MLB Preseason Predictions

Just wanted to post this, to track how well I fare across the season.

Marc's 2009 MLB Preview

As I do every year, I'm here to breakdown and predict anything and everything for the 2009 MLB season. Enjoy, and look for a 2009 fantasy baseball preview, next week, after all my fantasy baseball drafts have been concluded.

AL East: New York Yankees. Obv. the toughest division to pick. In fact, near impossible to pick one of the top 3. Even with ARod out to start the season, the additions of Tex, CC, and Burnett, plus a healthy Chien Ming Wang and Joba finally inserted as a full-time starter make the Evil Empire the team to beat. They are too deep on all levels.

AL Central: Minnesota Twins. A very wide open division with no clear cut favorite. If the Twins can get 30 starts out of Liriano, I think their phethora of young studs at SP, and of course having Joe Nathan to close games gives them the edge over the Sox and Tigers.

AL West: Anaheim Angels. Holliday/Giambi/Cust is a formidale 3-4-5 and the A's always find a way to produce great pitching out of nowhere, but no team in baseball is better built to win in the regular season than the Angels.

AL WC: Boston Red Sox. Tampa actually is better on paper imo, but Boston just finds ways to win games, and they'll do it again this year.

AL Sleeper: Kansas City Royals. Greinke/Meche is a solid 1-2, with some decent young arms to fill out the rotation. Soria is quite possibly the most underrated player in all of baseball. They added Coco and Jacobs to a lineup that can really score some runs if/when Butler and Gordon reach their full potential. And don't sleep on what would be my AL ROY pick, but i think he played too many games last year, their SS Mike Aviles who if you need a decent SS will give you a good 5 category line.

AL MVP: Mark Teixiera. With A Fraud out to start the season, Tex will have to pick up the load, and in that lineup is sure to have a career year and help lead the Yanks to a divisional title.

AL Cy Young: Roy Halladay. The man is an absolute innings eater. Yes wins might be at a premium in the AL East, but his IP, K rates, ERA, and win totals have all been increasing the last few years, and he is due for a MONSTER CYA season.

AL ROY: David Price. Wieters might be the trendy pick, but there is still no word on whether or not he will start the year in the majors, ala Longoria last season. Price is absolutely sick as we all saw in the playoffs last year.

NL East: New York Mets. Putz + KRod= GG everyone else.

NL Central: Chicago Cubs. Great SP depth in a division that is pretty void of that, and a healthy and under control Milton Bradley is an absolute terror at the plate in addition to an already explosive and dynamic offense that can beat you in many different ways.

NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers. Obv. Manny and Furcal need to stay healthy and the former happy as well. Clayton Kershaw is going to be this year's Lincecum, Kemp, Ethier, and Loney are all getting more experienced and are due to reach their full potential. The SP depth is still thin, Broxton needs to be able to better locate his off speed pitches, and we need another left handed reliever if and when Kuo becomes the set up man, but in a weak division, the Dodgers are the clear front runners.

NL Wild Card: Philadephia Phillies. Look for a HUGE year from Raul Ibanez as he moves to the short porch at Citizens Bank. Way too much power, and a lights out bullpen for anyone else in the NL to even challenge the Phils.

NL Sleeper: Painful to say but the San Francisco Giants. Lincecum/Cain/Johnson, and Jonathan Sanchez is absolutely filthy when he can find the strikezone. The addition of Renteria and rising stars like Sandoval and Fred Lewis and the Giants can compete if the Dodgers struggle with injuries or the dark side of Manny being Manny.

NL MVP: David Wright. The best player on the best team.

NL Cy Young: Tim Lincecum. Strikeout king, sub 3 era, and 18-5 on a terrible team. Despite his funky mechanics the kid is flat out unhittable when he's on his game.

NL ROY: Well he's not ROY eligible but in the absence of one guy I can really think of, remember the name Chris Volstad.

World Series Prediction: DODGERS BEAT THE YANKEES IN 6.