Junius Worth
David Kerr
Charlie Nehl
gawlowskib
Andrew Martin
Jonathan C. Mitchell
johnczech
Daniel Marino
Michael Schwartze
mlbdirtstaff
Spencer Schneier
William J. Tasker
Continuing on from yesterday’s AL Predictions are my NL predictions. I honestly cannot wait to see the reactions when I tell everyone that…
Atlanta Braves – Nate McLouth is going to revert to 2009 form and go 20/20 with a .350 OBP. Craig Kimbrel will save 20+ games and strike out 100+ as part of the best relief squad in the Majors. Chipper Jones will hit .300 in his final season. Mike Minor will replace Brandon Beachy as the 5th starter by June.
Arizona Diamondbacks – Russell Branyan will set a career high by hitting 35 or more homeruns this season. That’s right! All he needs is playing time and I predict he will gain 3B eligibilty. Joe Saunders will have an ERA north of 5.00. David Hernandez will lead the team in saves with less than 20.
Chicago Cubs – Tyler Colvin will get 500+ plate appearances but will not hit more than 25 homers. There will be more “head case” headlines about Matt Garza than there will be about Carlos Zambrano who will be the better pitcher of the two this year.
Cincinnati Reds – 2010 was more Brandon Phillips norm going forward and he will continue a decline offensively to the tune of .260/.320/.420 at best. The starting rotation will be called overrated by September. Drew Stubbs will be more valuable when factoring ADP than B.J. Upton in fantasy. Jay Bruce will hit 30+ homers but lose defensive value and not be more valuable than he was last year according to fWAR. Aroldis Chapman will finish with less than 5 saves and an ERA above-4.00.
Colorado Rockies – Troy Tulowitzki will win the MVP and be worth close to 8.0 fWAR. Dexter Fowler will break out this year. Jose Lopez still will not hit and be a terrible defender and Ty Wigginton will club 20+ homers. Jason Hammel will finally match his performance with his FIP and post an ERA below-4.00.
Florida Marlins – Mike Stanton will hit 35 homeruns and be very humble about it. Anibal Sanchez will pitch 200+ innings of 3.25 or lower ERA and 175+ strikeouts. Omar Infante will hit closer to his career slash-line of .274/.319/.395 than his last two year’s .316/.359/.408. The 3B position will struggle to combine for a positive fWAR.
Houston Astros – Wilton Lopez will end up with double-digit saves. Brett Wallace will hit .285/.345/.450 and give the Astros hope for the future. The shortstop position will the weakest in the league offensively. Jordan Lyles will be up and be their best pitcher after the trade deadline.
Los Angeles Dodgers – Juan Uribe will set another career high in homers with 25 this season. Jonathan Broxton may lose the closer role but he will still strike out 90+ with an ERA below-3.00. Matt Kemp will be worth +5.0 fWAR or better. Left field will be a revolving door that will never stop and be lucky to produce at a higher level than replacement. A.J. Ellis is the best catcher on the roster but will see the least amount of time.
Milwaukee Brewers – Shaun Marcum will mail a thank you card to the Blue Jays for trading him out of the AL East and will post 200+ innings of 3.25 or lower ERA and 175+ strikeouts. Carlos Gomez and Nyjer Morgan will combine for a wRC of 85 or lower. Jonathan Lucroy and George Kottaras will combine to hit 20 homers.
New York Mets – Carlos Beltran will reach 500 PAs and hit .280/.370/.470 or better. Angel Pagan will again be worth more than 4.0 fWAR. Francisco Rodriguez will not meet his Games Finished clause wheter he finishes the year out with the Mets or not. The Mets will have a fire sale in July and post a better record in the 2nd half and play “spoiler” to postseason contenders.
Philadelphia Phillies – Ryan Howard continues his Cecil Fielder impersonation and hits worse than he did in 2010. Ben Francisco will hit 20 homers and steal 15 bases. Roy Halladay will post even better numbers than last year.
Pittsburgh Pirates – Andrew McCutchen will hit 20 homers and steal 40 bases. Joel Hanrahan will save 30 games and strike out 100+. James McDonald will be the only starting pitcher with more than 2.0 fWAR and he will have higher than 3.0 fWAR.
San Diego Padres – Tim Stauffer will log 175+ innings of sub-3.50 ERA and 125+ strikeouts. Brad Hawpe will lose his starting job by mid-June and struggle to hit above .250 with little-to-no power. Jason Bartlett will hit at least .285/.345/.425 and steal 20+ bases.
