MLB 2020 Preview

By Steve Risser

(PhotoCred www.Notitarte.com)

After Almost 4 Months of waiting the baseball season starts tonight. Due to the Covid 19 pandemic teams are forced to play a 60-game season which gives more teams then usual chance to compete for the World Series but with the moves the Yankees and Dodgers made in the offseason they both should still be the favorites to go the World Series.

In the AL East the Yankees are the favorite a big reason why is because they went and signed Gerrit Cole to a 9 year 324 Million Dollar deal bolster their rotation. If Judge, Stanton and Sanchez stay healthy the lineup should be one of the best in baseball the only issue right now is the bullpen with Chapman being out to start the year due to Covid 19 the rest of the bullpen is going to have step up. The Rays had a setback to start the year with their best hitter Austin Meadows testing positive for covid 19 which will hurt on offense that is already average at best. Their starting pitching should be really good as they have the best 3 sum in game outside of Nats with Snell, Glasnow and Morton and the Bullpen had the 2nd lowest ERA in baseball last year. The Sox had a rough offseason first they traded Mookie Betts and David Price to Dodgers and then lost Chris Sale for the season due to him having Tommy John Surgery. Even with the loss of Betts the Sox are still a good team offensively with Bogarts, Devers and Martinez but the rotation is a major issue Eduardo Rodriguez in the ace of the staff but he came down with covid 19 and won’t be able to start opening day and with an average bullpen the Sox have a very good chance to miss the playoffs again in 2020. There’s a lot of excitement with all the young talent with the Jays the problem is thou their rotation is not deep outside of Ryu and in the bullpen there’s not much behind closer Ken Giles. For the 3rd consecutive year the O’s will be one of the worst teams in baseball with a bad line up, rotation and bullpen.

The AL Central will be 3 horse race with the Twins, Indians and White Sox. The Twins are the favorite with a lineup that features 6 guys who had over 30 HR’s last year. The rotation is good not great Berrios is a high 2 but not an ace and bullpen has potential to be one of the best in the league adding Sergio Romo and Tyler CIippard. Jose Ramirez needs to have a better year with the Indians if he does they should be a playoff team because their rotation was solid last year and they got a good bullpen with closer Brand Hand. With a ton of young talent and Jose Abreu middle of the line up the White Sox are one of the leagues up and coming teams. The Rotation also improved signing Dallas Keuchel this offseason their biggest weakness is in the bullpen with not much behind Alex Colome. The Royals and Tigers are rebuilding and should be factors in 2020.

We All Know who the favorite in the AL West and that’s the Astros if Altuve, Springer and Correa stay healthy their lineup will be outstanding. The question is going to be with their starting pitching and bullpen without Gerrit Cole the rotation lacks depth and losing Will Harris their bullpen lacks depth as well. In Oakland the A’s have been knocking on the door finishing in 2nd the last 2 years their lineup is good but it can be great if the Kris Davis can have the year he had in 2018 not in 2019. The Rotation is good but the bullpen is one of the best in the game and will be a big reason why the A’s a good chance to get back to the playoffs for the 3rd straight year. The Angels made noise this offseason giving redon a huge deal with him and trout and Ohtani the Angles should have a really good line up but the starting. pitching and bullpen are a different story and are a big reason why the Angles probably won’t make the playoffs in 2020. In Texas the Rangers also made noise trading for Cory Kluber this offseason and with him Minor and Lynn the Rangers could have a good rotation. If Galo stays heathy the Rangers should have a good middle of the line up with him Odor and Santana but their bullpen is one of the worst in baseball and will be the biggest reason the Rangers won’t be contenders this year. One thing we all know is the Mariners will be rebuilding and won’t be contenders in 2020.

The Braves should win the AL East for the 3rd year in a row their offense should be one of the best in the league with Acuna, Freeman, Albee’s and Ozuna. Adding Cole Hamels should add depth to their rotation and their bullpen is solid as well. In Washington the Nats are going to have trouble defending their title with the loss of Rendon and Soto just positive with Coivd 19 those losses are going to make a major impact in their lineup. What’s going to keep them in contention is they have the best rotation in baseball with Scherzer, Strasburg and Corbin and their bullpen is improved with the addition of Harris. With the additions of Di Di and Wheeler the Phillies should be improved this year. For them to be playoff contenders they need Hoskins and Jean Segura to have better years then they did last year because the rotation is above average and the bullpen is average. Injuries to the Rotation can really hurt the Mets chances in 2020 they do have back to back CY Award winner Jacob Degrom but with Syndergaard out for the year and Stroman starting the year on the IL the depth the rotation is really in question. With Cespedes back the lineup has a chance to be good the biggest mystery of this team is the bullpen it is all going to come down to how Diaz and Familia pitch and if Betances can stay heathy. Lastly for the 3rd year in a row Marlins should be one of the worst teams in the league.

The NL Central should be the most competitive division in baseball right now the Cubs are the favorite because they have the best offence in the division by far with Bryant, Rizzo and Schwarber in that line up. Depth in the Rotation is an issue and the bullpen is a major question seeing the year Craig Kimbrell had last year. Ozuna is a big loss for the Cards line up and Goldschmidt is going to have to have a better year for the Cards to be contenders. The Rotation should be really good with Flaherty and Hudson but their bullpen will be worse with JD Martinez being back in the Rotation. One of the surprise teams in 2020 should be the Reds they added to line up getting Moustakas and Castellanos the rotation should continue to be good just like it was in 2019. What will keep Reds from being a playoff team it will be their bullpen which struggled in 2019. The Brewers lost a lot in the offseason Grandal, Moustakas and Davies and the lineup is reliant on Yelich the rotation is reliant on Woodruff and the bullpen is reliant on Hader all of this probably will lead to the Brewers missing the playoffs in 2020. Lastly unless Josh Bell has a huge year the Pirates won’t be contenders in 2020.

It’s pretty obvious that the Dodgers are the favorite in the NL West and they made a huge move this offseason trading for Mookie Betts and David Price. With. Betts the Dodgers should have one of the best line ups in baseball, what will keep this team from winning the world series is the depth of their rotation with Price sitting out the season and the depth or the bullpen. The Padres have a chance to have their best season in a while if Tatis can stay heathy they should have a good line up. Their Rotation improved with adding Zack Davies to go along with Chris Paddack and the Bullpen is solid with closer Kirby Yates. It was a Busy offseason for the D-Backs they signed Bumgarner to improve their rotation the issue is with Mike Leak sitting out the season there’s not much behind Bumgarner. The line should good with Escobar and Marte and the bullpen is average. We all know the Rockies can hit they have the 2nd best player in the game in Arenado the question is what will their starting pitching be like Gray had a decent year last year but the wild card which Freeland will show up the one in 2018 or the one in 2019 if the one from 2018 does they have a shot to contend for a playoff spot. The biggest reason the will not make the playoffs is their bullpen and that’s one of the worst in baseball. Lastly with the Giants losing Bumgarner and Posey choosing to sit out the year and with them already planning. to have a rebuilding year there’s a very small chance that they’ll be contending in 2020.

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