With the baseball season about to begin (finally!), the Beyond the Box Score crew assembled our predictions* for how the 2011 standings would shake out. Here they are, along with the highest and lowest vote for each team.
| Average | Highest | Lowest | |
| AL East | |||
| Boston Red Sox | 1.1 | 1 | 2 |
| New York Yankees | 2.1 | 2 | 3 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 2.8 | 1 | 3 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 4.3 | 4 | 5 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 4.7 | 4 | 5 |
| AL Central | |||
| Chicago White Sox | 1.7 | 1 | 3 |
| Minnesota Twins | 1.7 | 1 | 4 |
| Detroit Tigers | 2.6 | 2 | 3 |
| Cleveland Indians | 4.2 | 3 | 5 |
| Kansas City Royals | 4.7 | 4 | 5 |
| AL West | |||
| Texas Rangers | 1.3 | 1 | 2 |
| Oakland A's | 1.9 | 1 | 3 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 2.9 | 2 | 4 |
| Seattle Mariners | 3.9 | 3 | 4 |
| NL East | |||
| Philadelphia Phillies | 1.4 | 1 | 2 |
| Atlanta Braves | 1.7 | 1 | 3 |
| Florida Marlins | 3.5 | 2 | 5 |
| New York Mets | 3.6 | 3 | 5 |
| Washington Nationals | 4.7 | 4 | 5 |
| NL Central | |||
| Cincinnati Reds | 1.8 | 1 | 3 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 2.2 | 1 | 4 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 2.9 | 1 | 4 |
| Chicago Cubs | 3.6 | 1 | 5 |
| Houston Astros | 5.2 | 4 | 6 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 5.3 | 2 | 6 |
| NL West | |||
| San Francisco Giants | 1.5 | 1 | 3 |
| Colorado Rockies | 2.5 | 1 | 3 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 3.1 | 1 | 4 |
| San Diego Padres | 3.1 | 1 | 5 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 4.9 | 4 | 5 |
* Predictions not necessarily the same as projections based on "hard data". In choosing the second place team for the NL Central, I may or may not have used a dart board.
Comments:
AL East: Generally broad agreement about the order here. No 1st place votes for NY.
AL Central: The Twins and Pale Hose are neck and neck, with the Tigers just behind.
AL West: Rangers vs. A's, with a slight edge to the defending AL champs.
NL East: A lot closer than I expected between the Phillies and Braves. Clear top two though.
NL Central: All over the place - with four teams picked to win it - but the Reds and Brewers out ahead.
NL West: Four teams picked to win here too, but the Giants are the favorites.
In fact, 16 different teams had at least one 1st place vote.
Awards:
AL MVP: Adrian Gonzalez (7), Adam Dunn, Evan Longoria, Alex Rodriguez
NL MVP: Albert Pujols (4), Buster Posey (2), Roy Halladay, Jay Bruce, Joey Votto, Hanley Ramirez
AL Cy Young: Jon Lester (5), Brett Anderson (2), Felix Hernandez (2), Justin Verlander
NL Cy Young: Roy Halladay (6), Tim Lincecum, Yovani Gallardo, Clayton Kershaw, Roy Oswalt
AL ROY: Jeremy Hellickson (5), Michael Pineda (2), J.P. Arencibia, Mike Moustakas
NL ROY: Brandon Belt (4), Freddie Freeman (3), Danny Espinosa, Brandon Beachy