MLB Opening Day 2020

Hey everybody! I hope this post finds you well as we get hyped up for tonight's Opening Day matchups. It's been a long time coming, and regardless of the all the changes and new features of the season, good or bad, baseball is back. This is somewhat of a random post, but I just felt we all deserved something Showdown related to get us prepared for the season.With that all being said, today we are going to be taking a look at two teams that are going to be making a splash in 2020.

2020 Los Angeles Dodgers 

Starting off, we have one of the most anticipated teams for this season, the Los Angeles Dodgers. I had to choose them as one of the teams for this post because they are too loaded in manpower and I see no way that they don't come out leading the National League. They were good enough last year to make a serious push for the title, but they went ahead and added a top ten player in Mookie Betts. With Mookie and some great rookies in the mix, this team is elite. The lineup is unthinkably good, and while there are much better pitching staffs in baseball, none completely outmatch the Dodgers' staff. David Price has opted out for the 2020 season, but this should give some of the younger players greater opportunities to prove themselves. Kershaw may be aging, but fear not Dodger fans, Mookie's brand new 12 year deal and the high potential of this year's rookie class should lend itself to lots of success in years to come.

Lineup:
There's really not much to say here. It's the best lineup in baseball right now. This lineup does seem kind of awkward in a sense, but when you have two 10s, two 9s, and a bunch of 8s with more than enough pop, it doesn't really matter.

Bench:
The Dodgers have such a nice bench almost solely because of Taylor and Hernandez. Those two have multi-positional flexibility and good charts and speed so they can fill in almost any spot on the team.

Rotation:

Kershaw and Buehler are great 5 control, 15 out studs to lead the rotation, and May and Wood (not presented here) should do alright holding up the back end of the rotation. Kershaw seems to be moving down a tier every year or two these days, but he's still putting up solid cards. As for Buehler, it's only a matter of time before he earns his first tier 2 card and effectively takes over Kershaw's role as the ace of Los Angeles.

Bullpen: 
Graterol is the best card here which is interesting to see because we don't really know if he's going to put up numbers that can sustain such a card. Jansen and Baez are the two staples of the pen, and they should have no problem keeping games close for a couple of innings. Joe Kelly is obviously the weakest card here, but if he could just put up the numbers to tack on 1 more control, he could become a consistent weapon for this team.

2020 Chicago White Sox

The second I have for to you is the Chicago White Sox, the team I most excited to watch this season (besides my hometown Dodgers). They have so much young talent including Robert and Eloy. Last season some of the previously top prospects (who many thought fell off) really came to life. If Giolito, Moncada, and Anderson can keep up their production from last year alongside their new team mates, I suspect the White Sox will have a huge year in 2020 which will ultimately set them up for a possible World Series title in the coming years.

Lineup:
The White Sox have managed to put together a great group for their lineup. The top of the lineup is really strong with Moncada's flashy near 500 point card and the new addition of Grandal's On-Base 10, powerful card. Looking at the bottom half, Eloy has a scary powerful chart and Robert is easily the most draftable card in this post -- he has tremendous speed and defense and an awesome chart, all the while staying under 400 points. Garcia is nice 9-hole hitter, but hopefully top prospect Nick Madrigal will be able to swoop in and strengthen the spot at second base soon.

Bench:

Rotation:
This rotation is the biggest drawback for this team, however I have faith that this could turn into something of nice rotation with some time. Giolito had a breakout year in 2019 and has established himself as the ace of the White Sox. Keuchel only has a very average card here, but we have all seen what he is capable of. The most prominent feature of this Keuchel card is his massive ground ball range, however it is almost wasted by the weak infield defense this team has. Lopez and Cease have atrocious cards, but they've both shown potential and they are still young enough to turn things around.

Bullpen:
Although this is an abridged version of what this bullpen will look like in 2020, they are surprisingly good. With two tier 2 guys and a tier 3 guy (Steve Cishek; not pictured here), this is a very capable bullpen. I would still like to see a couple more consistent arms in the mix to be confident in their ability to hold up in the postseason.

Alright everyone, we've reached the end of this short and spontaneous post so I hoped you enjoyed seeing these two 2020 ready Showdown teams today. I want to give a shout out to Matt for this incredible card template. This was my first time using it and it was a great experience. When you find a nice picture that fits the card well, they make some seriously stunning cards. I tried my best to find crisp photos, but the off season movers really make this process difficult, so enjoy the sleeveless Grandal pic while we wait for more pictures to surface during the season. Anyways, that's all I have for you today. Thank you for reading and enjoy this awesome Bo card! Happy Opening Day!