MLB Season Predictions 2021

 MLB Predictions 2021 

Opening Day is tomorrow so it’s time for some pre regular season predictions. Here are all my predictions for the 2021 MLB season from the highs, lows, to us watching near or a full crowd at the World Series, all my hot takes, and some surprise finishes to the season. 

Division Winners 

AL East: Yankees 102-60

Yankees rotation will struggle early but the juggernaut offense will lift them to wins. Injuries will probably hurt them as well early. However Judge will stay healthy while having a great year, Stanton and Torres will bounce back, LeMahieu will compete for a batting title, Cole and Kluber will be a top three 1-2 punch in the league, Sanchez won’t be terrible and the Yankees will walk to an AL East division title. 

AL Central: White Sox 98-64 

The Chicago White Sox will bring home their first division title since 2008 but edging out the hard hitting Twins. The division will come down to the final week. However the White Sox rotation will be the backbone of the Sox in 2021 behind Lucas Giolito and Dallas Keuchel, Tim Anderson will be the batting champion, Jose Abreau will have a 30+ home run and 100+ RBI season, Sox bullpen will be among the best in the league arguably the best with a great season by closer Liam Hendrix. 

AL West: Athletics 97-65

Yes the Oakland Athletics will bring home a division title to the Bay Area for what could be one of their seasons in the Coliseum. The Athletics young  rotation of  Jesús Luzardo, Chris Bassitt, Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas will be among the top of the league through committee, they will ride that great defense, Trevor Rosenthal will hold down the back of the bullpen, Matt Olson and Matt Chapman will bounce back big, Sean Murphy will have a breakout year, and Elvis Andrus will show he’s still got what he had in Texas. The division will be close throughout the year but the Astros will disappoint late, and Athletics will extend their lead to take division. 

NL East: Mets 98-64

Yes New York City will be a fun place to be in the summer of 2021 and beyond to the fall. The Mets and Braves will duke it out for the NL East division to the final day the Mets will clinch after a dominant final week from the Mets pitching staff. New York will have a great lineup Lindor show off for the lights, Pete Alonso will hit over 35+ home runs, Jeff McNeil and Michael Conforto will have another All Star campaign, Degrom will lead a top 3 pitching rotation, the Mets bullpen will hold up like never before, and Edwin Diaz will be among the top leaders in saves. 

NL Central: Cardinals 94-68

The Red Birds St. Louis Cardinals will claim reign to the NL Central once again in 2021. The Brewers and the Cardinals will have a competitive season for the division title but in September the Cardinals will pull out ahead. Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado will both  have great 2021 seasons to lead what was a lackluster offense in 2020, rookie outfielder Dylan Carlson will have a breakout year, Jordan Hicks return the bullpen will make them an elite bullpen, the rotation will hold up to be middle of the road rotation but behind great defense that’s all the Cardinals will need to host some playoff games again. 

NL West: Dodgers 108-54

To be honest no one is going out on a limb here the Dodgers will walk with the NL West. Not without a fight from the Padres but nonetheless it’s still the Dodgers division to lose. Their elite rotation, lineup, and bullpen will be too much for most. The division will be wrapped up by August, and the defending champions will continue their tear of the MLB regular season. 

Wildcard Winners 

AL Wildcard 1: Twins 96-66

The Minnesota Twins who lead the league in home runs last season will do more of the same. They’ll come up short in the Central race to the White Sox but still be a top contender. They’ll get a home game in the Wild Card game behind a very powerful offense lead by Bryon Buxton, then of course the trio of Miguel Sano, Josh Donaldson and Nelson Cruz will show they are maybe the league's best trio, the rotation and bullpen will be better than most being able to hold leads that their explosive offense creates. 

