The NL should fall out similar to last year, except that Wall Street stock is down.

Defending champ Norwich continues to be the top dog, but will not be the juggernaut it was last year. The Navigator’s pitching while still excellent is not off the hook like last year. The resurgence of Crash Davis makes the offense formidable. They could repeat but the odds are a bit longer.

The rest of the likely playoff candidates include the Angles who had a productive offseason and will be in the mix. The rotation lacks the depth to compete with Norwich, but the team is solid across the board. Hazardville has a nice balanced offence and ok rotation, but their pen is a not great. The Jarheads still boast the murderer’s row of Trout, Goldschmidt and Encarnacion. Plus the return of Harvey boosts and otherwise forgettable pitching staff. After Bill got the playoffs last year without Harvey, how can I bet against them this year. Rounding out my playoff candidates is the Klub….can they make the playoffs two years running?! Hey, Donald Trump could be president... he world is going crazy...so why not. One of the best starting staffs in the league should be enough to offset the mediocre pen and offense as well as the knucklehead field management.

Maine, Burlington, Taxachusetts and Illinois are all bubble teams. I don’t think they have enough to make the playoffs, but a little luck and some trades could alter their path.

The Chiefs are the most intriguing. Can you win by hitting hordes of HRs without playing defense or pitching? I doubt it, but will be fun to watch. The Prairie Dogs have a solid team….but as I’ve said several times in the past….can’t win on the road with crappy written instructions…..hint hint… The Yaks are the epitome of mediocrity….do everything ok, but not great…..they are on the way outside of the bubble. Burlington is solid…love Gray at the top of the rotation... but the pen sucks and will likely be their Achilles heel.

As mentioned earlier, Wall Street fell off this year... aside from Sale and Scherzer there is not much to like. Can’t hit RHP and the rest of the rotation sucks. Might be time to retool a bit.

Both Allyn St and Connecticut should show a little improvement over last year but I think they finish in the same spot... still a ways from being relevant.

The NL is just not as good as it was last year. I see the AL making inroads.

....click here to see projected team details for the National League
AMERICAN LEAGUE

Projected Finish
Milford
California
Nashville
Louisville
Arsenal
Hotlanta
Lake Wobegon
Urpaign
John's Creek
Baton Rouge
York Town
Hart Street
Milford it back in full prominence. I’m still waiting on the investigation regarding how their snake of a GM manages to end up with 3 top ten picks in the draft every year! Regardless, it’s a great young team with a top notch rotation, solid offense and defense. The pen is not great, but should be enough to keep them near the top of the league. The most likely team to beat out the Dogfish would be the Dreamers. Nice offense with lots of on-base and excellent pen (you’re welcome Frank). Their rotation is ok, not great.

New guy Doug has done a nice job retooling the old Florida Sun franchise. Again, the rotation is just ok... pen is solid not great, but the offense is really good... one of the league’s best, and you have to like the 1’s at SS, 2B and CF. The River Bandits have an excellent rotation, which should carry them to the post season. I don’t like their lack of on-base vs RHP but at least there’s some pop there. The Gunners continue their slow assent to relevance. If only Stanton played all year he would pair up nicely with Harper. As is they should have enough firepower to squeak in as the last playoff team.

The Possums are on the bubble. As always they have an awesome pen which will keep them in a lot of games. However their rotation sucks so that should be enough to keep them on the outside looking in. The Whippets are close. Offense is not bad and some good starting pitching. The pen is a weakness. They could push Arsenal.

The Dragons and Cracker Jacks are the best of the worst. Both teams are better than last year, but still have a ways to go. Not sure why the Cracker Jacks took two relievers in round one when they aren’t contending, but seems I remember Hotlanta doing that some years back and then willing the championship a couple years later... so what do I know. The Dragons just have a lot of ordinary players... need to work on getting some core guys to build around.

Yorktown still sucks but has some hope for the future will some decent core players like Upton, Sano and Hosmer. Baton Rouge fell like a rock as their team was decimated by injuries and poor play. They still have a great defense, but not enough pitching to contend. The Hogs are especially sucky and a lock for the 1st pick in the draft next year.

While I think the AL is more top heavy than the NL this year, I also think the overall gap in quality is closing. In fact I think the top five teams in the AL are better than the top five in the NL this year. There might be a bit of a power shift coming. We will see.

....click here to see projected team details for the American League

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE THIS YEAR!!