2019 Baseball Predictions

After what seemed like an exceptionally long off-season, baseball is back. Although, the Mariners and Athletics kicked off the season in Japan last week, the true Opening Day gives all 30 teams in action. Last year, I previewed each team and division before the season began and predicted (not very successfully) who would win each division.
A quick look back at my predictions for 2018...
American League
East - Yankees 👎 Actual Winner - Red Sox
Central - Indians 👍
West - Astros 👍
Wild Card - Red Sox & Angels 👎 Actual Winners: Yankees & A's (still not sure how they did it with that rotation)

National League
East - Nationals 👎 Actual Winner - Braves (not even close to seeing that happen)
Central - Cubs 👎 Actual Winner - Brewers (It came down to Game 163, so I was close, plus I predicted both would make the playoffs)
West - Dodgers 👍
Wild Card - Brewers & Phillies 👎 Actual Winner - Cubs & Rockies (Phillies looked good at the start of the season, but faded down the stretch)

Not an impressive showing on my part, but hey, "You can't predict baseball Suzyn..."

But let's give it another shot anyway....

2019 Baseball Predictions

American League

East - New York Yankees - Yanks and Red Sox both  have loaded lineups. The Yankees have an amazing bullpen and the Red Sox have a deep rotation. I give the edge to the Yankees because they have more options available to them if they need to go and get a guy to help with the stretch run.

Central - Cleveland Indians - They are still the best team even without doing anything to improve. The Twins will challenge, but last season this was the 2nd worst division of all time and it's not getting that much better.

West - Houston Astros - One of the best rotations and lineups in the game. They West has teams that could surprise you, but none of them will stop this juggernaut.

Wild Card Spots - Boston Red Sox & Minnesota Twins - Boston won 108 games last year and are still going to be great. I think the Twins did enough to upgrade areas of concern to make a run at the playoffs. If Buxton, Sano and others can return to 2017 levels, they should beat up on some bad AL Central teams and grab the 2nd WC spot... I do think the Rays and Angels will be in the hunt all season, but think they have too many holes to sneak in.

National League

East - Washington Nationals - The NL East is a tough division. The Mets and Phillies both got better and will make this a race. Not to mention the reigning division champs, the Braves, are still young and have lots of weapons in the minors.  I think the Nats have the best rotation and a solid lineup and will be better, despite losing Bryce Harper to the Phillies.

Central - Chicago Cubs - This is the best division in baseball! There are 3 teams in this division that could easily take the title. The Cardinals are much improved, the reigning division champion, Brew Crew also got better while the Cubs really did nothing all off-season. I still believe the Cubs have one of the best rotations in baseball. A healthy Kris Bryant makes that lineup dangerous.

West - Los Angeles Dodgers - Another good division... The Dodgers have depth and can move around pieces to make up for injuries that will come along. If Kershaw regains some of his old form, Seager picks up where he left off in 2017 and the use their minor league depth to supplement the big league club, they will take the division easily.

Wild Card Spots - Philadelphia Phillies & St. Louis Cardinals - The NL is sooooooooo good! There are 9-10 teams that have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs. I expect tight races in the East and Central and 4-5 teams fighting for the WC spots. I think the Phillies and Cardinals did enough to move past the Brewers, Rockies, Braves and Mets.  But don't sleep on the Pirates or the Padres this season either.

Whatever happens, I am looking forward to drinking some good brews while watching the season unfold. Besides seeing who will win the 2019 World Series, there are a lot of interesting teams and players to follow. Check out the @Brew162 Instagram to see what I am watching and of course drinking! 🍻