2020 Season Predictions

     After months of speculation on whether or not there would be a 2020 MLB season and if so what it would look like, we are less than a week from opening day which also marks the return of (meaningful) sports in the US. For many Americans, myself included, we have long craved something to talk about besides the COVID-19 pandemic, and even though the fans won't be present, something about seeing that first pitch Thursday evening will make things feel a little more right with the world again. 

     This condensed MLB season will see a 60-game regular season, a huge drop off from the normal 162 game marathon, which means each regular season game is going to carry much more weight. After 60 games last year, the eventual world champion Nationals were 27-33 and would not have made the playoffs, nor would the Oakland A's and St. Louis Cardinals. Looking at recent MLB seasons, a 60 game season would have resulted in anywhere from 2 to 6 different playoff teams than what ultimately occurred over the course of 162 games. Other rule changes will include the NL now using a DH and extra innings now beginning with a runner on 2nd for each team every inning.

     For the format of this article, rather than just ranking the teams from 30 to 1, we will rank them within division, and then go into some playoff and world series predictions at the end. 

AL East

#5 Baltimore Orioles

No need to sugarcoat it, it has been a rough past few years for the Orioles, who haven't made the playoffs since 2016 and had the 2nd worst record in baseball last season at 54-108. The Orioles are still a team very much attempting to rebuild and are firmly behind the other 4 teams in the division. It would be a surprise if they did not finish in last place in their division. 

#4. Toronto Blue Jays

Toronto is a team on the rise, with its trio of young infielders who are all sons of former MLB All-Stars. Shortstop Bo Bichette was called up to Toronto in late July, but batted .311 and added 11 home runs in just 46 games, which would have put him on pace for 40 home runs over the course of a full season. Vlad Guerrero Jr. showed his ability to be a power hitter for years to come, setting a record for home runs in the home run derby and hit the ball with the second-highest exit velocity of all major leaguers. 2nd baseman Cavan Biggio was not as impressive as Bichette or Guererro but also showed promise as an elite prospect. The Jays also added former Dodgers pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu, who finished 2nd in NL Cy Young voting last season and gives the rotation an ace it desperately needed. Toronto is probably still too young and lacking of supporting pitching and bullpen to be a force this season, but the future is bright for these Blue Jays.

#3. Boston Red Sox

  After many years of being one of the AL's top dogs alongside the Yankees and Astros, the Red Sox began taking steps backward last season and then traded away former MVP Mookie Betts and former Cy Young winner David Price to the Dodgers in the offseason. The team still has a solid offense with Xander Bogaerts, JD Martinez, Andrew Benintendi, Rafael Devers, Dustin Pedoria, and Alex Verdugo but the team lacks pitching with Price gone and Chris Sale out for the season recovering from Tommy John surgery. They could certainly still finish .500 or better but there is still a significant gap that needs to be closed between Boston and the 2 divisional front runners.

#2. Tampa Bay Rays

 The Rays are coming off an impressive 96 win season where they won the AL wildcard and took the Astros the distance in a competitive 5 game ALDS series. They have one of the best trios of starting pitchers in baseball with former Cy Young winner Blake Snell, last year's 3rd place finisher in Cy Young voting Charlie Morton, and rising star Tyler Glasnow, and additionally they had the best bullpen in baseball last season. In terms of hitters, the Rays had a pair of all-stars in Austin Meadows and Brandon Lowe and a rising young star in Willy Adames. They're a trendy pick to win the division with some even believing they could reach the World Series. 

#1. New York Yankees

But alas, the evil empire is still the team to beat in the AL East and probably the AL as a whole. The rich got richer when they preyed Gerrit Cole, arguably the best pitcher in the MLB, from AL rival Houston. The ace might just be the missing piece of the puzzle for the Yankees to reclaim the World Series, who already have a loaded batting line up and a good collection of supporting starting pitchers and bullpen pitchers. Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton are two of baseball's most dangerous home run hitters and Gleyber Torres could be a dark horse MVP candidate as well. The Yankees will be without Luis Severino who also underwent Tommy John surgery but still have Mashahiro Tanaka as a solid 2nd pitcher and Aroldis Chapman remains one of the game's best closers. At the end of the day, poaching Cole from Houston might just be enough to help New York leap frog the Astros and become the favorite in the AL. 

AL Central

#5 Detroit Tigers

The only team worse than the Orioles last season was the Detroit Tigers, who finished with an atrocious MLB-worst 47-114 record. For this reason, we will keep it short and sweet as we did for Baltimore and just say there isn't much hope this year for Detroit and it's likely they'll finish as a bottom 5 team in baseball yet again as they build towards the future.

