My Predictions for the 2014 MLB Award Winners and Predictions from the OPSN Staff!

Here are the predictions I sent in for our collective staff article for the 2014 MLB Awards, Division Winners and World Series Champion (oops, I forgot to do the Wild Cards! My bad! My predictions are below but if you'd like to skip to the full article and see how I ranked among my colleagues the just click here! Enjoy! :-)

My Predictions:

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AL MVP: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels: Trout is arguably the best player in the game today. There is no way - barring injury - that he will lose out to Miguel Cabrera for a third straight year.

NL MVP: Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals: He's the best defensive catcher right now and probably one of all-time. Molina has also gotten better offensively with age, while he may not have another year as good at the plate as 2012, he hit .313/.361/.481 over the past three seasons and should easily take the award.

AL Cy Young: Sonny Gray, Oakland Athletics:  Sure, he is a dark horse in this category but Gray can throw just about any pitch with power and his delivery is so similar on each that it makes it almost impossible to predict what he will throw before it is already out of his hand. He amasses strikeouts and ground ball outs while not giving up many walks. 

NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers: Kershaw may be the highest paid pitcher ever but he is easily the league's best. With two Cy Young wins under his belt, look for him to win another in 2014.

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**AL ROY: Sonny Gray, Oakland Athletics: After only starting in 10 games last season and going head to head twice with Verlander in the playoffs and coming out of that looking strong and confident. Gray could win the Cy Young and quite very possibly Rookie of the Year.

**I made a mis-calculation. Gray did in fact pitch 64 innings last season for the A's and cannot be considered for ROY. Sorry about that. In that case my vote goes to SS Xander Bogaerts from the Boston Red Sox.**

NL: ROY: Billy Hamilton, Cincinnati Reds: Billy Hamilton is the fastest player in baseball. He can do it all - hit, field and steal. He's an easy choice for Rookie of the Year.

AL MOY: Bob Melvin, Oakland Athletics: If they A's win their third straight AL West Title there is no doubt that Melvin, who won Manager of the Year in 2012 and was a runner up in 2013 will easily be MOY again.

NL MOY: Matt Williams, Washington Nationals: With an already put together team the Nats new manager should have an easy job taking them all they way.

AL Comeback Player: Grady Sizemore, Boston Red Sox: Sizemore wasn't even supposed to make the roster, fighting for his spot in CF with Jackie Bradley Jr. but he is their starter. If he stays healthy he should produce and make a great comeback.

NL Comeback Player: Matt Kemp, Los Angeles Dodgers: After a season of injuries if Kemp stays healthy he could very possibly end up as the NL Comeback Player of the Year.

AL East: Boston Red Sox: It was a close call but the Red Sox will not slack after winning it all last year. If Xander Bogaerts produces as expected and Grady Sizemore makes a comeback with David Ortiz to lead the team (and probably add clutch dramatic HRs) the Red Sox will take the East.

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NL East: Washington Nationals: The Nationals are in a winnable division. With pitchers like Strausburg, Gonzalez, Zimmermann and now Fister (who was one of the best acquisitions of the off-season) and hitters like Werth and Harper, the Nats are well rounded and strong. They will easily take the east and possibly the entire thing.

AL Central: Detroit Tigers: Detroit didn't have the greatest off-season but it is pretty impossible to bet against a team that has Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Anibal Sanchez. The back end of the Tigers rotation is not as good without Fister but Smyly and Procello should be able to pick up the slack. Off course let's not forget Miguel Cabrera.

NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals: The Cardinals are just as strong as they were last season and are definitely playoff bound. With veterans like Wainright and Holliday to lead the team in the clubhouse and young players like Michael Wacha Joe Kelly and Shelby Miller on the rise they should take the Central again this season. 

AL West: Oakland Athletics: They A's have a great team dynamic going on. Despite the injuries to Parker and Griffin, they still have a young but strong pitching staff. While there is no star hitter on the team the lineup together is strong. They also have added depth on the bench and improved the bullpen. Look for the A's to win their third straight AL Western Division Championship.

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NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers: They are easily the best team in a terrible division. With Kershaw, Greinke and Ryu, their pitching will be tough to beat. The line up and entire team is more solid after playing last year together. They need to keep Puig leading off and under control but if they do that, winning the West shouldn't be a problem.

World Series: Nationals at Athletics with the Athletics winning in seven games.

CLICK HERE to check out the rest of our staff's predictions!! Brought to you by Outside Pitch Sports Network LLC. 

