This is the easiest, and cheapest article to write. Just say some outlandish stuff knowing most of it won't come true, and if some of it does I'm a genius. You might think I'd be above it, but those who know me know better.
For some truly bold ("real man" predictions, click here. NSF NLMs)
- Yasiel Puig goes 30-30.300. Puig is in his age-27 season, is hitting third in the absence of Justin Turner, will stay on the field for his defense and seems to have matured.
- Joey Gallo hits 50 HR, bats .250. Exit velocity will drive a decent BABIP, and he'll K 200, not 250 times.
- Miguel Cabrera hits 35 HR, bats .315, i.e., he's basically still the same guy he was before trying to play through a back injury.
- Rhys Hoskins bats under .240, spends time on the bench, possibly in the minors. He was not young for his level in the minors, and he has a two-month sample in the majors.
- Javier Baez gets 600 ABs, goes 30-15. The Cubs aren't as deep as they seem. Jason Heyward is a flat tire, and Ben Zobrist might be done. Even if everyone else stays healthy, there are still two corner OF spots for Albert Almora and Kyle Schwarber (we'll see if he can play defense and retain his power now that he's slimmed down.) Ian Happ also gets a full season of plate appearances and goes 30-15.
- Giancarlo Stanton stays healthy while largely DH-ing and hits 65 HR, 150 RBI in Yankee Stadium.
- Clayton Kershaw pitches 220 innings, is once again fantasy's most valuable player, edging out Stanton. Mike Trout is third.
- Jonathan Villar goes 20-40, gets drafted in the third round in 2019.
- Jurickson Profar goes 20-20-.290, finally delivering on his prospect pedigree.
- Hanley Ramirez goes 30-110.290, essentially reprising his 2016 season now that he's healthy
- Jake Arrieta regains some velocity, finishes in the top-five NL CY voting.
- Taijuan Walker finishes in the top-10 NL CY voting, thanks to the humidor and continued development.
- Miguel Sano hits 45 HR, finishes top-five in the MVP voting.
- Sonny Gray leads the AL in wins with 19, given the run support and bullpen.
- Aroldis Chapman leads the majors with 50 saves, given the excellent setup options preserving so many leads.
- Corey Knebel walks too many batters, loses the closer job to Josh Hader by June.
- Aaron Sanchez finishes top-5 in the AL CY voting.
- David Dahl comes up in late-April/early-May, finishes as a top-25 overall fantasy player.
- Jose Peraza steals 40 bases and bats .290.
- Some of these predictions are wrong.