It’s the Final Countdown! Check out the five best teams in
baseball for the 2014 season.
5. Oakland Athletics
2013 Record: 96-66
The Athletics have always been undervalued, despite winning
the division two years straight. Can they win the division again, despite
having Robinson Cano and at least three other teams to compete? I think so.
Best Player: You won’t find an “all ever” player
worth millions on the Athletics. However, Josh Donaldson, who is only getting
paid $500K, had a better WAR than Miguel Cabrera (8.0 over 7.2), finished with
a .301/.384/.499, and is one of the best defensive players in the game! He’ll
be 28 this season, so numbers might go down, but I can see him putting up the
same number of home runs (24 in 2013) and RBI’s (93).
Who needs to step up: Two guys: Yoenis Cespedes and Scott
Kazmir. Cespedes had quite a down year from his rookie season, dropping his
batting average by 50 points. He still hit more home runs, however, so as long
as he can have better plate discipline, he can go back to being a .290 hitter.
Bartolo Colon had two big years with the Athletics, and now
that he’s off to New York with the Mets, Oakland hopes that their new
acquisition in Kazmir can replace him. With a very pitcher friendly ballpark,
and a pitcher that has been known for giving up home runs, watch Kazmir be a
surprise in the two spot for them.
There are no “stars” on this team, but that doesn’t matter. Even
with a better Mariners team, some new additions on the Rangers, and a dangerous
Angels team, I have the A’s winning the division once again.
Projected 2014 Record:
94-68
4. Detroit Tigers
2013 Record: 93-69
You can argue that this team has the best raw talent, and
were the best team in 2013, and I would not disagree. The Tigers had a chance
to take a 2-0 lead against Boston in the ALCS, as Max Scherzer was retiring 23
straight, then suddenly Big Papi hits a grand slam to change the entire course
of the series.
With the MVP in Miguel Cabrera, the Cy Young in Max Scherzer,
and the former Cy Young in Justin Verlander, they have dangerous talent that
has enough hitting and pitching to compete for the title. My one problem with
them is their potential for injuries, and their age. Most of their players are
in their 30’s (around 32-33 ish), so they need to win now before it’s too late.
Best Player: Cabrera. Two years in a row he’s been
the MVP, even with plenty of competition with Mike Trout. With Fielder gone, he
can move back to first base, meaning he can focus more on hitting, won’t be
such an awful defender anymore, and he’ll be less prone to injuries (a problem
he faced late in last season). If he was healthy in the playoffs, they might
have won it all. And if he stays healthy this year, we might see the first
three-peat MVP since Barry Bonds.
Who needs to step up: The bullpen was the biggest problem
last season, and you can argue that they were the reason why they came up short
to a title. Joe Nathan is the new closer, and after having an amazing 2013
season, he might be the solution like Koji Uehara was to Boston.
Detroit has added lots of talent, while losing some too.
There’s no more Prince Fielder and Jhonny Peralta, but now there’s Ian Kinsler
and Joe Nathan. Plus, they have a new prospect in Nick Castellanos that might
be the solution to either third base or left field.
This team has an ok farm system, so if they don’t win in the
next few years, it’s not the end of the world, it just means no more Miguel
Cabrera. It’ll be interesting to watch this team and how the new skipper Brad Ausmus
will do. They are in a pretty easy division (unless Kansas City really step it up), so I have them
winning the division again.
2014 Projected Record:
94-68
3. Los Angeles Dodgers
2013 Record: 92-70
In July and August, the Dodgers were the scariest team to
face, having the best records in those months, and one of the best stretches of
all time. With boatloads of money and numerous amounts of talent, they might
win the pennant, so long as they stay healthy. With the emergence of Yasiel
Puig, they have become a team that nobody wants to play.
Best Player: Clayton Kershaw is the next Sandy
Koufax. At only 26, he’s won three ERA titles, led the league in strikeouts
twice, WHIP three times, ERA+ two years in a row, and has two Cy Young Awards.
His movement on his 12-curve and slider are unbelievable, and finished with an
ERA under 2, the first to do it since Roger Clemens did it in 2005. If they do
offer him $30 million a year, I would not be mad.
