Predictions? I Got Your Predictions Right Here!

[AngelsWin.com]

By Glen McKee, angelswin.com Junior Prognosticator - 

One of my favorite parts of spring training is looking to the season ahead and seeing how many predictions I can make that will totally miss the mark.  It’s a hallowed tradition that ranks right up there with giving up on the season after a two-game skid in the second week of April.  There are as many different methods of prediction as there are people making predictions.  Some use statistics to project future performance.  Some rely on instinct.  Still others, like me, just pull stuff out of their Puig and hope it comes true.  Each method, I might add, is equally valuable.  My predictions are no worse or better than what you get from Fangraphs, or from the homers for any other team.  Here is what I think will happen for the Angels and the rest of baseball in 2015.

I don’t know who will be the starting 2B on opening day.  However, I do know that the starting 2B after the All-Star break won’t be the same player.  Scioscia loves platoons and 2B is the most ripe platoon situation the Angels have had since Napoli and Mathis were “tastes great!” and “less filling!” In other words, nobody will run away with the job.

Albert Pujols will hit fewer than 25 HR.  I’ve gone back-and-forth on this prediction a few times.  It’s so hard to say what we’ll get from Pujols this year.  His stats from last year seem OK, but when compared to his first year here – which was widely considered to be a disappointment – they’re down almost across the board.  Some decline is to be expected as he continues to get Dominican older, but how much is normal for him?  I think this year is gonna be the year we really feel the weight of his contract as his numbers continue to decline.  I hope I’m wrong.    

Something will happen with Josh Hamilton.  He might be suspended for the season, or it might be 20 games.  He might return in the middle of the season and go on an absolute tear, or he might suck like a jet engine.  I don’t know what it will be, but by God something will happen with him.  Mark my words.

Trout will steal more bases than he did last year.  Without a doubt.  He’ll steal way more than last year’s paltry 16, and he’ll continue to steal my heart.  How can you steal what is already stolen?

Mike Scioscia will spend a lot of time looking vaguely confused.  This one is too easy.

Kole Calhoun will have a breakout year.  The ginger is gonna kick ass like he’s wearing butt-seeking boots.  This will be the year that everybody learns his name.  He’ll be so good that he’ll get two promotions in 2016.  Kole Calhoun “Ginger Hair Dye Night” and Kole Calhoun Something Something Night.”  I hope the second give-away comes in my size.

The starting pitching will be a strength throughout the year.  I know that Heaney and Tropeano have yet to show us anything in ST, and Wilson is already looking sorta like end-of-last-season Wilson.  However, Shoe is rounding into form, Richards is close to being back, and Weaver will continues to lose speed on his fastball but pitch well (in Anaheim).  That’s a nice 1-2-3.  Wilson will bounce back to be a good #4 starter and somebody (Drew, I’m lookin’ at you) will eventually lock down the #5 spot.    Next year looks even better, when we have Duke Newcomb competing for a spot and that dude who had TJ surgery – you know, Skaggs, lives upstairs – back in the fold as well.

  

Our defense will be bad.  Losing Howie is a big part of this.  Nobody scheduled to replace him can match his fielding, and for the first time in about 25 years Aybar will have somebody different to start the double-play with.  Aybar will continue to be awesome, but Freese will be Freese, LF will be average, Trout will pick up a bit from last year (I hope), and Calhoun will be solid.  Catcher, from a defensive aspect (i.e. throwing out attempted base-stealers and framing pitches) will continue to be a weak spot.  Get ready for some errors and quite a few unearned runs.

Mike Trout will be somewhat forgotten by casual baseball fans this year.  Joc Pederson and Kris Bryant are gonna be the new shiny objects for MLB and as Pederson is a Dodger, look out.  Bryant will be a large part of the story of the resurgence of the Cubs, along with Joe Maddon, so he’ll get a lot of attention too (and rightfully so, if his spring training is any indication).  

Predictions for the rest of the league

Surprisingly good team: Miami Marlins.  They’ve been putting together some pieces for a while now and will make the big jump to the playoffs this year.  It’s their reward for that god-awful sculpture that may or may not still be in their stadium; I’m a bit afraid to check to see if it’s still there. 

