2016 MLB Predictions Thread

Snodgrass'Muff

oppresses WARmongers
SoSH Member
Mar 11, 2008
27,644
Roanoke, VA
It's that time of year again. Pick your division winners, playoff teams, Cy Young and MVP in each league and your WS champions. You can add anything you want to the list, as well. If you want to do records for every team, have at it. If you want to get into why you are predicting what you are predicting, even better!

We'll be doing staff picks for the dot com so here's a preview of my contribution to it.

AL East
Toronto
Boston

New York
Tampa
Baltimore

AL Central
Kansas City
Detroit
Chicago
Cleveland
Minnesota

AL West
Houston
Texas

Seattle
Oakland
Anaheim

MVP: Mike Trout
Cy Young: Chris Sale

NL East
New York
Florida
Washington
Philly
Atlanta

NL Central
Chicago
Pittsburgh

St. Louis
Cincy
Milwaukee

NL West
Arizona
Los Angeles

San Francisco
Colorado
San Diego

MVP: Paul Goldschmidt
Cy Young: Zack Greinke

WS: Toronto vs Chicago
Winner: Cubs
 

Frank Fenway

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 23, 2009
5,339
San Jose, CA
Buchholz wins the Cy
Sox lose to the A's in game 7 of the ALCS
Ortiz wins Silver Slugger and the Hank Aaron.

Arod breaks his femur.

Cubs win it all over the A's
 

Ale Xander

Hamilton
SoSH Member
Oct 31, 2013
72,568
Division winners al
Boston
KC
Texas
Wc1 Toronto
Wc2 Houston

Mvp Hanley Ramirez, wins hr and rbi crowns, player of the month for April and September, and receives 2 gg votes
CY Price

Division winners nl
Nationals
Cubs
Dodgers
Wc1 metropolitans
Wc2 cardinals

Mvp Bryant
CY Kershaw
Nl mgr of the year Roberts

Alcs Red Sox over Royals
Nlcs dodgers over mets

Ws dodgers over Red Sox in 7 on Agon 2 run double bottom of 9th down 1

Ws mvp ortiz in a losing effort who goes 6-15 with 9 k and 12bb, does not make out with contact, Crawford scores gw run in all 4 wins and instead of being happy to win ws complains about media not liking him and giving mvp to player on losing team

Asg nl 3-2, Kershaw mvp, pulls a Pedro 99

Joe buck has some kind of scandal
ricketts family gets investigated by the SEC and FBI
 

Yelling At Clouds

Post-darwinian
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
3,407
My boldest prediction is that both the Mets and Royals miss the playoffs.

AL: Bos, NY, Minn, Hou, Tex
NL: Wash, STL, Cubs, SF, LA
WS: St. Louis over Houston
Cys: Sale, Strasburg
MVPs: Correa, Rizzo
RoY: Buxton, Seager
 

grimshaw

Member
SoSH Member
May 16, 2007
4,220
Portland
AL East
Sox
Jays

Rays
Yanks
O's

The Rays make the division interesting with healthy pitching. Top 4 teams all with 80+ wins.

AL Central
Indians
White Sox
Royals
Tigers
Twins

Still think the Royals are smoke and mirrors without a legit ace. Bullpens are also volatile and had tons of innings last year.
Indians win with 85. Tigers and Twins around 70.

AL West
Astros
Rangers

M's
Angels
A's

Darvish finally stays healthy, and the Rangers eke out the WC. The Astros keep improving.
M's around .500. Angels fall apart and start selling to get the farm system up and running.


NL East
Nats
Marlins
Mets

Braves
Phillies

The Marlins bounce back with a healthy Fernandez and Stanton who make up 10 wins on their own. Ozuna takes a step forward and/or is dealt for a starter. Yelich bounces back. Capps is lights out.
Mets D costs them a few too many wins, and costs a lot of extra pitches. Offense is challenged, but starting pitching gets them in. Braves and Phils bottom feed. Phils show signs of life in the second half.

