A lot of teams are getting new management systems this year. The Mets (Brodie van Wagen) and Orioles (Mike Elias) have new General Managers, while the Giants and Dodgers look like they're starting the year without a solid GM in place. Meanwhile, quite a few teams are facing new on field managers. The Reds (David Bell), Rangers (Chris Woodward), Blue Jays (Charlie Montoyo), Angels (Brad Ausmus), Twins (Rocco Baldelli), and Orioles (Brandon Hyde) are all facing new head hanchos running things on the field.
A few major names switched teams, as Manny Machado got a big contract to go to Southern California, Bryce Harper got a slightly bigger contract to move north, while Mike Trout just got a huge deal to stay in the city of Angels. Philly not only added Harper, but they also brought in a great catcher in Realmuto to bolster their divisional odds. Paul Goldschmidt now changes the dynamic of the NL Central race when the Cards picked him up. Both New York teams did quite a bit of retooling to their lineups. Everybody made some kind of moves to try and better their baseball teams. Some might work out, while others might not. Only time will really tell. Enough Fluff, lets get right into it. Here's how things do down for the 2019 Major League Baseball Season.
American League:
AL East
1. New York Yankees (100-62)*
There's no question marks about the boys in the Bronx, this Yankees team is loaded and ready to go. First lets start with pitching, they retooled the rotation. JA Happ was brought back after last season and James Paxton was brought in on the market. Meanwhile the bullpen went from good to great, adding the likes of Zack Britton (who was re-signed) and Adam Ottavino who was brought aboard via the market. It's scary to think of what this Yankees pen could be, especially with the trouble they've had with the health of their starters during camp. Pitching looks good and so does the hitting. Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Hicks and Brett Gardner all return in an elite outfield group. Stanton will probably be doing a lot of DH'ing, but its comforting to the coaching staff to know that he can get back in the outfield from time to time as well. The two biggest question marks for me are going to be catching and first base. Behind the plate, can Gary Sanchez stay healthy and be able to produce like he did when he first got called up? What about 1st base? Can Greg Bird get healthy and find form or will Luke Voit take charge as the year rolls on. Either Way this Yankees team is going to be a tough team to beat and they take the division this year.
2. Boston Red Sox (98-64) (WC)
They're going to have a challenge ahead of them trying to catch the Yanks with their bullpen. Boston's pen does leave something to be desired. Setup man Joe Kelly and closer Craig Kimbrel departed as free agents, meanwhile Ryan Pressly, Alex Wilson and Jose Alvarez were all traded away early in their careers. Doing stuff like that makes it hard to get home grown talent into the bullpen. The starters at the top of the rotation should be able to compensate a little for lack of a pen. Chris Sale, David Price, Rick Porcello and Nathan Eovalid should be able to match stride for stride with anybody in the East. Good hitting can make up for sometimes lackluster pitching, and the Red Sox should be able to put some runs up on that board. Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi and Jackie Bradley make for an intimidating outfield to play against. JD Martinez is no slouch with a bat in his hands, this is a guy who finished 4th in MVP voting a season ago, while leading the AL with 130 runs driven in. Boston has a solid all around lineup, one that can hang with the boys from the Bronx for most of, if not all season long.
3. Tampa Bay Rays (89-73)
It was an experiment that work pretty well down in Tampa last year, starting games with "openers" from the pen, instead of starters. The only starter last year in Tampa who was really on point was Cy Young winner Blake Snell, who finished with 21 wins and an ERA under two. The guy can go for Tampa and is the stud of their deep pitching staff. I think teams will be more keyed in on the openers concept, but Tampa still has the horses that can go with that idea. They got some pretty productive bats on the team as well, most notably their outfielding core. Tommy Pham played outstanding ball down there last year and now they get a fully healthy Kevin Kiermaier making an impact. While Mallex Smith is gone, Austin Meadows was added to bolster right field and make that group even stronger. AMatt Duffy will add more pop to the middle of that lineup as well. I'm not saying that the Rays are going to be world beaters, but they will be a competative team again this season.