Find us on Twitter @OakAsSocksGrl and @OPSN_MLB

Sports Unbiased MLB Writer's Unique Predictions & Statistical Firsts

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**This was a fun article to collaborate on with my fellow Sports Unbiased MLB Writers Adam Solowiei and Brian Reese. Here's a little summary with a link to the article and below that are my personal predictions for these fun categories! If you want to jump straight to the full article click here! ENJOY!**

It is not uncommon for multiple outlets to predict who will win each division, the World Series or the major individual awards for any given Major League Baseball season. In fact, it is quite common and even writers here at Sports Unbiased do the same. But what about the short term and dare I say fun predictions.

Who will hit the first home run on Opening Day? Who will be the first player ejected from a game? When will expanded instant replay be used the first time? These are all great questions that are near term and come with a level of fun and excitement. Fans do not have to wait until September or even July to resolve these predictions. Here at Sports Unbiased, a few of our baseball writers got together with the intention of predicting those things. Some predictions will be off the cuff, others might be tongue and cheek but at the end of the day it will be fun, informational and exciting for baseball fans to imagine.

Without any delay we present the 2014 Major League Baseball unique predictions and statistical firsts created and compiled by MLB writers Adam Solowiei, Jen Rainwater and Brain Reese. Let the fun begin as we looked into historical trends, statistics, programs and even a magic eight ball or two.

Who will hit the first home run?

Brian - Bryce Harper: I was originally leaning towards going with Mike Trout, but considering he is facing King Felix in the late game opening night I predict that Harper will start the season with a big hit off of Mets starter Dillon Gee. Harper has 42 home runs in his first two major league seasons.

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Jen - Miguel Cabrera: For two reasons, the first is that his name is Miguel Cabrera and the second he’s playing in an early game against James Shields and the Royals. Shields has given up 20 hits in 24.2 innings in spring training, someone has to score so Verlander can get the first shut out!

Adam - Andrew McCutchen: He has been on absolute fire during spring training already hitting five home runs. He is also playing in the first game and is scheduled to face Jeff Samardzija who gave up two spring home runs and 25 last season.

To Read the Rest of the Story CLICK HERE!! Find us on Twitter @SportsUnbiased1 and @OakAsSocksGrl.

My Personal Unique Predictions: 

Who will hit the first home run?
Miguel Cabrera: For two reasons, the first is that his name is Miguel Cabrera and the second he's playing in an early game against James Shields and the Royals. Shields has has given up 20 hits in 24.2 innings in spring training, plus someone has to score so Verlander can get the first shut out!

Who will hit the first triple?
Starling Marte: It may be difficult against Samardzija who can rack up strikeouts but he's a happy camper after getting his six year extension so if he hits one far he'll probably try for third.

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Who will steal the first base?
Billy Hamilton:Only if Billy Burns is not on the A's opening day roster which is highly likely. But if Burns plays somehow he will steal the first base. Billy Hamilton might be the fastest guy in the Majors right now but not for long.

Who will be caught stealing first?
Billy Hamilton: It could also be Billy Hamilton because the Cards will have Yadier Molina behind the plate.

Who will throw the first shutout?
Justin Verlander: The easy reason is I seriously think this guy is super human. I know my team can't hit him (I think "shutting out the A's" is his favorite activity on his facebook profile). Plus, he has had very dominate spring. His ERA is 0.00 and he struck out 17 batters in 20 innings.

What player will be ejected first?
Bryce Harper: I only say this because all I the headlines I have seen about him this spring is that he's been arguing a lot. If he is already arguing calls in spring training what's to stop him in a real game?

What manager will be ejected first?
Mike Scioscia: Sure this might seem random but the guy WHINES about EVERYTHING.

How many games into the season before expanded replay is used? One. Someone will use it Opening Day. After what the A's endured last year with that call in Cleveland and another one in Houston I wouldn't be surprised if it is Oakland's Bob Melvin who busts out with the first challenge. Plus, he usually only argues when he is pretty darn sure he is right so if there is a controversial call he'll have the guts to go for it.

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What will be the best and worse presents Derek Jeter receives on his farewell tour?
Best - I think the sandcastle the Rays gave Rivera was awesome. There is the problem of transportation to worry about but hey! It's Derek Jeter. I'm sure he has sandcastle movers on speed dial. If not he can just start his own company. And he can put it by the Awesome surf board the A's will give him! (between the A's and the Rays do you really see them changing it up?)
Worst - The A's could and probably should snub him because of the stupid "Flip" ... yeah, we are still mad about that.

(Very A's biased I know ... hope that's ok! It's supposed to be fun, right?)