NL Central
Cubs
Pirates
Cardinals
Reds
Brewers

Cubs run away with it. Pirates and Cards lose by a game to the Mets for the 2nd WC.

NL West
Dodgers
D-Backs
Giants
Padres
Rockies

D-Backs inch towards .500. Dodgers coast by August. Pads sell their crap. Rockies move Cargo for pitching. The Giants overachieve yet again and make a game of it until mid September.

Jays over Rangers

Sox over Jays
Astros over Indians

Sox over Astros

Marlins over Mets (Fernandez over Harvey)

Cubs over Marlins
Dodgers over Nats

Cubs over Dodgers

Cubs over Red Sox
 
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Wingack

Yankee Mod
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 14, 2005
34,372
In The Quivering Forest
I guess no Bold Predictions thread this year?

My bold prediction is the Cubs finish under .500. Bryant struggles, Schwarber gets sent down and they have major bullpen issues.
 

Dahabenzapple2

Mr. McGuire / Axl's Counter
SoSH Member
Jun 20, 2011
8,926
Wayne, NJ
AL East
Toronto
Boston

Tampa
New York
Baltimore

AL Central
Kansas City
Cleveland
Chicago
Detroit
Minnesota

AL West

Texas
Houston

Seattle
Oakland
Anaheim

MVP: Mike Trout
Cy Young: David Price

NL East
Washington
New York

Florida
Philly
Atlanta

NL Central
Chicago
Pittsburgh

St. Louis
Cincy
Milwaukee

NL West
Arizona
Los Angeles
San Diego
San Francisco
Colorado

MVP: Kris Bryant
Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw

WS: Boston vs Pittsburgh
Winner: Boston
 

brs3

sings praises of pinstripes
SoSH Member
May 20, 2008
5,200
Jackson Heights, NYC
I tried the rose colored glasses, but they don't fit this year.

Red Sox finish 3rd behind TOR & MFY
David Price comes as advertised, but the rest of the rotation duplicates their 2015 season.
Buchholz has his even year of mediocrity, traded to Texas Rangers at the deadline.
The San Diego rumors are true, Sandoval heads wests and flourishes, out hits Travis Shaw on the season.
 

dynomite

Member
SoSH Member
The Angels are a mess and sell at the deadline (Street), finish with ~75 wins.

The Diamondbacks are the "surprise" of the NL, win 88 games and contend all year with the Dodgers and Giants for the West.

Giancarlo Stanton hits 60 HR & NL MVP despite the Marlins being bad, all of us debate what "MVP" means again.

The Cubs win 100 games.

The Phillies only won 62 games last year despite getting half seasons from solid MLB players Revere, Hamels, and Papelbon. This year I'm not sure they win more than 55 games.
 

RedOctober3829

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
55,300
deep inside Guido territory
AL East: Toronto
AL Central: Kansas City
AL West: Texas
Wild Cards: Minnesota, Houston
AL Champion: Texas
Cy Young: Cole Hamels
MVP: Mike Trout

NL East: Mets
NL Central: Cubs
NL West: San Fransisco
Wild Cards: Pittsburgh, Arizona
NL Champion: Cubs
Cy Young: Matt Harvey
MVP: Paul Goldschmidt

World Series: Texas over Cubs

Red Sox win 79 games, Farrell is fired mid-season, and Torey Lovullo takes over. Starters don't do anything behind Price. Betts has a MVP-level season and is an All-Star. Bullpen struggles as they can't consistently get the ball to Kimbrel.
 

