Pinstripe Alley's 2013 MLB predictions

We are officially four days away from Opening Night, and it's about damn time. As is often the case, it was fun to watch some Spring Training games when they started up just to see the game again, but the luster quickly wore off (and for others like Keith, it was never there in the first place). On Sunday, the 2013 MLB season will kick off with the Astros likely getting obliterated by the Rangers in their American League debut, although crazier things have happened than Opening Day upsets. The next day, the Yankees bring their puzzling lineup reminiscent of "Major League" to the Bronx, where they will take on the Red Sox. Even with all the uncertainty surrounding the team, I'm just excited to just have real baseball again.

As the site has done in years past, we are posting predictions for the upcoming season. We will be splitting it into two posts--one for general baseball predictions, and one for Yankees-specific predictions. Tanya came up with the Yankee prediction questions, and she will posting them with their responses tomorrow (here they are). The questions below were suggested and posted by me (Andrew). Without further ado, here are the questions. I highly encourage you all to come up with similar predictions and comment below, even if it's just for potential bragging rights at the end of the season!

2013 MLB prediction questions

1. How will the standings in each division look at the end of the season? (no win/loss records necessary)
2. What will be the World Series matchup and who will be the winner?
3. Who will be the AL and NL MVPs, Cy Young Award winners, and Rookies of the Year, respectively?
4. Who will be the AL and NL batting champions, home run leaders, and WAR leaders, respectively?
5. Who will be the biggest surprise of the season? (can either be a whole team or one player)
6. Who will be the biggest disappointment of the season? (can either be a whole team or one player)
7. Who hits the longest dinger?
8. How many games will the Astros lose?

(Feel free to come up with more questions for yourself if you'd like, though remember that Tanya's Yankee-specific questions will come tomorrow).

2013 MLB prediction responses from Pinstripe Alley writers

1. How will the standings in each division look at the end of the season?

Andrew
AL East: Rays/Yankees/Blue Jays/Orioles/Red Sox
AL Central: Tigers/Indians/White Sox/Royals/Twins
AL West: Angels/Mariners/Rangers/Athletics/Astros
NL East: Nationals/Braves/Phillies/Mets/Marlins
NL Central: Cardinals/Reds/Brewers/Pirates/Cubs
NL West: Giants/Dodgers/Rockies/Diamondbacks/Padres

Tanya
AL East: Yankees/Blue Jays/Rays/Orioles/Red Sox
AL Central: Tigers/White Sox/Royals/Indians/Twins
AL West: Angels/Rangers/Athletics/Mariners/Astros
NL East: Nationals/Braves/Phillies/Mets/Marlins
NL Central: Cardinals/Reds/Brewers/Pirates/Cubs
NL West: Giants/Dodgers/Rockies/Diamondbacks/Padres

Jason
AL East: Blue Jays/Yankees/Rays/Orioles/Red Sox
AL Central: Tigers/Indians/White Sox/Royals/Twins
AL West: Angels/Rangers/Athletics/Mariners/Astros
NL East: Nationals/Braves/Phillies/Mets/Marlins
NL Central: Reds/Cardinals/Pirates/Brewers/Cubs
NL West: Dodgers/Giants/Diamondbacks/Rockies/Padres

Greg
AL East: Yankees/Rays/Orioles/Blue Jays/Red Sox
AL Central: White Sox/Tigers/Royals/Indians/Twins
AL West: Angels/Athletics/Rangers/Mariners/Astros
NL East: Nationals/Braves/Phillies/Mets/Marlins
NL Central: Pirates/Cardinals/Reds/Brewers/Cubs
NL West: Dodgers/Giants/Diamondbacks/Padres/Rockies

Matt F.
AL East: Rays/Yankees/Blue Jays/Orioles/Red Sox
AL Central: Tigers/White Sox/Indians/Royals/Twins
AL West: Angels/Rangers/Athletics/Mariners/Astros
NL East: Braves/Nationals/Phillies/Mets/Marlins
NL Central: Reds/Cardinals/Brewers/Pirates/Cubs
NL West: Giants/Dodgers/Diamondbacks/Padres/Rockies

Craig
AL East: Yankees/Blue Jays/Rays/Red Sox/Orioles
AL Central: Tigers/Indians/White Sox/Royals/Twins
AL West: Angels/Rangers/Athletics/Mariners/Astros
NL East: Nationals/Braves/Phillies/Mets/Marlins
NL Central: Cardinals/Reds/Brewers/Pirates/Cubs
NL West: Giants/Diamondbacks/Dodgers/Padres/Rockies

