Sodo Mojo’s Mariners Round Table #2: It’s Prediction Time!

We are back with our second Mariners Round Table, and this week, we make ourselves look worse than usual. How is that possible? Well, this week we attempt to do the impossible. We attempt to predict the 2018 Major League Baseball season.

This weeks round table focused more on Major League Baseball as a whole, but the Mariners could be featured prominently. So, without further ado, lets dive right in with question 1.

1. Who will be the 5 playoff teams from the AL and NL?

Ty Gonzalez:

AL: Astros, Indians, Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays

NL: Dodgers, Cubs, Nationals, Brewers, Cardinals

The best seven teams from 2017 have either stayed really good or have gotten even better to remain the top dogs. The Brewers and Cardinals have some questions in terms of pitching, but have done some nice things to beef up their lineups. The Blue Jays are the complete opposite; while their offense is average at best, their rotation is solid enough to carry them to a Wild Card spot, though it’s not flashy whatsoever.

Dan Clark:

AL West.  Houston

Central  Cleveland

 East   New York Yankees

NL West Dodgers

Central Chicago Cubs

East. Washington Nationals

AL wildcards Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels.

NL wildcards Arizona DBacks and Milwaukee Brewers

I think this year will be pretty close to a repeat of last season with the exception of the Angels and the Brewers jumping into the wild card. Over the off-season all the top teams got better and all the middle range teams basically stood pat. The Twins and the BlueJays along with the Mariners will be close to a wildcard to contend but will most probably looking in from the outside.

Jeff Nooney:

NL E- Washington Nationals

Central- Chicago Cubs

West- Arizona Diamondbacks

NL WC- Los Angeles Dodgers

NL WC- St. Louis Cardinals

AL E- New York Yankees

Central- Cleveland Indians

West- Houston Astros

AL WC- Boston Red Sox

AL WC- Seattle Mariners – Why Not?

My picks for the most part are pretty obvious. They were the easy route, but the true route. My only upset in the NL is probably Arizona. Another year of Greinke/Ray at the

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top of the rotation, and a killer lineup, I think they’ll beat LAD by a game or two. In the AL, I picked Seattle because, well why not. Sure there’s gaps on the roster, but why can’t they compete with teams like TEX, MIN and LAA? I think Seattle’s lineup is better than those teams. A little luck, and some health, we will end the playoff drought.

Michael Johnson:

East: New York Yankees

Central: Cleveland Indians

West: Houston Astros

WC #1: Boston Red Sox

WC #2: Seattle Mariners

In the American League, it feels like the top teams in each division are pretty well set. The Yankees fell two games short of the AL East title last year. Adding Giancarlo Stanton to an already stacked lineup feels like enough to regain the top spot from the Boston Red Sox. The Indians are the clear favorites in the central and should coast into October. If the Twins’ Jake Odorizzi and Lance Lynn can stay healthy however, Minnesota could surprise a few people. I just don’t see those two additions and new DH, Logan Morrison, being enough to make up the 17 game deficit they faced at the end of last year. And out West… let’s not waste any ink on the West. Advanced congratulations on another Division Title Astros!

And as for the Wild Card teams. A rotation led by Chris Sale, David Price and Rick Porcello will keep the Red Sox in the Division race for most of the year and eventually carry them into the top Wild Card spot. As for the final Wild Card spot… I will continue to keep the dream alive! Go M’s!

National League

East: Washington Nationals

Central: Chicago Cubs

West: LA Dodgers

WC #1: Milwaukee Brewers

WC #2: Arizona Diamondbacks

The Nationals and Dodgers are shoe ins. The Cubbies will be pushed by the Brew Crew all year, but I’d expect them to finish at the top of the Central division for the third straight year. The additions of Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain in the outfield, should be enough to get the Brewers back into the playoff mix. And despite losing J.D. Martinez in free agency, I expect Paul Goldschmidt, Jake Lamb, and Steven Souza (once he comes back from injury in May) to produce enough offensively to stave off the likes of the Mets, Cards, and Rockies.

Colby Patnode:

For me, the AL is pretty well set. I find it hard to imagine a scenario where Houston or Cleveland don’t win their division, while the Yankees and Red Sox battle it out in the East. The loser of the East will surely grab 1 WC spot. This leaves 1 playoff spot for Seattle, LA, Texas, Toronto, Baltimore, and Minnesota. The teams are relatively close, but I’ll go for the deepest of these teams, and give the final spot to Minnesota.

In the NL, the Nationals, Cubs, and Dodgers are virtual locks. The Wild card teams are very interesting, and you could make compelling arguments for the Diamondbacks, Rockies, Brewers, Cardinals, Giants and Mets. I really like the pitching staff of Arizona, and applaud the moves the Brewers made this off-season, so I’ll give them the nod as the final 2 playoff teams.

AL: New York, Cleveland, Houston, WC1 Red Sox, WC2 Minnesota

NL: Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, WC1 Brewers, WC2 Arizona

Colton Swanson:

AL East: Yankees. The Yankees reloaded for 2018. They were a team that had low expectations last year and they surprised the hell out of me by making the playoffs. For once, and I hate to say this, I actually enjoyed the Yankees.

AL Central: Indians. The AL Central may be the weakest division in baseball. The Tigers aren’t ready to contend, the Royals just tore it down, the White Sox need a few more years and the Twins don’t pose a huge threat. The Indians will make it to the playoffs again.

AL West: Astros. Duh.

NL East: Nationals:I pick the Nats to win the WS every year but they always they me down.  So why not call it again this year.

NL Central: Cubs. This one was tough for me. I wanted to say the Brewers but the Cubs are just too dang good. It’s going to be a battle all year in the central.

NL West: Dodgers. If Bumgarner hadnt gotten hurt along with Samardzija, I woulda picked the Giants. Now, even with Turner on the DL, I have to take the Dodgers.

Wild Card:

Red Sox: I like the Red Sox much more than the Yankees but they just don’t have the offense. JD Martinez will be huge for them.

Angels: this on hurts my soul. The Angels finally got some pieces to put together a strong core around Mike Trout and now we have to deal with the consequences.

Brewers: Like I said, I think they could win the division. If not, it’ll be Wild Card again.

Giants: Once they get everyone healthy, the Giants are GOOD. The only reason they don’t win the division is that they are going to miss time.