Opening Day is tomorrow, so the staff here at District on Deck wanted to call our shot, stake our claim, plant our flag with some of our season predictions!
NL East Winner
Alex: Braves
Andrew: Phillies. I probably would've taken the Mets if they held on to Carlos Correa, and hadn't lost Edwin Diaz to injury. They're still going to be very good, but I give the edge to the Phillies.
Christian: Braves
Kevin: Mets
Michael: Braves
Nick: Braves
Reese: Phillies
Ryan: Braves
Sam: Braves
Zac: Braves
Nationals' Record & Finish
Alex: 60-102, Last Place
Andrew: Having spring training behind us now, but I feel just a tad more optimistic about this roster as opposed to last years, I can't exactly pinpoint the reason why. However, it's not enough difference to jump anybody in the standings. I'm going with 62-100, just enough to not have the worst record in baseball. Last in the NL East, 28th in MLB.
Christian: 64-98, Last Place, 28th in MLB.
Kevin: 59-103, Last Place
Michael: 63-99, Last Place, 13th in NL.
Nick: 58-104, Last Place
Reese: 60-102, Last Place
Ryan: 57-105, Last Place
Sam: 61-101, Last Place
Zac: 67-95, Last Place
Nationals' Best Pitcher
Alex: MacKenzie Gore
Andrew: Josiah Gray. I'm really high on both him and MacKenzie Gore, but Gray's spring training stats were very encouraging, so I'll give the edge to him.
Christian: Josiah Gray
Kevin: Josiah Gray
Michael: MacKenzie Gore
Nick: Josiah Gray
Reese: Josiah Gray
Ryan: MacKenzie Gore
Sam: Josiah Gray
Zac: Josiah Gray
Nationals' Best Hitter
Alex: Jeimer Candelario
Andrew: Joey Meneses. While I don't think it's realistic to expect him to play at the high clip he did last season for the entirety of this year, I do think he's going to be our best hitter. Watch out for CJ Abrams though.
Christian: Dom Smith
Kevin: Keibert Ruiz
Michael: Joey Meneses
Nick: Luis Garcia
Reese: Luis Garcia
Ryan: Joey Meneses
Sam: Luis Garcia
Zac: Luis Garcia
Nationals' Best Reliever
Alex: Hunter Harvey
Andrew: Hunter Harvey. Nuff said.
Christian: Hobie Harris
Kevin: Hunter Harvey
Michael: Kyle Finnegan
Nick: Mason Thompson
Reese: Hunter Harvey
Ryan: Hunter Harvey
Sam: Hunter Harvey
Zac: Mason Thompson
Nationals' Breakout Star
Alex: CJ Abrams
Andrew: MacKenzie Gore. I think he recovers from a rocky start and really starts to turn some heads.
Christian: CJ Abrams
Kevin: CJ Abrams
Michael: MacKenzie Gore, Luis Garcia
Nick: Luis Garcia
Reese: Luis Garcia
Ryan: Luis Garcia
Sam: Thad Ward
Zac: Luis Garcia
Nationals' Biggest Regression
Alex: Lane Thomas
Andrew: Victor Robles. I think this season provides more clarity about the future of our outfield.
Christian: Kyle Finnegan
Kevin: Lane Thomas
Michael: Erasmo Ramirez
Nick: Lane Thomas & Joey Meneses both
Reese: Joey Meneses
Ryan: Trevor Williams
Sam: Carl Edwards Jr.
Zac: Kyle Finnegan
Nationals' Surprise Story
Alex: Thad Ward finds a home in DC as a reliable multi-inning reliever.
Andrew: Robert Hassell III makes MLB debut during last few weeks of season.
Christian: Dom Smith
Kevin: Victor Robles plays MVP level
Michael: Nats win season series vs. Mets 8-5
Nick: The Nationals are top 10 in MLB in stolen bases
Reese: Jackson Rutledge makes MLB Debut this season
Ryan: 3 of the young guys do not take a step forward with their development
Sam: Alex Call becomes a top 3 hitter in the lineup
Zac: Alex Call
Nationals' Bold Prediction
Alex: Keibert Ruiz will be a Top-5 catcher in WAR
Andrew: CJ Abrams and Luis Garcia become one of the top middle infield tandems in baseball over the course of the season.
Christian: Joey Meneses hits over 25 home runs
Kevin: Josiah Gray wins Cy Young
Michael: Dom Smith makes All-Star team as replacement, gets traded at deadline.
Nick: Corbin, Gray, Gore, Williams all have ERAs under 4.75
Reese: The Nats have a much more exciting season than their record shows.
Ryan: Jeimer Candelario surpasses his 2020 numbers and is hitting .315 at the All Star break
Sam: Gray finishes with a sub 3.50 ERA
Zac: Victor Robles' bat will get hot before the deadline and he'll be traded for a decent young prospect
American League MVP
Alex: Shohei Ohtani
Andrew: Shohei Ohtani. I think his WBC superstardom and two-way capabilities will give him a "head start" going into the season and he'll end up with MVP (Angels won't make postseason though)
Christian: Shohei Ohtani
Kevin: Julio Rodriguez
Michael: Shohei Ohtani
Nick: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Reese: Shohei Ohtani
Ryan: Kyle Tucker
Sam: Jose Ramirez
Zac: Shohei Ohtani
National League MVP
Alex: Trea Turner
Andrew: Trea Turner. With Harper's absence, Turner will carry a lot of weight for the Phillies for atleast the first half of the season. I think he's got a real shot at winning if the Phillies can be successful.
Christian: Michael Harris
Kevin: Trea Turner
Michael: Juan Soto
Nick: Mookie Betts
Reese: Trea Turner
Ryan: Matt Olson
Sam: Freddie Freeman
Zac: Manny Machado
American League Cy Young
Alex: Jacob deGrom
Andrew: Shane McClanahan
Christian: Jacob deGrom
Kevin: Gerrit Cole
Michael: Luis Castillo
Nick: Kevin Gausman
Reese: Jacob deGrom
Ryan: Luis Castillo
Sam: Dylan Cease
Zac: Shohei Ohtani
National League Cy Young
Alex: Sandy Alcantara
Andrew: Spencer Strider
Christian: Justin Verlander
Kevin: Corbin Burnes
Michael: Aaron Nola
Nick: Corbin Burnes
Reese: Corbin Burnes
Ryan: Max Fried
Sam: Aaron Nola
Zac: Sandy Alcantara
World Series Picks
Alex: Astros over Cardinals
Andrew: Phillies vs. Mariners. I think an NLCS rematch is in the cards, and the Padres fall short again. Mariners can certainly turn heads this season, but I'll take that Phillies lineup against most anybody. Phillies in 6.
Christian: Astros over Mets
Kevin: Mets over Astros
Michael: Phillies over Yankees
Nick: Blue Jays over Padres
Reese: Phillies over Yankees
Ryan: Astros over Cardinals
Sam: Astros over Braves
Zac: Yankees over Padres