MLB 2014 Predictions

I am writing this on the eve of Opening Day (for the United States anyway) of Major League Baseball for this fine year of 2014. That being said, it's time to make some picks…

Let's start in the National League:

National League East
Pick: Atlanta Braves
MVP: Freddie Freeman

The Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals will be battling for this division all year long. Either team could honestly win the division, but I'm going to pick the Braves. My reasoning behind this is simply that the Braves could potentially have the most explosive lineup in baseball if they can figure out B.J. Upton and Dan Uggla. The Nats seem cursed to me because they are always picked to win this division and never do.  Freddie Freeman will be the man for the Braves, as he's quickly emerged as one of the best hitters in baseball.

National League Central
Pick: St. Louis Cardinals
MVP: Adam Wainwright

The Cardinals will make it back to the World Series this season behind basically the same complete team they had last season. Matt Adams and Jhonny Peralta will have to pick up the power void left by Carlos Beltran, but that void isn't too big of a task for the two. People tend to forget how much help this lineup gets from Allen Craig and Yadier Molina. Wainwright will be the best pitcher in the National League this season.

National League West
Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers
MVP: Adrian Gonzalez

I really like what San Francisco did with their rotation in adding Tim Hudson, but the Giants lineup won't be able to produce as many runs as the Dodgers' lineup. Yasiel Puig and Hanley Ramirez are the "big names" in the lineup this season, but people forget how consistent Adrian Gonzalez has been in Los Angeles.

NL MVP: Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves
NL Cy Young: Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals

American League East
Pick: Boston Red Sox
MVP: David Ortiz

The Red Sox are going to be tough this season, even without Jacoby Ellisbury in center field. David Ortiz is just phenomenal at the plate and will be blasting moon shots over the monster all season. This will be a competitive race through the dog days of summer that will be fun to watch.

American League Central
Pick: Detroit Tigers
MVP: Miguel Cabrera

The AL Central is the easiest division to pick in my opinion. There isn't a roster in the division that even rivals the depth of the Detroit Tigers lineup and rotation. Miguel Cabrera has been the most recent Triple Crown winner since 1967, and he's the most dependable hitter in the game. I expect big things from the Tigers this season.

American League West
Pick: Texas Rangers
MVP: Shin-Soo Choo

The Oakland A's have snuck away with this division that past two seasons. This won't be the case this season, as Shin-Soo Choo will be scoring a ton of runs in this high-octane offense that's now anchored by Prince Fielder. If the Rangers' pitching is as good as it looks on paper, they might be able to make a push into the Fall Classic.

AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera
AL Cy Young: C.J. Wilson

Playoffs:

NL Wildcard: Pirates beat the Nationals
AL Wildcard: Angels beat A's

AL Divisional: Angels beat Red Sox, Tigers beat Rangers
NL Divisonal: Cardinals beat Pirates, Dodgers beat Braves

AL Championship: Tigers beat Angels
NL Championship: Cardinals beat Dodgers

World Series: Cardinals beat Tigers in 6 games

If you're not following me on twitter @griffaldo, you are wrong. Stay tuned!

College Baseball Top 25: Week Four

This week has seen some shifts in the Top 25. Miami (FL), Arizona State and Rice all dropped out this past week. Let's see how the Top 25 shaped up for week four:

