MLB

With MLB Baseball One Month into the season I think it's time to decide whether or not the people that are leading the league in the stats below are Legit  Meaning they keep up the work and have a successful season even if they don't league in the category- or a Fluke- Meaning that this is only a coincedence and they won't even keep a good start going and just bomb the rest of the season.
NL Batting Average Leader: Carlos Gomez MIL .364. Legit- The Only reason that I am saying this is not a fluke is because he showed signs of doing this last year. He won't be hitting as high as he is now but at the end of the year I think he will be hitting around .315 BA.
AL Batting Average Leader: Miguel Cabrera .385 Legit- This guy is on fire, he is showing people that he was meant to have that triple crown last year and he might have a chance at it this year the way he has been hitting. And at the end of the year I think he will end up hitting around .335
NL Home Runs Leader: Justin Upton 11 HR Fluke- This year's early home run leader will not be the leader at the all-star break, only because he has only had 2 seasons with more than 20 HR's in his whole career(6 Seasons). I am not saying he won't get over 20 HR I am just saying that he won't be leading in home runs  Projected HR: 27
AL Home Runs Leader:Mark Reynolds: 10 HR Legit- In his past 4 seasons Mark Reynolds put up 44,32,37,23 HR. This guy has some serious power here. I would say that he will have the most homeruns at the end of the season, just because of his consistent numbers. Projected HR: 38
NL RBI Leaders: 2 TIED Brandon Phillips 29 RBI, John Buck 29 RBI Flukes- Sadly both these guys are flukes, neither of them have put of 80 or more RBI in their WHOLE career. Normally when you see people have the most RBI they have around the 100 mark. I just don't think these guys have it in them to produce more than 80. Both of them are in their 30s. Projected RBI Buck:67 Phillips: 75
AL RBI Leader: Miguel Cabrera 36 RBI Legit- This guy continues to impress, he has a really good shot at having yet another Triple Crown if he keep having good months like he did here. Projected RBI: 105
NL Wins Leader: Jordan Zimmerman 5 Wins Fluke- In the last 3 seasons he hasn't had double digits in the win category. Even though he is doing well now, he is 35 and will lose energy as the season goes on. Which means he will lose velocity, location and won' t be as dominant as he is right now. Projected W-L Record: 9-6
AL Wins Leader: Clay Buchholz 6 Wins Legit: Even though that he hasn't had a double digit win season and he is relatively young at 28, he will continue being a dominant pitcher and have a shot at Cy Young. I don't think that he will have the most wins though just because Verlander and Darvish have been pitching very well and they have been more consistent than Buchholz. Projected W-L: 15-6
NL Saves Leader: Jason Grilli 13 Saves Legit- In his first year as closer he is producing very well. He is 35 years old and has only had around 10 saves his whole career apart from this years 13. He seems comfortable at this position and will keep saving games and having maybe 3 blown saves. Projected Saves: 49 Saves  
AL Saves Leader: Jim Johnson 12 Saves Legit- Last year Jim Johnson put himself on the radar with 51 Saves. That s very good for a closer. I think he come close or even have the most saves at the end of season
Some of his competition will be Mariano Rivera who is only one save behind Johnson. Projected Saves: 54 Saves
This year is going to be a good one with no clear cut choice for World Series and these leaders will either be LEGIT and help their team out or will FLUNK and won't be much help for some teams that are considered playoff contenders.

In the American League East I expect the Yankees to have an up-and-down season, all season long as the Baltimore Orioles take the division. I also expect the Red Sox to have a bounce back season but still miss the playoffs coming out in a close 3rd or 4th for the division just in front of the Yankees but behind the off season stars so far in the Toronto Blue Jays who I think have a great rebuilding season but just miss and come in on 3rd or 4th. Tampa Bay Rays will take 2nd and get the second wild card spot.


In the American League Central the Tigers will pull away to another ride in the post season. For me I believe that Kansas City and Minnesota will not be a factor in this  although the Cleveland Indians pitching could usually be a strong point I think differently this year. They have some pop in there bat this year but i don't think they have the pitching to pull them through they will end up in a very close second or third place for the division while fighting against the White Sox.

In the American League West, it will be another insanely competitive year. The L.A. Angels will run away with it though by a few games over the Oakland A's and Texas Rangers who will be back-and-forth for second place. Houston and Seattle shouldn't be a factor in this division though. Texas will take the first wild card spot.

For the National League East Washington will take it quite easily with a prediction of just over 100 wins. Philadelphia will have a bounce back season and take a close second strolling into the second wild card spot. Atlanta will take third, Mets 4th, and the Marlins will have a terrible season with near the least wins in the MLB.

