Newsletter Excerpt, March 31, 2021 -- "Season Preview 2021: Teams #10 - #6"

This is a preview of the Joe Sheehan Baseball Newsletter, an e-mail newsletter about all things baseball, featuring analysis and opinion about the game on and off the field from the perspective of the informed outsider. Joe Sheehan is a founding member of Baseball Prospectus and a contributor to Sports Illustrated and Baseball America. He has been writing about baseball for nearly 25 years.

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"I’m not sure any of it will matter. That’s how good this offense is. The Mets haven’t scored 800 runs since 2007, a lifetime in baseball terms, but this group probably has that number as its floor. The defense won’t keep the Mets from making the playoffs, but it is what keeps them from challenging the Braves atop the division."

Newsletter Excerpt, March 30, 2021 -- "Season Preview 2021: Teams #16 - #11"

This is a preview of the Joe Sheehan Baseball Newsletter, an e-mail newsletter about all things baseball, featuring analysis and opinion about the game on and off the field from the perspective of the informed outsider. Joe Sheehan is a founding member of Baseball Prospectus and a contributor to Sports Illustrated and Baseball America. He has been writing about baseball for nearly 25 years.

Your subscription gets you the newsletter and various related features two to five days a week, more than 150 mailings (more than 200,000 words) a year full of smart, fun baseball writing that you can't find in the mainstream. Subscribers can also access the new Slack workspace, to talk baseball with me and hundreds of other Newsletter subscribers.

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"We’ve been talking about Mike Trout and greatness relative to his age for so long that we didn’t notice he got older. He’ll play his age-29 season this year, turning 30 in August. The shape of his game is changing; he’s hit more homers than doubles for a while now, and a strikeout rate that he had lowered mid-career is ticking up again. He’s attempted just 15 steals since the start of the 2019 season, and his defensive numbers in center are slipping."

Newsletter Excerpt, March 30, 2021 -- "Season Preview 2021: For Entertainment Purposes Only"

This is a preview of the Joe Sheehan Baseball Newsletter, an e-mail newsletter about all things baseball, featuring analysis and opinion about the game on and off the field from the perspective of the informed outsider. Joe Sheehan is a founding member of Baseball Prospectus and a contributor to Sports Illustrated and Baseball America. He has been writing about baseball for nearly 25 years.

Your subscription gets you the newsletter and various related features two to five days a week, more than 150 mailings (more than 200,000 words) a year full of smart, fun baseball writing that you can't find in the mainstream. Subscribers can also access the new Slack workspace, to talk baseball with me and hundreds of other Newsletter subscribers.

You can subscribe to the newsletter for one year for $59.95 using your PayPal account or major credit card.

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"Rangers under 66.5 wins. I have them at 59-103, and it’s probably easier to see them falling apart than making a run. They have a bad rotation, and their bullpen has been eviscerated by injuries this spring. I liked this one a lot coming in, and feel better having gotten an email from a pro bettor telling me he was on this one (at 67.5)."

Newsletter Excerpt, March 29, 2021 -- "Season Preview 2021: Teams #23 - #17"

This is a preview of the Joe Sheehan Baseball Newsletter, an e-mail newsletter about all things baseball, featuring analysis and opinion about the game on and off the field from the perspective of the informed outsider. Joe Sheehan is a founding member of Baseball Prospectus and a contributor to Sports Illustrated and Baseball America. He has been writing about baseball for nearly 25 years.

Your subscription gets you the newsletter and various related features two to five days a week, more than 150 mailings (more than 200,000 words) a year full of smart, fun baseball writing that you can't find in the mainstream. Subscribers can also access the new Slack workspace, to talk baseball with me and hundreds of other Newsletter subscribers.

You can subscribe to the newsletter for one year for $59.95 using your PayPal account or major credit card.

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"As with the Reds, you can see a path where the Royals hit the high end of their range, the top teams in the division don’t, and they contend or even steal the division. I think the young pitching and improved OBP give the Royals more upside than downside, with the chance that the rotation will be bolstered in the second half by all these young arms."

