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.

2018 Major League Baseball Millhouse Awards

Mike Trout - Photo taken by Daniel Millhouse

Before all the awards are announced and I fall too far behind the media outlets, I give you the 2018 Major League Baseball Millhouse Awards. As a bonus, I give you a comparison of my pre-season compared to what actually happened.

American League:

MVP: J.D. Martinez...Admittedly, I did not see Martinez being in competition for a possible triple crown in the American League. He had the power, but I did not foresee his average being so high.

Runners Up: 2. Mookie Betts, 3. Jose Altuve, 4. Mike Trout, 5. Francisco Lindor.

Preseason Prediction: 1. Manny Machado, 2. Mike Trout, 3. Aaron Judge, 4. Francisco Lindor, 5. Mookie Betts...Looking at my preseason predictions, I didn't do so bad. Aaron Judge's injury knocked him out of contention. Being traded to the Dodgers took out Machado's chances.

Cy Young: Blake Snell...Definitely didn't see him challenging for the Cy Young Award, especially pitching for Tampa Ray. In any other season Verlander would have been the front runner.

Runners Up: 2. Justin Verlander, 3. Gerrit Cole, 4. Edwin Diaz, 5. Corey Kluber.

Preseason Prediction: 1. Corey Kluber, 2. Justin Verlander, 3. Chris Sale, 4. Luis Severino, 5. Gerrit Cole...I was pretty spot on with Verlander, Kluber, and Cole. Severino would probably be the sixth or seventh place guy if I went that deep. 

Rookie of the Year: Miguel Andujar...Just missed hitting .300 with 30 homers and he plays in one of the toughest cities for a rookie to start their career in. To top it off, Andujar wasn't the top projected Yankee rookie prior to the season.

Runners Up: 2. Shohei Ohtani, 3. Gleyber Torres, 4. Joey Wendle, 5. Daniel Palka.

Preseason Prediction: 1. Gleyber Torres, 2. Willy Adames, 3. Joey Wendle...This was definitely the year of impact rookies. Gleyber Torres's stats would have won a Rookie of the Year award in most seasons. Adames did well, but didn't play a full enough season. Ohtani, as predicted, ended up hurting himself while pitching.

Fireman of the Year: Edwin Diaz...I would not have predicted that he would be even one of the top five closers, let alone a top 10. I was wrong 57 saves later.

Runners Up: 2. Blake Treinen, 3. Aroldis Chapman, 4. Craig Kimbrell, 5. Jose Leclerc 

Manager of the Year: 1. Bob Melvin...He got so much out of the lowest payroll in baseball.

Runners Up: 2. AJ Hinch, 3. Kevin Cash, 4. Alex Cora, 5. Aaron Boone

Most Improved Player: Whit Merrifield...He hit .304, stole 45 bases, scored 88 runs, and hit 12 homers. And no one noticed.

Silver Sluggers: C - Yan Gomes, 1B - Edwin Encarnacion, 2B - Jose Altuve, 3B - Alex Bregman, SS - Francisco Lindor, OF - Mookie Betts, Mike Trout, Khris Davis , DH - J.D. Martinez

League Review: The majority of my runners up predictions came true. The award winner for each category came out of nowhere. I think anyone would be lying if they said that they saw Ian Snell being in contention of the Cy Young. I believe Mookie Betts is the front runner to win with the baseball writers, but how can you write off a hitter who almost won the triple crown? As far as Andujar possibly winning the Rookie of the Year, I would have thought his teammate was the more likely candidate to win the award. 

As far as the American League standings, I did fairly well if you take a look at my preseason predictions. The Mariners were a surprise and the A's doing as well as they did was also a surprise. But I did have the Yankees, Red Sox, Astros, and Indians all going to the playoffs. 

National League:

MVP: Christian Yellich...I had in in my preseason top five and drafted him in my fantasy leagues. He even did better than expected, taking a triple crown race to the final game of the season. He hit .326, 36 homers, 110 RBI's, and stole 22 bases. 

Runners Up: 2. Nolan Arenado, 3. Javy Baez, 4. Trevor Story, 5. Max Scherzer.

