Second Half Predictions
Here are my top 10 predictions for what will happen in the second half of the 2008 Major League season.
- Josh Hamilton will finish the year with under 150 RBI. We have seen guys break 80-90 RBI before the break before, but Hack Wilson’s RBI record has never been seriously challenged. Hamilton will slow down plenty in the second half, and finish with 145 RBI, still an MVP season.
- Justin Verlander will win 17 games or more. After an atrocious start to the year, Verlander has started to turn it around and he has seven wins at the break, I am predicting a huge second half for the young fireballer, and he will win at least 10 games from here on out.
- Francisco Liriano will be back in the majors before August, but he will not pitch well this year. Liriano has been lights out his last nine starts in the minor leagues, but there is a big difference between AAA and the major leagues. I think he will be fine in 2009 after an offseason of rest, but I say trying to rush his comeback will ruin his 2008 season.
- Kevin Kouzmanoff will hit 28+ homers. Kouz currently sits at 12, but he had a great second half last year, and I predict an even bigger one this season. He was fairly hot before the All-Star Break, and look for him to really breakout even though he plays in one of the biggest parks in the majors.
- Cliff Lee will top out at 17 wins. I know what you are saying, 17 wins that is a great season. Well, Lee currently sits at 12. I see his stats really coming back to earth in August and September, and I don’t see him winning any more than five games between now and the end of the season.
- Chipper Jones will not hit .400. Ok, so this one isn’t really going out on a limb since no one has hit .400 in a really long time. Jones currently sits at .376 and I say he finishes below .340. Chipper is having a great year, but he is having troubles with nagging injuries and I believe it will start to effect his hitting.
- Johnathan Broxton will close games for the Dodgers from now on. And I don’t mean for the rest of 2008, I mean Takashi Saito’s time as Dodger closer is over. Broxton has been being groomed for this job for three years, and now that he has a good, long opportunity, he will step up and grab this role and hang on to it. Grab Broxton now if he wasn’t already picked up.
- Evan Longoria will hit 30 HRs and drive in over 100 runs. Longoria currently sits at 16 HRs and 53 RBI in the Rays first half of the year. He is a special kind of talent, and I can certainly see him doubling those numbers in the second half, even though the Rays have played more than half of their games. Longoria will be a star in this league for a long time to come.
- Joel Zumaya will be closing for the Tigers before the season ends. Manager Jim Leyland said he will limit the amount of work that Todd Jones takes on for the rest of the year, and that means that either Fernando Rodney or Joel Zumaya will get SOME opportunities to close games. When a guy is that big and throws that hard (100 mph+), you’ve got to believe he will be a successful closer, as long as he can stay healthy.
- Chris Carpenter will be given a chance to close games for the Cardinals. With Jason Isringhausen completely crapping out, and Ryan Franklin not doing a whole hell of a lot better, Tony LaRussa will resort to some desperate measures and put Carpenter in the bullpen when he returns. Carpenter has had an eventful rehab from his second Tommy John Surgery, and pitching only an inning at a time will get him back to STL faster.
