2019 Millhouse Major League Baseball Predictions

Photo by Daniel Millhouse of Luis Urias (using filter)

A new baseball season is upon us and as usual, it's prediction time for the upcoming season. Last season, my predictions included Christian Yellich being a top five candidate for MVP (he won). This year, we'll see if I'm right again at the end of this year.

American League:

AL East: 1. New York Yankees, 2. Boston Red Sox, 3. Tampa Bay DEVIL Rays, 4. Toronto Blue Jays, 5. Baltimore Orioles...

The Yankees were already a power house last season, butt they found themselves in the same division, let alone league, that featured the other most powerful team in baseball. This past offseason, the Yankees loaded up. They improved their starting pitching with the additions of J.A. Happ and James Paxton, retained Zach Britton to form the best bullpen in baseball with Aroldis Chapman, Dellin Betances, and Chad Green added to the mix, they obtained DJ Lemahieu to fill in until the summer when Didi comes back, and they retained Luke Voit, to strengthen their corner. The Red Sox lost their closer and their bullpen is a little shakier this season, which is still good enough to get into the playoffs possibly, but not good enough to stave off the Yankees. The Rays will give the Red Soz a run for second place. On a side note, the Orioles are my pick for the worst team in the MLB this season.

AL Central: 1. Cleveland Indians, 2. Minnesota Twins, 3. Chicago White Sox, 4. Detroit Tigers, 5. Kansas City Royals...

The Indians will take the division again behind a stacked starting pitching staff and the great hitting from Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez. What should be taken note is that the Twins will rise up and win over 90 games. Their hitting approved with the additions of Nelson Cruz, C.J. Cron, Marwin Gonzalez, and Jonathan Schoop. Jake Odorizzi also should have a step-up year that will improve the team as a whole. This year is make or break for Bryan Buxton and Miguel Sano. Both have shown flashes of talent and of horror. The White Sox will hit middle ground, but may have a breakout player in Eloy Jimenez.

AL West: 1. Houston Astros, 2. Oakland Athletics, 3. ANAHEIM Angels, 4. Seattle Mariners, 5. Texas Rangers...

The Astros again are the favorite to win the AL West. Despite losing Marwin Gonzalez, they still managed to improve their offense by adding Michael Brantley and upgrading at catcher by adding Robinson Chirinos. Their pitching staff is a top three in the MLB and their bullpen is even stronger by retaining Roberto Osuna and Ryan Pressly. The Oakland A's are in a high ceiling/high reward scenario. They have rookies and younger players who are now in place to break out. Ramon Laureno, Jesus Luzardo, and Jurickson Profar will either step up or fall flat on their faces. If they do, the Angels will be right there to take second and would have been a more sure bet to take second if they had improved on their pitching. The Angels wisely signed Trout to a long term contract, but failed to pick up free agents pitchers such as Dallas Keuchel, Gio Gonzalez, Wade Miley, Marco Estrada, or Tyson Ross.

Award Winners:
MVP - Alex Bregman...the easy answer is to say Mike Trout, but Bregman will be in his age 25 season, fresh off a 30+ homer season and appearing to have improved even more during this past offseason. 2. Mike Trout, 3. Aaron Judge, 4. George Springer, 5. Mookie Betts; next 5 in no particular order, J.D. Martinez, Matt Chapman, Tommy Pham, Eddie Rosario, and Jose Altuve.

Cy Young - Justin Verlander...fresh off signing a contract extension, the ace pitcher for the Astros was second place in the voting last season. If he can lead the Astros to the World Series, the writers will surely consider Verlander one of the top candidates. 2. Chris Sale, 3. Corey Kluber, 4. Charlie Morton, 5. Mike Clevinger; next 5 in no particular order, Gerrit Cole, Blake Snell, Matt Boyd, Yusei Kukuchi, Marcus Strohman

Rookie of The Year - Jesus Luzardo...his rise to the Majors has caught the attention of everyone. Match that with a great Spring Training and the A's feel like they have a potential future star for years to come. 2. Yusei Kikuchi 3. Vlad Guerrero Jr., 4. Eloy Jimenez, 5. Brandon Lowe

Breakout Player - Tim Anderson

Comeback Player - Gary Sanchez

All-AL Team - C Gary Sanchez, 1B Matt Olson, 2B Jose Altuve, 3B Alex Bregman, SS Francisco Lindor, OF Mike Trout, Aaron Judge, George Springer, DH Khris Davis, P Justin Verlander

National League:

NL East: 1. Philadelphia Phillies, 2. Washington Nationals, 3. Atlanta Braves, 4. New York Mets, 5. FLORIDA Marlins...