#4. Kansas City Royals

The Royals were not much better than Detroit last season, finishing with a win total of 59, but at the very least they have a much more talented group of hitters than the Tigers. The Royals still leave much to be desired in starting pitching and the bullpen and thus are still firmly behind the other 3 teams in the AL Central and are still very much rebuilding. 

#3. Cleveland Indians

The top 3 teams in the AL Central are all very close in my opinion with the Indians having nearly as a good shot to win the division as the 2 teams ahead of them. The Indians strength is their pitching, with Mike Clevinger being a dark horse Cy Young candidate and Shane Bieber and Carlos Carasco being reliable arms in the rotation as well. Why the Indians decided to trade away former Cy Young winner Corey Kluber for such little return puzzles me as with Kluber on the roster this would be one of the best rotations in baseball. The Indians also have arguably the best shortstop in baseball in Francisco Lindor, but past that the line up leaves much to be desired, especially in the outfield where the Indians have one of the weakest units in baseball. The Indians had an impressive win total of 93 last season, although that was not enough to make the playoffs, but it does not appear they got better this offseason.

#2. Chicago White Sox

On the contrary, the White Sox had one of the best offseasons in baseball. The White Socks learned their lesson from going all-in on the Manny Machado sweepstakes last season and losing, instead opting to spread their money across an impressive haul of talent this offseason that should improve them in all 3 phases (pitching, batting, fielding). The White Sox add Dallas Keuchel and Gio Gonzalez to their rotation, meaning if Lucas Giolito can emulate his strong 2019 campaign then this group well drastically improve from its 24th ranked rotation last season. Adding Steve Cishek bolsters the Chicago bullpen as well with an experienced arm who can serve as a closer if needed. The White Sox added 2 strong bats in Yasmani Grandal and Edwin Encarnacion who should strengthen the middle of the batting order and increase run production and adding Nomar Mazara should be an upgrade in right field as well. With the offseason splashes, Chicago could be a contender in both the division and the AL wild card race. 

#1. Minnesota Twins

While this division is very wide open as aforementioned, I'm going with last year's winners, the Minnesota Twins, as my pick to win the AL Central. The Twins couple elite hitting with decent enough pitching, making them the most well-balanced group in the division. The Twins shattered the MLB record for home runs last season with 307 dingers, courtesy of a bomb squad that included Max Kepler, Byron Buxton, Nelson Cruz, and Mitch Garver which now also adds Josh Donaldson from the Braves via free agency. The pitching is mediocre between Kent Maeda, Jose Berrios, and Jake Odirizzi but mediocre can be good enough when the bats are that hot. The pitching may be the Achilles heel for the Twins when it comes to making a deep playoff run but the line up is one of the best in baseball and still makes them the division front runner. 

AL West

#5. Seattle Mariners

Another team in rebuilding mode, the Mariners got out to quick start last season winning 13 of their first 15 but everything after was a dumpster fire as they finished 68-94 and then proceeded to trade away all their good players in exchange for prospects. After hitting the reset button, the Mariners are still probably a couple years away from being competitive again but at the very least can have optimism about having a great farm system of developmental talent. 

#4. Texas Rangers

As aforementioned when discussing the Indians, the Rangers acquired Corey Kluber in the offseason, giving the starting pitching rotation a much needed bona-fide ace. Unfortunately, the depth behind Kluber is mediocre at best. The Rangers face a similar situation with their batting. Joey Gallo absolutely rakes the ball but past him the offense is streaky, looking like a well-oiled machine some nights and then absolutely sucking on others. Even in a condensed season, the lack of consistency makes it tough to sell Texas as a legitimate contender in the AL West. 

#3. Los Angeles Angels

The Angels boast an impressive group of batters but unfortunately sub-par pitching which is ultimately what keeps them behind Houston and Oakland in the AL West. They have Mike Trout, a 3 time MVP and the best baseball player in the world. After years of never complimenting Trout with a second superstar, they added Anthony Rendon from Washington this offseason. Shohei Ohtani will be another x-factor as he is one of the few players who both pitches and plays DH. We should also mention the Angels made Joe Maddon their new manager after he was relieved of the same position in Chicago. Unfortunately though pitching wins ball games and the Angels haven't been great in that department. They do add Julio Teheran from the Braves, who is a good pitcher. Dylan Bundy is a more questionable addition that probably doesn't move the needle and this Angels rotation just lacks a true ace and finished 25th in team ERA last season which simply won't cut it. The additions of Teheran and Rendon might be enough to give the Angels a slight bump in win percentage but it won't be enough to catch up to the division frontrunners. 

