MLB Predictions/Analysis June 1 Edition

Another amazing month of the season concluded that began with the fall of yet another of the game's heroes. Some early surprises are starting to fade, the most exciting team in baseball (Texas) has the best record in the AL, the Dodgers are rolling along without Manny, and the cream is starting to rise to the top.

AL MVP: Torii Hunter. I know the Angels are at .500 and 4.5 games back of the Rangers, but Hunter is the ONLY REASON why the Angels aren't in last place and hopelessly out of the race. From his power bat (the only power threat in that lineup), veteran leadership, clutch hitting, and DAILY WEBGEM(S) (trust me as a Dodger fan it gets real old and really annoying really quickly) the man was not born on the planet earth.

HM: Teixiera, Bay, Mauer

AL Cy Young: Zack Greinke. A "rough" start yesterday to raise his ERA to 1.10 the man has still been redonkulously good so far this year.

AL ROY: Rick Porcello. For as hyped as Wieters and Price are, and as hot a start as Reimold has gotten off to, Porcello has pitched fantastically after a rough first few starts, and has absolutely devastating stuff. Kind of a dark horse/contrarian pick, but hopefully he will be this year's Liriano and lead my team to a FBB Championship.

AL MOY: Ron Washington and it's not even close.

NL MVP: Adrian Gonzalez. I never do this, picking MVP's from .500 teams, but AGon literally IS THE PADRES OFFENSE. They are at .500 but would easily be at least 10 games worse without him. Leading the league in homers with 20, playing half his games at Petco, and with ZERO protection in the lineup, it's time someone gave this man the praise and attention that he deserves.

NL Cy Young: Umm...that Johan guy is pretty good.

NL ROY: Jake Fox. The kid was absolutely destroying AAA putting up Video Game type numbers, and should start getting regular PT for the Cubbies.

NL MOY: Joe Torre. How can you argue against this one? The Dodgers are on a roll after Manny's suspension, and Joe has this young team believing that they can win without him.

Playoff Predictions

AL East: Sticking with my preseason pick of the Yankees. Too much firepower, and the Red Sox SP is still a major concern with me.

AL Central: I'm sticking with my preseason pick of the Twins. The M & M brothers are en fuego, the SP has been better since Mauer's return, and there's something that I just don't like about the Tigers.

AL West: Angels. They're finally healthy, and when their bats wake up, they should turn it around, and catch Texas, especially if Hamilton's injury is more serious than we're being led to believe.

AL Wild Card: Red Sox. For all their SP issues so far, and injury issues, this team just finds ways to win, they still have Papelbon at the end, and Jason Bay is making everyone forget about THE CHEATER.

NL East: Phillies. The Mets are really banged up, and although the Phillies SP is garbage beyond Hamels, they're going to score WAY too many runs for that to matter.

NL Central: Chicago Cubs. Just too much talent here for them to stay down for long. They'll hang around until the ASB, and then make a big 2nd half push once they get ARam back.

NL West: Dodgers. Torre has this team believing in themselves, Juan Pierre has done an admirable job not only on the field, but handling his post-Manny benching with class, professionalism, and never quitting his hard work-ethic. Chad Billingsley has become one of the best pitchers in baseball, and Jonathan Broxton has been the best closer in baseball up to this point.

NL Wild Card: Sticking with the Cardinals. Solid SP, the return of Ryan Ludwick, and THE BEST PLAYER IN THE GAME.