I SIMULATED THE 2019 MLB SEASON

Happy Opening Day! Let’s find out who my simulation has winning the 2019 season.

The coming of spring is typically marked by freshly-cut grass, warmer temperatures and, most importantly if we’re honest, the return of baseball.

After a nearly five-month rest, the MLB season is set to be back in full swing. Despite Seattle and Oakland technically starting things off in Tokyo, all 30 teams will be in action and full of promise in claiming the league title in October. The offseason provided quite a shakeup, with big names taking big money and heading to new places that see the league full of a new batch of contenders and pretenders.

The most important question, however, is how will each team perform through to the end of the year? Luckily, we have the technology to try and answer that. I simulated the entire season and proved just who will make it to the big stage of the postseason this fall.

Before I start, here are a few guidelines to keep in mind:

• The simulation was completed using live rosters as of March 26, 2019.
• No user games were played. Screenshots were from unrelated exhibition games for the purpose of this piece.  
• No user transactions were made to the rosters.

NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL

x-Chicago Cubs, 95-67

Cincinnati Reds, 90-72

Pittsburgh Pirates, 89-23

St. Louis Cardinals, 74-88

Milwaukee Brewers, 67-95

The Cubs taking the NL Central might not come as much of a surprise. This might be one of their last chances to win big with their current rotation, and The Show predicts the continued expectation of 90-plus wins and a division title to remain intact for another year.

What wasn’t expected were the Cincinnati Reds. Sure, the additions of Yasiel Puig, Sonny Grey and Matt Kemp are huge, but the video game metrics see a quick and vast improvement bound to happen. Going from last in the division to second in just a year is pretty impressive, but pretty tough, feat to accomplish in real-life baseball. Unfortunately, the effort makes them the first team out of the wild card, five games behind Atlanta.

Elsewhere, a pair of rebuilds in Pittsburgh and St. Louis battled it out for third place, with it eventually going to the Pirates by four games. Milwaukee’s the other big surprise here, completely falling off after a 96-win, division-winning season last year.

NATIONAL LEAGUE EAST

x-Washington Nationals, 102-60

y-Philadelphia Phillies, 100-62

y-Atlanta Braves, 95-67

New York Mets, 70-92

Miami Marlins, 58-104

We’ll start things off in the National League and with probably the offseason’s most talked-about division. The Show has Bryce Harper-less Washington just edging out his new squad in Philly to take the division title in a pretty competitive NL East. The Nats’ bullpen was the real star of the season, with Patrick Corbin, Max Scherzer, and Stephen Strasburg being a true three-headed monster on the mound.

Meanwhile, Harper had an exceptional debut for the Phillies. He topped his career-high number in home runs with 46, while Cesar Hernandez, J.T. Realmuto, and Rhys Hoskins also put up solid offensive production.

The Braves also find themselves back in the postseason as a wild card after a surprise division title last year. Thanks to a strong second half, Atlanta took the final NL playoff spot running away and will face a division rival in Philadelphia for the right to advance. The rebuilding Mets and Marlins bring up the rear, with the former actually improving upon their win total from last season.

NATIONAL LEAGUE WEST

1. x-Los Angeles Dodgers, 95-67
2. Colorado Rockies, 86-76
3. San Francisco Giants, 79-83
4. San Diego Padres, 71-91
5. Arizona Diamondbacks, 65-97

Out west, The Show sees a familiar sight; the Los Angeles Dodgers winning their division.

It’d be the sixth-straight division title for the boys in blue, but it would certainly come with a different look this season. As mentioned earlier, Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp are gone while efforts to keep Manny Machado failed as he got paid big money in San Diego. They’ve still got offensive weapons like Justin Turner and a bullpen that includes an ace like Clayton Kershaw and a clutch closer like Kenley Jansen to shut teams down.

While the Dodgers won the division going away, the Rockies find themselves out the playoffs after making it to the NLDS last year. The Giants climbed back to third, while the Padres were just behind in fourth as Machado hit .287 along with 35 home runs. Arizona, meanwhile, fell back to last place after making the NLDS just two years ago.

AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST

1. x-New York Yankees, 100-62
2. y-Boston Red Sox, 97-65
3. y-Tampa Bay Rays, 89-73
4. Baltimore Orioles, 51-111
5. Toronto Blue Jays, 46-116

The AL East also sees no real surprises at the top, as the Yankees and Red Sox once again squabbled for the division title.

Eventually, the Yanks won out, claiming yet another 100-plus win season and the top spot in the AL East at the end of the regular season. Of course, any offense with the powerful potential of both Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton and a solid supporting cast is going to be good, but New York is hoping to get to that next level of another championship.

Another non-surprise, Boston is once again in the playoffs. This time, however, the Red Sox will have to go through the surprising Rays in the AL Wild Card if they hope to get a shot at back-to-back titles. Tampa came out on top of what became a pretty wild chase for the last playoff spot, finishing just two games ahead of the first team out. Baltimore and Toronto fill things out, as both are in the midst of, you guessed it; rebuilds.

AMERICAN LEAGUE CENTRAL

1. x-Cleveland Indians, 89-73
2. Minnesota Twins, 87-75
3. Kansas City Royals, 83-79
4. Chicago White Sox, 78-84
5. Detroit Tigers, 71-91

The tightest race for a division title in the AL belongs to the Central, as Cleveland had to hold off Minnesota in the final week to earn a trip to the ALDS and their fourth straight division title.

The Indians should have pretty high expectations despite losing some key pieces like Edwin Encarnacion and Michael Brantley. Big addition Carlos Santana proved solid in the simulation, and the Tribe’s own three-headed pitching monster of Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco and Trevor Bauer gave them just enough of a boost to land in the postseason again.

The rest of the Central actually saw quite a bit of parity compared to other divisions in the simulation. Minnesota had another solid year while the Royals rebounded in a big way in what’s thought to be another rebuilding year. The White Sox weren’t far off from .500, and Detroit finished last despite a late-career boom year for Miguel Cabrera.

AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST

1. x-Houston Astros, 100-62
2. Seattle Mariners, 85-77
3. Los Angeles Angels, 81-81
4. Oakland Athletics, 77-85
5. Texas Rangers, 71-91

A little bit has changed in the complexion of the AL West.

The Astros still lord over the division in The Show, cruising to a division title and another 100-win campaign. On paper, Houston seems like an overwhelming favorite to take it all with the pieces they have in place. Whether it’s at the plate with weapons like Alex Bregman, Jose Altuve and George Springer or a rotation headlined by a still-game Justin Verlander, they seem to have it all.

Beneath the Astros is where things got a pretty good shakeup. The Mariners bumped up a second-place finish while the Angels finished at .500 or above for the first time in four seasons. Oakland came down to fourth after a surprising postseason run last year, and the Rangers closed out their tenure at Globe Life Park with another last-place finish as they continue a rebuild, now without Adrian Beltre.

2019 ALL-STAR GAME

National League 5, American League 0

AWARD-WINNERS

National League Most Valuable Player: Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies (.304 AVG, 46 HR, 135 RBI)

American League Most Valuable Player: J.D. Martinez, Boston Red Sox (.299 AVG, 45 HR, 120 RBI)

NL Cy Young: Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals (18-4, 2.79 ERA, 232 strikeouts)

AL Cy Young: Chris Sale, Boston Red Sox, (19-5, 2.69 ERA, 258 strikeouts)

NL Batting Title: Scooter Gennett, Cincinnati Reds (.328 AVG)

AL Batting Title: Jose Altuve, Houston Astros (.330 AVG)

NL Hank Aaron Award: Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies

AL Hank Aaron Award: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers (.316 AVG, 39 HR, 95 RBI)

NL Gold Glove winners: Zach Davies (P), Jorge Alfaro (C), Freddie Freeman (1B), Joe Panik (2B), Travis Shaw (3B), Miguel Rosas (SS), Marcell Ozuna (CF), Ender Inciarte (CF), Gabriel Guerrero (RF)

