Revisiting 2018 MLB predictions

Welcome to the final day of the 2018 MLB season. It was certainly an interesting season, and not yet decided, as the National League Central and West still have some unfinished business.

So, with one game remaining, how did I do on my preseason predictions? Per usual, aside from the Rookie of the Year campaign by Ronald Acuña, Jr. I completely whiffed on the awards. Well, let’s hope I did. As much as Max Scherzer is deserving (who I predicted), I hope we can move on from wins and give Jacob deGrom the award he deserves.

That said, I did pretty well on the predictions for the standings (take a look at the Phillies record) and surprise teams.

Here’s what I said.

National League

NL East: Washington Nationals

NL Central: Chicago Cubs

NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers

Wild Card 1: Colorado Rockies

Wild Card 2: Milwaukee Brewers

NL Pennant: Chicago Cubs

I think the Cardinals have the better team than the Brewers, but injuries are always a concern. This has already begun, with three key pieces (Adam Wainwright, Luke Gregerson, Alex Reyes) already on the DL.

The Phillies will be a surprise and finish close to .500, I’m thinking 79-83. The pitching is not there just yet, but Jake Arrieta is a huge improvement over pretty much everything they had last season.

American League:

AL East: New York Yankees

AL Central: Cleveland Indians

AL West: Houston Astros

Wild Card 1: Minnesota Twins

Wild Card 2: Boston Red Sox

AL Pennant: Yankees

World Series: Yankees over Cubs

A.J. Puk going down is a huge blow, but I still think the Oakland A’s are the team to watch in the AL. They are young, which I think inevitably gives the Red Sox the edge in the Wild Card race, but I would not be surprised at all if they are the surprise team of 2018. Mike Trout is Mike Trout. I think the Angels are still a year away, but don’t be surprised to see them in the mix as well.

I blew it on the Minnesota Twins, but picking the A’s as the surprise team saves some face. As someone who has covered the Rome Braves teams since 2015 that make up a lot of this Atlanta Braves team, I wish I could say I saw it coming. I definitely thought they were a year away. The Nationals suffered through some injuries, but also dealt with other issues as well as far as player’s performance goes.

So how’d you do? Any of your surprise predictions come to fruition?