Buzzkill Pauley

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 30, 2006
10,569
AL Division Winners: NYY, KC, TEX
NL Division Winners: WAS, CHC, LAD

AL WC: SEA, TOR
NL WC: PIT, ARZ

AL Pennant: NYY
NL Pennant: CHC

WS Winner: CHC

AL MVP: Mike Trout
AL CY: Felix Hernandez

NL MVP: Bryce Harper
NL CY: Zack Greinke

Red Sox: top-10 offensive performance with bounce-back from a re-energized Hanley...but media pressure, clubhouse dissent, ineffective platooning, and poorer-than-expected pitching except for Kimbrel and Price spells the end for Farrell as the Sox sputter. Lovullo gets the reins in mid-May. The Sox get EdRo and Smith back too late to save the season or Farrell's job, but the Sox shed malcontents and salary by the trade deadline, and "The NEW Killer B's" cement themselves as the team's now-and-future core while playing exciting summer ball that wins 84 games.
 

LogansDad

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
29,152
Alamogordo
The Marlins bounce back with a healthy Fernandez and Stanton who make up 10 wins on their own. Ozuna takes a step forward and/or is dealt for a starter. Yelich bounces back. Capps is lights out.
Mets D costs them a few too many wins, and costs a lot of extra pitches. Offense is challenged, but starting pitching gets them in. Braves and Phils bottom feed. Phils show signs of life in the second half.
This should probably go in the as-yet-unmade Bold Predictions thread.

My eyes closed, shot in the dark predictions:

AL East
Blue Jays- just too much offense for me to put them anywhere else
Red Sox- so much potential on this team, I really want to believe
Rays- too much pitching to be any lower, if they stay healthy
Orioles- Machado, Davis, and Jones should be able to keep them from being last
Yankees- still old, expensive, and already losing important players to injuries and suspensions

AL Central
Indians- I feel like this team is ready to take a step forward this year, and Tito is still one of the best
Royals- the bullpen can't be as good as it was last year, right?
White Sox- meh
Twins- I think they are on the right track, but not quite there yet
Tigers- older, expensiver, and aceless

AL West
Houston- this team is going to be good for a bit, but I also don't know anything else about the AL West, so...
Texas
Anaheim
Oakland
Seattle

NL East
Washington- there's just way too much talent on this team to have another season like last year
Mets- that rotation, though
Braves- rebuilding, but I don't think they will be as bad as it seems
Florida- could easily see them making a leap if healthy... Jose Fernandez might be my favorite player in the sport to watch, though
Phillies- re.... re... re-somethinging. Resucking? Is that a thing?

NL Central
Cubs- I think it is time
Cardinals- hate to say it, but this team, in this division, likely won't be worse than 2nd
Pittsburgh- I'm willing to expect these three teams to be in the playoffs because...
Man the Reds and Brewers are going to stink again

NL West
Diamondbacks- this might be my boldest pick, but it's just a hunch I have, I can't explain it
Giants- the even year doesn't quite work out this year
Dodgers- because they have a high payroll, and enough talent to not totally suck in spite of themselves
Padres- I just don't know
Rockies- who?

AL Playoffs:
Play-in: Royals over Sox
ALDS 1: Blue Jays over Indians
ALDS 2: Astros over Royals
ALCS: Astros over Blue Jays

NL Playoffs:
Play-in: Pittsburgh over St Louis
NLDS 1: Cubs over Washington
NLDS 2: Pittsburgh over Arizona
NLCS: Chicago over Pittsburgh in an epic series

World Series: Cubs over Astros

Awards
MVP: Betts, Goldschmidt
Cy Young: Sale, Fernandez
ROY: Buxton, Trea Turner
 

SydneySox

A dash of cool to add the heat
SoSH Member
Sep 19, 2005
15,605
The Eastern Suburbs
AL East
Toronto
New York
Boston
Tampa
Baltimore

AL Central
Kansas City
Chicago
Detroit
Cleveland
Minnesota

AL West
Houston
Seattle
Texas
Anaheim
Oakland

MVP: Mike Trout
Cy Young: Chris Sale

NL East
New York
Washington
Florida
Atlanta
Philly

NL Central
Chicago
Pittsburgh

St. Louis
Cincy
Milwaukee

NL West
Los Angeles
San Francisco

Arizona
Colorado
San Diego

MVP: McCutcheon
Cy Young: Kershaw

WS: Royals vs LAD
Winner: Dodgers
 

EvilEmpire

paying for his sins
Moderator
SoSH Member
Apr 9, 2007
17,184
Washington
AL East
Toronto
New York