Preseason Prediction: 1. Nolan Arenado, 2. Paul Goldschmidt, 3. Bryce Harper, 4. Christian Yellich, 5. Max Scherzer...Goldschmidt would probably be sixth if I went that deep. He still had a great season. Bryce Harper fell off from a batting average standpoint, dropping his MVP candidacy. Yellich's homers surprised me and Trevor Story challenging his teammate, Arenado, for best player on the Rockies was a bit surprising too.

Cy Young: Max Scherzer...This is the closest race for an award this season. It was a coin flip between deGrom and Scherzer, but I felt Scherzer edges him out because of his dominance. He had 300 strike outs exactly, leading the league. Scherzer also led the league in wins on a team that underachieved, led the league in WHIP, and was third in ERA. 

Runners Up: 2. Jacob deGrom, 3. Aaron Nola, 4. Kyle Freeland, 5. Miles Mikolas.

Preseason Prediction: 1. Max Scherzer, 2. Clayton Kershaw, 3. Jacob deGrom, 4. Aaron Nola, 5. Robbie Ray...It really didn't surprise me that Kershaw ended up having injuries that knocked him out of the top five. Scherzer, deGrom, and Nola still remained in the top five at the end of the season. A Rockies pitcher (Freeland) was the pleasant surprise and one that I cheer about. I tend to secretly root for Rockies pitchers, although, I'm not a big fan of theirs. I just want someone to succeed in pitching in the Colorado air.

Rookie of the Year: Ronald Acuna Jr...This was the preseason favorite prediction for so many news outlets and it looks like he lived up to the hype. I just didn't foresee that a 19-year-old would challenge him so closely.

Runners Up: 2. Juan Soto, 3. Harrison Bader, 4. Franmil Reyes, 5. Jorge Alfaro.

Preseason Predictions: 1. Lewis Brinson, 2. Ronald Acuna Jr., 3. Jorge Alfaro...Being a fan of the Lake Elsinore Storm, I was happy that alumnus, Franmil Reyes, did so well in his time in the Majors.

Fireman of the Year: Raisel Iglesias...Some may argue about this choice, but he still managed to rack up 30 saves on a team that performed horribly. He had a 2.38 ERA and had a 1.07 WHIP. 

Runners Up: 2. Josh Bader (yes, I know he's not a full-time closer), 3. Felipe Vazquez, 4. Sean Doolittle, 5. Kenley Jansen.

Manager of the Year: Craig Counsell...Look how far he took a team that still needed a little help in their starting pitcher before being considered a contender for the National League title winner.

Runners Up: 2. Brian Snitker, 3. Bud Black, 4. Joe Madden, 5. Mike Schildt

Most Improved Player: David Peralta...He hit 30 homers, nearly hit .300, and had 87 RBI's, all while in the shadow of his teammate, Paul Goldschmidt. Max Muncy is a close second, hitting 35 homers after not even playing in the majors in 2017.

Silver Sluggers: C - J.T. Realmuto, 1B - Jesus Aguilar, 2B - Scooter Gennett, 3B - Nolan Arenado, SS - Trevor Story, OF - Christian Yellich, David Peralta, Charlie Blackmon

League Review: The National League had some surprises for the season. A 19-year-old who played like a veteran, several Rockies players vying for awards (Story and Freeland), Christian Yellich nearly winning the triple crown (where did that power come from?), and the Atlanta Braves youngsters playing like veterans and earning a playoff spot. It should be noted that my preseason prediction blog posting even featured a photo I took of Christian Yellich while he was a Marlin. Oh, just in case Yellich was so bored that he came across my season predictions while surfing the internet on a sleepless night, I apologize for the typo (I accidentally referred to him as Christina Yellich, which was by total error on my part since I'm a fan of his and not trying to stir up controversy like Jim Rome - see Jim "Chris" Everett footage on YouTube). 

2018 Millhouse Major League Baseball Predictions

Christian Yellich joins the Brewers to form the strongest outfield in the MLB in 2018; photo by Daniel Millhouse

It's that time of year again! The Millhouse predictions for the 2018 Major League Baseball season.

American League:

AL East: 1. New York Yankees, 2. Boston Red Sox, 3. Baltimore Orioles, 4. Toronto Blue Jay's, 5. Tampa Bay DEVIL Ray's...The Yankees have bounced back from rebuilding mode to top of the class. With the addition of Judge's doppelganger, Giancarlo Stanton, the Yankees feature immense power and feature one of the best bullpens in baseball.

