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Bill Dubiel runs down his bold predictions for the 2017 MLB season to see whether he steered fantasy baseball owners in the right direction or not.
Let's mine through the poop pile and see if we can dig out...I don't know, some undigested corn or something. There's a few good ones here. SHUT UP, I don't see you making any bold predictions.
1. Max Kepler hits 30 bombs AND is a top-30 outfielder.
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Ehhhhhh not so much. Kepler fell outside of the top 50 and only cracked 19 bombs. There isn't a ton to analyze here--I developed a crush last year and thought I saw enough for Kepler to make a jump into the upper echelon. I was incorrect, and I'm not sure if Kepler will ever hit 30 bombs to be honest.
Grade: C-
2. Miguel Cabrera wins the AL MVP award.
Grade: J+
3. Stephen Strasburg pitches 200 innings AND is a top-five SP.
Hey this one's pretty good! Stras got a good 175 innings in and finished around SP7, so this one is pretty darn close. The talent is undeniable, but my goodness this poor guy can't stay healthy for a full season. We could be talking about him at the end of his career like we talk about Ken Griffey, Jr.--what would his numbers look like if he was healthy his whole career?
Grade: B+
4. Masahiro Tanaka finishes as a top-10 SP.
Big ole swing-and-a-miss here. Tanaka just didn't have the stuff all year, finishing with and ERA just under 5.00 (although, as I write this he's shutting down the Tribe in the playoffs). He's still going to be a staple of the MLB for a while given how young he is, and I have no doubt that as long as his elbow holds up he'll have plenty of excellent seasons.
Grade: D
5. Greg Bird finishes as a top-10 1B.
He was hurt, so we'll never know will we?
Grade: F
6. Wade Davis finishes as a top-five closer.
So I didn't completely whiff here. Davis finished with a sparkling 2.30 ERA and 1.14 WHIP, but he unfortunately didn't have the counting stats to finish as a top-five closer. He tallied just 32 saves, but blew only one. So it's not a terrible bold prediction, but it also isn't correct.
Grade: B
7. J.T. Realmuto finishes as a top-five catcher.
Yeahhhh buddy. I talked Realmuto up all offseason, and it paid off. He finished third behind only Gary Sanchez and Buster Posey, thanks in large part to a solid .278 batting average and 17 homers. Toss in the eight steals that he added and he brought plenty of all-around production to the table. He should be drafted as a top-five catcher next year, but remember that it was Roto_Dubs who told you first.
Grade: A+
8. D.J. LeMahieu wins the NL batting title--AGAIN.
He hit .310. Charlie Blackmon won the batting title and they pee in the same urinals, so I'm considering this one close.
Grade: B-
9. Chris Sale finishes outside the top-10 SP.
Grade: F-
10. The NL MVP is NOT Kris Bryant, Nolan Arenado, or Paul Goldschmidt. It's Charlie Blackmon.
Hey, they haven't awarded this yet! So who scored the most fantasy points? That'll make a good substitute for judging this prediction...
Wait a second.
It's...CHARLIE BLACKMON.
