The MLB season is just around the corner starting on April 7th. There are a lot of teams that definitely upgraded through free agency, so I’m going to go through who I think could make the postseason and how I think teams are going to do.
The Orioles, Pirates, Diamondbacks, and Royals I expect to do about the same as last year. I can see the Orioles and Royals getting better by bringing up more prospects but the other teams will just stay bad.
The Cubs, Reds, Marlins, Tigers, Rangers, and Angels I expect will be a bit better than those other bottom-of-the-pack teams. The Tigers and Rangers I expect to do a bit better because of their free agent signings. The Marlins may have a chance to do better because of prospects and young starters staying healthy throughout the season.
The Guardians, Nationals, Twins, Athletics, and Rockies are all around the same level of the other teams but I think that they are just a bit better. The Cleveland Guardians (formerly the Indians) still have some pieces left on their team and so do the Twins. I believe that out of these teams the Twins are better. The A’s basically sold their whole team to have a better future. The Rockies and Nationals have their own struggles but could be a bit better than last year.
The Phillies, Brewers, Red Sox, and Padres I feel are all kind of like middle-of-the-pack teams. These teams are a level up above the bad teams but a level below from some of the better teams. All of these teams could potentially make a postseason push, but I would have to say they would all have to go for a wild card spot. The Phillies bullpen, while it has improved, still has some issues which could push them out of contention against the Braves and Mets for 1st place in the NL East. The Brewers have zero offense and have given away some of their key pieces to scoring runs last year, and you can only win games if you are able to score runs. The Red Sox and Padres have incomplete teams. The Red Sox pitching staff will have a tough time against the powerhouse offenses in the AL East. and the Padres just haven’t added much from last year and injuries seem to be an issue.
The Braves, Giants, Cardinals, Rays,Yankees and Astros are all really good teams, but I'm just not sure whether they can beat the really strong teams listed below. The Cardinals I feel will have competition with the Brewers for the Central Division, but I think they can win it if they stay healthy. The Giants are good, but I feel like their performance last year was lucky almost. I just don’t see the Giants beating out the Dodgers for the West again. The Rays have a good overall team, but I'm just not sure if offensively they will be able to stand their ground against the great AL East offenses. The Yankees are just the opposite, the Yankees last year had trouble with pitching and did nothing about it. I feel like that will hold them back. I don’t think the Astros really have a chance against the Mariners. For the Braves, injuries will continue to hold their true potential back and I don’t think they can repeat as champions.
The Dodgers, Blue Jays, Mariners, White Sox, and Mets I feel like are the best teams in baseball right now. The Dodgers make sense because they went out and got Freddie Freeman and that helps their offense. The only way the Giants beat them out in the division is with pitching, because the Dodgers lack pitching depth. The Mets have basically bought their way to be one of the best teams by signing Max Scherzer along with Starling Marte and a lot more. The White Sox are a good team; they just need to keep developing the young players and they will be fine. The Blue Jays and Mariners and both blood thirsty for a postseason spot. They both had phenomenal years and I am a big believer in those two teams.
And now, we wait for the season to begin.