2015 Bold Predictions Thread

[David]

Figured we might as well get this started as we start to get going with ST.

 

 

Starlin FINALLY has that big breakout year... 20+ HR and 4+ fWAR.

[Guest]

• Soler wins ROY, Bryant comes in second
  
• Baez gets his strikeout rate down to 25% for the second half. He also hits 25 HR on the year
  
• Rizzo is even better than last year, puts up a 6 win season
  
• As expected from the above, the offense is damn good and finishes in the top 2 in runs scored in the NL
  
• After a very good first half, Theo dips into the prospect pool, trades within the division and lands Cueto
  
• Cubs romp through second half and win the series on back to back to back HR by Soler, Rizzo and Bryant in the clincher

[Gilby]

I was going to say the same thing about Starlin breaking out, except he'll be closer to 4.5 fWAR. We go into 2016 with him as the no-doubt shortstop.

 

Baez spends the entire season on the major league roster. After a bad April, he finishes with a 2 fWAR, and has over 200 strikeouts but doesn't break Mark Reynolds' single season K record.

 

Bryant is bad defensively at 3B (but maintains a .350 -.360 wOBA) and moves to LF in mid June for Russell who takes over 3B.

 

Hammel and the 5th starter struggle, so Schwarber gets traded for a TOR pitcher.

 

Cubs win a Wild Card, advance to the NLDS, and get swept by the Nats.

[Guest]

Non-Cubs

 

Mattingly gets fired in June

Cardinals and Angles end the season with a below .500 record

White Sox runaway in the ALC

 

Cubs

Bryant, Soler, Baez combine for 80 HRs and 350 Ks

Lester is the 3rd best SP

Cubs have the best bullpen in MLB

[Butterscup1679666578]

Rizzo finishes top-5 in MVP voting

Cubs advance to NLCS from WC spot

[Guancous]

Edwin Jackson rebounds to a 3.98 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. Not great but a durable #5 starter.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Armando Rivero emerges as our best reliever in the second half. The bullpen has a terrible April as several of the guys we assume will be awesome fall to "lol relief pitchers who even knows."

[Splendid Splinter]

Kyle Hendricks finish in the top 5 in CYA.

[Guest]

The Padres and White Sox finish last in their respective divisions.

 

Kris Bryant's rookie year looks a lot like Ryan Braun's.

 

Montero is the most productive of this offseason's acquisitions, at least on a rate basis.

 

Ramirez goes down for the year with an arm injury.

 

Valbuena outproduces Fowler this year.

[sneakypower]

career year for Fowler

[JudasIscariotTheBird]

Arrieta finishes 2nd in the Cy Young award voting.

 

Fowler leads the NL in runs scored.

[treebird]

i have been plugging cj edwards as a late august call-up and fun bullpen arm in sept/oct for a while now, so i suppose i should just keep going with that.

 

i'll also throw shade at hendricks (out of the rotation by all-star break) and well-wishes at russell (crushes aaa, majors by all-star break).

[SouthSideRyan]

The Padres and White Sox finish last in their respective divisions.

 

 

I could buy the White Sox but the Rockies and D-Backs are just so so bad

[ctcf]

The Padres and White Sox finish last in their respective divisions.

 

 

I could buy the White Sox but the Rockies and D-Backs are just so so bad

 

Yea, I just don't see how the Padres could finish last.

[UMFan83]

Non-Cubs:

 

-Indians win the AL Central

-At least 1 of these teams makes the playoffs: Houston, Kansas City, Cincinnati, New York Mets

-At least 1 of these teams does not make the playoffs: Detroit, St. Louis, LA Angels

 

Cubs:

 

-Either Bryant or Soler or both make the all star team

-Baez is sent down to AAA at some point but comes back and finishes the year very strong

-The bleachers aren't done until the end of May and the lost revenues are blamed for the Cubs not making a big deadline acquisition

-Kyle Hendricks is the 2nd best starter

[Guest]

The Padres and White Sox finish last in their respective divisions.

 

 

I could buy the White Sox but the Rockies and D-Backs are just so so bad

 

They ain't bold for no reason.

 

(admittedly I may have forgotten that MLB did not relegate the D-Backs)

[SouthSideRyan]

-Houston and Cubs make it as wild cards.

-Baez traded by end of June

-Jason Hammel is inexplicably our best pitcher.