4. Toronto Blue Jays (75-87)
One big downer in Toronto was the fact that the pitching rotation started going down hill as the year went on. Haap got traded, Strowman looked below average for his standards, as did Sanchez, but both guys had been dealing with injuries. So there's hope that those guys will bounce back to form this year, and by adding in Matt Shoemaker and Clayton Richard to round out the rotation, it will give the Jays a possible shot in the arm to get going. No doubt that the Blue Jays can rake, as they finished with the fifth most home runs in all of the Majors last season. You should be able to get a little more production out of Danny Jansen taking over at catcher, the looming ascension of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. They add to a lineup that already has Justin Smoak, Brandon Dury and Randel Grychuk in it. Toronto has the possibility to start taking steps in the right direction, but its going to be a bit of a slow move right now.
5. Baltimore Orioles (58-104)
This club has the potential to start setting a few new records in the marks of futility this season, they're going to be that bad. Baltimore has a lot of solid young pieces to build around from the pitching staff in the forms of Mychal Givens, Miguel Castro, Richard Bleier and Paul Fry. But the O's had the worst team ERA in all of the game last year, giving up almost six runs a game. And lets face facts, when it comes to offense the O's don't have much. The biggest bats in the middle of their lineup is Jonathan Vilar and Chris Davis. They don't have much speed at the top it looks like and if they don't get men on base ahead of the big boppers, what good is it going to do? Baltimore is in the start of its rebuild mode and it could take a while O's fans, before the team looks like a contender.
AL Central
1. Cleveland Indians (90-72)*
This is still the weakest division in the AL, maybe in all of baseball, but the Tribe are still the best of the bunch. Cleveland has won the division each of the last three seasons and looks like they might be on their way to a fourth straight title. Unlike the last couple of seasons, the Tribe look like they could be toppled this year. The infield and DH are set, with the likes of Carlos Santana, Jake Baurs, Frankie Lindor, Jose Rameriz and Jason Kipnis. The infield can hit. It's the outfiled that seems weak. Tyler Naquin, Jordan Luplow and Leonis Martin make up the Cleveland everyday outfield, one which doesn't look all that promising. Another hamper for the Tribe could be the Pen. Andrew Miller and Cody Allen have both left town, with Brad Hand closing games now. It was a pen that a season ago had the fifth worst ERA in baseball and now seems to have taken a step back. Luckily for the Tribe, they have a solid starting rotation. Cory Kluber, Carlos Carrasco and Trevor Bauer at the top of it makes for a pretty impressive trio. What give the tribe the advantage here is that the rest of the division is going to be just plain weak, and it could mean another title in Cleveland.
2. Minnesota Twins (85-77)
Minnesota did a lot to improve their team and come close to being the team that might knock off the Indians at the top of the division. One of the biggest knocks you can make against the Twins is the starting rotation. While Jose Berrios and Kyle Gibson are staples in the rotation, and are being joined by Jake Odorizzi to round out the best arms in that rotation, Minnesota struggles to develop further depth. This left Twins short of arms and contributed to a 4.50 ERA last season, 22nd in the majors. Fernando Romero, Stephen Gonsalves and Kohl Stewart are all being counted on to step up and help out the staff. When it comes to scoring runs, Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton, Eddie Rosario, and Max Kepler will be called upon to poewer this lineup. They got a little help with some bigtime free agent additions in the form of Nelson Cruz, C.J. Cron and Jonathan Schoop as well as versatile utilityman Marwin Gonzalez. Once the pitching staff improves, the Twins will be able to topple Cleveland, but for now it looks like a second place finish in the Twin Cities.
