American League Predictions With Accompanying Soundtrack

by  |  March 27, 2018

mikeviso

American League Predictions Mike TroutI hope you’re hyped after part one of my 2018 MLB predictions. It was a bit of a rough weekend for me, partying in your 30s is much harder, and I think my song choices today reflect this. That or the American League makes me feel a little more emo than the National League.

Without further ado: Here’s the soundtrack to your 2018 American League predictions. (Click on the links to get your groove on.)

American League East

  1. New York Yankees—Disclaimer: I’m a Yankees fan. Hence the song. Plus, Demi Lovato. This team needs another starting pitcher and Greg Bird getting hurt is troublesome. But Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Gary Sanchez, gimme dat.
  2. Boston Red Sox—See the above statement and the song makes sense. This is a good team, obviously, but J.D. Martinez makes them much scarier than last year, with youngsters that are still not at their ceiling. It’s going to be a battle for the division.
  3. Toronto Blue Jays—Shoutout to deadmau5. I don’t know if he’s a Blue Jays fan, but jump on the bandwagon now. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichehette are coming in a hurry, and I can’t wait. Sidenote: Toronto is amazing. I had my bachelor party there last year … good times.
  4. Tampa Bay Rays—Does anyone else want this team to move as badly as I do? Give Portland or South Carolina a team. The end of an era is here with Evan Longoria gone. This song was the end of an era for me, so it’s only fitting.
  5. Baltimore Orioles—I spent 2012 with the Lynchburg Hillcats, and I thought Cher Lloyd was better than Carly Rae Jepsen. Get used to Orioles fans, you’ll be singing this to Manny Machado in July.

American League Central

  1. Cleveland Indians—Guess what team had the biggest run differential in 2017? I think the loss of Carlos Santana is going to hurt a lot more than they anticipate. Gambling on Yonder Alonso to have another career year—he hit 28 homers last year in 521 plate appearances and 39 in his previous 2,343 plate appearances—is risky.
  1. Minnesota Twins—After missing the playoffs for six seasons, the Twins want more than just a one game playoff. They have a nice mix of young players and vets. The Jake Odorizzi singing was a solid pick up, and they can expect more growth out Bryon Buxton and Miguel Sanó.
  1. Chicago White Sox—Who wants to go in on some season tickets? I live on the South Side, and I’m trying to convince these n00b Sox fans that it’s going to be a hot ticket next year. The future is so bright, don’t be scared, fans.
  1. Kansas City Royals—Do the Royals want to be bad again? Looking at their roster, it’s still decent but it’s just blah. Getting back Mike Moustakas makes this roster much sexier than it actually is. I want to believe this team has one more run in them, but I don’t believe it at this moment.
  1. Detroit Tigers—It’s pretty obvious the Tigers want to be horrendous and build through the draft. There are a few pieces to sell in July, so hold tight in Motown, and the rebuild can happen faster as this team as deep pockets.

American League West

  1. Houston Astros—The world champs. The first baseball game I ever went to was a Pirates vs. Astros game in the Astrodome. I threw my glove on the field and cried. It was basically the same thing I did after they won the ALCS over the Yankees last fall.
  1. Los Angles Angels of Anaheim—This is the year the Angles finally get Mike Trout back into the playoffs. I have a soft spot for him as he grew up in the town over from me, plus he’ll be a Yankee eventually. The only bad thing about him is he’s a Philadelphia Eagles fan. Also, I’m completely obsessed with Shohei Ohtani. I’m predicting a 3.25 ERA and 12 bombs.
  1. Seattle Mariners—When I was a freshman in high school, I was a bench warmer on the baseball team. My fellow benchwarmers started a group called “The Dugout Crew” to entertain ourselves. One of our favorite things was to blast this song driving through the park as the Little League teams and our high school softball team practiced. We found it hilarious.
  1. Oakland Athletics—This team has some really exciting young players, but I’m going to be Dustin Fowler’s biggest fan. It’s great to see him bounce back after a devastating, freak injury in his first Major League game. Here’s hoping he fulfills his potential and more.
  1. Texas Rangers—Elvis Andrus, Roughned “Iron Fists” Odor and Delino DeShields Jr. make this team very fun up the middle. Cole Hamels should be on the move if they want to maximize his value. At the end of the season, they’ll just be waiting for September to end.

Playoffs? You want to talk about playoffs? Okay, we can do that tomorrow.