#2. Oakland A's

The A's were the first wild card from the AL last season after an impressive 97 win regular season but were bounced in the play in game by the Rays. Still this is a very complete roster and one that should nip on Houston's heels in the AL West pennant race. Jesus Luzardo is only 22 but already looks like he can be an ace for Oakland, who also have one of the league's strongest bullpens. The offense is fronted by good hitters like Matt Chapman, Matt Olson, and Khris Davis. Houston losing Gerrit Cole also makes the race between them and Oakland much closer but I still believe the latter have not yet caught up to the Astros, but they should still be a major factor in the wild card race.




#1. Houston Astros

Even without cheating, the Astros are the best team in the AL West and a top 2 team in the AL. Gerrit Cole will be missed but they still have reigning Cy Young winner Justin Verlander and another former winner in Zach Greinke. They're still loaded with good hitters between Jose Altuve, George Springer, Alex Bregman, and Carlos Correa. Furthermore, if there's one team that benefits from the absence of fans, it is probably Houston, who would have otherwise been viciously booed in every road game. Would fans being present have altered my placement of Houston? No, it would not have, I'm simply saying it's an added benefit. They have a very complete roster and should be one of the AL favorites once again.

NL East


#5. Miami Marlins

The Marlins are in rebuilding mode, and while I do like the direction they are taking, they're stuck in a division with the 4 other members capable of winning immediately. Expect them to call up some players who have been working their way through the minor leagues, but like many other rebuilding teams on the list they just aren't ready yet. 







#4. Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies broke the bank to sign Bryce Harper, a former MVP with the Nationals, last offseason but even with the splash addition they finished 4th in the division. In his first season as a Phillie, Harper batted .260 and hit 35 home runs, certainly not bad numbers but ones that are below average for Harper's usual production. The Phillies have a 2nd former MVP, Andrew McCutchen (won his MVP while a member of the Pirates) along with some other decent hitters and position players in their line up. Pitching was a struggle for Philadelphia last year. Aaron Nola was the lone reliable starting pitcher and they added Zack Wheeler from the Mets, who can be streaky, but beyond those 2 the Phillies starters have many question marks. The bullpen will also need a rebound season if they wish to avoid another crash & burn season like last year. 

#3. New York Mets

2nd and 3rd place were extremely close in this division and I expect they are only going to be separated by a game or two when all is said and done, and in many other divisions the Mets would probably crack the top 2. The Mets have the reigning two-time NL Cy Young winner in Jacob DeGromm, arguably the best pitcher in baseball. Normally they would have a 2nd ace, Noah Syndegaard, but he is out for the season with Tommy John surgery. Marcus Stroman is capable of being an ace as well, who was Toronto's best pitcher before the Mets dealt for him at the trade deadline last year. Steven Matz had a strong finish to last season and Rick Porcello did win the Cy Young back in 2016 so even without Syndegaard the Mets' starting pitching should be strong. The bats should still be strong also. As a rookie, Pete Alonso hit 53 home runs, a rookie record, and also won the home run derby and the rookie of the year award. Yeonis Cespedes can now focus solely on hitting, his strength, with the universal DH rule and Robinson Cano is still a quality player even though the contract is a bit overpaid. The Mets could still potentially be a top 10 team, even if we only have them as 3rd in the NL East. 

#2. Washington Nationals

Yes, I have the World Series Champs not winning the division. They did not win it last year either due to their slow start but I just believe the Braves have the slightly better roster. Washington's is still impressive, they have two incredible pitchers in Max Scherzer and Steven Strasburg (4 Cy Young's combined) and Patrick Corbin is probably a top 15 or 20 pitcher as well. For batting the Nationals will miss Anthony Rendon but still have 21 year old phenom Juan Soto and some other good supporting bats like Trea Turner, Eric Thames, and Howie Kendrick. The strength of the pitching was enough for me to place Washington just ahead of the Mets and as the first AL Wild Card and they should also push the Braves for the division crown. 

#1. Atlanta Braves

The Braves' lineup is absolutely loaded and they're my pick to win the AL East. The outfield trio of Ronald Acuna Jr., Marcell Ozuna, and Ender Inciarte is the best in baseball and the infield is loaded as well with Freddy Freeman, Dansby Swanson, and Ozzie Albies. Overall this might be the most complete batting line up in baseball with Acuna Jr. being an MVP candidate and many of the others being potential all-stars. Adding Cole Hamels in free agency gives the back of the pitching rotation some support and experience while top dogs Mike Soroka and Mike Foltynewicz should still have great production at the top of the rotation. The young group choked in game 5 of the NLDS last year allowing St. Louis to score 10 runs in the first inning and end the game before it even began, but with some more seasoning and experience for their core they're capable of making a deep playoff run this year.



