When the confetti drops at the end of the Super Bowl, the first thought that comes to mind "Pitchers and Catchers report!!" All Major League teams have their pitchers and catchers report next week. There are so many story lines heading into the 2018 season. Who will make the playoffs? Will the Astros repeat? Can the Mets stay healthy? Will the Yankees make true progression on last years success? Baseball can be both predictable and unpredictable at the same time.
Let's start with the basics and talk division and wild card winners. Over in the AL there will be 2 changes(1 of them just a simple swap). The AL East will belong the New York Yankees. They are improved team only looking to make true gains from last season. They have the health, youth, and talent to win the division. They will also full seasons from Sonny Gray and Gincarlo Stanton.
The AL Central will belong to the Cleveland Indians, again. No one in the division will challenge them. The Tigers, Royals and White Sox are all in rebuild. The Twins will make a run at the playoffs again but will just miss out on a wild card(more on that soon). The Indians are too good, when healthy, not to count out to go all the way. They have the reigning Cy Young award winner with a potentially dangerous rotation behind him. Their lineup can be scary as well. With Francisco Lindor and Edwin Encarnasion in that lineup they can anchor that lineup and make everyone in it better.
The AL West will belong to the Houston Astros once again. They are the reigining World Series champs. They will have a full season of Dallas Keuchacal and Justin Verlander. Their starting pitching can truly be a dominate force, especially with the addition of Gerrit Cole Their offense was also the best offense in the Major Leagues. With the MVP Jose Altuve anchoring that lineup, they can score as many runs as they did last year.
The two AL Wild Cards will belong the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Boston seems to be in a slight decline since Big Papi has retired. They need the starting pitching behind Chris Sale to stay afloat in the division. They will be able to score enough runs to make it into the playoffs. On the other hand, the Angels look to be pushing their way into the playoffs. They extended Justin Upton for 5 years. Mike Trout needs to make it to the playoffs. This will be the year for him. The Angels could be this years Yankees and surprise everyone.
Over in the National League, all 3 division winners will be the same. The Nationals are in the last year of Bryce Harper(potentially) and Daniel Murphy, both potent bats in he middle of that lineup. Yes, the Mets added some nice pieces to their lineup and hope to have a healthy rotation, but it won't be enough. The Dodgers will win the NL West again with almost no problem.Yes the Giants will be improved and you have the Rockies and Dbacks who made the playoffs, but the Dodgers still have a the best team in that division.
The most competitive division in the NL will belong to the Central Division. The Cubs certainly have the talent to have a 3-peat as division winners(even without Arrieta). They do have competition with the vastly improved Brewers(see Yelch and Cain) and the always in it Cardinals. The Cubs will leg it out because they have the depth and resources to pull it out once again. Their position players are either entering their prime or are in their prime. Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo are always MVP candidates. They have a rotation led by Jon Lester and have up and coming pitchers to supplement the rotation.
The 2 NL Wild Cards will the Brewers and Rockies. The Brewers have vastly improved, especially on defense, that they will make the playoffs. The Brewers may be the surprise team in the National League this year to make a deep playoff run(not that its going to happen.) I am choosing the Rockies over the D-Backs to return to the playoffs because they have a better bullpen and a more solid lineup to score runs. Let's see if these predictions stick!!!
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