The Astros have won the AL West in three straight seasons. They still have a hefty middle of the lineup, but their pitching staff leaves much to be desired.

Key additions: Tyler Anderson (will likely begin season on IL). You’ll note they are the only team with no “key additions.” If you would like to include players from the previous season who re-signed with their teams, we can throw in Drew Butera. Ultimately, I think the Yankees win this battle, but then lose to the Angels in the Wild Card Game. The Athletics won’t be quite as good, while the Angels’ big offseason gets them to 90 wins (and I predict a deep postseason run, but more on that later). There aren’t many differences between the two leagues but Grapefruit League is more close to the American League overall. Copyright © 2020 Pitcher GIFS Inc. All Rights Reserved. While the Orioles clearly would benefit from the Yankees leaving their division, the Braves and Twins enter the realm with offenses that ranked 7th and 2nd respectively in 2019. Nobody knows how much their 2019 season benefited from the illegal sign-stealing scandal, but I assume any illegal activity from 2019 will have to stop in 2020. The Brewers brought in more new faces than any other team this offseason, but it’s hard to see them being better than a season ago. ), they would have the pleasure of regular dates with Ronald Acuna, Freddie Freeman, Nelson Cruz, and Josh Donaldson. The Diamondbacks, Cubs, and Rockies all benefit from a more level playing field. On the bright side, they wouldn’t have to deal with Gleyber Torres this year (1.512 OPS and 13 HR in 18 games against the Orioles in 2019). Wednesday Rockpile: Who can the Rockies count on for consistency in 2021?

We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. The Phils, Pirates, Blue Jays, and Tigers finished 16th, 24th, 26th, and 30th overall in the 2019 standings. The Athletics are a young team oozing with potential. Fangraph’s 2020 projected standings have the A’s at 87 wins, putting them two games up on the Cubs and the best in the proposed division. The Indians were gearing up in 2020 for another season of beating up on far inferior opponents while avoiding the need to go “all-in”. Here’s where you’re probably making a mad dash to the comment section to express your disagreement.

The new division would place the Astros head-to-head with a group of NL teams, two of which were 2019 playoff contenders (Nationals, Cardinals, Mets, and Marlins). There are four legitimate teams that could take the division. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019. Yankees aside, this division won 40.8% of games in 2019. And they’re ready to rebound. Team Win Loss Percentage Games Behind ... Spring Training 2020. There are still a lot of question marks at this time, but there are some clear winners and losers if the Cactus and Grapefruit League structure were to go into place. These standings assume a 162 game season and no divisional or schedule changes. Dakota Hudson outpitched his peripherals by over a run in 2019, Adam Wainwright will be 39 in August and Kim isn’t a sure thing in his first year in the big leagues. The A’s were allowed the 6th lowest runs per game in 2019 and I think they could threaten for #1 in 2020 if they can escape from Mike Trout, Alex Bregman, Joey Gallo and the rest of the AL West. This website is powered by SportsEngine's Sports Relationship Management (SRM) software, but is owned by and subject to the Cactus Cities Softball League privacy policy. On the not bright side (or rather, dark side? The Indians have a middling prospect system (preseason 12th ranked by MLB.com) and their window to win could close after 2020 if Lindor does change teams. Going into 2020, Fangraphs’ projected standings pegged the AL Central at 48.9% winning percentage and -102 run differential, both still the worst in baseball. Who would have thought the Washington Nationals would win a playoff series—let alone a World Series? The Brewers would utterly dominate this level of competition. Here are the proposed divisions: Northeast: Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants, West: Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Northwest: Kansas City Royals,  Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, North: Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Toronto Blue Jays, South: Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Minnesota Twins, Tampa Bay Rays, East: Houston Astros, Miami Marlins, New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Nationals. This would become the most pitching heavy division in the MLB. This division would look like the Monstars versus the Tune Squad in Space Jam. With a hypothetical move to the Grapefruit East, the Astros enter a division that put up a 53.6 winning percentage in 2019 (best of all the proposed divisions). This would be the first Freeway Series World Series! Despite 93 wins, this was their first playoff miss since 2016. The Yankees only added Cole, but when you win 103 games, that’s the only kind of move you really need. ... 2020 MLB predictions: How will the Rockies and the rest of the league fare?

But I look at the 2018 Red Sox and find the core that won 108 games is still largely intact. Give Yelich the MVP crown now. Note: PECOTA projections are based on the original 162-game schedule for 2020.1. In the Cactus Northwest, the Brewers escape from the competitive NL Central and would compete against the Padres, Royals, Mariners, and Rangers. The pitching is again the question mark here, but you could do a lot worse than a top three of Sonny Gray, Luis Castillo and Trevor Bauer. Fellow Purple Row editor Adam Peterson has described the Dodgers as playing “Moneyball with money.” They have one of the highest payrolls in the sport, but they also took flyers on two non-tender candidates who have high ceilings in Treinen and Nelson. Required fields are marked *. Since we’re only in the first month of 2020, the Spring Training hasn’t begun yet. Trading away Trevor Bauer, Corey Kluber, and potentially Francisco Lindor this year, the Indians have mastered the art of trading away just enough talent to remain competitive in a weak division. The White Sox have a different mindset as an organization and have acquired extraordinary young talent to hopefully compete for years beyond 2020. That was not a typo. Much like with the Red Sox, I see a core of Cubs players that has plenty left in the tank. Astros hitters are already under a high level of scrutiny heading into 2020. There are even fewer “sure bets” in this lineup than with the Rockies. The Red Sox seem to be interested in cost-cutting, with recent reports suggesting it’s more likely than ever they trade Mookie Betts.