Surprisingly bad team: The Boston Red Sox.  This is also karma because of all the slobbering over them right now, and forever in the past.  Forget last-to-first-to-last-to-first; they’re gonna go last-to-first-to-last-to-last and I will enjoy every last game of their continued suckitude.  Runner up: The Oakland As.  Billy Beane’s temper-tantrum will doom them to finish below the Astros (but still above the decimated Rangers).  More karma.

  

Surprisingly good player (non-Angels edition): Matt Kemp.  Yes, I know he’s playing in Petco.  I also know he was on fire at the end of last season and he has a lot to prove.  Plus, **** the Dodgers. Matty K is gonna challenge for MVP this year.  

Surprisingly bad player (non-Angels edition): Jayson Werth.  Dude is gonna tank this year, because the Nats will need somebody to blame for not living up to expectations. 

Who will win the divisions and wild cards? Division winners: Blue Jays, Tigers, Angels, Marlins, Pirates, Dodgers.  Wild cards: White Sox, Mariners, Cubs, Padres.

Self-serving World Series prediction? Marlins versus Angels.  Angels in six.  Hell yeah.  

View the full article

[Spirit]

"Still others, like me, just pull stuff out of their Puig and hope it comes true."

 

 

[Angel Dog and Beer]

"It’s a hallowed tradition that ranks right up there with giving up on the season after a two-game skid in the second week of April"

 

Awesome!

[Hollyw00d]

a lot of bold predictions in this one

[Spirit]

"It’s a hallowed tradition that ranks right up there with giving up on the season after a two-game skid in the second week of April"

 

Awesome!

 

 

It's funny, 'cause it's true.

[Ohtaniland]

We will get zero (0) home runs from a black player for the first time since 1967.   

[Hollyw00d]

Aybar?

[Tank]

Good stuff, Tin.

No controversial predictions about replay?

[Troll Daddy]

Trout stealing more than 16 bases is a given.

[Troll Daddy]

You can bet your life than Josh won't be suspended for the season.

My bold prediction is that Trout, Pujols, and Hamilton, in that order, will be the best 2-4 in baseball.

[Jim]

You had me right up to... "Surprisingly good team: Miami Marlins." 

 

 

Bold predictions indeed

 

Enjoyed the read

[Second Base]

You inspired me...


1. Red Sox won't make the playoffs. - Both Hanley and Pablp figure to improve their offense, and the Red Sox do find themselves playing in one of the weakest divisions in baseball, so they should be competitive. But their rotation and bullpen leave a lot to be desired, and if they don’t win the division, it’s unlikely the Red Sox will earn a wild Card birth over teams from the AL West.

2. The Tigers are one of the five worst teams in baseball. - They’re old and getting older. They’re expensive and will only cost more in the future. They’re having trouble staying off the DL and aging doesn’t help the prevention or healing process. They’ve lost their best pitchers over the past couple of years and still have no bullpen to speak of.

3. The Royals and the Giants won’t be in the playoffs. - For the Royals, they’ve done their best to fill the holes in their roster created by free agency, and they’ve done a decent job of it. But they’ve also lost their ace James Shields, while the rest of the division has improved from pathetic in 2014 to mildly interesting in 2015. The Giants, they'll be contending with improved teams throughout the division and more Wild Card contenders.

4. The Miami Marlins will make the playoffs in 2015. - Their owner is absolute scum, but they've built a young team via trade and the minors, that should be pretty good.

5. The Padres will go to the World Series. - Why? Because no team outside of Washington can match them in pitching and they just infused Justin Upton, Wil Myers, Matt Kemp and Derek Norris to a futile offense. Result, the Padres should have one of the most complete teams in baseball this year, not only being able to outpitch teams, but also have the ability to shut the door with their bullpen and score just enough runs to win ball games.