The Phillies have risen and have their best roster since they were led by Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. Additions of Bryce Harper, Jean Segura, J.T. Realmuto, and Andrew McCutcheon to their everyday staff and an established closer in David Robertson, boost the Phillies to a neck to neck finish with the Nationals. The Nats lost Harper, but are still strong in the outfield with Victor Robles, Adam Eaton, and Juan Soto. They also added Patrick Corbin to their pitching staff, who makes for possibly the best number three pitcher in baseball this season.

NL Central: 1. Milwaukee Brewers, 2. St. Louis Cardinals, 3. Chicago Cubs, 4. Pittsburgh Pirates, 5. Cincinnati Reds...

The Milwaukee Brewers hold on to the NL Central, but not by as much as last season. They managed to upgrade at catcher by adding Yasmani Grandal, but their pitching staff is still full of good pitchers, but not great pitchers. Moose Moustakas will be moving over to second base now, which should provide for an interesting experiment, especially when someone slides hard into him while breaking up a double play.  The Cubs may drop down but still can play spoiler and take second place if everyone plays up to their potential. The Cards upgraded by adding Paul Goldschmidt and Andrew Miller to their roster which should be enough to boost them to second place.The Reds made some noise during the offseason but may now feature a dysfunctional clubhouse if they let Yasiel Puig influence the younger players making up their team.

NL West: 1. Los Angeles Dodgers, 2. San Diego Padres, 3. Colorado Rockies, 4. Arizona Diamondbacks, 5. San Francisco Giants...

The Dodgers will take the NL West again, but their southern neighbors have done enough to close the gap between the two. The Dodgers blew some better trade offers they had in the past for Puig, but they still managed to clear him out of the way, leaving room for them to add AJ Pollock. Once untouchable, Clayton Kershaw's back is giving out on him, possibly due to his unique pitching style, which leaves a giant hole in the Dodgers' starting pitching. The Padres feature the top minor league system in the MLB and some of those minor league stars will be on the roster this season, led by their unsuspected pickup of Manny Machado. The pitching staff is their biggest question mark, but the several of their youngsters have potential to break out this season. If not, the Rockies hitting will lead them into second place.

Award Winners:
MVP - Nolan Arenado...Leader in the National League for home runs last season, Nolan is about as complete of a player one can be. Not only does he hit for power and average, but he has the best glove at third base in Major League Baseball. After being top five in the MVP voting the last three seasons, it's about time for him to take home the award this season; 2. Christian Yellich, 3. Manny Machado, 4. Freddie Freeman, 5. David Peralta; next five in no particular order, Bryce Harper, Rhys Hoskins, Trevor Storey, Anthony Rizzo, Max Scherzer

Cy Young - Max Scherzer...For the past six years in a row, Scherzer has finished in the top 10 in the Cy Young voting, including winning it three times. He hit the 300 strike out mark last season and could approach that number again this year; 2. Aaron Nola, 3. Jacob deGrom, 4. Patrick Corbin, 5. Walker Buehler; next five in no particular order, German Marquez, , Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray, Zack Greinke, Jameson Taillon.

