Bold Predictions - 2019 edition

[Former Twins GM (Robin)]

2019 is upon us.

Let's have some bold predictions for the upcoming season. Please post a few bold predictions about your team, your players (including prospects), or outcomes here at PB's. Really anything is fair game and Rockies get special dispensation to use graphs and data science to back up his picks. I for one would like to see graphs. (not kidding.) Props to Amy for coming up with this great idea.

Hollar and I will discus these on a podcast and revisit them next off-season, so make them fun and controversial, please.

Thanks!

Rob (sometimes Manfred)

[Giants GM (Griffin)]

Baltimore Orioles under perform and struggle to win 5 games...it's going to happen

[Braves GM (Dustin)]

All of my prospects sign lucrative extensions putting me $10,000,000 over cap space forcing me to trade or drop actual useful MLB players just to protect my farm.

[Rockies GM (Dan)]

I've posted graphs elsewhere for this prediction, and since I'm on my phone now, I'll forgo them for the time being.

With all due respect to Mike, who has built a formidable Angels team - the Seattle Mariners will be your 2019 AL West Champions. My latest simulations puts them behind both the A's and Angels, with ~19%. But the core of this Mariners team are either prospects or second year players. Projections tend to play it safe with these types without long track records. If the Mariners can avoid sophomore slumps, they need just a few guys to outperform modest projections and they could be scary.

Extra crazy, bonus - Juan Soto establishes himself firmly as the face of his prospect wave, Luis Urias outperforms expectations and Forrest Whitley makes a big second half run, and the Mariners ride it all to a WS berth, dethroning the Blue Jays.

One more, not so bold: This is the year the Giants take over the NL West

[Former Orioles GM (Charles)]

Mar 21, 2019 6:19:10 GMT -8 Giants GM (Griffin) said:

Baltimore Orioles under perform and struggle to win 5 games...it's going to happen

Baltimore is in a transition year, it could be argued that struggling to win 5 games will be a positive in the long run. On another note all further trade discussions between Baltimore and SF have been halted

[Former Angels GM (Mike C.)]

My team predictions -Ryan McMahon and Luke Weaver - beat their projections of 5 hr 24hr and 2 wins  4 wins - Nelson Cruz gets traded to the RL Yankees at trade deadline, Kimbrel thinks he is so special that he sits out the season showing baseball who's boss and thinks baseball will miss him. Will lock up 3rd AL WC title actually won division, and then gets knocked out by the Rays. knocked the Rays out

Giants/Rays WS, or could be the Twins/Pirates who knows other than the Rockies.  Reds/Angels ?

Dodgers will have 2 of his 15 OF move to 1B, just like he planned and do some unexpected damage in his division. Made monster trades to do some damage next season.

Yankees - Madbum - actually gets to double digit wins for the 1st time in 3 seasons, at a whopping 10, to match the last 2 seasons combined, CLOSE ONLY GOT 9,  gets injuried and TMZ catches him playing golf with Cain and Lincecum. still open

Blue Jays - trades for Trout, Ramirez/Seager become Rockies. What cap?   so far off 

Pirates - Chad Pinder will be his MVP w/30 hr  ONLY 13, a former Angels draft pick, well since teams don't care about batting average at all anymore. And because Nolan will have a down year by not winning another GG (they count, right)

Padres - blew up on a certain type of name but drafts O'Hearn, sees O'day is now available. Carlos Carasco hits the DL after 2 starts, she takes up MMA training classes for the rest of the season. break out player - Flores, 30 hr finished strong but IL

Mets - Omar Navarez, break out, .270, 15hr, GOT ONE .282, 19hr Top 5 c for next few years or like Lucroy a year. Gets new picture for Fantrax/BaseballReference with a hat that fits this time. GOT ANOTHER ONE, nice pic

Royals - Will finally get tired of having a fantasy team inside a fantasy league and actually lets his prospects play MLB baseball. Break out player - any who get to play in the majors til 3/5, literally, anyone.  Bieber, next will be Lux, Graterol, Puk

Rockies - Mike Trout wins MVP as projected in a Rockies algorithm. Nailed it. Chris Ownings places 4th in same projections, the whiff..Rockies readjust algorithm. sorta got it

Phillies - will drink beer all season watching Nola and what could have been. He will remove his FatHead of Nola off his wall by july 4th and attach it to a firework. Maybe not

Nats - Lindor, Beniwhatever, Gallo, Syndergaard all sign extentions before opening day send the nats scrambling. FAIL

Twins - Buxton, errr Rosario, blows up this year, hits 40 hr with Cruz behind him. Rob wonders why former Col hitters aren't getting the numbers his algorithm projects, outside of Col. Replaces his commodore 64 with the 64c.

