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.
Outfield
me is that Verlander is a power-pitcher. Meaning he will always go back to his fastball when he is in trouble. Don’t overanalyze my use of the word “scared,” he is still a first round pick, he will still get 220+ strikeouts, and with that lethal Tigers offense mixed with a horrendous AL Central he could post 25 wins.
Craig Kimbrel-Atlanta Braves
Adrian Gonzalez-Boston Red Sox
I’m assuming the front office of the Cubs will have a talk with him and he will keep improving his numbers. Great for dynasty leagues: only 21 years old and numbers improved in each of his first two seasons. Career averages: .304 BA, 16 SB, 54 RBI, 173 hits.
Hmmmm, I’m going to say this nicely, Bismack is a freak of nature. 6’9, 243, can run the floor, 7’6 wingspan and a raw talent. Bismack has a knack for defending and although he cannot shoot, he can still get the ball in the bucket. A center that can defend and run the floor is probably the most lethal guy in sports- behind a dual threat quarterback. The Congolese center has skill where it is hard to teach and it seems as if he is willing to learn. Michael Jordan has his hands full but is sold on this kid. Biyombo seemed to have been working on his offensive game in the offseason. Biyombo was the first player ever to record a triple-double in the Nike Hoops Summit. One thing this young talent does not lack is confidence, in a pre-draft interview Bismack said that one day he WILL lead the NBA in blocks and rebounds. Now that is a tall order to fill but you can’t blame the kid for being excited or wanted to be the best. However, there is a slim chance he won’t be able to play in the NBA his rookie season because he has one year left on his contract with his team in Spain. Biyombo is currently in negotiations with his team attempting to buyout his old contract. It will be a great disappointment if he doesn’t play this year because although he might not be locking down Dwight Howard or Andrew Bogut, he will still be competing every night and making a name for himself.
If Marshon Brooks can mirror what he did at Providence College offensively then the NBA better watch out.This kid does not know what a slump is, he is not afraid to shoot and he will get to the hoop at will. Brooks is lanky, quick, he can slash and he can score in any way imaginable. Brooks could very well be the Nets’ leading scorer but in order to get the respect from his coach and his teammates, he will need to defend and become more of an all around player. At Providence, Brooks always had the ball in his hands, that will not be the case in NJ and he will need to learn how to play without the ball.
Josh Smith’s potential has been blocked by Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford controlling the ball 90% of the time. Now that Jamal Crawford has made his exit look for Josh Smith to finally breakout. I feel he is the most underrated player in the league and that he could be a top five player. Smith is gifted in all aspects of the game, he was first recognized as the insanely athletic dunker who took the Slam Dunk contest title from Jason Richardson in 2005. Smith is among the leagues best highflyers and shot blockers, look for him to put up crazy numbers now that he will finally be touching the ball because Joe Johnson is starting to decline and the team will need another scorer.
Boston fans should soon forget this baseball with the Bruins season right around the corner and the Patriots being 2-1. It is never too early to start talking about next years Sox season though. This off season will be very interesting for Boston (as it is every year). Boston has some monstrous contracts but they also have expiring contracts coming up in the next 2 offseasons (Papelbon, Drew, Scutaro, Matsuzaka and Ortiz). Boston is also going to be looking for a new skipper. The only two options I see for the Sox would be Demarlo Hale and Tony La Russa. La Russa could be a gamble, it is unknown if he will pickup the option for a final season in St. Louis or he could possible end up becoming the Chicago Cubs manager. If Pujols ends up signing with the Cubs (seems like the only option for Pujols besides staying in STL) it is very possible that La Russa follows.
The Bo-Sox need a starting pitcher because some of our recent signings have been devastating. Clay Buchholz and Daisuke Matsuzaka cannot seem to stay healthy. Even when Matsuzaka is healthy he and Lackey has not been what we had expected them to be. It seems like it will be another one or two years before Pawtucket prospects Felix Doubront and Kyle Weiland will be able to be effective in the MLB. Potential starters for the Sox could be: Bruce Chen, Joel Pineiro who would both be cheap and short-term or they could go all out and try to sign C.J. Wilson. It looks like Wilson will be out of Texas after this season, there are only two teams that have already showed interest in him and those two teams are the Washington Nationals and the New York Yankees. Boston could jump into this free agent bidding process either because they want him because they want him, or to jack up his price and make the Yankees overpay him.
It seems that for the past two years set-up man Daniel Bard has been labeled the closer of the future for the Red Sox. He might have to re-earn that title because he was horrible in the later part of the season for the Red Sox. Bard posted a 2-9 record and had five blown saves. However, Bard did have 34 holds, but it seemed that when we needed him to come up big late in the season he would just walk batters that you can’t afford to walk and then he would give up crucial runs. Daniel Bard could be potential trade bait because he is: young, throws steam and he has shown that he can be effective in a big market but he needs to show that he has that “clutch” gene. The Red Sox could get a bunch of prospects if they choose to trade Bard and Reddick. Or they could trade Bard and a player like Drew to free up some money. Whether Bard is or is not on the Red Sox roster I firmly believe the Sox try very hard to bring in free agent Heath Bell. Bell has mentioned that he wants to go to a contender and the Sox should be just that next year; another year older, another year together and a whole lot to prove.
AlexFarnworth 