AL Wildcard 2: Angels 94-68

Yes that’s right the Anaheim Angels will be in the postseason. With the best player of a generation and maybe the best all time the Angels have struggled to get to the postseason. After the signing of new manager Joe Maddon expect the Angels to be much better all around. Many have the Angels as a third place team in the AL West but for me the Angels will shock some of the baseball world by stealing the last playoff spot from the Astros in the finals days of the season. 

NL Wildcard 1: Padres 99-63

The San Diego Padres will return to the postseason with a division winning record. Tatis Jr will struggle early but Hosmer, Machado, and others will hold up the Padres lineup until he gets going again. Yu Darvish and Blake Snell will make the Padres rotation one of the leagues best, the offense will score enough early for that rotation and shutdown bullpen to win games, and post All Star break they’ll start playing their best baseball but the Dodgers lead will already be to depending on the division giving a great year of the Padres just a Wild Card but a lot to build on. 

NL Wildcard 2: Braves 97-65

After winning the division the last two seasons the Braves will have to settle for the final Wildcard spot as the Padres and Mets have two breakout seasons. The additions of Drew Smyly and Charlie Morton to the rotation will improve the Braves, rookie starting pitcher Ian Anderson will have a great year for a rookie, Freddie Freeman will prove he’s worth another extension, Acuna Jr will contend for the MVP. However they will lose speed towards end of the year giving up the NL East but a clear cut second Wild Card. 

Wildcard Games 

AL: Angels @ Twins 

Winner: Angels over Twins 3-2

In a five to seven game series the Twins probably take the series but in a one game playoff Trout will prove what we’ve all been talking about. Trout will have an offensive explosion, the Angels pitching will hold down the lead. The Angels will go into Minnesota, upset the Twins and go on to New York to play those dirty Yankees 

NL: Braves @ Padres 

Winner: Padres over Braves 6-5

When the MLB made the one game playoff don’t know if they attended for this much excitement in one. These two teams could win their divisions and play in the NLDS or NLCS but with thick competition we get them in a one game playoff. Expect the Braves to start Morton for his experience in the postseason and Padres could start former partner of Morton down in Tampa, Blake Snell. Now wouldn’t that be interesting? The starters will do their job but the bullpens will run into trouble with these lineups. The Padres will win a close one and head to LA to play their divisional rivals in the NLDS. 

ALDS

1 Yankees vs 4 Angels 

Winner: Yankees over Angels 3-0

The Angels win in the Wildcard round will be super exciting proving baseball is unpredictable besides by the Shepherd himself. That’s where the fun will end for MVP Mike Trout and his Angels. The Yankees offense will explode on the Angels' weak rotation, Cole and Kluber will shutdown the offense in the Bronx, and the bullpen will do their job in the third game to give the Yankees a clean sweep to ALCS. 

2 White Sox vs 3 Athletics 

Winner: Athletics over White Sox 3-2

The Chicago White Sox and the Oakland Athletics will be a really exciting series. Many would expect the White Sox to have the slight edge which they will. The Sox rotation and A’s rotation and bullpen will work together to slow down the offense. They will split the series in Chicago and Oakland, making the series come down to a final game in Chicago. The Athletics experience will get them the win behind Matt Chapman’s bat and the Athletics defense which will push them to an ALCS with the Yankees. 

NLDS 

1 Dodgers vs 4 Padres 

Winner: Dodgers over Padres 3-2

The series we’ve waited for a postseason matchup between the division rivals Dodgers and Padres. These two heavyweights will be fighting all year in the NL West for the showdown coming down to a five game series in October. Yes we would have preferred an LCS matchup but that’s not the rules. The series will be just like the regular season and be a dog fight. Monument going back and forth between teams. Nonetheless the defending champion Dodgers will edge the fighting Padres out to send their division rivals home and go to another NLCS to defend their title. 

