Nats/MLB June Update: it's not going well.

Happy summer! If you're a junior like me, you're now facing the ever-approaching reality of college applications, endless essays, and being a senior in high school. Every new grade level comes with its own burdens, and senior year is no exception; feels like you're marching directly into your future, despite junior year being more difficult generally.

Also, if you haven't listened to the Police by now, I strongly encourage you to do so. They're my current musical obsession.

But enough of that; let's get to the baseball stuff!

I'm gonna start this post off with the Nationals section, which I will try to keep brief because, frankly, there isn't much to say.

I'll further preface this section by saying that if you remember anything I said in my last posts about the Nats, well... just forget I said anything.

Anyways, as of today, the Nationals hold an abysmal 23-42 record, coming in at 3rd-worst in the entire league. So, no, they will not be making the playoffs, nor will they ever find themselves within sight of a wild-card spot.

Let's start with what's going wrong: everything except the middle of the order. The rotation is utterly horrible: Corbin shows no signs of returning to his 2019 self, rookie Joan Adon pitched himself into getting sent down to the minors, Jackson Tetreault showed zero signs of MLB-caliber pitching in his major league debut, and Anibal Sanchez never even made a start before injuring himself. Josiah Gray has shown consistent flashes of brilliance in rather short starts, and Erick Fedde has been better than expected; other than that, the rotation has shown no signs of competence. Top prospect Cade Cavalli continues to pitch well - but not exceptionally - in the minors, and should be due for his majors debut sometime in the near future.

The bullpen is not much better than the rotation. Top offseason acquisition Steve Cishek has been middling at best, accompanied by a host of other middle-of-the-road arms; Sean Doolittle sparkled in his return to D.C., and promptly got injured.

The lineup is enigmatic to say the least. One day they'll come out and score a run on 7 hits; the next they'll go back-to-back-to-back and drop a 15-bomb on any team in the league. Unfortunately, the lineup can never do enough to counteract the terrible pitching performances, day after day.

Josh Bell and Keibert Ruiz are the two top performers in the Nationals lineup so far this year, with Bell returning to his old self and Ruiz showing his incredible potential as an everyday starting catcher. Cesar Hernandez and Maikel Franco have both turned back the clock on their careers, posting solid batting lines so far; even Dee Strange-Gordon was showing signs of productivity before we designated him for assignment (for some reason that I don't understand). Luis Garcia, who was finally recalled from triple-A after starting the season as the best hitter in the entire MiLB, has hit extremely well, and pushed a washed-up/injured Alcides Escobar out of the starting lineup.

Unfortunately, the rest of the lineup shows little to no spark. Riley Adams mostly just gives Ruiz breathers behind the dish every once in awhile, but doesn't provide much with the bat. Lane Thomas shows flashes of 2021, but he has also struggled. Even our lord and saviour Juan Soto has had his share of offensive difficulties, but I'm gonna choose to ignore them until at least August.

All in all, it could be worse, but not very much. Sorry if I got anyone's hopes up.

Now that we've gotten past the bad part, let's take a look at some teams that are actually good, starting in the AL West and working our way over. I'll talk about who's on top, and how I think the division will finish. Disclaimer: it's super early in the season, and I am going to be horribly wrong. Don't flame me too hard.

AL West

Division Leader: Houston Astros

If I can't have my team in the playoffs, is it too much to ask for the Angels to make it? Every baseball fan wants to see Ohtani and Trout in the playoffs, and for a second there it looked like we might finally get to see the unthinkable.

Then, the Angels lost 14 in a row, en route to firing manager Joe Maddon and slipping out of first in the division. The Astros jumped all over the opportunity and never looked back; they now hold a commanding 9.5 game lead, and I have no reason to believe that they'll relinquish it. As much as I want the Angels to succeed, I don't see that happening either.

Meanwhile, in Seattle, the Mariners are playing below expectations. Shocking! I would love to predict them in the wild card, but that's not gonna happen unless Ty France learns to pitch.

Prediction: Astros win the west easily, and the Angels miss the playoffs.

