2017 Millhouse MLB Predictions

Former Lake Elsinore Storm player, Hunter Renfroe, looks to take the NL Rookie of the Year.

Photo by Daniel Millhouse

A new season is nearing and it's that time of the year again for the Millhouse Major League Baseball Predictions. Often half-right, but still worth checking out, some of these predictions give me bragging rights for the following season and in some cases for life.

American League:
AL West: 1. Houston Astros, 2. Texas Rangers, 3. Seattle Mariners, 4. ANAHEIM Angels, 5. Oakland A's. The Astros will continue to gain momentum as they have for the past few years. Remember when Sports Illustrated had that cover that proclaimed the Astros the 2017 World Series champs in 2014? Well, they were far off. The Astros will win the division while teams like the A's will wonder where they went wrong.

AL Central: 1. Cleveland Indians, 2. Kansas City Royals, 3. Detroit Tigers, 4. Chicago White Sox, 5. Minnesota Twins. The Indians will come out strong as their pitching staff will help guide them along with their new additions such as Edwin Encarnacion. At the start of the off-season, the Tigers had potential to leap-frog past the Royals and contend with the Indians, but they didn't do a whole lot to grow their team. Instead, the Tigers' veterans are just another year older and a little bit more frail.

AL East: 1. Boston Red Sox, 2. Toronto Blue Jays, 3. New York Yankees, 4. Baltimore Orioles, 5. Tampa Bay DEVIL Rays. If the Red Sox can stay healthy and play at least an average level of defense, then they could bounce back and take the East. They could see some competition from the New York Yankees. The Bronx Bombers have a roster that could potentially take the division, but this is probably too dependent on their veterans staying healthy (they already have an injury to Didi Gregorius) and for their youngsters to prove themselves.

Wildcard Teams: Kansas City Royals and Toronto Blue Jays

League Champion: Houston Astros

AL Awards: MVP - Manny Machado; Cy Young - Chris Sale; Rookie of the Year - Aaron Judge; Manager of the Year - A.J. Hinch; Fireman of the Year (closer) - Craig Kimbrel

Silver Sluggers - Catcher: Gary Sanchez; 1B: Miguel Cabrera; 2B: Jose Altuve; 3B: Manny Machado; SS: Carlos Correa; OF: Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Kris Davis; DH: Nelson Cruz

Most Interesting Stories for the AL:
1. Will the Houston Astros live up to Sports Illustrated's 2014 prediction that they will be the 2017 World Series champs?
2. If the White Sox don't win this year, will we see players such as David Robertson, Jose Quintana, and even Jose Abreu on the move?
3. If the Angels don't win, will Mike Sciosca finally be on the hot seat?

National League:
NL West: 1. San Francisco Giants, 2. Los Angeles Dodgers, 3. Colorado Rockies, 4. San Diego Padres, 5. Arizona Diamondbacks. In what is perhaps the weakest division in Major League baseball, the Giants and Dodgers will be like kings. The Giants will outlast the Dodgers as they are better coached and have a better pitching staff, but a team to watch this year even though they'll have a losing record is the San Diego Padres. They will have some fun players to watch and may be the equivalent of the 2014 Houston Astros.

NL Central: 1. Chicago Cubs, 2. St. Louis Cardinals, 3. Pittsburgh Pirates, 4. Milwaukee Brewers, 5. Cincinnati Reds. Short of a season full of injuries, the Cubs are basically a lock to win the division. The Pirates should be a team to watch because they can sneak up on the Cards and possibly contend for a Wildcard spot if their younger players step up this season. The Brewers have some nice pieces in place as well, but not enough to be a contender this year.

NL East: 1. Washington Nationals, 2. New York Mets, 3. Philadelphia Phillies, 4. Miami Marlins, 5. Atlanta Braves. The Nationals will take this division, led by their pitching and the bat of Harper. The Phillies will be a surprise with their "no-name" roster, but not enough to capture a Wildcard spot. Injuries will plague the Marlins once again.

Wildcard Teams: Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals

League Champion: Washington Nationals

NL Awards: MVP - Paul Goldschmidt; Cy Young - Matt Scherzer; Rookie of the Year - Hunter Renfroe; Manager of the Year - Dusty Baker; Fireman of the Year - Greg Holland

Silver Sluggers - Catcher: Buster Posey, 1B: Paul Goldschmidt; 2B: Jonathan Villar; 3B: Nolan Arenado; SS: Corey Seager; OF: Bryce Harper, Kris Bryant, Giancarlo Stanton; P: Madison Bumgarner

Most Interesting Stories for the NL:
1. How much of a hybrid will the San Diego Padres' Christian Bethancourt be? Brought up as a catcher, he's also expected to pitch and even play some outfield this season.
2. Can the Nationals finally live up to expectations? With their youngsters finally getting some experience under their belts, Harper, Turner, and Scherzer look to attempt to take the team to their first World Series.
3. Can the Chicago Cubs repeat what they did last season?

World Series Champions: Houston Astros. In a battle of two teams looking for their first World Series win, the Astros will defeat the Nationals in six games. The Astros pitching staff is built for the playoffs and their younger players are more seasoned now. The difference between the two teams will be the bullpen pitching.

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