Final Thoughts on the 2015 American League Season

As we are well into the season, I thought I’d quickly put up my final thoughts on the Junior Circuit for this year.  I can promise you that I haven’t changed picks.  I’ve made my picks for both leagues already and won’t change them while I finish the breakdowns.  You can look back to the date when I started and see that is true.  It’ll be harder to by that for the NL, which is why I’m going to start with this post from an NL perspective before I go through that league.  So, without further ado, here are my final thoughts on what to expect in the AL in 2015.

AL Standings:

East:

Boston Red Sox

Toronto Blue Jays

Baltimore Orioles

Tampa Bay Rays

New York Yankees

Central:

Kansas City Royals

Detroit Tigers

Chicago White Sox

Cleveland Indians

Minnesota Twins

West:

Seattle Mariners

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Oakland Athletics

Texas Rangers

Houston Astros

See now you know I haven’t changed my picks, because there are some I’m really regretting right now.  The AL East (which was the last division I did btw) looks completely different than I expected.  And the Mariners are a bit of a disappointment.  Again, this is just what I thought would happen, not what I necessarily wanted to happen.  But, with that in mind, here’s how I see the playoffs playing out.

AL Playoffs:

AL East Winner:                     Boston Red Sox

AL Central Winner:                 Kansas City Royals

AL West Winner:                    Seattle Mariners

First Wildcard:                       Los Angeles Angels

Second Wildcard:                    Toronto Blue Jays

Wildcard Round:                     Angels over the Blue Jays

ALDS 1:                                   Angels over Red Sox

ALDS 2:                                   Royals over Mariners

ALCS:                                       Royals over Angels

AL Champ:                              Kansas City Royals

At this point, I really only feel good about one of my picks, maybe two.  It’s not too late for the rest, but it’ll be a long road back for some of them.  I’m very surprised that Seattle is struggling in the way that they are.  They were so close to the playoffs last year and adding Nelson Cruz looked so good on paper.  I’m surprised by the Blue Jays and Red Sox as well, but I understand their struggles.  Their pitching is suspect, but I thought the offense would be enough.  I was half right as Toronto has the best offense I the league, but the worst pitching.  I won’t change my picks yet because that isn’t what this post is about.  I think some of my picks will bounce back, but not all of them.

AL Award Winners

AL MVP:                                  Mike Trout

AL Cy Young:                         David Price

AL Manager of the Year:      Lloyd McClendon

It’s hard not to pick Mike Trout to win the MVP at this point.  He should have 3 already.  I love Price’s stuff and the fact that he’s in a performance year.  He also plays for a great team with some weak teams at the bottom of his division.  Frankly, the whole league isn’t overly strong.  McClendon won my award on the basis that Seattle won the division.  That isn’t looking likely now, but maybe they’ll come back. 

Very impressed with the Astros to start the year.  Also the Rays.  Disappointed in the A’s.  Thought they’d be better.  And I’ve already covered how surprised and disappointed the Red Sox, Blue Jays and Mariners have made me.  That’s all for now.  I’ll open the NL with a corresponding post soon.