-Kris Bryant not called up until June. Beats the [expletive] out of the ball all season

[Cubswin11]

- Rizzo repeats his success from last season, finishes in top 5 in MVP voting

- Soler wins NL ROY and gets some MVP votes

- Bryant comes up and is able to handle 3B, doesn't hit for the crazy power as expected but hits for a higher average than expected with good BB% and manageable k%

- Castro hits over .310 and defense continues to improve

- Montero goes back to his 2012/2011 triple slash numbers with reduced playing time

- David Ross becomes the least liked player on this board by May as he's basically Koyie Hill offensively, but still posts good framing numbers and remains Lester's BFF

- The Coghlan/Denorfia LF platoon sucks

- Fowler excels in the leadoff role, is signed to an extension mid season. His defensive metrics improve playing in a smaller park.

- Lester puts up ace types numbers finishes in top 7 in NL CY Young voting

- Arrieta regresses a bit but still finishes with about a 3 fWAR season

- Jackson or Turner wins the 5th starter role and has a better season than Hendricks

- Hendricks starts out okay, falls apart by June and Wood takes his rotation spot

- Javy sucks and is broke and is out of a starting job by June, Alcantara takes over at 2B

- Bullpen remains a strength

- At some point in the season after a losing steak or playing sub .500 ball and Maddon doing things like shifts, batting pitcher 8th, platoons, etc. the local idiots start writing articles how the Cubs need to get back to playing "the right way" and LOL advanced metrics and how Maddon/theo think they are smarter than everyone else.

- Meatballs are calling for La Stella to take over Javy's spot after he grits out a few games and Javy has a few 3-4K games

- Addison Russell is called up in July and is the starting 2B after Javy flounders and Alcantara takes over LF full time

- CJ Edwards and Pierce Johnson combine for more than 5 major league starts

- The critics start to back track a bit on Schwarber not being able to handle catching after he proves he can handle it, he continues to mash offensively to a near Bryant level. Becomes a consensus top 10 prospect in baseball.

- Almora continues to do his best Josh Vitters impersonation and is a nothing prospect by the end of the year

- Cubs win 87 games and the Central, lose in NLCS

[sneakypower]

- Rizzo repeats his success from last season, finishes in top 5 in MVP voting

- Soler wins NL ROY and gets some MVP votes

- Bryant comes up and is able to handle 3B, doesn't hit for the crazy power as expected but hits for a higher average than expected with good BB% and manageable k%

- Castro hits over .310 and defense continues to improve

- Montero goes back to his 2012/2011 triple slash numbers with reduced playing time

- David Ross becomes the least liked player on this board by May as he's basically Koyie Hill offensively, but still posts good framing numbers and remains Lester's BFF

- The Coghlan/Denorfia LF platoon sucks

- Fowler excels in the leadoff role, is signed to an extension mid season. His defensive metrics improve playing in a smaller park.

- Lester puts up ace types numbers finishes in top 7 in NL CY Young voting

- Arrieta regresses a bit but still finishes with about a 3 fWAR season

- Jackson or Turner wins the 5th starter role and has a better season than Hendricks

- Hendricks starts out okay, falls apart by June and Wood takes his rotation spot

- Javy sucks and is broke and is out of a starting job by June, Alcantara takes over at 2B

- Bullpen remains a strength

[...]

- Cubs win 87 games and the Central, lose in NLCS

if these things all happen, we win like 107 games

[Guest]

Yeah, I read that and was thinking "wow, Baez/Alcantara and Hendricks/Wood must have been REALLY [expletive] bad."

[Cubswin11]

Obviously all those things won't happen, but yes if they did it's more than an 87 win team in all likelihood.

[RynoRules]

Cubs acquire Cole Hamels about a month before the deadline, and he pitches like Sutcliffe in 84'. The Cubs roll to a division title after taking three-straight from the Cards from 9/18-9/20.

 

On a related note, Kyle parades around his living room in his boxers screaming, "I told you so!" at no one in particular.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Cubs acquire Cole Hamels about a month before the deadline, and he pitches like Sutcliffe in 84'. The Cubs roll to a division title after taking three-straight from the Cards from 9/18-9/20.

 

On a related note, Kyle parades around his living room in his boxers screaming, "I told you so!" at no one in particular.

 

I wear briefs.

[Thed Hoyerstein]

Cubs acquire Cole Hamels about a month before the deadline, and he pitches like Sutcliffe in 84'. The Cubs roll to a division title after taking three-straight from the Cards from 9/18-9/20.

 

On a related note, Kyle parades around his living room in his boxers screaming, "I told you so!" at no one in particular.

 

I wear briefs.

 

oh my god, kyle is tom crean

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Cubs win the World Series in six games. Game six is won on a walk home-run by Addison Russell.