MLB Season Predictions + Mike Trout Extension

Hello readers! Opening Day (in the United States) of the 2019 baseball season is soon upon us. The promise of a new year, new faces, old faces, and the sound of the bat making contact with a baseball makes this time of year a grand affair to behold. In this column, I'll discuss the Mike Trout extension that made headlines last week, my thoughts on baseball playing meaningful games in Japan, and of course the predictions of all 30 teams for the coming season. Let's get to work.

The Big Fish Getting Paid!

With the news of Manny Machado and Bryce Harper getting $300 million+, 10+ year contracts, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim wasted no time in getting their face of the franchise, Mike Trout, a contract for the ages. The contract is a $426.5 million dollar deal that stretches out for 12 years. If you do the math he will get paid a little over $37 million a year (with the signing bonus). This season is the last of his 5-year contract, the new deal will start in the 2020 season and will end in 2031 when Trout becomes an Unrestricted Free Agent.

The guy has been a great ambassador for baseball since he burst onto the scene in 2012. Playing well as a Centerfielder, hitting very well, putting up great numbers. The only thing that troubles me with this deal is the lack of playoff numbers. He appeared in the playoffs in 2014 but did not put up the numbers that you would normally see in the regular season.

In the 2014 American League Division Series with the Kansas City Royals and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Mike Trout would only get 1 hit out of 12 at-bats with a homer and an RBI. His batting average was .083 during the course of the series. It remains the only postseason appearance for the player as of March 24th, 2019.

I'm not necessarily against the idea of giving Trout a big deal. He is a once in a generation player that you should never want to let go. The Angels since that time have been lackluster in providing a team around Trout to build off of and give him a chance to get back to the playoffs and possibly win a championship. I just hope that it won't become another "Albert Pujols" deal where it goes nowhere and it sucks up the payroll of the team.

Opening Day... in Japan?

Another thing that happened over the course of last week was the beginning of the 2019 MLB season. Yeah, you read that right. The Oakland Athletics and the Seattle Mariners went to Japan to play a 2-game series in the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo. The Mariners took both games over their division rivals with the score of 9-7 and 5-4 (in 12 innings).

The idea of it was so that Ichiro Suzuki, who started his playing career in Japan, could retire where he began... in style. It was a kind gesture to Ichiro who will surely be a Hall of Famer when the time comes. He has put up monster numbers over his career. I just feel this could've been done a bit better as an exhibition game or a late-season series that would've given him a better curtain call.

Ichiro has compiled a lifetime batting average of .311, drove in 780 RBI's, 509 stolen bases, and 3,089 hits. He joined the Seattle Mariners in 2001 and retired in the middle of the 2018 season before becoming an assistant to the Mariners in 2018. He will be sorely missed by the baseball community.

Predictions!

Now the time that you all have been waiting for. The predictions for all the teams in the 2019 season. The 2019 season marks the 150 year of professional baseball since the inception of the Cincinnati Red Stockings as a professional team in 1869. All 30 teams will have a commemorative patch for the season, honoring the achievement. Here are my awards predictions:

AL MVP: Aaron Judge, New York Yankees

NL MVP: Paul Goldschmidt, St. Louis Cardinals

AL Cy Young: Chris Sale, Boston Red Sox NL Cy Young: Stephen Strausberg, Washington Nationals

AL Manager of the Year: Aaron Boone, New York Yankees

NL Manager of the Year: Gabe Kapler, Philadelphia Phillies

Obviously this will change but I feel good enough picking these people to win these particular awards. Hopefully this won't blow me up in the face like my "Oakland Raiders to the Super Bowl" prediction that I made prior to the 2018 NFL season. Here are my predictions of all the 30 teams:

American League

American League East:

Baltimore Orioles: 5th in American League East

The O's last year had a horrific season and the rebuilding will likely continue through this season. There is some decent pieces for Orioles on pitching but it will likely be a 90+ loss season.

Boston Red Sox: 2nd in American League East

The defending champs lost a number of pieces that lead to the championship, particularly on the bullpen that was the x-factor for the team. Craig Kimbrel and Joe Kelly to name a few who Boston lost to Free Agency. The offense and starting pitching will be there but the name of the game will depend on the bullpen.

