The All-Star Break is now over and the MLB regular season is almost in its final two months. Every team has played close to 100 games so far and fans are getting a better sense of which teams are elite and which teams are not. MVP and Cy Young races for each league are also heating up, as certain players have emerged as leaders for each category. In this article, I will give my predictions for each division and wildcard winner. I will also predict each league’s MVP and Cy Young award winners.
American League
AL East Division Winner: Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox have been consistent all year, having the second-best winning percentage in the majors. Even though the Tampa Bay Rays are hot on Boston’s tail, I still think the Red Sox will narrowly win their division and represent the AL East in the playoffs.
AL Central Division: Detroit Tigers. The Tigers have been inconsistent of late, but the team still has mass amounts of talent that is hard to shut down. Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder have been amazing all year and will most likely be the same for the rest of the year. With a duo of pitchers like Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander to go up against, opposing teams will not have an easy time facing the Tigers. The Cleveland Indians have been playing well lately, but the Tigers seem to have the division in control.
Al West Division: Oakland Athletics. The A’s have been great this year after last season’s miraculous comeback to win their division. The team has been led by players such as Josh Donaldson, Yoenis Cespedes and Josh Reddick all year long. Starting pitcher Bartolo Colon has been great lately, as have their bullpen. This team may be a dangerous one should they make the playoffs.
Wildcard: Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays may be the hottest team in baseball right now, as they have won five straight games and are only a few games behind the Red Sox for first place in the AL East. The team’s best player, Evan Longoria, has been on fire lately and he will need to do the same for the rest of the year for the team to stay in the race.
Wildcard: Texas Rangers. The Rangers were not figured to do much this season after losing Josh Hamilton to the Los Angeles Angels in the offseason. But, they have been much better than people have expected. Adrian Beltre and Nelson Cruz have been very good for the team all year. The team’s pitching staff has been a bit shaky, but I believe they will be fine and sneak in the playoffs with the last wildcard spot.
AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera. “Miggy” has been amazing this year; even better than his Triple Crown season of last year. If it wasn’t for the Orioles’ Chris Davis, Cabrera would be in contention for the Triple Crown again this year. Cabrera already has 31 home runs and 96 RBIs and he doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.
AL Cy Young: Felix Hernandez. “King Felix” has been dominant mostly all season for the Seattle Mariners with a 11-4 record and an ERA in the 2’s. Some may say Max Scherzer should win the award, but I disagree. Hernandez currently has the best ERA in the AL and I see him getting at least 15 wins this year, which could warrant him winning the Cy Young for the AL.
National League
NL East Division: Atlanta Braves. Even though I am a Phillies fan, I don’t see them winning the division this year. They are faced with too many injuries and they are too inconsistent of a team to rely on. The Braves have not been very good lately, but neither have the Phillies or Nationals, who are the two teams chasing Atlanta in the division. The Braves will basically win this division by default, in my opinion.
NL Central Division: St. Louis Cardinals. It seems that the Cardinals are always at the top of their division year in and out and the same applies this year. The team has had great pitching this year from Adam Wainwright and rookie Shelby Milller, while Yadier Molina and Allen Craig have been tearing the seams off the ball with their great hitting. The Reds and Pirates are two good teams in the same division, but the Cardinals should take the Central division easily.
NL West Division: Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers just finished off a sweep of the Washington Nationals and they are one of the hottest teams in the league right now. Hanley Ramirez has been plastering the ball as of late. Clayton Kershaw has been dominant on the mound, and Matt Kemp was activated off of the disabled list today. The Diamondbacks are declining each day and the Dodgers are taking advantage.
Wildcard: Pittsburgh Pirates. One of the biggest surprise teams of this season has been the Pirates. The team has not made the playoffs since 1992, but this year seems to be the one that will break that ugly streak. The Pirates have been fueled by great pitching all year from Jeff Locke, AJ Burnett and Francisco Liriano. With Jason Grilli shutting down teams in the ninth inning of games, this team should have no trouble getting one of the wildcard spots in the NL.
Wildcard: Cincinnati Reds. The Reds have been very good this year, albeit in a very tough NL Central division. Brandon Phillips has been great for the team, as he is tied with Paul Goldschmidt for 1st in the NL with 78 RBIs.
NL MVP: Yadier Molina. Molina has been more than valuable for the Cardinals this season. He currently leads the NL in batting average and he may be the best overall catcher in the majors. It seems like every year he is named as a possible MVP candidate, but I think this may finally be Molina’s year to bring home the gold.
NL Cy Young: Adam Wainwright. Wainwright has been dominant all season. He has 13 wins with an ERA in the mid 2’s. Clayton Kershaw is also having a great year, as his ERA is under 2, but Wainwright is a true ace and I think he will come away with the hardware.
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