Since it’s after the All-Star break, I wanted to look back on the predictions I made during spring training and see how accurate they are halfway through the season.
Taking the AL East, I had the Toronto Blue Jays, however they are currently in third place, but only three games back from first. The Orioles are leading their division by two games. I still have hope for the Blue Jays, especially since they are still holding Boston and Baltimore to a close margin. They have immense power in Troy Tulowitski and Jose Bautista.
Taking the AL West, I had the Houston Astros, however they are in second place by 4.5 games. The other team from Texas, the Rangers, are leading their division. Like the Blue Jays, they are very close behind and still have potential to take the lead. For a long time, they were the first team to be eliminated from playoff contention and have come a long way since then.
Taking the AL Central, I had the Kansas City Royals, who are currently in third place by eight games. Since they did make two back to back World Series appearances, it would be amazing if they made a third this year. Especially after not making it to the playoffs for 29 years prior to 2014. However, they do have crazy star power and several All-Stars in Eric Hosmer, Salvador Perez, and Alex Gordon.
Taking the NL West, I had the San Francisco Giants, who are currently in first place by 5.5 games and hold the best record in baseball. Their best asset and offseason pickup has been Johnny Cueto, who was acquired from the Royals. Madison Bumgarner is also good as he always is, as is Buster Posey. Even with several strong starters on the disabled list, including Hunter Pence, Joe Panik, and Matt Duffy, they are still managing to get it done with their deep farm system.
Taking the NL Central, I had the Chicago Cubs, who are in first place by eight games and had the best record in baseball up until about a month ago when the Giants surpassed them. The depth of their team speaks for itself – and the fact that the National League’s team at the All-Star game had all four Cubs’ infielders as starters.
Finally, taking the NL East, I had the Miami Marlins who are currently in second place by six games behind a very strong Washington Nationals team. The Marlins still have huge potential to come back with their heavy lineup including the homerun derby champion, Giancarlo Stanton – who also happens to be the highest paid player in baseball. Unfortunately, they did lose Dee Gordon due to a failure to pass a PED test earlier this season.
Overall, I would say my predictions were somewhat accurate, but we can revisit them in October when we know who’s taken the crown.