Who needs to step up: Puig needs to show that he is one of
the most elite players in the game without being so cocky about it, Matt Kemp,
Carl Crawfod, and Josh Beckett need to be healthy, and Dan Haren and Paul
Maholm need to fill the four and five spots of the rotation. If all this
happens, the Dodgers have the pennant.
Here is the projected lineup for the 2014 season for the
Dodgers:
1.
Yasiel
Puig
2.
Carl
Crawford (pending injury)
3.
Hanley
Ramirez
4.
Adrian
Gonzalez
5.
Matt
Kemp (pending injury)
6.
Juan
Uribe
7.
A.J.
Ellis
8.
Dee
Gordon
Plus it’ll be Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Haren, and
Maholm as their five in the rotation. That’s scary. If they play like they did
in July and August, they’ll win over 100 games.
Projected 2014 Record
96-66
2. Boston Red Sox
2013 Record: 97-65
The defending champions are at number two. Everything came
together for this team at the right time. They started great in April, played
some .500 ball, but were in first place for 158 days last season. They
dominated one of the toughest divisions in baseball, a division where all teams
were over .500 at the start of July.
Best Player: I’ll say David Ortiz, just because of
his absurd performance in the postseason last season. It might be the last year
for Big Papi, yet he can still hit .300 and hit 20-30 home runs. Plus, his OPS
will be one of the best in 2014, as he can put up a .380 OBP and a .550
Slugging percentage.
Who needs to step up: As much as I loved watching him last
season, can Koji Uehara put up the same numbers as he did in 2013, as he’s now
the official closer the entire season? My guess says yes, but I don’t think he
can post a 1.50 ERA again (maybe 2 ERA?). He’s 39 years old, yet has one of the
best, if not the best, splitters in the game. So long as he stays healthy and
can go 70 innings like last year, he might be one of the best closers in the
game.
Adding guys like A.J. Pierzynski and maybe having Grady
Sizemore start the year will be interesting. Don’t forget they have some great
prospects like Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley Jr. for this season. Bogaerts
is my pick for Rookie of the Year.
Projected 2014 Record:
96-66
1. St. Louis Cardinals
2013 Record: 97-65
The St. Louis Cardinals, the NL Champs last season and World
Series Champs in 2011, are my number one team. It doesn’t mean that they will
automatically win the World Series now, but they have the best probability to
do so, in my opinion.
With returning players like Matt Carpenter, Matt Holliday,
Allen Craig, and Yadier Molina, they maintain an already dynamic offense. Plus
they added Jhonny Peralta and Peter Bourjos in the offseason, so they might
just have the best offense in the NL.
And how can we not mention their pitching? Adam Wainwright
leads the helm again, and he’s accompanied with Lance Lynn, Shelby Miller, and
the young and ever-so-talented Michael Wacha. Wacha and Trevor Rosenthal have
proved to be two scary pitchers to face towards the end of last season.
Best Player: Wainwright is the best pitcher, but
Molina is the best overall. Molina adds so much offensively and defensively,
that he’s the main reason why these pitchers can suddenly play so well so that
they hit their potential. Add that, and his ability to hit over .300 while
rarely striking out, and you have one of the best catchers, if not the best
catcher, in the game.
Who needs to step up: Some players need to stay healthy,
like Jason Motte, Allen Craig, and Jaime Garcia. Obviously they need to get
healthy again. But Michael Wacha came out of nowhere and was the best pitcher
in the fall, and in order for them to make a run to the World Series again,
they need a guy like Wacha to step up and deliver 6 or 7 shutout innings.
The St. Louis organization has been its best in years, and
they have great talent that will keep them talented for years to come. Watch
prospects like Kolten Wong and Oscar Taveras make big impacts in the big
leagues this year.
Projected 2014 Record:
98-64
That’s it with ranking my teams, and you can check out all of
them at the menu on the right. Stay tuned as I will be giving tips and tricks
for Fantasy Baseball for 2014. Email me at statsbuddy42@gmail.com for any
questions/comments/concerns.
-Evan Boyd
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