Rank/Team	Last Week
#25 College of Charleston	NR	The Cougars make their first appearance in the Top 25 after winning a tough series against inner-city rival, Citadel.
#24 Florida	NR	The Gators make it back on the list after sweeping Conneticut this weekend.
#23 Oklahoma State	#18	The Cowboys slip down to #23 after losing a series to San Diego.
#22 Ole Miss	NR	The Rebels make their first appearance in my Top 25 this week as they begin SEC-play on the road against South Carolina.
#21 Louisville	#20	I’m still not completely sold on the Cardinals.
#20 North Carolina	#23	The Tarheels are starting to find a rhythm after winning their series against a solid Pitt team.
#19 Oregon	#16	The Ducks haven’t been too impressive since before they were swept by Cal-State Fullerton.
#18 Kentucky	#19	The Wildcats showed they might have the most explosive offense in the country in their series against Ball State.
#17 Indiana	#20	The Hoosiers are getting back on track. They took a good step by beating Kentucky 7-2 this past week.
#16 UCLA	#12	The Bruins are having a tough time scoring runs.
#15 Texas A&M	#11	The Aggies’ results have definitely not matched their talent so far this season.
#14 Texas Tech	#17	The Red Raiders were impressive in their sweep of New Mexico State this past weekend.
#13 Texas	#15	The Longhorns took three-of-four from Hawaii and continue to crawl up the poll.
#12 Clemson	#14	The Tigers started ACC play off nice with a sweep of Virginia Tech.
#11 Arkansas	#8	The Razorbacks’ stock is falling, as they haven’t won a game in March.
#10 Virginia	#9	The Cavaliers have been holding steady, winning a series against Duke this past weekend.
#9 Louisiana-Lafayette	#12	The Cajuns crack the top ten for the first time this season, going into the beginning of their Sun Belt schedule.
#8 LSU	#10	The Tigers seem to be scoring at will. This will be necessary going into Nashville to face a stingy Vanderbilt team.
#7 Cal-State Fullerton	#2	The Titans fooled us after sweeping Oregon, then falling in a series to Baylor.
#6 Mississippi State	#5	The Bulldogs had a rough weekend at the Hi Corbett Classic in Tuscon.
#5 North Carolina State	#6	The Wolfpack looked solid in a sweep of Notre Dame but must travel to Florida State this weekend.
#4 Vanderbilt	#4	Vandy hasn’t let a team score more than three runs in a game since February. They will need to run a tight ship to get past LSU’s offensive weapons.
#3 Florida State	#3	The Seminoles looked impressive in their two-game set against Central Florida. They will have to be able to score runs against a talented NC State pitching staff.
#2 Oregon State	#7	The Beavers have come back to playing at the high level we saw at the beginning of the season.
#1 South Carolina	#1	The Gamecocks hold down the #1 spot for the second week in a row. The host Ole Miss this weekend to start their SEC schedule.

 

Did I miss something? Be sure to follow me on twitter @griffaldo.

College Baseball Top 25: Week Three

With a few shifts and upsets, here is this week's College Baseball Top 25:

Rank/Team	Last Week
#25 Rice	NR	The Owls slipped a couple games to in-state foes but are on the right track.
#24 Miami (FL)	#23	The Canes slip a spot after losing a tough series to Florida St.
#23 North Carolina	#25	The Tarheels are stepping it up and won their last seven.
#22 Arizona State	NR	Arizona St. went undefeated at the Spring Training Classic this weekend.
#21 Louisville	#20	The Cardinals lost to Indiana and are potentially the most unstable team in the Top 25
#20 Indiana	NR	The Hoosiers have really turned it around since week one.
#19 Kentucky	#21	The Wildcats keep winning.
#18 Oklahoma State	#19	This will be a team that will be exposed in Big 12 play.
#17 Texas Tech	#17	The Red Raiders had a couple slip-ups, but they’re still playing good baseball.
#16 Oregon	#15	The Ducks proved that Cal-State Fullerton was legitimate.
#15 Texas	#18	This young Longhorn team is sneaking up in the polls week-by-week.
#14 Clemson	#13	The Tigers need to have a new outlook in starting their ACC schedule.
#13 UCLA	#12	The late-week slip-up against Loyola cost the Bruins a spot.
#12 Louisiana-Lafayette	#14	The Cajuns continue to impress, taking a series from Alabama.
#11 Texas A&M	#9	The Aggies had a tough time against rising Fresno State.
#10 LSU	#11	The Tigers seem to be hit-or-miss sometimes, but they have possibly the most potent offense in the country.
#9 Virginia	#16	The Cavaliers are winning my respect back.
#8 Arkansas	#7	The Razorbacks lost focus against South Alabama this past weekend.
#7 Oregon State	#3	The Beavers have a couple issues but are still solid.
#6 NC State	#5	The Wolfpack have to figure out how to score runs. Carlos Rodon has two losses where his offense gave him zero help.
#5 Mississippi State	#6	The Bulldogs have turned it around since an early skid to Holy Cross.
#4 Vanderbilt	#8	The Commodores looked dominant in their sweep over Stanford.
#3 Florida State	#1	The Seminoles took a tough series from Miami (FL) this weekend, only losing once.
#2 Cal-State Fullerton	#4	The Titans showed they are the real deal by sweeping Oregon in impressive fashion.
#1 South Carolina	#2	The Gamecocks are the most complete team in the country. Look it up.