Sports Editor
Spring is here and with it comes the
crack of the bat and the 2015 MLB season. This season is probably the most wide
open the league has been in quite some time. There have been an abundance of
roster moves in the offseason so some of the teams who have been in the bottom
half of the league for the past decade might find themselves in a pennant race
come October. The season is over five months long so predictions now are always
fun to make especially once the end of the season comes around. Here are my
predictions for the 2015 MLB season:
National
League
The overwhelming favorite to win the
World Series this season is the Washington Nationals, and with good reason. The
Nats made one of the bigger offseason moves, acquiring Max Scherzer from
Detroit and signing him to a ridiculous $210 million contract. Scherzer is
coming off a 200 strikeout season and led the league in wins last season. He
will now join an already stacked pitching lineup of Jordan Zimmerman, Stephen
Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, and Doug Fister, by far the best pitching rotation in
all of baseball. The reason the Nats won’t make it to the World Series,
however, is because of their offense. Last season they had the best pitching
staff in baseball, but it did them no good in the postseason as their offense,
other than Bryce Harper, did not produce. And Washington didn’t do anything in
the offseason to fix their offensive woes which leaves doubt in my mind that
Nats can make it to the World Series just on pitching alone. So which teams can
contend with Washington in the National League? There are a handful of teams including
the Cardinals who, like the Nationals, have a great pitching staff led by Adam
Wainwright. St. Louis also added Jason Heyward from the Braves, one of several
players who Atlanta dealt this offseason. The San Diego Padres could be the
surprise team of the season as they added eight notable players in the
offseason including both of the Upton brothers from Atlanta, Craig Kimbrel from
Atlanta, Matt Kemp from the Dodgers, and James Shields from Kansas City. They
are in the most competitive division with the Dodgers and the defending World
Series champs, in the Giants, but with their new additions, they will win their
division and beat the Nationals in the NLCS to be the representative of the
National League in the World Series.
American
League
There is no clear cut favorite, unlike Washington
in the National League, to win the American League this season. The most
competitive division will probably be the AL Central where you have Detroit,
Kansas City, Cleveland, and the Chicago White Sox who could all win the
division. The Tigers have won the division the past four years and have a great
chance to do that again this season with an all-star lineup which includes Ian
Kinsler, Miguel Cabrera, and Victor Martinez. The only concern for Detroit is
perhaps the face of their franchise in pitcher Justin Verlander. He was
expected to be the opening day starter but is still recovering from a right tricep
strain. If Verlander can’t stay healthy this season, the Tigers still might
make the postseason, but won’t be a force to win the American League. The two
teams that will probably end up meeting in the ALCS are the Seattle Mariners
and the Boston Red Sox. Seattle is coming off somewhat of a disappointing
season after not making the playoffs but they made a big move this offseason
signing Nelson Cruz. He will join a power lineup that already includes Robinson
Cano, and oh by the way, the Mariners own one of the best pitchers in baseball,
Felix Hernandez. The Red Sox, who won the World Series two years ago, finished
dead last in the AL East last season. They were very busy this offseason
signing many big time names including Pablo Sandoval, Hanley Ramirez, and
Justin Masterson. Ultimately the Mariners and Red Sox will meet come October,
and Seattle will win probably in a seven game series and represent the American
League in the World Series.
World
Series: Seattle Mariners vs. San Diego Padres
PICK:
Seattle Mariners
