AL East-New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles.
Those are my predictions of the standings in that order. I think the Yankees are not only the class of the
division but the league as well. They can only stand in their own way and by that I mostly mean by
injuries which they already have a couple but mainly stayed away from the long-term big injuries to their
stars this spring. They look hungry and primed to go Thursday and ready for a very big year. I think
Tampa Bay is always dangerous because they are run so well but they aren't what they were as they lost
some big names, they traded Blake Snell and lost Charlie Morton in free agency. I think Toronto is up
and coming and can give some headaches but they just aren't ready yet to take over the Yankees in a
long 162 game season. With that said there is a lot of baseball to be played and it can be hard to predict.
The Red Sox may be slightly better as they have a pretty good lineup but not much pitching and the
Orioles are the Orioles.
AL Central-Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, K.C. Royals, Detroit Tigers.
I picked them in this order for the central division. It was a tough call between the Twins and White
Sox, the White Sox are the hot pick but I have to stick with the Twins and their experience and another
well run organization. They just have to figure out how to win in the playoffs now. The Indians can
still compete but they clearly are a step below what they have been and the Royals and Tigers are
rebuilding.
AL West-Oakland Athletics, Houston Astros, Anaheim Angels, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers.
This was tough for me as well, the Astros are still a good team but clearly not as good as they have
been. Verlander won't be back until at least midseason, Valdez is hurt and Greinke is a year older. They
lost Springer in free agency but they still have other guys like Altuve, Correa, Gurriel. Correa couldn't
reach an extension before the season so will that be a distraction and it will be the first time the Astros
face the music with fans. I am sure the fans haven't forgotten about the cheating scandal and have been
waiting for their opportunity to let them hear it especially in places like New York. Oakland is also not
as good but they are like the little engine that could. They just know how to win and produce a tough
team that will compete.
NL East-Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Nationals, Miami Marlins
I picked them in this order for what is probably the best division in baseball. This was a tough one but
the Braves are one heck of a team and the Mets will compete with them for the division but I think they
are just a step below them, the Mets don't have much depth. The Phillies I think should be a pretty good
team that will also fight and it wasn't long ago that the Nationals won a World Series. The Marlins
surprised a lot of people in the short Covid year last year, can they maintain some success? This should
be a fun division to watch.
NL Central-St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates
This is an interesting division, no really good team to compete with the likes of the Dodgers, Padres,
Braves and even the Mets but a bunch of pretty good teams that should have a good battle in their
division.
NL West-Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, Colorado Rockies, Arizona Diamondbacks
I think the Dodgers are the class of the sport right now, they are the defending champs and have to be
favorites again. The Padres will present a worthy challenge though and it is always harder to win it
again the next year as you usually don't have the same luck and everyone is gunning for you. The rest
of the division really doesn't stack up.
I don't want to predict awards or postseason matchups yet but this may very well be the year you get
Yankees/Dodgers which the sport will love. Let's see and I will make some predictions on those things
a little later in the season.
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