Ok, ok so the only thing left before Season One of the MLB Showdown league begins is to make predictions! Remember, 30 game season with the typical playoff system. So let's just jump right in!
Also, for a quick summary of the big picture I know y'all are looking for, our "experts" picked three different champions: Nationals, Brewers, and Indians. On a broader level, the Yankees, Indians, and Nationals were unanimously selected to be division winners, while the Astros, Brewers, Cardinals, Dodgers, D-Backs, and Red Sox were included in every prognosticator's playoff field.
Regular Season "Expert" Predictions (** = wild card)
Kyle --
AL EAST: (1) Yankees, (2) Red Sox**, (3) Orioles, (4) Blue Jays, (5) Rays
AL CENTRAL: (1) Indians, (2) Twins, (3) White Sox, (4) Tigers, (5) Royals
AL WEST: (1) Astros, (2) Angels**, (3) Mariners, (4) Rangers, (5) A's
MVP: Jose Altuve, Astros; Cy Young: Corey Kluber, Indians
The Astros are going to be absolutely loaded, and Kyle has them going 26-4!! In fact, Kyle has the Indians at 24-6 too, so he's a big fan of power teams pulling away from the AL pack in year one. However, Kyle says don't sleep on his Mariners or Red Sox, and he's got Seattle picked at 18-12, just a few upset wins away from a wild card!
NL EAST: (1) Nationals, (2) Phillies, (3) Mets, (4) Braves, (5) Marlins
NL CENTRAL: (1) Brewers, (2) Cardinals**, (3) Cubs, (4) Pirates, (5) Reds
NL WEST: (1) Dodgers, (2) D-Backs**, (3) Rockies, (4) Giants, (5) Padres
MVP: Paul Goldschmidt, D-Backs; Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers
Kyle has the Brewers winning the NL Central, probably in a reverse jinx attempt, but has his Cardinals in the wild card game against Arizona. Of course, he's got his most powerful squad, the LA Dodgers, winning 21 games and the NL West by three games. Kyle is also on board with "Nationals undefeated watch" and thinks they'll breeze to the number one seed.
Michael --
AL EAST: (1) Yankees, (2) Red Sox**, (3) Blue Jays, (4) Orioles, (5) Rays
AL CENTRAL: (1) Indians, (2) Twins**, (3) White Sox, (4) Tigers, (5) Royals
AL WEST: (1) Astros, (2) Angels, (3) Mariners, (4) Rangers, (5) A's
In a bold move, Michael is the biggest doubter of the Angels, having them at just 16-14. He's got the Indians taking the Central easily and also being the biggest winner at 22 victories. Michael clearly is more a believer in the league's parity than other prognosticators, believing that the small sample size and decent bullpens throughout will create enough upsets to keep even the best teams from winning much more than 2/3 of their games.
NL EAST: (1) Nationals, (2) Phillies, (3) Mets, (4) Marlins, (5) Braves
NL CENTRAL: (1) Cardinals, (2) Brewers**, (3) Cubs, (4) Pirates, (5) Reds
NL WEST: (1) Dodgers, (2) D-Backs**, (3) Rockies, (4) Giants, (5) Padres
Perhaps Michael's most shocking prediction is the Reds tallying 11 wins this season! He's got the Nats and Dodgers fighting hard for the one seed, at 23 and 22 wins respectively. The NL Central is a close race in his prognostications as well, seeing a 19, 18, 16 win distribution among the big three. The NL West also has three over .500 teams in his picks, but at a more spaced out 22, 18, and 16. Once again, it seems like he's overrated the bottom teams' ability to get victories, but we shall see what the season plays out!
Peter --
AL EAST: (1) Yankees, (2) Red Sox***, (3) Blue Jays, (4) Rays, (5) Orioles
AL CENTRAL: (1) Indians, (2) Twins**, (3) Tigers, (4) White Sox, (5) Royals
AL WEST: (1) Angels, (2) Astros***, (3) Mariners, (4) A's, (5) Rangers
MVP: Josh Donaldson, Angels; Cy Young: Corey Kluber, Indians
"Ok, so here's the deal -- I think the Astros and Red Sox are going to tie (at 20-10, book it!) for the second wild card and then travel to Minnesota for the wild card game! Also... me owning the Angels in noooo way impacts me picking the Angels. No bias picking here, nope nope! Yankees and Indians breeze to division wins."
