THE 2014 MLB SEASON PREDICTIONS

By Kevin Rosenthal and Max Steinbaum

With the 2014 MLB season rapidly approaching, we have made our predictions for each team’s regular season record as well as our picks for each potential playoff series.  Right off the bat, it appears that fans are in store for another thrilling season of Major League Baseball.  So, without further ado, here are our predictions for the 2014 MLB season:

AMERICAN LEAGUE

AL EAST: (Rosenthal)

New York Yankees 96-66

Tampa Bay Rays 93-69

Boston Red Sox 92-70

Toronto Blue Jays 79-83

Baltimore Orioles 78-84

Although the Yankees had a disappointing season in 2013, they will rebound this year after acquiring key free agents such as Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann, Masahiro Tanaka and Jacoby Ellsbury.  The Rays will clinch their second straight playoff berth, as they have developed a solid depth chart.  The defending World Champion Red Sox will surprise the world by failing to make the playoffs this year in a highly contested AL East race.  The Blue Jays and Orioles will be decent but will not be able to truly contend for a playoff berth.

AL EAST: (Steinbaum)

Boston Red Sox 99-63

New York Yankees 96-66

Tampa Bay Rays 89-73

Baltimore Orioles 85-77

Toronto Blue Jays 77-85

After winning the World Series last year, the Red Sox look to be poised for another successful campaign in 2014 as they will barely edge out the New York Yankees, despite picking up several key free agents, to win their division. Although they will put together an impressive season, the Rays will fall just short of earning a trip to the playoffs along with the Baltimore Orioles, and for the second year in a row, Toronto will find themselves in the cellar of the AL East.

AL CENTRAL: (Rosenthal)

Detroit Tigers 94-68

Kansas City Royals 93-69

Cleveland Indians 80-84

Minnesota Twins 75-87

Chicago White Sox 72-90

The AL Central will feature an exciting race to the finish between the Detroit Tigers and the Kansas City Royals.  Although Detroit will finish one game ahead of Kansas City, the Royals will still clinch a wild card berth, advancing to their first playoffs in 29 years.  The Indians will disappoint after a surprisingly great 2013 campaign in which Cleveland reached the playoffs.  The Twins future looks bright with some highly touted prospects entering MLB soon, but for now, the Twins will not come close to reaching the playoffs.  Chicago will improve ever so slightly, but nothing memorable will come of the 2014 season for Chicago.  

AL CENTRAL: (Steinbaum)

Detroit Tigers 96-66

Cleveland Indians 89-73

Kansas City Royals 81-81

Minnesota Twins 77-85

Chicago White Sox 73-89

Once again, the Tigers have put together an impressive, well-rounded ball club that will see success in 2014. Behind Detroit will be the Cleveland Indians, who surprised many by the season they put together last year, their season ending in a loss to the Texas Rangers in the AL Wild Card game. The Royals will finish the season at .500 and will be followed by the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox, who will both fail to impress in 2014, as they have in recent years.

AL WEST: (Rosenthal)

Texas Rangers 92-70

Oakland Athletics 91-71

Los Angeles Angels 88-74

Seattle Mariners 85-77

Houston Astros 65-97

After missing the playoffs last season, the Rangers front office decided to bring in Prince Fielder and Shin Soo Choo, two all star players, who will help Texas return to the postseason.  The A’s are my favorite team besides the Cardinals, and it breaks my heart to not take them making the playoffs.  While I admire the team Billy Beane and the front office in Oakland have cultivated with such little money, I just think the Rangers will be too good for the A’s.  The Angels and Mariners will improve in 2014, and both go over .500 after last year’s train wreck for both teams.  The Astros, in short, will continue to suck.  

AL WEST: (Steinbaum)

Texas Rangers 97-65

Oakland A’s 96-66

Los Angeles Angels 83-79

Seattle Mariners 77-85

Houston Astros 62-100

Up until closing days of the regular season, Texas and Oakland will be slugging it out to earn the AL West division title, and both teams will earn a trip to the 2014 playoffs. After a surprisingly bad season last year, the Angels should improve slightly from their 78-84 mark in 2013, finishing a few wins above .500. The Mariners will continue to play mediocre baseball, and the Astros will unfortunately again succeed in being baseball’s worst. 

National League

NL EAST: (Rosenthal)

Washington Nationals 97-65

Atlanta Braves 90-72

Miami Marlins 79-83

New York Mets 75-87

Philadelphia Phillies 69-93

Every year, I am consistently impressed with the team the Nationals put on the field.  While last year’s season was majorly disappointing for Washington, the Nats will return to their winning ways in 2014.  The Braves have been consistently good over the last couple years, and will qualify for a wild card berth in 2014.  I am one of the few who actually likes the Marlins roster.  I think the Marlins have a great balance of veterans and youngsters, and they will make a major stride in the right direction in 2014.  The Mets will have another lackluster year in 2014, but they have really put themselves in a good position to make a playoff run in 2015.  The Phillies are a team that cannot decide whether or not they want to rebuild their team.  They have no direction for the next couple years, and 2014 will be the first of many disastrous years in Philadelphia.  

