National League
By: Alex Kryah
The National League Central will prove to be the best division in baseball this year. Although the Brewers and Reds won’t offer much competition to the rest of the league, the Cardinals, Pirates and Cubs will be the class of the NL.
This year, it’s the Cubbies’ turn to reign supreme in the division. The Cubs return a potent offense and a great pitching staff, where we’ll see Jon Lester bounce back to his Red Sox form and Arrietta tossing gems once again. The additions on John Lackey and Jason Heyward will prove to be monumental as September approaches. The North Siders could flirt with 100 wins.
St. Louis will fill the second spot in the division by a close margin. We all know how it is for the Cards; they don’t rebuild, they reload. The departures of Heyward and Lackey will hurt marginally, but a healthy Wainwright and Molina will take them to the playoffs.
Pittsburgh is a tough squad, but losing Burnett kills their rotation, which was their strong suit. They’ll be close to the second wild card but could miss out on the playoffs.
Milwaukee and Cincinnati stink. There’s no pitching on both teams and only one or two good bats for the Brewers and Reds will have to bear the load offensively.
The Giants will take their biannual crown in the West because that’s just what the Giants do, while the Mets will repeat in the East. Los Angeles will take the second wild card spot.
In the end, the Cubs will fall to the Blue Jays in the Fall Classic.
Alex’s World Series Pick: Toronto Blue Jays
American League
By: Austin Shone
When it comes down to who wins the AL pennant, it’s all about getting hot at the end of the year and having a solid pitching staff.
The World Series Champion Royals will have a great chance to defend their crown this year. Their pitching is phenomenal, especially their shutdown bullpen with Herrera and Davis.
The Tigers always have a chance when Cabrera is in the lineup, he’s the best hitter I’ve ever seen, so good at staying through the ball. They’re going to make a run at the Royals if they stay healthy.
The Indians have five guys who can win ten games. Corey Kluber should return to Cy Young form, but that won’t be enough to unseat the Royals.
The Twins showed that they were the real deal last year. No one expected anything and they almost got a wild card spot. Byung-Ho Park will either be a bust or average at best.
The White Sox did a lot of shopping this winter, adding Frazier, Jackson, Lawrie, Avila and the old man Jimmie Rollins. They might surprise some people if the new guys come around, but I still think Robin Ventura should be ousted as manager.
The Astros have been the biggest rebuilding success we’ve seen in a while. By the time it’s all said and done, Carlos Correa will be right up there next to Derek Jeter.
The Blue Jays prevailed in the AL East last year and are the favorites to do it again. They lose their ace in David Price to Boston who probably overpaid him, but this is still the best offense in the league.
The Rangers are built to win right now. Once Darvish comes back in May they’ll have the best rotation in the AL with Hamels, Holland, and Lewis. Beltre and Fielder will drive in runs, and Roughned Odor will be their breakout player of the year at second base. This team had a meltdown in one of the craziest innings I’ve ever seen in Toronto last fall, but they’ll come back searching for redemption. Texas is a well-rounded, experienced team who’ll play even better than last year, and make it to the World Series.
Austin’s World Series Pick: Texas Rangers
