Everyone loves a good guessing game.
The MLB provided plenty of twists and turns in 2013 that nobody could have saw coming. The Pittsburgh Pirates were slowly revamping their squad for the better, but who tabbed them to finish with a superior record than the Washington Nationals?
Who called Chris Davis topping 50 homers, Josh Donaldson delivering MVP-caliber numbers and Shane Victorino becoming the best free-agent bargain? Probably nobody, which is why none of those types of wild predictions will be seen here.
These are big predictions, not bold ones. Some forebodings are a bit more gutsy than the others, but everything here is based on reason and rationality rather than taking wild guesses.
Here are 15 predictions for what lies ahead in 2014. The speculations includes thoughts on trade candidates and free agents, in addition to handicapping individual and team performances. That way, at least something is bound to come true.
Note: Advanced stats courtesy of FanGraphs.