Rob Parker's 2015 Standings, Awards and Teams to Stream Against Predictions

I roll out my division standings predictions, world series predictions, awards predictions, and, since this is a fantasy site, a list of the best teams to stream against this year.

By Rob_Parker@park_ro Apr 9, 2015, 3:00pm EDT

Carlos Carrasco is on my predictions list somewhere...

With baseball finally here and me back from vacation, now seems like an excellent time for me to put my minimal credibility on the line again with more predictions for the 2015 season. Here you will find my predictions (guesses?) for each division's standings, the playoffs, the major awards, and most relevant to this site, my list of the best teams to stream your pitchers and hitters against.

Hopefully, some of my predictions will be a little bold or controversial. Don't forget that Kansas City was in the World Series last year and Boston and the Yankees didn't make the playoffs, despite what the "experts" said before the season. There are usually unexpected teams in the mix every year. Let's get started.

NL East

Not too many surprises here, except maybe having the Mets over the Marlins. I'm just worried about the Marlins pitching and all their infielders' offense. The Mets have a good balance of hitting types (power/speed/contact) and incredible pitching depth (just go ahead and bench Colon and Gee already, please). The Braves have surprised in this first week with their play, but I believe they are who we thought they were and will be terrible. The Phillies will be the worst team in baseball. There is nothing more I can say. They did just beat my Red Sox, which hurts, but I still believe they are the worst.

NL Central

I was very tempted to put the Cards down in the third spot, but they are simply too well-run to let that happen. I am worried about an offensively-declining Yadier Molina, an aging Matt Holliday and Jhonny Peralta, Matt Adams against lefties, and a rotation that needs Michael Wacha to be an ace with Adam Wainwright's impending doom (see my bold predictions for more on that). They will also rely heavily on Marco Gonzales. They will sneak into the playoffs, but I'm giving the division to the Pirates, who have more guys on their way up and fewer on their way down. Speaking of "on the way up," the Cubs are tempting this year with all that young hitting talent, but I think they are still one year away from taking this division. The Reds are fading fast and the Brewers still have enough talent to compete for the playoffs but have zero depth and any injuries could be fatal.

NL West

The biggest surprise here might be picking the Padres third. The Giants are just so resilient and seem to have answers for all their issues every year. Another year with little Matt Cain or the loss of Pence for a month won't be enough to stop them from claiming that second spot behind the Dodgers, who are just too talented and deep to not win this division easily. The Padres are going to be much better than last year, but their infield is still weak and the outfield defense is just bad. Throw in a bunch of injury-prone starters like Cashner, Morrow, and others, and you could see them struggling. The Rockies still have no pitching and injury-prone stars and the Diamondbacks will be pretty bad again this year.

AL East

Boston Red Sox
Toronto Blue Jays
Baltimore Orioles
Tampa Bay Rays
New York Yankees

Maybe this is a biased pick, but the Sox have the financial and prospect resources to fill any holes in mid-season and the position-player depth to replace any injured players with ease. This offense will be 200 runs better than last year and will make up for the mediocre starting pitching. The Blue Jays have less depth than the Sox, but are better at several positions including right field, third base, first base, catcher, shortstop, and maybe in starting pitching, even without Stroman. If they stay healthy they could easily win the division and should at least finish second. The Orioles are still good and are still the defending champs of this division, but I still don't know how they win with those starters. They have had nothing but #3/#4 starters in their rotation for several years now. The injuries to Wieters and Hardy aren't helping and Machado needs to stay healthy. The Rays are rebuilding and will take a step back, especially with their starting pitcher injuries and the Yankees are aging faster than any team in baseball and simply don't have any upside.

AL Central

Lots of people are in on the Indians this year, and for good reason, but I think it is premature to write off the Tigers. They still have one of the best lineups in baseball, an improved centerfielder in Gose (Davis should not play CF regularly), a huge upgrade in SS defense with Iglesisas, and enough starting pitching to get by with that offense. They won't win going away and it will be grind all year, but I think they take the crown again. The Indians' rotation is nearly the best in baseball and will carry this team. With enough talent on offense to go with that pitching, they will certainly make the playoffs. The White Sox are a popular sleeper pick, but I just don't see it. They did improve over the offseason but they still seem a few pieces short of a solid team. Garcia and Eaton have injury issues, the rotation after the top three is suspect, and they still lack power. The Royals will be in the mix like they have been for a while, but I don't think the magic they had last year comes back and the loss of Shields and the poor additions of Morales and Rios will doom them to a fourth place finish. The Twins will start the turnaround next year with Buxton, Sano, Berrios, and Meyer arriving, but this year they will be awful.

AL West

I've seen many that are quick to give this division to the Mariners, but they have yet to prove they can win this division in this decade. The Angels probably won't win 98 games again, but they should have a healthy Garrett Richards and a solid rotation behind him to go with a very good offense and good defense and the best player on the planet. The Mariners are going to be good, but they still have many offensive holes like shortstop, first base, and two outfield spots and their catcher is a sub-.200 hitter. Throw in reliance on very young starters after the top two and you can see that a division crown is no guarantee here. The A's are going to be good again, but not as good as last year. The loss of Donaldson and Moss will hurt and their rotation will rely heavily on Gray and Kazmir and then a bunch of high-variance guys. The Astros continue their rebuild and take one more step forward. Look for them to compete next year. The Rangers without Darvish simply have no pitching and will not have the offense to make up for it, despite bounceback years for Fielder and Choo, I just don't see this team going anywhere.

Playoffs

AL Wild Cards

Mariners

Indians

NL Wild Cards

Cardinals

Mets

ALDS

Mariners over Red Sox

Angels over Tigers

NLDS

Nationals over Mets

Dodgers over Pirates

ALCS

Angels over Mariners

NLCS

Dodgers over Nationals

World Series

Dodgers over Angels

These will probably be wrong before the playoffs even start, but there you go.

Awards:

AL MVP: Mike Trout (yes, this is boring, but accurate)

NL MVP: Troy Tulowitzki

AL Cy Young: Carlos Carrasco (how's that for bold?)

NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw (how's that for b- oh, wait)

Teams to Stream Against

Stream your hitters against these teams with bad pitching:

Minnesota Twins

Philadelphia Phillies

Texas Rangers

Arizona Diamondbacks

Milwaukee Brewers

Chicago White Sox (avoid the big three, but then feast)

New York Yankees

Baltimore Orioles

Stream your pitchers against these punchless offenses: