Bold Predictions For All 30 Ball Clubs

At the beginning of the of the 2011 season, if you would have said that Curtis Granderson was going to hit 40+ home runs and Ian Kennedy would reach 20+ wins people would have called you crazy. But those uncanny things happen each year; those players finished with 41 home runs and 21 wins respectively.

This year is going to be a big year for the MLB, more teams are starting to assemble superstar squads while other teams are calling up prospects getting ready for the future.  There will be something that happens to each team that no one has thought of, these will be my bold predictions of the 2012 season.

AL West

Seattle Mariners– Ichiro clubs out a career-high 17 home runs. He has always had pop in his bat but never used it because he was a leadoff hitter. Now he is batting third and knocking some runs in. Also, Jesus Montero will start less than 20 games at the catcher position.

Los Angeles Angels– Mark Trumbo struggles to get implemented/ keep his spot in the lineup (1B, 3B, DH, OF). He won’t even hit 19 home runs and he won’t be able to keep his average above .240. On a positive note, Kendrys Morales will stay healthy for the most part and knock out 26 home runs while C.J. Wilson gets a team-high 24 wins.

Texas Rangers– Mike Napoli ends up getting moved, again, at the trade deadline. Neftali Feliz has an impressive 13-8 record as a starter. Joe Nathan gets hurt (not bold) and Alexei Ogando becomes the closer getting 33+ saves.

Oakland Athletics– Yoenis Cespedes scorches 37 doubles and leads the team with 22 home runs and 89 RBI. Pitcher, Brandon McCarthy, makes the All-Star team and finished the season with 14 wins and a 2.96 ERA with a sub-1 WHIP. Manny Ramirez also takes the DH spot from Jonny Gomes after serving his 50-game suspension and he hits 13 dingers.

AL Central

Detroit Tigers– Alex Avila struggles on offense while the rest of the Tigers do not. Austin Jackson finally proves that the Tigers made the right choice in trading Curtis Granderson for him and company. Jackson steals 34 bases and hits a career-high .294.

Cleveland Indians– Josh Tomlin leads this team in wins with only 12.  Travis Hafner and Grady Sizemore miss over a combined 210 games. Ubaldo Jimenez still can’t find his groove in Cleveland.

Minnesota Twins– Bottom-dwellers of the AL Central and the league for that matter, which ends up being the worst division in the MLB.  Mauer does play, and hits .318, but it doesn’t help the team. Ben Revere ends up taking Denard Span’s CF spot and steals 51 bases.

Kansas City Royals– Royals finish second in division with 88 wins. Eric Hosmer wins the AL MVP despite not making the playoffs. He bats: .330, 29 long-balls and 117 RBI. Mike Moustakas hits 26 home runs and Tim Collins makes the All-Star team as a setup man.

Chicago White Sox– Jake Peavy finally makes a comeback, dealing out a team-leading 14 wins. Matt Thornton finishes the season as the closer but not a good one and Konerko is the only player on the team to bat over .300.

AL East

Boston Red Sox (World Series Champs)– Mark Melancon was brought in to be a setup man but he ends up leading the club in saves (28).  Salty hits 23 home runs but Ryan Lavarnway will takeover as catcher by the end of July. Defensive prodigy Jose Iglesias gets called up and sent back down because he doesn’t know how to use a bad and Crawford is still irrelevant by the end of the season.

New York Yankees– Ivan Nova becomes the most consistent pitcher. Curtis “The Grandy Man” Granderson hits only 23 home runs while Jeter and A-rod combine for 26. Cano finishes third in MVP voting behind Hosmer and A. Gonzalez.

Toronto Blue Jays– Ricky Romero wins AL Cy Young Award, getting 227 K’s and 18 wins with 26 quality starts. Yunel Escobar hits .310 with 84 RBI and 22 steals. Kyle Drabek doesn’t make his way into the rotation either.

Tampa Bay Rays– Ben Zobrist hits 24 home runs while snatching 26 bases and he will start  games at 2B, 1B, LF, RF and DH. Desmond Jennings hits a shocking 26 HR and B.J. Upton gets traded to Houston.

Baltimore Orioles– Mark Reynolds moves to 1B, Brian Roberts comes back and Robert Andino plays most of the year at 3B. Jake Arietta wins only 9 games but has a 3.20 ERA. Adam Jones gets traded so Baltimore can stockpile on prospects… I don’t know why they want to though.

NL West

Arizona Diamondbacks (Lose in World Series)– Trevor Cahill shows he misses pitching at the Coliseum and gets rocked. Ian Kennedy doesn not have the same type of season as last year. Tyler Skaggs gets promoted early and leads the team in strikeouts and ERA. Justin Upton hits 34 HR and steals 28 bases.

San Francisco Giants– Freddy Sanchez hits only .263, no one on the team hits over 23 home runs and Lincecum has a 3.49 ERA. Brian Wilson is lights out this year but he will have no save opportunities, only gets 31 saves.

Colorado Rockies– Dexter Fowler becomes a superstar. Jamie Moyer gets 13 wins, Tulowitzki wins NL MVP and Jordan Pacheco hits 24 home runs from the hot corner. Helton and Giambi both announce they will retire at end of season, freeing up first base for 3B prospect Nolan Arenado who will move to 1B.

San Diego Padres– Carlos Quentin hits only 16 home runs. Cameron Maybin leads the team with 26 bombs and 38 steals. Edinson Volquez and Corey Luebke both tie with 15 wins but the Padres still struggle.

Los Angeles Dodgers– Dee Gordon hits well over .300 but Andre Ethier becomes the team’s MVP. Ethier his .328 and knocks in 108 runs while Kemp struggles to hit 25 home runs and doesn’t even reach 100 RBI. Kershaw wins Cy Young by a landslide.

NL Central

Houston Astros– Jordan Lyles leads the team in wins with 13 and Jordan Schafer robs 23 bases. Unfortunately, a bunch of prospects get called up too early and end up having terrible numbers.

Chicago Cubs– Anthony Rizzo is a disappointment, hitting less than five home runs. Marmol gets traded along with Matt Garza (separate deals), leaving Jeff Samardzija to have the best season as a Cubs pitcher in 2012.

Cincinnati Reds– Aroldis Chapman eventually becomes the closer and strikes out over 100 as a reliever. Votto has a bad year after signing a monster contract, 20 HR and bats only .289. Chris Heisey leads the team as a platoon OF with 27 HR.

Milwaukee Brewers– Mat Gamel provides some pop with Prince Fielder gone. Braun has another 30/30 season, K-Rod gets traded and George Kottaras becomes everyday starting catcher.

Pittsburgh Pirates– McCutchen becomes elite, hitting 31 home runs and getting 34 steals, he earns the highest WAR (Wins Above Replacement). Erik Bedard doesn’t even start 21 games and James McDonald gets 197 K’s.

St. Louis Cardinals– Jon Jay has a breakout season and Wainwright gets 18 wins. David Freese loses his spot in the lineup and Matt Holliday only hits 18 homers. Jason Motte blows a bunch of saves and Fernando Salas takes over.

NL East

New York Mets– Jason Bay is back and hits 22 home runs.  David Wright knocks 19 out of the park before getting traded to the Chi-Sox in exchange for Gavin Floyd and Alexei Ramirez.

Atlanta Braves– Michael Bourn hits an abysmal .268 but still steals 59 bases and scores 99 runs. Jason Heyward stays healthy all season and knocks out 38 home runs and wins the Home Run Derby.

Miami Marlins– Hanley Ramirez is runner-up for the NL MVP Award, hitting 33 home runs and knocking in 114. Ricky Nolasco rings up 132 batters and gets 16 wins. Miami Marlins win the division. Oh yeah, Giancarlo (formerly Mike) Stanton leads the MLB with home runs, dropping 48.

Philadelphia Phillies– As Chase Utley comes back, Jimmy Rollins gets hurt, leaving Freddy Galvis in the lineup and moving him back to his natural shortstop position. Hunter Pence is the unsung hero and hits a quiet 30 home runs.

Washington Nationals– Bryce Harper is called up right after the All-Star break but is not successful in his first half-season. Ian Desmond gets traded and Strasburg gets shut down early for precautionary reasons. Washington finishes third in division.

Fantasy Baseball Sleepers 2012

The beauty of fantasy sports is finding the perfect sleeper. Finding a diamond in the rough can be the difference between a fantasy championship and a disappointing season. Today we will explore the biggest potential steals of the 2012 MLB fantasy draft. Keep this list to yourselves because you don’t want your fellow draft-mates to take your guy.

Catcher-Jarrod Saltalamacchia-Boston Red Sox
Salty will be the everyday catcher now that Jason Varitek has retired. This was a highly touted prospect when we acquired in exchange for Chris McGuiness and Roman Mendez. Playing in Fenway and in the loaded Red Sox lineup, Salty will have many RBI chances and could hit around 22 home runs, which is good for a catcher. The only downfall to this sleeper is that he does not hit for average (.244 career batting average).

1^st Base-Ike Davis-New York Mets
Davis is probably the only bright spot for this New York Met ball club.1^st base is typically a power position but this is a deep position. Miguel Cabrera, Adrian Gonzalez and Prince Fielder will most likely go in the first round but if your first choice is taken you can wait on players like Gaby Sanchez, Paul Goldschmidt and Ike Davis. Davis battled through foot/ankle injuries last year and ended up getting shelved for most of the 2011 season, however, he managed to put up 7 home runs and knock-in 25 RBI’s in only 36 games played. Citi Field moved in all of their outfield walls 15 feet this offseason, raising Davis’ potential home run numbers. I could see him putting up 32 home runs, 90+ RBI and hit in the upper .280’s.

