Millhouse MLB Season Predictions

Photo of Paul Goldschmidt taken by Daniel Millhouse

It's that time of year again. My fantasy baseball draft has passed and I can make my predictions for the season without someone trying to up-bid me during my auction draft. With baseball season so close, I give you my predictions for the 2016 Major League Baseball Season...

American League:
MVP: Manny Machado
Cy Young: Marcus Stroman
Rookie of the Year: AJ Reed
Manager of the Year: AJ Hinch
Fireman of the Year: Wade Davis
Comeback Player of the Year: Marcus Stroman
Breakout: Miguel Sano
Silver Sluggers: Catcher-Salvador Perez, 1B-Chris Davis, 2B-Jose Altuve, 3B-Manny Machado, SS-Carlos Correa, OF-Mookie Betts, Lorenzo Cain, Mike Trout, DH-Nelson Cruz

Notes: While I have listed Stroman as the winner for the Cy Young Award, I can easily see several other pitchers in the running including Garrett Richards who I believe will have a breakout year, Chris Sale, and Dallas Keuchel for a repeat. Also, I believe AJ Reed won't start the year at the Major League level, but Jon Singleton will prove unworthy and Reed won't be in the minors too long.

AL East: 1. Toronto Blue Jays, 2. Baltimore Orioles, 3. New York Yankees, 4. Boston Red Sox, 5. Tampa Bay DEVIL Rays
AL Central: 1. Detroit Tigers, 2. Kansas City Royals, 3. Chicago White Sox, 4. Cleveland Indians, 5. Minnesota Twins
AL West: 1. Houston Astros, 2. Seattle Mariners, 3. Texas Rangers, 4. ANAHEIM Angels, 5. Oakland A's

Notes: With their pitching staff back to healthy, I believe that the Blue Jays will take a step closer to their first World Series appearance since the days of Joe Carter. I also believe that while the Royals will have another good year, the Tigers will stay healthy enough finally to just pull out first place in the Central. The White Sox would be another possible contender, but I don't think they quite pull it out this year. The Astros will repeat in the West and the Mariners will finally show some of the potential some thought they would have last year.

National League:
MVP: Paul Goldschmidt
Cy Young: Johnny Cueto
Rookie of the Year: Trevor Story
Manager of the Year: Dusty Baker
Fireman of the Year: AJ Ramos
Comeback Player of the Year: Jose Fernandez
Breakout Player of the Year: Aaron Nola
Silver Sluggers: Catcher-Buster Posey, 1B-Paul Goldschmidt, 2B-Dee Gordon, 3B-Nolan Arenado, SS-Brandon Crawford, OF-Bryce Harper, Giancarlo Stanton, Andrew McCutcheon, Pitcher-Madison Bumgarner

Notes: I believe that now that he is in a pitcher's park and has a stellar defense behind him, Cueto will finally step up beyond the role of all-star pitcher and into the role of Cy Young Award winner just past Clayton Kershaw. While I imagine 99% of people are predicting that Corey Seager will be the rookie of the year and I agree he will probably have a good year as well, I believe Story will take advantage of taking the shortstop spot from Jose Reyes. Story won't let go and will benefit from playing in Colorado. Domingo Santana will also be another player to watch for Rookie of the Year, especially if he earns the leadoff spot for the Brewers. I believe that Jose Fernandez will be the best comeback story, but Anthony Rendon and Adam Wainwright won't be far behind. Lastly, Aaron Nola will show that he deserves to be called an ace despite being on a horrible team. He won't rack up the wins, but he will have a low ERA and WHIP along with some quality starts.

NL East: 1. New York Mets, 2. Washington Nationals, 3. Miami Marlins, 4. Atlanta Braves, 5. Philadelphia Phillies
NL Central: 1. Chicago Cubs, 2. Pittsburgh Pirates, 3. St. Louis Cardinals, 4. Milwaukee Brewers, 5. Cincinnati Reds
NL West: 1. San Francisco Giants, 3. Arizona Diamondbacks, 3. Los Angeles Dodgers, 4. San Diego Padres, 5. Colorado Rockies

Notes: The focus has been on some of the signings and trades Arizona made this offseason. While good, this is an even year which seems to be lucky for the Giants. The Diamondbacks have a better rotation that is built for the postseason though. The Cubs also come into this season with a lot of hype, but is also helps that they have two horrible teams within their own division (Reds, Brewers). The Mets will also benefit from having two horrible teams in their division, but at least the Braves have potential with all the minor league stars they traded for the past couple of years. We could potentially see the Braves step up next year like the Astros did in 2015.

Playoffs:
AL: Wildcards-Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals; AL Championship-Toronto Blue Jays vs. Houston Astros; AL Champion-Houston Astros
NL: Wildcards-Arizona Diamondbacks and the Pittsburgh Pirates; NL Championship-San Francisco Giants vs. New York Mets; NL Champions-San Francisco Giants
World Series: Houston Astros over San Francisco in 7 games