6. Jason Heyward will win NL MVP - Heyward was once seen as the next Willie Mays by scouts. His combo of speed, power and patience made him the envy of teams around the league. Much like Bryce Harper, Jason Heyward is still quite young and hasn’t lived up to his billing, by merely being good-not-great. Heyward’s going to bat .300, hit 30 HR’s, steal 30 bases and win another Gold Glove in 2015.

7. Mike Trout will win the AL Batting Title - Trout only hit .287 last year, which was largely due to his high strikeout rates and an unwillingness to swing at the first pitch. Trout has said he’ll stop chasing the high ones and will begin swinging first pitch and being more aggressive on pitches in the zone. The result, he's going to hit .350 in 2015. Yeah, he’ll also probably steal close to 30 bases and hit nearly 40 HR’s and play the same great defense in CF.

8. Troy Tulowitzski will be traded to the San Diego Padres - Because as of January this year, everyone gets traded to the Padres. Also because the Rockies have been looking for the right situation and combo of players to entice them in a trade. Rumors of Tulo to New York have circulated for years now, and if it hasn’t happened yet, it just won’t. And while this hasn’t been said yet, it’s possible the Rockies has afforded Tulowitzski the opportunity to have a small say in where he’s traded, given what he’s meant to the organization. A return home to Southern California may entice Tulo, but more importantly, it should intrigue the Rockies. Thankfully for San Diego, they were able to add a plethora of bats without trading away their top prospects, yet. Tulo will empty that bank of prospects they have saved up though.

9. The Cubs will have four players hit over 30 HR's - It isn’t 2001 anymore, 30 HR’s is an accomplishment again, unless you’re playing in the AL East or in the state of Texas where decently hit fly balls tend to leave the yard. But the Cubs are in the NL Central, full of parks that are for the most part, neutral. But youngsters Javier Baez, Jorge Soler, Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant all possess elite power. In some cases, it comes at the price of a lack of defense (Bryant), in others, a lack of contact (Baez). But any way you shake it, this is an extremely potent lineup the Cubs are rolling out.

10. The Mariners aren't as good as they're being pegged to be. - It’s completely understandable why this team is pegged to win big in 2015. Last year, they were a young team on the brink of the playoffs (mainly due to the A’s epic second half collapse). This year, they’ve added Nelson Cruz and Seth Smith, which should help their offense go from “ok” to slightly above average. Coming back from injury in their rotation are two youngsters with high ceilings in Taijuan Walker and James Paxton. But are they as good as ESPN is telling us? Let’s start with their amazing bullpen.

Fernando Rodney is a year older and is experiencing an unheard of type of resurgence, can it continue?  Danny Farquhar and Tom Wilhelmson dropped their ERA from the fours into the twos, is that who they are or was it a career year?  Dominic Leone posted numbers in the majors that are far better than those he posted in the minors, is that evident of his talent?  Basically, A LOT went right for the M's bullpen. Could they expect the same luck in 2015? Possible, but no way to tell. They’ve also inserted J.A. Happ into their rotation with the belief that he can eat 200 innings for them, but as the Angels have learned from Joe Blanton, quality is better than quantity.

As for their offense, in order to accumulate the necessary wins to remove any doubt of them passing the Angels, Mike Zunino will have to go from a black-hole (with power) at catcher to something else, Robinson Cano to be every bit as good as he was in his prime at Yankee Stadium, Brad Miller to take shortstop and run with it despite never being able to do so, Nelson Cruz at age 34 to hit 40 bombs like he did in Texas and the AL East parks, Dustin Ackley to finally be as good as he was supposed to be all along, Austin Jackson returning to form and Seth Smith to recreate his best years from Colorado. That’s also A LOT that needs to go right for that team to overtake the Angels.

 

Because of Paxton and Walker, I can see the Mariners being very competitive because 80% of their pitching staff looks awfully good. But as for the rest of the team, I’m expected them to be about the same as they were last year, which was good-not-great. The result, a mid-to-high 80’s win team. Potentially a playoff team, may or may not catch the Angels, but not a lock to be a division winner, nor should they be the favorite.

