It’s opening day! Every team (except for the A’s and Mariners*) begins with a clean slate and dreams of making the playoffs. Here are my predictions for the 2019 Division winners and Wild Card teams:

American League East: Yankees

American League Central: Indians

American League West: Astros

Wild Card 1: Red Sox

Wild Card 2: Angels

 

National League East: Nationals

National League Central: Brewers

National League West: Dodgers

Wild Card 1: Phillies

Wild Card 2: Giants

A note on my pick for the Giants to win one of the Wild Card spots, since some will dismiss this as overly optimistic: Bruce Bochy enters his final year as a manager and sits 18 games under .500 with a record of 1926-1944. It’s a tall order for the Giants to end the regular season with the 99-63 record needed to pull the skipper out of a losing record, but the Giants know that this is Bochy’s farewell tour and if there’s anyone who can get the most out of his players, it’s him. 

Manager of the Year:

Building on my optimism for a winning season in San Francisco, I am predicting Bruce Bochy as the NL Manager of the Year. For the AL, I will go with Angels skipper Brad Asmus. Riding the record deal with Mike Trout, the Angels will put together the pieces for a playoff run. If you’re wondering if I’m biased to think former catchers make the best managers, you’re probably right.

Cy Young Winner:

American League: Trevor Bauer, Indians (mostly because of the great first name)

National League: Madison Bumgarner, Giants

MVP:

American League: Mike Trout, Angels

National League: Anthony Rendon, Nationals

*The A’s and Mariners have already logged their first two games of the season in Japan. The Mariners took the two game set and now sit atop the standings 2-0 while the A’s have the misfortune of starting Opening Day in last place. I am not a fan of this. Opening Day is a tradition in baseball, and starting the season early to play internationally takes away from that. It’s fine to build some international games into the schedule, but they shouldn’t come before the rest of the regular season begins.