New York Yankees: 1st in American League East

The Yankees were an Aaron Judge injury away from winning the division last year. If Judge remains healthy for the season expect the Bronx Bombers to remain in a deadlock with the Red Sox for the division title. The Yankees bullpen is better than Boston's

Tampa Bay Rays: 3rd in the American League East

The Rays were a surprise team in 2018 with their pitching and steady offense. The Rays should remain the same as a possible Wild-Card team that could make some noise in the playoffs. I don't see them getting the top spot in the division against two titans in the Red Sox and Yankees.

Toronto Blue Jays: 4th in the American League East

The Blue Jays could very well have a losing season for another year. The team will be competitive but will have a hard time to make up any room for 3rd with Tampa's tough pitching.

American League Central

Chicago White Sox: 2nd in American League Central

The Southsiders were making sound in the offseason with some good pickups in free agency with Elroy Jimenez. With a farm system coming up the White Sox could make some noise against the perennial division winner Cleveland. It'll be a slugfest but I like the White Sox being a 2nd fiddle in the division. Good pitching though.

Cleveland Indians: 1st in the American League Central

The Indians will be without the "Chief Wahoo" logo for the first time in a long time. The team still has the pieces in the pitching of Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer and some pieces in the offense. The surging White Sox could be a problem but I like the Indians remaining at the top for at least another year.

Detroit Tigers: 5th in the American League Central

The Tigers are entering another year of rebuilding and will more than likely continue with their rebuilding process. Miguel Cabrera remains to be a constant piece on offense for Detroit and Michael Fullmer and Jordan Zimmerman are decent pitchers when healthy. Those players could be moved at the trading deadline.

Kansas City Royals: 4th in the American League Central

The Royals come into 2019 with rebuilding on their minds since they won a championship in 2015. The pitching is banged up, the bullpen is not promising. The offense will be carried from Alex Gordon and Billy Hamilton. It will more than likely the bullpen that will have to carry this team through the 162-game season.

Minnesota Twins: 3rd in the American League Central

The Twinkies have some good pieces on offense with the signing of Nelson Cruz. The pitching will make or break this team with Jose Berrios, Kyle Gibson, and Michel Pineda. If Byron Buxton can have a great offensive season look for the Twins to make noise.

American League West

Houston Astros: 1st in the American League West

The Astros still have the pieces that helped them win the championship in 2017 and deep runs in 2016 and 2018. The pitching will take a step back but the offense is still there. Granted the rest of the division is somewhat of a dumpster fire, it should be noted that the rest of the division has gotten better but its really going to be the Astros and whoever else comes 2nd.

Los Angeles Angels: 2nd in the American League West

The big X-factor for the Angels this season is if Mike Trout can stay healthy and the pitching can put up numbers. Some weaknesses in the infield could rear its ugly head as well. It will have to be up to the offense to lead the Angels to the postseason for the first time since 2014.

Oakland Athletics: 3rd in the American League West

The pitching is what got them to the playoffs last season but I don't think they can repeat their success especially in an American League that is tough to break into the playoffs. I don't trust the Athletics to repeat their success based on their pitching but the offense will be hit with injuries to start the season.

Seattle Mariners: 5th in the American League West

The Mariners are going to be into a transition to rebuilding for 2019. The pieces on pitching are aging with Felix Hernandez at the #5 spot and the offense of Edwin Encarnacion will help a bit but I can't see Seattle break out of their postseason drought anytime soon.

Texas Rangers: 4th in the American League West

The Rangers will be playing their last season in Globe Life Park at Arlington in 2019. The team has some good pieces on offense, Joey Gallo needs to have a great year if the Rangers want to get to the playoffs. The pitching is average to decent but it will likely be another year for the Rangers to get back to the playoffs, let alone a winning season.

National League

National League East

Atlanta Braves: 2nd in the National League East

The Braves made a lot of noise last season with their young position players in Ozzie Albies and Ronald Acuna. If the Braves want to get a division title it will depend on their starting pitching to get them there.

Miami Marlins: 5th in the National League East

The Marlins are an eyesore to the rest of the division which got better. Their offense is aging and/or had poor numbers in 2018. The pitching looks atrocious and Sergio Romo looks like the best player that Miami has which is a stretch.

New York Mets: 4th in the National League East

The Mets got better with the acquisition of Robinson Cano and their starting pitching still has their main pieces with Noah Syndergaard and Jacob DeGrom. I feel it will be a fight between the Nationals and the Mets for 3rd in the division, I feel the latter will get 4th in a stacked division.