AL Central

Division Leader: Minnesota Twins

In a shocking twist of fate, the White Sox are not good! They find themselves at 30-31; not out of contention by any means, but far below their lofty expectations entering the season. Marred by continued injuries (please, please, please fire the trainers) and poor decision-making by Tony La Russa (fire him too), the Southsiders are lucky to be anywhere near contention. Luckily, the AL Central is a weak division. The Twins and Guardians are both outperforming expectations, and something has to give. I have a hard time believing that the Guardians will see October this year, despite their current wild-card berth, but I think the Twins will take advantage of the White Sox' downfall and steal the division, as long as they continue to play like they are now. The White Sox are too good a team to miss October, and they have the team to take a wild-card spot, but that depends on a whole lot of injuries resolving themselves really fast, which I do not think will happen.

Prediction: Twins win the central. The White Sox overtake the Guardians, but fall short of the playoffs.

AL East

Division Leader: New York Yankees

Man, I hate to say it, but the Yankees might finally be legitimate world series contenders. Toronto, Tampa Bay, and Boston are all playing above-.500 baseball, and they still find themselves 9, 11, and 13 games behind the Bombers. The Yankees just refuse to lose, and as long as their rotation keeps shutting everyone out and Aaron Judge keeps hitting balls to the moon, I don't see that changing. The most interesting aspect of the east is the rest of the division; it's hard to count any of the remaining three contenders out. Toronto is too good to miss the playoffs, and the Rays seem to always find a way to conjure a playoff spot with zero fans and zero dollars spent. Boston, meanwhile, needs a lot more to go their way in the most competitive division in baseball, and a barely-.500 record won't cut it.

Prediction: Yankees run away with the division, and the Jays, Rays, and Red Sox face off in the AL wild card.

NL West

Division Leader: San Diego Padres

Surprise! Dave Roberts is still the worst manager in baseball. The Padres hold the division lead. If the Dodgers decide they want to try again, that won't be the case very quickly. The Padres are playing very good baseball: Manny Machado has placed himself directly in the front of the MVP conversation, and MacKenzie Gore should win the NL ROY, but I don't see them holding off the nuclear-powered Dodgers much longer. The Giants, meanwhile, remain well over .500, but they aren't playing nearly to the level of the Padres or Dodgers, and they continue to depend on stellar pitching and overperforming veterans. As in any battle of heavyweights, the victor will be dependent on head-to-head matchups.

Prediction: Dodgers win the west, Padres take a wild card spot, Giants narrowly miss the playoffs.

NL Central

Division Leader: St. Louis Cardinals (note: the Pirates are 3rd in the division! It's a miracle!)

Every year, baseball fans look at the NL Central and do two things: first, they say, "The Brewers are gonna pitch their way to the top of the division", closely followed by, "but don't sleep on the Cardinals".

Everyone slept on the Cardinals, and now that the Brewers have dropped 8 of their last 10, the Cardinals' devil magic seems to have taken full effect.

Yes, Albert Pujols is not 20 years younger. Yes, Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright are also very, very old. Yes, Brandon Woodruff and Corbin Burnes will probably, eventually, return to form. I don't care. The Cardinals will win the division. If they don't, I was never here.

Prediction: Cards win the division, Brewers grab a wild-card spot.

NL East

Division Leader: New York Mets

New York has been in full control of the league thus far, with the Yankees and Mets far ahead of any other team in baseball; however, the Mets have shown some cracks, dropping 4 of their last 10. DeGrom and Scherzer remain on the IL, and the Mets' continued dominance depends on the return of their two aces. The surging Atlanta Braves, riding a 14-game win streak, look to topple the upstarts from Queens. As much as I wish I could predict the Mets' yearly collapse yet again, I think they'll hold on.

Meanwhile, the Phillies are playing like a team without a defense, namely because they don't really have a defense, nor a manager. The Marlins aren't last. And, of course, the Nationals are your basement-dwellers.

Prediction: The Mets narrowly take the division, the Braves grab a wild-card spot, and the Nationals continue to get worse.

Hope y'all enjoyed the first post of the summer! I'm looking forward to posting more frequently; let me know what you'd like to see me write about.