For the National League Cenrtral, Cinci will ride and take the division. The cubs will take last. Pittsburgh will have a decent season but fall right behind the Brewers. Brewers will not make the playoffs but it will be close.

The L.A. Dodgers will take the division and Matt Kemp will take the MVP. The San Fransisco Giants will come flying up and take the first Wild Card. San Diego will get 3rd, Atizona 4th, and Colorado Rockies will be in last

Although I can't predict the whole playoffs I think the L.A. Angels and The Washigton Nationals with the Nationals winning the World Series
By: Charlie K.

Ricky's Team Analysis:

Starting With The AL:

Baltimore Orioles

Last Year was a great year for the Orioles as they were a surprising team and ended up making the playoffs. We haven't heard much from these guys from the off-season so my thought is they are very happy with there team and want to try again for a World Series Title.

Starting Pitching: 3/5- There really not any superstar pitchers on this team but there are some reliable pitchers on there team that can and will be able to go 6+ innings and give up 1-2 runs.

Bullpen 4/5- There bullpen if decently good but if they have to go in at inning 4 that's where there might be a few problems.But if their starting pitchers hold up and go 6+ innings like I said above there are going to win a lot of games, especially with a veteran in Jim Johnson who saved 51 games last season.

Fielding 3.5/5- With them bringing in an veteran Cassilla who is pretty good in defense, plus with their star center fielder Adam Jones, I don't see them making too many errors.

Hitting 4.5/5- They have got some explosive bats on this offense. With Adam Jones putting up some good numbers, to Matt Wieters getting a hot bat at the end of the season. Also watch out for Machado who was their rookie 3rd baseman last year, he will steal a lot of base and probably not hit a lot of homeruns. They also have J.J Hardy who is an all around hitter who can have a good bat bat at times

Overall 4/5- This year will be an amazing year for the Orioles the one problem they might have is that bullpen there starting pitchers will really need to go at least 5 for a good performance from their pen.
Record-95-67 with a Division Title (Sorry Yanks)

Boston Redsox

Last year was a blowout for the Boston Redsox as they went 69-93 and finished last in their division. This year wont be much better as they haven't acquired the kind of players they need to be one of the best again. They also have an about 750 games where their stadium was packed, I expect that to stop very quickly. 

Starting Pitching 3/5- They only have 2 starting pitchers that could get them 6 or 7 innings consistently and really pack a punch for these guys. The other three are unpredictable and could have a good game here and there, but very unpredictable.

Bullpen 2/5- They only have 1 or 2 dependable people in the bullpen that are reliable and can really pull through for this team when they need it. There closer is decent but will blow at least 15-20 games this season and do a bad job. The Redsox are not looking good for their bullpen.

Fielding 3.5/5- This is probably the best thing that the Redsox have.They have got a gold glove winner in the outfield (Jacoby Elsbury) and two other outfielders that will do a good job out there.

Hitting- 3/5- With Ortiz not getting any younger, the trade last year that sent slugger Adrian Gonzalez packing, the Redsox offense is not going to be as explosive as they usually are. They will have some nice contact bats, but don't expect a lot of the clearing the bases home runs

Overall 2.75/5- This year is going to be horrible for the Redsox and I think they will go 67-95 and finish last in the AL East  

Chicago White Sox 

Last year was an amazing year for the Chicago White Sox. Around August for the White Sox they had a huge lead on the Tigers and looked like they were a shoe-in for the Division Title,but in September they blew up and lost a ton a games in September and did not win the Division Title or Wild Card. So there shoe-in for the playoffs ended in a bust, but what gonna happen this year, I'm going to tell you. 

Starting Pitching 3.5/5- With a veteran in Peavy and still a young and developing Chris Sale these two are going to lead the White Sox as they try to have another good year and finish with force. There are only 2 other pitchers that I like that will have good games here and there. 

Bullpen 4/5- Their Bullpen is looking real nice with most of them having less than 3.00 ERA in the last two years and having less than 1.50 Hits per inning, if any of their pitchers were to get in trouble most of the time this bullpen will be able to hold up and complete and win games for the White Sox. 

Hitting- 3.5/5- This team has a mixture of contact and power hitters.Last year this team was ranked 15 or higher in all of the hitting categories. This team has added a couple of new bats and I expect them to score more runs and really help their pitchers out.

Fielding- 3/5- This is category is ok for the White Sox. I think they will be avergage and nothing else really special for this one 

Overall- 4/5- I expect this Division to be really exciting going in to the final months of the season. I think Detroit will have the lead going to the final games of the season but the White Sox will end up pulling it out and winning the division.

Record- 87-72