Home Articles/Editorials High Five: MLB Teams That Can Win The 2015 World Series

High Five: MLB Teams That Can Win The 2015 World Series

Following a 2014 season which showcased Derek Jeter’s final playing days in pinstripes and finalized with a memorable “David v. Goliath” postseason showdown, baseball is back!

 

In less than two weeks, Major League Baseball will begin its 2015 regular season which only means a clean slate for all 30 big-league clubs. Whether your favorite team dominated the offseason or not, any optimistic baseball fan will realize that their team has a chance to win the World Series. In this edition of HighFive, let’s analyze five teams that will receive a little more optimism, and can legitimately win this year’s World Series Championship:

 

BOSTON RED SOX – Following their 2013 World Series reign, John Farrell’s Red Sox would win a discouraging 71 games in 2014 ending the season in last place. Boston would also shock the baseball world by sending veteran ace, Jon Lester to the Athletics for Yoenis Cespedes. After making a major statement this past offseason by signing Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval to massive deals, how will the Red Sox win their fourth championship since 2004?

Champion Leadership: Pablo Sandoval will bring his own version of leadership to the ball club.
Now a 3-time World Series Champion, “Kung Fu Panda” joins veteran leaders, David Ortiz and
Dustin Pedroia to provide a spark of fundamental ball-playing and fun-loving charisma.
Hanley and The Monster: Offensive metrics have often favored right-handed power-hitters in
Fenway Park. When healthy, Hanley Ramirez is an absolute threat, powering 20+ homeruns in six
of his ten big-league seasons. Ramirez’ offensive line is expected to increase.

 

LOS ANGELES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM – After three major offseason signings (Josh Hamilton, Albert Pujols, and C.J. Wilson) had disappointed LA Angel fans, the team’s 98-64 record was last season’s best in baseball. Although the favorite to win the World Series, the Kansas City Royals would shockingly sweep the Angels in the Division Series. Instead of handing out massive contracts, the Angels would spend a total of $500,000. How will this non-spending approach benefit the Angels?

Faith in Home-Grown Talent: Last season, Angels fans witnessed breakout campaigns from Kole
Calhoun (.272 BA and 17 HRs), AL Rookie of the Year runner-up Matt Shoemaker (16-4, 3.04
ERA), and Garrett Richards (13-4, 2.61 ERA) who is rebounding from knee surgery. This young
collaboration will continue to spell the suspended and oft-injured Josh Hamilton and once-
prominent phenom C.J. Wilson.
Mike Trout: 23 and MVP. That is all.

 

LOS ANGELES DODGERS – Don Mattingly enters his fifth season as Dodgers’ manager while his team has failed to reach the World Series throughout his tenure. The Dodgers traded in the middle infield combo of Dee Gordon (now with the Marlins) and Hanley Ramirez for veterans Howie Kendrick and Jimmy Rollins. The Dodgers would also send its once prized center fielder Matt Kemp to the San Diego Padres. Amid key losses, how will the Dodgers stay in World Series contention this year?

Kershaw & Company: Clayton Kershaw’s resume is renowned, including three Cy Young Awards,
the 2014 National League MVP, and the 2011 Triple Crown as a pitcher. He leads a staff that will be
comprise of Zack Greinke, Hyun-Jin Ryu, and newest addition Brandon McCarthy. This rotation
will dominate the NL West Division, and can play a bigger role in postseason action.

The Killer P’s: After dealing Kemp to the Padres, GM Andrew Friedman decided to stick with his
younger options for the outfield: Yasiel Puig and Joc Pederson. Puig enters his third season,
following his first All-Star game appearance and batting .296 with 16 HRs. Joining Puig is 22-year
old rookie Joc Pederson. The outfielder is the #14 ranked prospect in baseball and clubbed 33
homeruns for Triple-A Albuquerque last season. Both players are expected for big seasons.

 

SEATTLE MARINERS – Robinson Cano’s inaugural season resulted in a third place, 87-75 finish, eliminating the M’s from postseason contention on the very last day of the season. Mariners fans, it’s time to buy in! Seattle has every tool to win their first AL West division title since 2001, but more importantly, their first World Series championship in franchise history. How will this come into fruition?

3-4: In addition to Robinson Cano, the M’s added their presumed cleanup hitter in Nelson Cruz this
past offseason. Cruz is coming off a career year with the Orioles, leading all of baseball with 40
HRs while driving in 108 runs. This combo is anticipated to be the most unstoppable in baseball.
Overall Pitching Staff: The M’s starting rotation will contain Cy Young Award winner Felix
Hernandez at the forefront. Together with All-Star Hisashi Iwakuma, and up-and-coming phenoms
Taijuan Walker and James Paxton, the Mariners will strikeout a plethora of batters. Additionally the
Mariners’ relief staff topped all bullpens with a combined 2.60 ERA.

 

WASHINGTON NATIONALS – Although discounting a team that overspends is universal among baseball fans, you can’t discredit a team that now has a surplus of outstanding pitchers. Subsequent to yet another division series knockout, the Washington Nationals made the most lucrative signing of the offseason. How does one signing further the Nats’ chances of winning baseball’s most prize possession?

The Rise of Rendon & The Breakout of Bryce: A former first-round draft pick, Anthony Rendon
slashed a .287 batting average, bombed 21 HRs, and led the NL in runs scored (111). While
Rendon will serve as the catalyst of the Nationals offense, Bryce Harper is banking on his first
true breakout season. The 22-year old has the potential to hammer 30+ HRs all while staying off
the disabled list.

The Deepest Starting Rotation in Baseball: Former Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer to a
will join a most formidable rotation consisting of Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, Doug
Fister, and Gio Gonzalez. In this era of pitching dominance, a strong, deep rotation gives the
Nationals an unmatched advantage over every team in baseball.

To note, sports writers will always make bold predictions by studying trends in recent history. This High-Five analysis can be construed as ‘the best looking teams on paper.’ This may be the case, but the cold hard truth is Major League Baseball’s 162-game regular season is the longest in professional sports. Any team can lose their star pitcher to a significant injury. Any team can turn a miserable first-half into a division crown. That’s baseball. It’s too unpredictable.

 

 

 

 

Rich Rivera will turn heads claiming to be a "baseball historian" (jokingly, of course) but the Staten Island native certainly knows his stuff. Since opening up his first pack of 2003 Upper Deck Baseball cards, Rich has been in love with the game. He is an avid fan of the New York Yankees and considers Mariano Rivera (whose unfortunately a non-relative) his all-time favorite athlete. Rich is a graduate of St. John's University, earning his degree in Communication Arts with dreams of becoming an on-air broadcaster for MLB. Currently, Rich serves as the Show Day Coordinator for "CenterStage with Michael Kay" (where he's even made a few brief cameos) at YES Network. He can be heard on the It's Your Radio variety program, "Hit Talkers" every Tuesday night from 8PM to 10PM EST. Rich is also a professional wrestling enthusiast, a theater junkie, and enjoys his weekend mornings as a player-manager for his softball team. Follow Rich on Twitter and Instagram: @RichJRivera

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