Boston
Tampa
Baltimore

AL Central
Kansas City
Minnesota

Detroit
Chicago
Cleveland

AL West
Houston
Texas
Anaheim
Seattle
Oakland


MVP: Mike Trout
Cy Young: Chris Sale

NL East
Washington
New York

Florida
Washington
Philly
Atlanta

NL Central
Chicago
Pittsburgh

St. Louis
Milwaukee
Cincinnati
Milwaukee

NL West
Arizona
Los Angeles
San Francisco
Colorado
San Diego

MVP: Paul Goldschmidt
Cy Young: Zack Greinke

WS: Houston vs Washington
Winner: Washington

I'll also include the same prediction I made last year in the bold predictions thread. I don't think it qualifies as bold this year.

Boston's rotation implodes and the offense isn't enough to get them past 3rd in the division. "Deep depth" becomes a punchline on twitter.
New York's rotation doesn't implode and that plus a good bullpen carries them to a wild card.
Once Toronto realizes they are competitive for the division they make a trade for Hamels and go on to win the AL East.
The Nationals win it all.
 

simplicio

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 11, 2012
4,763
AL East
Toronto
Boston
Tampa
New York
Baltimore

AL Central
Cleveland
Kansas City
Minnesota
Chicago
Detroit

AL West
Houston
Texas
Seattle
Anaheim
Oakland

Cy: Archer
MVP: Correa

Wild card: Boston over Texas
ALDS: Houston over Boston in 4, Cleveland over Toronto in 5
ALCS: Houston over Cleveland in 5

NL East
New York
Washington
Miami
Atlanta
Philadelphia

NL Central
Chicago
Pittsburgh
St Louis
Milwaukee
Cincinnati

NL West
Arizona
Los Angeles
San Francisco
Colorado
San Diego

Cy: Fernandez
MVP: Harper

Wild Card: Pittsburgh over Washington
NLDS: Chicago over Pittsburg in 5, New York over Arizona in 3
NLCS: Chicago over New York in 7
WS: Chicago over Houston in 5
 

SydneySox

A dash of cool to add the heat
SoSH Member
Sep 19, 2005
15,605
The Eastern Suburbs
Oh, man. We all suck.

Not one of us gave Baltimore any credit; which is kind of ok, no one apparently did.

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-orioles-are-better-than-we-thought-again/

The Orioles won 89 times. That wasn’t enough times to win the division, but it was enough times to get them to the Fourth of October. They’ll play another team that won 89 times. But there is one big difference here. Just before the start of the season, we had the Blue Jays projected to win about 84 times. We had the Orioles, meanwhile, projected to win about 78 times. Believe it or not, the Orioles had our second-lowest American League projected winning percentage. I know that doesn’t make us look great, but better to embrace your flaws than ignore them.
My picks:

AL East - completely wrong. Should have had faith in Mookie and the Sox.
AL Central - Well, I correctly picked Minny last... that count for anything? Too much faith in KC's intangibles and Chris Sale not being crazy.
AL West - Got the last two right, just needed to reverse my top 3. Still don't have faith in Texas and their insane winning by 1 run luck.

MVP could still be Trout, Cy Young won't be Sale...

NL East - Too much credit to NY, expected Washington to slide.
NL Central - Got the Cubs, easy, gave the Pirates waaaaay too much credit and still believed in the St Louis mystique which almost worked.
NL West: Perfect order except I gave Arizona too much credit for their offseason.

Andrew McCutcheon didn't come close to the MVP and Kershaw's always an easy pick to make.