Newsletter Excerpt, March 28, 2021 -- "Season Preview 2021: Teams #30 - #24"

This is a preview of the Joe Sheehan Baseball Newsletter, an e-mail newsletter about all things baseball, featuring analysis and opinion about the game on and off the field from the perspective of the informed outsider. Joe Sheehan is a founding member of Baseball Prospectus and a contributor to Sports Illustrated and Baseball America. He has been writing about baseball for nearly 25 years.

Your subscription gets you the newsletter and various related features two to five days a week, more than 150 mailings (more than 200,000 words) a year full of smart, fun baseball writing that you can't find in the mainstream. Subscribers can also access the new Slack workspace, to talk baseball with me and hundreds of other Newsletter subscribers.

You can subscribe to the newsletter for one year for $59.95 using your PayPal account or major credit card.

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"For 2021, it’s a transition. The Mariners have brought in some veteran ballast for the rotation, but they have to learn what they have in Justus Sheffield and Justin Dunn and Logan Gilbert. Is Kyle Lewis an everyday center fielder or the fourth man when the three prospects get here? What the heck was that last year from Evan White? Within those questions is how you get to thinking of this as a surprise team. The Mariners have the highest upside of these seven teams, and enough 'yes' answers here can help them realize it. I don’t think they get there, but even as I write this graf, I’m wavering. Why not, indeed?"

 

Joe Sheehan Newsletter, March 25, 2021 -- "Season Preview 2021: Final Standings"

This is a preview of the Joe Sheehan Baseball Newsletter, an e-mail newsletter about all things baseball, featuring analysis and opinion about the game on and off the field from the perspective of the informed outsider. Joe Sheehan is a founding member of Baseball Prospectus and a contributor to Sports Illustrated and Baseball America. He has been writing about baseball for nearly 25 years.

Your subscription gets you the newsletter and various related features two to five days a week, more than 150 mailings (more than 200,000 words) a year full of smart, fun baseball writing that you can't find in the mainstream. Subscribers can also access the new Slack workspace, to talk baseball with me and hundreds of other Newsletter subscribers.

You can subscribe to the newsletter for one year for $59.95 using your PayPal account or major credit card.

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Projected 2021 standings, postseason and awards picks:


Team        W-L   Pct  GB   RS   RA

Rays       96-66 .593  --  755  628
Yankees*   90-72 .556   6  844  758
Blue Jays  82-80 .506  14  822  798
Red Sox    80-82 .494  16  810  816   
Orioles   55-107 .340  39  663  936

White Sox  87-75 .537  --  783  726
Twins*     86-76 .531   1  820  775
Indians    82-80 .506   5  652  633
Royals     81-81 .500   6  692  701
Tigers    62-100 .383  25  672  855

Astros     86-76 .531  --  771  728
Athletics  85-77 .525   1  715  691
Angels     83-79 .512   3  806  777
Mariners   73-89 .451  13  731  815
Rangers   59-103 .364  27  661  885

AL MVP: Gerrit Cole, Yankees
AL Cy Young: Gerrit Cole, Yankees
AL Rookie of the Year: Andrew Vaughn, White Sox

Yankees win Coin Flip Round
Rays win ALDS over Yankees, 3-2
White Sox win ALDS over Astros, 3-0
Rays win ALCS over White Sox, 4-1


Team        W-L   Pct  GB   RS   RA

Braves     92-70 .568  --  828  728
Mets*      87-75 .537   5  812  745
Phillies   84-78 .519   8  810  771
Nationals  83-79 .512   9  801  784
Marlins    78-84 .481  14  664  698

Brewers    87-75 .537  --  782  732
Cardinals  83-79 .512   4  718  687
Cubs       83-79 .512   4  729  712
Reds       79-83 .488   8  718  731
Pirates   62-100 .383  25  670  875

Dodgers   113-49 .698  --  882  540
Padres*    92-70 .568  21  765  648
D’backs    78-84 .481  35  757  791
Rockies    72-90 .444  41  793  875
Giants     70-92 .432  43  707  834

NL MVP: Corey Seager, Dodgers
NL Cy Young: Aaron Nola, Phillies
NL Rookie of the Year: Sixto Sanchez, Marlins

Mets win Coin Flip Round
Dodgers win NLDS over Mets, 3-0
Braves win NLDS over Brewers, 3-1
Dodgers win NLCS over Braves, 4-2

Dodgers win World Series over Rays, 4-2