Ranking the three most underrated MLB teams at the start of Spring Training and the three most overrated teams that are sure to disappoint.
Spring Training is a time for new beginnings and MLB fans are hoping their team could fight for a World Series. Well, except for fans of the Baltimore Orioles.
A new season also means a new batch of Baseball projections. The initial projections are sure to get fans riled up and there surely were some surprises — both good and bad. Let’s take a look at some teams.
3 teams that will exceed expectations
3. St. Louis Cardinals
OTL projects the Cardinals to finish third in the National League Central with an 81-81 record. Fans have a right to be outraged considering the team hasn’t finished at or below the .500 mark since 2007. The Cardinals are consistent winners and just added a star of the game in Nolan Arenado. Yadier Molina is back for one more run and Paul Goldschmidt hasn’t gone anywhere either. It would be a true shock if the Cardinals finished at .500 and couldn’t pass a Chicago Cubs team that may be selling some stars in 2021.
2. Chicago White Sox
The White Sox are one of the most hyped-up teams in baseball. PECOTA has them finishing 83-79 behind the Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins in the American League Central. This team may be one of the bigger unknowns out there. No one knows how Tony La Russa will mesh with this young club. But assuming he doesn’t totally torpedo the entire locker room, the White Sox should be poised to at least finish better than the Indians. The young core in place is too talented to play in this weak division and only walk away with 83 wins. Or so we have been led to believe all offseason.
1. Atlanta Braves
The Braves got one of the more shocking projections with an 82-80 record that is good enough for a fourth-place finish. Fans in Atlanta may just be ignoring the projection at this point. This team made it to the NLCS in 2020 and has won the division three years running. The Braves finishing behind the Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals is quite the bold projection and PECOTA either knows something we don’t or just sees the Braves facing huge regression in 2021. It is hard to knock this core in place until they prove they don’t deserve the respect.
3 teams that will fail to meet high expectations
3. Cleveland Indians
The Indians’ biggest move this offseason was sending both Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco to the New York Mets. Yet for some reason, PECOTA still has them finishing at 85-77 and second in the AL Central. It is going to be hard for the Indians to live up to such expectations with what should be an improved White Sox team fighting for a World Series. The additions of Amed Rosario, Eddie Rosario, and Andres Gimenez are still not enough to get this team into the postseason. It will take a heroic effort from the likes of Shane Bieber and Jose Ramirez to even get close to this 85-win projection.
2. Chicago Cubs
The Cubs are also projected to finish at 85-77. But there are too many unknowns surrounding stars like Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez, and Kris Bryant. Keeping all three means this projection may be too low. However, that scenario still seems unlikely and there will also be a huge distraction hanging over the team until their respective futures are known. The Cubs are a team that could easily flip up into the “exceed expectations” category if they signed all three stars to extensions before the start of the season. That is just not likely to happen.
1. New York Mets
Someone slow down the Mets hype train. PECOTA has a 94-68 projected record for a team that hasn’t won that many games since the 2006 season. Sure, the trade of Lindor is a huge boost and Steve Cohen’s big pockets have fans ready for change. But the Mets didn’t land every player they wanted and this is still a tough NL East division. This projection assumes the Mets are going to win the East by 10 games. That is far too bold and fans may be in for a letdown with expectations this high.