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30 Bold Predictions for 2013

Kevin Nielsen continues the theme of the week here at Fake Teams with a bold prediction for one player on each MLB team.

Yoenis Cespedes.
Yoenis Cespedes.
Kevork Djansezian

Some of these are bolder than others but I think they are all possible. Here are my 30 bold predictions and possibilities for 2013:

New York Yankees

Travis Hafner will hit at least 25 HR. Roughly 75% of those HR will be hit at Yankee Stadium.

Baltimore Orioles

Nate McLouth will have at least 40 HR/SB (combined).

Tampa Bay Rays

Jeff Niemann will finally pitch at least 200 innings. He might be traded but he will have at least 15 Wins with an ERA/WHIP of 3.5/1.25 or less.

Toronto Blue Jays

Josh Johnson, Brandon Morrow, Mark Buehrle, and Ricky Romero will each have a 4+ ERA.

Boston Red Sox

Koji Uehara will take over at closer at some point during the season despite the current presence of Joel Hanrahan and Andrew Bailey.

Detroit Tigers

Rick Porcello won’t take the major step forward many are predicting. He will post another 4+ ERA.

Chicago White Sox

Addison Reed will lower his ERA by two full runs.

Kansas City Royals

Salvador Perez will hit .300+ with 20+ HR and 85+ RBI. He will be the most valuable catcher for 5x5 standard scoring leagues.

Cleveland Indians

Trevor Bauer will win 12+ games with an ERA/WHIP of 3.25/1.25 or less. He’ll be the most valuable Indians SP for 5x5 standard scoring leagues.

Minnesota Twins

Glen Perkins will have a fantastic season as the Twins closer. He will have 35+ saves with similar overall statistics to last season. He has been and will continue to be underrated in many drafts because the Twins aren’t a very good team and he doesn’t have an extensive history of closing.

Oakland Athletics

Yoenis Cespedes will hit .300+ with 30+ HR, 20+ SB, and 100+ RBI. He will be the most valuable outfielder for 5x5 standard scoring leagues except for Mike Trout and Ryan Braun.

Texas Rangers

Lance Berkman will hit .280+ with 25+ HR and 90+ RBI.

Los Angeles Angels

Josh Hamilton will hit .270 or less with 25 HR or less.

Seattle Mariners

Michael Morse will hit .300+ with 30+ HR and 100+ RBI.

Houston Astros

Erik Bedard wins 10 games with an ERA/WHIP under 4/1.35

Washington Nationals

Ian Desmond will hit .270 or less with 12 HR or less.

Atlanta Braves

Mike Minor will win 15+ games with an ERA/WHIP of 3.5/1.25 or less and 175+ K.

Philadelphia Phillies

Ryan Howard will hit .235 or less with 23 HR or less.

New York Mets

Bobby Parnell will have 35+ saves and will continue to have great peripherals.

Miami Marlins

Juan Pierre will steal 50+ bases.

Cincinnati Reds

Shin-Soo Choo will have a 25/25 season from the leadoff spot.

St. Louis Cardinals

Adam Wainwright lowers his ERA by a full run. His sub-3 ERA helps him record 20 Wins for the 2nd time in his career.

Milwaukee Brewers

John Axford leads the league in saves while posting an ERA/WHIP under 3/1.25 and 100 strikeouts.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Russell Martin, as many are predicting, will hit .250 or less. He’ll also hit 10 or less HR.

Chicago Cubs

Kyuji Fujikawa will lead the Cubs with 23 saves and a very respectable ERA/WHIP.

San Francisco Giants

The year of the Panda: Pablo Sandoval will put it all together like he did in 2009. He’ll hit .300+ with 25+ HR and 90+ RBI.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Dee Gordon will be called up in early May and have 45+ SB the rest of the way.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Adam Eaton will hit .300+ with 12+ HR and 35+ SB.

San Diego Padres

Jedd Gyorko will hit .280+ with 20+ HR and 80+ RBI.

Colorado Rockies

Nolan Arenado will hit .290+ with 15+ HR after being called up on June 1st. Increase that HR total if he begins the year in MLB.