Opening Day is here, which means it’s time to look deep into our crystal ball and pretend like we can all predict the future.
Baseball is back.
It’s going to be a full 162-game season this year, assuming all things go well with nation-wide vaccinations and league COVID protocol is followed. It feels like a return to normalcy, as spring is here and baseball is blooming.
With the MLB season finally upon us, it’s time to dig into our bag of predictions and see what we pull out. Over the weekend FanSided’s panel of experts locked themselves in a back alley room thick with the musk of whiskey and cigarette smoke and emerged with a tattered piece of paper that bore their deepest beliefs about how they think the baseball season will go.
Okay, maybe it wasn’t that dramatic but saying we filled out a Google Form in separate parts of the world sells short how much thought went into these.
Without further ado, here are our totally correct and in no way wrong predictions about the 2021 MLB Season and who will end up winning what.
MLB 2021 Expert Predictions
Josh Hill, FS.com Editorial Director
AL East: New York Yankees
AL Central: Minnesota Twins
AL West: Houston Astros
NL East: New York Mets
NL Central: Milwaukee Brewers
NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers
AL Wild Card: White Sox over Angels
NL Wild Card: Padres over Cubs
World Series: White Sox over Padres
AL MVP: Vlad Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays
AL Cy Young: Lucas Giolito, White Sox
AL Rookie of the Year: Jarred Kelenic, Mariners
NL MVP: Juan Soto, Nationals
NL Cy Young: Jacob deGrom, Mets
NL Rookie of the Year: Ke’Bryan Hayes, Pirates
Biggest Surprise: While it won’t be quite as gutwrenching or heartbreaking as the ending of Furious 7, the two fan bases of the two teams that gave us one of the most thrilling World Series ever will be reduced to tears nonetheless. The Cleveland Indians will compete for a Wild Card spot late in the season despite having sold off their best assets as part of a rebuild. The future in Cleveland will look bright, with a young team in the clubhouse and that new logo serving as a true rebrand. Meanwhile, the Chicago Cubs will make the playoffs as a Wild Card but lose thus triggering the total tear-down that North Siders have been fearing. Anthony Rizzo will bid farewell, Kris Bryant will get traded, Willson Contreras will be gone, and the Ricketts will dismantle a core that should have won more than it did.
Kurt Mensching, MLB Director
AL East: New York Yankees
AL Central: Minnesota Twins
AL West: Los Angeles Angels
NL East: Atlanta Braves
NL Central: Milwaukee Brewers
NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers
AL Wild Card: Blue Jays over Astros
NL Wild Card: Padres over Mets
World Series: Dodgers over Yankees
AL MVP: Mike Trout, Angels
AL Cy Young: Tyler Glasnow, Rays
AL Rookie of the Year: Randy Arozarena, Rays
NL MVP: Ronald Acuna Jr., Braves
NL Cy Young: Jacob deGrom, Mets
NL Rookie of the Year: Dylan Carlson, Cardinals
Biggest Surprise: The Chicago Cubs won’t be the doomsday team many people seem to think they’ll be. The Chicago White Sox do not have an automatic ticket to the postseason punched either. These teams are closer to each other than people think.
Robert Murray, MLB Columnist/Site Expert
AL East: New York Yankees
AL Central: Minnesota Twins
AL West: Houston Astros
NL East: Atlanta Braves
NL Central: Milwaukee Brewers
NL West: San Diego Padres
AL Wild Card: Rays over White Sox
NL Wild Card: Dodgers over Cardinals
World Series: Dodgers over Yankees
AL MVP: Mike Trout, Angels
AL Cy Young: Gerrit Cole, Yankees
AL Rookie of the Year: Andrew Vaughn, White Sox
NL MVP: Christian Yelich, Brewers
NL Cy Young: Jacob deGrom, Mets
NL Rookie of the Year: Dylan Carlson, Cardinals
Biggest Surprise: If he stays healthy — big if — Shohei Ohtani puts himself into the MVP conversation. People in and around the Angels have raved about him this spring and it seems like the team has taken all restrictions off their two-way star.
Matt Verderame, NFL Senior Editor (And noted Oakland A’s fan)
AL East: New York Yankees
AL Central: Chicago White Sox
AL West: Oakland A’s
NL East: Atlanta Braves
NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals
NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers
AL Wild Card: Astros over Twins
NL Wild Card: Mets over Cubs
World Series: White Sox over Dodgers
AL MVP: Mike Trout, Angels
AL Cy Young: Luis Giolito, White Sox
AL Rookie of the Year: Wander Franco, Rays
NL MVP: Cody Bellinger, Dodgers
NL Cy Young: Walker Buehler, Dodgers
NL Rookie of the Year: Sixto Sánchez, Marlins
Biggest Surprise: Royals win 85 games and contend for a playoff spot into September.
Luiscarlos Gonzalez, FS ES Managing Editor
AL East: New York Yankees
AL Central: Chicago White Sox
AL West: Houston Astros
NL East: New York Mets
NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals
NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers
AL Wild Card: Tampa Bay Rays
NL Wild Card: San Diego Padres
World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers
AL MVP: Mike Trout, Angels
AL Cy Young: Gerrit Cole, Yankees
AL Rookie of the Year: Randy Arozarena, Rays
NL MVP: Juan Soto, Nationals
NL Cy Young: Jacob deGrom, Mets
NL Rookie of the Year: Sixto Sánchez, Marlins
Biggest Surprise: It’s going to be great to see how far the Miami Marlins can go. Last year they took advantage of the short schedule and made the playoffs, which could happen again with a longer schedule. The team has some good prospects — Sixto Sánchez looks great — and the NL East will be an even race, so a shot at a Wild Card spot is very much in play. Seeing them go on another postseason would be surprising given the depth of talent in the National League, but it’s not impossible.
Mark Powell, Senior Editor
AL East: New York Yankees
AL Central: Minnesota Twins
AL West: Oakland A’s
NL East: Washington Nationals
NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals
NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers
AL Wild Card: White Sox over Blue Jays
NL Wild Card: Padres over Mets
World Series: Padres over Yankees
AL MVP: Mike Trout, Angels
AL Cy Young: Gerrit, Cole, Yankees
AL Rookie of the Year: Bobby Dalbec, Red Sox
NL MVP: Mookie Betts, Dodgers
NL Cy Young: Max Scherzer, Nationals
NL Rookie of the Year: Ke’Bryan Hayes, Pirates
Biggest Surprise: Washington Nationals. The NL East is a gauntlet, with the 2019 World Series champs gaining surprisingly little fanfare heading into 2021. Don’t be surprised when they finally get over that hangover, with Max Scherzer and Juan Soto leading the way.