2 Mets vs Cardinals 

Winner: Mets over Cardinals 3-1 

The Mets will get the chance to redeem a loss that broke their fans all those years ago as the Cardinals and Mets will rematch the 2006 NLCS in the 2021 NLDS. The Cardinals will take a game in St. Louis but besides that the Mets will control the series for the most part. Degrom and Stroman will be dominant in game 1 and 2. Then Syndergaard or Carrasco will get a win in game 4. The Mets offense will be too much for the Cardinals to keep up with behind great pitching the Mets will roll to the NLCS. 

ALCS 

1 Yankees vs 3 Athletics 

Winner: Yankees over Athletics 4-1

ALCS MVP: DJ LeMahieu 

If you watched Moneyball the first scene is Brad Pitt who is playing Athletics general manager Billy Beaneis listening to as the Yankees get the final out against the A's to send them home in the postseason. Beane will be reliving that nightmare in October. The Athletics unexpectedly will play in the ALCS. However the Yankees offense and bullpen will be too much for the Athletics. The A’s young rotation won’t be able to compete with the Yankees rotation with Cole and Kluber. The Yankees offense will wear on the rotation and get to the bullpen early. The Athletics will take a mercy game in Oakland but the Yankees will roll to their first ALCS championship since 2009 back to the Bronx. 

NLCS 

1 Dodgers vs 2 Mets 

Winner: Mets over Dodgers 4-3

NLCS MVP: Pete Alonso 

The defending champion Dodgers will play the cross country rival Mets. It’s the battle of LA and NYC at the highest level. These two teams will go to war in this series just as the Dodgers did last series. Which will be the factor. The Mets will get into the bullpen in LA and steal the final game in LA in game 7. Degrom will have his postseason moment with his shutdown pitching against a top three offense. There will be so many momentum swings you might get nauseous as one of these two teams fans. Syndergaard will step up and show his worth. It’ll be an all time series that will see the Mets players piling on Edwin Diaz as he closes the series out in LA. 

World Series 

1 Yankees vs 2 Mets 

Winner

Mets over Yankees 4-2

World Series MVP: Jacob Degrom

What a World Series this will be. New York City would be rocking for two weeks as cross town rivals settle Subway Series beef in the biggest stage of them all the World Series. Degrom and Stroman will lead the Mets rotation and stable the Yankees offense. Degrom will steal a game in the Bronx early and close the series out in Queens. The little brother New York Mets will show in the first year Steve Cohen they aren’t the little brother anymore.

2021 MLB Awards Winner Predictions 

AL MVP: OF Mike Trout Angels 

AL CY Young: SP Gerrit Cole Yankees 

AL Rookie of the Year: OF Randy Arozarena Rays

AL Comeback Player of the Year: OF Trey Mancini Orioles 

AL Manager of the Year: Joe Maddon Angels 

NL MVP: SS Corey Seager Dodgers 

NL CY Young: Jacob Degrom Mets

NL Rookie of the Year: OF Dylan Carlson Cardinals 

NL Comeback Player of the Year: SP Stephen Strasburg 

NL Manager of the Year: Dave Roberts 

Three Shepherd individuals Predictions/ Hot Takes 

Angels will breakout in 2021. Going into 2021 they are looked at as a third place team but with Maddon they are going to be more. Trout will have an MVP type like year beating the Astros for a final playoff spot. 

Mets will have the most All Stars with 6: Fransisco Lindor, Jacob Degrom, Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, Michael Conforto, Edwin Diaz 

Aaron Judge will have play more than 140 games. He will lead the league in home runs with 40+. Doesn’t seem like a hot take with the home runs but Judge staying healthy lately is a hot take. 

Fernando Tatis will struggle from April to late June. 

We will gave above 70% capacity in New York for the World Series. 

Tim Anderson will win the batting title 

Twins will finish second to the Yankees in home runs. 

Astros won’t make the playoffs and Correa will not reach an extension 

Bryce Harper will be MVP caliber but JT Realmuto will struggle 

Paul Goldschmidt will bounce back and lead Cardinals in HR and RBIs 

By Matthew Doherty 

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