The 2019 regular season is nigh upon us!
In keeping with ancient tradition and industry best practices, this is the time for idle guesses gussied up as informed soothsaying. On that front, we've already made our division and playoff predictions at the team level, and now let's roll out 50 bold (read: vaguely bold at various points) predictions regarding the 2019 regular season. In order to avoid nefarious redundancies, we'll stay away from things like division winners and the like. If you want that, sprout eagle's wings and fly to this internet hotlink web URL.
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Now gird thyself as this scribe pretends to know things:
Aaron Judge of the Yankees will lead the majors in home runs. Luke Voit will finish the season within five home runs of Giancarlo Stanton's 2019 total.In his first season with the Phillies, Bryce Harper will top 40 home runs for the second time in his career. Mike Trout will put up another WAR of 10.0 or greater. Christian Yelich will see his 2018 home run total decline by 15 or more. Khris Davis will not hit .247. He's somewhat miraculously batted .247 in each of the last four seasons, but the streak ends in 2019. We'll say he bats a bit below his customary mark. The Orioles and Marlins will each lose more than 100 games. The Orioles will claim the No. 1 overall draft pick for a second straight year. The Yankees and Red Sox will brawl during the series at Yankee Stadium that begins on Aug. 2. The NL Central will still be up for grabs when the Cubs and Cardinals square off in Busch Stadium to end the regular season. Sorry, Brewers, you'll slip back to third place in 2019, but all three NL Central powers will finish within four games of each other. Mickey Callaway of the Mets will be the first manager fired in 2019. The AL Central will be the only division that fails to produce a 90-win team. The Astros will be the only 100-win team of 2019. The Marlins will draw fewer than one million fans for a second-straight year. Despite a 90-win season in 2018, the Rays will finish 29th in attendance.The Braves' Ronald Acuna joins the 30-30 club in his second major-league season. The Nationals see their win total improve despite the loss of Bryce Harper to free agency. A recurrence of back problems leads to another disappointing season for Astros shortstop Carlos Correa. White Sox outfielder Eloy Jimenez will top 30 home runs in his rookie campaign. Boston fly-catcher Jackie Bradley Jr. will set career highs in OPS+ and extra-base hits in 2019. The Royals will become the first team since the 2007 Mets to steal at least 200 bases in a season. Twins center fielder Byron Buxton will post the highest WAR of his career. Yu Darvish of the Cubs will fail to log a qualifying number of innings for the fifth time in the last six seasons. The Blue Jays will finish ahead of the Rays in the AL East standings.Madison Bumgarner and Nicholas Castellanos will be the biggest names traded leading up to the July 31 deadline. While he'll be a questionable selection, Carlos Santana will make his first All-Star appearance at age 33.Cardinals reliever Jordan Hicks will become the first pitcher to register 106 mph on the radar gun. The 2019 season will be Joe Maddon's last as manager of the Cubs. Tyler O'Neill will emerge as the Cardinals' starting right fielder before the All-Star break. German Marquez of the Rockies will finish in the top five of the NL Cy Young balloting. Luis Castillo of the Reds will finish in the top 10 of the NL Cy Young balloting. The Blue Jays will call up Vladimir Guerrero Jr. just before the calendar flips to May. He'll put up an OPS of .850 or so in his rookie season. Walker Buehler will post a higher WAR than Clayton Kershaw.Pending free agents Anthony Rendon, Gerrit Cole, Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez will not sign extensions/rework their current deals. They'll hit the market shortly after the World Series. Joey Gallo of the Rangers will win the 2019 Home Run Derby and become the first to take home the new $1 million prize.MLB will announce that a pitch clock will be implemented for the 2020 season. MLB will also announce plans to expand to 32 teams.Craig Kimbrel will finally sign a one-year contract with the Brewers. Dallas Keuchel will wind up returning to the Astros on a multiyear deal. Albert Pujols in late May will become the fifth player ever to reach 2,000 RBI. Pujols will also top 100 WAR for his career during the 2019 season The Reds and Yasiel Puig agree to a long-term contract extension during the season. Nolan Arenado wins the NL home run title for the fourth time in his career. The Cubs and Wrigley Field will be awarded the 2021 All-Star Game.J.D. Martinez tops 130 RBI for a second straight season. Contrary to widespread predictions for regression, Javier Baez produces right in line with 2018 levels. Corey Seager tops 25 home runs in his return from Tommy John surgery. Justin Verlander gets to 300 strikeouts in a season for the first time. Along the way, he passes 3,000 strikeouts for his career.Rookie Forrest Whitley will start and win Game 7 of the World Series for the Astros.Will these be wrong? People, in the name of all that is holy these will be wrong.
