2011 MLB Preview

I'm no Travis Bravender, but I'm going to give this a try: a quick preview of the 2011 Major League Baseball season that starts on Thursday. All of my predictions and opinions are based on and influenced by the following: my reading of the Athlon Sports 2011 MLB preview magazine, various conversations with Bravender and simply my interest in and passion for statistics.

I am a rookie at this, but, anyway, here we go!

AL East

1. Boston Red Sox

2. New York Yankees

3. Tampa Bay Rays

4. Toronto Blue Jays

5. Baltimore Orioles

With the downfall of the Yanks' pitching rotation, Boston's excellent offseason and Tampa Bay losing Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena and Matt Garza, things have shuffled up a bit in the AL East. Boston could potentially be the best team in baseball now and should easily win this division, while the Yankees should still get the Wild Card slot. Baltimore is on their way up, but the Blue Jays can't be as good as they have been the past couple of years, right?

AL Central

1. Minnesota Twins

2. Chicago White Sox

3. Detroit Tigers

4. Kansas City Royals

5. Cleveland Indians

It could be an incredibly tight race between Minnesota, Chicago and Detroit for the Central division, but it seems like the Twins have the best combination of hitting and pitching. I really do think that if either Chicago or Detroit hit a hot streak at some point, they could edge out Minnesota. All three teams could end up around the 90 win mark, with Detroit being the least likely to do so due to the youth on that squad. This will be a very interesting race to watch. There's no reason to even mention Kansas City or Cleveland, as they are terrible.

AL West

1. Texas Rangers

2. Los Angeles Angels

3. Oakland Athletics

4. Seattle Mariners

The Rangers shouldn't be as great as they were last year, but then again, they were doing just fine even before the Cliff Lee trade. Their hitting is spectacular. I wouldn't be surprised if both Los Angeles and Oakland kept up with Texas a bit closer than last year, but I don't really see them competing for a playoff spot or anything. Oakland's pitching rotation is definitely youthful and headed in the right direction while Los Angeles' is now anchored with some special veterans. Statistically speaking, I am not impressed with either teams' hitting skills. In spite of having probably the best pitcher in the AL at this point in 2010 Cy Young winner Felix Hernandez, they are still just about the worst team.

NL East

1. Philadelphia Phillies

2. Atlanta Braves

3. Florida Marlins

4. New York Mets

5. Washington Nationals

If all goes according to plan, the Phillies should be the best team in baseball now that they have the best pitching rotation in baseball since the 1990s Atlanta Braves. Speaking of the Braves, they look like they should continue their resurgence and make the playoffs, especially with the help of Dan Uggla (who has my favorite name in this particular sport). The Florida Marlins have some special talent in Hanley Ramirez and Josh Johnson, but shouldn't compete. The Mets are whatever, and who even cares about Washington now that we most likely won't see Strasburg again until 2012.

NL Central

1. Milwaukee Brewers

2. St. Louis Cardinals

3. Cincinnati Reds

4. Chicago Cubs

5. Houston Astros

6. Pittsburgh Pirates

I feel crazy saying this, but now that Adam Wainwright is out for the season, I think the Milwaukee Brewers have the greatest chance to win this division. The Cardinals' pitching rotation will definitely hurt without their ace (Wainwright), and they only have the second or maybe even third best hitting in the division after Milwaukee (and maybe Cincinnati). I don't see the Reds following up last year the way they wish they would, but they definitely have a bright future with Joey Votto and I guess Jay Bruce (says Bravender). The Cubs should be much better as they had a pretty good offseason. The Astros should be a little better, but still bad, and the Pirates should once again be the worst team in the MLB. So, the Brew Crew it is. They have a good stock of great hitters, all who can do it with power, too. And, their pitching got a huge facelift with the additions of former 2009 Cy Young winner Zack Greinke and Shawn Marcum.

NL West

1. San Francisco Giants

2. Colorado Rockies

3. Los Angeles Dodgers

4. San Diego Padres

5. Arizona Diamondbacks

I think the San Francisco were kind of just lucky last year. Yeah, their pitching rotation is damn fine, but their hitting is mediocre at best. But who else can win the West? I want Colorado to, but it's hard to imagine them doing anything but coming just short of a Wild Card spot, even when they have two of the youngest, most talented hitters in the entire league in Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki, and not to mention Ubaldo Jimenez throwing the heat. The Dodgers should be okay, there's no way the Padres should even come close to what they did last year, especially with the departure of Adrian Gonzalez to Boston, and the Diamondbacks don't really have anything going for them at all.

ALDS

Boston over Texas

New York over Minnesota

NLDS

Philadelphia over San Francisco

Milwaukee over Atlanta

ALCS

Boston over New York

NLCS

Philadelphia over Milwaukee

World Series

Philadelphia over Boston

AL MVP - Adrian Gonzalez, Boston

AL Cy Young - Jon Lester, Boston

AL Rookie of the Year - Mike Moustakas, Kansas City

NL MVP - Ryan Braun, Milwaukee

NL Cy Young - Roy Halladay, Philadelphia

NL Rookie of the Year - Freddie Freeman, Atlanta