3. Chicago White Sox (69-93)
It's going to be a long year for the Windy City's AL franchise. The White Sox are coming off their first 100 lost season last year, the first time that's happened since 1970. Having a pitching staff that finished 26th in baseball in team ERA and an offense that finished 24th, it made things tough for Chicago to be competitive. To start off with, the pitching staff saw a bit of an improvement, when you look at Alex Colome and free agent signing of Kelvin Herrera. Combined with holdovers Juan Minaya, Jace Fry and Aaron Bummer, you got something you might be able to work with. Same thing too with the offense. Jose Abru is still one of the bright young stars in the AL, and he gets to develop without much pressure because the White Sox are a bad team. Yonder Alonso is going to help the offense, and they also signed Jon Jay who will provide a little more depth to this team. Still there aren't really enough pieces here for the White Sox to really compete in the American League this year.
4. Detroit Tigers (67-95)
At the start of this decade, the Tigers had a strangle hold on this division. Now they got a strangle hold on being near the basement. Detroit still has quite a few holes in its lineup. Sure, Miguel Cabrrera is coming back from injury last year and can still be a dangerous hitter. And yes Nicholas Castellanos was Detroit’s only above-average hitter a year ago. But outside of having Josh Harrison here playing second base, there isn't really much of anything for this Detroit offense to go off of. Michael Fulmer is the undoubted the best pitcher on this team, when he's healthy. There's just too many holesr in this Tigers team for them to compete.
5. Kansas City Royals (66-96)
Hard to believe it was just four years ago that this Royals team was World Champions. Kansas City seems like a shell of itself from that team, having two years of close to .500 ball then totally falling off the wagon last year. This year will be a slight improvement over last year's club but not by a whole hell of a lot. They've got a pretty good outfield, with Alex Gordon, Billy Hamilton (who was brought in) and Jorge Solar. Don't look now but Whit Merrifield has quickly started to establish himself as one of the best up and coming second baseman in the game. The biggest problem for this team is pitching. Last season Kansas City had the second-worst ERA in baseball last year, with both the rotation (4.89) and bullpen (5.04) responsible. There wasn't much of anything done to improve the staff. All in all, its going to be another rough season in KC.
AL West:
1. Houston Astros (103-59)*
There's really no debate here, the Astros will walk away with the West division title for the third straight year. OIne knock that could be made against the best team in the West is the pitching staff. Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers Jr. aren't available as both are now gone. The depth will be tested in Houston. They're still very potent right at the top, with guys the likes of (Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole. Wade Miley was brought in, but the rest of the staff is going to have to really step their game up. Putting runs up on the board might not be a big deal down in Houston, they can score runs with the lineup they have. Jose Altuve is one of the very best overall hitters in the game today. He has plenty of help in the lineup as well, in the form of Carlos Correa, Alex Bregman and George Springer. That group powered an Astros offense that finished sixth in the majors in runs last year. They added Michael Brantley to get even better. With the offensive firepoiwer and the top of the rotation that the Astros have, winning the West shouldn't be much of a problem. How deep they go in the postseason, that will be determined by how their young guns step up during the course of the year.
2. Oakland Athletics (90-72) (WC)
For the first time in five years, the A's will make it back to the playoffs in back to back seasons. Oakland is going to have a little trouble with the starters this year, as Sean Manaea is out with shoulder issues, while midseason saviors Trevor Cahill and Edwin Jackson left via free agency. So to counter that, Oakland brought back Mike Fiers and Brett Anderson and brought in Marco Estrada in free agency to bolster the staff. Oakland has a solid Pen, one I might even say could rival the Yankees, with Blake Treinen at the head of it. The A's relief will be tough to score against., Oh and their offense could be tough to stop. Khris Davis and Stephen Piscotty can mash the baseball, and having Matt Chapman and Matt Olson will be a big help to a team that finished third in home runs and fourth in runs scored last year. Oakland might not be as potent at scoring as Houston, but they will have no problem putting runs up on that board, especially when most of the offense is back together from last year. They won't rack up the same win total they had last year, but they will put together enough to get the job done and go back to the playoffs.
