2013 Baseball Predictions

Tomorrow, the 2013 Major League Baseball season begins.  Of course, those of us who followed the World Baseball Classic have already seen some excellent, high-pressure games this month.  It will be hard to top the excitement of the 2012 season.  Highlights included Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers winning the Triple Crown, breakout seasons by Mike Trout and Bryce Harper, and the surprising success of the Orioles and Athletics (even the Pirates were in the race most of the year!)

One of the biggest changes for this year is that the Houston Astros have moved to the American League, giving each league 15 teams, and therefore interleague play throughout the season.  2012 was a great year for baseball.  Will 2013 be even better?  Time will tell.  Now it's time for my projections for this season.

American League
East: Rays, Blue Jays, Yankees, Orioles, Red Sox
Central: Tigers, Royals, White Sox, Twins, Indians
West: Angels, Rangers, Athletics, Mariners, Astros

National League
East: Nationals, Braves, Phillies, Mets, Marlins
Central: Reds, Pirates, Cardinals, Brewers, Cubs
West: Dodgers, Giants, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Padres

Postseason
Wild Card Games:
AL: Blue Jays beat Rangers
NL: Giants beat Pirates
Division Series:
AL: Rays beat Angels, 3-1
Tigers beat Blue Jays, 3-2
NL: Nationals over Giants, 3-0
Reds beat Dodgers, 3-2
League Championship Series:
AL: Rays beat Tigers, 4-2
NL: Nationals beat Reds, 4-3
World Series:
Nationals beat Rays, 4-2

Awards
MVP
AL: Mike Trout, Angels
NL: Joey Votto, Reds
Cy Young
AL: Justin Verlander, Tigers
NL: Stephen Strasburg, Nationals

Enjoy the season.  Play ball!