Well Taylor is in the process of giving you his baseball preview; I’m
just making one major prediction this season.
Joey Votto is going to be the MVP of the NL and has a chance to put up
the best offensive season since Barry Bonds.
First of all, outside of Mike Trout’s overall Messiah like
characteristics and Brandon McCarthy’s awesome hilarity, Joey Votto’s
intelligent approach to the plate might make him my favorite player in all of
baseball. This stat might tell you why, since
2009 there have been more perfect games than times Joey Votto has hit an
infield popup. Ok so you this gives you
an idea of Joey Votto’s awesomeness.
Joey Votto is basically a hitting savant; he is almost unquestionably the
best hitter in baseball. He has had a
wOBA of .424 the highest in baseball
since the 2009 season. He is an on base
machine who has had a OBP of .429 since 2009, first in baseball in that period,
and a remarkable .474 last season. Some
might see that number as an aberration that can’t be repeated, but personally I
disagree. After putting together a
remarkable first half of the season that saw him as the favorite for NL MVP, an
injury derailed that. He returned from
injury where he had clearly lost his power and was a limited player. He totally reinvented himself though and despite
not hitting a homerun, in September/Ocotober of last season where he had an OBP
of .505 and a BB% of 26.7 contributing to a wOBA of .408 a remarkable figure
for a player who didn’t hit a homerun. If
he is healthy this season, and is able to keep up only a semblance of that Barry
Bonds like BB% then a historic season could be upcoming. Also he is above average first basemen
defensively which should help his case for MVP.
Votto is a special player who studies the game maybe unlike anyone else
in baseball. If he can buck some
historic trends, then a season of .300/.450/.600 is a possibility, a season that
would practically guarantee an MVP.
Also here are the rest of my
predictions for this season with some quick thoughts:
AL East:
Tampa Bay Rays
·
Most well organized team in the division, an
elite pitching staff and the late season call up of Will Myers should put this
team over the top
AL Central:
Detroit Tigers
·
Won the division last season fairly easily, and should
be able to win easily in a poor division
AL West:
Oakland A’s
·
People expect regression but some good offseason
moves, a strong pitching staff and a underrated lineup should help lead them to
another division title
AL Wild
Cards: LA Angels/Toronto Blue Jays
·
Went back and forth between the Blue Jays and
Rangers here but decided to go with the Blue Jays because of some injuries
concerns with the Rangers, and the Angel’s have Mike Trout!!!! Also they should
be about as good this season as last season and the AL got weaker as a whole
AL MVP: Mike
Trout
·
He is likely the Messiah, next question
AL Cy Young:
Felix Hernandez
·
I see a tight race between him and Verlander,
but Hernandez will likely pull it out if nothing if not voter fatigue
NL East: Washington
Nationals
·
This team was loaded last season and added
Rafael Soriano and will be getting full seasons out of Strasburg and Bryce
Harper
NL Central: Cincinnati
Reds
·
Not only do the Reds have Votto they bring back
last season’s very good pitching staff and have a pretty good lineup, they’ll
win
NL West: San
Francisco Giants
·
The Dodgers are overrated and the Giants bring
back almost their entire team from last season which should be able to win
another division title
NL Wild
Cards: St. Louis Cardinals/Arizona Diamondbacks
·
Cardinals will win a Wild Card spot for their 3rd
straight season along with the Diamonbacks who while making some bad long term
decisions, their offseason along with positive regression after some bad luck
last season should land them a wild card berth.
The Braves losses probably offset their gains as they try to claim a
wild card spot and the Dodgers just aren’t as good as their payroll suggests
NL MVP: Joey
Votto
·
See above
NL Cy Young:
Stephen Strasburg
·
Everything we’ve seen from him so far suggests there
is no reason he shouldn’t be the best pitcher in baseball this season.
Stay Hungry
My Friends
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