Baseball is finally back! 2020 certainly has been a weird year and although it gets a little more normal with baseball back on the TV, it is not quite the same without the fans. With the 2020 season being only 60 games compared to the normal 162, literally anything is possible. After 60 games last year, the Nationals wouldn’t have even made the playoffs. They sat 3rd worst in the National League at 27-33, but got hot late and won the World Series. We won’t have that sort of story this year. A six game losing streak is a major set-back at 10% of the season.
Avoiding major injuries and avoiding major COVID-19 cases is going to be key to winning the World Series this year. Without the full minor leagues, actual game ready replacements is going to be more complicated. The best team may not win it all this year. But let’s see how I see the season playing out.
**NOTE** I have updated my original postseason predictions to reflect the new expanded postseason for the 2020 season. I left the original as well.
American League
| East: 1. New York Yankees 2. Tampa Bay Rays 3. Boston Red Sox 4. Toronto Blue Jays 5. Baltimore Orioles | Central: 1. Minnesota Twins 2. Chicago White Sox 3. Cleveland Indians 4. Kansas City Royals 5. Detroit Tigers | West: 1. Oakland As 2. Houston Astros 3. Los Angeles Angels 4. Texas Rangers 5. Seattle Mariners |
National League
| East: 1. Atlanta Braves 2. Philadelphia Phillies 3. New York Mets 4. Washington Nationals 5. Miami Marlins | Central: 1. St. Louis Cardinals 2. Milwaukee Brewers 3. Cincinnati Reds 4. Chicago Cubs 5. Pittsburgh Pirates | West: 1. Los Angeles Dodgers 2. San Diego Padres 3. Arizona Diamondbacks 4. Colorado Rockies 5. San Francisco Giants |
Postseason (OLD FORMAT):
| American League: 1. Yankees 2. Twins 3. As 4. Rays 5. White Sox Wild Card: White Sox over Rays Divisional: Yankees over White Sox, As over Twins ALCS: Yankees over As | National League: 1. Dodgers 2. Braves 3. Cardinals 4. Phillies 5. Padres Wild Card: Phillies over Padres Divisional: Dodgers over Phillies, Braves over Cardinals NLCS: Dodgers over Braves |
Postseason (NEW EXPANDED FORMAT):
| American League: 1. Yankees 2. Twins 3. As 4. Rays 5. White Sox 6. Astros 7. Indians 8. Angels First Round: Yankees over Angels, Twins over Indians, As over Astros, White Sox over Rays Divisional: Yankees over White Sox, As over Twins ALCS: Yankees over As | National League: 1. Dodgers 2. Braves 3. Cardinals 4. Phillies 5. Padres 6. Brewers 7. Mets 8. Reds First Round: Dodgers over Reds, Braves over Mets, Cardinals over Brewers, Phillies over Padres Divisional: Dodgers over Phillies, Braves over Cardinals NLCS: Dodgers over Braves |
World Series:
Yankees over Dodgers
Awards:
AL MVP: Aaron Judge (Yankees)
AL Cy Young: Gerrit Cole (Yankees)
AL Rookie of the Year: Luis Robert (White Sox)
NL MVP: Ronald Acuna Jr (Braves)
NL Cy Young: Walker Buehler (Dodgers)
NL Rookie of the Year: Dylan Carlson (Cardinals)