Rangers - trade Price, to, of course, Toronto, who else other than the Cardinals. FAIL - traded to Reds

With the Red Sox and Cardinals active, and DBacks, Dodgers, Marlins, Yanks, Bal getting seasoning. Projections will be busted more often with a simple trade or FA pick up. - nailed it.

[Diamondbacks GM (Ethan)]

Diamondbacks surprise everyone with a Wild Card run on the Cy Young-esque performance of Stephen Strasburg, who is feeling the pressure of leading a Harper-less Nationals team.

[Rays GM (Donavan)]

White Sox retains at least 1 prospect on his 50-man roster beyond July 2019.

Joe Jimenez becomes the closer for Detroit after the All-Star break, and leads the league for best ERA for a pitcher pitching more than 30 innings.

[Royals GM (Mac - Retired)]

Alex reyes makes it to 8 innings pitched before he has to go for another TJ surgery. It will have doubled his 2018 IP totals

[Mariners GM (Nick J)]

Hey Dan, can you stop saying good things about my team? They keep getting hurt.

[Royals GM (Mac - Retired)]

Mar 22, 2019 15:38:24 GMT -8 Mariners GM (Nick J) said:

Hey Dan, can you stop saying good things about my team? They keep getting hurt.

Nick you are gonna have to take those compliments, whether you like them or not. I have been telling you that you are building a great team. Suffer with those compliments 😉

[Former Angels GM (Mike C.)]

Forgot my division teams -

Seattle - King Felix goes off after not getting opening day nod, gets caught with PEDs after starting the All Star Game.  fail.  Break out - Tellez, 25 hr, .210 ave, just because of karma. 21 and .227 pretty close

Oakland - Greg Holland leads NL in Saves. BOMBED Oakland has most HR's with players sitting on the bench. Break out - Jacob Junis - Royals all star selection, because 1 has to go. - whit did, bombed again.

Houston - 0.03% division chance, he laughs, then he trades for a C and a few SPs. Wins division, knocks out Blue Jays in playoffs. Break out - Bauer with 30hr, feel good story Carter Capps pitches again.
Nothing right.

Rangers - Breaks PB record for largest contract buyout (yes, nailed it), tries to break it next off season. Break out - Tapia 30 sbs with RL 2019 WS Champ Rockies. Cavin Biggio becomes a top 10 prospect in baseball. Would have easily but call up instead. Hunter Green becomes Mormon a Tommy John survivor, takes his 2 yr sabbatical. 1/2 RIGHT

[White Sox GM (Aidan)]

Mar 23, 2019 14:23:31 GMT -8 Former Angels GM (Mike C.) said:

Forgot my division teams -

Seattle - King Felix goes off after not getting opening day nod, gets caught with PEDs after starting the All Star Game. Break out - Tellez, 25 hr, .210 ave, just because of karma.

I'd bet on Felix retiring at all-star break before Felix making another all-star team :/

[Former Twins GM (Robin)]

Vlad Guerroro Jr. Stat line.

.330 / .430. / .995 26HR 110RBI

ROY

3rd in MVP voting.

[Former Angels GM (Mike C.)]

Mar 24, 2019 6:47:48 GMT -8 White Sox GM (Aidan) said:

Mar 23, 2019 14:23:31 GMT -8 Former Angels GM (Mike C.) said:

Forgot my division teams -

Seattle - King Felix goes off after not getting opening day nod, gets caught with PEDs after starting the All Star Game. Break out - Tellez, 25 hr, .210 ave, just because of karma.

I'd bet on Felix retiring at all-star break before Felix making another all-star team :/

Your most likely dead on, my prediction was bold (which also means usually wrong).

[Royals GM (Mac - Retired)]

Mar 24, 2019 9:17:59 GMT -8 Former Twins GM (Robin) said:

Vlad Guerroro Jr. Stat line.

.330 / .430. / .995 26HR 110RBI

ROY

3rd in MVP voting.

I hope so. I have Vlad and Eloy Jimenez in my big money league. That would be great