Rookie of the Year - Chris Paddack...One of several Padres rookies that could be potentially top five rookie of the year picks, Paddack is the most suited to keep his position for the entire season due to his readiness; 2. Pete Alonso, 3. Brendan Rodgers, 4. Victor Robles, 5. Luis Urias

Breakout Player - Franmil Reyes

Comeback Player - Sonny Gray

All NL Team - C J.T. Realmuto, 1B Freddie Freeman, 2B Ozzie Albies, 3B Nolan Arenado, SS Trea Turner, OF Bryce Harper, Christian Yellich, David Peralta, P Max Scherzer

Playoffs:

Wildcards: The wildcards for the American League will be the Red Sox and the Minnesota Twins. If the Twins feature several breakouts as they hope they do, they could even find themselves as the Cinderella team in baseball at the end of the season.

In the National League, the wildcards will be the Nationals (or the Phillies if the Nationals can survive the season without any major injuries) and the Chicago Cubs. The Padres have an outside chance if the stars align just right and their youngsters all break out at the same time, but that is a big if.

World Series: The Houston Astros are the team to beat in the American League, though the Yankees will give them a run at some point in the playoffs. The winner will go against the Washington Nationals. What about the Phillies or Dodgers? Well, the Phils will be a great regular season team, the Nationals have a pitching staff made for the playoffs and youngsters who are too dumb/brash to think they're not ready to make it all the way. The Dodgers health will be their problem and the lack of a stable Kershaw in the playoffs will hamper their chances to go all the way.

It should be noted that Mike Trout will enjoy his new found fortune by watching the playoffs on his theater style screen he's surely to put in his new mansion he'll buy.

In the end, the Astros will take the Series in six games against the survivor from the NL East who makes it that far.

2017 Millhouse Major League Baseball Awards

Photo by Daniel Millhouse; AJ Pollock, Jake Lamb, and Paul Goldschmidt

The World Series is all tied up and it looks like it will be a promising end to the 2017 season. For those who remember the 2017 Millhouse MLB predictions, I had the Houston Astros winning it all. Looks like I could be right. With that said, let's take a look at the Millhouse award-winning players for the 2017 season.

American League:

MVP - Aaron Judge: In fairness, this was an extremely close vote for me. On any given day, Jose Altuve could have been the MVP. For me, Judge wins this by a hair. He led the American League in home runs, breaking the rookie record in the process. He led the league in runs scored, was second in RBI's, hit .284, had the highest on-base percentage among players who played over 120 games, and even had nine stolen bases. Judge even played above average defense.

Trust me, this was a hard vote for me. Altuve led the league in batting average, hit 24 homers, 81 RBI's, and was third in the league in stolen bases.

Also, if Mike Trout had been able to play a complete season, he may have made this a three-way tie for the MVP race.

Cy Young - Corey Kluber: At the mid-season point, it looked like Chris Sale would take this award. Unfortunately for Sale, his ERA went north of three after the all-star break and Kluber became the favorite. An 18-4 record with an ERA of 2.25. He also only allowed hitters a batting average of .193 and combined this with a WHIP of 0.87. 

Rookie of the Year - Aaron Judge: This should be a no-brainer since he won my MVP award. Although in any other season, Andrew Benintendi, Matt Olsen, and Trey Mancini would have been favorites in the race.

Manager of the Year - Paul Molitor: While A.J. Hinch would seem like the favorite on the surface, Molitor did more with less. The Twins weren't even thought to be in the hunt for a playoff spot before the season started. They ended up taking second place in the Central, only losing out to the Indians. The Twins organization even traded away players before the trade deadline and they still made a race for the playoffs.

Fireman of the Year - Craig Kimbrel: He had 12 fewer saves than the AL leader, Alex Colome, but Kimbrel had a 0.68 WHIP, allowed a .140 batting average, and had 126 strikeouts in 69 innings.

Breakout Player - Marwin Gonzalez: On the verge of being pushed out of the roster, Gonzalez became a super-utility player. He can play almost every position except catcher and pitcher. He also found himself hittin 23 homers with over a .300 batting average.

Silver Sluggers: Catcher - Gary Sanchez; 1B - Jose Abreu; 2B - Jose Altuve; 3B - Jose Ramirez; SS - Francisco Lindor; OF - Aaron Judge, Mike Trout, George Springer; DH - Nelson Cruz

The Aces: Corey Kluber, Chris Sale, Luis Severino, Dallas Keuchel, Ervin Santana

National League:

MVP - Giancarlo Stanton: Aaron Judge's national league counterpart, Giancarlo "Don't call me Mike" Stanton hit 59 homers while hitting .281. He also scored 123 runs and drove in 132 RBI's. Charlie Blackmon and Nolan Arenado put up a good race too, but Stanton was by and far the best hitter this season in the National League.

