With the announcement of baseball’s return, the league is gearing up for a 60-game season beginning on July 23. The league plans to play a regular season until the end of September, implement a universal DH, and a trade deadline that will be August 31. With the Minor League season being cancelled, every team has announced a player pool of 60 players, although only 30 will dress (decreases to 26 after a few weeks) the others will practice with the team and could be called up if injury or anything else sidelines a player. The schedule for every team will consist of 40 divisional games and 20 Interleague games, where teams will play against their Interleague division equivalent (for example NL East vs. AL East, etc.). Being much shorter than the average 162 games, this season will be so much more difficult to predict and the league’s champion could be almost anyone. The emphasis on this season will be to start off hot and gain momentum, as we see many teams every season that play a great first 70 or 80 games but fizzle out and finish well under .500 by seasons end. Although I published my yearly full season preview back in April, these will be my new updated takes including who I think might be surprising teams and an updated list of players who plan to sit out for the upcoming season due to concerns over the virus. Hope everyone enjoys.
Standings
AL EAST
x-New York Yankees 41-19
y-Tampa Bay Rays 36-24
Toronto Blue Jays 30-30
Boston Red Sox 26-34
Baltimore Orioles 19-41
Division Insight: The Yankees will stay atop the standings with their mix of great bats and an improved rotation, most likely locking up the top seed in the AL. The Rays will benefit on a shortened season and make a push at the Yankees for the crown. The Blue Jays young star power and much improved rotation will lead them to a .500 season. The Red Sox will fizzle out, plagued with a depleted rotation and bullpen while facing the entire AL East and NL East. The Orioles will be at the bottom of baseball yet again.
AL CENTRAL
x-Minnesota Twins 38-22
Cleveland Indians 34-26
Chicago White Sox 32-28
Kansas City Royals 25-35
Detroit Tigers 21-39
Division Insight: The Twins will absolutely dominate again, led by the addition of Josh Donaldson to their already powerful lineup. The Indians young rotation will aid a bounce back year for Jose Ramirez and company and compete for the Wild Card. The White Sox put together a solid year with their new look squad and are only a year away from a Division title run. The Royals improve with Mondesi, Merrifield, Dozier, and company while their pitching will still continue to struggle. The Tigers stay at the bottom, still several years away from a competitive team.
AL WEST
x-Houston Astros 39-21
y-Los Angeles Angels 37-23
Texas Rangers 34-26
Oakland Athletics 29-31
Seattle Mariners 20-40
Division Insight: The long pause in the MLB season and no fans to heckle them will aid the Astros immensely, nearly eliminating the majority of the negative light they put themselves under. The Angels will be stellar, scoring runs like crazy and becoming an offensive powerhouse. The Rangers take a huge step forward with their young core and solid rotation including Kluber, Minor, Lynn, and Gibson. Oakland struggles with the shortened season and can’t catch onto the late season playoff push they’ve been used to making over their last couple of Wild Card berths. The Mariners will be a work in progress yet again.
NL EAST
x-Atlanta Braves 38-22
y-New York Mets 36-24
Washington Nationals 35-25
Philadelphia Phillies 31-29
Miami Marlins 24-36
Division Insight: The toughest division in baseball, a fully healthy (COVID-free) Braves will look to stay atop with their all-around dynamic squad. The Mets will gain momentum and be anchored by their young sluggers and a rotation led by deGrom and Stroman, with bounce back years from Betances and Diaz in the bullpen. The defending champs find themselves in a tough spot, winning 35 games but missing the playoffs in a dog fight that comes down to the season’s final week. The Phillies under-achieve again staying consistently at or around .500. The Marlins will win some more games, potentially stealing from some teams trying to make pushes.
NL CENTRAL
x-Cincinnati Reds 38-22
Chicago Cubs 35-25
St. Louis Cardinals 29-31
Pittsburgh Pirates 27-33
Milwaukee Brewers 23-37
Division Insight: The Reds shock the division and stay hot from day one, led by huge years from a fired up Trevor Bauer and new bats in Castellanos and Moustakas. The Cubs join the Nats in the dog fight until the end but also closely miss out on the playoffs. The Cardinals under-perform, plagued with more in-productivity from their lineup although Jack Flaherty will become a star of the league as the anchor of the rotation. Pittsburgh does pretty solid, hovering around .500 and winning some games against solid teams. Milwaukee struggles with a depleted rotation and gains no momentum.
NL WEST
x-Los Angeles Dodgers 43-17
y-Arizona Diamondbacks 37-23
Colorado Rockies 32-28
San Diego Padres 27-33
San Francisco Giants 20-40
Division Insight: The Dodgers all-around stacked squad plays out well as they finish with the best record in baseball. Arizona has a huge year, aided by new ace Madison Bumgarner and snatch a Wild Card spot late in the season. The Rockies benefit from a shortened season, making up for their lack of pitching with explosive offense from Arenado, Blackmon, and Daniel Murphy. The Padres young core begins to form together, playing very solid but falling off at the end. The Giants struggle against the intensity of the NL West and come in last.
