The Flyby: Season Predictions

Welcome back to the Flyby. This past week we wanted to hear your general predictions for the 2020 MLB season. We may have only gotten one response to the prompt, but it was still a good one.

Phantom255x’s Predictions

What they said: 31-29 final record, making the playoffs as a 7 or 8 seeded team. Admittedly optimistic, but based on the incredible offense, there’s still a chance at glory. The shortened season will help us. Natthan Eovaldi and Matt Barnes will be standout pitchers, J.D. Martinez, Alex Verdugo, and Jackie Bradley Jr. will be offensive standouts. Dodgers and Yankees in the World Series, with the Dodgers winning.

There’s a lot to unpack here, but the thing I want to focus on is the idea that a short season will be of benefit to us.

Maybe under normal circumstances I would agree, but we aren’t under normal circumstances. The reality is that we’re looking at a season impacted by a pandemic. The assumption is that players are going to be going up, down, all around, and that we’re going to utilize many of the players currently on our reserve players list.

I feel like we’re not a team that benefits in that regard, as our depth is nearly not as good as a team like the Dodgers, or the Rays, who are my personal pick to win the AL. Some teams just seem to be able to call upon any number of players who come out of nowhere and surprise you. The Rays are that team in the American League, not us.

I’m concerned about our ability to adjust to an injury or, knock on wood, to a mini-outbreak that keeps several of our players off the active roster. This was true before we started playing games. Now that we’re seeing just how bad this team can be on the mound, I’m even more concerned.

I do believe that this short season will benefit our relievers, as over a longer season, I feel they would be more exposed. But over a shorter season, we may be able to get just enough out of them to stay afloat in the long term. The rotation though, is a big question.

My own predictions are below:

I made this current list a few weeks ago, and decided in the interests of fairness not to update it at all despite the fact Justin Verlander is now out for the season (or not?) and Shohei Ohtani looked positively lost on the mound in his first start, though in fairness, he did undergo a major surgery on his pitching arm.

I’m going to stand by everything. I think the Rays in particular are really well set up for the 2020 season. I also believe that the 2020 season is going to be so weird that only a team nobody expects will actually be able to take advantage. Plus, the Dodgers need to lose the World Series or to the team that ends up winning the World Series. It’s an annual tradition. You can feel free to ignore the ALDS/NLDS/etc tabs, as this list was made prior to the announcement that the season was going to feature 8 playoff teams per league.

Based on my standings, the playoff teams will be the Yankees, Astros, Twins, Rays, White Sox, Athletics, Indians, and Blue Jays in the American League, and the Dodgers, Braves, Cardinals, Nationals, Diamondbacks, Brewers, Phillies, and Reds in the National League.

Other FanPosts Around the Site

Scarecrow is “over” the Mookie situation - I know, it’s more about Mookie Betts, the last thing any of us wants to hear. But this long form piece was likely cathartic to write, if my own experience writing farewells is any indication. I recommend checking Scarecrow’s FanPost out and sharing your own feelings.

GOAT91 feels that the Dodgers will regret the Mookie contract - More Mookie! There’s a decent possibility that Mookie Betts best years of his career will have been in Boston, and the Dodgers paid a heavy price to lock up Mookie in advance of free agency. I’m never going to bet against him, but players typically get worse as they get older, and Mookie will be 34 by the midpoint of that contract. It would not be surprising to see decline take him from that point.

GOAT91 also thinks it may be worth exploring a deal, Benintendi for pitching - It’s hard to feel anything but disappointment when it comes to Andrew Benintendi recently. He looked to be a bonafide stud, a certain surefire star, following his debut a few years ago. But he’s stalled. While we can expect Benintendi to hopefully improve, it’s a fact that the Red Sox need pitching. And it’s possible they don’t really need Benintendi. Hypothetically speaking, what do you think would be a good value for Benintendi?

See you all on Friday for the new prompt!