AL Central: 1. Cleveland Indians 2. Minnesota Twins 3. Chicago White Sox, 4. Detroit Tigers, 5. Kansas City Royals...it shouldn't be a surprise that the Indians should take the Central. What should be noted is that the Royals have fallen so far within such a short amount of time.

AL West: 1. Houston Astros, 2. Texas Rangers, 3. Oakland A's, 4. ANAHEIM Angels, 5. Seattle Mariners...It looks like the Astros have gotten even better than they were last year. They bolstered their starting staff with Gerrit Cole and with the addition of Justin Verlander last season. Their young players have a little more experience under their belts, as well. 

AL Award Winners

MVP: 1. Manny Machado, 2. Mike Trout, 3. Aaron Judge, 4. Francisco Lindor, 5. Mookie Betts....Machado is already in the conversation of being one of the best players in baseball. Thrown in the fact that it's a contract year and he's playing shortstop and he should be a front runner for the MVP. 

Cy Young: 1. Corey Kluber, 2. Justin Verlander, 3. Chris Sale, 4. Luis Severino, 5. Gerrit Cole...Kluber is the odds on favorite. He's in his prime and he plays for a winning team, which the voters love.

Rookie of the Year: 1. Gleyber Torres 2. Willy Adames, 3. Joey Wendle...There is no clear front runner. Some will ask where is Shohei Ohtani? He could be a winner as long as he has a solid season at hitting or pitching, but I'm not counting on his arm holding up a complete season.

National League:

NL East: 1. Washington Nationals, 2. Philadelphia Phillies, 3. Atlanta Braves, 4. New York Mets, 5. Miami Marlins...The Nationals should take this division. The Marlins are in full rebuilding mode, the Braves have a ton of young talent that is a year or two from developing into star players, and the Phillies are climbing but are not quite not there. The Mets don't have the offense, though their pitching could jump them up a spot or two if it holds up.

NL Central: 1. Chicago Cubs, 2. Milwaukee Brewers, 3. St. Louis Cardinals, 4. Pittsburgh Pirates, 5. Cincinnati Reds...This may be the toughest division in baseball this season. The Cubs are strong again, but the Brewers had an extremely strong off-season to the point that Ryan Braun is no longer considered a full-time starter. With the additions of Christina Yellich and Lorenzo Cain, the Brewers could be a season away from being the top dog in the Central.

NL West: 1. Arizona Diamondbacks, 2. Los Angeles Dodgers of Silver Lake, 3. Colorado Rockies, 4. San Francisco Giants, 5. San Diego Padres...The Diamondbacks have slowly improved each season, putting together a formidable roster that could challenge for the league title. The Dodgers will make a run for the title as well, but may not have enough to hold off the Diamondbacks.

MVP: 1. Nolan Arenado, 2. Paul Goldschmidt, 3. Bryce Harper, 4. Christin Yellich, 5. Max Scherzer...Mike Schmidt praised Arenado as possibly being one of the best third basemen of all-time. He not only can hit, but is also the best fielding third baseman in the National League.

Cy Young: 1. Max Scherzer, 2. Clayton Kershaw, 3. Jacob deGrom, 4. Aaron Nola, 5. Robbie Ray...Scherzer and Kershaw are arguably the top two pitchers in all of baseball. Scherzer gets the edge as he is less injury prone and is more likely to be a voter favorite because he pitches for the Nats.

Rookie of the Year: 1. Lewis Brinson, 2. Ronald Acuna Jr., 3. Jorge Alfaro... Everyone is predicting Acuna to win this award, but Brinson is being overlooked. Acuna will start the season on the minors and Brinson will have a better chance to play the whole season as he plays for the Marlins.

Playoffs:

AL: Wildcards - Minnesota Twins and the Boston Red Sox; League Winner - Houston Astros...It may be a repeat of last year's ALCS of Astros versus Yankees.

NL: Wildcards - Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers of Silver Lake; League Winner - Washington Nationals...The Nationals felt the sting of losing in the NLCS last year when they should have gone on to their first World Series. This roster is too strong not to make at least one World Series run.

World Series: Houston Astros over Washington Nationals in six games.