MLB Season Predictions

Written by Jake Thompson
Thursday, 17 March 2011 08:01

We make predictions on the upcoming 2011 MLB season and review the 5 teams that can win this year.

We’ve been following all the trades and roster moves since last season ended and feel confident that there are only 5 MLB teams capable of winning the 2011 World Series.

The San Francisco Giants beat the Texas Rangers in 5 games during last year’s World Series, and both the National and American League champions didn’t make this list.  Let’s go over the best of the best and make some 2011 World Series predictions on the upcoming MLB season which will start on March 31st.

Boston Red Sox

As a New York Yankees fan this hurts me to say, but there isn’t a team in Major League Baseball that looks as stacked as the Red Sox.  They have potentially 5 aces on their staff and their offense should put up plenty of runs with the addition of slugger Adrian Gonzalez from the San Diego Padres.  The bullpen has a few issues but this team will get to the World Series if they can avoid the injury bug.

Philadelphia Phillies

This team is the only one in either league (my apologies to the Atlanta Braves) that has a rotation that could give the Red Sox trouble in a 7-game World Series.  Ryan Howard and Chase Utley will power an offense that will hit a ton of long balls in their tiny home park, and the star pitchers will keep opposing teams from doing the same.  If I had to choose based on talent alone, the Phillies and the Red Sox would easily be my 2011 World Series predictions.

New York Yankees

The best offense in baseball resides in New York and it is not the Mets.  The Yankees will score a million runs this year but they’ll have to develop a pitching rotation if they want to compete with the two squads I’ve outlined above.  There really isn’t anything for certain beyond staff ace C.C. Sabathia, and the fact that veterans like Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia are getting serious looks should tell you about all you need to know about the state of the rotation.

Atlanta Braves

Great pitching wins in the MLB Playoffs and the Braves have what I consider to be the 3rd best staff in the league.  The offense is fairly young but with players like Jason Heyward getting another year of seasoning I could definitely see this team gaining momentum and proving to be the spoiler to some of the teams listed above with more established stars.

Los Angeles Dodgers

I’ve seen some publications list Los Angeles as a long shot for the 2011 World Series but our predictions think that they are one of the elite teams in the league.  Not only do they play in a division that is winnable every year, they also have a ton of young players with a ton of talent that appear ready to finally breakout.  The pitching staff and lineup is loaded with prospects and it’s only a matter of time before this amassed talent puts it all together and learns how to compete with the big boys.  I’m thinking the 2011 MLB season is when it happens.