Edited March 29, 2015 by ScottyA_MWAH

[Angelsjunky]

10. The Mariners aren't as good as they're being pegged to be.

 

Seems like a perennial occurrence.

[Ohtaniland]

10. The Mariners aren't as good as they're being pegged to be.

 

But the Mariners were 12-7 vs our Angels last season while out scoring us 85-60

[DW711]

You inspired me...

1. Red Sox won't make the playoffs. - Both Hanley and Pablp figure to improve their offense, and the Red Sox do find themselves playing in one of the weakest divisions in baseball, so they should be competitive. But their rotation and bullpen leave a lot to be desired, and if they don’t win the division, it’s unlikely the Red Sox will earn a wild Card birth over teams from the AL West.

2. The Tigers are one of the five worst teams in baseball. - They’re old and getting older. They’re expensive and will only cost more in the future. They’re having trouble staying off the DL and aging doesn’t help the prevention or healing process. They’ve lost their best pitchers over the past couple of years and still have no bullpen to speak of.

3. The Royals and the Giants won’t be in the playoffs. - For the Royals, they’ve done their best to fill the holes in their roster created by free agency, and they’ve done a decent job of it. But they’ve also lost their ace James Shields, while the rest of the division has improved from pathetic in 2014 to mildly interesting in 2015. The Giants, they'll be contending with improved teams throughout the division and more Wild Card contenders.

4. The Miami Marlins will make the playoffs in 2015. - Their owner is absolute scum, but they've built a young team via trade and the minors, that should be pretty good.

5. The Padres will go to the World Series. - Why? Because no team outside of Washington can match them in pitching and they just infused Justin Upton, Wil Myers, Matt Kemp and Derek Norris to a futile offense. Result, the Padres should have one of the most complete teams in baseball this year, not only being able to outpitch teams, but also have the ability to shut the door with their bullpen and score just enough runs to win ball games.

6. Jason Heyward will win NL MVP - Heyward was once seen as the next Willie Mays by scouts. His combo of speed, power and patience made him the envy of teams around the league. Much like Bryce Harper, Jason Heyward is still quite young and hasn’t lived up to his billing, by merely being good-not-great. Heyward’s going to bat .300, hit 30 HR’s, steal 30 bases and win another Gold Glove in 2015.

7. Mike Trout will win the AL Batting Title - Trout only hit .287 last year, which was largely due to his high strikeout rates and an unwillingness to swing at the first pitch. Trout has said he’ll stop chasing the high ones and will begin swinging first pitch and being more aggressive on pitches in the zone. The result, he's going to hit .350 in 2015. Yeah, he’ll also probably steal close to 30 bases and hit nearly 40 HR’s and play the same great defense in CF.

8. Troy Tulowitzski will be traded to the San Diego Padres - Because as of January this year, everyone gets traded to the Padres. Also because the Rockies have been looking for the right situation and combo of players to entice them in a trade. Rumors of Tulo to New York have circulated for years now, and if it hasn’t happened yet, it just won’t. And while this hasn’t been said yet, it’s possible the Rockies has afforded Tulowitzski the opportunity to have a small say in where he’s traded, given what he’s meant to the organization. A return home to Southern California may entice Tulo, but more importantly, it should intrigue the Rockies. Thankfully for San Diego, they were able to add a plethora of bats without trading away their top prospects, yet. Tulo will empty that bank of prospects they have saved up though.

9. The Cubs will have four players hit over 30 HR's - It isn’t 2001 anymore, 30 HR’s is an accomplishment again, unless you’re playing in the AL East or in the state of Texas where decently hit fly balls tend to leave the yard. But the Cubs are in the NL Central, full of parks that are for the most part, neutral. But youngsters Javier Baez, Jorge Soler, Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant all possess elite power. In some cases, it comes at the price of a lack of defense (Bryant), in others, a lack of contact (Baez). But any way you shake it, this is an extremely potent lineup the Cubs are rolling out.

