2015 MLB predictions: Yankees & Mets, A-Rod & Severino, World Series, MVPs and more

It's that time again. Baseball is BACK! And so are my annual predictions. 

See below for the usual standings, World Series picks, awards and Yankees player stats. But the real prediction that everyone seems to be buzzing about this year isn't really covered below. That would be the Battle for New York -- who will be better this year: Yankees or Mets?

I say Yankees. Sure, the Mets got Matt Harvey back. He's excellent, but it was really unfortunate for them to lose Zach Wheeler in spring training. Their bullpen hasn't improved much and neither has their hitting. Plus, they play in a pretty tough division with the all-hailed Nationals and hyped-up Marlins. 

The Yankees, on the other hand, play in a very weak division that is totally up for grabs. Heck, I even see them stealing an AL wild card spot. CC Sabathia's velocity (and weight) increase excites me, and so does the fact that their worst injury of the spring was to fifth starter Chris Capuano. He'll be OK, and, if not, I like his replacement, Adam Warren, a lot. 

Bottom line: the Yankees, when healthy, easily have the best staff in the division and maybe even the American League when you weigh in the bullpen too. The hitting is looking, well, old, but we'll see if Alex Rodriguez's good spring was any indicator of how he'll perform this year. We shall see. 

AL East 
1. Red Sox
2. Yankees*
3. Blue Jays 

4. Orioles

5. Rays

AL Central 
1. Tigers
2. Indians
3. Royals
4. White Sox
5. Twins

AL West 
1. Mariners
2. Athletics*
3. Angels

4. Rangers
5. Astros 

NL East 
1. Nationals
2. Marlins*
3. Mets
4. Braves
5. Phillies

NL Central 
1. Pirates
2. Cubs*
3. Cardinals
4. Brewers
5. Reds

NL West 
1. Dodgers
2. Giants
3. Rockies
4. Padres

5. Diamondbacks

*Wild Card Winner 

Playoffs
AL Champion: Mariners
NL Champion: Dodgers
World Series Champion: Dodgers, 6 games

Awards
AL MVP: Robinson Cano
NL MVP: Yasiel Puig
AL Cy: Felix Hernandez
NL Cy: Stephen Strasburg
AL RoY: Kendall Graveman
NL RoY: Kris Bryant
AL Manager: Terry Francona
NL Manager: Bruce Bochy

Yankee Stats 
Alex Rodriguez home runs: 24

Carlos Beltran RBIs: 74

Jacoby Ellsbury OBP: .349

Masahiro Tanaka games stared: 29

CC Sabathia ERA: 3.91

Dellin Betances saves: 21

Andrew Miller saves: 19

Luis Severino holds: 10

Previous Predictions

2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014

Results

2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014