3. Los Angeles Angels (82-80)
Los Angeles finished two games under .500 last year, but they will take a step back in the right direction this year, Mike Trout has been locked up for the long haul and will be an Angel for the rest of his career. Now the Angels are hoping that he can lead the club back to the promise land. You combine Trout with Kole Calhoun and Justin Upton, Los Angeles had the fourth-best outfield in MLB last year. That's a combination the likes of which haven't been seen on this team since the dominating outfield of Tim Salmon, Jim Edmonds, Garrett Anderson and Darin Erstad in the 1990s. Its something that the Angels can build with. If they can get Pujols, Justin Bour, Zach Cozart and JOnathan Lucroy to step up and play with consistency the Angels offense could match the two teams ahead of them in the division. The only thing that would worry me is the pitching staff. Patrick Corbin is no longer here, so to try and help out, Matt Harvey and Trevor Cahill were brought in to bolster the back of their rotation. At the end of the day this will be their biggest weakness and what will end up costing them a run at the playoffs.
4. Seattle Mariners (79-83)
The M's managed to make it a somewhat tight race in the West last year, coming up with a solid 89 win regular season. This could be a step back and possible retooling year out in Seattle. Mitch Haniger seems to be the brightest star i this Seattle lineup, which is saying something. Don't get me wrong, Haniger is good, but I wouldn't put him at a superstar level in the mould of a Mike Trout quite yet. To kind of hinder matters a little, Dee Gordon, Felix Hernandez and Mike Leake have all declined into their 30s and the biggest problem with the Mariners is there is no depth what so ever on this baseball team. James Paxton, Edwin Diaz and Jean Segura were sent away primarily for prospects. There's nothing to really get excited about with the pitching staff in Seattle. Sure, King Felix is still a name and Hunter Strickland has the ability to really impress out of the pen. Other than that, there's nothing that gets me excited about Seattle. The start of a rebuild is underway.
5. Texas Rangers (75-87)
Texas is going to struggle under first year manager Chris Woodward to avoid coming close to another 90 loss season this year. The offense has a core to work with in Rougned Odor, Nomar Mazara and Elvis Andrus. Bringing in Asdrúbal Cabrera as a utility guy was a nice move (and I do wish him luck down in Texas). Other than that, this middle of the pack, at best, offense doesn't have much going for it. They tried to also make improvements to the pitching staff by adding Lance Lynn, Edinson Volquez, Drew Smyly and Shelby Miller, but I really don't have a lot of high hopes for anything to come for the Rangers this year. I feel it will be a good learning experience for Chris Woodward as a manager, but don't expect it to result in a lot of victories.
National League
NL East:
1. Philadelphia Phillies (96-66)*
This was a team that finished two games under .500 last year and needed to make some improvements to their club to stay in a race in a tough Eastern Division. So what do the Phillies do? They go out and sign the biggest free agent name in the game this winter in Bryce Harper to a MASSIVE contract. He finished 2nd to Christian Yelich of the Brewers in MVP voting last year and now joins a pretty solid Phillies lineup. He wasn't the only big name to join this Phillies lineup, as the team went out and brought in J.T. Realmuto. Those two guys, along with Jean Segura, join a solid lineup that already has talent like Rhys Hoskins, Maikel Franco and Andrew McCutchen. Aaron Nola and Jake Arrieta make a pretty good one-two punch at the top of the Phillies rotation. Throw in David Robertson coming into games out of the pen and the Phillies have something going. That pitching staff might not be able to dominate like some of the other teams in the division, but they are still good enough to be able to complement this high powered offense. Its been six straight losing season in Philly, but that comes to and end this year, as the Phillies grab their first division title since 2011.
