Jeff Zimmerman’s 10 Bold Predictions for 2015

1. Mike Trout or Clayton Kershaw will not be the #1 ranked fantasy player for 2015. These two are the consensus number one hitter and pitcher, but I will take the field that someone else will step up and surprise everyone.

2. Pedro Alvarez will lead the National League in home runs. He is an after thought for many owners after hitting 36 home runs in 2013. The move to first base will allow him to not worry about his 3B defense and just hit home runs.

3. Martin Prado will be more productive than Kris Bryant. I think Prado is getting way under valued with 2B, 3B, and OF eligibilities in some leagues. He has historically hit near .300 with some pop. Bryant’s spring has been inflating his value beyond where it should be. Also, he won’t be able to feast off scrub pitching and his strikeout rate may become a huge drag.

4. The Red Sox outfield mess will never resolve itself and no Red Sox outfielder will be among the top 30 outfielders. The Red Sox have three main outfielders for two spots in Mookie Betts, Rusney Castillo, and Shane Victorino. Also Jackie Bradley Jr.., Allen Craig, Brock Holt and Daniel Nava are in the mix. The one player will a set job is often injured Hanley Ramirez in left field. The talent for a top outfielder is there, but the plate appearances are not.

5. Bruce Rondon will be the Tigers closer by the All-Star game. The Tigers seem to give their closers as many chances as possible, but there is just no talent in this bullpen. I expect Rondon to show the talent to close quickly, but it will take the Tigers a couple of months to pull their heads out of their asses to figure it out and make the change.

6. Alex Rios will be a top 20 outfielder. I like his line drive swing in spacious Kauffman Stadium. He will be in the middle of the Royals lineup and get plenty of Run and RBI chances. Also, Ned Yost loves to run, so I could see his SB increase.

7. Nick Markakis will out produce Yasmany Tomas. I don’t have much faith in Markakis, but I have even less in Tomas. Both are on horrible teams, but I believe Markakis and his bum neck will be able to make contact and be somewhat productive.

8. Stephen Drew will be the highest valued Yankee infielder. I have no faith any of the players being productive except Chase Headley. I wanted to say, “Stephen Drew will be the highest valued Yankee infielder except Chase Headley.”. These are BOLD predictions, so I needed to do BOLD. Additionally, I think Drew has gotten too much bad press and could really bounce back.

9. Jordan Zimmermann and Ryan Zimmerman will be the top pitcher and and hitter on the Nationals. I am 100% basing this prediction on name bias.

10. Finally, David Wiers will break his streak of horrible Bold Predictions and get three, count that three, right this year.