Major League Baseball: 5 BOLD Predictions

Mookie Betts: Remember this Name

As the MLB season is about a week in lets make five bold predictions. I did this for the NBA season and it was fun, so I wanted to do it for the MLB season. It will be fun to come back at the end of the season and see if any of these are true. Baseball is probably the hardest sport to predict, so here goes nothing.

1.  Jake Arrieta wins the National League Cy Young award. If you have never seen Arrieta pitch, you are definitely missing out. He has an elite repertoire and is still learning how to pitch. He is on the Chicago Cubs and will get to learn from Jon Lester this year. Clayton Kershaw has stumbled out of the gate, but I know he will get it going. Arrieta will show the entire league that he is one of the up and coming super stars. Clayton Kershaw and Matt Harvey will be the two who are also in contention.

2. The Kansas City Royals repeat as American League champions and win the World Series. It’s crazy that all of these “experts” are calling the Royals to finish fourth in the division. They are off to a fast start and the team is clicking. They are full of young players who have a great deal of potential. They lost James Shields so it will be interesting to see how they replace him. Yordano Ventura and Danny Duffy will have to step up and they are both capable of it. They still have one of if not the best bullpen in all of baseball so they can make the game very short.

3. Mookie Betts will be in the conversation for American League MVP. Yes. Yes. You may think I’m crazy and unless you follow baseball, you might not even know who Mookie Betts is. You’ll probably just think of him as someone with a cool name. You have “experts” comparing him to Andrew McCutchen and obviously, McCutchen is a phenomenal talent. Mookie Betts tore up the minors and now he is hitting leadoff for a potent Red Sox offense. He will be a reason the Red Sox are relevant this year. Mike Trout and Miguel Cabrera are in the American League so he won’t win it, but he will surprise many people on how good he actually is. Call me crazy, but this kid will be a phenom.

4. Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez both play 140+ games this season. It’s always about health for these two Colorado Rockies. These two are two of the elite hitters in Major League Baseball but are always hampered by injuries. If they can both stay healthy, the Rockies have one of the most dangerous lineups in baseball. It also helps they play in the most hitter friendly ballpark in Coors Field. If these two are healthy, the Rockies might be able to contend for the playoffs even though the Rockies pitching is very weak. I am boldly predicting these two will stay healthy and will mash for the Rockies.

5. The Phillies are NOT the worst team in baseball. Seriously, how low can the Phillies go. It seemed like just yesterday they won the World Series, but can you believe it’s been seven years since then? But yes, the Phillies are not a good baseball team. The farm system isn’t very good. Everyone is old. How long will Phillies fans have to wait before there’s a relevant baseball team in Philadelphia again? Is it bold that I’m making this prediction? It’s hard to find a team that has less talent than the Phillies but there will be one that has a worse record! I’m not trying to be a debbie downer I’m just trying to be realistic. 

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Alan Liang is a Drexel Sport Management major graduate with minors in Marketing, Business Administration, and Communication from West Windsor, NJ. Alan scores baseball games for Baseball Info Solutions and was on co-op with the Philadelphia 76ers in the camps department. Follow Alan on Twitter @AlanLiang29. 

World Series Ratings Down Again

The World Series this year featured great stories, the kinds that don't need media manufacturing and fluff. 

The Kansas City Royals find themselves in the World Series for the first time since 1985. Madison Bumgarner is now a cult hero. The series came down to Game 7 with a runner on third base, which apparently was only the third time ever. And the Giants themselves won their third World Series in five years.

Destiny or Dynasty?

The Oakland Athletics were three outs away from sending the Kansas City Royals home. Now the Royals are going into the World Series against the San Francisco Giants riding an eight game win streak. The Royals took down the Athletics, Angels and Orioles while the Giants took down the Pirates, Nationals and Cardinals. Destiny vs dynasty who takes the World Series? You can say the Giants are a dynasty as they have reached the World Series three of the past five years now winning two of the four before this one.  The Royals haven’t made the postseason since 1985 so is it their time? It sure seems that way. Going undefeated in the first eight games leading up to the World Series is something that has never been done. Will they win four more consecutively? It will be a tough task but I don’t put it past them.

MLB Postseason: Two Surprises?

The MLB postseason is right around and the corner and who would have thought with the moves the Detroit Tigers made at the deadline that the Kansas City Royals would be leading the American League Central with three weeks left in the season. Also before the season began, did anyone give the Seattle Mariners a chance to making the postseason? I sure didn’t. I laughed at Robinson Cano when he left the Yankees for the Mariners but I guess he knew what he was doing. The Mariners are in the second Wild Card spot as of today with the Tigers right behind them. I can guarantee you the first Wild Card team is scared to death if they have to face the Mariners in the lose and go home game. Felix Hernandez is the reason for that. Let’s take a look at the Royals and Mariners and their chances of making a run in the postseason.