Mason
AL East: Rays/Yankees/Blue Jays/Red Sox/Orioles
AL Central: Tigers/Royals/Indians/White Sox/Twins
AL West: Angels/Rangers/Athletics/Mariners/Astros
NL East: Nationals/Braves/Phillies/Mets/Marlins
NL Central: Reds/Cardinals/Pirates/Cubs/Brewers
NL West: Dodgers/Giants/Padres/Diamondbacks/Rockies

Keith
AL East: Rays/Yankees/Orioles/Blue Jays/Red Sox (Rays & Yanks will be only teams over .500. Jays will disappoint, as Jose Reyes will tear his legs to pieces on artificial turf, and the rest of the team will underachieve. The O's will all play the same as they did last year, but they'll lose all those close games this time. The Red Sox will not improve significantly over last year.)
AL Central: Royals/Indians/Tigers/White Sox/Twins (The Process will finally bear fruit, while the Indians will put it together. Prince Fielder and Miggy Cabrera will both get hurt, thus exposing the two-dimensionality of the Tigers' offense. The White Sox and Twins will simply continue to do what they've been doing.)
AL West: Rangers/Athletics/Mariners/Angels/Astros (The Angels will fall apart, and the rest of the division will feast on them and the Astros.)
NL East: Nationals/Braves/Marlins/Mets-Phillies (The Marlins will do surprisingly well, but no one will notice or care. The Mets and Phils will compete for worst record in the league all year, and wind up tied for it.)
NL Central: Pirates-Cardinals-Reds/Brewers/Cubs (The three teams will finish with identical 82-80 records and be forced into a playoff setup that borks the entire postseason schedule and actually causes Bud Selig's head to explode.)
NL West: Padres/Giants/Diamondbacks/Rockies/Dodgers (Dodgers are stunned to learn that spending money willy-nilly doesn't actually get you a good team. The Padres are this year's Athletics.)

2. What will be the World Series matchup and who will be the winner?

Andrew: Nationals/Tigers--The Nats bring home DC's first title since 1924 as the Tigers do their best 2010-11 Rangers impression and fade in a second straight Series appearance.

Tanya: Nationals/Angels--Nationals win

Jason: Nationals/Angels--Nationals win

Greg: Pirates/Yankees--Yankees win

Matt F.: Reds/Tigers--Reds win

Craig: Cardinals/Angels--Cardinals win

Mason: Nationals/Rays--Rays win in five.

Keith: Padres/Royals--It's San Diego versus Kansas City, thus setting a new record low for ratings and causing Bud Selig's newly reconstituted head to explode again. The Padres' brutal seven-game NLCS against the Nationals leaves them spent for the series, but suddenly the Royals remember they're, y'know, the Royals, and it's a seven-game series where the Padres finally win their first WS by scores of 0-1, 1-0, 2-1, 1-3, 2-0, 0-2, and 1-0, Game 7 being won on a walkoff homer by Chase Headley off of Luke Hocheavar.

3. Who will be the AL and NL MVPs, Cy Young Award winners, and Rookies of the Year, respectively?

Andrew:
AL/NL MVPs: Miguel Cabrera/Matt Kemp
AL/NL Cy Youngs: Felix Hernandez/Matt Cain
AL/NL Rookies of the Year: Wil Myers/Gerrit Cole

Tanya:
AL/NL MVPs: Robinson Cano/Matt Kemp
AL/NL Cy Youngs: David Price/Stephen Strasburg
AL/NL Rookies of the Year: Wil Myers/Gerrit Cole

Jason:
AL/NL MVPs: Mike Trout/Matt Holliday
AL/NL Cy Youngs: Jered Weaver/Cole Hamels
AL/NL Rookies of the Year: Jurickson Profar/Shelby Miller

Greg:
AL/NL MVPs: Mike Trout/Andrew McCutchen
AL/NL Cy Youngs: Jered Weaver/Stephen Strasburg
AL/NL Rookies of the Year: Jurickson Profar/Gerrit Cole

Matt F.:
AL/NL MVPs: Robinson Cano/Joey Votto
AL/NL Cy Youngs: Justin Verlander/Matt Cain
AL/NL Rookies of the Year: Jurickson Profar/Gerrit Cole

Craig:
AL/NL MVPs: Mike Trout/Joey Votto
AL/NL Cy Youngs: CC Sabathia/Adam Wainwright
AL/NL Rookies of the Year: Wil Myers/Shelby Miller

