The Los Angeles Angels had a disappointing season in 2018. They finished under .500 and they weren’t really in contention in 2018. They made big acquisitions last offseason acquiring OF/SP Shohei Ohtani via FA, SS Zack Cozart via FA, and Justin Upton via Trade. The Angels dealt with major injuries in their pitching staff throughout the 2018 season and ultimately it led to their fall in 2018.
If we are being honest, all I have to do is say “yikes” and that would be my preview of this team. Just an absolutely terrible ball-club. Hard to believe that only a few years ago, the Orioles had Manny Machado, Chris Davis (when he was good) Adam Jones, and Matt Wieters. This team reached the ALCS in 2014. So how were they this past season? 47-115 and finished dead-last in the AL East for the second straight year. This will be a painful process, but let’s take a look at what the Orioles will field this season.
The Houston Astros couldn’t pull off the repeat last year. That doesn’t mean they are going away any time soon. They are still among baseball’s elite teams and look to grab another ring before their window closes.
The NL East will be one of the exciting divisions to watch. Besides the Marlins, everyone in the division has made improvements to their rosters. It was one of busiest divisions when it came to transactions.
Entering 2018 the Pirates had many question marks surrounding the future of this team. Franchise icon Andrew McCutchen and ace Gerrit Cole were traded away for prospects. As a result, the expectations in Pittsburgh were low and another rebuild seemed to be underway. The Pirates failed to make the playoffs however many of their young players took steps forward. Led by a talented rotation this group could be a sleeper team in the NL Central.
Sleepers are dead. Long live sleepers! In the information age that we live in, there’s just no such thing as sleepers. However, if you dig around long enough, you can find some players that people might not be paying as much attention to as they should. Enticing, no? Let’s dig around the mid-to-late round hitters and see if we can turn over some overlooked guys that may have underachieved last year.
The NL Central has the potential to be one of the most competitive divisions in baseball. Its division winner, the Brewers, made it to the NLCS, the Cubs made it to the Wild Card Game, up until the last week of the season, the Cardinals were competing, and Pirates also finished above . 500. The Reds were the only team not to have a winning record and are looking to change that by adding Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp, and Sonny Gray to their roster.
The Mets are a very interesting team. They find themselves in a division that is shaping up to be a four-team, very competitive race. GM Brodie Van Wagenen has put together a roster that can compete, whether the rest of the baseball universe believes it or not. Van Wagenen is the former co-founder of Creative Artists Agency. He helped negotiate deals for Robinson Cano with the Mariners and Yoenis Cespedes with the Mets among others. Trying to get away from their conventional approach, Van Wagenen added some new pieces to improve the Mets chances in 2019.
What can I say about this Red Sox team? They won the World Series. The level at which they played was insane. As a Yankees fan, I’m well aware that no lead was safe when it came to the Red Sox last year, they could always pull something out of their hat. When it comes to wins for this season, the Red Sox and Yankees have the highest projected win totals at 95.5. You just know it’s going to be a battle all season long.
It’s a new year and expectations are high in Oakland entering the 2019 season. The A’s surprised the baseball world last year as they finished with ninety-seven wins in a year they were supposed to rebuild. With the A’s young players getting more experience they could again be a sleeper team this coming season.
2018 was the first year that the sense of urgency for the Indians to win a World Series was present. They were now two years removed from their World Series loss to the Cubs and were coming off a 102-win season that included a historic 21-game winning streak. The rest of the AL was getting better while the Indians were just staying put. They won 91 games and their 3rd straight AL Central crown. They were swept (destroyed) by the Astros in the ALDS. In an offseason where the rumor was that Corey Kluber or Trevor Bauer were going to be traded, and where they let key players like Andrew Miller, Cody Allen, and Michael Brantley walk, they are in a weird spot. Let’s look at what the 2019 Cleveland Indians will look like.
In what looks to be a rebuild, although Royals GM Dayton Moore doesn’t want to call it a rebuild, the Royals have signed a bunch of guys to one-year deals. Is it in hopes of trading them in July or can the Royals compete this year? Let’s take a closer look at the 2019 Kansas City Royals.
