2018 Season Predictions: Diamond Hoggers

Tomorrow is opening day. It’s like Christmas Eve. We always do the time-honored tradition of making our preseason picks the night before the season starts. This year is no different. You can see how we saw it playing out in 2017 here. Without further adieu, here are some things that are sure to be right; sure to be wrong, but definitely will be bold for 2018. 

AMERICAN LEAGUE

EAST
1. New York Yankees
2. Boston Red Sox*
3. Boston Orioles
4. Toronto Blue Jays
5. Tampa Bay Rays

CENTRAL
1. Cleveland Indians
2. Minnesota Twins
3. Kansas City Royals
4. Chicago White Sox
5. Detroit Tigers

WEST
1. Houston Astros
2. Anaheim Angels*
3. Seattle Mariners
4. Texas Rangers
5. Oakland Athletics

NATIONAL LEAGUE

EAST
1. Washington Nationals
2. Philadelphia Phillies
3. Atlanta Braves
4. New York Mets
5. Miami Marlins

CENTRAL
1. Chicago Cubs
2. Milwaukee Brewers*
3. St. Louis Cardinals
4. Pittsburgh Pirates
5. Cincinnati Reds

WEST
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
2. Colorado Rockies*
3. Arizona DiamondBacks
4. San Diego Padres
5. San Francisco Giants

*Wild Card teams

PLAYOFFS

Wild Card Games:
Colorado Rockies over Milwaukee Brewers
Boston Red Sox over Anaheim Angels

Division Series:
New York Yankees over Boston Red Sox
Houston Astros over Cleveland Indians
Washington Nationals over Colorado Rockies
Chicago Cubs over Los Angeles Dodgers

ALCS / NLCS:
New York Yankees over Houston Astros
Washington Nationals over Chicago Cubs

World Series:
Washington Nationals over New York Yankees

AL MVP
1. Carlos Correa
2. Francisco Lindor
3. Gary Sanchez

NL MVP
1. Nolan Arenado
2. Anthony Rendon
3. Bryce Harper

AL CY YOUNG
1. David Price
2. Justin Verlander
3. Luis Severino

NL CY YOUNG
1. Stephen Strasburg
2. Clayton Kershaw
3. Jacob deGrom

AL Rookie of the Year
1. Willie Calhoun
2. Francisco Mejia
3. Jake Bauers

NL Rookie of the Year
1. Ronald Acuna
2. Lewis Brinson
3. Jorge Alfaro

AL Comeback Player of the Year
1. Miguel Cabrera
2. Garrett Richards
3. Aaron Sanchez

NL Comeback Player of the Year
1. Adam Eaton
2. Noah Syndergaard
3. Homer Bailey

AL Bold Predictions

1. Jonathan Schoop leads the American League in home runs with 49. He hits more than both of Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge, who finish with 48 and 39 respectively.

2. Without a true ace, the Anaheim Angels find a way to get Mike Trout to the postseason for a second time. They exit in the same manner as they did his first time, but the season is seen as a huge success. The Angels sign Trout to a contract extension in the 2018 offseason as a result.

3. Joey Gallo becomes the first player in baseball history to hit 50 home runs and bat .190 in a season.

4. David Price shocks the world – winning the American League Cy Young Award – and having a better statistical season than Chris Sale. His success leads the Red Sox to the postseason.

5. Carlos Correa puts it all together. He hits 40 home runs, steals 20+ bases, hits .300, wins a Gold Glove and is named American League Most Valuable Player.

NL Bold Predictions

1. Bryce Harper wins the World Series with the Washington Nationals, finally. And he does so by homering in the final game of the series against the team he once wanted to join, the Chicago Cubs. The Nationals complete a dream season: Stephen Strasburg wins Cy Young. Anthony Rendon comes close to an MVP award. Adam Eaton wins comeback player of the year. Dave Martinez wins the Manager of the Year Award. The season closes with Harper having every reason to re-sign in Washington. And yet he walks out the door forever and signs with a new team at the winter meetings.

2. The Los Angeles Dodgers have a ‘tough’ year by their standards, in an absolute dogfight in the National League West. Corey Seager hits 30 homers, .300, and scores 100 runs. Yasiel Puig is the second most valuable offensive player. Cody Bellinger takes a step back. Clayton Kershaw struggles to make 30 starts. But the Dodgers triumph barely over the Rockies in the west to win the division. Their season ends at the hands of the Cubs in the opening round.

3. The Miami Marlins lose 121 games, breaking the record of the 1962 New York Mets by a single game. The home run structure is removed at the end of the season, and takes part of the blame from Derek Jeter who calls it ‘a distraction’.

4. Nolan Arenado has an unbelievable year, even by his standards and makes a run at the triple crown. Arenado hits 48 home runs to lead the league, .333 and misses the crown by two RBI when he finishes with 129. The Rockies get knocked off by the Nationals in the opening round after winning the wildcard.

5. The Philadelphia Phillies are a surprise team under Gabe Kapler, and will finish third in the National League Wildcard race. At season’s end, the Phillies look like the cupboard is pretty stocked with Rhys Hoskins; who leads the league in RBI with 131. Jorge Alfaro makes a run at rookie of the year. The Phillies are in it all year long and become a sweetheart/cinderella type team.