Philadelphia Phillies: 1st in the National League East

The Phillies were a surprise team in 2018 with all the "rebuilding" talk and got better with the acquisitions of Aaron Nola and Bryce Harper. The Phillies could very well be a World Series contender with the pieces they acquired alone. Not also to mention Andrew McCutchen. Their pitching will be a question mark but they have money to spend and a piece in the trade deadline could be ideal for the Phils.

Washington Nationals: 3rd in the National League East

The loss of Bryce Harper will be a tough one to swallow for the Nats but Washington picked up Brian Dozier and Anibal Sanchez will help the starting pitching a bit as well. In a tough division, I feel the Nationals will be stuck in the middle of good and bad.

National League Central

Chicago Cubs: 3rd in the National League Central

The Cubs collapse in September 2018 was a tough one to swallow for a Cubs fan as they not also lost the division but also lost a Game #163 to the Brewers. The Cubs still have a solid offense with the same pieces that won the championship in 2016 but it has to be the Northsiders pitching outside of Jon Lester to be key to getting them to the playoffs. The season will be a make or break for Joe Maddon and company.

Cincinnati Reds: 4th in the National League Central

The Reds look to make some noise in 2019 but it won't happen likely this year nor in 2020. The Reds pitching got an upgrade with Sonny Gray from the Yankees but the offense needs to get better and Yasiel Puig will help the Reds a bit. Could be a fun team to watch in the future.

Milwaukee Brewers: 1st in the National League Central

The Brew Crew didn't add a lot of pieces in starting pitching but the pieces that helped them win the division in their offense and bullpen are still intact. The Brewers need another starter other than Jhoulys Chacin to get them to where they want to go.

Pittsburgh Pirates: 5th in the National League Central

The Buccos offense looks average and their pitching looks average. They didn't get a lot of notable pieces in free agency but the rest of the division got better and they look to be rebuilding for another year.

St. Louis Cardinals: 2nd in the National League Central

The Cardinals got an underrated free agent in Paul Goldschmidt during the offseason with some notable pieces on offense as well. I like their offense. The Cardinals pitching is going to be a focus. Can Miles Mikolas repeat his 18-4 season last year? This team looks really solid.

National League West

Arizona Diamondbacks: 5th in the National League West

The Diamondbacks are looking to go a step back since they made the playoffs in 2017. The loss of Paul Goldschmidt will be a factor as their offense doesn't look notably great. The key will be if their starting pitching can carry them to a winning season.

Colorado Rockies: 1st in the National League West

The Rockies have never won the division in their 26-year history and they could very well end that trend this season. The starting pitching of Kyle Freeland and German Marquez look to carry the load for the Rockies and the maturing offense of Trevor Story and Nolan Arenado. Their bullpen is top notch in the National League.

Los Angeles Dodgers: 2nd in the National League West

The Dodgers have held a strong footing in the division since 2012 and a lot of pieces left the team in free agency. They will be without Clayton Kershaw for the start of the season and their bullpen got a boost with Joe Kelly. I don't feel safe with the Dodgers staying on top with the surging Rockies.

San Diego Padres: 3rd in the National League West

The acquisition of Manny Machado will help the Padres in the future, not in 2019 unfortunately. Unless the maturation of their young talent goes to the next level and become the 2019 version of the Atlanta Braves, I don't expect the Padres to compete for the top spot in the division.

San Francisco Giants: 4th in the National League West:

The Giants have the pieces that won the World Series in 2010, 2012, and 2014 but certainly you can say that their window to get back to the playoffs has passed. I like the Giants offense but I don't feel so good about their pitching, let alone their bullpen.

Postseason Predictions:

AL Wild Card Red Sox over Angels

ALDS: Astros over Red Sox Yankees over Indians

ALCS: Yankees over Astros NL Wild Card: Braves over Dodgers

NLDS: Phillies over Braves Rockies over Brewers

NLCS: Phillies over Rockies World Series: Yankees over Phillies

Due Up:

Expect to see the Week 1 recap to be posted on the 31st of March. It might be a short week since Opening Day will be on the 28th this week. Nevertheless the upcoming weeks will be longer since I will be doing a Monday-Sunday recap. Thanks for reading and see you all next Sunday for the recap!

-Tom