30 Teams, 30 Predictions

This is the first of hopefully many preseason blogs that I'll write before the games get underway. The premise is simple, I'll list each of the 30 MLB teams and make a prediction for a player on that team for the upcoming season. It might be predicting a breakout, or a bust, or somewhere in between. Some might seem pretty mild, whereas others might just seem crazy. But hey, that's why we call them predictions. Comments are welcome if you wish to address one of my predictions or make a couple of your own.

My Predictions:

Baltimore Orioles: Matt Wieters finally has the breakout season we've been waiting for, posting a 81/28/90 stat line to go along with a .298 average and finishes second among fantasy catchers, behing Joe Mauer.

Boston Red Sox: Adrian Gonzalez has his best season yet at Fenway, hitting .304 with 40 homers and 118 RBIs, good enough for the AL MVP.

New York Yankees: Mariano Rivera finally lets age catch up to him, blowing 4 saves in his first 15 appearances with and ERA over 5.00. He loses the starting job to Rafael Soriano by June and announces his retirement at the end of the season.

Tampa Bay Rays: David Price, who was among the top of the league for Runs Scored per start, sees some of that luck go away this year. Hitters start to figure him out, and although he has flashes of brilliance, he finished with a 11-10 record with a 4.11 ERA.

Toronto Blue Jays: Jose Bautista starts off hot again, making people think maybe last year wasn't a fluke after all. He'll cool down but finish with 32 homers and a respectable .270 average.

Chicago White Sox: Adam Dunn will flourish in the windy city, seeing a very favorable park and the best lineup hes played in in years. He hits 42 homers with 112 RBIs. Juan Pierre will also set his career high with 70 steals.

Cleveland Indians: Chris Perez will finish the season with 38 saves and a 2.08 ERA, making him one of the better closers to own in fantasy.

Detroit Tigers: Max Scherzer continues the success that he had in the second half of last year, finishing the season sporting a 15-7 record with 212 strikeouts and a 3.07 ERA.

Kansas City Royals: Billy Butler will take a small step forward, but not quite have the breakout season everyones been looking for. He'll put up another great average while hitting 25 homers, solid production at the deep first base position.

Minnesota Twins: Joe Nathan will regain his dominance, recording 43 saves and earning a healthy 2.33 ERA. Those who question his injury status will regret it.

Los Angeles Angels: Jered Weaver will regeress after his huge year, failing to break 200 K's again and winning only 12 games as the Angels' offense will struggle.

Texas Rangers: Mike Napoli, who will rotate at catcher, first base, and DH, will post career highs across the board with 30 homers, 64 runs, 72 RBIS, and .273 average. There's no way he won't flourish at a hitter-friendly field amidst a studded lineup.

Oakland Athletics: Brett Anderson, who was dominant before falling to injury, will regain form and be a Cy Young candidate with 12 wins, 2.74 ERA and 193 K's.

Seattle Mariners: Remember Erik Bedard? He's looking healthy and has been excelling in spring training. He's finally going to justify the package the Mariners gave up to get him by winning 13 games and posting a 2.69 ERA with 201 K's.

Atlanta Braves: Jason Heyward suffers from a sophomore slump, batting just .245 in the first half of the season with 11 homers. Watch out for his second half though, when he becomes one of the hottest players in baseball and doesn't look back.

Florida Marlins: Mike Stanton, who might struggle early on after coming back from a minor quad injury, will show everyone that the hype on him is for real, finishing with a monster 36 home runs and a solid .275 average.

New York Mets: In his contract year, Jose Reyes will play like a beast and earn a monster payday. He'll hit .300, score 115 runs, and steal 42 bases. This is partly depended on a healthy Mets lineup but I have confidence in them and Reyes will benefit from it.

Philadelphia Phillies: With injuries to half their starting lineup, the Phillies offense might struggle a bit. Cole Hamels will be traded halfway through the season for some offensive pop to make up for their injuries. Lidge comes back healthy and saves 41 games.

Washington Nationals: Jayson Werth, coming off a HUGE pay day and going from a World Series team to the lowly Nationals; will have a down year. Look for 22 homers and a .271 average in the disappointing season for Jayson.

Chicago Cubs: Aramis Ramirez, heading into a contract year as well, will finally stay healthy and put up monster numbers that mirrors his 2006 season, hitting 34 homers, knocking in 108 RBIs and boasting a .304 average.

Cincinnati Reds: Remember Carlos Gonzalez last year? This year it'll be Jay Bruce. He ended last year batting .306 in the second half and hit 15 homers in the last 34 games. Sound familiar? Look for Bruce to hit at least 30 homers this year and pushing 100 RBIs.

Houston Astros: This will be a productive year for the Astros' outfield. Hunter Pence will take the next step, hitting 30 homers with 100 RBIs, Carlos Lee will have a comeback year with 28 homers and 95 RBIs with a good average, and Michael Bourn will steal at least 60.

Milwaukee Brewers: And the good get better. Ryan Braun will post his best stats in his career, hitting .326, score 115 runs and knock in 120. And, for the first time ever, he will reach the 40 homer plateau, earning the NL MVP award.

Pittsburgh Pirates: Jose Tabata will take over the starting role and steal 45 bases, good for fourth in the league. This kid is fast.

St. Louis Cardinals: Pujols, Pujols, Pujols. Contract year. The machine will do it all. 50 homers? Sure. 120 RBIs? Easy. Batting average of .340? Check. He reveals that he actually is, in fact, a robot? Possibly...

Arizona Diamondback: Justin Upton takes another big step, popping 35 homers and stealing 25 bases. He'll struggle a little bit with average, hitting .265, but will finish among the top 20 players in fantasy baseball.

Colorado Rockies: Look for CarGo to regress a little, hitting .300 with 26 homers. He'll be very slow out of the gate, coming back down to earth from last season. When Tulowitski's undoubted power surge comes, Gonzalez will go along for the ride.

LA Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw will be the best pitcher in baseball. With a 17-4 record, 226 K's, 2.39 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP, he'll finish in the top five players in fantasy baseball and win the NL Cy Young.

San Diego Padres: Ryan Ludwick will give us another taste of his '08 season, hitting 32 Homers and knocking in 95. However, his average won't top .280. He'll be a solid 3rd outfielder in typical fantasy formats.

San Francisco Giants: Both Jonathon Sanchez and Matt Cain will finish above Tim Lincecum. With Lincecum's struggles last year and the pressure he puts on his arm, he's bound to hit a wall eventually and I say it happens this year.