Playoffs
NATIONAL LEAGUE
| WILD CARD: | NLDS: | NLCS: | |
| 1 – LA Dodgers | |||
| NY Mets | VS. | 1 – LA Dodgers | |
| VS. | 4 – NY Mets | ||
| Arizona | VS. | Cincinnati Reds | |
| 2 – Atlanta | NL CHAMPS | ||
| VS. | 3 – Cincinnati | ||
| 3 – Cincinnati |
AMERICAN LEAGUE
| WILD CARD: | ALDS: | ALCS: | |
| 1 – NY Yankees | |||
| Tampa Bay | VS. | 4 – Tampa Bay | |
| VS. | 4 – Tampa Bay | ||
| LA Angels | VS. | Minnesota Twins | |
| 2 – Houston | AL CHAMPS | ||
| VS. | 3 – Minnesota | ||
| 3 – Minnesota |
World Series:
Minnesota Twins over Cincinnati Reds (5 games)
Biggest Surprises
Los Angeles Angels
Starters: C Jason Castro, 1B Albert Pujols, 2B Tommy La Stella, SS Andrelton Simmons, 3B Anthony Rendon, LF Justin Upton, CF Mike Trout, RF David Fletcher, DH Shohei Ohtani
Rotation: Andrew Heaney, Julio Teheran, Dylan Bundy, Griffin Canning, Matt Andriese, Shohei Ohtani
The new look Angels are at the top of my list to thrive in a shortened season. With the additions of Anthony Rendon and top prospect Jo Adell, the Halo’s will have a surplus of star power to put up a ridiculous amount of runs. Unlike a 162 game season, the emphasis on this year will be run scoring and a lot of it. If Heaney and Teheran can lock down the top of the rotation along with decent bullpen production, there’s no reason the Angels can’t snag a Wild Card or even potentially the entire AL West.
Texas Rangers
Starters: C Robinson Chirinos, 1B Danny Santana, 2B Rougned Odor, SS Elvis Andrus, 3B Todd Frazier, LF Willie Calhoun, CF Joey Gallo, RF Nick Solak, DH Shin-Soo Choo
Rotation: Corey Kluber, Mike Minor, Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson, Jordan Lyles
The Rangers are a team I’m really looking forward to seeing in this shortened season, and one that I think can make a big splash in limited games. The lineup is looking solid with youngsters Willie Calhoun, Joey Gallo, and Nick Solak to go along with seasoned veterans Robinson Chirinos, Elvis Andrus, Todd Frazier, and Shin-Soo Choo. The rotation is a huge upgrade from last year, adding former Cy Young winner Corey Kluber and veterans Kyle Gibson and Jordan Lyles to go along with Minor and Lynn who had very solid campaigns a year ago for Texas. If the bullpen can piece together more consistency, I don’t see why Texas can’t make a legitimate push at a Wild Card spot in a 60 game format.
Cincinnati Reds
Starters: C Tucker Barnhart, 1B Joey Votto, 2B Mike Moustakas, SS Freddy Galvis, 3B Eugenio Suarez, LF Jesse Winker, CF Nick Senzel, RF Nicholas Castellanos, DH Aristides Aquino
Rotation: Luis Castillo, Trevor Bauer, Sonny Gray, Anthony DeSclafani, Wade Miley
Possibly the biggest surprise this season I believe will come from the Reds who look extremely scary in a shortened season. After adding Moustakas and Castellanos this offseason, the lineup is looking fierce and powerful with a plethora of threats throughout. The rotation is set up to be dominant, leading with all-star Luis Castillo as the anchor followed by Bauer, Gray, DeSclafani, and Miley. The bullpen is also looking very solid with a healthy Raisel Iglesias to go along with flame-thrower Michael Lorenzen, Pedro Strop, and Amir Garrett. I think the NL Central is going to be the most up in the air division this season, as many teams can have shockingly solid years and the winner will most likely be someone least expected. I’ll give the nod to the Reds in my picks and if they can gain momentum, are definitely built to win a pennant in the shortened season.
Players Sitting Out Season
Updated: Wednesday, July 22
Atlanta Braves:
SP Felix Hernandez
RF Nick Markakis
Arizona Diamondbacks:
SP Mike Leake
Boston Red Sox:
SP Collin McHugh
Chicago White Sox:
SP Michael Kopech
Colorado Rockies:
CF Ian Desmond
Los Angeles Dodgers:
SP David Price
San Francisco Giants:
C Buster Posey
St. Louis Cardinals:
RP Jordan Hicks
Washington Nationals:
SP Joe Ross
1B Ryan Zimmerman
C Wellington Castillo
The Sports World According To Paul 