NL Central

#5. Pittsburgh Pirates

This should be a competitive division but Pittsburgh finds themselves well distanced from the other 4 division members. The Pirates are undergoing changes at manager and GM and trying to change the culture of an organization that hasn't made the playoffs since 2015. They weren't very good last year and probably won't be very good this year. They have some promising young developmental players but (outside of first baseman Josh Bell) not the type that would be ready to carry a team this season.





#4. Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers definitely lost some good pieces in free agency with the departures of Mike Moustakas and Yasmani Grandal, and the pitching is questionable. What the Brew Crew does have going for them is Christian Yelich, one of the best players in baseball. Yelich has had the highest batting average in the NL the last 2 years, and has also been one of the league's best home run hitters and base stealers and is an underrated fielder as well. Behind Yelich the Brewers have some good batters like Ryan Braun and Brock Holt. The starting pitching remains a big question mark for them but what they do have is a strong bullpen that can provide quality innings to compensate for the mediocre pitching. I think any of the top 4 teams could end up winning this division so Milwaukee should certainly be in the mix.

#3. Chicago Cubs

The Cubs might have the strongest batting line up the division, which features Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez, Kyle Shwarber, Ian Happ, and Jason Heyward. In terms of starting pitching, the have Jon Lester and Yu Darvish, who were Cy Young candidates at earlier points in their careers but appear to be past their prime. However Kyle Hendricks is a solid #3 pitcher who hasn't hit his peak yet. Closer Craig Kimbrell is another aging veteran who was once one of the premier closers in baseball but showed big regression in 2019. The Cubs can go as far as the pitching is willing to take them, as the batting should produce, but relying on aging veterans to carry the pitching kept the Cubs out of the playoffs last year.


#2. St. Louis Cardinals

 Of the 6 divisions this is actually the only one where I don't have last year's champion repeating the same feat this year. That's not to say the Cardinals don't have a strong team, they made it to the NLCS last year and took out the Braves in the round prior. Jack Flaherty is a dark horse Cy Young candidate and the Cards have good rotational depth behind him as well as a strong bullpen. Hitting is a weaker area for the Cardinals than pitching. Paul Goldschmidt remains a star, but the Cardinals will need hitters behind him like Yadier Molina, Dexter Fowler, and Matt Carpenter to contribute as well if they want to replicate last season's success. The Cardinals are a winning franchise and it would be no surprise if they held off the Reds to defend their division crown and then made some noise in the playoffs.

#1. Cincinnati Reds

The Reds are viewed as one of the biggest winners of the offseason after they made a flurry of moves to add some proven veterans to an already talented core. Mike Moustakas and Nick Castellanos instantly bolster the Reds offense which already had players like Joey Votto and Shogo Akiyama. But the pitching may be even stronger than the hitting, as the Reds have Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray, and Trevor Bauer along with good depth in both the starting pitching and the bullpen. Couple all of this with the fact that the Reds have the weakest schedule this season and the stars could finally be aligning for a team that hasn't made the playoffs since 2013.




NL West

#5. San Francisco Giants

The Giants had their fun earlier in the decade, winning 3 World Series titles between 2010 and 2014, but now find themselves at the bottom of the division. The Giants have a lot of players who are past their primes such as Evan Longoria, Pablo Sandsoval, and Hunter Pence and will be without Buster Posey, who opted out of the restart for health reasons after his family adopted newborn twins. They have one quality starting pitcher in Johnny Cueto but will hurt from losing their ace Madison Bumgarner to the division rival Diamondbacks. The bullpen is ok, not terrible but not good, but overall there just isn't much optimism that the Giants will have a good team this year.




#4. Colorado Rockies

The Rockies are actually a pretty good hitting team but unfortunately they're a pretty bad pitching team. Nolan Arenado is their best player but there's a lot to like about Trevor Story, Charlie Blackmon, Ryan McMahon, and David Dahl. Top prospect Brendan Rodgers should see some action and contribute as well. But despite the offense, the Rockies pitching is atrocious. Kyle Freeland started last season as their number 1 pitcher and completely fell off the map with an ERA above 6, and neither the supporting starting pitching nor the bullpen proved to be much better. The Rockies have half the equation, but unfortunately pitching wins games and hopefully Colorado can supplement that group in the future to compliment their efficient offense.