AL Gold Glove winners: Ian Kennedy (P), Gary Sanchez (C), Steve Pearce (1B), D.J. LeMahieu (2B), Matt Chapman (3B), Xander Bogaerts (SS), Giancarlo Stanton (LF), Jackie Bradley Jr. (CF), Mookie Betts (RF)

NL Silver Sluggers: Clayton Kershaw (P), Jorge Alfaro (C), Paul Goldschmidt (1B), Scooter Gennett (2B), Kris Bryant (3B), Javier Baez (SS), Bryce Harper (OF), Charlie Blackmon (OF), Nick Markakis (OF)

AL Silver Sluggers: J.D. Martinez (DH), Salvador Perez (C), Edwin Encarnacion (1B), Jose Altuve (2B), Jose Ramirez (3B), Carlos Correa (SS), Giancarlo Stanton (OF), Mike Trout (OF), Justin Upton (OF)

POSTSEASON RESULTS

AL WILD CARD

Tampa Bay Rays 8, Boston Red Sox 5: A hot, four-run start against Chris Sale in the first inning was more than enough for Tampa to surprise Boston and eliminate the defending champs in the wild card round.

NL WILD CARD

Philadelphia Phillies 6, Atlanta Braves 4: Cesar Hernandez went 4-for-5 and had 3 RBIs to help the Phillies get out to an early lead. Atlanta didn’t go away quietly though, as they cut the lead to just two in the top of the ninth before being eliminated.

AL DIVISIONAL SERIES

Houston Astros 3, Cleveland Indians 2: The Astros needed five games to finish off Cleveland with an all-out, 12-2 offensive assault in Game 5 to advance.

Tampa Bay Rays 3, New York Yankees 1: Tampa continued their run of upsets with a win in Game 1 before a pair of shutouts in Games 3 and 4 to advance.

NL DIVISIONAL SERIES

Chicago Cubs 3, Los Angeles Dodgers 2: The Cubs were able to withstand a high-scoring series with the Dodgers to advance.

Washington Nationals 3, Philadelphia Phillies 1:  The Nationals made pretty quick work of Harper and the Phillies, with Strasburg and Scherzer shutting down batters in Games 1 and 3.

AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: HOUSTON ASTROS 4, TAMPA BAY RAYS 3

The Astros moved on to the World Series after gutting out a seven-game ALCS series with the Rays, which saw them hold off a late rally attempt from Tampa in Game 7.

NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: WASHINGTON NATIONALS 4, CHICAGO CUBS 2

The Nationals overcame the Cubs in six games to claim the franchise’s first-ever NL Pennant and first World Series appearance for the nation’s capital since 1926. Patrick Corbin pitched eight innings of a 5-0 shutout to seal the deal for Washington in Game 6.

2019 WORLD SERIES: HOUSTON ASTROS 4, WASHINGTON NATIONALS 3

Both teams came into this World Series looking to make a bit of history. The Nationals were looking for their first-ever championship while Houston looked to be the first team take home two titles in three years since the Giants in 2012.

It was a fairly entertaining series that went the distance and eventually saw the Astros prevail in the battle of top teams. It should be noted that Houston also won a five-game series in the ALDS and took seven games to finish off Tampa Bay in the ALCS. Suffice to say; they ran a marathon to get to another championship.

Houston started with a fair bit of momentum, taking the first two games with dominant pitching from Verlander and Gerrit Cole. Washington responded with an emphatic 9-2 win in Game 3 that led to wins in Games 4 and 5. With their backs against the wall, Springer and the rest of the lineup powered Houston to a 9-2 win of their own in Game 6, forcing a final deciding game. In the end, a late 2-RBI hit from Carlos Correa in Game 7 clinched the series, and the title, for the Astros.

World Series MVP: George Springer, Astros (.458 AVG, 3 RBI)

AL Postseason MVP: Alex Bregman, Astros (.328 AVG, 4 HR, 15 RBI)

NL Postseason MVP: Juan Soto, Nationals (.361, 7 HR, 25 RBI)