Cy Young - Matt Scherzer: Edging out Clayton Kershaw, Scherzer had a better WHIP, stuck out more hitters, and his batting average against was lower than the Dodgers' ace. Scherzer was second in the league with a 2.51 ERA and had a record of 16-6.

Rookie of the Year - Cody Bellinger: Judge wasn't the only rookie breaking a rookie record for homers. Bellinger broke the National League rookie record for homers with 39. 

Manager of the Year - Torey Lovullo: Lovullo led the Diamondbacks to 93 wins, giving the Dodgers a run for their money at one point. Not a team that should have made the playoffs, Lovullo managed to get the best out of his players that were ready to break out. Paul Goldschmidt was joined by Jake Lamb, AJ Pollock, and David Peralta, in giving opposing pitchers problems.

Fireman of the Year - Kenley Jensen: He converted 41 of his 42 save opportunities, had a 0.75 WHIP, and allowed hitters a .177 ERA. Jensen edged out Cory Knebel of the Brewers who had similar numbers and more strikeouts. 

Breakout Player - Scooter Gennett: A good hitting second baseman who showed potential for being a .300 hitter, Gennett hit 27 homers, something no one foresaw.

Silver Sluggers: Catcher - Wilson Contreras; 1B - Paul Goldschmidt; 2B - Scooter Gennett; 3B - Nolan Arenado; SS - Zach Cozart; OF - Giancarlo Stanton, Marcel Ozuna, Charlie Blackmon; Pitcher - Madison Bumgarner

The Aces: Max Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Robbie Ray, Stephen Strasburg

2016 Millhouse MLB Awards

Christian Yellich put up a Silver Slugger level season in 2016; photo by Daniel Millhouse

It was definitely a season to remember this season for Major League Baseball. The death of Jose Fernandez was definitely the lowlight of the season and was possibly one of the more tragic stories in all of sports this season. But this year also had many high points. The emergence of one of the best rookie classes in years, Ichiro reaching the 3,000 hit plateau, and David Ortiz putting up one of the best seasons of his career in his final season.

One day the Millhouse MLB Awards will be covered by all sorts of media. Until then, I present to you the award winners for the 2016 Major League Baseball season as picked by Daniel Millhouse.

American League:

MVP: Jose Altuve...This Houston Astros middle infielder won the batting title, played well enough to win the Gold Glove, tied for second in the league in stolen bases, hit a career high 24 homers, had 96 RBI's, and scored 108 runs. He was the total five-tool-player this season despite playing on a team that underperformed this season. Runners-Up...Mookie Betts, Miguel Cabrera, and David Ortiz.

Cy Young: Rick Porcello...If you asked anyone before this season started who the American League Cy Young winner might be, even Porcello himself would have never picked. He was 22-4 this season, was fifth in ERA (3.15), allowed only 32 walks with a 1.01 WHIP, and put up stats that MLB fans would have loved to see from David Price. Runners-Up...Zack Britton, Justin Verlander, and Corey Kluber.

Rookie of the Year: Michael Fullmer...This rookie pitcher stepped up and replaced the roster spot left vacant by Porcello when the latter left for the Red Sox. Fullmer gave the Tigers steady pitching for most of the season, giving Detroit a nice one-two punch with Verlander and Fullmer. The rookie was 11-7 with a 3.06 ERA. This spot almost went to Yankees' catcher Gary Sanchez who was the fastest player to reach 20 homers to begin their career, but it was hard to award a player with barely over 50 games played, the rookie of the year. Runners-Up...Gary Sanchez, Normar Mazara, and Tyler Naquin.