2. Washington Nationals (88-74)
After missing out on the playoffs a season ago, the Nationals are trying to get back on the right path and get back to their winning ways. Bryce Harper is gone, heading to the Phillies on a huge contract, leaving a bit of a hole on the outfield. Adam Eaton is taking over in Right, to try and complement Juan Soto in left. A weakness is in center in Washington with Victor Robles, who while a promising prospect, isn't going to be able to replace Bryce in production. Still the Nats are a good team without Bryce there. Anthony Rendon and Trea Turner make a pretty impressive left side, while Ryan Zimmerman tries to have a bounceback year at first base. They improved the rest of their position players by adding Yan Gomes and Kurt Suzuki to take care of the catching duties and signing Brian Dozier to take over for Wilmer Difo at second base. And lets not forget how strong a one two punch that Washington has at the top of the pitching rotation with Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg. To help them out, Patrick Corbin, Anibal Sanchez and Jeremy Hellickson were added to build depth to that pitching staff. They have a good team to be able to stay right in the thick of the division title race, but they will fall just short.
3. New York Mets (86-76)
Four years ago, the Mets were the National League Champions, last year they were near the bottom of the division. New General Manager Brodie van Wagenen has been hard at work trying to get his ball club into contending shape. To bolster the offense, Robinson Cano, Jed Lowrie, and J.D. Davis came in to try and help out the infield, while Wilson Ramos was added at catcher. Those guys, along with Todd Fraizer, Pete Alonzo, Jeff McNeil and Amed Rosario makeup a pretty deep infield unit. McNeil can also play outfield, to provide a little depth to go along with Juan Lagares, Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo. Oh and there\'s still a chance that Yoenis Cespedes coiuld return to form and come back healthy by the middle of the season. New York returns their formidable rotation with Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Zack Wheeler and Steven Matz all coming back from the unit that finished sixth in starter’s ERA a year ago. And to make things tougher ,they addeda huge piece by bringing in Edwin Diaz to close games. There's a lot of talent on this team right now, and deGrom just got his new contract, so he'll be around for five more years. What has me worried is the health of this Mets team. If they can stay injury free, they have enough talent here to be able to hang around and make a run at this thing.
4. Atlanta Braves (81-81)
Atlanta came back to a surprise division title win last year, their first division title and winning season since 2013. No doubt that Atlanta can hit. Freddie Freeman had a great year last year, as did Nick Markakis and young upstart Ronald Acuna Jr. Now throw in the likes of Josh Donaldson, who's trying to have a bounce back year and get his career back on track. It's one spot in this Atlanta lineup that has me wonder. No doubt that the Braves have the horses to be able to put up numbers on that board. Atlanta has plenty of arms on their staff too. Mike Soroka, Touki Toussaint, Kyle Wright and Bryse Wilson all reaching the majors last year and capable of assuming larger roles behind Mike Foltynewicz, Sean Newcomb, Kevin Gausman and Julio Teheran. I just have this gut fealing thjat the pitching staff might take the Braves a step backwards this year. Atlanta will be the thick of things this year, depending on their staff.
5. Miami Marlins (55-107)
It's been a rough going for the Marlins, a team that hasn't had a winning season since 2009. Starlin Castro and Brian Anderson are the two best players on this Marlins team, and while Miami added Curtis Granderson and Neil Walker to help with veteran presence, its not going to be enough. The Marlins avoided 100 losses last year. With the division getting better around them as they got worse, it will be tough to avoid the century mark again this year.
NL Central:
1. Chicago Cubs (95-67)*
Chicago has made the playoffs each of the last four years, and have another shot at getting back there for a fifth straight year. What Chicago has an advantage of over most teams is how deep and balanced the infield is. Anthony Rizzo, Ben Zobrist, Javier Baez, Kris Bryant, Addison Russell and David Bote representing the talented group. With that infield leading the way, the Cubs finished in the top 10 in MLB in runs (9th), batting average (4th) and OPS (10th) last season. Daniel Descalso, another infielder, was the only position player free agent the Cubs signed. So it adds another layer to this team. Here's what would worry me as a Cubs fan, its their lack of outfield depth. They have some big names playing there, but who knows what they can still do. Albert Almora Jr. and Jason Heyward have been average or below hitters the last three seasons, while Kyle Schwarber’s bounceback year was good but not exceptional. Schwarber has the best pop of the bunch when it comes to hitting, when he's back on his game again. This starting rotation, consisting of Yu Darvish, Jon Lester, Cole Hammels, Jose Quintana and Kyle Hendricks has the ability to be very good. The pen leaves a little something to be desired. Even with the rest of the division improving, the Cubs might get by to win the division by the skin of their teeth.
