3 Bold Predictions To Ride With In The 2nd Half Of The MLB Season

By Jordan Espinoza
Updated: July 20, 2021

Alright baseball fans across the land, we are officially in the second half of the 2021 MLB season, the time where every single run, every hit and of course every win has a different meaning and counts differently. As World Series odds experts are already well under work with predicting the best odds to who might be looking best for the second half of the season as well as looking towards the postseason and World Series, no time is best than right now to throw out some bold yet, very plausible predictions that we might end up seeing as we move forward.

Here are our picks for three bold predictions to take into account as we continue our way through the latter half of the 2021 MLB season.

Jacob DeGrom Will Continue His Record Breaking Season

Mets ace Jacob DeGrom is not just having a great season for any pitcher around, it’s safe to say that we are witnessing what very well might be the best season by any pitcher ever. DeGrom didn’t even have to pitch in the All-Star game and is still regarded as the best pitcher in the league. His 1.08 ERA has him chasing Bob Gibson’s gold standard record of a season with a 1.12 ERA, something the great Gibson did back in 1968. If he can bring his OPS average from .758 to over .800 he would be the first dual MVP/Cy Young award winner since Dodger’s ace Clayton Kershaw in 2014 to host numbers as dominant as these.

What’s best about DeGrom’s talents and outings? While a 1,08 ERA sounds like an amazing feat, if you watch him pitch, he makes it seem like an effortless hobby at points, with not many people truly noticing how much better than reality his game is. No hitter in the league wants to face him, all pitchers around want to be him. If we crack the numbers and assume that DeGrom will start in at least 12 to 15 of the Mets’ final 75 games in the season, he should be looking at pitching around 90 more innings in the season. Before the All-Star break he had already pitched 92 innings, giving him his 1.08 ERA, while allowing only 11 runs in his first 15 starts to the season. If he can match that then his record should end up being around 1.09, allowing him to break Gibson’s record. Yes, we are in Jacob DeGrom’s world and we should be thankful to be allowed to watch such greatness unfolding.

The Yankees Will Somehow Make The Playoffs

It’s ok, you’re probably not the only baseball fan who naïvely thought that the Yankees were finally going to come back to their full form and dominate the American League like we were used to seeing a few years ago. They have it all, hitting power with Judge and Stanton, an All-Star caliber ace in Gerrit Cole and at the end of the day they’re the New York Yankees, the winningest team in all of baseball, everything should have added up, right? Well, from where the Yankees are sitting right now in the standings, things don’t look as bright as one would expect. From being considered top favorites in the AL to reach the World Series to fighting and scratching their way into reaching the playoffs, even if it’s through the 2^nd wild card spot lies a world of difference, one where New York has to live in and try to survive and thrive.

So what do the Yankees need to do? Simple, they need to start winning the games that really count. Which ones are those you wonder? Well they have over 10 games left versus their famed rivals Red Sox, winning one of those would be cool, but winning at least eight of those remaining games could really help the Yanks find their groove and make a run for a playoff spot. If they can pull that off and also snatch wins against teams like Baltimore, Miami and Texas, then they should be good. They shouldn’t have to be crunching numbers like this, but hey, it’s the Yankees, unpredictability is always at the helm of everything.

The San Diego Padres Will Win The World Series

It’s time for San Diego to get a championship under their belt. The Chargers couldn’t pull it off when they were there, so it’s on the Padres, aka the most exciting team in all of baseball to pull it off. They have everything that’s needed to win a championship. A great rotation, slugging power up the wazoo and Fernando Tatis Jr, add all of those factors up and that is a winning combination like no other.

You’ve probably seen a Padres game here or there, but if you haven’t tuned in, they are playing the kind of baseball all fans want to watch. If they can make it to the playoffs, believe me when I say that the Padres will be World Series champions.