Fireman of the Year: Zack Britton...He was a perfect 47 for 47 in save opportunities and in 67 innings, he only allowed 4 earned runs and a .162 batting average. His ERA was a staggering 0.54 and his WHIP was 0.84. Still think lefties can't be closers? Runners-Up...Alex Colome, Wade Davis, and Roberto Osuna.

Manager of the Year: Jeff Banister...The Texas Rangers' manager led a team that wasn't predicted to ever make the playoffs. Yet, they did. They lost in the playoffs once they made it, but getting that far was an amazing feat considering the players he lost to the disabled list and those that underperformed. Runners-Up...John Gibbons, Buck Showalter, and Brad Ausmus.

Silver Sluggers: Catcher-Stephen Vogt, 1B-Miguel Cabrera, 2B-Jose Altuve, 3B-Josh Donaldson, SS-Xander Bogaerts, OF-Mookie Betts, Mike Trout, Ian Desmond, DH-David Ortiz

American League All Rookie Team: Catcher-Gary Sanchez, 1B-Dae-Ho Lee, 2B-Whit Merrifield, 3B-Ryan Healey, SS-Tim Anderson, OF-Nomar Mazara, Tyler Naquin, and Hyun Soon Kim, P-Michael Fullmer

National League:

MVP: Nolan Arenado...He led the league in homers and RBI's while hitting .294. Arenado also played some of the best defense at any position this season. There wasn't much he couldn't do except for maybe steal a couple of more bases. Runners-Up...Charlie Blackmon, Joey Votto, and Ryan Braun.

Cy Young: Kyle Hendricks...A pitcher that started the season as a free agent in many fantasy leagues, Hendricks took the National League ERA crown, posting a 2.13 ERA. Combine this with a 16-8 record, a 0.98 WHIP, and allowing only 15 homers the whole season, it was clear to see that Hendricks had a dominate season for the Cubs. Runners-Up...Jose Fernandez, Madison Bumgarner, and Jon Lester.

Rookie of the Year: Trea Turner...Playing out of position at centerfield, the Nationals were determined to find a way to get this top rookie into their starting lineup. Normally a shortstop, he still played good defense while hitting .342, stealing 33 bases, and hitting 13 homers. Runners-Up...Corey Seager, Trevor Story, and Seung Hwan Oh.

Fireman of the Year: Mark Melancon...Combining his season on the Pirates and Nationals, Melancon pushed Jonathan Papplebon down to setup man. He had 47 saves with a 1.64 ERA while compiling a 0.90 WHIP. Runners-Up...Kenley Jensen, Seung Hwan Oh, and Kenley Jensen.

Manager of the Year: Joe Maddon...So far it has been a magical season for the Cubs. It would have been even better if this happened last season to prove Back to the Future 2 right, but what can you do? The Cubs won over 100 games this season and there's a chance that they actually make it to the World Series. If they win, they'll break their long drought. Runners-Up...Dusty Baker, Bruce Bochy, and Clint Hurdle.

Silver Sluggers: Catcher-Wilson Ramos, 1B-Joey Votto, 2B-David Murphy, 3B-Nolan Arenado, SS-Jonathan Villar, OF-Ryan Braun, Charlie Blackmon, and Christina Yellich, P-Adam Wainright

National League All Rookie Team: Catcher-Wilson Contreras, 1B-Tommy Joseph, 2B-Jose Peraza, 3B-Brandon Drury, SS-Corey Seager, OF-Trea Turner, Travis Jankowski, and Keon Broxton, P-Seung Hwan Oh

1st Half Millhouse MLB Awards

Photo by Daniel Millhouse, taken June 14, 2016 in San Diego, CA

With half the season down in the history books for Major League Baseball it's that time of year to reflect back on what has transpired so far and award the Millhouse First Half Awards for the 2016 season. So let's take a look at who has done well so far in the year of Ichiro (now 10 hits away from 3,000 hits).