2. St Louis Cardinals (93-69) (WC)
St Louis won 88 games and finished 3rd in the Central a year ago. This year will be a bouncback year and a return for the playoffs. They added a major player into their lineup by bringing in first baseman Paul Goildschmidt. He's a big bat that will complement the likes of Matt Carpenter, Paul DeJong and Kolten Wong on the infield. The Outfield is solid too with Dexter Fowler and Marcel Ozuna. Only weakness I can see with the lineup for the Cards comes from center field in the form of solid but not so spectacular Harrison Bader. To help out with a trouble spot in the bullpen, St Lois signed Andrew Miller to be their closer, giving them a formidable end-of-game combination with flamethrowing setup man Jordan Hicks. The Cards starting staff leaves a few question marks, with Michael Wacha and Adam Wainwright as the stars of the staff. It means the starting staff has holes. Still I think the Cards are balanced enough to where they get back in the mix and hang around with the Cubs all year in the Central title picture.
3. Milwaukee Brewers (92-70) (WC)
The Brew Crew won the division and 96 games last year. A lot of that came off the play of NL MVP Christian Yelich and surprise relieve Josh Hader. Milwaukee kept the core outfield in tact, having Yelich joined by Lorenzo Cain and former MVP Ryan Braun are all back in the National League’s best outfield, as is key reserve Eric Thames. They have a pretty good infield too, with talent like Jesus Aguilar, Travis Shaw and Mike Moustakis brought into the mix. The starting pitching won't be as competatiave as what you're getting with the Cubs and Cards, but its still pretty good. Jhoulys Chacín is still considered the ace of the staff, but it still leaves a little to be desired. The Brewers are staying pat with the group that won them the division title last year, even adding Yasmani Grandal on top of it. The division got tougher around them, but they should remain in the playoff picture, snaging a wild card spot.
4. Cincinnati Reds (83-79)
A season ago, this Reds team racked up 67 wins, finishing near the bottom of this division. This team actually went out and got players to try and improve upon last years numbers. They still have pieces already in place, guys like Eugenio Suarez, Scooter Gennett and Joey Votto, who are manning the bases and Jose Peraza becoming one the better-hitting shortstops around. A previously underperforming outfield now looks like a strength. Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp were brought in to join Scott Schebler, as solid a core in the outfield. Jesse Winker can provide above-average offense and round out this group. Its a recurring theam here, but pitching is key and what the Reds have looks average at best. Tanner Roark and Sonny Gray came aboard to join Anthony DeSclafani at the top of the staff, making them a little more respectable. Still its going to be tough for the Reds to stay in the race, with how good the teams ahead of them look this season.
5. Pittsburgh Pirates (70-92)
Pittsburgh finished just above 500 last year, but they might not get so lucky this year. They have solid catchers in Francisco Cervelli and Elias Diaz. The outfield of Starling Marte, Gregory Polanco and Corey Dickerson are very solid as well. What lacks for this Pirates team is a weak infield, which now has Josh Bell leading the way. The pitching staff isn't great, with Chris Archer as the anchor of the team. Going to be a rough going for the Pirates this season.