NL EAST: (1) Nationals, (2) Phillies, (3) Braves, (4) Mets, (5) Marlins
NL CENTRAL: (1) Brewers, (2) Cubs***, (t-2) Cardinals***, (4) Pirates, (5) Reds
NL WEST: (1) D-Backs, (2) Dodgers**, (3) Rockies, (4) Giants, (5) Padres
MVP: Paul Goldschmidt, D-Backs; Cy Young: Stephen Strasburg, Nationals
"Milwaukee is going to be a powerhouse surprise, mark my words... and it's not just because I'm a biased owner of the team. Nope nope nope. Also, any team managed by Bad Luck Kyle is due to disappoint, so I'm putting the Dodgers in the Wild Card and have the Cardinals barely making the playoffs and needing to win a play-in game vs the Cubs to make the Wild Card. The Nationals have (never thought I'd say this about a showdown season), a legit chance to go undefeated in the regular season, while Mikey's steal a minute style will push Arizona into the playoffs."
Riley --
AL EAST: (1) Yankees, (2) Red Sox**, (3) Orioles, (4) Blue Jays, (5) Rays
AL CENTRAL: (1) Indians, (2) Twins, (3) White Sox, (4) Royals, (5) White Sox
AL WEST: (1) Astros, (2) Angels**, (3) Mariners, (4) Rangers, (5) A's
MVP: Aaron Judge, Yankees; Cy Young: Chris Sale, Red Sox
Riley the Wiley concurs with everyone else about the three frontrunners for the division crowns, but is not as high on the Twins as other experts, having them finish a mere 16-14. He's got division winners going a combined 65-35, absolutely blowing out the next tier of contenders.
NL EAST: (1) Nationals, (2) Mets, (3) Phillies, (4) Braves, (5) Marlins
NL CENTRAL: (1) Brewers, (2) Cardinals**, (3) Cubs, (4) Pirates, (5) Reds
NL WEST: (1) Dodgers, (2) Rockies***, (T-2) D-Backs***, (4) Giants, (5) Padres
MVP: Bryce Harper, Nationals; Cy Young: Robbie Ray, D-Backs
Riley's got a one game playoff between the Rockies and D-Backs to decide the final wild card, with a Robbie Ray led Arizona traveling to Coors for a play-in to the one game wild card playoff. Unsurprisingly, the Nats blow everyone's doors off in the NL East here too, with the Cubs finishing a surprising 15-15 in Cubs superfan Riley's preseason picks. Meanwhile, the Dodgers pull away from everyone and Riley either believes in Milwaukee or just cannot stomach picking the Cardinals to finish in first. Probably the safest/smartest MVP pick here in Bryce Harper, dude is a STUD.
EXPERT PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS
Kyle --
American League
WC:
Boston over Los Angeles Angels
ALDS:
(1) Houston over (4) Boston
(3) New York Yankees over (2) Cleveland
ALCS:
(1) Houston over (3) New York Yankees
National League
WC:
Arizona over St. Louis
NLDS:
(1) Washington over (4) Arizona;
(3) Milwaukee over (2) Los Angeles Dodgers
NLCS:
(1) Washington over (3) Milwaukee
World Series
Washington over Houston
Peter --
American League
WC:
(Play-in): Houston over Boston
(Wild-Card): Houston over Minnesota
ALDS:
(4) Houston over (1) New York Yankees;
(3) Los Angeles Angels over (2) Cleveland
ALCS:
(3) Los Angeles Angels over (4) Houston
National League
WC:
(Play-in): Chicago Cubs over St. Louis
(Wild-Card): Los Angeles Dodgers over Chicago Cubs
NLDS:
(1) Washington over (4) Los Angeles Dodgers
(2) Milwaukee over (3) Arizona
NLCS:
(2) Milwaukee over (1) Washington
World Series
Milwaukee over Los Angeles Angels
Riley --
American League
WC:
Los Angeles Angels over Boston
ALDS:
(1) Cleveland over (4) Los Angeles Angels
(3) Houston over (2) New York Yankees
ALCS:
(1) Cleveland over (3) Houston
National League
WC:
(Play-in): Arizona over Colorado
(Wild-Card)Arizona over St. Louis
NLDS:
(1) Washington over (4) Arizona
(2) Los Angeles Dodgers over (3) Milwaukee
NLCS:
(1) Washington over (2) Los Angeles Dodgers
World Series
Cleveland over Washington
Note: Michael didn't make postseason predictions
GO TRIBE
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