade rumors. Nicholas Castellanos hits. Shortstop Jose Iglesias doesn’t. This club held onto its World Series dreams a little long because of the late owner Mike Ilitch’s last wishes. Now that he as passed, the franchise will suffer through some poor seasons while they build the farm system and big league club back up.

AL West:

The World Champion Astros: Houston is home to the best team in baseball. Jose Altuve should be on Nickelodeon or DisneyXD every night.The Venezulano is like 4’11” and yet hits for power, runs, plays D and wins World Series championships. If MLB knew how to market its players, he would be a household name. Carlos Correa is almost as good as Altuve overall. I am a big George Springer fan. The talent on the field is now being rivaled by their pitching staff, unlike past rosters. Justin Verlander gives them a veteran who commands respect. Dallas Keuchel is really good. They acquired Gerritt Cole, who can be an ace when he is right. Now even Charlie Morton is filthy! Their bullpen is a “weakness” but it’s not. They have a bunch of competent arms. If Ken GIles falters in the 9th inning, the Astros can trade for a closer or…win a World Series regardless, which is what happened in 2017. The only thing that holds this team back is the Law of Baseball Averages – even a dominant regular season provides just a 20 percent chance to win the World Series due to the tough playoff terrain. Still Houston will be a favorite for this year and for years to come.

Mike Trout and The OC: Anaheim will be a fun place to watch some ball this summer. The Angels were the best worst team I have ever seen. How does a team with JC Ramirez as their best starter and with Wille Mays and Mickey Mantle of the 21st Century (Mike Trout) hurt for a hefty part of the 2017 season still play meaningful games into September? Credit Mike Scioscia or luck or whatever but they have much better talent this season, starting with the addition of The Japanese Jordan – Shohei Ohtani. If he just provides 3rd starter capability and hits lefties well part time, he serves a vitally important role for the club. I love Albert Pujols but he is limited in his age. Now that the Angels have Justin Upton, Trout, Ian Kinsler, Kole Calhoun and a decent hitting Ohtani, this team is markedly better. Andrelton Simmons is the best defensive shortstop in baseball on top of being now a decent hitter. The Angels were smart to upgrade their defense with now Kinsler and Rene Rivera behind the plate and Zach Cozart who can spell Kinsler, Simmons and Luis Valbuena, who can move to first when Cozart plays third base. Again, just a decent Ohtani makes Garrett Richards (who when not hurt is super good – but he is frequently hurt), Andrew Heaney and Tyler Skaggs that much better. I like this team to be a wild card contender, which would be great for baseball. How fun would it be to watch Trout and Ohtani on the national stage in the playoffs?

Oaktown 357s: The bottom of this division could be either really strong or really weak. I am thinking this intriguing club in the Bay Area will be the best of the worst. I don’t know how many decent starts Oakland will get from their rotation – Sean Manaea? Kendall Graveman? Andrew Triggs? – but their lineup looks cool. Matt Olson had a dominant second half of 2017, so he is poised to be a key run producer. Kris Davis is under-rated. He hits bombs in that weird mutli-purpose park. Gotta give him credit. The A’s also should see production from Matt Chapman, Stephen Piscotty and Jonathan Lucroy. Oakland will quietly win about 75-77 games.

The Mighty Mariners: If Shohei Ohtani chose Puget Sound, this season would have been a lot different. With the Japanese sensation, the Mariners would have a high ceiling starter along with the veteran Felix Hernandez, the 2017 ace James Paxton, Mike Leake and Marco Gonzales. He would also have been an extra bat to support a solid lineup of Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz, Jean Segura, Kyle Seager and the newly acquired Dee Gordon. But Ohtani dissed Seattle for Anaheim, so that rotation is much more likely to collapse under its own weight. King Felix I don’t think will stay healthy. Paxton could be vulnerable to injuries too. Leake and Gonzales are just mediocre innings eaters. That lineup can score but is not lethal like the elite lineups in the game. Edwin Diaz is a good young closer but I doubt there will be much production with the rest of that crew. The Mariners also have no help coming from a weak farm system. So unless everything comes together perfectly, this team fights Oakland to avoid fourth place.

Tejas: GM Jon Daniels has built a good thing in Arlington, but this is the year things bottom out so Texas can start over. The future starts with guys like Nomar Mazara, Rougned Odor, Jurickson Profar and Joey Gallo. That isn’t a Golden Generation-type list but it is at least a start. Texas’ pitching is so concerning, Bartolo Colon – who is old enough to be some player’s father! – could get a lot of starts. Cole Hamels is a fading veteran who is likely to be moved for prospects by July. Rangers fans should expect a rough year, but they should be happy the organization knows how to build a winner. 

Postseason Predictions:

NL East: Washington Nationals
NL Central: Chicago Cubs
NL West: L.A. Dodgers
Wild Card I: Arizona Diamondbacks
Wild Card II: Philadelphia Phillies

Arizona over the Phillies.
Cubs beat the Dodgers. Nationals defeat the Diamondbacks. Cubs defeat the Nationals.

AL East: Boston Red Sox
AL Central: Cleveland Indians
AL West: Houston Astros
Wild Card I: New York Yankees
Wild Card II: Los Angeles Angels

Angels defeat the Yankees. Indians defeat the Red Sox. Houston defeats the Angels. Indians defeat Houston.

World Series: Indians defeat the Cubs.

To see Collazo’s National League predictions, click here. If you are looking for tickets to any ballgame this summer, fill out this form.

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