2016 Major League Baseball Predictions

Today is the last day of no regular season Major League Baseball for the next six months. It's been a long offseason that finally comes to end Sunday. Here's my predictions for the 2016 MLB season:

Division Winners:

National League East: New York Mets

The Mets have a great combination of pitching and offense. A talented bunch will get the benefit of experience, and this team is capable of handling even an upgraded Washington Nationals team that will be looking to to avenge being left out of the playoffs a year ago. The Mets have a roster built for a deep playoff run.

National League Central: St. Louis Cardinals

Let's see if that Chicago curse is real this year. It's been pretty consistent so far.

National League West: San Francisco Giants

Giants have an edge over the Los Anageles Dodgers, who are a team thats starting the year off with a crowded injury list. San Francisco's dominant rotation, now with  Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto, has a chance at being one of the bets rotations in the NL. The Arizona Diamondbacks will make a legitimate case, but tail off in the second half of the year.

American League East: Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays have one of the potent lineups in the major leagues, and this is a year they could run away with the division early. Toronto's lineup consists of a lot of good bats that will propel them towards the top of the league in offensive statistics.

American League Central: Kansas City Royals

The Royals have kept a solid core group of players that have generated a lot of success in consecutive trips the World Series. The Royals will have to fight off the powerful lineup of the Detroit Tigers,and this group has been able to do so in the past couple seasons.

American League West: Houston Astros

The Astros lived off the home run last season and made it to the playoffs. This year they bring back a nucleus of young talent that can hit for power and consistency. The AL West race won't be nearly competitive as it usually is in 2016.

Postseason Predictions:

American League MVP: Manny Machado, Baltimore Orioles

People tend to forget how young Machado still is. He's a great all-around player, and I think he's capable of doing big things in 2016.

National League MVP: Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks

Top tier player that doesn't get a lot of recognition. A full year healthy will result in a monster season for Goldschmidt.

American League Cy Young: Chris Archer, Tampa Bay Rays

Ranked among the top 10 pitchers in almost every statistical category the last couple seasons. Archer has proven to be the leader of not only the Rays' rotation but also the entire team.

National League Cy Young: Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals

Wainwright looked poised to have a special season before injuring his Achilles' tendon against the Brewers way too early in the season. Each time he's suffered a serious injury, he's came back the next season in full force.

As always, thanks for reading. Enjoy the baseball season, and be sure to follow me on Twitter @griffaldo.