After its long awaited arrival, the MLB season will finally be here this coming week. And what a strange season we will have ahead of us. We are bound to see some very unusual things throughout this 60-game season given the circumstances. Perhaps certain teams will make a serious run this year that otherwise wouldn’t throughout the regular 162-game season. It’s going to be tough to predict the outcomes for this season, but that’s what I am going to attempt to do. Here we go:

NL East

1. Atlanta Braves (38-22)

2. Washington Nationals (36-24)

3. Philadelphia Phillies (34-26)

4. New York Mets (29-31)

5. Miami Marlins (15-45)

The Atlanta Braves are poised to win the division yet again this year, but the question remains if they can make any noise in the playoffs. They are young and talented, and their young arms will just keep getting better and better. The Nationals will certainly miss Rendon’s bat in the lineup this year, but they still have so much pitching to make it very interesting with the Braves. The Phillies are just a notch behind, needing a little more pitching to keep up. The Mets will miss Syndergaard and they are always shaky to begin with. In the 60-game season, they could wind up catching fire and even winning it, but they are just too inconsistent for me. The Marlins will do what the Marlins always do.

NL Central

1. St. Louis Cardinals (39-21)

2. Cincinnati Reds (34-26)

3. Milwaukee Brewers (33-27)

4. Chicago Cubs (28-32)

5. Pittsburgh Pirates (21-39)

To me, this is usually the most interesting division in baseball because they roll out 3-4 teams every year that could take the pennant. The Cardinals have great young pitching and they will ride that to the top. They’re just one of those franchises that always seem to find a way to get it done. A lot of people won’t have the Reds in second, but I think those people will be in for a surprise. They have a lot of talent and I think Bauer will bounce back and give them a great 1-2-3 punch with Luis Castillo and Sonny Gray. The Brewers are good, but will take a step back from last year. And the Cubs will be interesting under a new manager, but I just don’t see them being a contender. They are slowly going back to the Cubs we all know, the “Lovable Losers,” and I like the Cubs. The Pirates won’t do too much this season, leaving them to be the forgotten team in the Central this year.

NL West

1. Los Angeles Dodgers (42-18)

2. Arizona Diamondbacks (33-27)

3. San Diego Padres (31-29)

4. Colorado Rockies (29-31)

5. San Francisco Giants (14-46)

There’s no doubt the Dodgers will reign supreme in the NL West once again. They are loaded and adding Mookie Betts to the lineup will be scary. The 60-game season will also play in their favor with an aging roster pressured to win now. With an emerging Ketel Marte and an underrated rotation, the Diamondbacks will finish in second. The Padres are young and up-and-coming, but they aren’t quite there yet. They’re still a big move or two away. While the Rockies always have a potent lineup, they will once again lack in pitching and fail to get over the hump. And the Giants are destined to fail with a very old roster, new manager, no Buster Posey, no Madison Bumgarner…

AL East

1. Tampa Bay Rays (39-21)

2. New York Yankees (38-22)

3. Toronto Blue Jays (28-32)

4. Boston Red Sox (26-34)

5. Baltimore Orioles (17-43)

This is going to be a weird year, so let’s get weird…the Rays will win the division. They are a really good team every year, they just get overshadowed playing in the AL East. But with their pitching and defense, they will surprise people and overtake the top spot. The Yankees will be right behind them, swapping positions with the Rays all year long. A lot of people like the Blue Jays to surprise this year, but they’re just not there yet. With a lot of young talent, they will be there in a few years, though. The Red Sox still have some bats in the lineup, but without Chris Sale in the rotation, their pitching will be a disaster. And the Orioles are still a good ways from competing in this division.

AL Central

1. Minnesota Twins (40-20)

2. Cleveland Indians (36-24)

3. Chicago White Sox (31-29)

4. Detroit Tigers (22-38)

5. Kansas City Royals (19-41)

I think you have to start with the Twins here. Their lineup is dangerous and their pitching is underrated and good. The Indians will stay right there in the conversation, though because of their young and talented rotation. A lot of folks are higher on the White Sox than I am. While they have a team loaded with young talent, I still think they are a year away. And then you get to the Tigers and Royals. You know for sure both teams will finish as the bottom two, but the order of which they finish could go either way. Both of those teams need a lot before they’re in the conversation.

AL West

1. Houston Astros (39-21)

2. Texas Rangers (34-26)

3. Oakland Athletics (33-27)

4. Los Angeles Angels (26-34)

5. Seattle Mariners (16-44)

The Astros will be back at the top once again in the AL West. There’s just still way too much talent in Houston and not a strong enough division to seriously challenge them. The Rangers are my “sneaky good” team in this division. Their rotation is “sneaky good” and they have a capable lineup to surprise a lot of people. The A’s have flew under the radar the last several years, with really good seasons, but I don’t see them in the playoffs this year. I’m really interested to see what the Angels do with their lineup. Trout-Rendon-Ohtani should produce a lot of runs. But the obvious problem there is with pitching where they just can’t seem to ever have any. Lastly, we have the Mariners, who will have a dreadful season. They just don’t have many assets on their team right now.

NL Wildcard

Washington Nationals over Cincinnati Reds

AL Wildcard

New York Yankees over Cleveland Indians

NLDS

Los Angeles Dodgers over Washington Nationals

St. Louis Cardinals over Atlanta Braves

ALDS

New York Yankees over Minnesota Twins

Tampa Bay Rays over Houston Astros

NLCS

Los Angeles Dodgers over St. Louis Cardinals

ALCS

New York Yankees over Tampa Bay Rays

World Series

Los Angeles Dodgers over New York Yankees in 7 games

Garett

2020 MLB Predictions