Michael Rasile 
Alright Win Daily fam, let’s get ready for more futures and long plays to keep us engaged this baseball season. We’ll be looking at a few of the MLB team totals for the 2020 season where I think we can cash tickets.
National League – New York Mets Over 85.5
This might be a homer pick, this might be me knowingly going against conventional wisdom, but I think the New York Mets have a solid shot to win over their 85.5 team total this season. Last year the Mets led the National League with 27 blown saves and they were still able to win 86 games. How is it possible a team blows 27 saves? I have no idea.
The bullpen was terrible last year, but with Rookie of the Year, Pete Alonso, and back-to-back Cy Young award winning, Jacob deGrom, winning was still a possibility. I’m starting with the assumption that while Jake might not win Cy Young, and Pete won’t be in the MVP race, they will both play well. I’m also hoping that the pitching will normalize. We don’t like making bets where we are hoping, but as a Mets fan, all we do is hope. Their bullpen shouldn’t blow 27 saves again with the addition of Dellin Betances, Jeurys Familia losing 30 pounds of fat, and Edwin Diaz returning to his Seattle Mariners self.
Mickey Callaway is now gone and rightfully so, he was a very bad manager. I do not think he helped win a single game during his tenure, but I can guarantee that he helped lose a few. The loss of Zack Wheeler shouldn’t affect the team too much, considering he’s bad for one half of the year and great for the other, he averages out to an okay pitcher. Enter Marcus Stroman as his replacement.
The last piece of this puzzle is the forgotten man, Yoenis Cespedes. If he can contribute anything above zero as he has the last few seasons this will be a win. Pinch hitter, platoon player; literally anything can help because his bat is just that good. The Mets just need him to stop playing farmer.
There is a reason MLB team totals are hard to pin down. With all this in mind, I don’t think they blow this 85.5 number out of the water, but I do think they get there with a few games to spare.
American League – Minnesota Twins Over 91.5
Where I currently sit, this 91.5 number scares me. How could a 100 win team from a year prior that added Josh Donaldson to their lineup have such a low total? Sometimes we like to steer directly into these lines, especially when looking at MLB team totals because someone else knows something we don’t… But I can’t do it.
The lineup is crazy long and crazy deep with 30 home runs guys all over it. The addition of Donaldson should pair very well with Miguel Sano, Max Kepler, and Nelson Cruz. The pitching leaves something to be desired, but I think Jose Berrios is a solid number 1 with additions like Rich Hill and Kenta Maeda being better than expected. They loaded up on a lot of C+ guys hoping to see who can make the jump to a B+ possibly and A- type pitcher.
It also helps a lot that the Twins play in the AL Central. The Tiger and Royals will be duking it out to see who will lose 100 games first, giving the Twins nearly 40 easy opportunities to bring home the W. I personally think the White Sox will not improve as much as others think and the Indians, while always being somewhat “in it”, will be forced to trade Fransisco Lindor before the deadline. The Indians front office does not want to be in the position the Red Sox were this offseason with a much smaller return for a player that won’t sign an extension. The Indians also have no Trevor Bauer, who was solid with them last season, and no more Cory Kluber to lock down the rotation.
With the easy schedule and insane lineup the Twins can trot out, I think there is a great chance that they smash the 91.5 total and get close to 100 wins again in the 2020 season.