AL East
Toronto
New York

Boston
Tampa
Baltimore

AL Central
Kansas City
Chicago

Detroit
Cleveland
Minnesota

AL West
Houston
Seattle
Texas
Anaheim
Oakland

MVP: Mike Trout
Cy Young: Chris Sale

NL East
New York
Washington
Florida
Atlanta
Philly

NL Central
Chicago
Pittsburgh

St. Louis
Cincy
Milwaukee

NL West
Los Angeles
San Francisco

Arizona
Colorado
San Diego

MVP: McCutcheon
Cy Young: Kershaw

WS: Royals vs LAD
Winner: Dodgers
 

grimshaw

Member
SoSH Member
May 16, 2007
4,220
Portland
AL East
Sox
Jays

Rays
Yanks
O's

Top 4 teams all with 80+ wins.

AL Central
Indians
White Sox
Royals
Tigers
Twins

Still think the Royals are smoke and mirrors without a legit ace. Bullpens are also volatile and had tons of innings last year.
Indians win with 85. Tigers and Twins around 70.

AL West
Astros
Rangers

M's
Angels
A's

NL East
Nats
Marlins
Mets

Braves
Phillies

The Marlins bounce back with a healthy Fernandez and Stanton who make up 10 wins on their own. Ozuna takes a step forward and/or is dealt for a starter. Yelich bounces back.


NL Central
Cubs
Pirates
Cardinals
Reds
Brewers

Cubs run away with it. Pirates and Cards lose by a game to the Mets for the 2nd WC.

NL West
Dodgers
D-Backs
Giants
Padres
Rockies

D-Backs inch towards .500. Dodgers coast by August. Pads sell their crap. Rockies move Cargo for pitching. The Giants overachieve yet again and make a game of it until mid September.


Jays over Rangers

Sox over Jays
Astros over Indians

Sox over Astros

Marlins over Mets (Fernandez over Harvey) - very sad

Cubs over Marlins
Dodgers over Nats

Cubs over Dodgers

Cubs over Red Sox
I did pretty well on the bolded (humble brag) but whiffed on a few teams. I thought the Tigers would be terrible, and the Rays, White Sox and D-Backs would be so-so and the Astros would dominate. Overall the NL East and Central and AL West were close to what was thought.
 
Last edited:

simplicio

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 11, 2012
4,763
AL East
Toronto
Boston
Tampa
New York
Baltimore

AL Central
Cleveland
Kansas City
Minnesota
Chicago
Detroit

AL West
Houston
Texas
Seattle
Anaheim
Oakland

Cy: Archer
MVP: Correa

Wild card: Boston over Texas
ALDS: Houston over Boston in 4, Cleveland over Toronto in 5
ALCS: Houston over Cleveland in 5

NL East
New York
Washington
Miami
Atlanta
Philadelphia

NL Central
Chicago
Pittsburgh
St Louis
Milwaukee
Cincinnati

NL West
Arizona
Los Angeles
San Francisco
Colorado
San Diego

Cy: Fernandez
MVP: Harper

Wild Card: Pittsburgh over Washington
NLDS: Chicago over Pittsburg in 5, New York over Arizona in 3
NLCS: Chicago over New York in 7
WS: Chicago over Houston in 5
Well, I managed 2 of 6 division winners, and none of my CY/MVP picks except Fernandez (RIP) were even the closest candidates on their own team. Who wants to pay me to join their fantasy league?
 

brs3

sings praises of pinstripes
SoSH Member
May 20, 2008
5,200
Jackson Heights, NYC
I tried the rose colored glasses, but they don't fit this year.

Red Sox finish 3rd behind TOR & MFY
David Price comes as advertised, but the rest of the rotation duplicates their 2015 season.
Buchholz has his even year of mediocrity, traded to Texas Rangers at the deadline.
The San Diego rumors are true, Sandoval heads wests and flourishes, out hits Travis Shaw on the season.
Oh man. NAILED IT!