2^nd Base-Jemile Weeks-Oakland Athletics
Weeks exploded on to the scene last season. Once he was called up by the Athletics organization he became their leadoff and one of their best offensive weapons. Personally I do not like drafted 2^nd basemen before the 6^th round unless I am getting Robinson Cano. Weeks will be on the board for quite a while, I would take him around the 13^th round. This year he will be one of the better speed guys in the MLB (projected 35), could post a .300 batting average and could score a lot of runs pending the improved A’s lineup with a suspended Manny Ramirez, Dominican sensation Yoenis Cespedes and Chris Carter finally getting called up.

3^rd Base-Mike Moustakas-Kansas City Royals
Two years ago Mike “Moose” Moustakas was arguably the best hitter in the minor leagues. In 2010 (AA-AAA) Moustakas posted a .322 average, 36 home runs, 124 runs batted-in and 51 walks (10 intentional). Last year, Moose was called up to the Royals and didn’t do to great. In 2012, look for the Royals to have a good offensive year. Moustakas will most likely be hitting 5^th, behind Eric Hosmer. With this prospect-studded lineup, Moose will have a lot of men on base to hit in. Third base is a very thin position for fantasy and if you can find a power guy there in the later round you will be all-set. Ned Yost said Moustakas is in amazing shape and is chiseled, even stronger than last year. I am projecting him at a .290 batting average, 26+ homeruns, and somewhere around 85 for runs batted-in.

Shortstop-Dee Gordon-Los Angeles Dodgers
Shortstop is the thinnest position in fantasy baseball, no question about it. Troy Tulowitzki will get drafted within the first ten picks, Jose Reyes and Hanley Ramirez (eligible at 3B and SS) will be gone before the end of the second round in a 12-team league. After those three shortstops are gone, there are slim pickings.  You still have players like Elvis Andrus of the Texas Rangers, Starlin Castro and Emilio Bonifacio, The latter of the six that were spoken of will go in the early rounds as well. Andrus, Castro and Bonifacio all provide great steal numbers and a really nice batting average. Instead of taking a shortstop early, I suggest you wait on Dee Gordon. Gordon won’t get many RBI’s and will probably have less than 6 home runs but, he will make up for it in steals and runs scored. Gordon will be hitting in front of Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier so he will be scoring a lot of runs and he has 50+ steal potential.  In 56 games last season, Gordon had 24 steals, which is nearly 1 steal for every two games, he also posted a .304 average. Translate those numbers to a full season and you will have the best sleeper in your league.

Outfield-Chris Heisey-Cincinnati Reds
This kid can straight yack, last year he averaged one home run per every 15 at-bats. The downfall to Heisey is his batting average (.253 last season) and the fact that the Reds have 4 outfielders; Drew Stubbs and Jay Bruce have definite spots. Ryan Ludwick and Chris Heisey fighting for LF. I would take Heisey on my team, you should be able to get him with your last pick of the draft in a twelve team league. He would be great to put in your lineup if you need a home run or a couple RBI; no risk, potential high reward.

Outfield-Delmon Young-Detroit Tigers
The Tigers are in a terrible AL Central division right now. They just brought in Prince Fielder to hit behind Miguel Cabrera. With that being said, there will be no way for opposing teams to pitch around OF/DH Delmon Young and he should have prime RBI numbers. Last year Young started getting into his own and reminded people why he was the first overall pick in the 2003 draft. This year I expect nothing less than 24 home runs, 81 RBI and a .284 BA.

Starting Pitcher-James McDonald-Pittsburgh Pirates
As of right now, James McDonald is the third guy in the Buc rotation. Last year he started over 30 games (17 quality starts), had a 4.21 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, 142 punch-outs and 78 BB. Although these numbers don’t seem impressive, J-Mac has shown bright spots and resilience. When he is down in the count he comes back and gets batters out. McDonald can be the last SP you take and he could help your team out a great deal. I project him around 190 k’s, 12-14 wins and a 3.6-3.8 ERA.

Closer- Jonathan Broxton-Kansas City Royals
A couple years ago, Broxton was arguably the best closer in the MLB for the LA Dodgers, then, he wet the bed and was signed as a setup man for the Royals. I think taking Broxton is a very smart pick. Don’t get me wrong though, I am not telling you to go out and get Broxton as your first closer. What I’m saying is take a chance on him, he can become a closer due to Joakim Soria’s injury (Tommy John surgery in near future). Also Broxton can get you a lot of strikeouts for a closer; three 90+ strikeout seasons including one with 114.