NL EAST: (Steinbaum)

Atlanta Braves 95-67

Washington Nationals 87-75

Philadelphia Phillies 81-81

New York Mets 70-92

Miami Marlins 64-98

After falling to the Dodgers in the first round of the playoffs last season, Atlanta will be ready to go deeper in the playoffs in 2014, finishing with an impressive record of 95-67. Washington, whose performance has been somewhat erratic over the past couple of seasons, will finish with a respectable record of 87-75, just barely missing a playoff spot. The Phillies should finish around .500, and while both clubs will move in the right direction in 2014, nothing special will come of this season for the Mets and Marlins. 

NL CENTRAL: (Rosenthal)

St. Louis Cardinals 95-67

Milwaukee Brewers 88-74

Pittsburgh Pirates 86-76

Cincinnati Reds 77-85

Chicago Cubs 66-96

The Cardinals have been the most consistently successful team over the last few years. Winning seems to be the standard in St. Louis, and the fans expect nothing less than the best from the Redbirds.  My most shocking pick of the entire season is the Milwaukee Brewers making the playoffs in 2014.  The Brewers have had pitiful seasons in 2012 and 2013, but this pick makes some sense.  Milwaukee has a strong infield, solid pitching, and one of the best outfield combinations in the league.  The Pirates will be good but fall just two games short of Milwaukee for the final wild card spot. Cincinnati will majorly drop, and after three straight playoff appearances, the Reds will finish fourth in the NL Central, surprising many.  The Cubs will not improve much, leaving fans in Chicago to wonder if the Cubs will ever win the World Series again.

NL CENTRAL: (Steinbaum)

St. Louis Cardinals 96-66

Pittsburgh Pirates 95-67

Milwaukee Brewers 77-85

Cincinnati Reds 70-92

Chicago Cubs 66-96

The Cardinals have been the most consistently good team in Major League Baseball in the past couple of years, and 2014 will be no different for the Birds on the Bat. After falling to the Cardinals in the 2013 NLDS, Pittsburgh, which has a solid core of quality players,  should also be poised to make another playoff run. The Brewers and Reds, who have both remained idle during the offseason, will not see very much success in 2014, and the Cubs will finish last yet again in the NL Central. 

NL WEST: (Rosenthal)

Los Angeles Dodgers 92-70

Arizona Diamondbacks 87-75

San Diego Padres 84-78

San Francisco Giants 82-80

Colorado Rockies 74-88

The NL West is one of the toughest divisions to pick.  I like specific attributes to all these teams, but the Dodgers seem to clearly be the best all around team.  Every team in the NL West will show signs of improvement, but fall short of a position in the playoffs, and Arizona will miss the playoffs by just one game.  

NL WEST: (Steinbaum)

Los Angeles Dodgers 97-65

Arizona Diamondbacks 92-70

San Francisco Giants 88-74

San Diego Padres 69-93

Colorado Rockies 67-95

The Los Angeles Dodgers are simply one of the sharpest teams in baseball. With  an explosive offense to back their core of elite pitchers, they will go deep into the playoffs in 2014. While the Diamondbacks should also put together a good season, they will fall just five games short of the division title. Trailing Arizona will be San Francisco and San Diego, both teams remaining somewhat stagnant from their 2013 campaigns, and Colorado will put together another unimpressive season.

2014 PLAYOFFS

WILD CARD ROUND:

AL- Royals over Rays (Rosenthal)

AL- A’s over Yankees (Steinbaum)

NL-  Braves over  Brewers (Rosenthal)

NL- Diamondbacks over Pirates (Steinbaum)

DIVISIONAL ROUND:

ROSENTHAL

Yankees vs Royals- Yankees in 5

Tigers vs Rangers- Rangers in 4

Cardinals vs Dodgers- Cardinals in 5  

Braves vs Nationals- Nationals in 4

STEINBAUM

Red Sox vs A’s- A’s in 5

Rangers vs Tigers- Tigers in 5

Dodgers vs Pirates- Dodgers in 4

Cardinals vs Braves- Cardinals 4

CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND:

ROSENTHAL

Yankees vs Rangers- Rangers in 5

Nationals vs Cardinals- Nationals in 6

STEINBAUM

Tigers vs A’s- Tigers in 6

Dodgers vs Cardinals- Dodgers in 7

WORLD SERIES:

ROSENTHAL

Nationals vs Rangers- Nationals in 7

STEINBAUM

Dodgers vs Tigers- Dodgers in 6