This year will be without a doubt one of the most exciting yet. The offseason was a busy one, every division got more competitive take for example, the AL East. Each year every baseball fan starts their predictions, some are bold and some are modest. The time has come here at LWOS to envision the 2015 MLB season. Here are my bold predictions; They may sound nonsensical right now, but when they come true (which they will), remember my name.
Bold Predictions For The 2015 MLB Season – Alex Levy Edition
Bold Prediction No. 1: The San Fransisco Giants won’t reach playoffs.
The Giants find themselves in big trouble. The Padres had one of the most active offseasons in their history, acquiring a dynamic and powerful outfield (Upton, Myers and Kemp) and stabilizing their lineup with players like Will Middlebrooks and Derek Norris. Their rotation got a whole lot stronger with the acquisition of James Shields. Petco Park is well known for being a pitcher-friendly ballpark as last year it ranked 24th in Home Runs with 0.808 HR rate which favors the pitcher, so look for their rotation to be elite this year with Tyson Ross and Andrew Cashner. The Dodgers also pose real threat having Kershaw, Gonzalez and Puig among others. The Giants will not compete against these teams and they will end 3rd in their division with an 81-81 record. Bumgarner will be as monstrous as last year but it won’t be enough.
Bold Prediction No. 2: Matt Harvey wins the NL Cy Young.
Matt Harvey, not Clayton Kershaw.
This Spring Training proved what Harvey is capable of: 1.19 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and 21 SO. These numbers are even better than 2013’s Spring (2.96 ERA, 1.13 WHIP) – Which is also before he had Tommy John Surgery -. He looks sharp and confident as his fastball has reached 99 MPH. After 17 months of rehab, Harvey looks better than ever. He will start the season when the Mets face the Nationals on April 9th.
Bold Prediction No. 3: Alex Rodriguez will win AL Comeback Player of the Year
Alex Rodriguez didn’t play last year as he was suspended for violating league’s Performance Enhancing Drug’s policy. But I believe that this year will be a great one for A-Rod as he demonstrated his abilities during Spring Training. He crushed 3 Home Runs and batted for a .286 AVG. One thing that may favored him was the Quality of Opposing Pitchers Faced which was of 8.1- per Baseball Reference – which means that he faced AAA quality pitchers. A-Rod also displayed the capability of getting on base, as he had a substantial .924 OPS. Most say that Spring Training means nothing, but I believe that for at least A-Rod, it really represented something. He will also reach 3000 hits this year, probably in June.
Bold Prediction No. 4: Miami Marlins Reach Playoffs
Miami had a very busy offseason, locking Stanton and Yelich for the foreseeable future and building a team around them. Dee Gordon, Martin Prado, Michael Morse and Mat Latos are now part of the organization as they instantly make the Marlins playoff contenders. I see them taking the first wildcard spot of the NL. The Marlins have a well-balanced lineup, as they have run producers and players that get on base frequently (Yelich, Gordon), they have Power Hitters (Stanton, Morse and Ozuna), and Martin Prado and switch hitter Jarod Saltalamacchia who bring stability to the lineup.
Bold Prediction No. 5: Marcus Semien will be the best shortstop in the AL
Displaying quality at-bats this spring, I think that Semien will have 15 HRs this year and will swipe 20 bags. Even though the Quality of Opposing Pitchers he Faced was of 8.5, he showed patience just as Billy Beane expected when he traded for him. He had 9 Base on Balls followed by a .400 OBP and .300 AVG. We have yet to see him play in the Majors, since he has only played 85 games in two years. Right now, he’s owned in 12% of fantasy leagues (Yahoo Sports) but he’ll finish the year with an ownership of 70% or more.
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