NL West:
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (91-63)*
Six straight years. That's how many times the Dodgers have won the NL West. Last year's run to a second consecutive World Series was pretty impressive considering they had been hit with the injury bug from the get go. This year's club isn't quite the same as the one that was out on the field a season ago. Manny Machado, Yasmani Grandal, Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig are notably absent from this Dodger club, but they still have plenty of talent to be able to get the job done. Home grown talent like Corey Seager, Cody Bellinger, and Joc Pederson can more than deliever the goods. Then you have guys that have been brought in like Justin Turner, Chris Taylor, and Max Muncy, the Dodgers have enough to cover it. Add in the free agency addition of A.J. Pollock, it makes this Los Angeles offense even better. A big help for the Dodgers was the fact that they led the NL in ERA last year. Sure most of that was due to their starting staff. Even though it posted a solid ERA during the season, the Dodgers' bullpen faltered badly down the stretch and imploded completely in the World Series. Joe Kelly was brought in to try and help, but its mostly going to be home grown arms that are going to get the job done. That starting staff still being anchored by Clayton Kershaw and Rich Hill (who are hurt to start the year), LA is expected to once again take the division.
2. Colorado Rockies (88-74)
Colorado finished a game behind the Dodgers last year in the divisional race, winning 91 games. What got them into that position last year was the starting rotation comprised of Kyle Freeland, Tyler Anderson, Jon Gray and Antonio Senzatela, all of whom are homegrown. The Rockies have had a track record of developing starting pitching few organizations can match. They keep that in tact this year and they are going to be very tough to play against. Powering the offense will be Charlie Blackman, Nolan Aeranado and Trevor Story. Daniel Murphy was also brought in to play first and provide some solid hitting up the middle. Colorado might not be able to really match the offensive punch that a team like the Dodgers have, but they still have lots of talent here and it will be enough to be able to keep them competitive in the race all year long.
3. San Francisco Giants (78-84)
Last year's club finished a distant fourth in the West, something that won't get much better this year. Sure, the Giants are set at both Catcher (Buster Posey) and at first base (Brandon Belt), two guys who have been corner stones for this team for quite some time. While that has been a big positive, there is some negative attached to this. Brandon Crawford, Joe Panik and Evan Longoria have declined into below-average players, while the organization’s failure to develop even a single starting outfielder this decade continues to handicap the offense. With that, the Giants finished second-to-last in runs scored last season. Does't look like its going to get much better this year, as the outfield still looks like a real weak spot on paper. Pitching will be able to keep them afloat a little bit this year. Madison Bumgarner is still the undisputed ace of this ball club. He can get some help if both Jeff Samardzija and free agent signee Drew Pomeranz can come back from injury-riddled seasons to make the rotation viable.
4. Arizona Diamondbacks (76-86)
Arizona finished two games above .500 last year, but they took a big step backwards this winter. Arizona traded franchise icon Paul Goldschmidt and lost A.J. Pollock in free agency. Two huge losses for this team. So to make up for it, all Arizona could do was sign Wilmer Flores and Caleb Joseph, tow guys who will try to cover the loss of Goldschmidt and Pollock, but will struggle with those roles. Other than maybe Alex Avilia and Jake Lamb, there's nobody that really scares you in that Diamondbacks lineup. One plus is that Arizona will have back most of the pitching staff that finished fourth in ERA last year. The loss of Patrick Corbin in free agency hurts, but the D-backs kept Zack Greinke and Robbie Ray, get Taijuan Walker back from Tommy John surgery during the year, added Luke Weaver via trade and stand to benefit from the looming ascension of top pitching prospect Jon Duplantier. The losses of talent this winter might be too much for the D-Backs, who falter into a losing season this year.
5. San Diego Padres (74-88)
Last year the Padres won only 66 games, finishing last in the West. The result in the standings will be the same this year, but the Padres will be a bit better than a season ago. Signing a guy the talent level of Manny Machado will added plenty to this team. San Diego has a solid core in Hunter Renfroe, Franmil Reyes, Franchy Cordero, Travis Jankowski, Manuel Margot and Wil Myers it could be something to really develop, its just going to take a little more time. Pitching in San Diego leaves a lot to be desired. While the rebuild looks off to a good start from an offensive point of view, its going to take a little while longer to catch up to the top talent in the divisino.
ALCS: Astros over Yankees in 7
NLCS: Cubs over Phillies in 5
World Series Prediction: Astros over Cubs in 6
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