The Los Angeles Angels had a disappointing season in 2018. They finished under .500 and they weren’t really in contention in 2018. They made big acquisitions last offseason acquiring OF/SP Shohei Ohtani via FA, SS Zack Cozart via FA, and Justin Upton via Trade. The Angels dealt with major injuries in their pitching staff throughout the 2018 season and ultimately it led to their fall in 2018.
If we are being honest, all I have to do is say “yikes” and that would be my preview of this team. Just an absolutely terrible ball-club. Hard to believe that only a few years ago, the Orioles had Manny Machado, Chris Davis (when he was good) Adam Jones, and Matt Wieters. This team reached the ALCS in 2014. So how were they this past season? 47-115 and finished dead-last in the AL East for the second straight year. This will be a painful process, but let’s take a look at what the Orioles will field this season.
The Houston Astros couldn’t pull off the repeat last year. That doesn’t mean they are going away any time soon. They are still among baseball’s elite teams and look to grab another ring before their window closes.
The NL East will be one of the exciting divisions to watch. Besides the Marlins, everyone in the division has made improvements to their rosters. It was one of busiest divisions when it came to transactions.
Entering 2018 the Pirates had many question marks surrounding the future of this team. Franchise icon Andrew McCutchen and ace Gerrit Cole were traded away for prospects. As a result, the expectations in Pittsburgh were low and another rebuild seemed to be underway. The Pirates failed to make the playoffs however many of their young players took steps forward. Led by a talented rotation this group could be a sleeper team in the NL Central.
Sleepers are dead. Long live sleepers! In the information age that we live in, there’s just no such thing as sleepers. However, if you dig around long enough, you can find some players that people might not be paying as much attention to as they should. Enticing, no? Let’s dig around the mid-to-late round hitters and see if we can turn over some overlooked guys that may have underachieved last year.
The NL Central has the potential to be one of the most competitive divisions in baseball. Its division winner, the Brewers, made it to the NLCS, the Cubs made it to the Wild Card Game, up until the last week of the season, the Cardinals were competing, and Pirates also finished above . 500. The Reds were the only team not to have a winning record and are looking to change that by adding Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp, and Sonny Gray to their roster.
The Mets are a very interesting team. They find themselves in a division that is shaping up to be a four-team, very competitive race. GM Brodie Van Wagenen has put together a roster that can compete, whether the rest of the baseball universe believes it or not. Van Wagenen is the former co-founder of Creative Artists Agency. He helped negotiate deals for Robinson Cano with the Mariners and Yoenis Cespedes with the Mets among others. Trying to get away from their conventional approach, Van Wagenen added some new pieces to improve the Mets chances in 2019.
What can I say about this Red Sox team? They won the World Series. The level at which they played was insane. As a Yankees fan, I’m well aware that no lead was safe when it came to the Red Sox last year, they could always pull something out of their hat. When it comes to wins for this season, the Red Sox and Yankees have the highest projected win totals at 95.5. You just know it’s going to be a battle all season long.
It’s a new year and expectations are high in Oakland entering the 2019 season. The A’s surprised the baseball world last year as they finished with ninety-seven wins in a year they were supposed to rebuild. With the A’s young players getting more experience they could again be a sleeper team this coming season.
2018 was the first year that the sense of urgency for the Indians to win a World Series was present. They were now two years removed from their World Series loss to the Cubs and were coming off a 102-win season that included a historic 21-game winning streak. The rest of the AL was getting better while the Indians were just staying put. They won 91 games and their 3rd straight AL Central crown. They were swept (destroyed) by the Astros in the ALDS. In an offseason where the rumor was that Corey Kluber or Trevor Bauer were going to be traded, and where they let key players like Andrew Miller, Cody Allen, and Michael Brantley walk, they are in a weird spot. Let’s look at what the 2019 Cleveland Indians will look like.
In what looks to be a rebuild, although Royals GM Dayton Moore doesn’t want to call it a rebuild, the Royals have signed a bunch of guys to one-year deals. Is it in hopes of trading them in July or can the Royals compete this year? Let’s take a closer look at the 2019 Kansas City Royals.
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