McAdam: Fearless predictions for the 2020 MLB season

And now, those two words we've all been longing to hear:

Play ball?

Nope. More like: Who knows?

Who knows if baseball is going to be able to complete this bizarro 2020 season? Who knows if the sport is going to overcome the pandemic?

And while we're at it: Who knows what's going to happen on the field? Will there be big surprises? Undoubtedly, and likely far more than normal, thanks to the unusual nature of the schedule.

Nonetheless, let's take a stab at what might be see:

Teams listed in projected order-of-finish. Teams in bold are playoff teams:

AL EAST

1-New York Yankees. The most talented roster in the league, with a powerful lineup, deep bullpen and strong rotation. It would seem only injuries could derail them.
2-Tampa Bay Rays. Potentially the best Top 3 starters of a starting rotation in the league. And in a year in which ingenuity will help, expect that this innovative team will figure things out.
3-Red Sox. They'll have to slug their way to October, but the expanded playoff format gives them a far better chance.
4-Toronto Blue Jays - Enviable roster with lots of developing young stars-in-the-making. But despite some upgrades, not nearly enough pitching. And being nomad won't help.
5-Baltimore Orioles. The road back to respectability is a long one and the O's are just getting started.



AL CENTRAL

1-Minnesota Twins. Having added a key piece in Josh Donaldson and bolstered their rotation, is this the year they do damage in the postseason?
2-Cleveland Indians. The lineup could use a boost, but the rotation is good, even after the loss of Corey Kluber. And, as always, the manager is the secret sauce.
3-Chicago White Sox. Losing Michael Kopech was a big blow for the rotation, but they've improved a lot and 20 games against the two teams below will help.
4-Kansas City Royals. They're not close to being where they need to be yet, but you can at least see they're on the right path.
5-Detroit Tigers. Young pitching will help with the long rebuild, but they'll take their lumps again this season.

AL WEST

1-Oakland A's. Just loaded with talent, especially some young arms in the rotation. As always, the A's will be better then they're supposed to be.
2-Houston Astros. Any team with Alex Bregman, Justin Verlander, Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve can't bne dismissed. But I do worry about their starting pitching depth.
3-Los Angeles Angels. Like the Red Sox, they have a powerful lineup. Also like the Red Sox, they have huge pitching concerns.
4-Texas Rangers. Pity the poor Rangers, who have a bright, new shiny ballpark -- and no one to whom they can show it off in 2020.
5-Seattle Mariners. Baseball's longest playoff drought won't end this season.

NL EAST

1-Atlanta Braves. Underachievers in the postseason of late, this might be the most talented roster in the league after the Dodgers.
2-Washington Nationals. Caught a break with the shortened season, since they're veteran starters got a chance to recover from last fall's workload.
3-New York Mets. Just enough pitching to keep them in it -- assuming Jacob deGrom holds up physically.
4-Philadelphia Phillies. Better -- thanks to some upgrades and a new manager -- but not there yet.
5-Miami Marlins. The old Jeter Magic has yet to manifest itself.

NL CENTRAL

1-St. Louis Cardinals. They need some bounce-back seasons from a few veterans in the lineup, but it's tough to match their rotation.
2-Cincinnati Reds. They've become the trendy pick to win the division, but I'm not ready to fully jump on the bandwagon.
3-Chicago Cubs. There's still a lot of veteran talent here, but if they don't get off to a good start, a sell-off could be in order.
4-Milwaukee Brewers. Ninety-six wins two years ago. Eighty-nine last year. Sensing a trend? They've done virtually nothing to improve.
5-Pittsburgh Pirates. Nice guy Ben Cherington has his work cut out for him here.

NL WEST

1-Los Angeles Dodgers. Let's not overthink this: the most talented roster -- by some distance -- in the game. If they don't end their 32-year title drought this year, when will they?
2-Arizona Diamondbacks. A sneaky-good lineup with a rotation getting a boost from a rejuvenated Madison Bumgarner. But they'll need bullpen improvement.
3-San Diego Padres. A ton of young, emerging target, but they need more -- much more -- from expensive infield corners Manny Machado and Eric Hosmer.
4-Colorado Rockies. Hard to believe that these guys were a playoff team in both 2017 and 2018.
5-San Francisco Giants. Poor Mike Yaz -- it looks like it's going to a long year by the Bay.

ALCS: Twins over Yankees
NLCS: Dodgers over Braves
World Series: Dodgers over Twins. Never mind comparisons to 1918. Look, it's 1965 all over again!

AL MVP: Matt Chapman
NL MVP: Ronald Acuna Jr.

AL Cy Young: Gerrit Cole
NL Cy Young: Walker Buehler

AL Rookie: Luis Robert
NL Rookie: Gavin Lux

AL Manager of the Year: Kevin Cash
NL Manager of the Year: Torey Lovullo