Mason:
AL/NL MVPs: Evan Longoria/Justin Upton
AL/NL Cy Youngs: Yu Darvish/Stephen Strasburg
AL/NL Rookies of the Year: Wil Myers/Tyler Skaggs

Keith:
AL/NL MVPs: Eric Hosmer/Stephen Strasburg (Hosmer breaks Barry Bonds's single-season HR record. Bud Selig insists on daily urine testing as he passes Ruth, Maris, McGwire, and Sosa, all of which he passes.)
AL/NL Cy Youngs: David Phelps/Stephen Strasburg
AL/NL Rookies of the Year: Jurickson Profar/Travis d'Arnaud (Profar is called up when Elvis Andrus is hit by a truck driven by a Jurickson Profar lookalike).

4. Who will be the AL and NL batting champions, home run leaders, and WAR leaders, respectively?

Andrew:
AL/NL batting champions: Mike Trout/Matt Kemp
AL/NL HR leaders: Miguel Cabrera/Giancarlo Stanton
AL/NL WAR leaders: Mike Trout/Andrew McCutchen

Tanya:
AL/NL batting champions: Mike Trout/Andrew McCutchen
AL/NL HR leaders: Miguel Cabrera/Ryan Braun
AL/NL WAR leaders: Mike Trout/Andrew McCutchen

Jason:
AL/NL batting champions: Mike Trout/Buster Posey
AL/NL HR leaders: Miguel Cabrera/Giancarlo Stanton
AL/NL WAR leaders: Mike Trout/Matt Kemp

Greg:
AL/NL batting champions: Robinson Cano/Andrew McCutchen
AL/NL HR leaders: Miguel Cabrera/Matt Kemp
AL/NL WAR leaders: Mike Trout/Ryan Braun

Matt F.:
AL/NL batting champions: Mike Trout/Ryan Braun
AL/NL HR leaders: Miguel Cabrera/Ryan Braun
AL/NL WAR leaders: Mike Trout/Ryan Braun

Craig:
AL/NL batting champions: Mike Trout/Joey Votto
AL/NL HR leaders: Albert Pujols/Giancarlo Stanton
AL/NL WAR leaders: Mike Trout/Buster Posey

Mason:
AL/NL batting champions: Adrian Beltre/Joey Votto
AL/NL HR leaders: Prince Fielder/Giancarlo Stanton
AL/NL WAR leaders: Evan Longoria/Matt Kemp

Keith:
AL/NL batting champions: Mike Moustakas/Bryce Harper
AL/NL HR leaders: Eric Hosmer/Joey Votto
AL/NL WAR leaders: Melky Cabrera/Adrian Gonzalez

5. Who will be the biggest surprise of the season?

Andrew: Mariners take advantage of slightly closer fences and make it to the one-game Wild Card playoff. It turns out that the change really helps the offensive core of Jesus Montero, Dustin Ackley, Kendrys Morales, and Mike Morse.

Tanya: Jesus Montero

Jason: Pirates and Scott Kazmir

Greg: Pirates

Matt F. Yankees 'cause why not

Craig: Dillon Gee

Mason: Kansas City is actually competitive

Keith: The Royals and Padres

6. Who will be the biggest disappointment of the season?

Andrew: Dodgers can only manage to win the Wild Card despite the biggest payroll in MLB history. They win the one-game Wild Card playoff, but fall to the Giants in the NLDS.

Tanya: Josh Hamilton

Jason: Brewers and Hanley Ramirez

Greg: Cubs

Matt F.: Blue Jays

Craig: Dodgers

Mason: Blue Jays, as they suffer too many injuries

Keith: The Dodgers and Blue Jays

7. Who hits the longest dinger?

Andrew: Joey Votto

Tanya: Giancarlo Stanton

Jason: Prince Fielder

Greg: Miguel Cabrera

Matt F.: Giancarlo Stanton at Coors Field

Craig: Giancarlo Stanton

Mason: Justin Upton

Keith: Eric Hosmer, who will hit one out of Yankee Stadium on the 4th of July, landing on top of the downtown 4 train. George Steinbrenner actually turns over in his grave when that happens.

8. How many games will the Astros lose?

Andrew: 108

Tanya: 107

Jason: 101

Greg: 115

Matt F.: 101

Craig: 104

Mason: 101

Keith: Only 99, but the Mets and Phillies will have 105 each.

What are your thoughts?