Predictions for the 2016 MLB Season

With the 2016 MLB season officially underway, the writers at PointAfter make bold picks that will surely look foolish by season's end.

By Will Laws, Ben Leibowitz and Nick Selbe

Though this winter was unusually warm, that doesn't mean the arrival of springtime is any less sweet than it is any other year. Because with spring comes baseball.

To celebrate the return of our nation's pastime, the PointAfter writers have turned in league-wide 2016 predictions that are sure to look foolish in six months' time. We'll call our shots on each divisional champion, wild card teams, major award winners and, finally, our World Series predictions. Now, without further ado…

AL WEST

  • Will Laws: Texas Rangers
  • Ben Leibowitz: Houston Astros
  • Nick Selbe: Houston Astros

WL:

The AL West is home to a bunch of talented teams, but the co-favorites have to be Texas and Houston. The Rangers won their division last year despite leading the Majors in games lost to injury, including significant injuries to Yu Darvish and Derek Holland. The Astros, meanwhile, will look to build on a surprising 2015 campaign that saw them make the playoffs behind a young core that matured quicker than anyone expected.

AL CENTRAL

  • WL: Kansas City Royals
  • BL: Kansas City Royals
  • NS: Kansas City Royals

NS:

World Series hangover? Not a concern for this group. The Royals' starting rotation won't blow anyone away, but their bullpen will be the stuff of nightmares for opposing hitters.

AL EAST

  • WL: New York Yankees
  • BL: Boston Red Sox
  • NS: Toronto Blue Jays

BL:

Our predictions are all over the map with regard to what figures to be an extremely tight race in the AL East. Just call this a reverse jinx for the Baltimore Orioles.

AL WILD CARD

  • WL: Astros over Blue Jays
  • BL: Blue Jays over Seattle Mariners
  • NS: Red Sox over Los Angeles Angels

NS:

Three different AL West teams were tabbed as wild card contenders. Now under new leadership, a Mariners bid would be the franchise's first postseason appearance since 2001.

NL WEST

  • WL: San Francisco Giants
  • BL: San Francisco Giants
  • NS: Los Angeles Dodgers

WL:

Ben and I like the Giants to take their first division crown since 2012. Thanks to an uncharacteristically active approach to free agency, San Francisco possesses a better group of starters than their Southern California rivals, who will rely on a bunch of uninspiring southpaw starters in the middle of the rotation.

NL CENTRAL

  • WL: Chicago Cubs
  • BL: Chicago Cubs
  • NS: Chicago Cubs

BL:

Though the Curse of the Billy Goat remains intact, we clearly had no reservations about picking the Cubbies to lead the pack in the NL Central. Even if Jake Arrieta and John Lackey regress a bit on the mound, the Cubs have plenty of talent top to bottom to compensate.

NL EAST

  • WL: New York Mets
  • BL: New York Mets
  • NS: Washington Nationals

NS:

The Nats were every expert's darling in 2015, and the season was an absolute trainwreck. This time, without the burden of great expectations, I think they'll make their October return. My colleagues, however, are betting the Mets' stable of young starters will repeat their impressive 2015 performances and carry New York to another division crown.

NL WILD CARD

  • WL: Dodgers over St. Louis Cardinals
  • BL: Dodgers over Pittsburgh Pirates
  • NS: Pittsburgh Pirates over Giants

BL:

The Cardinals won 100 games last season (most in MLB), but Will was the only guy to choose them to make the postseason in 2016. Perhaps that will prove a foolish call from Nick and myself, but it's tough to overlook the gritty Pirates.

AL MVP

  • WL: Mike Trout
  • BL: Mike Trout
  • NS: Mike Trout
  • NS:

    Trout has finished in the top two of MVP voting four years straight, and he'll make it five (with his second win) in 2016. The biggest obstacle standing in his way? The fact that the Angels have made the postseason just once since Trout's big-league debut.

    NL MVP

    • WL: Anthony Rizzo
    • BL: Paul Goldschmidt
    • NS: Kris Bryant

    WL:

    If the Diamondbacks somehow make the playoffs despite losing A.J. Pollock to a fractured elbow less than a week before Opening Day, it'll be on the back of Paul Goldschmidt, last year's NL MVP runner-up. However, it seems more likely that one of the Cubs' young bashers will take another step forward. That's a scary thought for Chicago's division rivals.

    AL CY YOUNG

    • WL: Chris Sale
    • BL: David Price
    • NS: Chris Sale

    BL:

    My colleagues both believe the wind is shifting in Sale's favor this year. And while Sale's an electric pitcher, White Sox teammate Jose Quintana actually finished the season with more quality starts, a higher WAR and lower ERA by comparison a season ago. Instead, I'm going with Price, who seems extremely motivated to have a great year while bonding nicely with his new teammates.

    NL CY YOUNG

    • WL: Clayton Kershaw
    • BL: Clayton Kershaw
    • NS: Jose Fernandez

    WL:

    Kershaw has been the NL's best pitcher over the past five years, always finishing in the top three of Cy Young voting. He's probably underrated by the average fan. The Dodgers will field a better defense behind him than they did in 2015, and his surface-level numbers should reflect that. If the transcendent lefty can carry Los Angeles to the playoffs, he'll have a great shot at capturing his fourth Cy Young award.

    ALCS

    • WL: Astros over Yankees
    • BL: Royals over Astros
    • NS: Blue Jays over Astros

    NS:

    All three of us had the Astros getting this far, but only Will pulled the trigger and gave the pennant to Houston. The Blue Jays' pitching might not stack up with the other contenders, but no lineup has more pop than Canada's finest.

    NLCS

    • WL: Giants over Cubs
    • BL: Cubs over Giants
    • NS: Cubs over Nationals

    WL:

    All of the clubs we list as potential NLCS participants have fantastic pitching. San Francisco has "even year magic" portending a potential fourth title in seven years, while the Cubs are motivated by a 108-year championship drought. I'm not one to bet against Bruce Bochy, Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner in the postseason.

    WORLD SERIES

    • WL: Giants over Astros
    • BL: Cubs over Royals
    • NS: Cubs over Blue Jays

    WL:

    Overall, the National League appears to boast superior pitching than the Junior Circuit. The Giants' offseason additions add depth to a staff that already knows what it takes to bring home a World Series title or three.

    BL:

    With veteran leaders meshing around young talent, this may finally be the year the Cubs break the curse. The "Back to the Future" series was close, but I'll predict they missed the Cubs' World Series win by one year.

    NS:

    There's little doubt the Cubs have what it takes to win it all in 2016. But can all that talent overcome more than a century's worth of futility? All together now, Cubs fans: This is the year.

     

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