San Francisco Giants – Aubrey Huff will get off to a slow start and everyone will scream for Brandon Belt to get playing time. Which he will… in June, and contend for the Rookie of the Year Award by hitting close to .300 with 15+ homers. Jonathan Sanchez will be the best pitcher on the team.
St. Louis Cardinals – Colby Rasmus will hit 30+ homers and steal 15+ bases. Lance Berkman will bounce back to hit .275/.375/.475 with 20+ homers. Kyle McClellan will log 175+ innings of sub-4.00 ERA with 125+ strikeouts. Jason Motte will save 10+ games and record 70+ strikeouts.
Washington Nationals – Michael Morse will hit more homers than Jayson Werth and Adam LaRoche. Livan Hernandez will post an ERA north of 5.00 and allow 225+ hits in less than 200 innings. Matt Stairs will hit a homerun for the Nats, his 12th different team.
-Jonathan C. Mitchell can be found writing about the Tampa Bay Rays at his other site Figure Filbert and on twitter at @FigureFilbert
Filed under: Fantasy Tagged: | A.J. Ellis, Adam LaRoche, Angel Pagan, Anibal Sanchez, Aroldis Chapman, Astros, Aubrey Huff, B.J. Upton, Ben Francisco, Brad Hawpe, Brandon Beachy, Brandon Belt, Brandon Phillips, Braves, Brett Wallace, Brewers, Cardinals, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Gomez, Carlos Zambrano, Chipper Jones, Colby Rasmus, Craig Kimbrel, Cubs, David Hernandez, Dexter Fowler, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Drew Stubbs, Francisco Rodriguez, George Kottaras, Giants, James McDonald, Jason Bartlett, Jason Hammel, Jason Motte, Jay Bruce, Jayson Werth, Joe Saunders, Joel Hanrahan, Jonathan Broxton, Jonathan Lucroy, Jonathan Sanchez, Jordan Lyles, Jose Lopez, Kyle McClellan, Lance Berkman, Livan Hernandez, Marlins, Matt Garza, Matt Kemp, Matt Stairs, Mets, Michael Morse, Mike Minor, Nate McLouth, Nationals, Nyjer Morgan, Omar Infante, Padres, Phillies, Pirates, Reds, Rockies, Roy Halladay, Russell Branyan, Shaun Marcum, Tim Stauffer, Troy Tulowitzki, Ty Wigginton, Tyler Colvin, Wilton Lopez
Good. I have Morse in about every league this year. I like the kid a lot.
Actually I see Morse very much like the new Jayson Werth, but less speed, more power. He just needed a shot for a full time gig, much like Werth did with the Dodgers going to the Phils.
I agree fully with 90% of what is said in this post. A few comments though.
1. Halladay will put up better numbers but maybe less wins…The phils could turn inot the Giants a ton of pitching but you wonder if the offense can produce enough. They are already nothing giving a return timetable on Utley, that’s bad and they will seriously miss Jayson Werth. I agree, the book is out on Ryan Howard he is a mistake hitter he won’t get much to hit this year.
2. Matt Morse= see another Mariners blunder. Don’t know if he will hit more HR’s than Werth but it is a great move by the Nats to give him LF. I see Roger Bernadina taking over CF sooner rather than later too.
3. Not totally buying Dexter Fowler yet. He teases then he goes into a funk.
4. Jonathan Sanchez is too erratic for my liking in a big spot. Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner may challenge “The Freak” as the ace of the rotation.
5. Adrian Gonzalez will have the biggest impact in the majors this year. He will help the Red Sox score the most runs in the big leagues and the Padres will be absolutely crippled without him and Jon Garland.
6. Andre Either is already indicating he maybe out of LA after this year thinking they won’t offer him arbitration. If he goes free agent you can bet the Yankees will be all over him.
7. Tyler Colvin is exactlt the kind of player the Cubs need to get more of in that lineup. As I mentioned before, I would hate to be Geovanny Soto having to deal with Garza and Zambrano.
8. Jose Reyes makes most sense to go to the Giants or Angels. Think about it, it makes the most sense for him to go there because he would fit in so well on both teams. I don’t think either team has the guts to get him though. The Dodgers and Mariners desperatley need a Reyes guy too but, it won’t happen.
9. I think both Beltran and Berkman are shot but, I could be wrong.
10. Aroldis Chapman….I remember a guy named Matt Anderson for the Tigers throwing 105MPH and how long did he last? I take a pitcher with command and the ability to change speeds any day over a guy who can throw the baseball through a brick wall and do nothing else.
I think if the Giants traded for Reyes that could push them over the edge and into the playoffs. They desperately need some offense and better defense at SS than Miggy. Those SF pitchers are going to lose it when they see how many groundballs get by Miggy and Panda.