#3. San Diego Padres

This was another division where I found 3rd and 2nd to be pretty close. The Padres should have a pretty good offense. 21 year old Fernando Tatis Jr. burst onto the scene last year and should continue to get better and could develop into a great player. Manny Machado had a down year in his first year of his new massive contract but should still be a big time slugger for the Padres. San Diego also traded for Tommy Pham, who will further improve their hitting, and Will Myers and Eric Hosmer should continue to produce as well. The Padres have a great #1 pitcher in Chris Paddack who posted a 3.33 ERA and a WHIP under 1 last season. But all other Padres starting pitchers posted ERA's over 4. They do have the best closer in baseball in Kirby Yates who posted an insane 1.19 ERA last season, but they could use some of their middle inning guys to step up. This team is definitely headed in the right direction, but may not quite be ready this year to be a true contender.

#2. Arizona Diamondbacks

The Dodgers are the clear front runner but the Diamondbacks are a team many people are high on this year as a potential Wild Card. They went out and signed Madison Bumgarner to give their pitching rotation a true ace with playoff and world series experience. Robbie Ray and Luke Weaver give them a solid number 2 and 3 and Zack Gallen also had a great rookie season posting an ERA below 3 and will be an interesting prospect to keep an eye on. The Arizona bullpen is also solid and provide quality innings. They have a well balanced attack of hitters such as Ketel Marte, Eduardo Escobar, Nick Ahmed, and Christian Walker. They have a roster capable of making a playoff push.



#1. Los Angeles Dodgers

The last team on this list also happens to be, in my opinion, the best team in baseball. The starting pitching is ridiculous, Clayton Kershaw is a perennial Cy Young candidate, Walker Buehler is probably a future Cy Young winner, they added David Price from the Red Sox who is a former Cy Young winner albeit past his prime, and they have Julio Urias who posted an ERA of 2.49 last year. The bullpen was top 10 in baseball last year, pretty attainable when the starting pitching is that dominant. The batting is equally loaded. Cody Bellinger is the reigning MVP coming off a 47 HR, 115 RBI season. They also traded with Boston for superstar Mookie Betts who won the AL MVP in 2018. They supplement the two MVPs with Joc Pederson, Justin Turner, Corey Seager, Will Smith and Max Muncey. There's a reason they have won the NL West 7 consecutive years and it would be shocking if they did not extend that streak to 8. This group has had its playoff woes over the past few years, losing in the World Series twice and getting upset by the eventual champion Nationals in the NLDS last season, but the talent is definitely there to finish the job and win the World Series.


Playoff Predictions

Now onto the fun stuff! In the AL I have the Yankees as the 1 seed, Astros as 2, Twins as 3, with the Rays as WC1 and Athletics as WC2. Yes it's a bit boring, the same exact 5 teams as last year, but everyone except the Twins has swapped seeds.

In the wild card game, I think the A's will put up a better fight than last year, as they'll have a chip on their shoulder and Luzardo could throw a total gem, but I still like history to repeat itself and the Rays to defeat the A's in the Wild Card round for a 2nd consecutive season.

In the divisional series, I think the Yankees have too much fire power in their batting and now can roll out Gerrit Cole twice in a 5 game series so I believe they win in 5 games with the Rays strong starting pitching pushing the series the distance. I think the more complete Astros team, which has a huge edge in pitching, will ultimately outweigh the explosive Twins offense and win in 4 games. This sets up a rematch of last year's ALCS, which the Astros won in 6 games off a walk off Jose Altuve homer in extra innings. However this time the Bronx Bombers get the best of Houston and win in 6 games to advance to the world series.

Moving to the NL, I have the Dodgers as the 1 seed, Braves as 2, Reds as 3, with the Nationals as WC1 and Diamondbacks as WC2. I think we see an upset in the wild card game as the Diamondbacks shock the defending champs to advance to the divisional round with Bumgarner out-dueling Scherzer in a marquee pitching match up.

In the divisional series, the Dodgers overpower the Diamondbacks in both hitting and pitching and sweep them. The more experienced more complete Braves team also proves to be too much for the newcomer Reds and they advance in 4 games. In the NLCS, both teams are great hitting teams, but the Dodgers pitching is significantly stronger than Atlanta's which proved to be the difference as they advance in 6 games.

In the World Series, the Dodgers finally overcome the ghosts of playoffs past and their pitching stifles the powerful Yankee bats. Gerrit Cole helps New York win a pair of games but the depth of the LA pitching is too good in the other contests and their batting is too good for the other Yankee starting pitchers, making the Dodgers the 2020 World Series champions in 6 games.