This week we’re ranking the teams,
as we’ve already looked from 30-26 and from 25-21. Who runs the middle of the
pack?
20. San Diego Padres
2013 Season: 76-86
The Padres are a really interesting
ballclub that might be closer to reaching the playoffs than they have been over
the past five years. It starts with a young pitching staff, led by
up-and-coming Andrew Cashner, who has a team 3.98 ERA last year. Their hitting
can do a bit more work, batting just .245/.308/.378 as a team, but rookie Jedd
Gyorko had a great first half of the season to put him in contention for Rookie
of the Year. They had some bullpen struggles, but might have found their answer
now by grabbing Joaquim Benoit from free agency.
Best Player: I’m going to say Cashner. He will be entering his age
27 season (so his prime season), and had a wonderful turnaround from 2012. Last
season, Cashner went 10-9 with a 3.09 ERA, recording 175 innings and striking
out 128. He also held right handed batters to a .218 average, and added 10 win
shares to the team. In 2014, I can see his ERA staying the same while adding
more wins to his resume.
Who needs to step up: Chase Headley. We saw his numbers go down a
lot, batting just .250/.347/.400 after batting .286/.376/.498 with 31 home runs
and 115 RBI’s in 2012. He’ll be 30
in 2014, so this is a year to really show that he still has plenty of power to
work with. The Padres surely need it.
With the Dodgers in the division,
it’ll be tough to win. But the rest of the division, as we saw last year,
really are fighting to maybe sneak into a wild card spot. I think it will take
one more year for the organization to work together, but they won’t disappoint
fans. From what they have, they are playing pretty well. I think they’ll have a
good first half of the season, but will soon be out of the race.
2014 Prediction: 78-84
19. San Francisco Giants
2013 Record: 76-86
The Giants took an unlikely turn in
2013 after winning it all in 2010 and 2012, but they still have Madison
Bumgarner, Buster Posey, and Sergio Romo to win games. However, the team still
put up just a .701 OPS (On-Base + Slugging), and were tied in 20th
in the MLB with a team ERA of 4.00. Their starting pitching, ranked 24th
according to Bill James, had a 4.37 ERA. Also, ever since Posey and Bumgarner
left the farm system, this team has had one of the worst farm systems in
baseball.
Best Player: Buster Posey. Arguably the best catcher in baseball
right now, Posey’s numbers went down from his MVP season in 2012, despite
playing in the same amount of games. He batted .294/.371/.450, all drops from
his .336/.408/.549 in 2012. However, entering his age 27 season, he still is a
deadly player both behind the plate and at the bat.
Who needs to step up: Buster Posey. When Posey bats over .300 in
the regular season and slugs over .500, the Giants have won the World Series.
Of course, correlation does not prove causation, as you still need pitching to
win too, which the Giants have slowly begun to lack. Plus, in 2011, Posey broke
his leg and played only 45 games.
He is the captain of this team now,
and I can see a bounce back year. Based on my stats and calculations, I have
him batting .315/.390/.500 with 20 home runs and 95 RBI’s.
Color the Giants a dark horse,
because they could bounce back once again, or fall. Their pitching staff isn’t
what it usually is, unless Ryan Vogelsong and Barry Zito can make comebacks.
Most of the team is old anyways, and without a strong farm system, watch them
dive into the free agency over the next few years.
2014 Prediction: 80-82
18. LA Angels
2013 Record: 78-84
Ah, the Angels. Possibly one of the
most talented teams in baseball, yet they can’t get anything done. Injuries and
a terrible pitching rotation (since Jered Weaver was hurt for 2013) marked an
underwhelming season. That being said, the Angels still had one of the best
offenses in the game, ranking 5th in batting average and OBP (.264
and .329, respectively), and 6th in slugging (.414).
Best Player: Of course, it’s the one player that they actually
drafted and not signed in the free agency, Mike Trout. Trout has already put up
historic numbers, and he’s not stopping. The only question on his performance
is whether the Angels can resign him come 2015.
Who needs to step up: You could put Albert Pujols or Jered Weaver
on the list, and they both have to step up after being injured. But both did
have very good 2012 seasons (for Pujols, it was one of his worst seasons still,
but he still hit 30 homers and had a 5.0 WAR. Because of a bad start, he got
more crap than he deserved). Josh Hamilton, however, had a very mediocre
season, and at age 33, he might not be able to perform at all anymore,
especially for $17 million a year. After batting .250/.307/.432 in 2013, he
needs to step up his game if the Angels want to be just .500.
The Angels have one of the worst
farm systems, being the only team to not have any prospect on the Top 100
prospect list. They have plenty of veterans and superstar Trout, but they’re
going to be a disappointment yet again. Especially with the division being as
tough as it is, I don’t see this team outdueling the Athletics and Rangers. Say
what you want, media, I’m not buying them.
2014 Prediction: 81-81
17. Seattle Mariners
2013 Record: 71-91
The whole signing of Robinson Cano
has jumped the gun for this team, as they’ve added one of the best players in
the game into the division. Don’t forget that they also have great pitching
with King Felix and Hisashi Iwakuma, and also have top prospect Taijuan Walker
coming in this year. 
Best Player: It’s Cano, but since he wasn’t on the team last year,
I’ll say Felix Hernandez. Though Iwakuma had a better year, Hernandez has more
experience in the big leagues, and Iwakuma also might start off the season on
the DL. Ever since his magical 2010 Cy Young season, King Felix has put up over
3.00 ERA’s. He also barely gets his record above .500. But with a new offense,
that might change. His ERA might stay at the same, at best go at 2.90, but I
can see him winning 15+ games.
Who needs to step up: Cano, of course. He’s entering a team that
was horrible offensively (but great defensively!), so adding him to the team
adds a good amount of power and contact.
I still would like to see the
Mariners to sign Nelson Cruz, and only then will I see them have a dynamic
offense. Even with Cano, the offense will struggle, not as much as previous
years of course, but not enough to compete with Oakland and Texas.
2014 Prediction: 82-80
16. Arizona Diamondbacks
2013 Record: 81-81
Things are starting to add up for
this team. After going .500 for two years in a row, I think more players have
matured and new acquisitions can make them a sleeper pick for the wild card.
Adding Mark Trumbo was a fantastic move, though they did have to give up some
good young players in order to get him.
Best Player: Paul Goldschmidt. He is my pick for the 2014 NL MVP.
After being the runner up in 2013, the 26-year old might just be the leader in
home runs and RBI’s once again in the National League. I also love the fact
that he averages about 15 steals per projected year. The Gold Glove winner last
season as well, he is an amazing defender, a clutch player, and the best hitter
for power in the National League. I can see him maintaining a .302/.401/.551 slash line like he did last
season, only I think that they’ll be higher this year. Expect 40 home runs from
him and 35 from Trumbo, making this team have one of the best 3-4 combos in the
NL.
Who needs to step up: Patrick Corbin started off 2013 with a 9-1 record
and a sub-2 ERA. After the all-star break, he declined, finishing at 14-8 with
a 3.41 ERA. Still great, but he was having a Cy Young season before. At only
24, Corbin might be one of the most undervalued players in the league. He could
win 20 games this season, but he’s going to have to play consistently.
It’s all a matter of time before
top prospect Archie Bradley comes in and makes an outstanding duo with Corbin.
They have young players that are the future of this team. It looks bright for
them come this year and years to come.
Projected 2014 Record: 85-77
Email me at statsbuddy42@gmail.com for any
questions/comments/concerns.
-Evan Boyd
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