American League

MVP: Jose Altuve...Already considered one of the best second baseman in the last several years, Altuve was already revered for his high batting averages and large amounts of stolen bases. A top fifteen player for sure. Then he upped his game. He showed more power, hitting for more homers and RBI's than he ever had before. He's outplayed past MVP's such as Mike Trout and Bryce Harper this season. He's the American League MVP and he's barely 5'6". Runners up Mike Trout, Mark Trumbo, Nelson Cruz

Cy Young: Chris Sale...Half a season down and he's already racked up 14 wins, a sub 3.00 ERA, and over 100 strikeouts. All of this while playing for the White Sox. His strikeouts dropped a little this season, but he's still more dominant that anyone else in the league. Runners up Danny Salazar, Zach Britton, Cole Hamels

Rookie of the Year: Nomar Mazara...A year ago he wasn't considered the Rangers' top prospect, but he's played so well in his time in the Major League level that Joey Gallo is stuck. He's sported a .286 batting average with 11 homers so far. This has helped his team take the top of the American League West. Runners up Michael Fullmer, Tyler Naquin, Dae-Ho Lee

All Stars: C Salvador Perez, 1B Miguel Cabrera, 2B Jose Altuve, 3B Josh Donaldson, SS Manny Machado, OF Mike Trout, Ian Desmond, Mark Trumbo, DH Nelson Cruz

Surprise: Ian Desmond...Cast off from the Washington Nationals, Desmond signed with the Rangers just before Spring Training started. A shortstop his whole Major League career it was determined that he might have to switch to the outfield to scrounge for playing time. Since then he's hitting .321 and has 15 homeruns. Along with Mazara they are behind the turnaround for the Rangers this season. Runners up Eduardo Nunez, Danny Valencia, Jackie Bradley
Breakout: Jonathan Schoop...Full of potential, Schoop was on his way to a good year last before being injured. He's broke through this season. He's almost already matched his career high in homeruns and he's hitting .301. That's from a player that the roto magazines said would hit around .240.
Fireman: Zach Britton...Lefties aren't supposed to be closers, but the best one in the American League is a lefty. He's sporting a 0.80 ERA, a 0.77 WHIP, and 23 saves. This former starter is about as untouchable as a closer can get. Runners up David Robertson, Steve Cishek, Wade Davis

National League

MVP: Anthony Rizzo...A half a season in and he already has 20 homers and 61 RBI's. Add that to a .282 batting average and you've got first half MVP numbers. Runners up Nolan Arenado, Yoenis Cespedes, Daniel Murphy

Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw...Now injured, Kershaw put up enough games to still be 11-2 with a 1.79 ERA and 145 strikeouts. He nearly has 17 strikeouts per base on balls too. Runners up Madison Bumgarner, Jake Arrieta, Drew Pomeranz

Rookie of the Year: Corey Seager...The preseason favorite, Kyle's little brother hit steadily and showed the pop that his big brother has. He's hit 17 homers and has a .305 batting average. Trevor Story looked like the early favorite when he blasted 7 homers in the first week of the season, but since then Story cooled off. Story has more homers than Seager, but only has a .264. Runners up Trevor Story, Steven Matz, Kenta Maeda

All Stars: C Wilson Ramos, 1B Anthony Rizzo, 2B Daniel Murphy, 3B Nolan Arenado, SS Jonathan Villar, OF Yoenis Cespedes, Ryan Braun, Carlos Gonzalez

Surprise: Jonathan Villar...A promising prospect with the Astros, Villar stole 18 bases in half of a season his rookie year. Given a shot to start, as a 23-year-old he hit only .209 and found himself in the doghouse. He hit .284 while barely being used last season, the Astros just gave up on him. As a 25-year-old he's finally blossoming as the Brewers' leadoff hitter. He has a .292 batting average and leads the National League in stolen bases. Runners up Wilson Ramos, Trevor Story, Melvin Upton Jr.
Breakout: Jonathan Villar...see above.
Fireman: Fernando Rodney...Rodney qualifies as a National League closer for now, but was just recently traded to the Tampa Bay Rays. Sporting a 0.3 ERA, he racked up 17 saves and a sup 1.00 WHIP with the San Diego Padres. He would have had more save opportunities if with a better team. Now a Ray, he's not even closing anymore. Runners up Kenley Jansen, Jeurys Familia, AJ Ramos