There will at last be a baseball season. Weeks were spent in conflict over money between the owners and the players. In all honesty, that was never resolved, but the commissioner required a 60-game schedule, which will start on either July 23 or July 24.
How things will turn out in a short, cut-down season where everyone has been waiting around for months has a long list of unknowns. The effects of the coronavirus during the season are the biggest mysteries.
Will the season even be able to continue unabatedly with the number of cases rising in many states across the nation?
One curveball after another is being thrown to each team. Do some teams benefit more than others because of how the schedule is set up? It’s difficult to say. These teams weren’t made to play for two months.
Additionally, teams will play unusual schedules, with 40 of the 60 games taking place against opponents from the same division and the remaining 20 games taking place against teams from the same geographic division in the opposing league.
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1.Dodgers of Los Angeles
Even if Mookie Betts’ time with the Dodgers is brief, they have been the best team in the National League for the past three seasons and have now gotten even better with the addition of Betts.
The Dodgers, by far the best team in their division, should have no trouble winning games on a schedule that features two-thirds divisional contests.
2. New York Yankees
The Yankees will once again be plagued by injuries, but they will undoubtedly gain from Gerrit Cole’s new position at the top of the rotation. The positive injury report? Giancarlo Stanton and James Paxton were able to improve their health due to the protracted break.
The bad injury news? By the end of May, Luis Severino had undergone Tommy John surgery, and Aaron Judge still hadn’t picked up a bat. What did Aaron Boone accomplish last season despite a never-ending stream of injuries? He won 100 games.
3. Houston Astros
The cheating scandal that actually affected the roster construction has not resulted in any penalties, so the Astros are still very much capable of winning the World Series. The best lineup in baseball is still theirs.
However, following Gerrit Cole’s departure, there are some uncertainties regarding the depth of the starting rotation. Even so, I’d take a 1-2 of Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke any day, especially since the older pitchers are no longer required to pitch as many innings.
4. Atlanta Braves
When the Nationals, a division rival, won the World Series, they were overshadowed despite winning the NL East the previous season. The talent of Ronald Acuna and this group of position players is unaffected by this, though.
The pitching needs to catch up right away. This winter, the Braves strengthened the bullpen; now, they must hope the rotation can keep up. the positive news In a new era of managing pitching staffs, that bullpen might see a lot of action.
5. Washington Nationals
For the second consecutive offseason, the defending champions lost their biggest star, with Anthony Rendon departing for the warm Southern California. However, the Nationals were left with a hole the size of Bryce Harper in the middle of their lineup last winter, and all they managed to do was win the World Series.
The most dreadful 1-2-3 pitching punch in the game is Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, and Patrick Corbin, who all still sport curly Ws on their hats. This time, however, they won’t be able to overcome a sluggish start. Last season, they were 27-33 and in fourth place after 60 games.
6. Cincinnati Reds
No team in the NL worked harder during the offseason to climb to the top of a winnable NL Central than the Redlegs. A lineup that previously included underrated hitmen like Eugenio Suarez and Joey Votto now includes Mike Moustakas and Nicholas Castellanos as well.
Stars like Luis Castillo, Trevor Bauer, and Sonny Gray are in the rotation. On paper, this is most likely the division’s top team. They must now prove it in the real world. The NL Central’s chilly April and May weather wouldn’t have to be endured, allowing Cincinnati’s boppers to quickly begin mashing.
7. Minnesota Twins
Josh Donaldson, a perennial MVP contender who excelled in his first healthy season in a while in 2019, has just joined a team that broke the record for the most home runs in a single season in baseball history.
I’m not convinced by their starting staff, though, after Jose Berrios, who is fantastic at the top of the rotation. However, if the Twins can continue to slug it out and avoid playing in the snowy Twin Cities in April, it might not matter.
8. Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays have a great history. It’s time to accept the possibility that the Rays may never again be excluded from an AL Wild Card race. They should be able to return to October if Tyler Glasnow makes a full recovery and teams up with Blake Snell.
In fact, when it comes to managing a pitching staff, perhaps no team is better equipped to handle a potential new normal. Kevin Cash frequently makes unusual arm movements.
9. Chicago Cubs
In Wrigleyville, four years after a championship season, the atmosphere is anything but upbeat. But expecting the “World Series or bust” will only lead to disappointment. It didn’t seem entirely necessary to fire Joe Maddon for a team that only requires some consistency from its pitching staff.
A lineup with Kris Bryant, Javy Baez, and Anthony Rizzo would seem to be more than capable when it comes to competing for a division title, if the starting rotation gives new captain David Ross enough juice.
One to keep an eye on might be Kyle Hendricks. In the second half of his career, he has a 2.78 ERA. Well, this year’s first half doesn’t exist.
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10. New York Mets
The Mets would be a good choice for the postseason if the NL East weren’t so damn loaded. Even though Noah Syndergaard had Tommy John surgery and is no longer in the rotation, they still have Jacob de Grom and Marcus Stroman at the top of their lineup.
Last year, we saw what Pete Alonso and company were capable of doing during winning streaks. The final three months of the season saw them have a.623 winning percentage.