10. The Mariners aren't as good as they're being pegged to be. - It’s completely understandable why this team is pegged to win big in 2015. Last year, they were a young team on the brink of the playoffs (mainly due to the A’s epic second half collapse). This year, they’ve added Nelson Cruz and Seth Smith, which should help their offense go from “ok” to slightly above average. Coming back from injury in their rotation are two youngsters with high ceilings in Taijuan Walker and James Paxton. But are they as good as ESPN is telling us? Let’s start with their amazing bullpen.

Fernando Rodney is a year older and is experiencing an unheard of type of resurgence, can it continue?  Danny Farquhar and Tom Wilhelmson dropped their ERA from the fours into the twos, is that who they are or was it a career year?  Dominic Leone posted numbers in the majors that are far better than those he posted in the minors, is that evident of his talent?  Basically, A LOT went right for the M's bullpen. Could they expect the same luck in 2015? Possible, but no way to tell. They’ve also inserted J.A. Happ into their rotation with the belief that he can eat 200 innings for them, but as the Angels have learned from Joe Blanton, quality is better than quantity.

As for their offense, in order to accumulate the necessary wins to remove any doubt of them passing the Angels, Mike Zunino will have to go from a black-hole (with power) at catcher to something else, Robinson Cano to be every bit as good as he was in his prime at Yankee Stadium, Brad Miller to take shortstop and run with it despite never being able to do so, Nelson Cruz at age 34 to hit 40 bombs like he did in Texas and the AL East parks, Dustin Ackley to finally be as good as he was supposed to be all along, Austin Jackson returning to form and Seth Smith to recreate his best years from Colorado. That’s also A LOT that needs to go right for that team to overtake the Angels.

 

Because of Paxton and Walker, I can see the Mariners being very competitive because 80% of their pitching staff looks awfully good. But as for the rest of the team, I’m expected them to be about the same as they were last year, which was good-not-great. The result, a mid-to-high 80’s win team. Potentially a playoff team, may or may not catch the Angels, but not a lock to be a division winner, nor should they be the favorite.

 

1.) I agree

2.) No chance

3.) I agree

4.) Possible, but I still say the Pirates and Padres.

5.) It'd be cool, but I think this is the Nats year

6.) Bold, but no

7.) I say Cano or Altuve takes it. Don't know if Trout will be in the top 10 for average.

8.) Not bad, it could happen

9.) If they let them play enough.

10.) A couple things got to break their way..but they're a top 5 team in the league.

[Second Base]

The Nats look pretty awesome, so do the Dodgers. But when I look at the Padres, I see a front 3 of Shields in a pitcher's park, Ross and Cashner. That's 3 ERA's that have a shot at being under 3 with a strong k/9.

Do any other teams match that? Maybe, but only elite ones. And then I see the Padtes rolling with Kemp, Upton, a healthy Myers, Norris and potentially Tulowitzski in the heart of their lineup. I don't think it's the best but it's certainly not bad.

They're a little known elite team.

[Hollyw00d]

I think the Padres will have a lot of trouble staying healthy. And they were really bad last year, I don't think they've turned it around that much

Sorry SD, another mediocre year coming

[Docwaukee]

I'll do a few:

 

Angels:

- Garrett Richards will win the Cy Young this year.   His only competition will be king felix but Richards will prevail by a small margin.  

 

- I already predicted Heaney was going to struggle this year well before the start of spring.  He throws too many hittable strikes and needs some time to learn how to command the zone.  He's gonna be a 2/3 someday, but not for a couple of years.  I am sticking with this prediction

 

- Giavotella will be the leadoff hitter by mid year.  

 

- Pujols will have his best year as an Angel in the first of what will be three very strong years in a row.  But this one will be his best.  He will hit more hrs than Trout.  Trout will still win the MVP and will miss out on the batting title by a few points.  

 

- David Freese will have a very solid year.  One of the best of his career.

 

- Cron will break out big time.  

 

- The pen will struggle early in the year again and Dipoto will have to make another mid season trade for a reliever.

 

- We will win the AL west with 94 victories.  

 

- Hamilton won't be back till the ASB

 

Rest of Baseball:

 

- the Padres will hover around .500 for half a season and then catch fire after the ASB.  They will win the NL West on the last day.  

 

- the AL central winner will have 85 wins and at some point in the second half the entire division will be within 4 games of each other.  Even the twins will be in the mix.   

 

- the A's will finish last in AL west.  

 

- The cubs will not be relevant in the standings

 

- The Reds will fire sale at the break.  

[Hollyw00d]

The A's finish last?

Wow that's extremely bold. Borderline insane.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

 

Self-serving World Series prediction? Marlins versus Angels.  Angels in six.  Hell yeah.  

 

I wonder how many Jeff Mathis threads we will see should this come to pass.

[DW711]

Ok, I'll do some.

 

1.) The White Sox will obviously be improved..but they'll still miss the playoffs

 

2.) So will the Royals, Giants and Marlins

 

3.) and Red Sox and Yankees

 

4.) The Angels will make the playoffs, as a wild card.

 

5.) So will the A's.

 

6.) Why? They STILL have pitching and the line up is actually decent.

 

7.) Mike Trout will have another great season, but Cano will win the mvp.

 

8.) Bryce Harper will prove that the 'overrated' tag is garbage. .290/.355/.545 this season.

 

9.) Pablo Sandoval has a bad month of April. Have fun with that in Boston instead of in San Francisco

 

10.) Tim Lincecum has another horrible year. 7-14 with an era over 5. The Giants still offer him a 3 year 55 million dollar deal.

 

11.) David Ortiz steps out of the box over 100 times in 2015. He claims he doesn't have enough time to think even though he's a designated hitter.

 

12.) World Series match up? I won't say who...but with injuries, trades not taken into effect..the Nats and M's have the BEST SHOT to get there. The Nationals, not the Giants.

Edited March 30, 2015 by DW711

[Troll Daddy]

I wonder how many Jeff Mathis threads we will see should this come to pass.

More than you can count ... he'll be the MVP

[Docwaukee]

The A's finish last?

Wow that's extremely bold. Borderline insane.

I just kinda threw that one in there for fun.   I do like them for third at best though.  I think they are going to jockey back and forth with the Stros.  

 

Aside from the Rangers, it wouldn't surprise me if any of the other four teams won the division.  

 

would have been really cool to see Richards go against Felix on opening day.  

 

I feel like every division is completely up in the air this year except for the NL east and even then Miami is coming and if Harvey is healthy all season, the Mets could make a little noise.  

[Jim]

You inspired me...

1. Red Sox won't make the playoffs. - Agree, the Blue Jays will take the division

2. The Tigers are one of the five worst teams in baseball. - Old as they are, I still see them taking the division, with the Indians possibly taking them in the end. One hit wonder KC won't repeat. 

3. The Royals and the Giants won’t be in the playoffs. - It's hard to count out the WS champs but I agree. 

4. The Miami Marlins will make the playoffs in 2015. - Don't see it happening. Too many better teams to compete with. 

5. The Padres will go to the World Series. - Don't see this happening either. And no way will/should Colorado trade Tulo to the Padres. And while I like the paper version of the Padres, I'm suspect of any team with that many new players coming together for the first time making a run at the World Series. 

 

6. Jason Heyward will win NL MVP - Who knows, you could be correct. My guess would be Stanton G

7. Mike Trout will win the AL Batting Title - Too easy.

8. Troy Tulowitzski will be traded to the San Diego Padres - No way should this happen. 

9. The Cubs will have four players hit over 30 HR's - It would be nice to see happen.

10. The Mariners aren't as good as they're being pegged to be. - I don't know about pegged to be, but they are good. Another year of experience under their belts and they made themselves better in the off season. Heck, they were good last year. I look for them to run with the Angels for the division. At worst a wild card.    

 

1. Atlanta won't make the playoffs, again.  

2. LAA/Seattle vs. Washington WS. But the NLCS between the Dodgers and the Nats will be the best series. 

3. No wild card team gets to the WS.

4. Adam will have 3 avatar changes, two Asian. 

[Second Base]

Doc, your optimistic nature is the best! I love those predictions.